Jaci Burton (21 page)

And when he slid his hand from her breast to her rib cage to her belly, she wasn’t about to object. In fact, she rolled onto her back and spread her legs, hoping he’d get the message.

He lifted his lips and gazed down at her. “Something you want?”

“Yes. Well, I have a list, actually.”

His lips lifted in a devastatingly wicked half smile that made her clit quiver. “Care to share that list with me?”

“Your hand on my pussy would be a good start.”

He glided his hand down, cupping her sex, using his fingers to rub over her sensitive flesh. She arched against him, reaching for his wrist to hold him where she needed him the most.

“Feel good?” he asked.

She turned to look at him as he brought her right to the edge. “Yes.”

“Ready to come?”

She was. It was so fast, but it had been a long, dry spell without a man, and she needed this. She wasn’t about to hold back, not knowing when she’d have sex again. “Yes.”

He tucked two fingers inside her and pumped, rolling his thumb over her clit, then using his magnificent hand to cup her, tease her, and take her right to the edge.

She exploded, this second climax even more intense than the
first had been. She tightened around his moving fingers as her orgasm peaked.

When Cole removed his fingers, he slid them into his mouth and licked them. “I like the way you taste, Peaches.”

She shuddered, still throbbing from the aftereffects. Her nipples were tight, aching peaks, her entire body taut with expectation. And when Cole reached for a condom on his nightstand, she licked her lips, so ready to feel his cock inside her that she almost whimpered with the need for him.

She took the condom from his hands and rolled it on, her gaze locked on his. Intimacy like this wasn’t something she had all that often, so she wanted every part of the experience. She wanted to touch him, to taste him, as much as she could tonight.

He rolled her over onto her back and used his knees to spread her legs, pressing his body on top of hers. His cock wedged at the entrance to her pussy, his hips against hers.

He looked down at her and their gazes met. He reached for her hair, brushing it away from her face, the action so brutally intimate it made her heart clench.

“You are beautiful, Savannah,” he said, then slid inside her, his eyes shuttering closed just as he drove home.

Oh, god. The intimacy was more than she could bear. Feeling him inside her, the way he’d spoken to her, shattered her.

Savannah reached up to slide her fingers in the silky softness of his hair, watching the features of his face tighten as her pussy gripped his cock.

She wasn’t often driven poetic over the act of sex, but there was something magical about Cole being inside her. She’d never felt such an amazing thrill about a man fucking her. Sex was perfunctory. Fun and certainly a wonderful release, but being connected to Cole like this, having his gaze touch hers in such an intimate way as he pulled back and thrust so deeply inside her, filled her with passion—and more than a sense of wonder.

This was what she’d always read about, what sex was supposed to be like—a joining that was both physical and emotional, so powerful in its intensity that she was caught up in its storm.

Cole dipped down and brushed his lips across hers, then cupped her butt and lifted her to grind against her. As the storm intensified within her, she tightened, sparks of lightning shooting through her nerve endings. Taut with impending release, she dug her nails in Cole’s skin. His answering growl only heightened her senses and rushed her along the path to orgasm.

When he sank his teeth into the soft skin of her shoulder, she cried out, her climax sending her flying into the sweet darkness. She wrapped her legs around Cole’s hips and arched, dragging him along with her, his answering groan a blissful balm in the maelstrom.

He kissed and licked her neck and shoulder, bringing her back down from one of the wildest rides of her life. He left her for only a few seconds, then came back and pulled her against him.

There were things that needed to be said, things she knew he was likely thinking about, too. Reality-type things. Logical-type things.

She wasn’t going to talk about them now. That conversation could wait for later. For now, she was going to enjoy being held and caressed by a man who’d just rocked her world.

SAVANNAH WAS QUIET AS COLE HELD HER AND SWEPT
his hand over the softness of her back.

He knew what that meant. She was thinking.

Likely regretting.

He had no regrets. Tonight had been nothing short of amazing. She was a wildcat in the bedroom. She had no reservations about sex, great communication skills, and she was as beautiful as he’d imagined.

But knowing Savannah, by morning—if not within the hour—she was going to call this all a mistake.

Cole planned to argue that point, because sex this good was never a mistake.

He was pretty good at arguing his point, especially when he knew he was right.

For now, he intended to keep this luscious woman in his arms—and his bed.

TWELVE

“NO.”

“Cole…”

“I said no. There’s no point in discussing it.”

Cole had thought they’d end up arguing about sex. But surprisingly, Savannah hadn’t said a word about it. She’d actually stayed all night, though she’d hurried out of his condo the next morning, uttering no more than a few words about him needing to get to practice and her having things to do. Though she’d been vague about what those “things” were.

Ironic, considering that was usually
his
behavior after sex. He normally couldn’t wait to get away. Instead, the roles had been reversed, because waking up to Savannah’s warm butt nestled against his cock had made him hard. He’d pulled her against him, figuring they could have a nice morning replay of the night before.

Yeah, that hadn’t happened. She’d rocketed out of bed, grabbed her clothes, climbing into them while simultaneously mumbling
about how great it had been the night before, and she’d call him later. Then she’d shot out the door like a lit firecracker.

It had been damned uncomfortable being on the other side of that fuck-’em-and-leave-’em treatment. Now he knew what it felt like.

It didn’t feel all that good.

He climbed out of bed, making a mental apology to all the women he’d done that to.

But he wasn’t finished with Savannah, and if she thought that all they were going to have was one night and she was going to forget it happened, she was wrong.

After practice, she’d been waiting for him. That’s when he’d expected the argument.

Instead, she dragged him upstairs to the conference room and shut the door.

“What’s up?”

“Have a seat.”

This was where she was going to tell him that last night had been fun, but it was only a one-time thing and couldn’t happen again. He knew this talk. Hell, he’d given it a hundred times before.

He was already preparing his rebuttal.

“How are you with a hammer?”

He looked up. “What?”

“I have you—well, us, actually—scheduled for a local home-building charity project.”

“Uh…why?”

“Because it’s for a worthwhile cause. Actually, several of the team members are doing it, along with coaches and staff. Saturday.”

“And we’re doing this because…”

She rolled her eyes. “Image, Cole.”

“In other words, media will be there.”

“Yes.”

“And you think this will somehow help repair my image?”

“It certainly won’t hurt your image to have you seen doing something for your community.”

“I do plenty for my community.”

She leaned back in her chair. “Really. Like what?”

“I give to a lot of charities.”

“Give…how?”

“I write checks.”

She let out an audible sigh. “That’s not visible. You need to be seen being charitable. Besides, don’t you want to get more involved and centered in your community?”

He shrugged. “I guess.”

She stood. “I wonder about you sometimes, Cole.”

She headed for the door. He stood. “What the hell does that mean?”

She turned to face him, her hand on the door handle. “It means I wonder why you’re so reluctant to get involved.”

“Because I don’t want it to be bullshit.”

“Excuse me?”

“Look. I understand charity. My parents taught my sister and me that it’s important to give back. I do plenty of that. I just don’t think we need to stick our faces in cameras to show how charitable we are. It seems dishonest.”

She frowned. “So you think what the team does is dishonest? That we’re just doing this for publicity, and not actually helping?”

“I give generously to multiple charities, but I don’t make a big deal out of it. I don’t think it’s anyone’s business.”

“I think you confuse a publicity stunt with actual helping out. Not everything can be accomplished by writing a check, Cole. I’ll show you the difference on Saturday.”

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

He watched her walk out the door and realized that the conversation hadn’t gone at all like he’d expected. She always made him feel like he was doing it wrong.

His mother gave him that feeling, too.

Comparing Savannah to his mother was a place he refused to go.

And now he was going to have to build a house on Saturday. And no doubt deal with the media on his ass at the same time.

He dragged his fingers through his hair.

Great.

SAVANNAH HAD A LUNCH DATE SCHEDULED WITH LIZ,
who bounced in beaming, her cheeks rosy pink, a wide grin on her face as she threw her purse into the chair next to her.

“You seem awfully happy.”

She ordered an iced tea. “I am happy. I have a successful career and a hot man to sleep with—whenever he’s in town. Life is good.”

Savannah pushed her irritation with Cole to the side and smiled. “I’m so happy for you. You deserve this.”

“I never thought I could feel this way. Or that I deserved it. But you know what? You’re right. I do.”

Sometimes Savannah wondered if she’d ever feel that sense of contentment that seemed to surround Liz.

“So, how are things going with our problem child?” Liz asked.

“Oh, they’re going fine.” She opened up a packet of sugar and added it to her tea, then decided today was the kind of day she’d need two sugars.

Liz arched a brow. “Two sugars doesn’t signal fine to me. What’s going on?”

She met Liz’s probing gaze. “Nothing. Cole’s being cooperative.”

“Cooperative is good, but what aren’t you telling me?”

A lot. But she wasn’t the type to share intimate secrets. Instead, she plastered on her brightest smile. “He gave a great interview to the local television station last week. Did you see it?”

“I did. And you’re still hiding something. We might do business together, Savannah, but we’re also friends.” Liz reached across the table and laid her hand on top of Savannah’s. “Tell me what’s going on.”

Savannah’s shoulders slumped. “I slept with him.”

“With Cole?” Liz’s eyes widened. “That’s an interesting development.”

“That’s an understatement. I tried so hard to deny the attraction. I’m a professional. I should know better.”

The waitress brought their chicken salads, but Liz leaned forward. “Honey, I’m the last pot to call the kettle black in this instance, since I did the very same thing with a client who is now my husband. Tell me all about it.”

She picked at the pieces of grilled chicken, feeling miserable about everything. “I don’t know what happened. I had a handle on it—on Cole—but he’s just so darned attractive. I don’t think I tried very hard to resist him.”

“Well, those Riley men can be persistent as hell.” Liz waved her fork at Savannah. “Once you fall for one, you don’t stand a chance in hell.”

“I’m not falling for him. We’ve only had sex once and it isn’t going to happen again.”

Liz gave her a wry smile. “Isn’t it?”

“No. I’m determined to finish this assignment, make him the best wide receiver the Traders have ever had, and get out of his life.”

“Uh-huh. Famous last words. You and me need a night out with Jenna and Tara. The four of us need to have a talk about sports jocks and the irresistible testosterone factor.”