The Perfect Catch_A contemporary sports romance book

by Shania Tyler

  “I know,” Tessa sighed, “But one day you will look back at your life and do you really want the only thing you see to be work?”

  “What are you saying?” I scowled at her even though I knew what she was saying.

  “What I’m saying is do you want to die a lonely old woman with all your certificates and trophies around you or would you like to have somebody to share your successes with?” Tessa suggested, “Because if I know you and I’m pretty sure that I do, then you want a companion and who better to be your companion than somebody who shares the same passions as you?”

  I had to admit that Tessa was right on that. Major had only been around a few days but already I could see his passion for his new team.

  “You might be right,” I admitted begrudgingly.

  “I’m always right,” Tessa laughed, “Maybe you should just speak to him. See if he feels the same way.”

  “And if he doesn’t I’m likely to go into work to find a sexual harassment report on my desk,” I shivered at the thought of that and shook my head, “I just need to stay away from him and let him get on with his work. These feelings will die down eventually.”

  “Do you know that for sure?” Tessa raised an eyebrow at me, “Because I know you. When you want something, you can’t stop until you’ve got it.”

  “I want to keep my job,” I told her, “I can’t very well do that if he puts in a complaint against me.”

  “Well then maybe you should just wait and see if he makes a move on you,” Tessa suggested, “Put yourself in his way and see if he takes the bait.”

  “I can’t do that!” I protested although I couldn’t help but think of how good it would feel to put myself in front of him and have him make the first move. I remembered how I’d ridden him in his hotel room, how he’d fucked me so hard in the shower, and I couldn’t help but think of what it would have been like during Round 3 if he hadn’t pulled away in the bathroom. I closed my eyes for a moment and imagined his hands coming up to cup my face. My stomach began to tingle with butterflies as I imagined the way he would kiss me passionately as though he was hungry for me and simply couldn’t get enough.

  “This guy really has got you messed up, hasn’t he?” Tessa sighed and I blinked my eyes open to see her staring at me with even more concern in her eyes.

  “It’ll pass,” I assured her though I wasn’t sure whether I was trying to make her believe it or whether I was trying to make myself believe it. All I did know was that I was going to have one hell of a hard time at work until these feelings began to die down. That was if they died down at all.

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  25

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  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

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  Major

  Her skin was so soft. Her body was so curvy. She stretched out on the bed like a feline with silky cream flesh that made me want to caress every inch of her with my tongue. Her hair was glossy and glowing like a halo around her head, and her eyes glistened as she looked at me with a devilish gaze that said, ‘I want you to take me right here, right now, Major.’

  My entire body quivered as I reached out to place my hand on her hip and pull her toward me. “Come here, you.”

  I pressed my lips firmly against hers and felt her kiss me back. It was the best feeling I’d ever experienced in all my life. The thought that she wanted to kiss me as much as I wanted to kiss her made my heart dance and I drew her ever closer to me as I felt my cock hardening beneath the bed sheets.

  “Somebody is happy to see me,” she giggled against my lips as she reached down and took my cock in her hand. I gasped and clenched my jaw as she began to stroke her palm up and down my shaft.

  “What are you trying to do to me?” I whispered and felt her smile against my lips before she kissed me again.

  “I am trying to get you to make love to me, Major,” she whispered, and my entire body exploded with delight.

  “Well, you don’t need to ask me twice,” I laughed as I slipped between her legs and forced her thighs apart. “Your wish is my command.”

  “I like the sound of that,” she giggled.

  I suddenly awoke with the sound of her laughter still ringing in my ears. It was quickly drowned out by the sound of my alarm screeching at me from the bedside table, and my hand snapped out to press the snooze button. I wasn’t ready to wake up yet. I wanted to go back to sleep and dream of her some more. I wanted to bury myself deep inside her because in my dreams was the only place I would ever be able to do that.

  I reached for my cell phone that must have rolled out of my hand when I fell asleep after I’d thrown myself into bed fully clothed from my mission over to her place.

  I thought again of how I’d waited outside her apartment building for hours. I’d sat on the cold steps with my jacket collar pulled up around my ears against the chill of the evening, but she hadn’t come back. Perhaps I’d missed my chance and she was with somebody else. Of course, she was with somebody else. She was probably with her boyfriend. The thought of that made me feel sick.

  I pressed the home button on my phone half expecting to see a missed call but there was nothing. I’ll call you back as soon as I can my ass, I thought to myself as her voicemail rang in my ears for the hundredth time. I was sure that she could have called me by now if she really wanted to.

  Grow up, I snapped at myself as I rolled off the bed and headed into the bathroom, You aren’t a child. She’s busy and she wouldn’t call you in the middle of the night.

  I hated what this woman had done to me. I never cared when somebody didn’t call me back right away. It could take Tommy days to get back to me and I wasn’t bothered so why was I so bothered about this? Perhaps it was because I knew that I shouldn’t be doing it or maybe it was simply because I was desperate to hear her voice. I shivered at the mere thought of it.

  “You need to grow some balls,” I told myself as I stared at myself in the mirror that hung over the sink. Bending down, I turned on the tap and sloshed some water over my face before I straightened up again. “Don’t let her get to you like this.”

  Yet that was easier said than done. Ruby was under my skin, and I hadn’t even fucked her properly yet. We’d had sex quickly twice, but I dreaded to think of the kind of spell she would have over me when I really got to take my time with her.

  I needed to get those kinds of ideas out of my head. There was nothing saying that I was ever going to be able to fuck Ruby again. I might have already missed my chance when I turned her away the last time. Not to mention the fact that she wasn’t single. Whenever I closed my eyes, I saw the disgusting, arrogant face of Scott as he sat in my office warning me away from her. He didn’t strike me as the kind of man Ruby would ever entertain although perhaps that was me being hopeful in the fact that he was completely different to me. It also worried me because if he was her type then I definitely wasn’t.

  None of that matters. She’s already with him.

  With another deep sigh, I turned my attention to getting ready for work. Several times I thought I had heard my phone ringing but every time I checked, it was unchanged. I hadn’t missed any calls and there were no texts. All I could do was wait to see her at work and see how things went. The thought of seeing her face again caused me to smile and I shivered as I imagined taking her in my arms and kissing her as I’d wanted to kiss her every moment of every day since that night, ever since I’d walked away from her in the bathroom. I had been cursing myself for that ever since it had happened. I should have just not let her go that morning. I should have kissed her, forced her to call in sick, and seen where it could go but my morals got in the way and I couldn’t allow myself to sleep with my boss.

  So, what has changed? I asked myself. It’s only been a couple of days since then and the urge to be near her is only growing.

  After a quick shower and a rush to get dressed, there was nothing left to do but climb into
my truck and head over to the stadium. As I glanced at the dashboard clock, I realized that practice wasn’t scheduled for another couple of hours but heading in early would give me the chance to get some extra paperwork tidied up and check out my office some more. At least I had a reason for being their early if I was caught off guard by another staff member. I could at least make myself look like I was working rather than simply waiting for Ruby to arrive so that I could speak with her.

  Don’t become that guy, I warned myself as I pulled my truck out of the parking space and out onto the street. As I drove, my mind returned to my dream and frustration overwhelmed me all over again. I felt my cock hardening, uncomfortably restricted by my jeans. If a dream of her could turn me on so bad, I dreaded to think what I would be like if things got heated for real. My flesh burned at the mere thought of it, and I had to reach down to adjust myself to a more comfortable position.

  I should never have taken this job. I pulled into the stadium parking lot and drove my truck into the space that was dedicated for the coach. Bill’s name had been removed from below the coach plaque and I was sure my own name would be put up if I made it through the week.

  I clambered out of the truck, locked it up, and headed inside, relieved that the doors were unlocked, and I wasn’t going to have to wait outside. Unlucky for me, that also meant that I wasn’t alone, and I had no idea who would have unlocked the doors at this time of the day.

  When I passed a cleaner on my way to my office, I determined that it must have been them. Nobody else was crazy enough to come in so early other than me.

  “Good morning,” I greeted the cleaner as I slipped past her cleaning cart and she gave me a smile but said nothing before she returned to hovering the floor. She was clearly foreign with dark olive skin and dark eyes and hair and as I spoke I wondered whether she even understood me. Perhaps that was why she didn’t answer and simply smiled instead.

  The second cleaner I came across was more talkative although the minute I began talking to him I wished that I hadn’t.

  “So, I heard there was an accident yesterday,” he sighed as he stopped me in the hallway, “That quarterback always had a nasty habit of throwing himself around too hard in practice.”

  I had almost completely forgotten about the incident with Wills the day before and guilt instantly overwhelmed me. Although I hated the guy and how much he’d been on my case as his coach I really should have attempted to check up on him. Ruby really had sunk her claws into me if I couldn’t at least do that much.

  “Do you think he will recover?” the cleaner asked when I didn’t make any comment on the incident. I knew he was fishing for information. Everybody always fished for information when it came to things like this but there was no way I was going to give anything away and the truth was that I just simply didn’t know yet.

  “I think it’s too early to say,” I admitted with a shrug, “If you’ll excuse me I have a lot to get done.”

  I needed to get out of there quickly before he attempted to ask me any more questions. I didn’t like being put on the spot at the best of times but with my situation as coach so new I couldn’t afford to go giving anything away that might get me into the crap chute all over again.

  “Oh, yes, you are a very busy man,” the cleaner grinned at me, “Keep up the hard work.”

  From his tone I sensed that he was being genuine although I couldn’t help but wonder what hard work he was asking me to keep up with when I hadn’t even been coaching the team for a week yet and already my star player was injured.

  Maybe it’s your bad luck following you around, I thought to myself as I slipped into my office, I picked up my phone to give Wills a call and see how he was doing.

  “What the hell do you want, Lawson?” he asked as soon as he answered. “It’s not even nine in the morning!”

  “I just wanted to check in and see what happened at the hospital yesterday.” I tried to keep my cool, knowing that if his injury was as bad as it had looked, then he would be in major amounts of pain even if he was doped up on painkillers. A guy like Wills he wouldn’t be too happy with the fact that he would be out for at least the rest of the season if not the rest of his career.

  “How do you think it went?” Wills sounded grumpier than ever, but I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from snapping back at him. The last thing I needed was for him to report me for harassment or something stupid.

  “So, I take it from your response that my fears were right, and it’s broken?” I said simply, and Wills’ sigh was all I needed to confirm my fears.

  “Broken in two places,” Wills admitted, and I flinched at the news. That was even worse than one break in the leg. Two breaks meant double the time to heal and double the damage if he was to injure it all over again. His chances were not looking good. “Looks like Jeremy will be stepping in for me for the rest of the season, Coach.”

  I was shocked at how easy it was for him to say such a thing, although I was glad not to have to pry his position from him like I thought I was going to have to.

  “Looks like it,” I sighed. “You rest up and let either myself or Ruby know if you need absolutely anything.”

  “I’ll still be swinging by practice,” Wills assured me. “Don’t be thinking you’ve gotten rid of me that easily.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it,” I sighed. “Just make sure you are well rested before you go lugging yourself all the way over here.”

  After reading up on every file for my team members, I knew exactly where he lived, and it was a fair distance from the stadium. I didn’t like the thought of him busting his balls just to come to practice when it was obvious he wouldn’t be able to drive with a broken leg.

  “Take care of yourself,” I told Wills before I put the phone down. When I glanced at my watch, I realized that it was about time for Ruby to get to work and so I pushed myself up from my chair and headed down the hall.

  Just as I turned the corner, I found her unlocking the door to her own office. At the sight of her, my heart skipped a beat and my cock began to harden. She was just as beautiful from behind as she was from the front. With all the curves in all the right places wrapped in a tight black dress, I couldn’t help but want to run my hands all over her body. I could only imagine the smooth, sensational skin that was hiding beneath that black material.

  As though she sensed me watching her, Ruby turned to face me and her eyes widened. “Major, I wasn’t expecting you to be here so early.”

  “I came in to get some paperwork done.” I stepped up to stand beside her. “I was wondering if I could have a word with you in private?”

  Her eyebrow raised with interest and she nodded. “Of course. Let’s go into my office.”

  I knew the minute that I stepped into that office I would be alone with her and I would more than certainly be done for, but I could not stop myself. She pushed open the door and gestured me in ahead of her. I stepped in, feeling her eyes on my back, and I was almost sure that she checked my ass out before she stepped into the room behind me.

  “Is everything all right?” she asked as she closed the door behind her.

  “No, it’s not,” I began, and I suddenly realized that I hadn’t even thought of how I was going to tell her about my feelings. I knew I shouldn’t even be telling her anything. I should be staying away from her. Even if she wasn’t my boss she already had a man and I would be stepping on his toes the instant I opened my mouth. An image of Scott in my office warning me off her flashed into my head and I took a large gulp, “I just wanted to come and let you know that I’ve spoken with Wills this morning.”

  I couldn’t bring myself to do it. They may not have been married but I still wasn’t a home wrecker. If she chose to be with that ass, then I wasn’t going to get in the way of that. It was her life and she had to live it. I had no right to get involved.

  She’s your boss, I reminded myself even as she took a step closer to me and I could feel the urge to touch her growing ever stronger to resis
t. Stick to business.

  “I haven’t had a chance to speak to him yet,” she admitted. “How is he doing?”

  “It’s not good news, I’m afraid,” I sighed and shook my head. “He’s broken his leg in two places, which means he’s definitely going to be out for the rest of the season.”

  “If he comes back at all,” she sighed saying the words that I couldn’t bring myself to say, “This is the last thing we need right before the super bowl.”

  She ran her fingers through her hair as though she was more than a little frustrated and the urge to take her in my arms and comfort her was so overwhelming that I forced my hands into my pockets to stop myself.

  “What are we going to do?” she asked me, and I could see in her eyes that she was searching my face for any sign that I might know what to do.

  “The only thing we can do.” I shrugged. “Pray that Jeremy is good enough to get the job done.”

  “I trust you’ll be working with him extra hard to make sure he’s up to scratch?” She looked at me with a raised eyebrow as though she was challenging me to say that I couldn’t get it done.

  “I’ll get him ready,” I promised. “This won’t be the first time an injury has caused problems with how a team functions, but we have enough time.”

  “Good, I’m glad to hear it because we need a win badly.”

  “Yes, well, unless there’s anything else we need to discuss, I’ll be heading back to my office,” I told her with the sudden need to be out of there. I knew if I stayed any longer, I wouldn’t be able to resist the urge to grab hold of her and kiss her as she had kissed me in the hotel room.

  “Oh, right, yes,” she sighed, sounding disappointed as I slipped past her to the door. “Major…”

  I turned to look at her and for just a moment I was hopeful that she might have something more serious she needed to say to me, that she would tell me she had feelings for me just so that I would have the chance to air my own feelings and put all my cards on the table.