Here for You (26 page)

Ash gives me a small smile when I walk into our hotel room. When her arms go around my neck, my world is right again. Even though it was a shit night, having her in my arms makes the game seem insignificant.

“What do you want to eat?”

“You.” I lean back and give her my best smile.

As I assumed she would do, she swats my arm and steps back while laughing. “You’re the worst, but I’m glad to see you aren’t going to be pissed off all night.”

“Just because I want you doesn’t mean I’m not still pissed off.”

“I know.” She hands me the menu. “Just let me know what you want. The sooner we get dinner done, the sooner you can do other things.”

Damn it. Now all I can think about is her naked body beneath me. “Steak and whatever healthy crap you want me to shove in with it.”

Her laughter floats behind her as she walks to the phone to order and the sound turns me on even more. “Tell them to bring it in and leave it in the front room. I’m not waiting until after I eat.”

When her eyes meet mine from the other side of the room, I can see they’ve already darkened and her skin is flushed. My eyes drop to her breasts, which are moving up and down faster as her breathing quickens. The adoration that she looks at me with is enough to make any man’s chest puff up. I’ve never had anyone make me feel so wanted. Every day I have her makes the past seem a little less overwhelming.

I walk into the bedroom as I listen to her place the order with room service. I pick up her glass of red wine off the bedside table and take a sip of it. Grabbing the remote off the same table, I shut the TV off and take one more drink of her wine. When she walks in the doorway, the last bit of blood above my waist flows south. I want her so bad right now that it hurts.

“How long?”

“They put a rush on it, so I’d say about twenty minutes.”

“That’ll do for now.”

She raises an eyebrow at me. “Ohh-kay?”

She starts to walk toward me. “Door, Ash.” I practically growl the command at her.

Her smile lights up as she turns to shut the bedroom door. “I see we have bossy Cam this evening.”

I shake my head when she turns back to me. “Nope. Tonight I plan on worshipping every inch of your body.” I watch as a shiver runs through her body. “You like the thought of that?”

Her head nods up and down and she undoes a few buttons before she pulls her shirt over her head. The blouse floats to the floor and lands soundlessly next to her. She reaches behind her back and even though it takes all my willpower, I don’t take my eyes from hers as her bra falls to the ground.

I set the wine glass on the table without looking down. When I bring my hands up to undo the first button on my shirt, she shakes her head no. I cock my head slightly to the side, wondering what she’s up to.

“Let me.” Her voice comes out breathy, and my dick twitches in response.

I don’t know how I’m going to be able to control myself when she reaches me. I wasn’t aware she was undoing her pants until I see her sliding them and her thong down her legs. She is now completely naked and standing about ten feet away.

“Ash.” My voice is strained and her eyes flash to mine when she stands back up. “I can’t wait for your slow seduction.” Her eyes widen. When she bites her bottom lip, I can’t take it.

I reach her in less than two seconds and when I lift her, she automatically wraps her legs tight around my waist. Her arms snake around my neck, and I push her up against the door. I suck that same lower lip into my mouth and when she moans, it’s the last straw. Now I don’t just want her, I
need
her.

I unbuckle my belt and undo my dress pants in record time. I wrap an arm tight around her waist while I pull my pants and boxers down with my free hand. “I need you. Now, Ash,” I grit out.

She gasps when I slam into her and I feel her body quiver. Every moan, gasp and whimper she makes fuels my desire even further. My lips crush hers, and I feel like I can’t get close enough. I can’t get enough of her. I lift my hips up urgently needing to become one with her.

“You are so fucking perfect, Ash. So perfect.” She whimpers and I know she is right with me. I move my hand between our bodies and with a few flicks of my thumb her head falls back against the door. I feel her legs squeeze tighter around my waist and the sound of my name coming from her pushes me over the edge.

I don’t move for a few moments allowing both of our bodies to come all the way down. My eyes fly open as I realize what I just did.

“Shit. I’m sorry, Ash. I didn’t even think about protection.”

Her eyes open half way. “It’s okay. I’m on the pill.” Then she opens her eyes all the way and I see the panic in them. “But …”

I cut her off. “I got tested after I found out she was cheating on me. I haven’t been with anyone since.”

Her smile slowly gets bigger. “I guess it’s your lucky day then.”

I have a feeling I’m going to love this side of Ash just as much as the rest of her, if not more. I smile back at her as I carry her over to the bed.

Even though I have spent the last four hours worshipping her body like I promised, I still haven’t had enough of her. But I have to get some sleep or I will be a mess for the game. Pitching or not, I need to be in game form.

“Maybe I don’t want you to resist me.”

I kiss her forehead. “Of course you don’t want me to because you know what amazing things I can do to your body, but I need to get a few hours of sleep.”

When she puts her lower lip out, I run my tongue along it. “Don’t do that. You know I can’t say no to you. Ever.”

Her mouth lifts up on one side as she nods her head. “I know, Mr. Hottie. Why do you think I do it?”

I chuckle. “You’re pulling out the name too? Wow, have I really not done a good enough job yet this evening?” She shrugs her shoulder up. “Seriously?” Now I can’t keep the shock out of my voice.

I have had the best night of my life, which is saying something considering the last time I said that was with her too. If she needs one more time to satisfy her, I will sacrifice the sleep.

I trace the contour of her collarbone with my tongue, but I glance up at her face as I feel her body shake slightly. When I see her holding her hand over her mouth to hide the smile and her eyes dancing with amusement, I switch tactics. “Oh, you are going to regret teasing me. If you recall, I have found nearly every ticklish spot on your body this evening.”

Her smile falls just slightly and she tries to squirm out of my hold. She makes an attempt to catch my hands on the way to her waist, but she doesn’t stand a chance. I squeeze, and she starts laughing even harder. “This isn’t fair! You know you’re a hundred times stronger than me!”

“You should have thought about that, sweetheart.” I grab her wrists and lift her arms over her head, securing them in place with one hand. My fingertips brush over her neck and she tries to move away from it laughing. “Oh, I recall how ticklish your neck is.”

“Please. No more!”

“What are you going to give me in return for mercy?”

“Whatever you want.” Tears are in her eyes, and I squeeze her around the middle one more time.

“Anything?”

“Yes. Yes. Oh God, yes!”

Just as I’m about to give in to her begging, my phone starts ringing. I look at the clock, and I’m immediately on alert. Very few people actually have my cell phone number outside of the team and my family. A call at three in the morning is cause for concern. When I glance at the screen and see an unknown number, my stomach drops.

“Sorry. I better get this.”

She sits up and motions toward the phone.

“Hello?”

“Wills?”
Shit.
Not a great time for my ex to be calling.

“Listen, Crystal, this isn’t a good time.” I feel Ashley stiffen next to me, and I don’t want to look over at her yet.

“I need help.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m at a bar and they want someone to pick me up.”

What the hell is going on?
I know Ashley can’t hear her, but I get up from the bed anyhow.

“Why?”

“They called the police.”

“What the fuck? For what?”

“I was drunk, and I was yelling.” Her voice has dropped to nearly a whisper, and it’s taking everything not to throw my phone against the wall. “A lot.”

Pissed doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel. Not only am I furious that she would be so stupid, but to call me rather than Anderson isn’t fair to me.

“Where is Anderson?”

“At the hotel. I think.”

“What do you mean you think? Was he with you?” I swipe my hand through my hair for the hundredth time. I risk a glance at Ashley, who’s staring at me with her mouth open. She still doesn’t know what’s going on, but I know she can feel the anger rolling off me.

“Yeah.”

“Why did he leave you there?”

“We broke up.”

“Why the hell can’t you just take a cab?”

“
Please
, JC. They won’t let me leave unless someone picks me up. Otherwise I have to go with them until I sober up. Will you get me?”

“Where are you?” She rattles off the name of the place, and I hang up. I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths.

Ash’s voice snaps me out of it. “What’s wrong, Cam?”

I know I need to get going, but Ashley deserves a moment of my time before I go pick up my ex in the middle of the night. I sit down on the bed and pull her onto my lap. She tucks her head in the crook of my neck. “I’m so sorry, Ash. I need to go pick up Crystal.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. Apparently they’re holding her at some bar until someone picks her up.”

“Has she been arrested?”

“No, but there’s a police officer there. I’m not sure what’s happening. I would make Anderson go, but he has to play tomorrow and I don’t. I would rather sacrifice my sleep than the team having a player down for the game.”

“Umm … okay. I guess I understand.”

“I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

She doesn’t say anything else, and I know it’s not fair of me to do this to her. But I’m not sure what else I can really do. I can’t leave Crystal there. Even though she’s not my girl to take care of anymore, I can’t turn my back. It’s not in me, and she was my fiancée. All I can hope is that Ashley will ultimately understand.

I throw on a pair of jeans and shirt followed by a fleece pullover. I pull a hat down over my head and turn back to Ashley. She’s staring off to the side and not looking at me. It kills me that I’m hurting her right now. I walk over and squat down next to the bed near her.

“I’m so sorry about this. I’ll wake you up when I get back.”

The laugh she lets out is forced and filled with bitterness. Something I’ve never encountered with Ashley before. “Right. Because I’m going to sleep while you’re off at three in the morning picking up your drunk ex at some bar. Give me a break, Cam.”

“Ash.” When I reach out to take her hand, she pulls away.
Fuck
. She’s never resisted my touch, and that hurts more than anything. “I’m sorry, baby.”

I know there’s no point trying to talk to her because she’s pissed and no matter how angry she is I still have to go. We’ll deal with it when I get back. I’m hoping she is quick with her forgiveness.

I reach to open the bar door, but it doesn’t budge. I knock and wait about twenty seconds. The door swings out and an older woman with a slight build and black hair is standing in front of me. I can tell by her eyes that she’s a kind person, and I’m guessing she held Crystal here to make sure she was okay. I’m not sure if I’m thankful she did or not. I’ll know in less than an hour, depending on whether or not Ashley forgives me.

The woman motions with her arm for me to step in. The room is dimly lit, but I see Crystal’s form at the bar. Her shoulders are slumped and her head is resting in her hands.

“I hope you weren’t too alarmed. Dan here is a good friend of mine, and I asked him to come by just so we could be sure this young lady got home safe. I’m sorry you had to come out so late tonight.”

“It’s no problem, ma’am. I appreciate your concern.”

She pats my arm. “Listen to you. A true southern gentleman.”

I want to sneer at the woman but I do my best to form what I hope is a believable smile. I nod at the officer as I make my way further into the room. Crystal must finally hear the talking because her head comes up. As soon as she sees me, she jumps down from the bar stool and runs to me. Her arms reach around my neck, and I stand stiff. When confusion starts to cross the woman’s face, I wrap one arm around Crystal. I don’t want to have to be here longer than necessary and I figure it’s better to play nice so I can get her out of here.

“Ready?”

She nods her head. “Yeah. Thanks so much for coming, Wills. I knew I could count on you.”

“Sure.” I turn back to the woman who is standing near the officer now. “Thank you to both of you for keeping her here safely until I could get here.”

“Of course. I can see that she trusts you, so thank you for coming.”

I drop my arm from around her back and hope she gets the hint to drop her arms. Finally she does, but then she grabs my hand. Rather than make a scene, I keep her hand in mine and lead her to the door. “My cab is waiting, so we should be good.” I nod again toward the officer and he does the same in return.

I open the door, and Crystal stumbles in the back seat and slides over. “Back to the hotel, please.”

The driver makes eye contact with me in the rearview mirror. “You got it.”