Playing Catch: A Baseball Romance Read online

  Kirk shut the door behind her and turned her to face him. “How are you feeling?”

  “I’m okay.”

  “Just fine, perfect. Everything going great.” He mocked her. “Come on, babe. Tell me how you really feel.”

  “I don’t know why you’re here, and I’m too tired to deal with everything. You betrayed me—you and your brother. Set me up with those letters. Tina let your brother and Simpson into my apartment.”

  “She what?” Kirk grabbed Jeanine’s arm. “I get that you think I was behind the deal with the letters and I have to explain. But how could Tina do that to you? As for my brother, I’m not surprised. He’d do anything to please my mother, and my mother has her own issues.”

  His touch was strong and magnetic, and he always had that effect on her, of making her want to fold into him, but she stood stiff and glared at him, strengthening herself for the conversation they had to have. “You’re standing there blaming everyone but yourself. You had those letters. Explain that.”

  “My mother sent them to me. She wanted me to give them to you, but I read them, instead.”

  “You had no right to read them.”

  “Guilty as charged.” He moved his hand up her arm to her shoulder, and an electric charge sizzled between them. “Come, let’s sit in front of the fire.”

  He hobbled toward a lodge pole pine loveseat covered with a Navajo print and a fluffy faux fur throw blanket. It looked so inviting after her day, and even though Kirk had a lot to answer for, she couldn’t resist sinking into the soft cushions. She removed her boots and curled her feet up under her legs and leaned on the armrest away from Kirk, who gingerly lowered himself onto the loveseat. He took up so much room, he crowded her with his heat and wrapped her in his woodsy scent.

  “Shouldn’t you be close to a hospital in case anything goes wrong with your leg?” She resisted reaching out to touch him.

  “There’s a doctor on staff here, among all the shrinks. Thanks for your concern.”

  “I feel responsible.” Her throat stiffened and she tried to clear it. “I don’t know why you involved yourself in my mess.”

  He propped his arm on the back of the loveseat, but didn’t touch her. “I told you already. I care about you, but I was completely in the dark about the abuse you endured or your connection to my former coach. You have to believe me. My mother’s a drama queen, and my brother’s so busy trying to get her approval, he’d do anything. I had no idea you were the one who sent Simpson to jail. I was told it was one of his students, and since you were a minor, no one mentioned your name. There was no way I could have made the connection. My mother likes to star in her own dramatic soap opera, and believe me, she does a lot just for attention and to keep from being bored.”

  “But you figured it out, about me.”

  “I figured out that you were abused by a master manipulator. Just didn’t know it was Coach Simpson. He made you believe you wanted it, that you were in love with him, and that you owed him everything. Heck, he most likely manipulated my father into defending him, and my mother and brother into helping him. My father always wanted me to be a professional baseball player. He looked at Simpson as the lifeline for me into the pros. My mother, well, she likes to stir the pot, so she asked me to pass them to you. I had to admit I was curious when she mentioned love letters to Jeanine Jewell. I thought they came from another baseball player. My brother’s a scout, so I thought I had competition. It wasn’t until I read the letters that I realized something was very wrong, especially the one about your sixteenth birthday.”

  Jeanine shuddered at the memory of that day. She’d been disappointed about not getting a car. She’d earned it, posing for him, and he’d dangled it in front of her. With a car, she would have been able to drive away and make her escape. She’d saved up her lunch money and sold drinks to her friends, courtesy of her foster mother’s well-stocked bar, and stashed the cash in her school locker. But in typical George Simpson fashion, he’d baited and switched, giving her a cubic zirconium “engagement” ring instead and made her wear it.

  Bitterness flooded her mouth as she drilled Kirk with her glare. “What did you feel about Simpson before you knew what he’d done?”

  “I admired him. He was the best coach. He was in the big leagues until he retired, and a baseball legend in his time. None of us believed he was capable of what the state accused him of doing. We thought he took the fall because of school politics and that he’d gotten into an incriminating looking situation when a student forced a kiss on him while her friend videoed it. She supposedly tried to blackmail him for a grade, and faked a series of love letters to ‘prove’ their involvement. I believed him when he looked me in the eye and told me he didn’t want to hurt the girl’s reputation any further by facing trial, and at the time, I was sickened for him and thought he was too noble for his own good.”

  “Exactly the type of man he tried to portray, an upstanding citizen, a teacher and coach,” Jeanine said. “He was always the charmer on the outside, looking like the perfect foster father, talking about keeping his ‘daughters’ safe and empowering them to excel in school. Now that you know, what do you think about him?”

  “Utter disgust. He’s the devil himself. I couldn’t stop punching his face. I would have killed him if you hadn’t stopped me.”

  “I wasn’t stopping you for his sake, you were bleeding and in shock.” Jeanine lowered her voice and rubbed her hand through the throw lying on the armrest. “What do you think about me? Why didn’t you call or text me afterward?”

  “I wanted to.” He made his move and embraced her. “But I was dealing with my wounds, and not being able to play baseball, at least for this season.”

  “I’m so sorry.” She pressed a hand on his chest, bracing herself as his heart beat strongly beneath her palm.

  Those eyes of his darkened, the hunger in them evident. “So am I, but it would be worth it all if I won your heart.”

  “How can you say that? It’s not a fair exchange.” She was all too aware of succumbing to him—his magnetism pulling her to him, along with his charm, his soothing words, and the romantic atmosphere in front of the gently cracking fire.

  “It’s what I want.” He tipped her chin and caressed her cheek. “I was drawn to you the moment I met you in that hotel hallway. At first, I was curious, and then we became friends. I sensed something was off about you, but I admired your strength and your heart of gold—caring for others like Tina and Marcia. I was determined to know you, to find out about you, and when I suspected you had issues, I wanted you to get help.”

  “Am I a project for you? Did you have an ulterior motive?”

  His grin split his rugged face, and sparkles danced in his eyes from the light of the fire. “Oh, yes. My project is to get you to open up to me, and my ulterior motive is to make you mine.”

  He leaned over her and took her mouth, kissing her in a slow, languorous manner, as if he had all the time in the world to stake his claim over her heart.

  She couldn’t blame him for staying away after the shooting. After all, he had to mourn his career and tend to his wounds. But he was here, ambushing her at the cabin, and he wanted her—still, knowing how damaged she was.

  Hope flickered in her chest as she absorbed the sacrifice Kirk had made. His career for her heart. If only it hadn’t been such a harsh choice. If only she were truly worth it. But what had happened couldn’t be undone, and heck, if he wanted her heart, she’d try to open it up to him, no matter how hard it would be to give up control.

  It was what she wanted too. And tonight, there would be no more barriers.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Even though his thigh ached with a dull burn, the rest of Kirk’s body sprang alive as he kissed Jeanine, savoring her lips, her taste, the scent of wildflowers and the feel of her heated skin in his arms.

  She drew her hands around his neck and massaged his solid shoulders, tilting her head as he ran his lips down the side of her neck. He sw
ept her hair back and nuzzled her neck, feathering her alternately with kisses and tiny nips.

  “I want you, Kirk, truly want to be with you.” She pressed her breasts against him and gripped him tight. He hesitated, wondering if she was again putting herself up for this, acting the sex kitten, but he couldn’t hold back any longer, not after all they’d been through.

  He crashed his lips to hers, locking her in as he stroked her with all the passion he’d suppressed for so long. His fingers tangled around her silky hair, and he angled her head to dip deeper, exploring the curves of her sweet mouth, alternately sucking on her upper and then lower lips, tasting her with every fiber of his being.

  She’d set him on fire the first night he met her, but he’d held back, wanting from her emotions over the physical. And now, he was sure. Sure that she was the only woman he’d ever want to kiss, handle, touch, and love.

  She must have felt the same desire for him, because she dragged her hands from his shoulders to his chest, and began to unbutton his shirt, even as her lips crushed and nibbled, and she moaned with wild abandon. Their breaths mingled, raspy and hurried, and desire raced like a wildfire to his groin, filling his cock harder and faster than ever.

  “You sure about this?” A needy groan rumbled in his throat as Jeanine’s hands traveled south to find his arousal straining from his sweatpants.

  “Yes. I need this. I need you, Kirk.” She backed up from the kiss and stared at him through heavily lidded eyes. “You’re so big and hard. How long has it been?”

  “Not since I met you, honey.” His voice rumbled through his throat, thick with need.

  “Mind if I take a taste?” She ran her tongue slowly and seductively around her moist lips.

  Before he could answer, she was sliding down, licking a line on that trail to happiness. Shockwaves of heat pounded through his body when she yanked his sweatpants down and his cock popped out, thick and hard.

  Yes, he’d gone commando. It was easier than pulling briefs up past the bandages on his thigh.

  Jeanine seemed to pause, whether to admire him or to reconsider, he wasn’t sure. So he turned her face up toward him. “You don’t have to do this, sweetheart. You and I, we don’t have to do anything you’re not comfortable with.”

  “I know that, Kirk. I can back off, if you’re not comfortable.” She wrapped her hand around his erection and pumped it.

  The groan that tore through his body had him almost convulsing. He wanted her badly, but he had to be sure that Jeanine was mentally and emotionally ready for this. He had to slow this down, even though every cell in his body screamed for him to let loose, to take the woman he’d fallen for and to make her scream with pleasure. Even more, he wanted her to feel loved and accepted, secure in knowing he’d never turn his back on her.

  He removed her hand from his cock, and somehow, his mouth formed words. “I don’t want you to back off, ever, but I need to know that it’s me you want. No one else. I don’t want you proving something with me.”

  He didn’t want to be a generic man, a body in her fantasies, someone to get her off, but as anonymous as the one-night stands she was used to.

  “I know it’s you for me. I’ve been resisting it, heaping suspicion on you, listening to others lie about you, pushing you away, but deep inside, I know you did everything to help me. I want us to spend the night together.”

  “I can’t if you’re not ready.” His voice gurgled in his tight throat. “I can’t take advantage of you.”

  His cock and balls ached almost as much as his wounded thigh, but he had to be sure she was as committed as he was. If he were to be cured of his sexual addiction, he had to be sincere and open about his need for pure love—untinged by manipulation and control.

  “What can I do to convince you if I can’t use sex?” Her eyes were wide and bright, as if she was truly stumped.

  “Use words, Jeanine. Are we spending the time together as good friends or something else?”

  “Oh, I think we’re much more than friends by now.” Her fingertips trailed behind his ear, feathering through his thick hair. “I want to explore this thing between us. I want you to be my partner through this recovery process. It’s not going to be easy being here and facing my past. Some days I’m going to be withdrawn and want to shut out the world, and other days, I might cry and wail and hate myself. But I’m hoping to face everything that’s happened to me, deal with it, understand it, and then put it behind me.”

  His heart throbbed at her directness. She knew what she wanted, and she wanted to share her recovery with him, as a couple.

  “It’s what I want too.” He palmed her face between his hands and caressed her cheeks with his thumbs. “I want to get well. Kick the anonymous sex addiction. I want to be attached to you, and you only. I want so much more than the shell of a life I’ve lived before meeting you.”

  “So do I, Kirk.” Tears glistened in her eye. “I want to share this journey with you. I’m so tired of doing everything alone. So tired of pretending to be strong when inside, I’m falling apart. So tired of saying I’m okay when I’m anything but.”

  He leaned his forehead against hers and inhaled her alluring fragrance. “We’ll get through this together. I promise.”

  “Even during the trying times? Dr. Sparks warned that I might get worse before getting better.”

  “Through everything. There’s nothing you can throw at me that’s going to make me give up on you. I know it isn’t going to be easy, but I want to be a part of you, and I’ll stick with you through thick and thin.”

  She sighed and straddled him, careful not to touch his wounded leg. “I feel so much better having you with me. There’s no one like you, Kirk. No one.”

  “There’s no one better than you.” He moved his lips to her cheek and kissed her lightly. “This is trail’s end for me, J, and you’re the one I want to come home to for the rest of my life.”

  “Good. Now that I got the words out of the way, let me finish what I started.” She tugged at the hem of his T-shirt and raised it over his head.

  * * *

  Jeanine had to be in control. Always. She had to be on top, and Kirk, with his wounded leg was perfect. Of course, being with Kirk was perfect, too.

  His words were so sweet and true. He’d all but given her the green light to have her way with him. Anonymous sex she couldn’t handle, not anymore, but this was Kirk, her friend—a man who cared about her.

  She had him half-naked, sitting on the loveseat in front of the fire, right where she wanted him. But first, she had to convince him she was truly up for anything. She didn’t blame him for hesitating, so she delivered another scorching kiss on him, opening his lips and mangling his tongue with hers.

  He groaned, deep in his chest, rumbling and purring like a large lion. His hands pressed over her breasts and he grabbed them, rolling his palms over them, playing with her. Heat and fiery sparks mingled at the apex of her crotch and her jeans were too tight, her clothes too constraining.

  “One moment.” She unlatched her lips from him and fumbled with her clothes. “Are you comfortable?”

  “If you are.” He leaned back on the loveseat and shrugged the sweatpants down to his ankles before kicking them off. The bandage was thick and heavy across one thigh, but damn, his entire package was pumped and ready, bobbing just for her. “Shall I grab a condom?”

  “Definitely.” She dug into her purse and produced a packet, handing it to him.

  “We’re really going to do this?” He looked apologetic as his eyes took in the slow, strip tease she was gifting him with—not that she was trying. It was just that her blouse had too many buttons.

  “No more words, big boy.” She unzipped her jeans and wiggled her behind, then lowered everything, including her panties. She was so moist and wet, she could take him then and there, as soon as he was sheathed. “Let the rubber meet the road.”

  He stroked his cock, waving it in front of her, as a grin slowly creased his face. The flickerin
g fire cast a long shadow right where she wanted to go. She watched mesmerized as he sheathed himself.

  Climbing over him on the loveseat, she positioned her knees on both sides of his hips.

  “Jeanine,” he muttered as his eyes locked on to hers, and he brought her down over the head of his cock.

  Mesmerized, she gasped and held herself still as she stretched to enclose him. She wanted all of him, but she also wanted to savor his entrance.

  “I want this.” She took in his half-closed eyes and the deep blue of his gaze. “I want us.”

  She made the slow slide, purring at the way she felt every inch of him, a sweet and aching sensation, filling her to the hilt with loving pressure. She sat still and held him, kissing him softly as she squeezed him, loving the fullness, the possession she had of him, receiving him into her body.

  “You okay?” he whispered, stroking her shoulders and back.

  “More than okay,” she groaned. Now that she was fully accommodating him, heat rose like a persistent need and she moved, grinding herself against him. “You fill me completely. It feels so good.”

  She trembled with urgency, rising up on her knees. She lifted herself so he was almost out, drawing a deep greedy moan, then lowered herself. The long stroke sizzled inside, stimulating her hunger. Again, she rose and lowered, but this time, she couldn’t go slow. Need and desire slammed her with each stroke and grind. She rocked and rose up again, then down, riding him and pressing her boobs into his face.

  His hands clenched her ass and his mouth latched onto her nipple, sucking hard. Pain tinged with pleasure shot through her, and her entire body thrummed with the long pounding beats of heat, smoke, and fire.

  She rode like she’d never ridden before, her hands bracing the back of the loveseat. Her thighs burned and her insides clenched, rubbed deliciously by his thick hard rod. Everything in her vibrated with a blinding pulse, and she couldn’t hold back any longer.