His Unexpected Lover (The Thorpe Brothers) (7 page)

He walked over to her and leaned down.  “Just take your time.  Watch the ball and when it passes over that point,” he explained, pointing to a space a few feet out from home base, “Start your swing.  Okay?”

Kiera shook her head.  “Axel, I really can do this.”

He smiled slightly and she had a moment of panic when it looked like he was going to bend down and kiss her.  “I know, honey.  Just…” he was at a loss for words and she felt her knees melting with his endearment. 

“I promise I know what I’m doing, Axel,
” she shook her head, saying that more to herself than to him.  “Just stand back,” she said, looking up at him, almost pleading with him through her eyes that he couldn’t see because of her sunglasses.  “I can do this.  I promise.  Have a little faith.”

Axel’s jaw tightened and he hesitated for only a moment.  “Fine,” he said and stepped back again.

Axel watched as she stepped back into position and signaled to the pitcher to go ahead.  His whole body was tense and worried.  He didn’t want her to be embarrassed by another strike but…. “Strike two!” the referee called out again.

He bit the inside of his mouth, wishing he’d never put her into the game.  It had nothing to do with winning even though they were down by three points and they had three players on base.  This was all about making sure she wasn’t hurt.  The teasing in the office tomorrow could be brutal!  

He tried hard to focus on the pitcher, wishing he could give Kiera some sort of signal on when to swing, but he couldn’t look at her.  His eyes weren’t paying attention to the pitcher or even the ball.  Not with her adorable, round butt poking back at him. 

And then he heard the thwack!  He swung back to see what had happened and sure enough, the softball was flying through the air!  It wasn’t just flying either, it was arching way out and
several outfielders on the opposing team were racing to try and intersect with the ball. 

He looked at the field and one, two and then three people came over home base!  The ball went far and no one was able to connect fast enough so it dropped to the ground.  He looked out and his breath caught in his chest as he watched Kiera’s gorgeous, long legs racing from first base, then second base.  He looked at the ball and suddenly realized that he was supposed to be giving her direction based on where the ball was.  “Go to third,” he called out, racing over to third base.  His eyes flashed from the ball that was now being thrown from one player to the next and then to Kiera who was flying past third base.  “Stay there!” he called out.

But did the stubborn woman listen to him?  No!

Damn her, she was racing the ball now!  The other team was getting the ball and Kiera w
as flying fast, but was she fast enough?  Halfway to home base, the pitcher caught the ball then swung around, throwing as fast as he could to the catcher. 

He watched as Kiera caught the other team member pass the ball
out of the corner of her eye and, he couldn’t believe it, but the woman found a burst of speed and flew by him. 

It was close!  But Kiera slid through the sand and dirt and Axel
watched with amazement as Kiera and the ball flew over the base.  Dust was flying everywhere, blocking his view and his heart jumped to his throat as his eyes leapt to watch the referee.  When he saw the ref’s arms swing outward, indicating that she was “safe”, he threw back his head and laughed with the release of tension. 

Damn!  He walked over to where everyone else on the team had already assembled.  Everyone was patting her on the back but Axel
was watching her face, seeing the dust settle not just on her but on everyone else around her, all of whom were almost dancing with amazement and glee.  Then he noticed something else.  Something not good.  Someone patted her on the back but the crowd accidentally pushed the person into Kiera’s side.  It was fast, only a flash, but he caught the cringe when the person bumped against her and he quickly pushed his way through the crowd.  Bending low, he saw the scrapes on her leg and the blood that was starting to seep through the thick layer of dust. 

“You’re hurt!” he growled, ignoring the
hoops and hollers of congratulations that were being thrown about. 

“I’m fine,” she said, grinning from ear to ear
, trying to dismiss the concern in his voice.  “And I told ya so!”  She was too elated to worry about a few scrapes or bruises.  She might be in pain later tonight, but for now, she was just reveling in her wonderful I-told-ya-so moment. 

Axel was stunned for a long moment, looking down into her gorgeous eyes and shook his head.  “Yes, you did,” he replied, smiling back at her. 

Conscious of everyone in the office congratulating her, he stepped back, not wanting anyone to see how concerned he really was for her but still stunned at the pride swelling up in his chest.  She’d won the game for them, he acknowledged with a shake of his head.  She’d actually won the game. 

“Beers at Durango’s!” he called out and everyone cheered and started heading towards the bar that was one block away from the park where they’d played. 

A movement to his right caught his eye.  He shook his head as he watched Autumn and Xander argue about something.  Then to his left, he spotted Ryker and Ash looking smug, both with their arms crossed over their chests as they watched him with an irritating smile. 

He though
t about going over to demand an explanation, but then saw Kiera again and his brothers were forgotten.  Everyone had cleared out quickly with the promise of beer but Kiera was one of the last to grab her bag.  And she was limping!

He glanced down at her leg and cursed under his breath.  Marching over to her, he was suddenly furious with her for lying to him.  “You’re hurt!” he growled when he finally reached her. 

He bent down and examined the scraps and knew that they were deeper and more painful than she was letting on.  “Damn it, Kiera!  Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I knew this would be your reaction!” she yelled right back at him.  “Besides, I’m perfectly fine!”  Or she would be if he would take his hands off of her leg.  Those large, gentle hands were making her stomach flip flop. 
Not to mention, his brother, her boss, was looking in this direction and she didn’t like appearing weak when her boss was around.  She had to be sharp and on top of her game.  She’d just brought in three players in a game that they could have easily lost, couldn’t he stand back and let her have her moment? 

On the plus side, she wasn’t thinking about the pain in her l
eg when he was touching her.  On the down side, she was thinking about too many other things which were completely taboo when he was touching her. 

Axel was having none of that.  She could be strong and confident in court.  He wasn’t going to let her walk on a damaged leg outside of the office. 
“You’re not fine!” he countered and lifted her up into his arms.  He ignored her protests and carried her back into the dugout, setting her down gently on the bench. 

“I’m fine,” she
exclaimed when she realized what he was about to do. She tried to wiggle away, to stop his large hand from touching her leg but he simply moved his hand higher up onto her hip so she couldn’t move.  “Really, I’m fine.  It was just a small scratch and I’ll put some ice on it when I get home tonight.” 

Axel was having none of that. 
“Shut up and let me clean up your leg.”  He walked over to his bag which contained a first aid kit and grabbed the towel out of his duffel bag.  Dunking the towel into the cooler, he came back over and started cleaning her leg. 

The towel was now freezing and she cringed at the first touch. 
“Axel!  That’s cold!” she said, her breath hissing through her teeth as she tried to pull away.  But he just put a hand on her thigh, holding her in place. 

“This needs to get cleaned up,” he said, focusing only on her leg that was quickly bruising although the bleeding was slowing down.  He refused to think about her warm thigh or the way the muscles in her leg flinched under his palm.  And he definitely wasn’t going to think about how her whole body used to flinch when he would touch her before.  Or the way those flinches were usually followed by “Please Axel” or “Hurry Axel!” or
she might gasp when she would touch him back, making him flinch and growl with need. 

“Fine, but hurry up,” she
grumbled.  She closed her eyes, not wanting to see his dark hand against the lighter skin of her thigh.  But a fraction of a second later, her eyes flew open again but she wouldn’t look down.  Closing her eyes caused her mind to flash several images that were better left un-flashed.  Mentally, she couldn’t handle those flashes along with his gentle touch right now.  He was too close and too big.  And it had been way too long since he’d touched her like this. 

Axel looked up and caught the blush staining her cheeks.  She was remembering those same moments, he realized. 

He looked back down at her leg, carefully cleaning the scrapes from all the dirt that had been ground in by her slide into home plate.  “You should have stayed on third base,” he told her, his voice deeper than normal. 

“I made it home
and I scored,” she countered with a grin.  But then he touched a tender spot and she hissed again, her body stiffening with the pain.

Axel’s eyes narrowed in frustration over her stubbornness. 
“I’m taking you to the hospital,” Axel said with grim determination. 

Kiera quickly shook her head.  “You can’t take me to the hospital for a cut on my thigh!” she replied, almost laughing except that her leg really was throbbing.
The idea of going to the hospital was outrageous though.  Doctors in the emergency room had to deal with gunshot wounds, broken limbs and heart attacks.  A bruised and scraped thigh didn’t even rate on the emergency room ‘badness’ scale. 

“I can and I will,” he said, grabbing her duffel and his own a moment before he picked her up in his arms once again. 

She grabbed his shoulders only because that was the only thing available to hold onto.  “Axel, going to the hospital for a few scrapes and a bruise is silly.  I’ll just head home and take a warm shower.”

“Fine,” he said but deposited her in his own
luxury car instead of her more practical sedan. 

“I can drive myself,” she said as she started to get out of the car.

He stopped her by simply putting his hands on her legs and shifting her right back into the passenger seat.  “Either I take you home and make sure you take care of this, or I take you to the emergency room and a doctor takes care of it.  I don’t care which, it’s your decision.”

Kiera grumbled but knew he wouldn’t relent.  “Fine, but I can take care of it myself.”

Axel slammed her door shut and walked around, calling Ryker on his cell phone.  “You’re going to have to pick up the tab at the bar.  I’m taking Kiera home.  Her leg is pretty banged up.”  He’d ignored the smug expressions on his brothers’ faces right after the game and he didn’t care if he and Kiera were the only ones not at the bar with the other players.  Let them think anything they wanted.  He was going to take care of Kiera! 

He listened for another moment,
then shook his head. “You’re an ass,” he replied to whatever his oldest brother replied and ended the call. 

Slipping into
his car, Axel started up the engine and backed out.  Five minutes later, he was pulling up at her apartment building and coming around to her side to help her out.  They hadn’t spoken a word since he’d gotten into the car, Kiera too nervous about being alone with Axel again. It was just like last weekend, but this time, Kiera knew she wouldn’t be able to gracefully and confidently walk away from him. 

She was too nervous to look him in the eye so she focused only on placing her feet on the asphalt so she didn’t fall on her face in front of him. 
“I can take it from here,” she said and stepped out, smothering the grimace when she accidentally banged her leg on the side of his car because she was trying to move too quickly, needing to be away from him. 

She was just reaching for her duffel bag when he plucked it out of her hand.  In one swift movement, he lifted her into his arms one more time and
kicked the car door closed with his foot then walked effortlessly towards the elevators,. 

She breathed in slowly, trying to calm her racing heart. 
“I can walk, you know.” And she ignored the other issues that were happening in her body because his arms were around her like this.  It felt too wonderful, the memories of other times she’d snuggled in his arms, against his chest just like this racing through her mind. 

Axel ignored her and pressed the call button.

“I’m not an invalid, Axel,” she said more assertively, wanting desperately to get down from his arms. 

Again, he just ignored her. 

“You might have congratulated me on winning the game.  I helped score four points.”

Still, nothing.
 

When he was standing in front of her apartment door, not sure what to do, she smiled.  “Now you’re going to have to put me down.  My keys are in my purse, which is in my duffel back which is over your shoulder.

Axel contemplated her comment for a moment but in the end, he lowered her feet to the floor and handed her the bag.