Dear All Star Player (The Matchmaker Series)

by Tracy Lorraine

  My thoughts are soon pushed aside when the taxi pulls up to the gates in front of my home. Slowly, they open and we pull up to my house.

  “Jesus Christ, it’s huge,” Rose whispers next to me.

  “Don’t worry, I also know what to do with it.”

  Her eyes harden and for a moment I worry that she’s going to reach out and slap me, but after a second, amusement crosses her face and she nods at me in understanding. “I guess they don’t call you All Star Player for nothing, huh?”

  “I didn’t pick that name, remember.” I’ve already explained how my profile appearing with What The Heart Wants wasn’t anything to do with me. I’m not sure she believes a word of it, mind you.

  “Whatever you say,” she says, walking through the door ahead of me and removing her coat. Dropping it onto the chair in the hallway, she turns her bright eyes towards me.

  “So…” My gaze drops from hers in favor of taking in her curves. My mouth waters and my fingers twitch to pull her to me. “Are you going to give me a tour of your mansion?”

  “It’s hardly a mansion,” I argue.

  “I live in a bungalow. This feels like a mansion to me.”

  I walk her through the kitchen, dining room, and to the living room before heading out to the summer room. Her eyes flit everywhere, taking it all in. She’s fascinated, and I’m curious. It’s just a normal home, or so I thought.

  “Want to see upstairs? I’ve got a room up there I think you’re going to love.”

  “Oh?”

  “Come on.” Grabbing her hand once again, I walk us towards the stairs.

  “If you’ve nicknamed it The Red Room of Pain I think I might just leave now,” she says with a laugh.

  “I can promise you it’s nothing like that.” I’m not sure if she’s more shocked or impressed that I know what she’s talking about. “You’re not the only one who reads books, Rose.”

  Twisting the handle, I push the door wide open and she gasps.

  “You have your own library?” She walks into the room and I feel like I’m transported into Beauty and the Beast as she spins on the spot, staring at all the books on the shelves surrounding her. “But I thought…” She trails off, but I know exactly what she’s thinking, I’ve already told her about how I struggled at school.

  “I hate having a weakness. So, once I understood what my issue was, I set about correcting it. I’ve since read all the books I should have done at school and plenty more as well.”

  I watch as she runs her fingertips over the spines and reads the titles.

  “Some of these are worth a fortune.”

  “I may have also turned into a bit of a collector.”

  “It’s incredible.”

  “So are you.” I didn’t mean to say it aloud, but the second she hears my words she stops and turns to me. Her eyes narrow in question, but I don’t stop to hear what she has to say. Instead, I walk right up to her, place one hand on her waist, slide the other into her hair, and press my lips to hers.

  A huge part of me expects her to push me away. She hates me, after all. But much to my surprise, I feel her body relax under my touch and her lips start to move against mine.

  I walk us backwards until she’s pressed up against the shelves as our tongues duel and dance together. I kiss her like it’s the only chance I’m going to get. Let’s face it, it could be. She could realize what she’s doing, who she’s kissing at any moment and run without so much as a glance back. It’s what I deserve.

  Running my hand over the dip of her waist, I continue down until I can hitch her leg up around my hip. She groans when I press my hardness against her, and my control snaps.

  Lifting her into my arms, I grit my teeth at the pain that radiates from my shoulder but I push through. She’s worth it. I carry her from my library and to my bedroom before sliding her down my body to put her back on her feet.

  “Seth, I—”

  “Shh…relax.” I pluck the clutch she’s still holding from her hands and drop it to the dresser before spinning her around. “You’re so beautiful, and this dress is fucking sinful.” I push her hair over one shoulder and drop my lips to the exposed skin. “I’ve been imagining what it might look like on my bedroom floor all night.”

  Her body shivers at my words. My cock twitches with the knowledge I can turn her on so easily. “I’m desperate to see what’s underneath.”

  She groans as I lick up the column of her neck while finding the tiny zipper at her back.

  With each inch I lower it, I place a kiss to her spine until I’m on my knees. Allowing the fabric to drop, I sit back on my haunches to take in the view. My breath catches at the sight of her standing before me in her lingerie, complete with stockings and belt.

  Fuck me, how did I get so damn lucky?

  Leaning forward, I sink my teeth into her peachy ass and delight in the little squeal of surprise she lets out. Oh, we’re going to have so much fun.

  “Turn around,” I demand. After a second, she follows my order. Holding my breath, I take my time running my eyes from the shoes that are still on her feet up to her face. What I’m not expecting to find is her chewing on her bottom lip, looking very unsure of herself.

  Standing, I take her cheeks in my hands. “What’s wrong?”

  “N-Nothing. Can I just have five minutes to…freshen up?” She breaks her eye contact and my heart drops. She’s about to put an end to this and it’s not even started.

  She swipes her bag from the counter, disappears into the ensuite, and shuts the door, breaking our connection.

  Running both hands through my hair and then down my face, I wonder what the hell just happened. She was there with me one minute and then running as fast as she could the next. Is this going to become a tradition with us?

  Pulling at the tie still around my neck, I loosen it enough to be able to pull it over my head before dropping it to the counter and falling down on the end of my bed.

  By the time I hear the door open, I’ve just about given up all hope of anything more happening between us. That is, until I look into her eyes. They hold a determination that wasn’t there earlier. She marches right up to me, drops her bag on the bed, and straddles my thighs. When she pushes her hands against my shoulders, I have no choice but to lie back on the bed. My shoulder aches, I try not react for fear she might stop once again.

  She stares down at me with hunger in her eyes as her chest heaves, her breasts desperate to be released from the fabric containing them.

  “What?” she asks, narrowing her eyes at me. “You didn’t change your mind, did you?”

  “What? No. I kind of assumed you had, though.”

  “Nope. I just needed to…” She trails off as she leans forward and kisses along my jaw and down my neck.

  My cock strains against my boxers, and as she descends my stomach, undoing my shirt as she goes, it becomes almost painful.

  When she comes to a stop at my waistband, she looks up at me. Her eyes are dark and her lips red and swollen from my kisses. I’m pretty sure I’ve never wanted anything more in my life than to sink myself deep inside her.

  Her fingers tickle across my skin as she finds her way to my belt buckle. It’s undone and pulled free from my pants in seconds. Before I know it, she’s undoing my pants and pulling them down my thighs along with my boxers. I lift my hips to help her and watch as her eyes focus on my solid cock.

  Looking up at me, she bites down on her bottom lip. Fuck if I don’t want to be the one biting on it.

  I’m desperate for her to take me in her hand and suck me deep into her mouth, so I’m a little disappointed when she climbs back on top of me. That is, until I feel the incredible heat of her pussy against me. I thrust my hips so I rub against her, and she moans as she follows my movement.

  Falling forward onto my chest, my name is a whisper on her lips. “Do you trust me?” she asks while continuing to drive me crazy. The lace of her panties rubbing against me has me racing towards release all too soon.r />
  “Yes,” I groan, my voice a breathy whisper.

  “Because I’ve got this fantasy.”

  My lips curl up at the ideas that pop into my head. Is Rosie Moore a little kinkier than I gave her credit for?

  “Anything you want.”

  “Anything?” she asks, pulling back to look at me.

  “Keep this up,” I nod down to where we’re both moving against each other, “And I’ll do whatever you want.”

  “That’s good to know.” Reaching behind her, she once again grabs her purse. I watch intently for what she’s about to reveal, my excitement almost getting too much to bear. This woman’s going to be the death of me.

  My eyes widen when she pulls out a pair of handcuffs—and we’re not talking a pair of plastic ones with pink fluff. My mouth drops but no words come out.

  “I want you at my mercy. You man enough for that?” The challenge is clear in her eyes. She must already know I’m not one to back down from a challenge.

  “Sure. You do whatever it is you want.”

  She climbs up so she’s sitting across my chest as she sets to work attaching me to my bed. I can smell her arousal and it has my mouth watering for a taste. She’s only inches away. If I had the use of my hands, I could pull her down on me. My frustration grows at being unable to touch her and I almost change my mind about this. Looking up to her face, the determination in her eyes stops me from saying anything.

  Once she’s checked they’re secure, she climbs off me and stands beside the bed. Her eyes run the length of me. “Perfect.”

  Turning, she walks to the end of the bed and picks up my pants.

  “What are you—” I trail off when I see my cell phone in her hand. “Rosie?”

  “I’m not little Rosie Moore anymore, Seth. How many times do I need to tell you? Now, smile.” She holds the phone up and takes God knows how many photos of me laid out naked and desperate.

  “You know what they say about karma…she’s a bitch.”

  “Rose, what are you doing?”

  “All those years of torment and humiliation. I’m getting my revenge.”

  “Rose,” I warn again but I fear it’s pointless. She had a game plan all along, and I totally fell for it.

  Rose

  “The All Star Player just got played. Have a good night, Seth.” I place his phone down on the dresser, well out of reach, before sliding my dress back up my body. His eyes follow my every move. I can see amusement in them. He thinks I’m joking. It’s time he learned that I’m a very different woman to the girl he knew.

  As I reach for my clutch, his amusement begins to transform into panic. “Rose?” he asks once again, but I have no more I want to say. So, with one last look his way, I turn my back and walk out of his house with my head held high.

  The Uber I called while I was in his bathroom is idling outside. I pull the door open, jump in, and sit back. I expected to feel lighter. Like that one act would right all his past wrongs and I could finally forget about it all.

  But, in reality, I don’t feel all that great about it. I was pretty proud of what I’d achieved when I stood on the other side of the room looking at his panicked face, but knowing I’ve left him like that doesn’t leave me feeling as though I’ve really achieved anything.

  The drive back to my place is a blur as I fight with my conscience about going back and rescuing him. Eventually, little Rosie Moore speaks up and reminds me of everything he and the rest of the team put me through, and I push my way through my guilt.

  Leaving my cell in my purse in the hallway, I head to my bedroom and set about removing my dress once again. I had every intention of getting straight into the shower and rinsing his scent off me, but I can’t deny how good his body felt against mine and how incredible he smelled. I may have denied him what he desired, but, in the process, I also denied myself.

  In a moment of madness, I drop my lingerie to the floor, pull open my bedside table and pick out what I need to finish off the job he started. I tell myself that at least one of us should end the night satisfied, as I press the little button and suck in a sharp breath.

  I’m awakened the next morning by banging on my front door. The second my brain registers what’s happening, I panic.

  “Shit.” In all my planning of the perfect revenge, I hadn’t really considered what happened if I was successful. There were so many variables that, honestly, I didn’t expect last night to go quite as smoothly as it did. I couldn’t believe my luck when he took me to his bedroom and I’d found the perfect bed for my newly acquired handcuffs to be attached to.

  My heart thunders in my chest as I try to come up with what to do next when a voice filters through to me.

  “Rose, open the damn door.” The soft, feminine sound of my best friend’s voice hits my ears. Breathing a sigh of relief, I grab an oversized sweater from the chair and pull it on as I walk to the door.

  “Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?” she asks the second I pull the door open.

  “I need coffee,” is my only response. It’s too early, and I had too much champagne last night for this inquisition.

  Leaving her to shut the door behind her, I walk towards the kitchen and kick-start the coffee machine.

  “Firstly,” Bryony starts. “I’m seriously pissed I wasn’t part of this plan. But mostly, I’m impressed. This…” She shoves her cellphone in my face. “Is fucking epic. I almost pissed myself when I saw the hashtag blue balls. I think I’ve underestimated you.”

  “Never underestimate a scorned woman,” I mutter, pulling the creamer from the refrigerator.

  “You don’t say. But seriously, why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I already thought the whole idea was nuts. I didn’t need to hear you say it, too.”

  “Nuts? It was fucking genius. I’d have only egged you on more.” I roll my eyes at my best friend’s enthusiasm for my revenge plan. “So, how do you feel now that you’ve shamed him in front of millions of adoring fans?”

  “Honestly? Like shit. It really hasn’t had the result I was hoping for. I feel like I’ve just stooped down to his level. It was childish.”

  “You don’t feel better…even a little bit?”

  “Maybe a tiny bit.”

  Another round of hammering on the front door stops our conversation.

  “All the color’s just drained from your face,” Bryony points out helpfully as my stomach turns over. “I’ll go,” she offers, getting up from the stool she was perched on.

  Hearing another familiar female voice at my door, I allow myself to relax.

  “It’s just Lacey coming to congratulate you.” Bryony returns with my beaming boss behind her.

  “That was some image to wake up to this morning, I’ll give you that,” Lacey says with a wink.

  Groaning at both of them, I drop my head onto my arms. Why did I think this whole thing was a good idea?

  “Do you think anyone’s rescued him yet? I’m totally up for going over to check,” Lacey says.

  “That’s enough. I got my revenge on my high school bully. Can we just forget about it now and move on, please?” Two sets of eyebrows rise to tell me I’ve got to be joking. “I’m serious. It’s over.”

  “Okay, fine.”

  They both stay for a coffee, but Lacey soon has to leave to go and open the shop. Bryony decides she has nothing better to do than hang out on my couch watching Friends reruns and eating everything out of my refrigerator. Although, I can’t really complain because she distracts me from him and my thoughts about whether what I said earlier is really true. Is it over between us? I never thought I’d say it, but the thought of that being it affects me a little. I might have been hell-bent on revenge, but I did actually enjoy our time together yesterday.

  I made the mistake of looking at Instagram before going to bed last night. I got sucked in for well over an hour reading the comments on my post on Seth’s account. Most of them were either scorned women expressing their delight at so
meone exposing his player ways or others just admiring the view. All it resulted in for me was more guilt and another night of dreams filled with his green eyes.

  Only these were new dreams. There were no high school students in sight, just two consenting adults and his giant bed. Needless to say, I woke up almost as frustrated as when I came home the night before.

  I don’t even look at my phone as I throw it in my purse before I head out to work Monday morning. It’s a new week, the perfect opportunity to put that whole attempt at dating behind me.

  The morning passes as every Monday morning does, quietly and slowly. Every time Lacey looks at me, it’s with amusement filling her eyes. I’m sure every customer who comes in the shop has seen what I got up to this weekend, but thankfully I’m no one, so they wouldn’t assume I had anything to do with it.

  I’m quite happily rearranging a bookshelf when I feel a trickle of awareness run down my spine.

  “Well, Rosie Moore, it seems I may have underestimated you.” His breath tickles across my neck as he whispers in my ear. His body heat warms my back and goosebumps race across my skin. I hate to admit it, but the way my name sounds falling from his lips has desire pooling in my lower belly. I’ve hated being called that name since the day my parents died, but there’s something about the way he says it.

  The silence and anticipation crackles between us.

  “I must admit, I’m a little in awe of you. I didn’t even consider you’d have the guts to pull off something like that.”

  “You don’t know me, Seth. You just assume I’m a weak book nerd you can walk all over.”

  “Wrong,” he snaps, turning me so I have no choice but to face him. I keep my eyes focused over his shoulder and spot Lacey in the distance keeping an eye on us. His fingers pinch my chin and he forces me to look at him. “I know you’re not weak, and I happen to find the book nerd bit sexy. Very sexy.” His eyes flick down to my chest and the ‘Boys are better in books’ shirt I’m wearing. Amusement fills his eyes for a second before they come back to mine.