by Cherry Kay
DESIRED
BY THE BALLERS
CHERRY KAY
This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places or events are entirely coincidental.
Copyright 2016 CHERRY KAY
All Rights Reserved To CHERRY KAY
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BOOK DESCRIPTION
Sports news reporter Denise Davis had always had a secret desire for the hunky ballers that she was often interviewing.
But she knew she had to remain professional at all times.
However, when the chemistry with star footballer Rick Thompson became too much to bear she realized she could not deny her inner desires any longer.
And after a naughty night of passion with Rick, Denise found she was getting more than she bargained for when another hunky baller named Dan made a move on her.
Could Denise really have her cake and eat it too?
ALSO...
THIS LIMITED EDITION PACKAGE ALSO INCLUDES
THE BELOW FREE BONUS BOOK!
TOUCHDOWN TO LOVE
Being the daughter of a football coach, Alexis Matthews had always been warned to stay well away from footballers.
She knew they were forbidden yet this just made them even more desirable.
And when the handsome Shaun Bradford made a move on her in secret she found him impossible to resist.
However, Alexis is unaware that the team has a competition going to see who can sleep with the coaches daughter first.
And it looks like Shaun is going to win...
Table Of Contents
#1 MAIN BOOK –DESIRED BY THE BALLERS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
#BONUSBOOK – TOUCHDOWN TO LOVE
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
DESIRED BY THE BALLERS
Chapter One
There he was—Mr. Rick Thompson.
Denise had to say that he was so much finer in person than he even was to watch out on the soccer field. He was tall and lean, with rippling muscles that pushed against the tight spandex shirt he was wearing. His wavy blonde hair billowed in the gentle breeze that reminded her of a sexy surfer guy riding a massive wave. In a sense Rick was riding a massive wave—the massive wave of awesome success.
She had been following his career with keen interest. First, because it was her job; second, because there was something amazing about watching that man play the game. The way he moved as if there was some unseen force at work instructing his every twitch of movement as he glided on the momentum that propelled him forward, bobbing and weaving between players, his eyes focused with laser-like precision on the ball and the goal.
When Rick had pulled that crazy move out of his arsenal to make the winning shot that catapulted an arena full of people to their feet, Denise had almost lost it. It was the most magnificent thing she had ever seen, and it was like some sort of cosmic plan had just been started for her to be here at this moment. She had been assigned this game—this night of all nights—to approach Rick for the cover interview.
Denise had been a reporter for Action Sports Magazine for three years. She had done fairly well for herself and had finally started getting the big assignments. From the start, she had instantly realized the politics involved in the journalism game and it had not been easy, especially for an African-American woman. But Denise had never been the type to let anything get in the way of what she wanted. And she wanted the big assignments. The big assignments came with a hefty pay raise and a lot more prestige. Plus, she got to meet real live sports heroes like Rick Thompson.
He had just finished getting a bucket of Gatorade dumped on him and was celebrating with his teammates when she first caught his eye. Denise had approached from a distance and she did this slowly so that he would have time to notice her. She had learned long ago that men were hunters and it was best not to approach them directly, but to let them “discover” you. She preferred it that way since she loved to be hunted and pursued in whatever capacity she could by sexy men. It was all part of the fun of being a woman.
She expected Rick to be nervous or suddenly self-conscious about the silly way he had been celebrating with his teammates and the fact that he was now covered in sticky Gatorade, but he locked eyes with her and straightened his posture in a natural, sexy, alpha male stance and gave her that bad boy smile. Her heart fluttered for a second as she realized the game was on.
“Hello, there,” Rick said as she approached.
His teammates, who had been busy hooting and hollering like a bunch of wild banshees, were suddenly aware of the interaction taking place and they automatically backed away to party out of his vicinity for a few minutes. Denise was appreciating the space.
“Hi,” she said stopping just a few feet from him. She loved the way he towered over her, but did so in a non-threatening manner. “I’m Denise.”
“Well, hello Denise,” Rick said. His voice was deep and thick. It rumbled sensuously in his chest ringing in its natural baritone.
“I’m with Action Sports Magazine. We’re doing a feature cover story on you.”
“Oh, is that a fact? That sounds… interesting.”
“I’m sure it will be. I’ve come to find out everything there is to know about you, Rick Thompson.”
Rick smiled that golden smile. It wasn’t an embarrassed smile or an arrogant one; it was just relaxed and confident. He was genuinely amused and maybe flattered. “Is that right? Well, I hope you know what you’re in for.”
“Oh, I’m sure I have an idea, Rick.”
“Well, then we should set up a time to talk. How about tomorrow night at Dyson’s café? Do you know it?”
“I do,” Denise replied.
“Seven o’clock?”
“I’ll be there.”
Denise began to walk away, but she allowed her eyes to linger long enough on his just to elicit a bit of a spark from him. He held her gaze and allowed his face to soften to that sexy smile again. She knew that this was about to get very interesting.
As she walked away she noticed someone else watching her very carefully. It was another player on Rick’s team and it took her a few glances to realize who it was. It was Dan Richards. Dan was one of the top captains of the team and a five year veteran. He had been the cat’s meow for several years until he was taken down a few pegs by Rick. Dan had been good, but Rick was a cut above the rest, which is why there was such a media storm surrounding him. He was everything that a rising sports hero was supposed to be: he was sexy, charming, quick on his feet, had a great physique, and he always gave the right response to any interview question that was thrown at him. In other words, he knew how to play the game both on and off the field, and he was highly marketable. That was what it took to put people in the seats and to take magazines off the shelves—marketability.<
br />
Dan didn’t necessarily have those qualities on the level that Rick did, but he was nothing to sneeze at. He was tall and athletic like Rick—physically they could have been twins, but he had longer darker hair. Where Rick was graceful and fast on the field, Dan was forceful and aggressive. The two styles worked well on the team and they made a dynamic duo.
Dan was giving her the sexy eye all right, and she didn’t mind that one bit. Denise had never had a problem getting attention from men and she could clearly see the spark of jealousy in Dan’s eyes. It was not uncommon for her to see this in men when she expressed interest—professionally or romantically—in one man over the other. She might ask Dan if he wanted to do a small interview that might be a good sidebar to the cover feature that she was doing on Rick. Her editor would probably love that as long as the focused stayed on Rick.
Denise got behind the wheel of her car and began to drive off, excited for the interview.
Tomorrow night was going to be something special. She could feel it.
***
Rick was now seated across the table from Denise. She had shown up fashionably late as was her way and was surprised to find Rick already drinking a cup of coffee and reading a book. It appeared to be the new Stephen King novel. He’d almost not even noticed her until she sat down. Denise had the idea that Rick might have enjoyed himself if she hadn’t shown up at all. She enjoyed the fact that he wasn’t sitting there waiting for her like a little puppy dog. The man had his own life to live and that was very sexy.
“Sorry, I’m late,” Denise pretended.
Rick sat his book down and sipped his coffee. “You should be. Good thing Steve here was keeping me company,” Rick played.
The waitress swooped in to take her order and Denise ordered a coffee and a sandwich. She’d actually not had dinner yet and she was feeling a bit peckish.
Rick leaned back in the chair and flashed her that sexy, warm smile again.
“So, ask away,” Rick said.
“Okay, then. When did you first realize you wanted to be a professional soccer player?”
“I think the first time I gave serious thought as to playing soccer as a career was when I was thirteen. I had played several sports growing up—baseball, hockey, football, and even wrestling—but when I first set foot on the soccer field, the game really came alive for me.”
“Interesting; are there any defining moments that brought about that realization?”
“Yeah, actually. It was that first game of my eighth grade year. We were losing by two points about halfway through the game. The ball got out in front of everybody thanks to a nice head butt by Joey Taluca, and I was in a position to make the shot. I hadn’t had this opportunity all season, so I seized it. I ran as fast as I could and got to the ball just in time to give it a hard kick before a defender could take it from me and it sailed to the right of the goalie. We didn’t win that day, but that feeling had me hooked. I knew that it was a great passion of my life right then and there.”
“Wow, so did you stop playing other sports then and just focus on soccer?” Denise asked.
“No, I continued to play sports pretty much year ‘round. I still loved the variety and I have always thrived on athletic competition, but soccer was by far the one I felt I was most naturally-gifted at and it was the one I had the most passion for.”
The waitress brought Denise’s coffee and sandwich to her. She considered eating then, but she was suddenly slightly self-conscious about Rick seeing her eat. It was an odd fear she had—a sexy guy seeing her eat for the first time, especially when she was conducting an interview. She was starting to wish she hadn’t ordered the sandwich.
“Now you grew up in Ohio?” Denise asked. She took a sip of her café mocha and smiled with satisfaction. It was her favorite.
“Yes, in Belpre, Ohio. It’s a small town that barely registers on the map.”
“I see. Is soccer pretty popular there?”
“It’s not bad, but of course, being Ohio, football reigns supreme up there. So how about you? Where did you grow up?”
Denise was caught a bit off guard for a second by the question. She wasn’t used to answering questions during an interview.
“I’m sorry?”
Rick smiled. “Where did you grow up, Denise?”
“I grew up just outside of Las Vegas, actually.”
“Wow, that had to be a sweet place to grow up.”
“It was, but just like anywhere, after you’re there a while, it gets to be boring because you’ve seen everything and done everything.”
“I hear you. LA has already started to wear out its welcome,” Rick replied.
“Oh, you aren’t getting bored of LA so soon?” Denise teased.
“Well, luckily I do get to travel a lot and see the world.”
“What is your favorite place to travel to?” Denise asked.
“For games or just in general?”
“Surprise me.”
“Well, I love going to Spain. I attended the Running of the Bulls a few years ago and I’ve been to Barcelona several times. It is beautiful there.”
“I’ve never had the opportunity to go there, but I’ve always been intrigued by Spain.”
“Well, maybe we will have to arrange that for you,” Rick flirted.
Denise smiled because the line was almost cheesy, but the way he said it was so smooth that she couldn’t help but feel a slight blush coming on.
“That might be nice,” Denise flirted back.
“So are you close with your family?” Rick asked.
Denise smiled. “Who is interviewing who tonight?” she sassed at him.
“What? Maybe I’m writing a story about you,” Rick smiled.
“A story about me would fill way too many volumes,” Denise said.
“It’s cool. I would release it as a serial,” Rick replied.
“I grew up an only child and my parents are no longer with us,” Denise said.
A flash of genuine concern flashed across Rick’s face. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Thank you,” Denise replied. It was touching the way he had just expressed genuine compassion for her. She wasn’t used to seeing that in a man like Rick.
“My parents have both passed as well.”
“I’m sorry. What happened?” Denise asked, immediately wishing she hadn’t come off sounding to eager and hoping it didn’t sound uncaring.
“They were killed by a drunk driver. My parents were coming home from celebrating their wedding anniversary at their favorite restaurant and a drunk driver ran a red light and blindsided them.”
“Oh, wow. I couldn’t imagine that.”
“It was tough, but it made me stronger. You can’t go through something like that and survive without it making you a much stronger person, I don’t think.”
Denise paused a few moments before continuing.
“I never knew my dad. My mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer when I was twelve. She died six months later.”
“Wow, that’s an awful way to go. I’ve seen relatives and friends succumb to that. I’m sorry. I was ten when my parents were killed. It is a harsh thing to find out you’re an orphan when you are that young.”
Denise had almost forgotten about the line of questioning she had written down for the interview. The way this was turning out to be a more freestyle session she was hesitant to even revert back to the rigid line of questioning she had planned out. There was something about this that felt right. She was enjoying the connection between the two of them. It had something… special to it.
“I was raised by my aunt Vera—my mom’s sister. I was always close to her, so it wasn’t as harsh as it could have been if I’d had no one,” Denise said.
“That’s fantastic. That’s important. I wasn’t as lucky; I didn’t really have any other family and I was sent to live in foster care. If it hadn’t been for my coach taking me under his wing and fostering my emotions into something productive—like soccer,
my life might have turned out very differently.”
Denise hesitated for a second, but decided to scribble this down in her notes. She had always taken hand notes instead of relying on a recorder. There was something about having a recorder in front of someone that made them clam up and become very rigid. She hated interviews that were like that.
“Well, we are starting to scratch below the surface of who Rick Thompson really is,” Denise said. It was hard to hide the flirt in her voice, but it was her attempt at smoothing things over to transition into a lighter topic then the deaths of their parents.
Rick eased up again and leaned back, draping his arm over the back of the booth. He looked so damn sexy at that moment.
“There are many layers to me; I’ll have to admit that. But I think that’s true of anybody. People are not nearly as one dimensional as a lot of these interviews make them out to be. You said you wanted to write a full cover story on me. Well, I’m an open book. Ask away.”
Denise couldn’t wait to find out more about this man.
Chapter 2
Denise couldn’t remember a time when she’d had more fun than this.
After the interview, Rick had suggested that the two of them go somewhere more fun to hang out. At first she thought he was going to try to pull some move on her and ask her to go somewhere more private—like his house, but he had suggested The Crow Bar. It was the most popular up and coming night club in town—especially for celebrities to hang out and for people hoping to meet celebrities to hang out as well. Unfortunately, getting into the club unless you were a celebrity, or at least accompanied by one, was almost impossible.
But tonight, she was with Rick.
When they arrived at the club, she was thoroughly impressed how Rick and she just bypassed the huge line of people outside of the club trying to get in and walked right up to the front. Rick instantly slapped hands with the bouncer at the door and they gave each other a “bro” hug.