Page 30 of Love Game

She stood with her feet wide, those heels doing incredible things to her shapely calves. Her hand perched on one hip, lending extra definition to the outline of her slender curves. God, she was incredible. The harsh overhead lights caught planes and angles of her face, sketching her classic beauty in sharp, bold lines. He let his gaze fall all the way to her pink-polished toes, then he took his time meandering back up to meet her eyes.

Determined to get the last word, he held her gaze. “That knee brace is sexy as hell.”

Her jaw dropped, and her eyes widened before squeezing into a cringe. But she didn’t look down. The hell of it was, he really did find everything about her sexy as hell. Including the knee brace. Lifting one hand in a resigned wave, he attempted a modest shrug.

“Be gentle with the poor guy, Coach. We are only men.”

Chapter 8

The date was a bust. Of course it was. Danny McMillan guaranteed that the second he decided to plant that big, wet kiss on her lips. Okay, it wasn’t all that wet. In truth, it was just the right amount of soft, slippery, and hot. Maybe a dash of demanding in there. Or was it commanding? Either way, he was hungry. She’d tasted desire on his tongue, and damn if she didn’t feel the answering ache deep inside.

“I had a great time tonight.”

Jim leaned in, startling her from her thoughts. She squelched a perverse impulse to insist he tell her which parts he thought were so great. Was it the predictability of his restaurant choice, or the fact that the food they’d eaten looked exactly like its photo representation in the menu? Did the framed jerseys and aging pennants that adorned the restaurant’s walls psych him up? Was he turned on by the replica of one of her old WNBA jerseys hanging over the bar?

Kate smiled, an automatic response, but she could hardly bring herself to nudge her internal date-o-meter out of the “pleasant” zone. As far as she was concerned, there’d been nothing great about the evening. Aside from the pregame warm-up.

Jim propped a hand on the doorjamb, and she quickly stowed all thoughts of the capricious Coach McMillan and his marauding mouth. At least, she tried to. The kiss Jim brushed over her lips was barely more than a glancing blow, as easy to miss as a hip check on a rebound. Danny’s had been a game stopper. A foul so flagrant, he should have been tossed from the game. But Lord, she wanted to keep facing off with him.

“So, you and the prince of pigskin planning on going at it anytime soon?”

She blinked up at Jim, thrown by the shift in topic. “What?”

“I figure the triple chocolate cake should buy me at least a heads-up if you plan to put the guy in his place again.”

He actually said it with a smile. He stood there on her own doorstep, the tips of his shoes touching her toes, and dared to imply she owed him a floorshow to go with the lame-ass dinner he’d bought her. Shifting her weight and squaring her shoulders, she moved out of the kissing zone. If he thought he was coming in after an implication like that, he was cracked.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

His eyebrows rose, and he ran a hand down her arm. “Millie’s got this idea that it’s like watching Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs going at each other, but I don’t see it. Still, the guys at the local affiliate are interested.”

She stiffened, mortified at being caught in the middle of this ridiculous ploy to score media coverage. “There’s nothing to be interested in. I simply welcomed him to Wolcott.”

“And let him know who ruled the school.” He crowded her a little. “I have to admit, you’re a lot hotter than Billie Jean.”

She blinked, taken aback.

“Thanks,” she said dryly and stepped away. With his tasteless kiss a faint memory and the insinuation that she owed him something hanging heavy between them, she didn’t want to be within striking distance. She’d cracked a rib or two with a well-thrown elbow. “I didn’t realize dessert came with strings attached.”

His brow puckered. “I wouldn’t call them strings.”

“What would you call them?”

He tilted his head, studying her carefully. At last, the corner of his mouth ticked up in a rakish smirk she was certain he practiced in front of a mirror. “Inducement?”

She matched his fake rake with wide-eyed guilelessness. After all, if insincerity was good enough for him, it should be for her as well. “Is that what this was all about? A bribe so I’d tip you off on nonexistent stories? What about the shoes? What are they worth?”

He gave her a crooked smile that should have been more appealing than it was. He glanced down at the strappy heels she wore and came up with a shrug that marked him clueless. “Your shoes are great.”

Her heart sped up as realization and vindication kicked it into high gear. D didn’t stand for Davenport. D was for Danny. Danny, who kissed her hard and hot and left her feeling wobbly all night. The one man she shouldn’t want.

She tried instead to focus on the one she was supposed to want. Jim’s smile became a bit lecherous as he leaned in to kiss her again. Her stomach turned over, and her fingers curled into his shirt. She let it happen. Not because she wanted it, but because she needed a time-out. Just a few seconds to draw up the next play. And nothing would clear the slate like another one of Jim’s zestless attempts at seduction.

He knew nothing about the shoes. She was sure of it. The tip of Jim’s tongue tripped along her firmly sealed lips, but she didn’t want to let him in. Some crazy, irrational part of her mind worried that he might be able to detect the lingering taste of Danny McMillan on her tongue. The sane part refused to take the chance on having an incredible kiss replaced by one that was forgettable at best.

She wasn’t interested in playing springboard for yet another underachieving man.

Planting her hands on Jim’s shoulders, she pulled away with what she hoped would pass for reluctance. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, though she wasn’t. “It’s, uh…” She groped for an excuse and came up with the tried and true. “Sorry. This isn’t a very good time.” She forced a grimace of apology. “Maybe we…another time.”

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