Fourth Down and Dirty: A Bad Boy Sports Romance (24 page)

“That’s an odd
story best served at another time,” I would reply comically. I didn’t miss how a
few of the people looked at me in awe or shock, but they were all polite. None
of them brought up Via Mace and none of them asked questions on the topic.

“What do you do,
dear?” Ethel, a woman in her early sixties, was the first to ask the question
after I had dismissed the question about how I met Hayden.

“I am a corporate
travel agent,” I replied. I was used to people looking bewildered and some even
asking what that meant. Ethel, however, seemed completely impassive.

“Has he booked
through you, then?”

“Oh, no.” I
laughed nervously and took a large sip of my wine, eyes roaming around the deck
until they landed on Hayden. He was chatting with two other men who looked to
be in their forties. He looked charming and entertaining in an effortless way.
I would have never taken him to be the man who created Mind Lash, much less Via
Mace. It was as if the man on the yacht and the man I had researched earlier
and met in his office were two different men. They were worlds apart. Was I
starting to get to know the real Hayden Dunn?

“
Oh
,” I heard Ethel say.

I turned to find
Mila, Shiloh, and Samira giggling silently as Ethel nodded knowingly. She had
been looking at me as I watched Hayden. I felt my face flush and I felt
desperate to explain away my behavior because this woman had clearly gotten the
wrong impression.

“Ethel,” I said in
a strained voice.

“Not to worry,
dear,” Ethel said with a kind smile. She placed a gentle hand on my arm and
smiled reassuringly before walking off to mingle with the others.

I was mortified. I
was at an exclusive party on a yacht, now sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge,
and I had just been called out for liking Hayden Dunn– the very man I had
practically stalked to call
him
out.
 
All of this, I supposed, had been
an effort on his behalf to subdue my humiliation and anger, but I hadn’t been
able give in until now. Despite that and the fact that it had been a wonderful
evening, I realized I wasn’t over the whole Via Mace debacle.

It would take a
lot more than a helicopter ride and a party on a yacht to make me move past
everything. Even if I described the night as magical it wasn’t enough. Off of
the boat and out there in the real world, Hayden Dunn’s video game vixen was
taking over the internet and getting even more famous. I couldn’t stand for
that and somehow I would have to put an end to it.

But as I turned to
look at Hayden, his eyes caught mine. He let a big, warm grin take over his
face as we stared at each other from across the boat.

 
In that moment, I felt more conflicted than
ever.

The driver dropped
us off at Hayden’s house and for a moment I wasn’t sure why I was even there.
The night was over and I should’ve been dropped off at home, but a part of me didn’t
mind. The truth was, I wanted to spend a little more time with him. I leaned
against the wall of the foyer, still feeling a little buzz from all of the
drinks at the party. Hayden shut the front door and slowly turned around to
face me.

“Well, now that
we’re alone I suppose we can talk.” He said as he walked a little closer to me.
I watched him close the distance between us and all I could think about was how
Via Mace came to be.

“So did you just
make her up out of thin air?”

“Who? Via?”

“Yes.” I said,
straightening up against the wall.

“Yeah I did. I
just-” He paused for a moment as if he had just caught himself saying something
he would have regretted.

“You just what?”

He looked at me
with a warm smile and his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down with a nervous
swallow. He was usually so suave and confident, but now he seemed a little
shook up. For a moment I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Was there actually
a softer side to Hayden Dunn? I watched his eyes carefully as he debated
whether or not to tell me what he was thinking.

“I modeled her
after what I thought the most beautiful woman in the world would look like.”
Once he admitted what was on his mind, the confident Hayden Dunn was back. His
baby blue eyes studied me as the corner of his lip turned up in a smirk.

My eyes locked
onto his for a brief moment. He watched me closely as my face slowly lit up
with a huge grin.

Then I burst in to
laughter.

“Shut the hell
up!” I laughed, slapping him on the chest and covering my mouth as my face
blushed a crimson red.

“I’m serious!” He
snorted back. I barely noticed his hand landing on my hip to give me a playful
shove. It sounded like the cheesiest line I had ever heard. If any other guy
had said it, I wouldn’t have believed them. But the more I thought about it,
the more I wondered why shouldn’t I believe him?

 
Hayden had probably spent hours upon hours
getting the look of Via Mace just right. In many ways he had staked his whole
career on the success of Mind Lash. Why wouldn’t he have modeled the character
after what he thought the most beautiful woman in the world would look like? As
I stood there laughing and thinking more about what he had said, my face
somehow managed to turn an even brighter red. Does that mean he really thought
I was the most beautiful woman in the world?

He cocked his head
left then right, eyes squinting, as if he were studying me in an exaggerated
way. “Although come to think of it, I don’t think you look much like her.”

“Oh I don’t do I?”
I giggled.

“Nope, I think
your ears are bigger.” He said as he reached up and lightly brushed a few
strands of my hair away to get a better look. His fingertips sent tiny tingles
down the back of my neck.

“My ears are not
bigger!”

He paused for a
moment before he grabbed the bottom of my ear and pulled it out and away from
my head. “Yes they are. Via has small shapely ears; you have big Dumbo ears.”

“Dumbo ears!” I
yelped with a smile as I tried to push his chest. He held onto me tightly and
didn’t let me push him away even an inch. “Dumbo? The cartoon elephant?”

“Yeah, big floppy
Dumbo ears.” He teased. I hadn’t even noticed his hand snake around my hip to
pull me closer. In our playful back-and-forth banter somehow we had managed to
completely close the distance with each other.

My laughter and
smiles faded the moment I realized my lips were nearly touching his. My heart
hammered inside my chest. No. I couldn’t do this. Everything inside of me
screamed to push him away and walk out of there.

But I didn’t want
to.

His touch was warm
and gentle. He held me a little closer around the waist as I closed my eyes and
craned my neck up towards him. His hand delicately slipped around my neck and
cradled the back of my head as he pulled me closer.

 
My world was completely shattered the moment
my lips touched his. My knees felt weak and for a second I thought I was about
to fall, but he kept me standing and held me tight with his arm wrapped around
my waist. He pressed forward a little more as he deepened the kiss. I had
practically stopped breathing as my blood pumped with thrill, excitement, and
fear. Were we really about to do this?

The palm of his
hand brushed down the side of my thigh, making my leg tremble. I leaned in a
little closer to him. His scent filled the air around me and I imagined his hot
skin against mine. The thought sent eagerness pulsing through my body. I
widened my mouth for his tongue to dance around mine.

My breath grew
heavy and rapid as I sucked in air through my nose. He inched a little closer
until my back hit the wall with a light thud. Now I was pinned between his hips
and the wall behind me, clutching at his shoulders the whole time.

My mind raced at
the speed of light. This couldn’t really be happening. This was a bad idea.

His fingers curled
the bottom of my dress up, revealing my skin for his touch. I quivered and felt
a teasing pulse of need between my legs.

This really was
happening.

He broke our kiss and
gently held my head off to the side so he could leave a path of kisses down the
side of my neck. I let out a whimpering breath as his wet kisses cooled in the
air. His hips pushed against me a little more and I felt his bulge press
against my waist. Clawing and clutching at his hips, I pulled him closer to me.
I wanted to feel more of him.

I shouldn’t be
doing this! I pushed him away and broke our kiss just long enough to see him
stare at me with worry. His eyes said it all. He wanted to make sure I was okay
and he didn’t want to cross any boundaries.

My eyes flicked up
and down and across his face as I admired his baby blue eyes staring back at
me. I could still feel him pressed against my waist and it sent a tiny bolt of
thrill up my back.

My mind thought
back to everything this man had caused in my life. He was the reason my life
had been turned upside down. Why did he manage to make my heart thump so
hard—even before his sexy-self was pressed up against me and making my knees
wobble. There was just something about him. It was like he was every emotion I
could ever feel wrapped up and personified in one sexy man.
 

Anger? Lust?
Something deeper than lust?

It didn’t matter.
I was going to push all those feeling and emotions down deep. I’d deal with
them later.

In that moment I
only wanted one thing.

“Fuck it.” I
whispered as I reached up and pulled his lips back to mine. I melted in to his
kiss. I felt lightheaded and my breathing stuttered as he broke away from the
kiss and nuzzled against my ear.

“Follow me.” He
whispered hot and heavy against my skin. I clutched at him for a brief moment
as he tore away from me and grabbed my hand. He gave me a little devilish smirk
as he turned around and pulled me by the hand. I followed him down the hallway
until he opened one of the doors and pulled me inside.

I swallowed
nervously. This must have been his bedroom. He pulled my hand, spun me around,
and playfully tossed me onto the bed. I let out a small giggle as the soft
comforter bunched up around me as I fell back onto it. In a flash he had
unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it to the ground. My eyes traced over his
immaculate body. My gaze locked onto his rock hard abs with a crevice down the
middle that I could lick. His chest was toned to perfection with broad
shoulders. He wasn’t a muscular meat head by any means. But considering his
toned swimmer’s build body; he clearly knew how to take care of himself.

As his shirt fell
to the floor he stared at me for a moment, as if he were admiring a piece of art
on his bed. He gave me a quivered smile. Was he actually nervous?
The
Hayden Dunn? I couldn’t blame him.
My breath had practically stopped and my heart felt like it was both thundering
inside my chest and completely still.

My thoughts were
interrupted the moment he fell onto the bed on top of me. My hips rolled
against him as he pinned my body against the bed with a kiss. My arms wrapped
around him and my hands roamed the hot skin of his back. He started to move
down my body, kissing my neck and my collarbone until he planted his wet lips
on the top swell of my breast.

I sucked in a deep
breath, arched my back, and pressed my chest against his wondering kisses. I
was panting and heaving and trembling with fire and need. He leaned up just
enough to look me dead in the eyes. In an instant I was lost in his blue gaze.
His mouth turned up in to a little smirk as he moved farther down my shivering
body. I rolled my hips against him, and feathered my fingers through his hair,
until he settled his chest between my legs. His hand reached up and grazed over
my breast. I could already feel my nipple peak underneath my dress.

I let out a heavy
sigh as he pushed the hem of my dress up my legs. I lifted my butt off of the bed
so he could push the dress up and over my hips. He stared at my wet panties for
a moment with a smirk as I practically clawed at the top of the bed with
anticipation. This was starting to be too much for me. He stooped down and
planted a wet kiss on the inside of my thigh, making me jump from the sudden
sensation. With that he hooked his fingers around the sides of my panties and
pulled them down my legs, throwing them back on the floor the moment they left
my feet.

My legs quaked and
trembled as the air kissed the wetness between my thighs. My breath had all but
stopped and my heart thumped and throbbed in my ears. I was completely naked
and exposed to him now. His hands rubbed up and down my legs as he admired
every inch of my body. There was something different about the way he looked at
me. He looked at me with care and attention—as if he were appreciating every
detail and tiny flaw on my skin.

He leaned back
down for another kiss between my thighs, this time a little higher. I widened
my legs and reached down to feel my fingers swim inside his dark hair. His
kisses trailed up my thigh, leaving tiny prickles and goosebumps in their wake.
The moment he stopped above me, heating my wetness with his breath, was the
moment my heart really did stop. Everything felt silent and still as he sucked
in a deep breath through his nose and took in my scent. My anticipation and
excitement was at an all-time high. My body practically buzzed.

I looked down
between my legs to see his baby blue gaze looking up at me. He was loving the
passion written all over my face. The feelings coursing through me were so
strong I could barely contain myself. I tried to rock my hips up and force
myself to meet his mouth, but he quickly pushed them back down and held me
still. With that, his tongue finally moved against me. My back shot up into an
arch as a twist of energy made its way up my spine. His tongue traced and
tickled up my lips, teasing me with gentle circles.

I gasped and
clawed at the comforter the moment he slipped a finger inside of me. My hips
rolled against his mouth and my eyes clenched shut when he eased another finger
inside, curling in just the right way. His free hand brushed its way up my
stomach and over my ribs until he found my breast. I trembled and shook as he
snaked his hand underneath my dress and felt my nipple budding against his
palm.

Just then, his
tongue flicked a little faster. My leg jolted and quaked as his fingers curled
and pushed. He wasn’t going to slow down. He was spurred on by the heavy pants
and the tiny whimpers escaping my lungs. His tongue lapped and circled around
my sensitive spot as he matched the rhythm of my rocking hips.

I was close and he
knew it.

His hand squeezed
my breast a little more, gently tweaking my nipple between his thumb and
finger. My hips bucked. His fingers drew back and pushed forward. His tongue
darted and flicked. My nails clawed at his scalp and my hand slapped to my
side, bunching up the covers in a fist.

In an instant hot
tingles cascaded down my legs. I forced myself harder against his mouth as a
deep breath stilled inside my throat. My thighs clamped around his face and his
five o’clock shadow scrapped rough against my skin. I didn’t care, I felt like
I was floating as my body swam in a sea of feelings.