by Kaylee, Katy
I felt like I should say something, but then his lips were on mine. Unlike his other kisses, that had been firm and urgent, this one was soft and gentle, and so sweet my heart broke open and my mind said, “uh oh.”
Ryder
The possessive caveman inside me was ridiculously happy to know that I wasn’t just Katie’s first, but also, her only. She’d only ever been mine. My heart gave an odd squeeze at that idea.
But even as I wanted to spend as much time with her as possible, I wasn’t willing to sacrifice my stance on public appearances. I was happy, and in fact, desired to help children, animals, and vets, but not in front of a camera. It felt selfish and exploitive, especially considering how much I had compared to them.
But I did try to work with her in other areas. If magazines, radio shows, and podcasts wanted to interview me, I could do that even though it felt invasive. Why did people care about how my house was decorated or changes I’d made to live a greener lifestyle? But if it helped me get the endorsements I needed to fund a future after football, then I’d do it.
As I drove north to Los Angeles to meet with Katie at her office, I wondered what life after football would look like. For so long, I’d been focused only on football. What would my days entail once I retired? Would I be rattling around my home by myself? I loved my home, but I wasn’t sure it would be enough to entertain me day-to-day.
Of course, by then, maybe I’d be married and have a couple of kids. Perhaps even a dog. I shook my head and laughed. I’d never thought about marriage before. Not that I had anything against it, but I couldn’t imagine finding a woman I’d want to spend my life with… except maybe Katie. Four years ago when I was with her, I wanted to see where things could lead, but of course, Phoebe and Danny fucked that up.
Today, I was enjoying my time with Katie, and not just the times we were naked. While I didn’t like the way she pushed me, I liked that she wasn’t impressed with my status or money. I liked how she challenged me and was willing to call me on my bullshit. She was the most authentic thing I had in my life except maybe the folks at the vet community.
When I was with her, there was a sense of calm when we weren’t at odds. She grounded me. However, as much as I wanted to keep seeing her, I wasn’t convinced she believed in me. On the one hand, it was hard to think she’d be sleeping with me if she still thought I’d betrayed Danny. And yet, I felt resistance in her. Like she wanted to keep her guard up around me. She didn’t seem to trust me.
The question was, did I want to earn that trust? Four years ago, I’d have said yes. I hadn’t been looking for a relationship, and our weekend together had surprised me. Until then, I hadn’t seen Katie as a romantic interest. I’d always liked her and thought she was attractive, but she’d been like family.
Today, I had no family except my uncle and the people at the vet community. I’d thought that was enough, but now I wondered if I wanted more. And did I want that with Katie? As much as I enjoyed spending time with her, I couldn’t put too much stock in a relationship with a woman who didn’t trust me.
I pulled into a parking spot in her building’s garage and parked, pushing away thoughts about my romantic future, and instead turned my attention to our meeting. After a week of spending more time naked than working, Katie decided that we should have our meetings in a professional space so we would actually get work done.
After taking the elevator up to her floor, I stood in her office doorway, looking at her sitting at her desk. Her hair was pulled up except for a few small wisps, and her navy-blue dress dipped low enough in front for her cleavage to tease me. If she thought I’d be able to resist touching her in her office, she clearly didn’t know me or her appeal.
“Ryder Malloy, reporting for duty.”
She looked up and smiled. “Right on time.” She stood, and I could see her dress hugged all her luscious curves, making my dick twitch.
I stepped into her office, closing the door. Then I went to her, wrapping an arm around her. I kissed her hard, forcing the breath from both of us.
When I pulled away, she gave her head a small shake. “Meeting here is supposed to keep things professional.”
I smiled. “Sure.” I indulged her and sat in a chair.
She sat in the chair next to me, reaching for a folder on her desk. The move gave me a stellar view of her backside and it was all I could do not to caress that round ass.
“Your manager called with a list of sports-related events coming up that you should consider attending.”
She handed me a list. I scanned it and then folded it and put in my pocket. “I’ll look it over later.” I usually went to the awards and other events they invited me to, but they were also where I usually got into trouble, because I was with a new woman or because I put some drunk asshole in his place.
“He also said the team was planning a kids fun day in a few weeks for at-risk children.”
I nodded. “I usually go to that.”
“But you hide from the cameras.” She had that chastising expression on her face.
I frowned. “I don’t hide. I just don’t go out of my way to get noticed.”
“You need to get noticed, Ryder.”
My jaw clenched. Here we go again. “Those things aren’t about me and I’m not going to use kids who have nothing to try to further my career.”
Her eyes went soft, as they usually did in this conversation, but she didn’t waiver on her message. “The kids like being on camera too, especially with their football idol.”
I scoffed. “I’m not an idol.”
She tilted her head. “Ryder, you’re proof that kids from troubled homes can achieve their dreams. You’re an inspiration to them.”
I found that hard to believe. Well, that’s not quite right. I knew from the outside, what people saw was a kid from an abusive home who’d become a success, but inside, I didn’t feel much different from that kid. People liked me now because I was successful and had money, not because I was an interesting guy. None of these people would give a damn about me if I wasn’t a pro football player. Maybe not even Katie. After all, this was her job.
That thought angered me. Was I just a means to an end with Katie? Was I deluding myself in thinking that even if she didn’t trust me, some part of her cared about me? She wouldn’t sleep with me if she didn’t have some feelings, right?
It was several moments before I got out of my head and turned my attention to her.
She was studying me. “There’s so much going on in your head. Why do you hide all that away?”
I shrugged and sat back in the chair. “It’s not important.” Wanting to get back at the task at hand, I nodded toward the file she held. “What else?”
“Staying out of trouble has been helping, but a couple of tabloids are attributing your low profile to something other than an attempt to behave.”
I quirked a brow. “Let me guess, I’ve been abducted by aliens?”
She smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes, letting me know it was something I wouldn’t like. “One isn’t so bad. It’s suggesting your head injury last season was more severe and perhaps has left you permanently damaged.”
That was always a possibility, but I didn’t feel like my mental capabilities were any less than before. “I’ll disprove that when I get back on the field.”
“Another suggests an STD.”
I snorted. “I use condoms.”
She quirked a brow.
“Well, usually.” Then, I wondered if she believed the story. She might. She didn’t trust me. I held back my annoyance. “I can show you my doctor’s report. I’m clean, Katie. I promise.”
“The final is one about a secret love child.”
“I suppose, based on my reputation with the ladies, someone would try a story like that. But I have no children. There’s no chance I’ve gotten anyone pregnant.”
“Condoms aren’t one-hundred percent. Even the pill has failed on occasion.”
I turned away as ann
oyance flared into anger. When I turned back to her, I tried to keep my voice measured. “Are you looking for a reason to hate me again, Katie?”
She jerked back and her eyes shone with surprise. “No. Why would you say that?”
“Because it seems like you want to believe this bullshit. Like you want to find a way to prove I’m the jerk everyone thinks I am.”
Her face morphed into her professional mask. “It’s my job to take a serious look at these and find a way to negate them. I have to play devil’s advocate.”
“No. If you were doing that, you’d have gone into your spiel about if and how you would address these stories. Instead, you suggested that there may be some truth to them.” I stood because the negative energy needed an outlet. “If I’d gotten a woman pregnant, I’d have heard about it by now because she’d want money. She’d get more money from me than from a tabloid rag.”
“Who says she hasn’t tried to reach you? Perhaps through your lawyer or manager?”
“Because they would have told me. They’d probably be like you and think there could be truth to the story. They’d have me at some DNA clinic for paternity testing or something.”
She nodded and set the folder on her desk. “It’s usually best to ignore stories like this unless they pick up traction.”
I got the feeling she wanted to move on, but I hadn’t gotten an answer to my question. “Do you respect me, Katie?”
Her head tilted to the side, and her face suggested my question confused her. “Yes, of course.”
“No, really.” I leaned down to her, putting my hands on the arms of her chair. I moved close to her face so I could see into her eyes, wanting to gauge the truth of her words. “Do you think I’m a total player who doesn’t give a shit and who’s throwing away his life?”
Here brows knitted into concern. “No.”
“Why don’t I believe you?”
She inhaled a breath. “Ryder, you’ve engaged in behavior that could lead to problems. Based on your image, these stories will be easy for the public to believe.”
“I don’t give a shit about the public. I’m asking what you think.”
“What I think doesn’t matter in this case—”
“It matters to me,” I bit out.
Her eyes gazed into mine like they were trying to find what I needed to hear.
But I didn’t want platitudes. “What kind of man do you think I am?”
She sighed. “I think you’re misunderstood. I think in some ways, you’re the little boy still looking for someone to love him.”
That comment made my heart crack open, making me vulnerable. I didn’t want her to see so much of me, and now I regretted asking.
“I think you’re a man who cares deeply about people and wants to help others, but you don’t want to risk being rejected or hurt, so you hide behind your playboy persona.”
I pushed away from her, hating how much she saw in me. How right she was. I walked away, turning my back so she couldn’t see just how true her words were.
She must have stood because her hand rested on my shoulder. “You asked, Ryder. You can trust that I’ll never lie to you.”
I turned to her. “Do you trust me?”
She hesitated.
“No.” I scoffed.
I started to pull away to leave, but her hand gripped my forearm. “I’m afraid of you.”
That really irked “I’d never hurt a woman.”
She shook her head. “I don’t mean physically.” She moved away as if she was the one concerned about being vulnerable. “I’m not blind, Ryder. I know I’m not type of woman you usually go for. I can’t figure out what you see in me, and the fact that I can’t seem to stop you scares me because at some point you’ll move on.”
I was both irritated and happy at her words. Irritated because she clearly didn’t know her own appeal both in appearance and personality. But happy that she said she couldn’t stop me, because I couldn’t stop her either, not that I wanted to try.
I moved to her, cupping her cheeks in my hands. “I’ll tell you what I see. I see a smart woman, who tells me the truth even when I don’t like it. You’re sexy and beautiful, and I can’t get enough of you.” To prove my point, I kissed her again. Initially, I was planning a firm kiss to prove my point, but then she moaned and leaned into me, and I had no choice but to turn up the heat.
I tilted my head, getting a better angle to thrust my tongue between her parted lips. My hands drifted from her face to wrap around her and pull her closer so I could feel her body against my erection. The minute her hips pressed against my dick, need coursed hot and fast through my body. I unzipped her dress, pulling it down her arms.
“Ryder.” Her tone sounded like a protest, but when I looked at her wondering if I needed to stop, she was pulling her arms out of her sleeves.
I quickly undid her bra, cupping her tits as they tumbled free. Immediately, my lips were suckling them, loving how her nipples hardened in my mouth. Her hips gyrated against mine with each pull on her tits.
Her hands fumbled with my belt and pant button until she freed my cock. Her fingers wrapped around him and stroked.
“Oh fuck…” I pushed her back toward her desk, lifting the skirt of her dress until I bunched it in the middle. I yanked her panties down and then lifted her onto the desk. “Tell me you’re wet for me.” I ran a finger through her slick folds. Feeling her sweet pussy juice made me switch gears. I dropped to my knees and pushed her legs apart. “I’ve got to eat you.”
“Oh God.” Her fingers laced through my hair as she held my head to her pussy.
I parted her lips with my fingers and then dove in, tonguing her entrance to lap up her sweet nectar.
“Mmm… Oh… yes…”
I turned my attention to her clit, flicking it with tongue, and then sucking it hard between my lips.
“Oh God, Ryder!” Her breath hitched until she was panting. “Make me come… make me come…”
“Lay back baby.” I stood, sliding my hands under her hips as she lay on her desk. Tilting her hips up, I went down on her again with the goal of making her come fast and hard. I fucked her with my tongue, using my nose to rub her clit, loving the noises she made and how she writhed at my touch.
“I’m coming…” Her entire body stiffened for a moment, and then her hips rocked against my lips as her sweet pussy juice burst into my mouth.
I let her down only a little and then I stood. Gripping my cock and guiding him to her entrance, I thrust all the way in.
“Oh God, yes,” she cried out.
“Ah... yes!” I ground out at the same time. It always felt like I was sticking my dick into a small spot charged with electricity when I was inside her. The friction short-circuited my brain. The sparks that came with each thrust made my entire body feel like it was on fire. It was so fucking good. Beyond anyone I’d ever been with, and I was starting to have a feeling it would never be like this with anyone else. With other women, I always had that physical pop of an orgasm, but with Katie, it was like pleasure went beyond my body. Could my soul have an orgasm too?
I gripped her hips as I pumped like a maniac, driving her up and up, and me into madness as I chased my pleasure.
She let out a long moan, and her pussy clamped down like a vise on my dick, and holy hell, lights burst in the back of my eyes as she shot me into the stratosphere.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck…” I chanted as my cock shot off its first load. But as I pumped, the pleasure went on. I thrust again, shooting more cum. Her body kept grasping my dick, and I thought I might blackout as another hard wave of orgasm slammed through my body. “Ahhh... I’m coming again…”
She was writhing on her desk, her tits swaying and looking so sexy. I pumped and pumped until I thought my legs might give out, and finally, I collapsed forward onto her, resting my head between those magnificent tits.
Her hand rested on my back. “I hope you locked the door.”
“Shit. I don’t know.” But since I
couldn’t move, I couldn’t check. “I need a minute. I can’t feel my legs.”
She laughed. “Does that mean it was good for you too?”
I somehow managed to lift my head. “So, good.” If only the rest of our relationship could be so in sync and perfect.
Katie
It wasn’t until I was floating down from my bliss cloud that the ramifications of what I’d done hit me. I’d just had sex on my desk with Ryder. At any point, my boss, Alan, or anyone could have come in or called. Having sex with a client was a no-no. Having sex on my desk was definitely a no-no. Combining the two was probably a reason to get fired. What had I been thinking?
I hadn’t been thinking. Just like all the other times over the last few weeks that we’d gotten naked, all I could focus on was him and how good it felt to touch him and be touched by him. It was hard to regret it, except when the possibility of losing my job was on the line.
He rose off of me, pulling up his pants. He went to the door and snapped the button in place. Oh my God, it had been unlocked. I put myself together and inhaled deeply to get back to the task at hand: Ryder’s PR plan.
He sat in the chair and gave me a cocky grin. “I guess I should apologize since our meeting here was to curb my instinct to fuck you.”
“Except you’re not sorry.” I sat behind my desk to at least try to avoid a repeat.
“No. Are you?”
“Not in the least.”
He laughed. “Good to know.”
We finished the afternoon brainstorming, and then he headed home. I completed work for a few other clients and then went to my apartment. I was in the middle of binge-watching Netflix and eating dinner when I got a call from him.
“How about the SNN awards?”
“How about ‘em?” I used my remote to pause the TV show.
“Speedy is getting an award and they’ve asked me to give it. That’s good PR right?” he said of his top receiver Duane Spedder, called Speedy. Both Ryder and Speedy were exceptional players, but together, they were magic, which is why many thought inevitably, they’d win a Super Bowl someday.