She locked eyes with me, and I knew it was going to be downhill from there. "No. We were really more like friends back then. It was nothing to write home about." She shrugged. "He tried and tried to get me in bed, but I was a prude." Everyone laughed again. "I still am."
My heart sank. It was me who was a prude back then and her that had tried to get me in bed a million times. The coldness I felt coming off of her reminded me that I didn't know the woman in front of me. Not even close.
I rolled my eyes. "She's an ice princess, boys. Respect her and you'll be fine. Anything else and she'll drink you dry." I turned my back to the group as everyone let out a few sounds of surprise.
"Enough out of you McAdams!" Alan yelled my way.
I lifted my finger in the air and got my stuff out of the locker. I ignored everything until I heard some of the guys laughing over me throwing her haughty ass under the bus. The conflicting emotions inside of me were almost too much. I should have beat my own ass for being such a jerk.
"You got her, man. Shit," Rodriguez moved up beside me. "She must have fucked you up good back in the day. You just served that shit up on a silver plate...."
The guys around me whooped and hollered like a bunch of apes.
I turned around, being who they expected me to be and grabbed my cock. "She couldn't handle this shit back then, and she sure as fuck couldn't handle it now."
"Yeah. Who does this lady thinks she is?" One of the younger guys moved into the center of the locker room. "She doesn't know nothing. I'd teach her a few lessons. Did you see how juicy her ass was?"
I turned back to my locker, hating myself.
"Hey. What are you doing right now?" Gary barked at me as he moved up beside me. The noise in the room behind us hid our conversation.
"She started it, old timer. You know that."
"And you're a grown-ass man. Where's your respect for Martin, boy? You think he'd want you to turn this goddamn team into a bunch of horny teenagers over his daughter? You're not the man I thought you were at all."
"Gary." I turned to face him as he popped me in the face with the back of his hand.
"No. You don't get to talk to me. Fuck you for that." He turned and walked off, leaving me to feel more dejected.
"What the hell was all of that?" Jeremy walked up and stood in front of me as I stewed in self-pity.
"I don't know." I pulled my shirt over my head and tucked it in. "Terra is my high school sweetheart. She's pissed about what didn't happen back then, and I'm pissed about what did. I thought seeing her at Martin's funeral would clear things up and maybe mend our friendship, but all I could think about was fucking her until she submitted to me."
He nodded. "She's got an ass just like you like."
I popped him in the chest. "Shut the fuck up."
"I see that smile." He winked and grabbed his glove. "Come on. Let's put this shit down and hit the bars. You can find someone else to worship your cock tonight, dude. There are a million women waiting to do it."
Sadly enough I didn't want a damn one of them. I wanted the one I couldn’t have.
Chapter 14
Terra
Fuck Danny McAdams with his perfect body and sexy smile. I hadn't seen him shirtless in seven years, and yet seeing him that way a few minutes ago had my nipples budding, my pussy contracting like she had a mating call out for him.
It was disturbing on far too many levels to think about. He'd been sexy back in high school and early college, but nothing like he was now. Thick muscles covered his chest and stomach, and tight tanned skin stretched across them. The tight white boxers he'd been sporting left nothing to the imagination, and I knew the other guys in the locker room had to be jealous.
It was all I could do not to stare at him when I walked into the room. It was good to see he was being a total asshole. That's about the only thing that would keep us apart. Him. It had always been him pushing me away, refusing me the warmth of his love. Good. Seemed things hadn't changed. I liked consistent. I could live with it, or so I told myself.
"Terra." A deep voice called after me. Gary.
I turned and offered him a kind smile. "Hey there. Good to see you."
"Terra. I'm sorry about the way-"
I held up my hand and shook my head. "It's not for you to deal with, Gary. I'm a big girl and I've been in a lot of locker rooms. I've dealt with things that would make Danny's comments seem like a nursery rhyme." Where part of my comment was true, the rest was a lie. I had been through more than my fair share of shit over the last seven years, but nothing cut as deep as his words did. It was because, on some level, I still loved him. There was a small smidgen of hope that we would find resolution and be together.
"I know, but it's Danny." His eyes filled with sorrow. He knew our story as best as my father had. Danny, Lance and I had been a part of the team's lives since they all started years before. Gary had been one of the only ones on the playing field that stuck it out with my father.
"And Danny is just another player to me now." I shrugged and reached out to squeeze his shoulder. "Get out there and do what you do best."
"Alright, but I think Alan should talk to him." He moved back and tilted his hat to me.
I held my tongue. Alan didn't need to talk to Danny. I did. He could act like a cocky bastard anytime he wanted to, but it wasn't going to happen in my dugout, my locker room, my bullpen or on my goddamn team. He'd be off the team so fast it would make his head spin.
"You coming?" Alan glanced back at me as he paused on the stairs.
"Right behind you." I nodded and followed him up. Danny and I would have to get over our shit. Neither of us were kids. We had a baseball franchise to take to the World Series, and we would do it together. I had to remember that I wasn't the only one hurt by our breakup. Or maybe I was, and some part of me wanted to protect him from me.
Why the hell didn't you kiss me the other night?
My body ached at the idea of him picking me up and pressing me to the wall of my father's bedroom. I knew how good it felt to drown in Danny's aggression, and the passion etched into his eyes that afternoon after the funeral was intense. I'd have opened myself up and given him my virginity and anything else he wanted. I'd downed liquor like a fish in water in hopes of him coming on to me. It was a great excuse the next day.
But no. He'd acted like a dick and stood his ground. Much like he had in the locker room. Fine. I could call it over before it started too. Fuck it.
"You alright?" Alan moved back and opened the door to the owner’s box. "You're breathing a little hard."
"I'm out of shape." I walked in and shook the hands of the guys taking up a few chairs. Alan and I both knew I wasn't out of shape, but there was no need in being truthful. Danny had my heart racing, my palms sweating, my anger rising sharply. Bastard.
After talking about how great my father was to everyone, I found a seat and leaned forward, focusing my eyes on Danny. He looked like sex incarnate in his baseball uniform. He had to have on a cup, but the thick bulge at the front of his uniform still looked so damn good. I wasn't going to make it around him. One of us had to go. Maybe talking to my scheming-ass brother would help. He could help me think about how to separate myself from the desire to dive back in the past and fix everything as if none of it had ever happened.
It was a pipe dream for sure.
"Yes!" The guys around me jumped up. Danny had caught a ball the batter hit hard as hell. I stood up, my pulse racing a little. It could have hurt him so easily. He glanced up to the box and lifted the ball, smiling. Cocky bastard.
I dropped back down. Maybe it should have hurt him.
One of the older guys moved over to sit beside me. "Your father was a good man, young lady." He folded up his newspaper and laid it down on the small table in front of us. "Tell me how you plan on filling his shoes."
"I'm not sure that was ever the plan." My eyes caught the story on the front of the paper. It was about me and the upcoming downfall of one of the greate
st baseball teams of all times. My father's. I forced myself to look away from it and turned to stare into his condemning gaze. "I'm going to pick up where my Dad left off and apply the rules he taught me my whole life."
"And she's not alone." Alan moved up behind me, gripped my seat and leaned over a little. "Frank, you know as well as I do that an owner is important, yes, but the GM, the coaches, and the players make the team."
"I guess." Frank stood, glanced down at the paper, back at me and walked away.
"Don't mind him. He's stuck in the 1930's." Alan walked around to take Frank's seat as I picked up the paper. "And don't mind that either."
The room erupted again, jumping up and shouting for joy as Danny shut down the inning with no runs.
I read the article, diving into my own doubts so deep that I wasn't sure how to get back out. It started with touting the greatness of the late Martin Harmon but very quickly moved into his poor decision to hand over the team to his daughter, not that his son was any better.
"Wow." I leaned back and continued to read. Not only was I not capable of running a team, but I was a woman. "A woman for god sakes." I put the paper down and gave Alan a look. "It's going to be an uphill battle, isn't it?"
"It is, but I think the more you hang out with the guys and let them see you as one of them, the better." He shrugged. "They all go to Margarita's for food and drinks after the game. We'll go. Stick close to me and I'll make sure they behave."
"I can take care of myself." I stood and moved to press my hands to the glass.
"Shit." Alan stood and moved up next to me. "Text from Joe. They're pulling Jeremy out."
"Why?" I turned and narrowed my eyes, trying to see over to the bullpen. There was no way. The angle was too shitty.
"Your father decided to do random drug testing for HGH. Jeremy was tested and the results just came in. The kid's taking it."
I turned back to the game. "Let me know what I need to do."
"We have to report it to the league on Monday and suspend him. They'll want to test everyone and talk with you."
"A scandal should be much more entertaining than what the media has on me now." I nodded toward the paper. "Just being a woman isn't too exciting, but having drug abuse in my first month? That'll sell."
"Terra." Alan rubbed the top of my back. "It happens to every team. We'll talk to the kid and figure out what the fuck happened."
"Sounds good." I kept my eyes on the game, not sure what to feel about everything. I wanted to be a GM and help run a team, not own one. Every good thing that the team did would be credited to the coaches and the players, but the shitty things?
Those were all mine to deal with.
Chapter 15
Daniel
"What's the long face for, bro?" Rodriguez moved up beside me at the bar and took a seat. We'd won the game without too much effort at all. Between the shit with Terra, hearing about Jeremy being popped for HGH and the game not being a challenge? I was full of aggression and angst. I needed to fight or fuck. Bad.
"Nothing, mother fucker." I tapped the bar beside me. "Sit down and buy me a beer for launching that ball to you a few times tonight."
He smiled and dropped down in the seat next to me, his smile faded. "Tough break for Jer, huh, man?"
"Yeah. I knew the kid was beefing up a little, but I'd hoped it was just him getting into the gym. The last thing the team needs is a steroids scare. We're going to have the fucking league all over us."
"And with a new owner?" He gave me a weary look and turned to order a beer. I waited until he was done to pick the conversation back up.
"She's a strong woman. Martin taught her right."
He laughed. "Yeah. She sure tore your ass up in the locker room."
I smiled. "She did, didn't she?" I was pissed and hurt over her nasty response, but some part of me that loved the fuck outta her was proud. I deserved to be put in my place, though I'd never admit it to anyone, especially not her.
"Why did Lance turn down the team, Danny?" He turned to face me as his eyes widened a little. I ignored whatever caught his attention. It was a woman no doubt. One I wouldn't be interested in. He liked his girls loose and slutty as fuck.
"He's onto something in his medical research." I reached out and patted Rodriguez's cheek. "Hey. You still here with me, fucker?"
"Yeah." He smiled. "Looks like the boss lady showed up, but she changed."
I glanced over my shoulder to see Terra in a light blue blouse, her nipples tight and obvious through the thin material, though I doubt she knew it. She wasn't the type. The black jeans she wore fit her like a glove. My balls tightened as my cock woke up, ready to grow thick and long for her.
"Shit." I turned back to him.
"You guys still got some hung up feelings, don't you?" He lifted his eyebrow.
I chuckled. "Up yours, man."
"Whatever. You know I love you, brother, but I'm going to see if the boss lady knows how to salsa dance."
"She doesn't, but good luck." I turned on my stool and let my eyes run across her. From what I could tell, she hadn't seen me just yet. Would she be looking for me? Probably not. My hopefully wishing was starting to get a bit sappy, even for me.
Her long red hair curled around her shoulders, and I knew how silky it was. I didn't have to wonder or guess. I'd had my face and hands buried in it a million times as she and I were fooling around. I groaned in remembrance of how good she tasted. Her come was almost fruity and left me wanting to lick at her pussy until she beat me backward.
Everything inside of me screamed for me to get the fuck up and remind her how we were together. How good we had been. It could be better now. I wouldn't deny her anything. My dick. My money. My car, house, future. Did she want kids? Fuck, I'd have a million kids with her.
Anything.
I was more than surprised to see Rodriguez lead her out to the dance floor. The smile on her face was beautiful and it drew me in. Hell, it drew all of us in. I got up and walked to the edge of the floor with my beer in hand to watch them. I knew Rodriguez could tear up a dance floor, but my girl? No. She was never a-
I almost swallowed my damn tongue when the music started and he spun her around the floor. She not only kept up but stole the lead from him several times. My pulse spiked. She wasn't the girl from my past, but something entirely new. Mature. Changed.
"How changed?" I mumbled against the top of my beer bottle before taking a long drink. She was fluid and knew her shit. I wanted to steal her away and find out how she learned to dance and who held her tightly as he taught her?
Were they naked? Making love after or before the lesson.
Anger built up inside of me where curiosity was moments before. I glanced up to see her dancing with Smith. Several of the guys stood on the side of the floor, pointing at themselves. Did everyone think they were going to take Terra for a spin around the dance floor?
Hell no.
Dancing was too intimate. The music changed to something soft, and I finished my beer, chunked the bottle and walked out to grab her hand.
"My turn," I grumbled roughly and pulled her against me.
"Danny." Her eyes widened a little. "I didn't know you were here."
"I'm aware." I paused as someone tapped on my shoulder. One of the younger guys smiled like I was going to move back and let him in. "Fuck off or I'll break your teeth. Period."
"Shit, McAdams. I was just kidding with you." He flipped me off and walked off the floor.
I turned and pulled her back into my arms. "What are you doing?"
"Dancing?" Her innocence was almost endearing.
"With every swinging cock on our team? You're the goddamn owner, Terra. Your dad would be sick to know that you were rubbing your tits all over everyone in hopes of winning their respect." My voice was hard, and everything had a hint of red on it. I regretted the comment the minute it escaped from my lips.
She slapped me. Hard. "Don't you ever talk about him or me like that again. I have no clu
e who the fuck you are, but tell Danny I miss him."
I went after her, not waiting for the pain of her hitting me to register. "That's it." I spun her around and leaned in, pulling her over my shoulder and carrying her to the front of the bar. I tried hard not to pay attention to how good her thick ass felt in my hand as I gripped her cheek and walked out into the cool night air.
"Put. Me. Down. Now."
"Anything you want, princess." I put her down and reached out to grab the side of her neck to pull her close.
She pounded my chest with her fists before losing the battle. I pressed my lips to hers and used my free hand to grip the top of her ass as I lost myself in the smell and taste of her. She fought for a second, but that was about it.
"Fuck, you taste good." I licked her lips and went in for another long kiss, consuming her and forcing my tongue into her hot, wet mouth. I took my time, not giving a shit who was going by us. Her soft moans drove desire deeper into my stomach than I could ever in my life remember experiencing it before. "I have to have you. Come home with me."
"No. Not a chance." She pulled back, her cheeks pink, her lipstick a mess.
I moved my hand from her ass to the small of her back, pressing into force her tightly against me. "It's not a request, Terra. We can go back to hating each other tomorrow, but tonight you're mine. Period."
"I'm not ready." She pressed her hands against my chest, and for a moment, I lamented in wanting her virginity to myself, assuming she still had it.
"I don't care." I cupped her cheek before sliding my fingers into her hair. I leaned in and brushed my nose against hers, creating a memory that would have me erect in seconds. "I want to taste your pussy again, Terra. I wanna feel you come. Hear it. Drink it."
Her eyes fluttered closed as she wrapped her arms around my neck and rolled her hips, grinding against me. "Just tonight."
"Just tonight, baby. Then tomorrow it's whatever you want." I turned to the valet. "Get my bike. Fucking now."
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