Throwing Heat: A Diamonds and Dugouts Novel (6 page)

And she had used it. Oh my, how she had.

“Are you sure?” He looked dubious, his gray eyes filled with worry.

Leaning down, she pecked him on the cheek. “I’m sure. Just relax.” Pointing at the stage she added, “This band is terrific and they aren’t signed by a record label yet. Listen and see if you want to point them to your buddy at Delta Records.”

Mark loved music almost as much as she did. Settling back in his seat, her brother snagged a buffalo wing from the basket on the table and smiled. “Will do.” He took a bite and said around a mouthful of chicken, “What’s with the getup, by the way? You look extra dressed up tonight.”

She did?

Leslie looked down her body, taking in her black skinny jeans, snug black top, and bright red heels. Nothing was out of the ordinary. “What do you mean?”

“I mean the earrings and nail polish and other crap.”

She gave him a look, frowning. “I’m not wearing anything I don’t normally wear, Mark.” Maybe she’d taken a little extra care with her appearance today, but that was it.

Oh, there was that bit about a bet and all, but she wouldn’t flaunt her body just to drive a certain somebody crazy now, would she? That’d just be mean. And unlady-like. Bad manners all around.

Leslie grinned to herself. She
so
would.

“I know that look,” Mark stated. “What are you up to now, sis?”

Brushing him aside, she replied, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Before he could probe any further, she slid around the table and deposited the rest of the drinks. When she was done, she crossed her arms, tray in hand, and watched the band on stage.

The hair on the back of her neck stood up and the skin there began to tingle. What the—?

Before she could spin around to look for the source of her ESP, a hot body brushed against her back. Hard hands slipped whisper-quiet over her hips and very briefly cupped her butt cheeks.

She knew exactly who it was. “Get your hands off my ass, Kowalskin.”

Breath puffed softly down her neck, scalding her there. “You like my hands on your ass. And my mouth.”

Jerk. He would have to go and remind her about that. “I was drunk.”

Quiet laughter echoed in her ear. “You still liked it.” One hand moved over her butt, making her shiver inside until a thumb was caressing and pushing into the top of her cleft, right where the two cheeks met. “Especially here.”

She wanted to arch back into his hand it felt so good. Instead she stepped away and ignored the heat that had flared between her thighs. “Again, I was drunk, Peter. That does nothing for me now.”

Liar, liar, big fat liar
.

And he knew it. Laughter rumbled in his chest and he smacked her butt hard enough to sting. “You liked that too.”

Ugh!
“Go away.”

Obviously disinclined to acquiesce because he didn’t budge, Leslie shot him a glare as she retreated to the safety of the bar. He just hooked his thumbs in the front of his jeans and watched her walk away, not trying at all to hide the fact that he was staring at her backside. He was probably picturing it naked.

Irritation welled in her. Damn the man, but he could be infuriating.

Once behind the bar, Seth stepped up beside her, sweet and eager. It was cute, this case of puppy love he had for her. “How are you doing, boss? Can I get you a drink?”

Taking a deep breath, Leslie calmed her racing heart and said, “I’m good, but thanks.”

From her vantage point behind the bar, she scanned the crowd and noted that the place was nearly packed. All the couches on the balcony were in use and the dance floor was crawling with gyrating bodies. Two women were wrapped around each other kissing near the table full of ballplayers, and she glanced at the team’s ace pitcher to see if he was watching. Hot lesbians making out made for a pretty good show.

Jealousy sliced through her, totally unexpected and completely unwelcome. What did she care if he got his rocks off watching scantily clad women go at it?

Just to prove she didn’t, that she could’ve seen him staring right at them without feeling a thing, she forced her gaze off the action and looked for his messy black head and white vintage Led Zeppelin T-shirt. She found him at the far end of the table sitting next to Drake, who must have arrived while he was busy harassing her. The big veteran was glued to the scene playing out nearby, but Peter hadn’t even seemed to notice.

Nope, he’d snagged somebody’s beer and was kicked back in a chair with his ankles crossed, watching the band onstage. A thick black leather bracelet covered his wrist and his jeans were faded and frayed. His leather jacket was tossed over the back of his chair, and he had a five o’clock shadow covering his lean cheeks. When he reached for his glass the tattoo on the inside of his bicep peeked out from under his sleeve. She couldn’t see from the distance, but she knew it was a way cool yin-yang dragon.

A little bit humble and a whole lot of cocky, Peter Kowalskin was totally badass. He looked it and acted it—like nothing was off limits.

But he wasn’t into watching chicks.

Relief washed through her, taking the jealousy with it. And the fact that she felt relieved that he wasn’t into the girl-on-girl make-out session was seriously frustrating. Why should she care?

She didn’t. He could do whatever the hell he wanted.

That’s what she told herself as she made up a ton of busywork to keep away from the Rush’s table. When she’d run out of excuses, she left the floor and headed down the back hall toward her office, thinking it was time to check on Lorelei. The noise from the club became muffled as she made her way to the back, and the relative quiet began to smooth her frazzled nerves.

Once she reached the end of the hall and came to her office door, she pushed it open silently and slipped inside. Lorelei was sacked out on her plush purple velvet sofa, snoring loud enough to wake the dead. Kicking off her heels so she wouldn’t wake her, Leslie bit back a groan and wiggled her cramped toes. As beautiful as the shoes were, and as powerful as they made her feel, they were still hell on her feet.

Casting a quick glance at her sister-in-law, she was reassured to find her still sound asleep. Dark circles smudged beneath her eyes and she was curled up on her side with Leslie’s hand-knit blanket over her. The multicolored chenille throw had been her first attempt at knitting something harder than a scarf, and it looked pretty good if she did say so herself. A few tie-offs had come loose, but the unraveled threads gave it a fringy kind of appearance.

For a woman who was rarely domestic, even she found it odd just how much she enjoyed the craft of knitting. But it had only taken one good Colorado blizzard for her to discover how relaxing it could be—and how well it helped pass the time when thirty-mile-an-hour winds whipped the snow coming down into whiteout conditions and kept everyone indoors.

It was all part of her fresh start, this trying new things. Cooking, knitting—getting all grassroots and stuff. For her anyway. Such a far departure from the life that she’d lived before. Then it had been work and the beach. Those were the only two things that had turned her crank.

Well that and killer shoes.

Glancing down at her only remaining pairs of Jimmy Choos, a sad little sigh escaped before she could stop it. Lorelei stirred at the noise and shuffled on the couch, a hand flopping off the cushions to dangle near the floor. She came dangerously close to taking out a struggling potted bamboo plant without even knowing it.

As quietly as she could, Leslie moved the pot out of harm’s reach and noted how many leaves had already turned yellow. She’d bought it just last month. Poor thing.

Just then a knock on the door sounded, startling her. Whirling around as the door opened a crack, she saw her brother’s dark blond hair come into view, relieving her. He must have come to retrieve Sleeping Beauty.

“Is she still asleep?” he whispered not so softly.

“Not anymore I’m not,” came a grumpy reply from under the throw blanket.

Pushing the door the rest of the way open, Mark strode in and crouched down next to his wife, concern and love filling his voice. “Are you all right, baby?”

Lorelei pushed the blanket aside and sat up, her dark brown hair a tangled mess. “Yeah. What time is it?” she said around a huge yawn.

Leslie watched her brother kiss his woman tenderly on the temple before he replied, “It’s time to get you home.”

Straightening, he helped her to her feet as she said, “I sat down only for a minute. I swear.” She looked confused and embarrassed by her impromptu napping session.

She shouldn’t be embarrassed about it. Heck no. The couch had more lure than any Greek siren ever could. Leslie had succumbed to its temptation more than once. She wasn’t ashamed to admit it. And she wasn’t even pregnant.

That couch sucked you in like a vortex.

Mark wrapped a strong arm around Lorelei and pulled her close into his side. It was so sweet, she thought as she watched the two, the way her brother behaved around his wife. For too many years his warmth had been hidden under an ice sheet of cynicism, a terrible first marriage to one crazy bitch the source and blame. But then Lorelei had come along hell-bent on stealing from him to save her family and his calculated aloofness had melted under the passionate tornado that was her.

Now when Leslie looked at her brother she saw the real Mark. The guy with the big, tender heart and ready smile. She couldn’t be happier for him. He deserved that kind of love.

Her sister-in-law snuggled into his side and smiled up at him, her eyes brimming with adoration and affection. And he looked back at her just the same. It was wonderful. Heartwarming even.

The stab of envy took her completely by surprise.

Blowing out a breath, Leslie mentally swore. Why did she have to go and start feeling envious of couples in love all of a sudden? What was that about?

Not since she was a teenager had she been interested in happily ever after with a man. Life had taught her the hard way that it simply didn’t happen like that in reality. At least not for her. Which was perfectly fine, since tangling with a man only made things messy. She had the list of damages to prove it. Each one as painful or bad as the rest.

So why—out of the blue—she found herself getting riled over it, she just didn’t understand.

“We’re going to head out, sis.” Mark’s voice snapped her back to the moment and she tuned in just as they were stepping through the door.

“Yeah, y’all have a good night.” She waved them off, ready to have a moment to herself. It had been a long day and she could really use five minutes of alone time.

Which brought her right back around to the fact that she liked her life just the way it was—complete freedom and independence. Not a snowball’s chance in hell would she give that up for all the couple moments in the world—no matter how cutesy they were. It wasn’t worth it.

And there wasn’t a man alive who could ever make her change her mind.

Chapter Five

P
ETER WAITED UNTIL
Mark and Lorelei had left and then he walked down the long hall until he reached Leslie’s office door. He’d seen her disappear to the back earlier and figured she was still there since he hadn’t seen her come out. Fighting back a smile and resisting the urge to rub his hands together in anticipation, he turned the doorknob and peered inside. He couldn’t wait to see where this interlude would lead.

Leslie was seated behind her desk and her head was leaned back against the chair’s headrest. When she heard the door creak she jerked up straight. Realizing who it was, she tilted the chair back on its spring with a smirk and put her bare feet up on her desk. Then she crossed her slender ankles, and his attention was drawn to her coral-painted toenails. Each big toe had a white flower accent on it, and it was sexy as all hell.

He’d never considered himself much of a foot guy, but he was in danger of acquiring a fetish now. She must have caught the direction of his gaze because she wiggled her toes playfully, a sly grin taking over her gorgeous face. “Is there something you want?”

There was a whole lot of something that he wanted. And it was right in front of him all wrapped up in a sassy attitude. God, he loved that about her. The woman was all kinds of sauce.

For a guy like him who didn’t want the responsibility of holding onto anything, Leslie Cutter was the perfect woman. She was as wild at heart as he was and even harder to handle. “I want the same thing that you want.”

She cocked her head and eyed him, her pretty hazel eyes assessing. “You mean to permanently erase that night from my memory bank? Because that’s what I want—to forget that ever happened.”

Peter tossed his jacket on the purple velvet sofa and made a
tsk-tsk
sound. “That mouth of yours is too pretty to be sullying it up with lies, sweetheart. Shame on you.”

Her brows slashed low and her eyes narrowed like a feline’s, flashing with warning. “You’re one to talk about shame.”

The way she said it had something hot stirring to life in his gut. It was the first time she’d willingly referred to that night. Not the most flattering thing to hear, but at least she was talking about it.

Pressing his advantage, Peter strode casually over to the bookcase beside her desk and began perusing the shelves. She stiffened at his closeness and his body reacted to her by going hyperaware and focused, just like it did during a game.

And of course, his palms went sweaty.

She was the only woman who had ever made him nervous. Wiping his hands as casually as he could on his jeans, Peter glanced over his shoulder and caught Leslie checking out his ass. He grinned to himself, his ego boosted. Yeah, his ass was a good one.

It ought to be, he thought, with all the work he put into it. Being a professional athlete meant keeping his body in prime shape, and it was nice to know the effort paid off in other places besides the ball field. “Is there something you want?” he shot back with a raised eyebrow, amused at being able to toss her words right back at her.

“You wish,” she retorted and tossed him a dismissive glance. Only he caught the gleam of interest in her eyes and knew her for the liar that she was.