Текст книги "Game for Anything "

Автор книги: Bella Andre

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Текущая страница: 10 (всего у книги 13 страниц)

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Julie could hardly believe what a fantastic time she was having. Once, she would have automatically assumed that Ty's friends would be conceited jerks. They were all jocks or ex-jocks, after all. Instead she found them to be some of the nicest men she'd ever met. Warm, easygoing, confident. But definitely not arrogant. There wasn't a chip in sight, even though they were very good at what they did and they'd earned a great deal of money.

She chatted with the football wives as the guys loudly cleaned up. It suddenly occurred to her that most of the guys she'd dated for the past decade—men in suits, entrepreneurs, fast-tracked vice presidents —were far more arrogant than any of these men who earned their living with their bodies. After more football talk than she'd ever thought to hear in her life, she was just starting to grasp how much strategy and brainpower there was to the game.

Her parents had never encouraged her to play sports, and while she certainly put in her time on the elliptical trainer at the gym, working out was just a way to keep her figure intact. Ty pushed his body with intense concentration and focus. Whether he was lifting weights, riding a stationary bike, or swimming laps, he didn't waste one second complaining or taking it easy. Being in peak physical condition was his job, and he took his responsibilities seriously. Lucky her.

Tony's wife went to get her another nonalcoholic beer and Julie stared into the fire pit, amazed at how quickly her life had done a complete about-face. She was sitting outside by a fire wearing an oversized Outlaws sweatshirt to ward off the slight chill, getting hot and tingly thinking about a football star's big muscles.

"Let me guess what you're thinking about," Ty whispered into her ear and her nipples immediately went hard.

"You like kids, don't you?"

He sat down next to her and took a swig from his Coke. "Not exactly what I was hoping you'd say." She grinned, lowered her voice. "Women think men who are great with kids are sexy." He grinned back. "Now that's more like it."

Tony's grandkids were chasing each other around the lawn with water guns, screaming and laughing. "Ty, come save me," the littlest girl pleaded and he put down his soda and jogged over. Even five-year-olds fell for Ty. He was utterly irresistible to every member of the female sex. And while he was all hers, she was going to enjoy every last bit of pleasure he offered.

"Want to see one of the most beautiful things in the world?" Ty asked as they left Tony's front porch.

"I'd love to," she said.

Ty reached for her hand and led her down Tony's long, redwood-lined driveway. On the way to the barbecue, she realized that Tony had built his house on property adjoining the camp.

"Lucky bastard, getting to live down the road from a football field." Julie pressed her lips together. She wasn't going to offer an unsolicited opinion. Everything was going so well between them, and it wasn't her place to tell him how to live his life. He had a fantastic mansion in one of San Francisco's most exclusive neighborhoods. He was already happy. Without her.

Ty turned his head and looked at her, his features lit by the moonlight.

"You want to say something, you should say it."

"Your house is beautiful," she began and he held up a hand.

"Stop right there. You don't need to massage my ego. Hell, you're one of the few people who hasn't told me exactly what 1 want to hear in years. If you've got an opinion, I'd like to hear it." Julie licked her lips, gripping his hand tighter. She took a deep breath. She never spoke out of turn, never said anything a client didn't want to hear, not unless she reworked it until it was totally palatable.

"Have you ever thought about moving? I mean, if you want to be somewhere more like this?"

He was quiet for a long moment, and her heart beat double-time. Less than a week ago she'd gone out of her way to publicly insult him. But now, she didn't want to hurt his feelings.

"When I was a kid, I used to dream about the house I was going to have. I'd ride over the Golden Gate Bridge and tool around Seacliff on my shitty bike, ranking the houses in order of which ones I'd buy." She smiled. "I'm really impressed. You got what you wanted."

"The first year I lived there was all one big party. It's a great house."

"Amazing," she echoed.

"But I'm thinking it might be time for some changes."

She turned to look at him, surprised that he agreed with her. And what did he mean by changes with an s? Was she one of those changes?

They were standing on the edge of a football field she hadn't yet seen with stadium lights and bleachers. Ty walked over to a metal lockbox and flipped several switches. The grass turned bright green beneath the powerful lights.

Julie felt like they were standing in a private wonderland.

"See what I mean?" Ty said and she shot a glance at him.

He was facing the empty field with a look on his face that spoke volumes. Usually, he kept his true emotions well hidden behind teasing, and joking. Only during their lovemaking had she caught glimpses of another Ty. He always had such an easiness about him, but now in addition to his usual relaxed, confident stance, she saw joy too.

"I never thought I'd say this about a football field," she said, "but it is pretty amazing."

"Come out here," he said, pulling her forward.

"I've only seen one football game before in my whole life," she admitted. "On TV. This January. When you won the Super Bowl."

Surprise registered on his features, along with a healthy dose of delight. Julie was pleased that she could make him happy by divulging that she'd seen his amazing moves.

"Seriously? That's the only one?"

She laughed at his incredulous expression, "Believe it or not, some people just don't watch football." He raised an eyebrow. "You never went in college with friends?" She'd always made an excuse not to go, not wanting to be reminded of Ty in any way. "Not even the tailgates."

He shook his head. "I'm surprised you even know the word for pregame parties in parking lots." Frustration welled up inside her. Didn't he know why she'd brought this whole subject up? Didn't he know how hard it was for her to risk thinking beyond the end of her assignment?

"What I'm trying to say is that I'd like to see a game," she spat out. "In a stadium. I'd like to see your talent in action."

"It's just what I do," he said, downplaying his natural ability yet again. He was given countless opportunities to toot his own horn as fans fawned all over him, yet he remained incredibly modest. They moved down the field toward the stands and climbed halfway up before sitting down. Julie's skirt fluttered around her knees in the light evening breeze.

"Did you ever doubt yourself?" she asked, figuring they both knew she was talking about the final seconds of the Super Bowl.

His long, dark eyelashes rose and she lost her breath looking into his beautiful dark eyes.

"You want something bad enough, I figure you should go get it." When he put it like that, everything sounded so simple. No doubts. No fears. Just pinpointing exactly what you wanted and going after it, knowing it could —and would—be yours. All day, desire had been building within her, along with a longing to seize her remaining time with Ty, to make all of her fantasies come true before they said good-bye.

So far he'd been in the driver's seat, deciding when and where they'd had sex, instigating it each time. She hadn't let herself be in a position to be turned down, to be hurt by him.

"You want something bad enough, 1 figure you should go get it." Ignoring how fast her heart was pounding, she said, "I had a really great time tonight. Only one thing could make it better."

Fire jumped in his eyes and she could have sworn he got an instant erection.

"What's that?" he asked, leaning back against the wood bleacher.

"I keep seeing this picture," she began slowly, "of you. Blindfolded." She stopped to let her words sink in.

"Go on."

"Naked."

He swallowed hard. Nodded. "Anything else?"

She shifted her hips on the hard bench, her skin already feeling tight and warm from the naughty little picture she was putting together.

"I believe you were tied up to something."

"We could have left right after dessert, you know."

His words were mild, but the desperation behind them belied his calm tone. She licked her lips. "I'm not good at being rude."

"As long as you keep coming up with brilliant plans like this, you can be as polite as you want." He pulled her into his arms and she felt so safe cushioned by his strength. He tipped her chin up so that she was looking at him.

"All day long, I want you," he said. "Every hour, I'm thinking about you. Touching you. Being with you."

"It's the same for me. Exactly the same." He kissed her, his mouth caressing, tasting, telling her how much he wanted her. She moved closer, pressing her breasts into the hard wall of his chest, threading her fingers into his soft hair. She slipped her tongue into his mouth just as his hands covered her breasts, cupping and squeezing them until she was crying out into his mouth.

She moved her hands down his neck, over his shoulders, down his rippling pecs and abs until she found the hem of his Outlaws T-shirt. She lightly ran her fingers beneath the soft cotton. His stomach tightened and his lips hardened against hers. She felt herself sliding into that out-of-control place he always took her, and tried desperately to remember her original plan. She wanted to show him what it was like to be at her mercy, slave to her every whim. And at the same time, she wanted to give him great pleasure, to show him in the most intimate way how special he was.

Pulling her mouth away from his, she asked, "Are you ready to make my vision a reality?" He answered by pulling his T-shirt over his head. "Here's your blindfold." She laughed in spite of the voice in her head that said he was too good at this, had obviously played this game many times with other women.

"Maybe we should head back to my house," she said, fighting the voice inside her that wondered why she'd decided to tell Ty about her secret fantasy. Wasn't she just going to get burned even worse in the end?

She looked up and realized he was watching her closely.

"No one's going to disturb us," he said. "Especially not if the lights are out." He walked down the bleachers, crossed the field, and flicked the lights off so that the field was bathed in the dim light of the moon.

Sex with Ty was risky and exciting, but it was more than just the crazy places they'd done it. No matter where they were, they shared an intense connection.

A connection she might never find with anyone else.

He gestured for her to join him at the base of the bleachers.

"There's one more way to make sure we don't give a free show to the neighbors." Julie carefully negotiated the steep rows. With every step, she regained her sensual confidence. And when he pointed to the dark space beneath the stands, she could hardly wait to get down to the business of tying up her gorgeous temporary lover.

"Turn around," she said, in a sexy, take-no-prisoners voice, then tied his T-shirt around his eyes. While he had his back to her, she ran her hands over his incredible chest. His muscles tightened and flexed beneath her palms, and she pressed her breasts into his back, laying her cheek between his shoulder blades.

He smelled like freshly cut grass, and heat, and she let the memory imprint itself deep into her subconscious. Slowly circling him, enjoying the view from every angle, she was pleased to see his erection straining hard against the zipper of his jeans. Giving thanks that her wraparound dress had a long belt, she quickly untied it and snapped it between her hands.

"Hands together above your head," she commanded, going all the way up on her toes to tie the silk sash around his wrists. When she was finished she took a step back, loving how good he looked stretched out before her, waiting for her to touch him.

She tapped her finger on her lips. "I would tell you what I'm going to do next," she said, "but that would negate the point of the blindfold, wouldn't it?"

"I'm game for anything," he said, and she smiled. So was she. She undid the button of his jeans, letting her fingers slide over his cotton-covered cock as she pulled the zipper down.

Once she'd pushed his jeans down past his hips, she slipped her finger into the slit of his boxers and found his silky smooth skin. She moved her finger up, then down the long, hard length. He groaned and wet heat flooded her. He didn't even have to touch her and she was on the verge of coming. Part of her wanted to toy with him, to make him beg, but more than that, she wanted to take him in her mouth, feel him thrusting into her lips, her cheeks, her throat. In a flash, she pulled down his boxers and was kneeling before him. His cock was beautiful and so perfect, standing proudly before her. She blew out a hot breath and a drop of pre-come emerged. She flicked out her tongue to taste him and he groaned again.

Grasping the base of his shaft with her hand, she licked her lips and moved his swollen head around the warm wetness of her mouth. She tasted his salty-sweet arousal and the next thing she knew she was sucking his thick member all the way into her mouth, down her throat, pulling at it with her cheeks while she pumped her hand on his shaft. Her other hand ran up his chest, and as he grew bigger and harder with every lash of her tongue, she groaned around his cock, urging him to let go. He went completely still for a long moment before rocking feverishly against her lips. The next thing she knew, he'd worked loose from his silk binding and she was on her back on the soft dirt beneath the bleachers. He was lying above her, pushing her dress to the side, pulling her panties away from her wet pussy lips.

And then he was pushing into her and they were kissing and she felt so safe, so wonderfully safe with him that her climax came quickly and beautifully, the moon shining through the wooden stands, illuminating them both just enough that she could see him watch her as she came, with an expression that almost looked like love.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Ty's first thought when they arrived at Julie's parents' house the following evening was Mine is bigger. He almost laughed out loud at the ridiculous thought. Yet hadn't he spent years trying to outdo everyone around him? Everyone who had thought they were superior to the kid from the trailer park?

He'd done better than all of them combined. So much better, in fact, that it didn't seem to matter much anymore.

Julie climbed out of the backseat of the Rolls-Royce her parents had sent over, her movements uncharacteristically stiff. She looked like someone had shoved a poker all the way up her ass to her neck, and Ty couldn't help wondering if she was ashamed of being seen with him in front of her "people." The previous night out on the football field, before she'd tied him up and had her way with him, had been the most they'd ever really talked. With any other woman, that would have been enough for Ty. Surprisingly, he'd started to hope for more.

"We don't have to stay long," she said, her voice clipped and strained. "Drinks and dinner, then we'll leave."

He adopted a relaxed stance, hoping it would rub off on her. "No worries. I'm happy to do whatever you need me to do."

She looked angry. "I don't need you to do anything. You shouldn't even be here." Forcefully clearing the mutinous expression from her face, she reached for his hand. "Thank you for doing this. You should be taking the night off, not be forced to schmooze with my parents' friends." Ty wanted to pull her close to let her know that he'd play defense for her tonight, but his fingers had barely brushed over hers when she abruptly pulled hers away.

"Daddy!" she said in an abnormally high-pitched voice.

Ty looked up the winding, paved staircase to see if her father had changed much in ten years. Nope. He was still lean, still tanned, still immaculately dressed. A Rolex watch gleamed on his wrist. Ty's expression betrayed none of his dislike.

"You're late," was all Julie's father said in greeting.

She'd barely made an excuse about traffic when her father cut her off.

"Wonderful to see you again," he said to Ty.

Ty hadn't forgotten the day they'd met. He'd been a junior in high school and Julie's father had, like everyone else, wanted a piece of the superstar action. Ty was destined for the pros and lots of money. But first, he'd have to choose his launchpad.

Blake Spencer was a Notre Dame man, and he'd been sent to bring Ty on board using any means possible. Most sixteen-year-olds would have been awed by dinner at the Ritz—where the waiters hadn't asked for his ID—by the $1,000 bottle of champagne, the caviar, the filet mignon, and the hookers waiting in the limo after dinner.

But Ty was more comfortable getting burgers and talking strategy than he was with white tablecloths and waiters who bowed and scraped. He'd rather be out shooting pool with his friends than listening to some asshole go on and on about what great investments he'd made and how he ran his company with an iron fist. The couple of things Julie's dad said about football sounded weird, like he'd read them from a how-to book, or memorized a TV commentator's remarks.

So yeah, he remembered her dad. Only now did Ty stop to wonder why he'd never given Julie credit for surviving such a jerk of a father.

An invisible punch smashed into his solar plexus as the answer snaked through him: Because you thought you were surviving the worst. No one else had it as had as you, did they?

"We were all thrilled when we found out our Julie was working with you." Ty nearly cracked a smile. Julie sure as hell hadn't been pleased. Which had been a large part of her charm.

Her father continued braying into the silence. "A client like you is really going to raise her profile. She should be very thankful that the Outlaws thought of her."

Julie remained silent. Ty had gotten used to her quick comebacks, her smart mouth. He didn't like seeing her behave like this, reduced to nothing but a rich man's pretty daughter. Exactly what he'd assumed she was back in high school.

Ty smiled thinly. "I insisted on working with her. I told my agent I wouldn't consider anyone else." Gratitude practically seeped from Julie's pores. Ty wanted to smash her father's face in. Her father blinked, then tried to usher Ty inside, leaving Julie standing alone by the limo. Ty tried to catch her eye but she was staring down at her shoes.

This was bullshit.

Ty pulled out of her father's grasp and returned to Julie. He tipped his finger under her chin, blocking her father's prying gaze with his broad back.

"We're a team," he said. "You've backed me up all week. Tonight you depend on me. Okay?" Her eyes were bright and he held them for several beats until they refocused. She spoke so softly, he could barely hear her. "Okay."

Ty kept his arm firmly tucked around Julie's waist as they walked through her front door. A young, stacked blonde smiled up at them.

"Oh goodie," she said, "you're here! I'm Susie and it's so exciting to meet you." Ty knew thousands of women like this one and he'd slept with a fair number of them. Funny how one week with Julie had changed things—because he sure wasn't feeling it for this girl. Sure, she was cute and had big tits. But he had a thing for interesting, smart women with great breasts. Julie fit the bill perfectly.

Julie stiffened against his arm. "I take it you're my father's new secretary." The girl nodded happily. "Since April."

Ah, he got it. Blake was doing his secretary. And if he wasn't mistaken, he did girls like her on a regular basis.

Ty'd heard enough shrinks talk to the team to know that when the people you trusted most cheated and lied, you learned not to trust anymore. Which went a long way to explaining Julie's initial aloofness to him. Sure, he'd screwed up in high school with her, but the way she'd held herself back from him went further than that.

Looking at her father and his newest "assistant" definitely clarified things. Susie turned back to Julie. "Janie, you must feel so lucky to get to work with the legendary Ty Calhoun."

Julie's flinch was imperceptible to everyone except him, and he wished to hell they were anywhere but here. If only she'd told him that her father sucked balls, they could have blown off the party and had a good time somewhere, just the two of them.

"Julie's amazing," he said, emphasizing her name to Blake's little bimbo. "And I'm the lucky one." He looked up and saw a faded, older version of Julie teetering down the wide, curving staircase. Everyone followed Ty's gaze, watching the woman grasp the rail tightly with each step. Her hair fell around her face like Julie's, and the shape of her mouth was similar as well. She made it to the bottom of the stairs without once looking up. A waiter appeared with a tray of champagne and she reached for one, downing it quickly before exchanging it for a full glass and weaving her way into the living room.

All at once it hit him: Julie's mom was an alcoholic.

Julie could feel herself shriveling up into a tight wad of shame. All she'd wanted was for her parents to act normal tonight in front of Ty.

Which, she supposed, was exactly what they were doing.

Her father had another new girlfriend posing as his assistant, and her mother was masking her shame with booze.

Julie hadn't wanted Ty to see this side of her. She felt raw, exposed, and sick to her stomach.

"Excuse me," she said, fleeing for the kitchen, which would be full of caterers who wouldn't pay any attention to her. Ty was going to have to float tonight on his own. She couldn't handle it. She could only think of one place to find refuge, the place she'd always gone and hid as a child. Her bedroom. She took the back stairs two at a time and the years fell away.

She was three all over again, running away from her parents' fighting, scared of their loud voices, their ugly faces.

She was six, wondering why her mother was talking funny, messing up her words at the dinner table. She was ten, hating her father for making her mother so sad by coming home late and missing dinner again, and hating her mother for being so weak and just taking it. She was fourteen, running up the stairs to dream about the new boy at school, a football player who didn't even notice she was alive.

She was eighteen, coming home the morning after the most wonderful—and horrible—night of her life, where she lost her virginity to the school's superstar football player, the same boy who hadn't looked or spoken to her for four years.

And now she was nearly thirty, still running up these stairs, still hiding from everything she didn't want to face, still looking for someone to love who would love her back. She turned right at the top of the stairs and for a split second she wondered what she was going to find behind her closed childhood bedroom door.

Holding her breath, she turned the gold knob. Everything was just as she'd left it. The Ralph Lauren floral bedspread, the Phantom of the Opera and Les Mis posters. All the things she'd left behind were still here, gathering dust, waiting for her to return to them. Her mother hadn't touched the room, hadn't put anything away. That would have been too big a project for Carol. Suddenly, Julie wondered if they were more alike than she'd previously thought. After all, she hadn't been any more willing than her mother to deal with the memories and emotions that lingered in this room. Maybe coming upstairs hadn't been a good idea, after all. Maybe she could sneak back downstairs and wait out the party in the limo. Her parents wouldn't notice her absence, not with her father focused on how impressed his guests would be by Ty and her mother drinking herself into oblivion. A knock sounded on the door, then Ty's gorgeous frame filled the doorway.

"Mind if I join you?"

A mixture of relief and humiliation flooded through her. She was glad that she didn't have to pretend to be the happy daughter of the mansion with Ty; he'd see through that in a heartbeat. But now he knew her secrets.

He knew where she came from.

He knew what she'd been hiding.

"Sure," she said in a shaky voice. "Come in."

He stepped inside and the room shrank before her eyes. His broad shoulders and tall frame filled her bedroom, changed it in an instant from an innocent childhood hideout into something mysterious. Dangerous.

"So this is where you grew up?" He looked at the bed. "Where you slept." She swallowed, nodded.

"I've got to know—what did you wear to bed?"

Her cheeks flamed. "Not much," she admitted and he moved closer.

"Nice. Very nice." And then, "Good thing I didn't know that in high school. I already had a boner every time I saw you walk down the hall. Thinking about you naked in this bed would have pushed me over the edge."

Suddenly Julie wasn't thinking about her parents anymore, about how embarrassed she was at their behavior.

Instead all she could focus on was how good she felt whenever Ty was around. How much she wanted him.

"I have an idea," he said, sitting down on the edge of her single bed. A bed that had never seen a boy, and only the barest bit of masturbation.

"I'm all ears," she said, even though the more honest response was that she was all hormones, all the time, whenever he was around.

"Come here," he said, patting his lap.

She perched on the edge of his knee and he pulled her into him. His heat and his hard muscles branded her, took her breath away.

"Everyone is busy drinking and talking downstairs. I figure we've got a good hour to kill before dinner. Seeing your bed gave me some good ideas."

"I don't know if we should," she whispered.

"I do," he said with a wink, and in that moment, Julie couldn't stop herself from falling a little bit in love with Ty all over again.