Winning Streak

by Alice Ward

  Lana was gracious but still cold as she walked me through the details of my trip. I’d be leaving in one week, with the pitchers and catchers. They were some of the most notorious problem players anyway. I needed to do my homework on Todd Morris. Damn, he was hot.

  “Fraternization with the players is extremely prohibited,” Lana said quickly. Shit, had she read my mind? I had no intentions of hooking up with the players, not even Morris. I was there to do a job, and all I wanted was to do it well.

  “Of course,” I agreed.

  “I’m not sure why Rhett trusts you with this job.” Lana’s eyes were glaring into mine.

  “You must have really impressed him during the interview process.”

  There was no interview process. He called, I showed up, here I am.

  “I usually do all the hiring for the PR and marketing departments,” she said with a professional smile.

  It was growing clear to me why she’d been so cold since I arrived. Rhett was the one who'd stepped on her toes, not me, but she couldn't exactly take her frustrations out on her boss. So, I was the punching bag. Hopefully she’d get over it soon. I would have six weeks away from her to give her time to lick her wounds.

  “Your apartment will be secured while you’re away. But, upon your return, you’ll need to rush to find something of your own. It’s highly unorthodox for staff members to live in any of the player designated apartments.” Lana jotted down information onto a yellow legal pad as she spoke. Her eyes never lifted from the paper. Just orders and writing.

  “Okay,” I agreed.

  She really did appear to know what she was doing as she spouted off statistics about the players, the fans' reactions to their antics, and the ticket sales for each game. I wondered myself why I was the one going and not her.

  The week flew by as I was prepped for my upcoming task. According to Lana, I was to keep the players in line, but if you asked Rhett, I was just there to keep things under control, while still letting them get into some trouble. My head was reeling as I made my way through airport security.

  The six weeks was enough time for me to collect a couple paychecks and save up for my own place. I knew Lana wondered why I was so reluctant to get out of the player apartment, figuring I was a spoiled little rich kid with enough money to stay wherever I wanted. That was all once true, but not anymore. I needed that time to live on the Beasts' dime so I could figure something out. But, I couldn’t tell her that. I couldn’t tell anyone.

  Luke and Calvin were in front of me as we were ushered like cattle through the long line. I placed my belongings in a basket, took off my shoes, and listened to them talk.

  “So, you okay with Morris now?” Luke asked.

  I glanced over to see Calvin lift a shoulder. “I’m fine.”

  “I mean, I know he and Whitney were a thing,” Luke continued to push the topic Calvin obviously wanted to ignore.

  “They weren’t a thing. She’s my wife, so watch yourself, Singleton,” Calvin snapped.

  My mind raced with information, downloading all the images of the tabloids I’d read before arriving. Morris was in the papers, he was mentioned with the Beasts. Holy shit, how’d I overlook that? He was the one hooking up with Whitney while Calvin was on his self-destructive playboy path.

  I gripped my bag after walking through the scanner, still trying to eavesdrop on the conversation between Calvin and Luke. They moved to the far end of the seating area where no other seats were available, so I slid my bag onto an open chair at the front and leaned down to slide my shoes back on. My bag fell to the ground, papers scattered in front of me. I worked quickly to pick them up, hiding them from any of the players' eyes since most of the notes were about them.

  A strong, dark hand grazed mine as it scooped up a pile of the papers from the floor. I lifted my head, my eyes met Todd’s, and my body tensed with excitement and anxiety. Damn, he was dreamy. I could fall into those beautiful blue eyes, get lost, and never care to be found.

  “Let me help you,” he offered. His voice was deep and tender in the same breath.

  “I forgot to close my bag,” I said. Obviously, or your shit wouldn’t be all over the ground, dumbass. Ugh. He made me nervous. His eyes were penetrating into mine. I had to break free from their power. I looked away, focusing on the remaining papers, shoving them into my bag as Todd picked up my Christian Louboutin pump and slid it on my foot. His grip around my ankle was strong but delicate. His eyes gazed into mine, and even though I tried to escape them, they were too delicious to ignore.

  His hand ran up my calf, squeezing just enough to make me squirm in my seat. The players are off-limits, Katrina. Even Todd Morris, probably the sexiest man I’d ever encountered. My insides twitched as his fingers separated on my leg, running slowly back down to my ankle. Rhett told me to keep a close eye on him, so maybe that meant… no, stop it, Katrina. You are here to do a job, one that you desperately need to survive.

  “Thank you,” I said quickly, gripping my bag to my chest and covering up the tightened, hard nipples forming in my blouse. I pulled my leg back, stood, and offered up a professional smile. He was trouble, which was why Rhett wanted me to watch him so closely. My libido was feeling the ache of what he could cause. Those eyes were dangerous, those full lips delicious, and his passionate personality damn scary.

  Todd stood, handed me the last paper from the floor, and smiled. I watched him walk away, frozen in my spot until a large man pushed into me rudely. “Keep things movin’,” he barked.

  I walked toward my gate, stepped into the line for the plane as they began boarding, taking one more Snapchat photo before entering the metal death trap. Happy face for the camera.

  I was in the window seat, not my first choice, but I didn’t want to complain. I reached over, slid the shade down, hoping the flight attendant wouldn’t make me open it while we took off, closed my eyes and leaned back into my seat to gather my composure. I felt the seat next to me move back as someone obviously had taken their seat. I dreaded opening my eyes at first, dreading the fact that the large man from security could be right next to me. I opened my eyes slowly, turned and found Todd sitting beside me.

  “Guess we’re stuck with each other,” he said with a smile.

  My insides gave another squeeze. “Looks like it.”

  He leaned over me, reaching for the window shade. God, he smelled good. He pushed it up to expose the outside, the outside I knew would be way too high for me to stomach soon enough. I quickly pulled the shade back down, smiled nervously, and said, “I don’t really care for heights.”

  His smile was deliciously dangerous, eyes steamy and seductive. This was going to be a long flight. Hell, this was going to be a long six weeks.

  Todd reached over, laying his hand on my leg as the plane prepared for takeoff. I leaned back into my seat, closed my eyes, feeling only the heat from his hand. I couldn’t determine if the knot in my stomach was from the plane climbing into the air or from his touch.

  “There, everything’s fine.” I turned to look into those amazingly bright blue eyes. I worked up a smile, still nervous, and reached for my bag between my feet. “May I?” Todd asked, picking up my iPad before I could protest.

  I watched him type in my name and hit enter. He was seriously doing a search on me right now, right here, and right in front of me?

  “You are all over the place,” he said, then clicked onto my Snapchat story.

  His smile widened as he scrolled through my images. “Nice,” he said, pointing to the one I took before entering the place.

  “No one would ever know you were terrified,” he said softly.

  “That’s the point,” I stated quickly.

  He raised an eyebrow. “So, you use social media to create something that isn’t real?”

  “Not necessarily. It’s used to create positivity, an image.”

  “So, an image… of something that isn’t real.”

  I opened my mouth, but only “Um” came out.

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nbsp; “I mean your life looks super exciting,” Todd went on, scrolling through my hundreds of uploaded images.

  “What about your real life?” he asked.

  “This is my real life.”

  “I don’t see anything about your dad on here.”

  He looked at me and I could have sworn he was able to see deep inside my soul. “That’s my personal life,” I insisted, taking the iPad from his hands.

  “There’s a difference?”

  His eyes were serious, his lips playfully curled, and his tone so deep it vibrated between my legs, awakening my libido with a vengeance.

  “Yes,” I said, not really convincing myself… or him, I presumed.

  “Okay, you’re the expert,” he teased, leaning back into his seat.

  “What about you?” I asked.

  “What about me?”

  “All this real?” I pointed to his social media page I’d pulled up.

  He laughed, pointing to a picture of mountain peaks and blue skies. “I took that during a jump.”

  “Why do you want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane?” I asked, keeping my tone playful and not accusatory.

  “It makes me feel alive,” he said.

  “And, without it, you don’t feel alive?”

  He gave me a look, one that I’d love to see again and again. He was hiding something, not wanting to let me in, but I knew he would if I pushed hard enough. Not here, not on the plane, and not today. But I would get inside and find out what drove him to do such risky stuff. That was my job, that’s why I was here. It was just a bonus that I was excited to learn what made Todd Morris tick.

  The subject quickly reverted back to my dad, and what it was like growing up with him as a child. Todd’s eyes were full of surprise as I told him how much I loved baseball, and how I spent every second possible on the field, at the stadium, and close to my father.

  “So, old Spaceman was a real family man?” he asked.

  “Yeah, he was.” I missed that feeling of pride when talking about my dad. It felt good to remember how things used to be, and forget what they’d become, even if only for a moment.

  “You get that look when you talk about your dad. It’s almost like sadness.” I felt instantly shaken by his observation. I thought I’d done a great job at hiding my pain, but I was apparently transparent through those deep blue eyes.

  “I didn’t realize I did that,” I said, not willing to explain anything further.

  We were halfway through our flight, and I hadn’t grown nervous once, not even with the turbulence in the air. I shared my favorite images with Todd, and he shared his videos stored secretly on his phone with me. He couldn’t post any of the stuff he showed me. I felt special that he’d allowed me to see it.

  “I need to get a picture,” I said, standing in my seat and holding my camera out for a selfie that included most of the team on the plane. Todd jumped up, smiled into the camera just as I snapped the picture.

  “I need to post this,” I said, tapping on the screen to create a cool update on the team’s upcoming arrival to Florida.

  “Always working.” Todd shook his head and smiled.

  My cheeks hurt from laughing and smiling so much. It was by far the best airplane ride I’d ever had. I actually hated for it to end.

  “Excuse me,” I said, standing from my seat. Todd stood, let me out and even though I didn’t turn back, I could feel his eyes following me down the aisle.

  The bathroom sign was turned to “occupied.” I almost turned to go back to my seat, not exactly a fan of standing on a moving airplane, when the door opened. Luke emerged, a wide smile on his face, his cheeks slightly flushed with color, and his eyes wild with excitement. I moved out of his way, let him pass, and was ready to enter when the door opened again. This time, the blonde flight attendant who had helped me with my overhead bag emerged. She too had flushed cheeks, slightly redder than Luke’s, but also a strangely nervous smile. Her hair was madly out of place.

  I’d heard of the mile high club, but I wasn’t a member. As I peeked into the bathroom to make sure no one else was inside, I couldn’t help but notice how small it was behind the door. How on earth did they manage to make anything happen with Luke’s large frame?

  “You’re not gonna tell, are you?” I turned to see Todd standing close behind me.

  My cheeks began to heat, and I knew the redness of my embarrassment was showing. I shook my head and smiled.

  “So, you can keep a secret.” Todd moved closer to me as he spoke. “Good to know.”

  My heart raced as he reached out toward me, letting one hand glide slowly down my bare arm. My nipples tightened, my pussy swelled, suddenly my undergarments felt restricting. My panties were strangling my delicate flesh as it grew with excitement beneath the silk.

  “I can,” I replied softly.

  My eyes went to the front of the plane. We were situated in a nook where we were unseen by the other passengers. Excitement rolled through my veins at the thought of kissing Todd right then and there. No, hands off the players, Katrina.

  “You think there’s room for us both in there?” he asked, his grin growing wide and his eyes hungry.

  “Well, Luke just proved there is plenty of room,” I said quickly before realizing how flirty that came across.

  “I’d love to get you alone,” he murmured, licking his bottom lip slowly.

  Oh, I’d love that too!

  My smile must’ve looked ridiculous. I could feel it widening across my face, but there was nothing I could do to control it, to stop it. I couldn’t speak. I could only imagine what it would be like to kiss those magnificent lips.

  “Don’t you want to know what I’d do to you if we were alone?” His voice was so sensual it melted my inhibitions. Yes, I wanted to know desperately.

  “First, I’d lean in close, hold you in my arms, and let my lips press against yours,” he purred. His hand moved to my top, one finger tracing the outline of the neck as he let out a heavy sigh. “I’d have to get you out of that top. Spend some time exploring your full breasts with my mouth.”

  My pussy was focused on only his words. No one on the plane mattered, no job, no amount of money, just Todd Morris’s words about what he’d like to do to me.

  His eyes embraced me, holding my attention as his lips parted to continue his delicious journey. My hips took in the warmth of his hands as they lowered on my body. I wanted to lean in to kiss him, but I didn’t. I couldn’t. No matter how bad I wanted to. Oh, I wanted to, badly.

  “That skirt would look so good slid up around your waist. Those long legs open, your sweet flesh ready for me to taste.” My body trembled at the image Todd was creating in my mind. I could almost feel the warmth of his breath on my pussy as he spoke.

  “Would you like that?” he asked.

  I was so deep into my trance, I’d missed the fact the little blonde flight attendant had come back to retrieve her cart. Her presence snapped me back to reality. I smiled, my cheeks burning as he stared at me with those seductive eyes.

  “It could be our little secret. And I can keep a secret too.”

  “I’m sorry. I’m here to work,” I said, hating the words as soon as they fell from my lips. I wanted to play, not work. Why did Daddy have to be so careless?

  The look of disappointment on his face was no match for the stiffness in his jeans. I imagined his cock pressed hard against the denim, full and long, ready to play out his verbal fantasies in real life. I knew if I allowed it, he’d come into that bathroom with me, fuck me hard against the small sink, and make me come over and over again.

  “You sure?” he asked, his lips curling into a smile.

  I’d never been so unsure of anything in my life. “I’m sure.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Todd

  “Please take your seat, sir.” I turned to find the little blonde flight attendant Luke had been messing around with standing in front of me. Shit, my pants were tight, my cock hard as hell.


  “Of course,” I said quickly.

  Her eyes drifted from mine, lowering to my crotch. “There’s another restroom in the front of the airplane,” she said softly after meeting my eyes again.

  I smiled, gently pushed my way past her, and found my seat. The thought of escaping into the other bathroom and rubbing one out was appealing, but I’d prefer to wait. Walking back to my seat, I wondered if I’d upset Katrina, offended her in any way. I didn’t think so. She seemed into it, like she wanted it — wanted me — but she took off so quickly. Her tone was so professional, so cold when she said, “I’m sure.”

  Dammit, I really hope I didn’t offend her.

  Nah, she was into it. I was certain. That look in her eyes, the way her breathing became slow and heavy, yeah, she wanted me. I’d wait it out. Be patient. See where it would go and have a little fun in the process.

  I leaned back in my seat, closed my eyes, and sent my mind to baseball. My dick ached from being stuffed so tightly against the denim. My balls were drawn upward, tight, and in need of release. Baseball, Todd. Think about all the hard work you have to do once you arrive in Daytona Beach. Calvin Malone wasn’t going to be easy to crack, and I needed him to succeed on this team. I was a Beast now, like it or not.

  “Excuse me.” Katrina’s soft voice brought my dick back to attention. I stood, barely able to straighten my body to let her pass and take her seat next to me. The seatbelt sign lit up, and the flight attendant announced we’d arrived at our destination on time. I was relieved. I pushed my head back against my seat, fastened my seatbelt, and thought about the game. Baseball, baseball, baseball.

  Katrina busied herself with her tablet, clicking wildly with her perfectly manicured nails. Keep it together, Todd. We’ve almost landed, and then I can get some distance from this adorably nervous woman. If I could squat behind the plate for hours, I had the discipline to control myself around her, but it wasn’t easy.