When he was at my door a few weeks later, I hugged him and pulled him into my apartment. His lips were crashing against mine as he pressed me against the wall and released the apparent desire in both of us. I took him to my bed, inviting him into my life as my heart broke into a million pieces at the idea of him leaving.
We had a great week together before we returned to our long distance relationship. I’d nearly told Nathan that I loved him before he left but held it back. I wasn’t ready to face that yet.
Life had a different plan for me. I started feeling sick a couple of months later, thinking at first that it was just the flu. After some time passed, I thought back to a few of the times when I’d been careless with Nathan in the heat of our passion. I took a test once I couldn’t stand the mystery anymore and cried brokenly on my bathroom floor when I realized that I was pregnant.
I admittedly pulled away from Nathan after that, actually from everyone back in New York. I had to sort through what was happening and decide what to do, though abortion and adoption weren’t options for me. I loved this baby, this little piece of Nathan and me. I just wasn’t sure how to tell him.
One Saturday morning Nathan came knocking at my door and I burst into tears all over again. He took me into his arms, and even though I wanted to send him away, some powerful hormones came with this pregnancy, so I dragged him into bed instead. I fucked him as many times as I could stand it before I was exhausted and he watched me as I snuggled next to him. “What’s wrong with you, Alyssa? Why have you been avoiding me?”
“I…I found out I was pregnant about a month ago. I’ve been lost about it and tried to figure out what to do,” I told him after several moments of silence, burying my face in my pillow.
“Pregnant? With my baby?” Nathan questioned as I groaned out loud and closed my eyes.
“I haven’t been with anyone else,” I shot back as I felt him move close to me, lighting the fire inside of me all over again.
“I know that. I’m sorry.” Nathan apologized, and I raised my head to look at him.
“Have you?” My voice was high, and I stared at him as he gave me an incredulous look.
“Fuck, no. I miss you, Alyssa. Come back to New York. We can make it official and raise this baby.”
“Are you insane? Dad will be pissed, Nathan. You might lose your job and your life there.”
“So what?” He asked as I rolled away from him. “Alyssa, come back. I can work anywhere, here or there.”
“You’re not throwing away your career there for me,” I scoffed as I pulled on a robe and walked into the kitchen.
“I love you, Alyssa. I want all of this with you. I just didn’t know how to say it before.” I looked out of my window and wondered when everything went so wrong, why this happened to us. It was good sex, hot and wild, nothing that needed to turn into shared parenthood.
“I’m tired. I can’t deal with this,” I told him as I went back to bed and pulled the blankets over my head.
I shut down, and he went home angry and resentful at my attitude. I didn’t know what I was doing as I worked through my days and cried myself to sleep. I missed him so much, but it seemed hopeless in my mind.
I noticed that the phone calls stopped and the texts just didn’t come through as I kept being silent. I was scared that I’d lost Nathan, but maybe that was best. I had a good job, and I could raise this baby myself.
I was checking the mail and found an envelope that was marked with Nathan’s return address. I carried it to my place and sat down to open it, finding a plane ticket for the following weekend. I grabbed my phone.
Me: What the hell is this?
Nathan: I want you to come here so we can figure this the fuck out. I am going to talk to your dad and tell him everything, Alyssa. I love you, and I hate that I’m missing everything about this pregnancy.
Me: Are you insane? I wasn’t going to tell him that it’s yours.
Nathan: I want the world to know that this baby is mine. I’m sick of hiding this. Get your ass back here on that flight and face your life. I've had enough of this.
I smiled and started to cry.
Me: Okay. Know something? I love you too.
I was scared to death the entire flight as my stomach twisted and turned inside. Nathan picked me up at the airport and drove me to his house, announcing that we were having dinner with my father the following night. I still tried to argue the idea, but he shut me up with a kiss, something that I needed.
It felt good to have him bare inside of me. It was not necessary now, and I rode him that night hard and deep as I gave into the orgasm that I desperately needed. We stayed in bed until we needed to get ready for dinner, and I slipped on some leggings and a long t-shirt as I pulled my hair back.
Dad looked shocked when I showed up with Nathan. He stared at us as we sat down at the table and his face turned beet red as Nathan told him what was going on. “She’s my daughter. How dare you think that this is okay.” Dad growled as I jumped in my seat and felt Nathan take my hand.
“I wouldn’t have chosen this for her, but it happened. I love her, and we’re going to have a family. I’ll do right by her, Brad.” Nathan told him as Dad threw down his napkin, stomped out of our dining room and slammed a door in the house.
“That went well,” I muttered as Nathan stroked my hair.
“Give him time,” Nathan murmured before he led me out of the house, getting Thai food on the way back to his house.
Dad wasn’t there when we found out the baby was a boy, at a doctor’s office in New York. I’d agreed to move back in the week that I was visiting. Nathan insisted that I take it easy and we stayed in the house after I’d sorted everything out in California. I knew that I wanted to work eventually, but I let him have his way for now.
He had proposed a week before the baby was due, in front of the fireplace. I was heavy and full of our son and cried buckets as I sobbed that I would marry him. We’d worked through a lot in the few months that I’d been back and I suspected that Dad was coming around. Nathan worked it out enough to stay at the firm, and he even agreed that Dad was warming up to the idea of us.
Epilogue
Braden Leo Moore was born on an early November morning, beautiful and loud. Nathan bent over me as I held him against my bare skin and cried for what we created with our love. I struggled from time to time with us, but now everything was perfect. It wasn’t what one might classify as a normal relationship, but we both knew that it was a genuine one.
His sister was out in the waiting room, and she came in with flowers before she carefully picked up the little bundle of blue. There was a tap at the door, and I glanced up to see Dad coming in, holding a huge vase of white roses and purple lilacs. They were mom’s favorite flowers and I smiled as he came in and set them down beside me.
“So this is my grandson?” He asked as he looked at the baby.
“Yes, his name is Braden.” I knew that he’d talked to Nathan about things, but we weren’t on good terms until this moment as I got my son and offered him to my father. He teared up as he held him and I lost it as Nathan came to stand beside me.
I knew that everything would be okay. I knew that my baby would have a family, all the while with my mother looking over all of us.
Nathan leaned over to kiss me, bursting with pride and love as our eyes locked. This wasn’t what I ever would’ve guessed for my life, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
*****
THE END
Touchdown Daddy
Description
Jennifer
I have the best job in the world. I get paid for touching hot men. And not just any hot men: I am the sports therapist for Philly’s professional football team.
Of course the guys hit on me all the time. But I know their tricks. I’m a professional and never break my rules.
Until he lands on my massage table. Justin’s the most gorgeous, the most cocky, and the most annoying player on the team. He flirts without try
ing and offends the hell out of me. So why am I falling for him so hard?
I need to stay away from this guy, he’ll bring me nothing but trouble. But I can’t. He’s injured and Coach Michaels wants me to treat him.
Then the guy kisses me one day when I’m trying to work on him and I know I want him. I run after one explosive night together and try to hold my crumbling world together, facing life as a single mother.
He’s turned my world upside down, but I can’t ever let him know how much our night changed his.
Justin
Every guy wants to be like me. I am the most admired player in the NFL and the most desired one by the ladies. I can talk any woman into my bed. I live for the chase.
Until I lay eyes on the new sports therapist Jennifer. She’s gorgeous and tough and I know I’ve met my match. Too bad she’s not interested. But I don’t care. I’ll find a way to have her.
When I finally succeed, she gives me the best night of my life. For the first time, I want a woman to stay in my life.
She doesn’t.
I know I’ve fallen for her when the pain doesn’t go away. I need to find her to convince her we need a second chance. But where the hell is she?
Chapter One
I was working on the computer in the event planner’s office when I heard someone say my name. I tossed my thick braid over my shoulder and glanced over to see Coach Michaels standing in the doorway. “Here you are, Jennifer. Are you helping Michelle out again?” His face twisted into a frown, one that I suspected meant both sympathy and a bit of worry.
“I don’t think you’ll have to worry about her having another baby after this. This first trimester is brutal for her, Coach. She was in the bathroom most of the morning before I saw her long enough to send her home,” I remarked with a wrinkled nose as I pictured her pale face in my mind. Poor thing…I never wanted to have kids, but that was probably what most twenty-two-year-old graduates thought. “What’s up?”
“I’d like you to take a look at one of my guys. He’s dealing with something in his shoulder, and I’d rather be cautious about this.” There was an evident worry in his voice.
“Sure thing.” I stood and walked into the hallway to the room that was set up for me several feet down near the stadium. “Who is it?”
“Justin McLeod,” Coach Michaels replied, and I frowned. Even if I weren't in sports therapy, I would know something about Justin. He was gorgeous, and he knew it, but he was also an excellent quarterback. With their leading scores so far this season, I doubted that they were willing to lose him to an injury. “Do you know him?”
“Who doesn’t?” I asked as I led the way into the room connected to the locker room where all of my stuff was meticulously stored. “Is it an old injury?”
“It is. He pulled some tendons last year and the kid won’t take care of himself, Jennifer. I want you to take a feel and see what you can tell him that he’ll listen to.” Coach gave me an imploring look with his tired, dark eyes and I smiled and nodded.
“I will do my best, but stubborn athletes have a hard time with listening.” I saw Coach nod before he ran a hand through his graying hair. He wasn’t just my boss, but also my father’s best friend and lifelong family friend. I graduated from Boston University with a degree in Sports Medicine just a few months ago, and he’d needed a new therapist here in Philadelphia, so here I was. It wasn’t favoritism though I didn’t let it out that we knew each other well, fearful that it might look that way.
There was no reason to tell him that I doubted that Justin would take my words to heart. He was a wild man who played by nobody’s rules, on or off the field. He’d been spotted by the paparazzi many times at some bar with a woman or two, sometimes three. I doubted that he’d worry about his health and how it might affect the team. It was a shame that he was one of the big talents on the team and that Coach depended on him. “I’ll tell him to come and see you. Practice is over in about an hour. Can you stick around?” His eyes pleaded with me, and I nodded with what I hoped was a relaxed grin.
I knew how athletes were when they saw a girl in the staff. Not that I was a supermodel by any means, but my strawberry blonde hair was pretty and brought out my deep blue eyes. I kept myself in shape since this job required me to stay active. I could end up treating half the team on any given day and they required strength on my part. My friends thought that I just got this job to check out hot guys but it was more than that. My brothers had played sports when I was younger and whenever they got hurt, it made me realize that I wanted to help others.
One thing led to another and I found myself in college studying that very subject. I memorized more muscles than I cared to think about as well as the various injuries that could happen to them. I wanted to stay at the top of my field so when the opportunity came to work for a pro football team, I took it.
I turned on some music as I went through my inventory and waited to see if Justin would listen to Coach and show up. I had casual plans after this to meet friends for dinner. I glanced down at the standard blue pants and tank top in the team colors that I was wearing and wondered what I was going to throw on when I got back to my apartment, only a few blocks away.
“Hello, gorgeous,” a voice said as I paused and raised an eyebrow. Any woman could appreciate a smooth voice like that, one that reminded me of a good whiskey that slid well down my throat.
I looked over to see his intense green eyes looking me up and down before they settled on my face with a crooked smile that probably melted panties right off of women in seconds. Justin McLeod was a hot specimen of a man.
“Hello. My name is Jennifer Collins. I am the new physical therapist for the team. Coach said you’re dealing with some pain?” My voice was nothing but professional as he seemed to frown and try to figure me out.
“I pulled a muscle. It’s not that big of a deal,” he shrugged before he stripped off his t-shirt and walked over to me.
“There’s no previous shoulder injury that you should be keeping track of, then?” I knew his type and rolled my eyes as he looked around the room.
“Where do you want me?” His voice was suggestive as he looked back at me and I stifled a laugh, shaking my head.
“Sit on the table there. I’ll see what I can find.” He did, and I took a moment to appreciate his muscled torso as I pressed my glossed lips together. “Right or left?”
“It’s on the right.”
I took a breath and reached out to press against his skin. He kept the breath that he sucked in subtle. “Yeah, this feels pretty tight. How is it affecting your game?” He tensed as I pushed in and realized that it was more than just a pulled muscle, although probably not career threatening, at least not yet.
Chapter Two
I listened to her speak in her steady confident voice as I memorized the feel of her hands on my skin. I focused on her question and wondered how I could get under her skin. Jennifer was a beautiful girl, and most women didn’t turn me away quickly, if at all. “The injury? It was the beginning of last season, and I played it through just fine.”
“I saw the game. My dad watches a lot of sports. Looked like an injury that might take a while to heal,” she shot back without missing a beat, and I let a long breath out.
“How the hell do you know that?” I heard her chuckle behind me.
“I am a physical therapist, Mr. McLeod. It’s my job to notice injuries on athletes, so I tend to do that. Quite a lot.” She pushed a little harder, and I froze and clenched my hands. “I think I am going to put some heat on it. Lay down and I’ll get one of my pads ready.”
I moved onto my stomach and rested my head on my good hand as I heard her behind me. I thought again of her body with its soft curves in all of the right places. I felt a cloth placed on my skin and then something hot over that as I closed my eyes.
“That feels good,” I admitted in a soft voice as I felt her pressing down on the gel pad.
“I can do this for you every day. I know that Coach wants
you playing and I assume that you want to play. I am going to keep a close eye on this injury. Understand?” I nodded. “He and I have a good working relationship, and I won’t hesitate to share it with him if you’re not careful with this and follow my instructions,” she informed me as I felt the nerves in my stomach tensing up. This woman meant business.
“Are you sure I can’t bribe you with dinner and drinks?” I flirted although I already knew her answer.
“I am young, but I have been doing this for a while, Mr. McLeod. You’re not the first hot shot athlete that has tried to hit on me for some benefit to them, and you won’t be the last. I have a high respect for my job, and it’s not going to happen.” She was blunt if nothing else.
I decided to try something different. “Where did you go to school?”
“Boston. I graduated last year,” Jennifer replied and I raised an eyebrow.
“That’s quick to have this job already.” There was a silence and I wondered if I’d struck a nerve.
“It was good timing.” She pressed again and sighed. “Relax. Does anything else hurt?”
I told her about some leg pain that I was having and she raised my shorts to rub my leg as she asked me if she was getting it. She had great hands and I decided that I could get used to this. Our last therapist was a grumpy older man with no sense of humor.
She left the heat on for a while before removing it. “You might want to take a hot shower tonight, or a bath if that’s possible.”
“I have a hot tub in my yard. That’s very possible,” I replied as she voiced her admiration at my recent purchase. “Do you have one too?” I asked and she laughed.
Hot Boss: An Office Romance Page 50