Catch of a Lifetime: A Cricket Creek Novel (11 page)

“No! Give me a fork. I want my cake.”

“Chicken?”

“No, I want cake.”

“Are you afraid to touch me, Jessica?” He decided to go ahead and challenge her fear head-on.

“Oh . . .” She tilted her head and gazed up at him, and he waited, fully expecting a sharp protest. “Yes,” she answered so softly that at first he thought he hadn’t heard her correctly. “Ty, it’s been so long that I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”

God . . . his heart ached with her honest admission. He knew it was the alcohol that allowed her to speak so freely, and for that reason he should back off. “Jessica, I’m sorry. I’m being an ass.” He started to turn away and get the fork that she had requested, but she reached up and placed one cool hand on his warm skin.

“No. I mean,
yeah
, you are but . . . oh . . .”

Ty looked down.

It was just a hand. On his chest. No, it was
her
hand.

And her small act of courage reached in and grabbed his heart much like the exhilaration of making an impossible diving catch and coming up with the ball.

He looked down into those whiskey-colored eyes and he was lost—no, make that captivated. God, she was such a beauty with those full lips, high cheekbones, and perfect nose. And she was talented, smart . . . funny. She should ooze confidence. Own it. But her lips trembled and she
swallowed hard. Ty thought she was going to pull away, and he wanted to trap her hand against his body, but he refrained. This was up to her. He wouldn’t force it.

Her shoulders rose and fell with each breath she took, but instead of removing her hand, she placed both palms against his skin. She smoothed her hands over his pecs in a slow, outward sweep and then back in. When her fingernails grazed his nipples, his muscles contracted involuntary, making his abdomen a hard ridge that seemed to fascinate her. She sucked in a breath when she came to the waistband of his sweats. The bulge of his erection was all too visible and left no doubt that he was going commando. He wanted her to touch him there, stroke him, and when she didn’t, a low groan escaped him.

“Jessica . . .” He tilted her head up to look at him. Her cheeks were pink, and she licked her lips. “Touch me.”

“I can’t,” she said in a breathless voice, and then grinned slightly.

“What?” he asked gruffly.

“Madison reminded me earlier that I always told her that
can’t
wasn’t a part of her vocabulary. She called me out on it.”

“Smart girl,” he joked, but his voice sounded strained.

“Yeah.” She tilted her head, making her golden ponytail slide over her shoulder. She smoothed her hands upward and then back down, coming even closer to his rock-hard penis, almost as if daring herself.

“God!” Ty sucked in a sharp breath. He knew she wasn’t being a tease on purpose, but still. . . . “You’re driving me nuts.”

She looked up, startled, and pulled her hand back. “Oh! I’m sorry. I should really go!”

“Would you stop saying that? Jessica, I’ve been drawn to you since last summer when we went to that prom for Olivia and Noah.” He shook his head. “No, even before that. I caught glimpses of you at Chicago Blue. And yes, I love
your amazing food, but I eat at Wine and Diner almost every night to see you. Surely you must
get
that.”

“I—”

“Don’t say it. There is no reason you should go unless you really want to.” He looked into her eyes. “Do you?”

She searched his face and then glanced away. “Oh, Ty, I’m way out of my league here. Do I have to spell it out for you?”

He raked his fingers through his hair. “Yeah, you do.”

“I have devoted myself to Madison. To my career.” She lifted one shoulder. “Sure, I dated here and there, but . . .” She closed her eyes and swallowed. “It’s been years since I’ve been with a man.” She put a hand to her mouth. “My God, I can’t believe I’m telling you this. Damn that shot of bourbon!”

Ty cupped her cheeks with his hands. “You’re not telling me anything I haven’t already guessed.”

“Oh, great . . .” She laughed without much humor. “I feel like the forty-year-old virgin. I mean, okay, I
know
the mechanics, but I would be a bumbling, fumbling fool.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“No, really, it has been
years
.”

Ty laughed shortly. “That’s not what I meant.” He took her hand and gently placed it against the hard ridge of his erection. “That’s what you do to me. Jessica, you’ve got nothing to worry about.”

Even more color rose in her cheeks. “Yes, that might be what I do to you. But what would I do
with
you?”

Ty gave her a slow grin. “As they say here in Cricket Creek, anything your li’l ole heart desires. Do as little or as much as you wish. Happy birthday. I’m all yours,” he offered in a teasing tone to keep the mood light, but in reality he meant what he said and he didn’t mean just for tonight. He just wouldn’t let her know it yet.

Her chest rose and fell, but she remained silent.

“Hey, I’ll be your guinea pig. To get you back in the game.”
As long as you only play with me,
he thought.

“Ah . . . taking one for the team?”

Ty laughed, but when her smile trembled, he sobered. “I want you to know you are a beautiful, desirable, sensual woman. I don’t care how long it’s been. You are capable of bringing a man to his knees.”

Frowning slightly, she shook her head and looked away.

Ty gently cupped her chin and tilted her face back in his direction. “Let’s start with a simple kiss. If you want to stop there, I won’t push. Deal?”

W
ait . . . what?
Ty watched Jessica walk toward him with a tie dangling from each hand. Ty thought she had been teasing, and he had simply played along.

“Scoot up to the pillows,” she said with the air of one used to giving orders. Wait . . . she wasn’t
really
going to tie him up, was she? “Good. Now put your hands against the headboard.”

Ty inhaled a deep breath. Apparently, she was.

Jessica kicked off her shoes and then scrambled onto the bed and knelt next to him. “Okay, now put your hands against the posts,” she requested in the same tone, but he noticed that her fingers were trembling. And yet she managed a quick, impressive slipknot that he couldn’t get out of, thereby truly putting him at her mercy.
Oh, boy.

“Okay,” he agreed, but was hit with a sudden bout of uncertainty. Ty was used to being on top, in control and in charge. Instead, he had to trust her, and that was something that didn’t come easy to him. Too many people had used him, betraying his trust. As a professional athlete, Ty was used to being treated like a commodity, a franchise rather than a flesh-and-blood human being with feelings and emotions, who bled red just like everybody else. And while
he was eternally grateful for his success, he wanted to shed the Mr. Triple Threat persona and simply be Tyler McKenna.

Allowing Jessica to bind him to the bed gave him an oddly vulnerable feeling, something foreign to his nature, and yet sent an exciting blast of anticipation humming through his veins.

This is nuts.

What is she going to do?

About a dozen suggestions popped into Ty’s brain, but this was her gig and so he remained silent. She nibbled on the inside of her bottom lip, making him want to know what was going through her mind. After a contemplative moment, she leaned forward. The billowy tunic gaped, showing him a hint of cream-colored lace and a mouthwatering view of her cleavage. He dearly longed to bury his face there, but the ties restrained him from getting close enough.
Damn.
Not being able to touch her made his desire to do so even more intense.

He studied her while she contemplated her sweet torture. She really didn’t look her age and he couldn’t blame Lannigan for hitting on her. At that thought, he ground his teeth together. Unlike hotshot Logan Lannigan, youth had passed him by. Ty had strands of silver in his hair, crow’s feet from squinting into the sun, and a three-inch scar on his chin from a collision at home plate. He did his best to keep in good shape, but he had a bum knee that gave him fits, and a shoulder that ached when it rained. The Toby Keith song “As Good as I Once Was” popped into his brain, and yet Jessica gazed down at him as if drinking in the sight and liking what she saw.

“Touch me,” he finally said in a gruff, needy voice.

“Oh, but where?” She arched one eyebrow and pressed her lips together.

“I have a particular suggestion, but at this point anywhere will do,” he replied in a strained voice. Her eyes wid
ened a fraction, and Ty knew that she suddenly realized the feminine power she had over him. She could tease him into a damned frenzy, and the slow smile she gave him told him that she knew it.

Oh, damn, he was in trouble now. . . .

She scooted closer, tossed a pillow out of her way with a determined flick of her wrist that almost made Ty laugh. Oh, but then she leaned in mere inches from his chest. He could feel the warmth of her body, smell her light floral scent. He clenched his jaw, and his muscles tensed when she lifted her hand, bringing the anticipation of her touch to a fever pitch. But then she hesitated. “You’re loving this, aren’t you?” he ground out.

Her gaze locked with his. “Yes,” she admitted softly.

Finally, she ran one fingertip down the center of his chest to the top of his sweatpants. The featherlight touch caused a hot shiver down his spine, tightened his nipples, and sent even more blood rushing south. She continued using just one fingertip, swirling as if painting his bare skin. Her touch tickled, teased, and made him hungry for so much more.

She added the rest of her fingertips, raking lightly with her nails until he arched his back from the sheer sensual pleasure. She paused, traced his collarbone, and then moved up his neck, over the rough stubble on his cheek. She frowned when she traced the scar on his chin, but then moved to his bottom lip, sliding her finger slowly back and forth. When his mouth parted, she just barely touched his tongue, but it sent an intense, hot thrill straight to his groin.

“Oh, my . . .” Without warning she dipped her head, and he braced himself for a hot kiss. But instead she lightly licked the stubble on his chin, making him long for more, and lowered her head and swirled the very tip of her tongue over his left nipple. Her golden blond hair trailed over his sensitive skin, and when her hand brushed against his rock-hard erection, he sucked in a breath. She tugged his waist
band downward but only an inch or two, making him want to yank his pants off and offer his package to play with . . . but he was helplessly tied to the damned bedpost!

“Whose idea was this?” he grumbled, drawing a low chuckle from her. He watched the top of her golden head and longed to thread his fingers through her hair. He was frustrated . . . but so incredibly turned on, and when she placed butterfly kisses down his abdomen, it was almost his undoing.

“Jessica . . .” He tugged at the ties and arched his back. “Enough!”

“Really? I was just getting started.” Jessica looked up and met his heated, desperate gaze, knowing exactly what he meant but showing no mercy. She placed her hands on his chest and then slid her palms up across his shoulders, over his extended arms, and then back to his biceps. His heart pounded when she slowly leaned forward, and, God,
finally
pressed her mouth to his, soft and sweet at first and then with a hunger that matched his own. He needed to, had to touch her!

“Untie me.”

She shook her head. “No.”

“Jessi—” he began, but his voice stopped working when she slowly started unbuttoning the rest of her blouse. He swallowed and watched, mesmerized as she unbuckled her belt and tossed it to the floor. It landed with a soft
plop
next to her shoes. With a breathy sigh, she let her sleeves slide off her shoulders, revealing a sexy push-up bra edged with lace. Her lovely Nicolina Diamante necklace enhanced her beauty—delicate, original, and yet natural—and matched Jessica’s personality.

“Holy shit . . .” Ty whispered when she came up to her knees and unzipped her jeans, exposing matching panties.

And then she stopped.

“Oh no, you don’t. Keep going.”

Color deepened in her cheeks and she caught her bottom lip between her teeth.

“Please.”

Her chest rose and fell and she closed her eyes as if gathering her courage. Ty wanted to urge her on, but he remained silent, giving her the time she needed. It had obviously been a long time since she had exposed herself both physically and emotionally, and he wasn’t about to force the issue. And yet this was sweet torture . . .

Finally she reached behind her back and unhooked her bra, letting her breasts tumble free.

When he sucked in an audible breath, she opened her eyes. “I’m not very . . . big.”

“Ah, pure perfection, if you ask me. Bring those here,” he pleaded. “I need to taste them.”

Her eyes widened slightly at his request, and she made his thudding heart pound even harder when she straddled his legs, bringing her breasts up to mouth level. She placed cool hands on his shoulders and braced herself. He could feel her slight tremble and knew this was taking some major-league courage on her part. Ty wanted to purge the fear from her system and replace it with mindless need. With that goal in mind, he leaned forward and captured one dusky nipple with his mouth.

“Oh!” she said in a sexy tone even lower than her normal throaty voice. Her skin felt like cool velvet against his warm tongue. He licked the pebbled sweetness, and when he sucked, she inhaled sharply and gripped his shoulders tighter. She pressed closer, offering more, and he took her deeper into his mouth, laving, sucking, and nibbling until she tilted her head to the side and sighed.

The need to have his arms wrapped around her intensified, and he tugged his wrists until the bedpost groaned in protest. He pulled back and looked at her with pleading eyes, but she shook her head.

“Not . . .
yet
.”

“You’re killing me.” He looked at her rosy, wet nipple and groaned. “Seriously killing me.”