Текст книги "Game for Seduction "

Автор книги: Bella Andre

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Текущая страница: 8 (всего у книги 12 страниц)

Chapter Seventeen

When Melissa woke up in Dominic's bed, she instantly knew it would be far too easy to get used to sleeping there. How was she supposed to keep her guard up when he was everything she'd ever dreamed of and so much more?

He lay on the living-room floor doing sit-ups in a T-shirt and shorts, and her mouth watered. He wore headphones and hadn't heard her come down the hall, which gave her the opportunity to stare. Would she ever get used to looking at him? His thighs and calves were well muscled and taut as he pushed through his set.

He opened his eyes and grinned at her, slipping off the headphones. "Good morning."

Her stomach somersaulted like she was a teenage girl. "Hi," she said, getting a glimpse of the clock on the wall. Ten-thirty a.m.? "Is your clock right?"

"You were tired."

She blushed. Anyone would have been tired after that many mind-blowing orgasms. "I'm going to be late to work. And you have practice."

He stood up and walked over to her. "Kiss me."

She immediately complied, going up on her tippy-toes. His mouth was warm and intoxicating and she was panting by the time he ended the kiss.

"I'll drop you off at your apartment on my way to the gym. Are you attending the charity event tonight?"

She nodded and he smiled. "Good."

She was beginning to understand what that wicked gleam in his eyes meant. Somewhere, somehow, at the event tonight he'd be pushing her skirt up to her waist and taking her. The anticipation was already killing her.

Ten minutes later he kissed her long and hard in front of her apartment. "If I didn't have practice, I'd be fucking you on your kitchen table right now."

She forced herself to step away from him. Players were heavily fined for skipping practice, so he couldn't stay, no matter how badly she wanted him to.

"Don't bother wearing panties tonight," he said, then left.

Great. She was already wet and burning for him, with a whole day to get through before she could get any relief.

By the time she'd showered and dressed, it was time to meet her best friend for lunch. Alice owned her own recruitment firm and Melissa greatly admired the way she'd built the company into one of the top firms in San Francisco in five years. Focusing on retraining highly qualified women who were getting back into the workplace once their kids were of school age had quickly given Alice a unique edge. Alice claimed that ex-stay-at-home moms worked harder and faster than any man ever could.

Melissa suddenly imagined herself rocking a blue-eyed baby with Dominic's dark hair and skin.

Oh, God, when was she going to accept the truth? Not only was she not going to have babies with Dominic, she probably wasn't going to share his bed for much longer. Everyone liked novelty, Dominic was no different. He was attracted to her only because she was so different from the standard football groupies. But that didn't mean his attraction would last.

Arriving fifteen minutes early at the Pier 39 restaurant, Melissa ordered a glass of wine and watched the tourists as she sipped it. Happy couples abounded. Young mothers chased toddlers; fathers held video cameras. It was all so normal.

And so out of reach.

Alice walked in, reed thin, wearing impossibly high heels, a red sweater, black slacks, and a funky pair of black glasses with red flecks in them. She wasn't a typical beauty, but there was something intriguing and sensual about her. Melissa had watched dozens of men try to latch on to Alice and fail miserably; Alice wasn't the girlfriend type.

"Honey," Alice said after they hugged, "I don't even need to ask how you are. You're glowing. Whoever he is must be incredible in the sack."

Melissa nearly choked on her wine. "Good to know I'm so transparent."

"Do I know him?" Alice asked.

Melissa shook her head. "No. At least I don't think you do." She cleared her throat and added in a much softer voice, "Although you might have seen him on TV. Or in some magazines."

Alice turned to the nearest waiter."We're going to need a full bottle." She refocused her attention on Melissa. "You didn't sleep with one of the Outlaws, did you?"

Alice didn't have a very high opinion of football players, even though Melissa was pretty sure she'd never been to a game. Melissa's guilty face gave her away.

"His name?"

Melissa looked at her friend. "You won't know who he is, what does it matter?"

"It matters because that way I can hunt him down and kill him if he ever treats you badly."

"Dominic is a good man," Melissa instantly defended him.

Alice tapped one manicured nail on the frame of her glasses. "Dominic. Hmm, that rings a bell. Is he tall, dark, and handsome?"

Melissa giggled. "You've just described half of the team."

"Are you in love with him?"

Melissa closed her eyes. "I don't know," she lied. "I don't think I should be." She opened her eyes. "I'm not sure it matters either way. He's not the marrying type."

Alice topped up their wineglasses. "How soon can I meet him?"

One of the things Melissa had always admired about Alice was her ability to make quick decisions. Melissa liked to mull over things to death, shred her worries to pieces in her mind until she was left with nothing but pulp. Introducing Alice to Dominic was too risky. It would mess with her plan to bury her head in the sand and enjoy all the naughty sex until he found someone else and the decision was taken from her.

On the other hand, what if Alice saw something she'd missed? Maybe Alice's impartial eye was exactly what she needed.

"There's a charity event tonight at the new aquarium," she said. "I suppose you could come with me. I'll have a client with me, though—another football player. So you'll have to promise to be on your best behavior."

Alice smiled, a wicked glint in her eye. "Hell, if sleeping with a football player will make me look half as good as you do right now, I'll be extra nice."

Summer passing camps were usually a vacation from the grueling practices during the season, and Dominic always enjoyed the chance to hone his skills.

Not today. He'd never fumbled so many balls, never lacked chemistry with the quarterback like this. Dominic poured a bottle of water over his head, trying to drown out the inner voice that said he was screwed, that sleeping with Melissa had jinxed him in some way, had stolen his mojo.

Ty waited until everyone else had left the field before razzing him. "She anyone I know?"

Dominic went still. "Just getting old." For once, he was glad to use his age as an excuse.

Ty didn't buy it. "Took me a while to get my game back on after hooking up with Julie. Don't fight it, man. It'll happen." He gave Dominic a knowing grin. "And let me know when we can meet the woman who finally fucked up your game. She's got to be pretty amazing." He headed into the locker room.

Several Outlaws swore by their "no sex before a game" superstition. Dominic had never noticed it mattering one way or the other, but maybe that was because none of those women had mattered.

Six hours later, Melissa smoothed down her strapless dark-purple dress in the passenger seat of Alice's car.

"You look great, girl. Loverboy's eyes are going to pop out of his head."

"Thanks," she said to her best friend, "but please don't call Dominic loverboy ever again."

Alice grinned. "I did a little research when I got back to the office. He did those Calvin Klein commercials for a while, right? They call him the Dominator?"

"He did." Melissa's face flushed. "And they do."

"No wonder you're so messed up over him. He has phenomenal abs."

They had arrived in Golden Gate Park just as the party was getting under way. Melissa had instructed JP to meet her by the fountain at 6:15 p.m., and prayed he wasn't getting into trouble. She'd stab him with her heel if he was.

Alice took in all the muscles, the gorgeous faces and bodies in their tuxes, and shook her head. "I can't believe I'm actually at this party. Although I certainly wouldn't kick a couple of these guys out of my bed for eating power bars."

Melissa grinned, seeing the world she'd inhabited her whole life with new eyes, realizing for the first time that she'd been taking it for granted. She instantly spotted Dominic across the room, deep in conversation with a top cancer-research specialist Melissa had met at a previous gala. She tried hard to turn a critical eye on Dominic, but it was no use. She couldn't find a single thing wrong with him.

JP walked into her line of vision. "Hey, boss," he said before turning the full wattage of his charm onto Alice, who had bucked the dress code by wearing black leather jeans and a slinky sequined top rather than a cocktail dress.

"Has anyone ever told you what a breath of fresh air you are in a stuffy room?" he said to Alice.

Alice adjusted her black-rimmed glasses. "No," she told him before turning back to Melissa. "Thank God it wasn't him," she said. "I would have seriously doubted not only your judgment but your sanity as well."

Melissa's heart raced. "Not here," she hissed.

JP watched the interaction with fascination. "The day I understand the way a woman's mind works is the day I'm going to start batting for the other team."

Alice faked a sweet smile. "You mean more often than you already do?"

His obvious surprise was cut short by a slow grin. "I'd ask you to marry me, babe, but we both know it wouldn't last. How about a drink instead?"

Alice shrugged. "What the hell. Maybe I can rack up some charity points myself tonight by teaching you how to read."

Melissa bit back a laugh as they headed to the bar.

Dominic looked up, their eyes locked, and she suddenly felt hot. She wasn't wearing any lingerie under her dress. Could he tell?

A photographer from the Chronicle came by to say hello, but the bare minimum of Melissa's attention was on their conversation about the upcoming football season. The rest was on every one of Dominic's movements, the way his hair had grown a bit long and was falling over his left eye, the fact that he was still watching her from across the room and his gaze made her warm and tingly all over. Eventually the conversation made its way around to her, and the fact that she was responsible for two new clients.

The photographer's face lit up when she told him who the two players were. "Let's get a shot of the three of you."

Dominic and JP sold papers; they really didn't need her in the picture. But it was a good opportunity to solidify her public standing as a new agent with serious prospects.

She located JP and Alice standing beside the bar, deep in conversation. What would the two of them have to talk about? The fact that they hated everything about each other?

"Sorry to interrupt," she said, "but I need you and Dominic for a quick photo, JP."

"Sure thing," he said, "But are you sure you want to make Dominic look bad by putting the two of us together?"

She fought the urge to roll her eyes. Alice didn't.

"One day, if you're lucky—and have lots of fantastic plastic surgery—you'll look half as good as Dominic," Alice taunted.

But JP just grinned. "Your version of foreplay is hot."

The four of them headed toward Dominic.

"Dom," JP said, "time to take pics with Melissa. You'd better go fix your makeup."

Dominic's hot gaze swept Melissa's face, then he turned to the photographer, ignoring JP completely.

"How's life with the new baby?" he asked, and Melissa noticed the bags under the man's eyes. How did someone as important and famous as Dominic manage to know the small details about the people all around him? Impressed, she vowed to learn from his example.

"She's great," the man said. "My wife and I aren't getting any sleep, but she's worth it."

Dominic looked uncomfortable. Was it because she was standing there amid talk of wives and children? Did he know she'd been dreaming of having his babies?

Melissa took a step back, accidentally knocking into a waiter's tray, and cold, wet liquor seeped into her dress.

Alice quickly took charge. "We'll be right back," she told everyone, then linked arms with Melissa and pulled her to the women's restroom.

"Loverboy," Alice said, "is desperately in love with you."

Chapter Eighteen

Hope warred with confusion inside Melissa. "You're mistaking desire for love," she protested. They locked themselves into a large, private bathroom, where Alice grabbed a wad of paper towels and pressed them to Melissa's back. "No. He loves you."

"Oh really? Then how come the morning after our first time together, he told me how sorry he was? And that we could never make the mistake of sleeping together again?"

"But you have slept together again. Lots of times, right?"

Melissa's face flamed. "It hasn't changed anything. I can tell he still feels guilty, like he would stop sleeping with me if he could."

"Poor stupid bastard—trying to fight the obvious."

Melissa shook her head. "You don't understand. He's not interested." Alice snorted, and Melissa clarified: " Not in any kind of long-term way. Yet every time I tell myself to stay away from him, the next thing I know my legs are wrapped around his waist."

"No kidding. We were all getting a contact singe out there."

Melissa sat on the closed toilet seat and put her head in her hands. "I don't know what to do."

Alice reapplied her lipstick in the sink mirror. "Have you tried talking with him? You know, duct taping him to a chair on one side of the room so he can't jump you, and asking him some tough questions?"

Melissa raised her head. "No. I already put myself on the line once and got an emotional smackdown. I'm not interested in setting myself up for another big fall."

Her friend looked stern. "If it were me, I'd rather break my own heart than let some guy do it for me. Even if the guy is impossibly hot."

"It's just a fling," Melissa repeated. "No strings attached. When it's over, we'll both go our separate ways with no recriminations."

Alice gave her a look that said she was full of it. "You just keep trying to tell yourself that. Maybe one day you'll believe it."

A loud knock sounded on the door. "If you're not dead in there, could you open up before I pee on the floor?"

"You want me to deal with her?" Alice said in a scary voice.

"No. Let's get out of here. I've got an important photo op waiting."

Dominic kept a respectable, professional distance from her as the photographer took dozens of shots. But his eyes followed her around the aquarium the rest of the night as she networked with players, agents, sportswriters, and the coaching staff.

How could he make her so wet with nothing but a glance? He hadn't touched her, yet she was as hot for him as she'd ever been. Maybe even more so, given the hours of anticipation. When was he going to make his move? The waiting was killing her.

Then she thought, what if she propositioned him tonight? What if she was the one who did the dragging into a dark corner, rather than being dragged?

A small smile played around the edges of her mouth. That was exactly what she'd do. Now the only question was, how?

Dominic looked to be deep in conversation with the general manager of the Outlaws across the room. But Melissa knew better: He was keeping tabs on her. He would notice if she left the room.

Beyond the newly finished entrance, the aquarium was still a construction zone.

Melissa grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing waiter and headed for the back corner, near a door marked construction crews only. Without so much as a glance behind her, she pushed the door open. Ah, just as she had hoped: a completely deserted space. The walls and roof were on, but it was mostly bare plywood here.

She sipped from her glass, her heart skipping. It wouldn't be long now. And then she heard the faint squeak of the door hinges. She waited a beat, letting him move closer before she turned around.

"Decided to take a tour?" he asked, his deep, sensual voice washing over her.

She set her glass on a stack of Sheetrock. "I couldn't wait any longer."

"I was feeling exactly the same way."

She walked into his arms, and as he slid one hand over her ass, she shivered with excitement.

"I don't feel any panties but I'm not sure I can trust my hands."

His fingers found her zipper, and as he began sliding her strapless dress off, her legs started trembling. A moment later, she was standing nearly naked in front of him, wearing only garters, heels, and the beautiful necklace he'd given her.

A growl emerged from his throat. "Sweet lord, you're beautiful."

No one had ever looked at her like he did—like he was the luckiest man in the world. She felt impossibly beautiful in his eyes.

He was already kneeling in front of her, his breath hot on her clit. His hands came around her hips, holding her upright for his sensual invasion. His tongue found her first, warm and so knowledgeable about the perfect way to make her come. He didn't bother teasing her, since the whole night had been foreplay, but licked her with long, smooth strokes from her labia to her clitoris. The orgasm came before she was even aware of it.

The next thing she knew, she was in his arms and he was carrying her across the room. He took off his jacket without putting her down and laid her on a table, cushioned by the black fabric. She reached for his zipper but he was two moves ahead of her, his sheathed cock ready and waiting for her to take it in.

"All night long I've wanted you," he said. "Every goddamn second. You're so sweet, Melissa. So perfect."

He drove into her, his kiss rough and possessive as he claimed her, and she took him deeper, wishing this moment would never end.

She was his. Forever.

What the fuck am I doing? Dominic asked himself thirty minutes later, when he and Melissa were back out mingling on opposite sides of the room. Things were getting out of hand.

One accidental fuck could easily be accounted for, especially considering how long he'd wanted her. But instead of getting her out of his system, each time they had sex he wanted her more. Anyone could have walked in on them in the construction zone. They'd gotten lucky. Again. He couldn't count on that luck forever.

In fact, part of him wanted the chance to come clean. To tell the world that she was his woman. His.

Shit. Now wasn't the time to think about that. Not when all he could think about was taking Melissa home and making love to her all night long.

Out of the corner of his eye he watched her leave. If he'd had any self-control, he would have let her go home to her apartment alone and get some sleep.

Forcing himself to do his duty as an Outlaw, he socialized awhile longer, then extricated himself from the party. His cock was rock hard and he broke a dozen traffic laws getting out of Golden Gate Park. He passed the parking lot where she'd ridden him doggy-style, and a drop of precome emerged on the head of his dick.

At this rate, he wasn't even going to make it to her place. He raced up her steps and rang her doorbell, feeling like a kid on Halloween, with Melissa as the candy.

The building door buzzed open, and when he got to her apartment door he barely let her open it before his mouth was on hers and he was kissing her as if he hadn't seen her for weeks.

When he finally let her catch her breath, she said, "I was just putting together something to eat. I thought you might be hungry."

He nodded, following her into the kitchen, one hand threaded through hers. His stomach growled, but it would have to wait.

She looked up at him. "That was pretty wild tonight, wasn't it?"

He nodded, forcing himself to reply, trying not to be such a sexed-up ogre. "Wild."

"I can't believe we did that," she said, and it finally occurred to him that she looked nervous.

He pulled her against him. "It was incredible. You're incredible."

She pressed a kiss to his lips and whispered, "Remember what you said to me this morning?"

He looked into her amber eyes. "About fucking you on the kitchen table?"

She nodded. "What are you waiting for?"

An instant later she was facedown over the kitchen table, her skirt at her hips, her sweet, round ass beckoning him. He couldn't get his pants off fast enough, could barely manage to slide on another condom.

He drove into her with an apology on his lips. He'd never started to come this fast, didn't know what was wrong with him. But she was writhing and crying out beneath him, and as he pushed down the top of her dress to cup and squeeze her breasts, he realized she was coming, too.

Melissa was any man's wet dream.