Page 25 of Personal Foul

Behind them a whistle blew. Kaiden straightened and looked over his shoulder where an older gentleman gave a come-here wave.

“I have to get back. I’ll be here for another hour. Would you wait?”

“Of course,” she replied. “I’m enjoying watching you run around.”

He ginned then kissed her forehead. “You’re awesome.”

Then he turned and jogged away. Some of the men gave her curious looks but no one disturbed her as she watched them do drills. When the hour was up and the coach blew the whistle, Kaiden and the quarterback talked to the group of coaches. Then Kaiden shook hands with all of them and headed to the locker room.

He emerged about twenty minutes later, dressed in jeans and his Budweiser t-shirt. A duffle bag was flung over one shoulder. When he reached her, he held out his hand and she took it, entwining their fingers. Then he led her outside.

“Where’d you park?”

“I don’t have a car.”

He frowned at her. “What? How did you get here?”

“Bus, and then I walked.”

“Fuck, baby, I wouldn’t have asked you to come if I knew you had to do all that.”

She shrugged. “It’s okay. I take the bus everywhere so I’m used to it.”

He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on the mouth. “Thank you for supporting me.”

Kaiden helped her into his SUV before stowing his gear in the back and sliding behind the wheel. The engine started and he drove them away from Earth City back to St. Louis.

“Do you mind stopping by my hotel before I take you to lunch?”

“Why do you have a hotel? I thought you were staying in St. Louis.”

“Fingers crossed. I didn’t want to sell my old house and buy here, and then have to leave if I didn’t make the cut.”

She bit her lip for a moment, and then the words came tumbling out. “Why don’t you stay in my guest bedroom?”

He didn’t say anything until he came to a red light. Once stopped, he turned to look at her.

“Really?”

She nodded. “I have a spare bedroom I use for storing my painting supplies, but I can easily move all the stuff. You can stay as long as you’d like. I mean, I know we hardly know each other, and this isn’t a come-on. I don’t want to pressure you into anything, but—”

He cut her words off when he leaned forward and kissed her lips. He only pulled back when a car behind them honked. Resuming the drive, he said nothing, and she hoped she hadn’t messed everything up. When they arrived at his hotel, he had the valet take his vehicle and he took her hand to escort her inside.

“I accept,” he murmured in her ear. “I, too, promise I won’t pressure you into anything uncomfortable. However, I’m going to try to seduce you every chance I can get.”

He winked at her, and once more, her cheeks flushed.

“Let’s go pack your things,” she said.

He nodded and led her to the row of elevators. Nerves fluttered in her belly. Not because she just invited a man to livewith her, and not because she only knew him a short time. He made her heart pound and her body heat up. She wondered if she’d let herself be seduced quickly, or try to let the anticipation build.

Guess she’d find out soon enough.

Chapter Thirteen

When they got to her apartment, Kaiden helped Romilly move her painting supplies to her bedroom. He didn’t have much, just a couple of duffle bags, which reminded him that he had to call his mother and ask her to check on his stuff in storage.

“It’s not much,” Romilly said, biting her bottom lip.

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