Love from Left Field (17 page)

“Ready?”

She nodded, tightening her inner muscles to clench around him. He groaned in response and began to move slowly at first then faster, driving deep, hard. Her hips lifted, matching him thrust for thrust. His gaze held hers, maintaining the connection. Passion overcame over her and she closed her eyes, feeling her orgasm a few breaths away.

She locked her legs around his waist as he hammered into her, driving harder and harder. Her muscles convulsed around him as she came with a loud cry. He followed right after her, roaring out his climax, then he collapsed on her, careful to lay slightly to the side to not crush her.

She rested her head against the pillow, her chest heaving with exertion. He faced her, his breath coming out harshly. She lifted her hand and laid it on his cheek. He turned and pressed a soft kiss to her palm. She sighed and closed her eyes, letting sleep overtake her finally.

*

Lucas woke her
a few more times that night and they explored their passion until the dawn peeked over the sky. Finally, they fell into an exhausted sleep. Miranda woke first, stretching deliciously sore muscles. Lucas slept deeply next to her, his arm draped over her body, snoring lightly. She glanced at her watch and cursed under her breath. She had promised her father she’d call with an update on spring training. The day was jammed with meetings and games so he was expecting her call by eight and it was seven-thirty already.

She carefully wiggled out from under Lucas’s arm, gathered her skirt and top, and slipped into the bathroom to dress. She had no idea where her bra or panties had ended up. She’d deal with that later. For now, she had to get back to her own room and regroup before anyone knew what had happened.

Not that anyone was going to check her bedroom. The time for that had ended with beauty pageants along with curfews. She gently opened the bathroom door and spied her bag on the table by the door. She barely remembered bringing it in with her. She picked it up and gave Lucas one last lingering glance, resisting the urge to wake him again, headed out the door, holding it so it made no noise when it shut behind her.

*

Lucas stayed absolutely
silent, willing his breathing to remain regular and even. Finally, he heard the door close with a quiet snick. He sat up and rubbed a hand over his face. He knew they had to talk about this night, but he was pathetically glad she had snuck out without the morning-after conversation. He honestly had no idea what to say this time. Most of his partners weren’t associated with business so the morning after tended to be a civil exchange of clothes, platitudes about getting together again sometime—when both knew it wasn’t going to happen—and escorting her out, or leaving himself.

But last night had surpassed his expectations by a long home run. He had sensed passion lurking beneath Miranda’s skin, passion only for him. He had hoped spending time away from the stadium offices, away from the pressures of family and business, away from prying eyes, they could explore the possibilities between them.

He waited for the usual feeling of panic. Whenever he got too close with someone, it was always time to back off. But last night, the past few weeks with Miranda, he’d felt something he hadn’t felt in a long time.

Like he’d come home.

He had thought it was coming back to Savannah, where he had grown up, but that wasn’t it. Miranda made him feel that way, relaxed, excited, connected. He found himself craving time with her, as if she grounded him, and he made sure he spent time with her daily, and not because it was his job. He liked it. He liked her.

How did she feel? Was it more than sex for her?

A
fter spending the
night with Miranda, they were caught in the whirlwind of spring training. They attended the pre-season game, met the players again, and reiterated Miranda’s position about the players and type of play she was expecting. Then they headed for the airport, barely making their flight, exhausted. When they landed, they shared a car to the stadium then parted awkwardly, as if a return to Savannah meant a return to real life. As if Florida was a vacation and their romance stayed there.

It pissed Lucas off, but they had only a week to Opening Day and Miranda was busy working with her staff, lining up the Opening Day ceremonies, and working out details from their trip. But it wasn’t that he didn’t think of her or speak with her. She starred in some serious X-rated fantasies of his and any thought that he had gotten her out of his system was definitely proven false. They had even met with other leaders, but somehow they were never alone.

Lucas arrived at the stadium early that morning. Opening Day was a day game, a rare Tuesday event, and most of the staff was coming in extra early to ensure everything went smoothly. Despite this, the floor where the executives sat was dark and quiet when Lucas got off the elevator. He walked down the hall and detoured to Miranda’s office and, as he expected, she was already in, reviewing the schedule and other reports.

He knocked on her open door and lifted a cup of tea. She smiled and gestured him in.

“I didn’t expect to see you so early. Thanks for the tea.”

“It’s chai. Thought you could use the caffeine.”

She took an appreciative sip and sighed. “That’s good. Thanks.”

He sat in the chair and crossed one leg over the other. “I think we’re ready. The team ended spring training on a nice little winning streak.”

She snorted. “Second string players. The test will be today. We’re playing New York. They’re not a fan of the small ball game. On paper, they have the better pitchers and hitters, but if our plan works, we should be able to at least make it a game and not a blowout.”

“At least the coaches are on board now.”

She shrugged. “Sort of.” She eyed him over the cup of tea. “Is that what you came in early to do? Talk about the team and our chances this year? As if we haven’t discussed that to death already.”

He grimaced. “I guess we need to talk about spring training, that night.”

“Do we?” She asked thoughtfully and leaned back in her chair to study him. “I mean, we’re both consenting adults. It’s not like we expect anything from each other, right? It was fun, a nice night, and now it’s over. Unless you don’t want it to be over?”

Her voice was neutral, not giving anything away. She had learned much about negotiation and was turning the tables on him, cool, calm, collected, while he wanted to kiss her, repeat that night over and over until he’d had his fill. It pissed him off to be dismissed so casually. And the thought bothered him even more than her being so nonchalant about them.

He narrowed his gaze, but chose a different tack. “Is your father coming today?”

“He just had a major heart attack and bypass surgery.” She grinned. “Okay, he tried to come, but his doctor and my mom refused.”

“And that’ll stop him?”

“Not exactly. I think my mom is crushing a valium or three in his morning coffee to knock him out. She’s turning out to be quite the drill sergeant and a bit devious, too. She always drove me hard in pageants, but somehow she’s even more terrifying right now. I visit every couple of days but she’s militant about limiting the baseball talk.”

“A typical Southern belle. Voice like an angel, steel rod for a spine. Sounds a lot like my mom.”

“I don’t think I ever thanked you for that dinner. It was a lovely night.”

And just like that, he was back to an aroused state. Remembering her clenching around him, her hands running over him, her nails digging into his back. He shifted in his chair, moving the coffee cup to hide his bulge.

“She did all the work. She said you sent a note and flowers. That was kind. Mom loves flowers, especially white roses.”

“Well, if that’s all?” She leaned forward and began leafing through papers.

“Not exactly.” He stood and rested his coffee cup on the desk.

He stalked around the desk while she studied him, wide-eyed and a bit uncertain. He turned her chair to face him, leaning over and caging her neatly between his hands that grasped the arms of the office chair. He slid one hand up to the nape of her neck, drawing her. He claimed her lips, swallowing her token protest under the onslaught of his kiss. His tongue mimicked their one night, thrusting deeply, seducing her, demanding her capitulation. Her mouth tasted of sweet Indian spices and honey from her tea, with hints of mint, and something else uniquely Miranda.

He was drunk on her, oblivious to their surroundings, as she met him with a passion that took his breath away. Finally, a noise in the outer hallway tugged at his consciousness, reminding him her door was open and anyone could see them. He pulled away, satisfied to see the dazed look on her face. He pressed one last hard kiss on her lips then straightened.

“You may think it was a one-night thing but it’s not over, Miranda. We will be together again. Soon.”

He grabbed his coffee cup on his way out, greeting Cole with a slap on the shoulder.

He loved Opening Day.

*

Miranda’s face burned
as Lucas sauntered out the door, reminders of their kiss and more lingering long after he had left. As if she could have forgotten that night. She should have known once wouldn’t have been enough to quell her attraction to him. He had featured in many of her dreams since their time together, causing as many sleepless nights as her father’s illness.

What she missed more than the sex was the talks they had shared, the conversations about the team and other more personal topics. She had been avoiding being alone with him, wanting him and not just in bed. She loved talking with him. He treated her like an intelligent person, not arm candy as so many other men had. Most of her dates in the past had assumed she was working for her father as a form of nepotism and never really looked beneath the surface. Maybe it was her beauty queen background. Lord knew several men had openly been surprised that she had her MBA.

Lucas talked to her, listened to her, considered her point of view. He also provided solid advice and never tried to undermine her, at least not publicly. For that alone, she missed having time with him. But there also this underlying sexual tension they had given into once and it was fantastic but she was terrified to go for it again. Definitely her father would disapprove and dating in the workplace always had such bad connotations, especially for women. She needed her leadership team’s respect and she was afraid to lose it over some hot sex.

Only, it didn’t feel like hot sex but something that could be more. And maybe that scared her the most.

Lucas wasn’t stupid. He knew what she was doing, judging by the small smirk he often had when he walked into her office. He played along, but the day of reckoning was coming. Opening Day was going to be more than just the start of their little experiment.

Cole stood in the doorway, a bemused look on his face. “Miranda?”

“Hi, Cole. Sorry, just woolgathering. Are we ready for today?”

Cole came in and began reviewing the schedule of events for the day. Part of her mind listened, but the other part wondered how to bridge the gap between her and Lucas, a gap she had created.