First and Ten (13 page)

Collapsing on her, he stayed buried deep but
rolled her on her side. After a minute, he slipped out of her and
she turned her head to see him removing the condom and discarding
it. A moment later, she was wrapped in his arms as they both lay
spent on his bed.

“Now I can hear your strategic plan,” he said
when she trailed her fingers up and down his arm. “Just needed to
get that one out of me first.”

“You sore from your workout?” she questioned
with mischief in her voice.

“I lost feeling in my legs about ten minutes
ago,” he admitted.

She turned so she could face him. “That the
only thing that lost feeling?”

Rome couldn’t remember the last time he’d
come that hard. His dick was still twitching against her thigh.
With one leg curled around his, the other was directly between his.
That also meant he could feel her wetness on his leg. She was far
from sated. The kisses on his neck were proof of that. He’d never
been big on kissing in general, but he counted the seconds until
she moved her way up to his lips. Yes, he loved the way she tasted
from head to toe.

Patience had never been one of his virtues
and he cupped her cheek and brought her up so he could caress her
lips. The gentle soft kisses he’d planned on were not what he
found. Not in the slightest. Body verses mind wasn’t his weakness
most days, but today he couldn’t control his need of Dani. Their
kisses soon had them in a tangle as tongues didn’t lick to gain
access. They demanded to be near each other. Hands groped and
explored.

Dani clawed at his back and it was as if
she’d pulled the string on a toy doll. His cock didn’t rise, it
stood up, took notice, and almost found its way inside uncovered.
With all the self-control he could harness, he rubbed between her
folds and became enveloped in warmth. This was the sweet,
tenderness he avoided with women. They weren’t the only ones who
could fall prey to love and he’d already had the damn winged cherub
cupid knocking on his door when he looked at Dani. Yet he couldn’t
help himself. Not the way she felt in his arms. Soft, warm,
inviting…safe. She understood his world to a degree. She wasn’t
making demands on him. Best of all, he didn’t feel like he was
being played. The opposite was true. Hell, he’d be the one getting
more out of the deal with her.

With a shift, she straddled him and dragged
her nails down his chest. Dani didn’t have the claws he was used
to, no, her nails weren’t a gel or acrylic. They, like her, were
real. Unlike the women he’d met in the clubs, she wasn’t sliding
over the uncovered cock so quick he had to react and not enjoy.
Instead, she brushed her lips against his chest before giving his
nipple a lick sending a shot of nerves exploding from the contact.
This was her turn to play and taste. And he was happy to be on the
receiving end.

A flash of gold reflected off the ceiling,
followed by the soft tear from the wrapping. He expected Dani would
reach behind her and apply the condom, but instead she placed it in
her mouth and moved down his body. Inhaling sharply, he pounded his
fists into the headboard as a shot of ecstasy wrapped from his cock
around his back and up his spine when her lips brushed along his
shaft, sheathing him with the latex. Fuck, this woman had him
turned out like a damn kid again.

Climbing back up his body, he was once again
lost inside her as her hips moved, but it was her body he focused
on. The curve from her breast as he cupped it. Her back arched and
he bit his bottom lip to fight back the vision of her pale skin
misted with sweat. He couldn’t help but touch as his fingers traced
between her breasts to her belly. Her hips thrust over his, jerking
down and back until he couldn’t take any more and he clamped down
on her hips to drain himself fully.

“Please say I didn’t leave you short?”

“Short?” she panted and rested her arms on
either side of him so her lips could brush his. “You left that damn
station in the hallway.”

“Yeah, but you got more than one.”

She giggled before rolling off him. “Are you
doubting your skills? You don’t seem the type.”

Rome sat silent for a moment. Could he admit
he’d gotten lost in the sight of her? That even though she was his
only thought, it wasn’t her pleasure it was his own. He’d had sex.
Came apart in a dozen directions, but this was different. Greed
overtook him with Dani. Next time he was going to pleasure her and
make sure she was a wet rag before he found his own climax.

“Speed,” she snapped like a teammate and he
came out of his own thoughts.

“I’m used to satisfying a woman, not taking.”
Rome turned to his side and brushed back Dani’s hair that had
fallen across her chest.

“You proved that in the hall.”

“That,” he pishawed. “That was playing.”

“We must have had different games growing
up.”

The rush from the climax drained from Rome’s
muscles and stiffness replaced it. And not the kind he wanted. When
he moved his knee to wrap his leg around Dani’s, he let out an
embarrassing groan.

“I think it’s time for me to implement my
strategic plan.”

“I’m fine,” he lied.

“So am I.” Dani cupped his jaw before laying
a kiss on him then pulling away. Without a hint of inhibition, she
got up from his bed and walked naked into the bathroom on tiptoe.
Rolling off his side to his back, the sound of water filling a tub
called to him. In the six years since he bought the house he’d
never used the tub. Strange, since he put so much thought in buying
it when he was renovating during the off season. “Sleepy head.”

Rome opened one eye to see Dani poking her
head around the doorframe calling for him. Her lips were curled up
at the corners and he couldn’t help returning the look.
“Strategical plan?”

“Falling in place like a game of Plinko.”

“Why would a rich girl like you ever watch
The Price is Right
?”

“Don’t confuse my current situation with who
I was when I was born,” she said as he got up and snuggled tight
against her back as they walked in unison to the tub. He helped her
into the warm water. “I was born when my father took off
financially, but he didn’t believe in spending it until he knew it
was a lock and not a fleeting success.”

“Before that you lived in a trailer?” He
tested the water with his hand. Finding the water not scalding, he
got in the tub with a thin layer of bubbles on top. Dani scooted
forward and he slipped in behind her. His muscles began to loosen
the moment he settled in and pulled her against his chest.

“The first place I remember living was a
duplex in the South Shore.”

“Your father became a billionaire and lived
side by side with another family?”

“No,” she replied with a small giggle. “We
had the upstairs. And I shared a bedroom with my sister. It wasn’t
so bad. The first sacrifice my parents made money wise was to put
us in private school. We just had a longer commute in the morning
than the rest of the kids. And we never invited them home after
school.”

“That explains a lot about you.”

“Does it now?”

“You’ve got the classic elegance of the
wealthy, but the common sense of a scrapper.” He nibbled along the
column of her neck.

“I forgot to tell you something when I made
my offer.” She spoke with a silent reverence. “I’m a loser who
still lives with her parents and has a curfew.”

Jerome bit his lips to tamp down his
laughter. Danika actually thought he’d be able to give her up after
a few rounds. She turned to him and he saw she wasn’t joking.
“Seriously?”

“Yeah.”

“What about Tuesday?”

“What about it?” she asked.

“It was getting late and we were just getting
started.”

“I wasn’t planning on spending the
night.”

“Just fuck me and leave me to curl up with my
teddy bear, huh?” he joked. “I see what kind of girl you are.”

“Love ‘em and leave ‘em. There’s a trail
longer than Michigan Avenue of broken hearts in my wake. Plus, it
was your Tuesday to plan, not mine.”

Getting out of the tub, Dani reached for a
thick gold towel from the rack on the wall and toweled herself off.
Rome used the time to rest his arms on the side of the tub and
watch her. Normally, she’d be self-conscious of every imperfection
she masked and hid with clothing choices, but not with Rome.
Instead of judging eyes, his eyes were calculating what he could do
with her. A nice change of pace from what she had had to deal with
in the past. A soft chime was echoing through the house, but he
wasn’t acknowledging it. She wished she could do the same. Sadly,
she couldn’t. Wrapping the towel around her chest, she leaned down
and gave him a light kiss. “I’ll be right back.”

The sun was setting in the distance. How many
hours had they spent together? Snagging her blouse from the floor
of the hallway, she headed to the kitchen. Her phone was going off
again and she caught it right before it went to voicemail.

“This is Danika,” she answered, flipping the
phone to speaker so she could get dressed and find food.

“Thank God,” Dalton Gresham groaned. “Dani,
seriously I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for an hour at
least.”

“I’m sorry, I thought my phone was in my
purse and I’d left it in the car,” she lied as she buttoned her
blouse. The satin fabric was a cool caress to her sensitive skin.
“What emergency could you have on a Thursday?”

“OTAs are on Monday.”

“I’d suggest comfortable workout clothes,”
she teased while digging through the fridge for snack food.
Athletes had to have snacks, didn’t they?

“You’re hilarious. Can you meet me tomorrow
for a fitting? I just got put on the board of Children of
Chicago.”

“Nice, that’s one of the bigger charities.
How’d ya wrangle a board seat?”

“How do you think?”

“Did you give away tickets?”

“I have a reputation, my agent wants me to be
a snuggly, softer lineman.”

“Has your agent ever met you?” she asked
after closing the fridge because she’d found Colby-jack cheese
sticks and the orange pop was cold now. “If you were any more
cuddly, they’d have dryer sheets named after you.”

“Aren’t you the jokester?”

“So you need what? Suits?”

“Shoes and all that shit.”

“I’ve been outfitting you for a few years
now.”

“Paul says I need to be conservative.”

“You know what that ultimately means,
right?”

“If you say haircut—”

“I’ll be repeating Paul’s instructions
without even talking to him.”

“I hate you both.”

“We know,” she laughed as she headed back
upstairs with the bottle of pop tucked under her arm and absently
nibbling on the cheese as she went. “But can I ask why this can’t
wait until Saturday?”

“I’m being introduced at their luncheon
tomorrow.”

Dani stopped in her tracks as she tried to
plan out a day where the whole morning would have to be spent with
Dalton.

“Who said you could have one of my drinks?”
Rome asked as she looked to see she’d made it back to his bedroom.
He had a towel wrapped at his hips and the gold melded with his
skin color in a way that her breath caught.

“Is that Rome?” Dalton’s voice carried over
the phone’s speaker. “Because you need to know right now he doesn’t
play when it comes to his soda.”

“I’ll send you the address of the store once
I get everything set up,” Dani said as she held her hand up to keep
Rome silent. “Congrats again, it’s a big thing.”

“Can you explain to me why I’ve crafted this
hard ass persona and now I need to change it?”

“No,” Dani said honestly. “But I’ll make some
inquiries and get back to you.”

“Thanks. Paul isn’t telling me anything.”

Dani hung up, started going through her text
messages, and sat with one leg under the other at the top of Rome’s
bed.

“So I guess we’re done,” Rome said as he
looked at her, still standing.

“Huh?” she asked as she looked up at him,
then back to the message from a socialite in crisis.

“Put down the phone, Dani.”

“You’re lucky I didn’t hear it when we were
having sex,” she said flippantly. “It’s not Tuesday. I need to
work.”

“But—”

“You’re right,” she said, setting the phone
down for a moment. “I should go. This Dalton thing will take me
half the night to get coordinated.” Hopping up, she went over to
Rome and gave him a light kiss as her hand rested on his abs. “This
sucks.”

“You’re leaving?”

“My laptop’s in my car but I doubt you want
me crashing on your bed making phone calls and instant messaging
people all night. I’ll just call people on my way home. No biggie.
You see where my shoes went?”

“No.”

“Oh.” Dani searched the room, finding the
shoes under a pillow that had been tossed at some point. “So we
good?”