Impulsive (15 page)

"Do tell. And what did you overhear?"

She grinned. "I shouldn't tell you. You might get a swelled
head."
Darn! There was one of those double entendre phrases again!
She
simply had to stop this! She'd never before had such trouble keeping her mind
out of the gutter.

Ty's initial thought was,
I'll
probably get a swelled
head anyway before the night is over, and not the one above my shoulders.

"They said you had great hands, good moves, and that you
don't fumble very often," she related, managing to keep her tone as flat
as if she were reading from a textbook. "But they also said you've got to
avoid the sack and have better protection."

Ty drew in a deep breath, an unsuccessful attempt to tamp down his
rising libido. "Did they, now? Well, I have to agree to some extent. Good
protection is a must. But eluding the rush isn't always possible, is it,
Jess?" He took a deliberate step toward her, his sharp, searching gaze
boring into hers. "Like now, for instance. I'm getting quite a rush—from
you and all the subtle signals you seem to be sending my way."

Jess gulped and stepped backward. "I get the feeling you
throw a smooth pass, on or off the gridiron, but I'm not much for playing 'bump
and run,' Ty."

"Me, either. I like to retain possession as long as
possible," he told her, matching her quip for quip. He took another stride
forward, and she backed up again. "The truth, Jess. Since we met, haven't
you wondered what it would be like to get a quarterback—this quarterback—in the
sack?"

"Talk about an enormous ego!"

Ty gave an indifferent shrug while his words and dark eyes
continued issuing the challenge. "Don't back down now, sugar, just when
the game is starting to get interesting. What say we huddle, cuddle, and see
what kind of action develops?"

One last step, and he'd backed her to the edge of the mattress.
Jess lost her balance. As she fell, she reached out, grabbing for something to
hold her upright. Her hands caught at Ty's shirt, and she wound up dragging him
down on top of her.

"Nice tackle," he said with a chuckle. "A bit
unorthodox, but it felled me nonetheless."

Before she could catch her breath, his mouth, so warm and
enticing, shrouded hers in a long, blistering kiss. His lips feasted on hers.
Her tongue darted out to meet his. The heat between them built, fueling itself
on their mutual desire.

"I want you," Ty murmured, peeling his lips from hers to
pepper kisses across her face. When he reached her ear, his teeth nipped at her
lobe, eliciting a quiver that shook Jess to her core. "Tell me you want
me, Jess. Please say you do."

"I... I want you," she murmured, barely able to speak
past the lump of longing lodged in her throat. "I want you so badly,
Ty."

He sighed, as if he'd feared she would reject him, though Jess
couldn't see how any woman could withstand this man's advances. Not for long.
Not when he could swamp her senses with just one kiss, one caress, one look
from those compelling eyes.

"Oh, babe," he whispered. "I'm going to love you
like nobody has ever loved you before."

Jess had no doubt that he would, physically, at least. She had the
distinct feeling that until now she'd been dealing with amateurs, on more than
one level. Now she was playing with a pro, and way out of her league. But she
was going to give it her best shot, because it could be the only one she ever
got.

He was caressing her now, his hand skimming the length of her
body, creating shock waves in its wake. Her lips trembled beneath his. Jess's
hands rose of their own volition, her fingers fumbling blindly with the buttons
of his shirt. When at last her fingers tunneled into the mat of golden brown
hair to knead at his chest, Ty's groan was akin to the rumbling purr of some
great jungle cat. He aided her quest, shrugging quickly out of his shirt and
tossing it onto the floor, his lips never breaking contact with hers.

Given free rein, her hands roamed at will, exploring the width and
breadth of him, delighting in the texture, the warmth of his skin, the muscles
rippling just beneath the surface.

His lips deserted hers as he swiftly tugged her top over her
head.
Before she could cover herself, his lips were tracing the lace trim of her bra,
his tongue lapping at the exposed flesh along the inner edges. His hands caught
hers, bringing her arms in close to her sides, and her hands back to his chest.
"Yes," he murmured. "Touch me. Let me touch you."

With passion-glazed eyes, Jess watched his lips sip at her skin.
His tongue explored the valley between her breasts, then swept up the slight
slopes to seek out the peaks, first one and then the other. As if by his
command, they leapt to alert attention. She clutched at his shoulders as an
intense ache raced through her.

With deft fingers, he unhooked the latch of her bra and swept it
aside. He palmed a breast in each hand, his long fingers surrounding each in a
tender embrace. His thumbs reached out to caress the rosy centers, his eyes
darkening as he watched the nipples pucker even tighter.

"They're like the most delicate of rosebuds," he
breathed, as if in awe of the treasure he'd uncovered. "So pink and pretty
and dainty."

His head lowered, his hair tickling her breast as his lips sought
out the rigid crest. His tongue swirled around it, over it, dampening it. His
breath cooled it even more. Then, as if to heat it again, he drew it into his
mouth, suckling gently at first, then stronger.

With every tug on her breast, the sweet ache built within her.
Growing. Expanding. A yearning that curled low in her stomach and spiraled
outward, until it engulfed her whole body. When he released his hold, she
grabbed his head, trying to force it back to her once more.

She heard him chuckle. "Like that, do you?"

All she could do was plead. "Please."

"Oh, I intend to, darling. I'm going to please you like
you've never been pleased."

His lips clamped down on her other nipple, sucking with such force
that a good portion of her breast was pulled into his hot, damp mouth. Jess
gasped, her back arching nearly off the bed as a lightning bolt of desire shot
through her. Fire sped through her veins, searing her from head to toe.

He had her shoes off, and her slacks undone and sliding down her
legs before she was aware that he'd moved. His mouth left her breast, blazing a
trail of flame across her bare stomach. His hand slipped between her legs,
nudging them apart. His fingers found her through the sleek satin of her
panties. Rubbing. Teasing. Then his mouth was there, scalding her through the
thin cloth.

It was heaven and hell wrapped into one delicious torment. Jess's
fingers tangled in his hair, half tugging him away, half prodding him on, as if
she couldn't decide which to do. Ty solved the dilemma for her. He whisked her
panties off, hooked her long legs over his shoulders, and with something that
sounded like a growl, buried his face between her wide-spread thighs. Suckling,
licking, spearing her with his tongue, he led her to the edge of ecstasy. She
writhed, she whimpered—she fell into the whirling pit, spinning helplessly out
of control.

By the time she could think and breathe again, Ty had rid himself
of the rest of his clothes and was lying beside her, stroking her damp hair
from her forehead and smiling down at her with those devil blue eyes.
"Lady, I love the way you lose it."

"You should be charged with illegal use of hands," she
claimed weakly. "And mouth."

He chuckled. "With what penalty? Loss of down?"

"No." Jess levered herself up on one elbow, her face
level with his. Her hand skimmed along his bare thigh, raising goose-flesh in
its wake. "New rules. The opposition gets equal time and access. Think
you're up to it?"

His hand caught hers, leading it to his groin. "Judge for
yourself."

Her fingers curled around his turgid manhood. "I'd say so,
but let's make sure, shall we?" she suggested with a smile as old as Eve.

"I'm all yours," he vowed with a wicked grin. "Do
your worst. Just don't drop the ball, babe."

Her hand moved, curving downward to cup his scrotum. "I think
you'll find I can handle a ball or two without fumbling them too badly."
She squeezed lightly, playfully. "Of course, I'm
more
accustomed to kicking them than I am fondling them," she taunted.

"Not this time, if you please," he said. "We don't
want the poor things 'whistled dead' before the game really gets going, do
we?"

"No way," she agreed. "We've got to keep everything
pumped up nice and firm. Which is why I'm going to check out your equipment,
big boy."

She began with his chest, nuzzling her nose into the golden
fleece, kissing, nipping, lapping her way leisurely down his torso. "You
taste delicious," she told him.

"So do you," he countered on a blissful sigh, one that
reversed into a gasp as her teeth nibbled a new path up his inner thigh.
"Careful there, darlin'."

Her laugh was delightfully provocative, her hands soft and sure as
she caressed him. Her tongue swept out to lap a dewy drop from the tip of his
engorged penis, sending a shock wave bounding through him. Reflexively, he
lurched upward as she took him into her hot, slick mouth. His fingers caught in
her hair, binding her to him as she worked her wanton wiles, suckling him until
he thought he would die of the pleasure.

When he could stand no more, was sure he would explode if she
didn't cease her sweet torture, he tugged her away from him, pulling her up and
beneath him. As he sprinkled kisses across her breasts, he reached for his
trousers. Seconds later, he was ripping open a foil packet. Her hands reached
to help him slip into the protective sheath, and to guide him to her own.

He entered her slowly, surprised at how tightly she gloved him.
She grabbed his buttocks, urging him onward.

"I don't want to hurt you, sweetheart."

"I want you. All of you." She arched upward, engulfing
him further.

It was more than he could withstand, and in one swift lunge, he
buried himself to the hilt. Her sigh echoed his. They lay motionless for a
moment, savoring the exquisite sensations, until she shifted her hips
restlessly beneath his. He answered her siren's call, retreating only to plunge
deeply again—and
again, and again, in a driving rhythm that lured them ever higher.
Blind, breathless, driven by the ruthless demands of their bodies, they surged
toward the pinnacle. Together, they hurtled past it, into a fiery abyss,
welcoming the flames that consumed them.

"God! They were right!" Jess panted.

"Who was? About what?" he rasped.

"Those announcers, about you. They claimed when you're on
your toes, you can really drill it."

Ty dredged up enough energy to chuckle. "I wonder what they'd
say about you? You've drained me dry."

"Will you do a small favor for me?" she asked, lying
limply at his side.

"If it doesn't require any energy, yes."

"Just raise your head, look down, and see if either of us
smokes after sex, will you?"

He laughed outright. "You screwball."

"No, I think that's your department."

It felt good to banter back and forth with Jess this way. At any
rate, it was certainly a novel experience for Ty. Much better than a trite
exchange of "Was it good for you?" afterward, or a tearful, "Do
I mean anything to you at all?" or an equally awkward silence. Come to think
of it, he couldn't recall the last time he'd laughed with a woman in bed.

She nuzzled next to him, and he realized anew just how well the
two of them fit together, like adjoining pieces of a jigsaw
puzzle.
Hip to hip, chest to breast—she was just the right height for him. It was a
relief not to have to bend himself in half and get a crick in his back every
time he went to kiss her. She sighed contentedly.

"Go to sleep," he suggested softly. "I'll turn off
the TV and check the lock."

"I should shower first, so we won't be so rushed in the
morning." Reluctantly, Jess got up, wobbling weak-kneed to the other bed.
After fishing through her overnight bag, she toddled toward the bathroom.
"Dang! My legs feel like overcooked spaghetti! I sure hope the fire alarm
doesn't go off anytime soon!"

Ty, nibbling at the nape of her neck, woke Jess the next morning.
"C'mon, sleepyhead. Rise and shine. Josh's bus will be there to pick him
up in an hour."

Jess bunched her pillow under her face and mumbled something that
sounded vaguely like "coffee."

"Right. I'll have room service send some up. We can drink it
while we're getting ready."

He flipped back the sheet and reached for the phone, smacking Jess
on her bare bottom at the same time. "Up, woman."