Page 15 of Sacrifice Bunt

God, that kiss.

He wanted to feel it again. That, and so much more.

Touching her, being able to touch her, even for that small amount of time, was heaven. He’d dreamed of it many times, of what it would be like and feel like. The reality of it had blown his dreams out of the water.

She was sensual and open, everything he wanted in a woman.

If she’d let him stay, they would have made love all night, taking each other over and over again.

It would have been the best night of his life.

But that wasn’t the case. She’d pushed him away and closed the door in his face.

That was a pretty obvious no in his book, and there was no way he would push. If she said no, she meant no. He’d respect that.

So he’d gone home, jacked himself raw while reliving the kiss, and fallen into a crappy sleep.

And now he was expected to play baseball at the highest level.

Life moved on no matter what.

“How was the meeting last night?” Heath asked as they continued to warm up.

“Good. I got the deal.”

Heath held the ball, not throwing it back to him. “For someone who just landed one of the most sought-after companies in sports, you sure don’t sound excited.”

Noah punched his glove a couple of times. “I am excited, just a little tired. I didn’t sleep well last night.”

“Ah, I see,” Heath said, throwing the ball to him again with a grin on his face. “Met someone, did you?”

More like finally got to kiss the woman who turned him upside down. “You know I’m not like that.”

Heath shook his head. “You disappoint me, brother. I would kill for the women who fawn after you.”

“Don’t you have your hands full with the women who follow you around? I would think that would be enough.” He needed to keep the focus on Heath and off himself. He wasn’t ready for anyone to know how strung up on Zara he was.

“It’s always nice to have more options.”

Heath was by no means a manwhore, but he enjoyed women. More than Noah did. It had been months since he’s slept with a woman. He’d met her one night during the offseason and taken her up on her offer of one night of fun. It was fun, too. But that was all it was. Fun. There was nothing more, no deeper connection. She’d tried to get his number and meet up again, but he’d refused, knowing that even if he had her number, he’d never call her.

She wasn’t what he wanted.

That title belonged to Zara.

Before the game started, he jogged off to the locker room with the rest of his team. Like most players of any sport, he had rituals and things he did or didn’t do on game day. Between batting practice and the game, he always switched cleats. It was just something he'd been doing since high school.

Something his dad had mentioned once, and he’d picked up after his death.

He missed his dad every day, and his death still haunted him. He was a firefighter and died in the line of duty when a building caught fire faster than his team had anticipated. His death was why he’d freaked out on Zara the night he’d walked into his apartment and seen her naked. As soon as the fire alarm went off, he panicked. Then, when he'd gotten her outside and saw how fast the fire consumed the building, he’d had to get out of there before breaking down or having a panic attack.

Something he still had to this day if he didn’t meditate daily.

She might think he left or abandoned her because he didn’t want to be around her, but that was far from the truth. The second he’d laid eyes on her, he’d been enthralled. He left for his own health and sanity.

He’d regretted it ever since.

At least until he ran into her again and found out who she was. He’d never been strong enough to mention it to Aidan, and he’d never brought it up. That told him Zara also never told Aidan the truth about what happened that night.

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