Page 12 of Quarterback Sneak

“Along with long-range camera lenses, not to mention cell-phone cameras, phone calls, and any means of contact they can find. Including the people in my life. Including you.” He waited, breath held while he studied her expression.

A frown appeared between her arched brows and her thumb stilled on his skin. “That bad, huh?”

He hesitated, unsure how much to disclose. While he longed to trust her, he’d learned to err on the side of caution when it came to his career. “Until I sign on the dotted line either with the Pioneers or another team, every part of my life will be under public scrutiny whether it has anything to do with football or not. I really like you, and because I do, I need you to be prepared. If it’s too much, tell me now before…” I fall in love with you. He halted the declaration, unsure where the strong emotion came from. This was their second date, and he was acting like some lovesick idiot. Maybe Howler was right. He needed to slow things down and keep it casual. However, with Ivy, he sensed commitment would be all or nothing. “Before things get crazy.”

“I won’t lie and say this doesn’t freak me out a bit, because it does. I like my privacy. After I won 3Square, it was intense for a while. I expect I’ll get more attention after the Seasoned Chef cover comes out. Being a celebrity in the cooking world isn’t on the same level as football. Didn’t some country singer get death threats because her boyfriend couldn’t complete a pass after they started dating?” She dropped his hand, narrowed her eyes and gave him a sharp look. “That wasn’t you, was it?”

He shook his head and fought to keep his eyes leveled on her. “No, it wasn’t me. But the media loves to speculate, and often I find out in the tabloids I’m supposedly dating some woman I might have said a handful of words to. You’ll have to trust me on blind faith sometimes, which is tough for most people, but I wouldn’t ask this of you if I wasn’t sure you could handle it.” To say it out loud made the situation even more real.

Her jaw constricted, and the knot in his stomach grew larger. But he had to be sure she fully understood. “I don’t want to scare you, but that’s my reality, and as much as I’d like to shield you from the inevitable, I can’t. I’m leaving town tomorrow, and I’ll be gone for a couple of days. Unfortunately, my week vacation from the press will be cut short the minute they hear about my meetings with the owners of various teams, and the reporters will be out in full force. At this point, they aren’t clued in about you. If you want it to stay that way, please tell me before I return.”

“Should I leave now, or can I finish my dinner?” She cocked her head to the side, a smirk on her lips and a determined gleam in her eyes. No anger or confusion clouded her expression, just a subtle certainty that gave him hope. “I have to say this is the oddest conversation I’ve ever had on a second date. Usually I get the classic, ‘It’s not you, it’s me,’ or, ‘I’ll call you,’ but never ‘You’ll be hounded by paparazzi, so don’t be caught out in public in your underwear.’”

Ivy stood and moved to the perch on the bow overlooking the deep blue waters of the Puget Sound. “I can guess that I won’t even begin to understand the magnitude of what you’re warning me about until it happens.”

Thank God. She hadn’t jumped ship yet. He joined her at the railing, sliding his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder. “If I could guard you from it, I would. The good news is that it won’t go on forever. It will seem like forever, but after a while, they’ll find someone else to stalk. Trust me, my life isn’t very interesting.”

At least it hadn’t been, until Ivy came along. Could she be the one he’d been waiting for?

Ivy nestled into the bend of Sam’s arm and stretched her legs on the long cushioned bench of the boat. A luxurious cashmere wool blanket protected them from the cool damp air. Rays of the sun peeked over the horizon and the mountains in the distance were a dark, dense blue against the brightening horizon.

“I love this time of the morning.” She licked her dry lips, her voice hoarse from talking most of the night. “I try to run at six a.m. The air is cooler and the empty streets are a nice change from the usual bustle of the city.”

Sam filled a glass of water from the carafe on the wooden side table and handed it to her. “I hit the gym around five. Most of the world is still asleep and the phone is blessedly quiet.”

“Normally, I’d be one of those people. I don’t usually stay up the entire night.” She took a sip in an attempt to stifle the yawn she wanted to let out.

“You drifted off for about fifteen minutes.” He retrieved his phone from the table and tapped the screen. “I can prove it. I took a picture.”

He showed her a selfie of them.

Her head was on his shoulder, lids closed, lips parted. She examined the picture more closely. Thankfully, she wasn’t drooling. “You took a picture of me when I was sleeping. That’s kind of creepy.”

“It is, isn’t it?” he agreed. “Let’s take another one. Say cheese.”

He raised his arm and she pressed her cheek next to his while he snapped the photo. She grabbed the phone and inspected the picture. Although he had no sleep, he looked like he could still grace the cover of GQ while she appeared tired, yet there was a conspicuous dewiness to her eyes that reflected her growing infatuation for him. Man, did she have it bad.

“You look stunning. A bit swollen right here.” He brushed her lips with a gentle fingertip. “I’m curious how that happened.”

She finished off her water, set the glass down and leaned into him. Her breasts, overly sensitive from her eagerness for more than kisses, begged to be touched. “I haven’t had an all-night make-out session since senior safe night in high school. We were supposed to stay in the gym, but my boyfriend and I snuck out to the baseball field and spent most of the night in the dugout until the coach caught us.”

“I’m going to guess he tried his best to score a home run.” He stroked the skin exposed by the side of her dress to her back. Throughout the night, he’d kept his hands to her waist and back, never venturing to her front. This morning, she intended to change that.

“Of course he tried, like any good baseball player should. But he only got to first base. Did I mention he played baseball?”

Sam tossed his phone onto the bench beside them. “I almost signed on as a pitcher with a baseball team, but I got a better offer for football. Although after what you admitted, I think I might like to play baseball. If I recall, this is first base.” His lips parted hers in a lingering touch. He raised his head, a mischievous gleam in his eye. “Do you think it’s too soon to make it to second base?”

While hooking up on a second date wasn’t her M.O., it had been a long time since she’d had sex and a lot longer since she’d enjoyed it. Her relationship with Kevin fizzled long before they broke up. Stomach clenching in anticipation, she clasped his hand in hers and drew his palm to her chest. “Third would be pushing it. Second base is definitely doable. The pitcher looks distracted. I think it’s safe to try.”

His fingers slipped under the fabric of her bra and settled around the weight of her breast, his thumb rubbing her bared nipple. She snuggled her nose under his ear, her tongue darting out to taste the spicy flesh of his neck while her hand slid beneath the hem of his shirt to the taut skin beneath. Pure muscle met her questing hand. She splayed her fingers over the heated planes of his belly and followed the tantalizing trail of hair disappearing into the waistband of his jeans. Before she realized what she was doing, she undid the top button of his pants.

Stop it, Ivy, an inner voice pleaded. You can’t do this, not yet. If you do, you’ll regret it.

Sam pulled her on top of him. Her legs straddled his hips and his groin pressed into her center.

Ivy instinctively grinded her hips against his hardness and groaned at the contact, the physical pull almost too much to resist. What had she started, and would she have the fortitude to stop before things went too far?

He kissed his way down her throat, lips trailing liquid fire.

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