Page 10 of Quarterback Sneak

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.

Her own fingers fumbled with the buttons on his shirt, eager to explore every bump and hollow.

The blare of a mariachi band somewhere nearby stilled her hands. She pushed herself from him, panting. “What the heck is that?”

“It’s Howler’s ringtone.” He rubbed at his temples and sighed. “His choice, not mine.”

The cheerful song grated on her nerves and a part of her wanted to chuck the damn thing into the Sound. Her pragmatic side whispered that the interruption was for the best. Things were steaming ahead at an accelerated pace and the line between an emotional connection and sexual chemistry had been blurred since the first moment she’d touched him. Sex would make things more complicated than they already were.

“You’d better answer it.” Without waiting for his response, she tucked the blanket around her bared chest and climbed off him. She grabbed up the phone from where Sam had tossed it and handed it to him before she discreetly fixed her top.

Lines of frustration etched his forehead as he answered the phone with a harsh, “What?”

“Damn, you’re awfully bitchy this morning. I take it you didn’t get any last night.” Howler’s voice projected through the mouthpiece. The man had a set of lungs.

Ivy returned to her place by his side and rested her head on his shoulder, the blanket a protective cocoon inhibiting further invitation on her part and exploration on his. Neither one of them might like it, but it proved necessary to bring things to a cooler level.

“What do you want, asshole?” Sam asked.

Booming laughter met his response. “Then the answer is no.”

One strong arm looped around her waist and Ivy melted into him, desire resting just shy of the surface, ready to rebelliously break out. Would she be able to deny her own growing passion or would she say fuck it, and jump the guy like the sex-starved woman inside of her begged to do?

“I’m sitting here with Ivy now,” Sam said.

“Oh, so I did interrupt something? Nice.”

Sam flashed Ivy an exasperated look before he adjusted the phone in his hand. “You are such a dick. What do you want?”

By the repeated laughter from the other end of the line, Howler wasn’t insulted. “Did you forget we have a plane to catch today? The team is sending a chartered jet to Boeing Field.”

“They didn’t have to do that. We can fly commercial.”

“No, my man, we can’t. You’re a big deal whether you want to be or not. Besides, you’ve been after my ass to keep you on the down low. Of course, once you hit Cali soil, the cat will be out of the bag, so to speak. But you’re not the only one going. I have a new client, a quarterback out of some Podunk town in Eastern Washington. The team wants to meet him. He’s bringing his parents. The mom had him young. She’s in her late thirties with great tits and a nice ass. The dad’s a piece of work. A real fuckhead. Lucky for me, they’re divorced and she’s free game.”

“Do you think it wise to mix business with pleasure?”

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