Love of the Game - The Complete Collection (Box Set)

by Shayne McClendon

  “Will you carry me sometimes?” He nodded. “I’m too big for Mommy. I hurt her where her scar is. Uncle Thad had to carry her upstairs. I was cryin’ and cryin’ and Mommy wasn’t mad at all.” Dalton held his face firmly. “She is a very good Mommy.”

  “I know she is.” Diesel ached at the mental picture of Kenzie in pain.

  Dalton sat up and stared fully into Diesel’s face. “You better be nice to my Mommy. ’Kay, we should go play. Mommy uses de bat’room to cry when she’s sad or tired or not feelin’ good. She don’ like me to know so I don’ tell her I do.”

  Diesel’s eyes went to the bathroom door.

  Dalton jumped off his lap and pulled him out of the room by his hand. They sat on the floor and played with Legos, colored, then sat reading until Diesel fell asleep against the beanbag chair with Dalton crashed diagonally across his body.

  MacKenzie made sure she was completely back together before she emerged from the bathroom. The apartment was so quiet and she went looking for Diesel. She found him, asleep with their son, in Dalton’s room and took about thirty pictures.

  She knew Diesel hadn’t slept all night so she left them in peace and went to prepare meals for the next couple of days. Her mind raced over what had happened and what could happen.

  Several hours later, Thad came home from school and gave her a hug. “It’s all fine, Kenzie. Take one thing at a time. Everything smells delicious.”

  He went to change and checked on his nephew. When he saw Diesel and Dalton sleeping soundly, he took several pics with his phone and texted them to their sisters.

  As she took a large tray of baked macaroni and cheese from the oven almost an hour later, Kenzie heard what had to be Diesel’s cell phone. It sounded like he was getting dozens of text messages.

  Diesel startled awake but managed to catch Dalton before he rolled to the floor. He laid him on his bed and covered him up, leaning down to give him a careful kiss on the forehead.

  Leaving the room, he checked the text messages that had woken him up.

  “Who’s the kid? Looks just like you…?” from Digger.

  “Bro, is that your KID?” from Damien.

  “Why didn’t you tell me I had a nephew?” from Dean.

  “Heck yeah, finally someone younger than us!” from Justin for him and his twin.

  “Diesel, call your mother THIS minute!!!!!” from Mom.

  The voicemails were similar. Good-looking kid, is he yours, where’s he been, what is going on, and all ended with you’d better call me, Diesel.

  He walked down the hall and heard MacKenzie on the phone in the kitchen. “Jackie! You forwarded photos to Dean? My god, no you didn’t! No, Jackie. What were you thinking? Honey, we have no right to involve Diesel’s family. What? I…I’m going to pass out.”

  Diesel could hear her pacing frantically.

  “I can’t believe you guys did that. I don’t know what to do now. Do not preach at me, Jackie. My situation is just different. I need to control the fallout. No, I’m not mad. Miss you, love you.”

  Kenzie turned to set her phone on the table. She was wearing an apron and holding a rolling pin. The yelp she emitted when she saw him standing there was priceless.

  “Diesel! I thought you were still sleeping.” She backed up as he came toward her across the kitchen. “You must have gotten calls from your family. I can explain. Thad sent the girls pics of you and Dalton. They sent it to your brothers…I’m sorry, I really am. Just give me a minute to think, I’ll figure something out.”

  He backed Kenzie against the refrigerator, took the rolling pin from her hands and set it down, then pinned her against the appliance with his hands on either side of her. “Stop talking.”

  Then Diesel kissed her until her body went limp in front of him. He rocked against her, let her feel how hard he was for her, and she moaned into his mouth. His hands settled on her hips, holding her in place. He wanted to make her come like this.

  Life had other plans.

  “Whoa! Damn!” Thad said and turned his back. “It’s the kitchen.”

  Chapter Ten

  Diesel leaned in and murmured against her ear, “We will finish this later, MacKenzie. There is no more running from me.” Then he stepped back and watched as she walked over to the dough she’d been making in a daze. “It’s safe, Thad.”

  “MacKenzie, you’re making chicken and dumplings?” He looked at Diesel. “Dude, this woman can cook anything. I keep telling her to open a restaurant, but she thinks she needs a fancy degree and a real career. She won’t listen to reason.”

  He snagged a piece of sliced carrot and kissed Kenzie’s temple. “I’m her biggest fan…well, next to Dalton. He knows the sun rises and sets on her. What are you guys doing later?”

  “I’m finishing tonight’s dinner, I have class until nine, and then I have to do laundry and grocery shopping. I’m going to stop at that bakery you guys love…want me to grab your dry cleaning?”

  Diesel crossed his arms over his chest and listened to her rattle off her insane to-do list.

  “I have a better idea. Skip class tonight and I’ll take us to dinner. Then, I’ll get you out of the house to do something fun. Tomorrow, we’ll do your errands first, and then we need to run by my attorney’s office. We’re going to discuss your crazy schedule…”

  Kenzie opened her mouth and he shook his head. “Don’t argue before you hear my plan. It’s much better for you and Dalton. Since I know he’s your top priority, my plan should be well received. Keep an open mind.”

  “Daddy, you didn’ wake me up.”

  The three adults turned to look at Dalton and Kenzie made a choking, gasping noise before turning back to the dough. Thad smiled at Diesel.

  “Mommy, you makin’ dumplin’s? Can I help?” He pulled a step stool up to the counter and stood next to his mom. Looking up at her, he asked, “Are dey happy or sad ones, Mommy?”

  “Happy, Dalton. You okay, baby?” He nodded and patted Kenzie’s hand like a grown man.

  The men settled into chairs at the kitchen table and watched mother and son cook together. She was patient and encouraging. She told him his dumplings were better than perfect.

  Thad picked up Kenzie’s camera and showed Diesel the pictures of him and Dalton sleeping. When he couldn’t stop his eyes from tearing up, Thad smiled and went to get one of many photo albums.

  “This is the oldest one. I started taking them during the summer we moved here. I had to be sneaky since Kenzie doesn’t like her picture taken.”

  Diesel traced MacKenzie’s very pregnant belly with his fingertip. He loved the pictures of her at the hospital before and after labor, looking exhausted but glowing, a huge Dalton in her arms. There were discreet shots of Kenzie breastfeeding, Dalton’s head blocking her breast, and the look on her face took Diesel’s breath away.

  There was photo after photo of her time with him. From reading to skating to cooking together. Places she’d taken him. Always – always – they were smiling.

  By the time Dalton scrambled down from the step stool to go wash up and get dressed, he’d gone through two albums. As Thad and his son left the kitchen, he stood up and went to hug MacKenzie from behind, his mouth at her ear.

  “You are an amazing mom, Kenzie.” He slid his hands over her stomach. “I’ll see everything in person the next time.”

  She went very still and he chuckled very quietly against her hair as her flour-covered hands clenched on the counter. “We have so many things to talk about. So many things to do. I’m going to start our conversation with lots of kissing, hugging, so you’re…open to what I have to say. I’ll definitely make love to you after.”

  He glanced over her shoulder down her body. “Your nipples are hard, Kenzie. Are you wet?” She leaned her head back on his shoulder. “Are you? Tell me.” She nodded. “I’m glad. I want you to be wet for me. Do you want me, Kenzie?”

  She whimpered softly and he grazed her ass so she could feel his erection. “I want you, too. Do
you trust me?” She took a little longer, but finally nodded. “I want you to. I need you to. This body and heart belong to me, don’t they, Kenzie?” She was shaking when she nodded a long moment later.

  “I’ll take very good care of them. I’ll show you with my body, I’ll prove it with my heart. Finish what you need to do. Later, I’m going to thank you for giving me a beautiful son and raising him the way only you could have.”

  He kissed the skin behind her ear and she moaned. One hand slid over her breast with a small squeeze and continued down her torso. He could feel the moist heat of her body through her jeans.

  “I never showed you all the things I wanted to show you. We didn’t have enough time. I’m going to make the time now, Kenzie.” He cupped her mound and pressed against her folds. A soft hiss whispered through her slightly parted lips.

  “I want you to imagine what it will feel like when my cock is buried deep in your pussy again.” She jerked against him. “I can’t wait to feel you sucking me, holding me inside you, coating me with cream.”

  Kenzie’s body tightened, trembled, and she moaned softly. “Diesel…”

  He continued to stroke her, bringing her down gently. “Knowing you just came for me is pushing me beyond my endurance, Kenzie. I want to do nothing more than strip you naked, lay you on your bed, and lick away every drop.”

  One final caress, another squeeze of her breast on the way up her body, then he cupped her cheek to turn her face. Her eyes were glazed with passion.

  “There will be so much more of that later.” He kissed her until she was breathless. Then he stepped away and let her pull herself together.

  She caught her breath and washed shaking hands in the sink. Diesel watched every move she made. The sooner he made sure everyone was fed and settled, the sooner he could talk to MacKenzie and make love to her. He didn’t know how he’d stopped himself from coming while he touched her but gave himself a mental high-five.

  While the food cooked, MacKenzie cleaned the house, made a grocery list, straightened Dalton’s bedroom, and called her professor to say she wouldn’t be in class.

  She’d laid out clothes for Dalton and changed to a dark brown turtleneck with matching boots.

  Dalton refused to wear the shirt Kenzie picked out. “Daddy isn’t wit’ de Devils anymore, Mommy! He’s a Bruin now. Where’s my Badgers sweatshirt? I’ll wear dat.”

  MacKenzie had saturated his son’s life with everything about Diesel without expecting anything from him at all. Sure enough, looking in his drawers there were more Badgers and Devils gear than regular clothes. He found the well-worn sweatshirt and handed it to Dalton with a grin.

  An hour later, they had moved Dalton’s car seat to Diesel’s Navigator and buckled him in. As he climbed in behind the wheel, Diesel told them, “We’re stopping at my place first; I need to shower and change.”

  He put on music, laughing as Thad and Dalton sang along to various songs in the backseat, complete with air guitar and some car dancing. He pulled Kenzie’s hand over to his side and tangled their fingers together.

  They drove through Boston and out the other side, heading into much less populated areas. He turned down the manicured lane and parked in front of the sprawling Colonial. He got out but no one else moved. He laughed at their stunned expressions.

  “It’s just a house, guys. Come on.”

  Inside, the three of them stood together. “Mommy, does Daddy have lots of people livin’ here?”

  “I have no idea, Dalton.” For several minutes, all of them were silent as they looked around the foyer.

  Then Thad shook his head. “I cannot believe you never asked for one cent. Holy shit, Kenzie, you worked like forty hours of overtime just to pay for Dalton’s hockey lessons.”

  She elbowed him in the ribs and Dalton told him he owed the jar money again.

  “I could care less about money. Working overtime to do things for Dalton never bothered me, you know that.” She ruffled her son’s shaggy head.

  “It bothers me, MacKenzie, more than you know…and you won’t have to do it anymore.”

  Diesel was coming down the stairs wearing jeans, boots, and a black sweater. Kenzie had to close her eyes for a moment because the sight of him made her lightheaded.

  He tilted his head to look at them. “Have you been standing in the foyer the whole time? Why didn’t you make yourself at home?”

  “Um…because this isn’t our house, Diesel,” Kenzie said it as if speaking to a slow child. “We don’t wander other people’s homes. Especially homes we’ve never been in before. It’s rude.”

  He stood so close that she had to tilt her head back to meet his eyes. “This is your home, Kenzie. Yours and Dalton’s. Thad’s too if he wants. We’ll talk more about it later. You might as well wipe that stubborn look off your face because I plan to bully you until I get my way.”

  He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss. “Quick tour, I’m starving.”

  “Me too, Daddy, my tummy is gonna eat my face.”

  “Okay then…tour later. We eat first.”

  With that, he scooped Dalton up and set him on one shoulder while he headed back out to the truck. Once Dalton was buckled in, Diesel caught Kenzie in a quick hug and kiss. As he lifted her to the seat, he set his forehead against hers.

  “You smell like vanilla and honey,” he whispered before stepping back, closing her door, and going around to his side.

  They ate dinner at a family-friendly steakhouse where he was asked for his autograph half a dozen times. Dalton’s eyes were wide as he realized his dad was known by lots of people.

  Afterward, he took them shopping at a local sports store and bought Dalton a bunch of Bruin clothing and room accessories. He picked out gifts for Kenzie and Thad despite their refusals.

  The number of people who approached him was mind-boggling. Far more people recognized him in an atmosphere where professional sport was the primary business. He apologized repeatedly for the interruptions and delays.

  They dropped Thad and Dalton off at the apartment. The little boy was already fast asleep and Diesel carried him up and tucked him in while Thad grabbed all the bags.

  MacKenzie stood at the door and watched Diesel change their son into pajamas and kiss him on the cheek, her heart in her throat. He circled her waist and pulled her to the front door. Thad told her not to worry and locked up behind them. She had a small overnight bag he carried for her.

  Diesel put her in the truck but didn’t move away. He ran his face from her neck to her breasts, over her stomach and into her lap where he laid his head. “Kenzie, I’m never going to make it back to my house. I want you so much.”

  He stroked his hand over the inside of her calves, knees, and thighs. She laid her hand on the back of his head, raked her fingers through his hair, and massaged his neck.

  Diesel growled. “Kenzie…I am not taking you in a fucking parking lot.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Diesel stood and adjusted his jeans before jogging around and getting in. For a long moment, he sat quietly, staring through the windshield.

  “The next time it’s just the two of us, I’m driving you in the Porsche.”

  His eyes were bright and hungry when he turned to look at her. “Then you’ll be close enough for me to play with while I drive.” She gasped and he smiled, putting the truck in gear and heading in the direction of his house.

  After a long silence, he asked hoarsely, “Are you still wet for me, Kenzie?”

  “Yes, Diesel.” She wondered if he could tell how unfamiliar she was with talking about sexual things so openly. She wasn’t ashamed of how she felt, just inexperienced.

  At a red light, he stared at her and ground out, “Lean your seat back.” His expression tightened when she did it without question. “Unfasten your jeans, Kenzie.”

  Uncertain, she hesitated. “Please…please, Kenzie.” Her fingers fumbled with the button and zipper but eventually, she managed it. “Put your hand in your panties.”
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  She swallowed hard and knew he could see her hand trembling as she laid it over her abdomen and slowly slid beneath the fabric of her panties. The light turned green and he drove forward. She could see the pulse pounding in the side of his neck.

  “Do you still have pretty little curls?”

  “No, I wax since Dalton was born.”

  “Your pussy is bare, Kenzie?”

  She nodded jerkily with a slight murmur.

  They were stopping at another light and his eyes fixed on her. “Let me see.” She pulled her jeans and panties down far enough to show him. “I can’t wait to run my hands and mouth all over that silken skin. Tell me how wet you are, Kenzie.”

  She knew what he wanted. What surprised her was how much she was enjoying this side of the man she’d been in love with forever. True or not, he was making her feel like the most desirable woman in the world.

  She slid her hand further into her panties, and he watched the motion of her hand as she dipped a finger inside herself. Her voice was barely audible as she told him, “I’m really wet, Diesel.”

  His jaw was clenched hard as he drove through the intersection. “Will you play with yourself for me, Kenzie? Let me see how you please yourself.”

  She started to move, her middle finger dipping into her pussy with each stroke through her cleft, her thumb circling her clit. She was alternately pressing her thighs together and moving them apart, humping into her hand.

  “Tell me what you think about when you touch yourself.”

  “I think about you every time, Diesel.” He groaned and sped up. “I remember how it felt when you had your mouth on me, how I felt when I came for the first time with you. The way you felt inside me when you started to move.”

  The only thing that existed was the memory. She forgot where she was and slipped her other hand under her sweater to pinch her nipple through her bra. “I think about how your hand looked on your cock as you rolled on a condom. I think about you stroking yourself while I watch, having you come in my mouth. Diesel, I’m coming…”