by Alice Ward
I was able to recite the entire story along with her, I’d heard it so many times. I let her finish because it would do no good to interrupt.
“Eliana! Are you listening to me?”
“Sorry. No, I wasn’t. I’m a bit distracted right now.”
Her voice lowered, and she hissed, “Are you and that baseball player having sex while I’m on the phone with you?”
“Alize! No.” Good heavens, what a question for a mother to ask her daughter. “Look, I’ve got to go. I have some errands to run.”
I could almost feel her roll her eyes. “Let me guess. Feeding the homeless. You know, there are shelters and food pantries that operate for that specific reason, but if you insist on walking through dirty alleys, I suppose that’s your choice.”
“It is my choice, so I need to go. I need to be at work by eleven.”
“Work? Darling, you don’t need to work any longer. You’ve landed yourself quite the catch.” She lowered her voice. “A billion dollar catch. And on the first attempt no less.”
“I don’t fish, Mother. Maybe that’s been your problem all along.”
She ignored me. “I received a call from my insurance company. Seems there was a fire at my apartment. But don’t worry, I’m completely covered. They say it was a total loss and I’ll receive a check within thirty days.”
I stared at the phone in amazement. “Yes, I know there was a fire because it burned everything I owned. Everything Zoe owned. Two incredibly sweet people I saw every day died in that fire. But don’t worry, I’m fine. Zoe’s fine.” Sarcasm dripped from the words in steaming drops of lava.
“Well, of course you’re fine. You seem to have nine lives when it comes to tragic fires. I wasn’t worried at all.”
My heart squeezed. Not just from the reminder of losing my grandparents, but that my own mother didn’t even offer a word of sympathy or concern.
Taking a deep breath, I kept my voice light. “Yes, I’m lucky that way.”
I shouldn’t be surprised really. When she’d arrived two days after the fire, at Mamaw and Papaw neighbor’s house where I’d been staying, she hadn’t shed a tear at their loss. And she hadn’t seemed relieved to find me alive. No hug. No kiss. No words of comfort.
“We need to be strong, you and I,” she had said as I changed into one of the dresses she’d purchased for us to attend the funeral. “Do the hard things. Keep our chin up. Take care of ourselves and watch our own backs.”
I didn’t know what she meant then, I’d been so consumed with grief and loss… and guilt. I hadn’t been able to get down the hallway to my grandparent’s bedroom. The backside of the house had been totally consumed. So I ran outside and tried to break through a window, but fire was curling out, snarling at me, daring me to come closer. The neighbors must have seen the red glow because a fire truck appeared, then another, and another. I was pulled away, an oxygen mask stuck onto my face, the burns on my hand from where I’d touched the doors treated.
“Eliana!”
Her screech brought me back from the bad place I’d gone. “I need to run.”
“Alright, darling. Keep me abreast of the wedding details. You know I’m happy to help in any way I can.”
“Will do.”
Not.
“And darling. I’ll be bringing a guest.”
Of course she is.
“Your husband?”
“No, silly. That’s water under the bridge.”
“Wow, that was quick. Is the divorce already final?”
She huffed. “That’s why I was sharing how important it is to protect yourself during the prenuptial agreement negotiations. I wasn’t as smart and will get almost nothing after sacrificing nearly two years to that man. Receiving the insurance check for the apartment was perfectly timed, or I fear I’d starve soon.”
She has to be kidding me.
“Well, you could always sell your jewelry and art if things become desperate. Your bridal set alone would feed you for several years.”
“Oh, darling, you’re very funny. I’m sure it would never come to that. And now that you’ll have your own wealth, I’m sure you’ll see that I’m taking care of.”
I gritted my teeth. “I really must go. I need to be at work by eleven.”
“Darling, quit that job and enjoy your newfound leisure. I’ll set us up for a sisterly spa day soon.”
I ignored her. “I’ll send you an email with the details of the wedding once everything is confirmed.”
“I’ll be waiting with bated breath.”
I ignored her again. “Bye, Alize.”
“Goodbye, darling. Let’s get together soon.”
I didn’t answer, just disconnected the call, and finished prepping the bag. My stomach growled, and I realized I was hungry too. I opened the refrigerator door. Bacon. I smirked and pulled it out.
After tossing a dozen slices into a pan, I scrounged around for the makings of an omelet. I chopped green peppers furiously, taking my anger at Alize out on the innocent vegetable.
“Smells good.”
I glanced up, and Kane was there, basketball shorts riding low on his hips, his hair still wet from a shower. Dear heavens, the man was fine. I’d seen his abs many times now, but watching them ripple as he walked toward me caused a puddle to form between my legs.
“Hungry?”
His pupils dilated, and he nodded very slowly. “Is Zoe here?”
I licked my lips. “No, she’s in class.”
In a flash, I was lifted onto the countertop, my lips taken by his, his fingers gripping me tight. He only broke the kiss long enough to pull my t-shirt over my head, and my panties were destroyed with a single rip.
“Trust me?” he murmured against my ear, and I shivered.
“With my life.”
He grinned and pulled me down from the countertop before turning me around and pushing my head down until my cheek was resting on the cool marble. Circling my wrists, he pulled them behind my back, enclosing both of them in one strong grip.
Goosebumps rose as his fingertips traced down my spine, then continued down the valley of my ass cheeks, and lower. He dipped one into me.
“So wet, tight,” he said as he added a second finger.
I could barely breathe, but it wasn’t because of what he was doing. It was because the edge of the granite was cutting off my air. My breasts were squished, and because my hands were behind my back, I couldn’t relieve the pressure.
“Feel good, baby?” he asked as he circled my clit.
“Yeah,” I lied, the word coming out in a breathless gasp.
He let go of my wrists and slapped my ass. “Somehow, I don’t believe you.”
Pushing myself up, I pulled air into my lungs. “This position isn’t as sexy as it looks in the movies,” I said over my shoulder. “I’m afraid that once you start pounding, my boobs will turn into squeegees.”
His green eyes gleamed as he howled. “God, you’re adorable.”
I yelped as he yanked me backward and turned me as easily as if he was moving a doll. It was sexy being with someone with so much strength, and I watched his muscles ripple as he lifted me until I was sitting on the countertop again.
“Better?”
With clearer thinking than mine, he turned off the heat to the bacon before the kitchen filled with smoke. He grinned. “Later.”
Then those green eyes were on me again as he pushed my thighs apart and stepped closer. There was no time to brace myself, not that it would have mattered. The kiss was deep, and his hands were hard, hungry, as he dug his fingers into my hips.
“Tell me you want me,” he said against my mouth.
“More than anything.” And it was the truth. It went further than want or even need. I craved him deeply, desperately.
He tugged me closer, and his cock nudged my entrance but went no farther. Bending his head, his lips closed over a nipple. The wet heat of his mouth made me shiver, puckering and tightening my flesh.
I wai
led as he sucked hard and shoved my hands into his hair.
He gripped my hips, his fingers restlessly kneading. Bruising. Adding to all the sensations I was experiencing.
He moved from one breast to the other, and I wiggled closer, trying to impale myself on him when I remembered. “Condom.” I really needed to get on the pill.
He looked stricken when he pulled away, his green eyes wide. But he recovered quickly and opened a drawer — why are there condoms in the kitchen? — and watched him roll one on, fascinated by the way his fingers touched himself.
Instead of giving me what I wanted, he moved away. I whimpered, and his hands ran up my thighs. I spread them, eager for more.
But he didn’t touch me, just continued to stare down at me as his thumbs moved closer to my sex.
Panting, I waited, watching him. “Kane, please.”
Meeting my eyes, he shook his head, his hand coming to my shoulder to push me back. The granite was cold against my bare skin, but I barely felt it because his mouth was hot on my stomach.
The rough stubble on his chin was a strong contrast to his soft tongue as it circled my navel, then my hip.
I arched up, whimpering, waiting.
When the stubble brushed over my clit, I writhed and wrapped one leg around his waist.
With the flat of his tongue, he licked me, opening me with one long stroke.
I screamed, but there was no sound.
He did it again, circling my clit before stroking me back down.
“Eliana…”
Even the brush of air over my skin was too much, and I fisted my hands in his hair, trying to draw him closer. I needed the pressure of his mouth, the pain of his teeth. “Please,” I moaned.
He caught my wrists and dragged them from his hair, pinning them next to my hips. “Tell me what you want. Do you want me to eat you, baby? Feast all I want?”
“Yes… please… everything. Tongue. Cock. You.”
He stroked his tongue over me again, raked my clitoris with his teeth and stubble. Letting go of my wrist, he plunged a finger into me, then another, twisting them inside me.
My orgasm was immediate, forcing its way through me, but he gave me no time to recover before his cock was stretching me wide.
Blindly, I reached for him and held on when he linked our fingers together, and he pulled me up until his lips were on mine. He snapped his hips, and his cock slid over my g-spot. I keened and arched, changing the angle as he drove harder.
“I can’t imagine being without you,” he whispered against my lips.
I caught the words in my mouth, breathed them in, clung to them. I wanted to ask him what he meant and tell him I felt the same, but he was stealing the breath, and I could do nothing but hang onto him or implode.
My body tightened, another orgasm building to a crescendo, and he growled as I bore down on him. “That’s right, baby. Come for me.”
I did. There was no other choice.
Then he was following me off the edge, his hips slamming into me harder. He roared and thrust one last time.
We stayed that way, bodies connected, our sweat drying as we gazed at each other in the solitude of his kitchen.
It should have been awkward.
It wasn’t.
We didn’t speak. Nothing needed to be said that he probably didn’t already know.
In a short space of time, I’d come to care for him deeply. But I also knew that I wouldn’t be here right now if outside forces hadn’t thrust us together, wedging our separate lives into one so unexpectedly.
The silence, warm and comfortable as it was, stretched out, and I knew it couldn’t last forever.
With a long exhale, Kane lifted his head and pressed his lips to my forehead. “We need to talk.”
I swallowed hard. “Yes, we do.” Sliding my hands up his back, his muscles jumped under my touch. “Can we do it later?”
I felt him smile. “Yeah, later is good.”
Squeezing him tighter, I pressed my face into his chest. “Good, because I’m not ready.”
He kissed my hair. “Me neither.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Kane
The earth must have shifted beneath my feet because I felt like I was standing on ground as shaky as my California home. Okay, maybe not literally, but I was rocking inside.
I’d said those words out loud, we need to talk. Not the damn “L” word, but it felt close. Me. Man-whore Kane Steele talking about feelings and shit. But, dammit, I was feeling. With my body, with my mind, deeper. Maybe my soul.
When I walked into that kitchen and saw Eliana making something as simple as bacon, something twisted and shifted inside me, and I understood what Calvin and Ace and Todd had been talking about.
But in two weeks? That was totally jacked, and I didn’t know if I could trust it. What if it was the emotional high of my rookie professional season, or the sadness of knowing I would soon lose one of the people who’d been a rock in my life? Maybe I just wanted to protect Eliana from her mother. All I knew for sure was that Eliana had changed something in me.
And it was temporary, I’d have to be a moron to think it was more. In a few months, I’d have to let her go, and she’d be the “what-if” woman I’d think of even on my death bed.
I was a moron anyway. If I was smart, I’d buy her and Zoe a place to live and keep distance between us. We’d play the happy couple for my parents and grandmother but keep our lives separate the rest of the time.
Fuck that.
I’d deal with missing her later, but she would be in my bed every night until then.
Eliana sighed and relaxed against me. My dick was still inside her, and I was holding her so tight I could feel her heart beating against my chest.
And nothing had ever felt so right in my life.
Shifting slightly, she kissed me right over my heart before looking up at me with those clear blues. “Penny for your thoughts.”
“You’d be wasting your money right now.” She said nothing, just looked up at me expectantly and I added, “The same thing I’ve been thinking about a lot lately.”
“Nana?” she asked. “I’ve been thinking about her too. She’s an amazing person.”
It gave me a jolt. Nana was the person I should have been thinking about. Shit. Or baseball. My career. Getting to the series. Giving the MLB my best before taking over the family business.
Not Eliana. Not how she felt in my arms.
I kissed her forehead and lied. “Yeah. Nana. I thought she looked really tired yesterday.”
Her face grew sad. “She did. I think the trip here and now planning for the wedding is filling her with life and sucking it from her simultaneously.”
Here was my opening. “Do you think we’re making a mistake? The wedding, I mean.”
She blinked and pressed her face to my chest again. “I don’t know. It’s the kindest thing we can do for her. She clearly adores you and can now die peacefully knowing that you are settled, which does indeed seem to be one of her greatest wishes.”
I scoffed. “Then come back and haunt me when we divorce.” Eliana shuddered, and I pulled her closer. “You okay?”
She blew out a long breath. “That’s the downside… divorce. Alize has been married so many times, I always promised myself that I wouldn’t walk that plank until I was one hundred percent sure that it would last.”
“You’re nothing like your mother,” I said sternly, needing her to believe it. “Besides, how can anyone know one hundred percent? Don’t you think just about every couple wholeheartedly believes that they’ve found their soulmate when they tie the knot?”
I felt her nod. “I suppose.”
“We like each other, right?”
She squeezed harder. “Very much.”
“We laugh and have fun. Only fake bicker so far, and the sex is a-fucking-mazing.”
Eliana laughed. “True, true and true!”
And I’m starting to fall for you — hard.
Those
were the words I so badly wanted to say to her, but my mouth became dry as cotton, and my throat refused to work. It was like my body had a stranglehold on my heart.
There was so much I wanted to say, was afraid to say, but my phone vibrated, and the moment was gone.
I glanced at the screen. Coach Griffin. I wondered what he wanted.
Then I remembered.
Adrenaline dumped into my system, and I lunged for the phone. Glancing at the clock, I tapped the green button as I flew down the hall. I was late. I was never late. Never!
“On my way, Coach.”
“You better be. The ‘Bat with a Beast’ event started five minutes ago.”
Shit, the kids’ event. I had totally forgotten. “Sorry, Coach. I’m on my way. Be there in fifteen.”
“Make it ten. We’ll talk about the fine later.”
Shoving my feet in some shoes, I pulled a hoodie on simultaneously, grabbing my keys and a cap from the dresser, praying the traffic wouldn’t be too bad.
Eliana was in the hallway, a small bag in her hand. “Granola bar and water,” she said, shoving the bag at me.
I didn’t have time for a kiss and just shouted as I grabbed the bag, “Thanks.”
Then I was out the door, cursing myself for forgetting, for losing focus.
For fucking instead of following my dream.
***
Two hours later, I was still pissed at myself. Sure, I made certain the kids had fun and smiled wide for all the pictures.
But I was pissed.
I’d been careless, and I was never careless.
First, I’d nearly forgotten the damn condom, and I no-way-in-hell ever forgot those. Dammit, I was so paranoid about using them that I only ever strapped on the ones I personally purchased. With my family’s wealth, and now my fame, it was hard to trust that a woman wasn’t looking for a baby daddy. One needle through the foil packet was all it would take to strap me down to a gold digger for eighteen years. No little Kane Juniors on my watch. At least not until I was ready.
And then I forgot the kid’s event. I woke up and showered thinking I had a few hours to spend with Eliana before heading to the stadium for pregame practice. And it wasn’t like I hadn’t been reminded a hundred times yesterday. It’s just that I saw her in my Beasts shirt and panties, and my memory banks were wiped.