Playing for Hearts (41 page)

Hot, hard, aggressive, she showed him exactly how she expected their night to end. He slid his hand underneath her curls and cupped her head as he crashed against the wall. She melted as he pressed her lower back tight against him. Heat rolled off his body, warming hers.

“Damn — ” he kissed her again “ — sweetheart. I want you — ” he palmed her ass “ — now.”

“Yes.” She wiggled away from him, and dragged him to his bedroom.

He picked her up and fell on the bed with her in his arms, holding her against him. Touching, kissing, stripping his clothes off, she flailed beside him in her rush. “Hurry.”

“I am.” He pushed his jeans off his hips and kicked his legs, sending his pants to the floor.

She nibbled her way across his chest, over the taut muscles. Her nails dug into his shoulders. Dominic laughed and as she peered into his face, realizing the egotistical and serious Dominic was gone. He'd learned to smile and laugh during their time together.

She wanted to tell him her thoughts. “Dominic, I — ”

“I know. Me too.” Once again, his hand went to her hair. He pushed his fingers through the mass, then lowered his head and touched his lips to her mouth.

His body pressed against hers. She felt his lips on her cheek, her neck, and her hand weaved around his ribs, his waist, drawing him closer. She absorbed every hard angle and plane. The muscles in his back flexed beneath her fingertips. His erection pressed against her.

He sucked on her earlobe, the sound of his breath rasped in her ear. Her eyelids drifted shut as need made her melt. Her heart was at stake here. If she went through with having sex with him, she'd belong completely to him. There would be no denying she was falling in love, but what was going on in his mind?

His hands moved in front of her, sliding between the material of the jersey and her bare skin. The warmth of his body seeped into her skin, and her ambiguity disappeared.

His thumbs brushed her nipples and he whispered, “I've wanted you for so long. To be here, touching you.”

He skimmed his thumbnail over the hard tip. She gasped. Jolts of pleasure pinged throughout her body. Desire built, expanded, and demanded more. She touched him, hesitatingly at first, then stroking him more confidently.

His breath grew harsh and fast. She squirmed against him, until he guided her on top of him, and he settled below her. “We're going too fast, sweetheart. I need to slow down.”

She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth and clamped down. A moan escaped and she wanted to rush and meet him at the finish line before something happened to stop them. “No. We need to hurry.”

He spread his hands on her hips. “Shh. Listen.”

She blinked, forcing herself to hear past their ragged breaths, past the soft rustle of her knees rubbing against the comforter on his bed, and she found it impossible to sit still when his warm body pressed between her thighs. Beyond them, silence filled the room.

“Nothing is going to stop us.” He gazed up into her eyes, his mouth softening.

She shuddered at the huskiness in his voice. Her fists clenched on his chest. Oh, God.

“Condoms,” she hissed, throwing her leg off him and jumping from the bed.

“What?” He propped himself on his elbows, watching her.

She raised her hand and pulled a fistful of hair. How could she be so stupid?

“I don't have any condoms. I wasn't planning on having sex with you when I left Cottage Grove.” She scrunched her nose. “I can't believe this. All this time, going back and forth, should I or shouldn't I, will he or won't he, and all the craziness with the women and the police, your coach. I don't even have one measly condom.”

She paced the room. “Unbelievable. I planned everything. I even have emergency money stashed in my purse in case I'm ever stuck away from home, but did I think of safe sex? No. Why not? Because you're driving me crazy, that's why.”

“Diana?”

“I've ruined everything. When I get back to Cottage Grove, I'm going to buy every freakin' box of condoms at Sal's Pharmacy,” she said, turning and walking toward the other side of the room.

“Diana?”

“When Kate and Shauna hear about this, I'll never be able to forget about it. They warned me against you. Kate even made me promise to use a condom.” She waved her hand in the air. “But did I listen? No.”

“Sweetheart?”

“What?” she snapped.

Dominic held a foil package in his hand. “I've got things covered. Or, I will, once you come over here and stop talking to yourself.”

Her shoulders sagged in relief. “Pure genius.”

She joined him on the bed. His knuckles brushed her cheekbone and he smiled. “Can I make love to you now?”

The air sizzled. The question felt like warm honey dribbled over her skin on a summer day. She took the condom from him and rolled it over his hard length. He ran his palm up the inside of her leg. She couldn't speak at the slow torture of him almost touching, but not quite, in the area that she wanted him to be in. He nudged her knees apart, lifted her leg, and helped her back on top of him.

Even as they positioned themselves, he never stopped watching her. He cupped her, rubbed her, and her breathing grew shallow and rapid. He slid his finger along her wetness. She gasped and braced herself on his chest.

“Don't move,” he whispered.

He shifted his finger forward and rubbed the very spot she needed him to touch. She squeezed her eyes shut. “Oh, Dom … ”

“Look at me, sweetheart.”

She hadn't expected that he would take his time, to romance her with words, or to see her own excitement reflected back to her in his eyes. His callused finger slid inside of her. He understood, and he continued pleasuring her, until she shattered into a million pieces.

He stroked her thighs, letting her recover. She blinked away the moisture gathering in her vision. “Dom,” she murmured. “That was, oh God, that was freaking wonderful.”

“I know.” He rolled her over, until he was on top of her, settled between her legs. “But I'm not done with you yet.”

She saw the exact moment the ice melted from his eyes and he succumbed to what was happening between them. She reached between their bodies, placed him inside her, and hooked her legs around the back of his thighs.

He began moving slowly. She could feel the tension coiled in his shoulders. Inch by inch, he plunged inside until they were fully connected. He hissed. She cupped his face, and arched her back.

She reveled in his shudder, in the fact that she brought a man his size, his strength, his determination to a level that he trembled in her arms. She felt delirious.

“You feel so good.” He moved back and forth, sliding, caressing her from the inside out.

She gave a throaty moan as his thrust sped up. His arms shook in the effort it took to restrain himself. She raised her hips, meeting him halfway as her body rejuvenated below him. She needed more. He deserved more. She locked her ankles behind his back, wrapped her arms around his neck.

Her body tensed, strained, reached. He drove home, and as he fully possessed her, she gazed up into his eyes. The depth of her love for him brought her to a crazy finish. She clutched him as waves of pleasure coursed through her body, and he shuddered his release.

He went down to his elbows, bracing his weight off her, but staying inside of her. She swallowed. Hard.

Emotional and spent, she allowed him to roll her to her side, curling her against him as he pulled the cover over them both. She laid her head against his bare chest. His heart raced against her ear. Only then did she squeeze her eyes closed.
I will not cry. I will not cry.

Diana lost track of how many times Dominic made love to her in the last three days. She would've thought she'd have him out of her system or the newness would wear off. She peered around the corner of the bedroom door at Dominic lounging on the bed with the newspaper. The opposite was true.

She couldn't get enough of the big guy.

Playful, serious, entranced, dedicated, athletic. He'd shown her multiple sides of himself in bed and out. Throughout the best thirteen days of her life, there was one thing she'd been dying to do and so far, she hadn't been brave enough to ask him.

Until now.

She sauntered into the room wearing another one of his jerseys after taking a quick shower. “Hey.”

The newspaper in front of him lowered. He gazed at her intently, his mouth softening as he set aside the sports section. “Hey you.”

She stood at the side of the bed, her hands behind her back, and looked everywhere but at him. Although she watched him in her peripheral vision, she'd chicken out if she had to face him.

When she'd finally found what she was looking for in the kitchen on top of the refrigerator after making coffee for them both, she'd thought of nothing else than asking him for one huge favor. Now that she was standing in front of him, nervousness hit her.

He'd think she was silly asking him to do this for her. She lifted her bare foot and crossed her legs. She should turn and go back out. He'd never know what was going through her mind.

“What do you have behind your back, sweetcheeks?” he asked.

Oh, God.
She bit down on her lip. It was now or never, and she did not want to go home knowing she balked, because she was too worried about him laughing at her.

“Um, I was wondering … ” She sat on the edge of the bed, her back away from him, and her hands still hidden from his view. “You know when we first met?”

“Yes. At the field in Cottage Grove.” He leaned over, spanned her waist with his hands, picked her up, and plopped her down on his stomach. “You ignored me.”

“Yeah, well, um.” She grimaced, settling down on top of him. “I can be a snob.”

“No … ” He chuckled. “You?”

She bounced on him and glared. “You're not supposed to agree.”

“You were adorable. Sexy. Unforgettable,” he murmured.

His gaze warmed and his hands went to her thighs, underneath the material of her shirt. Quicker than she could brace herself, he'd moved her until she sat on his erection. She warmed. “Oh, boy,” she whispered. “Okay. This is good.”

“Very good.” He continued touching her, caressing her skin, and looking at her with those fabulous blue eyes of his that could go from ice to innocence in one blink.

If she didn't ask him now, she never would, and she had to see him do it one more time before she went back to Cottage Grove. She thrust his sunglasses in front of her and smiled on a shrug. “Do you think you could wear these?”

His brows rose. “Now?”

She nodded. “Please?”

He took his black sunglasses from her and glanced at her again. “We're in the house.”

“Yeah.” She braced her hands on his chest and leaned forward, liking the way he felt between her legs. Even though they were having a conversation, she found sitting on his hardness a little distracting and too enjoyable. “You're hot. That first time I saw you, you were wearing them. You had your thugs behind you and they were wearing sunglasses too. I became overwhelmed, because I'd never met someone so famous they came with a security team. But what I remembered, and I can't seem to forget, was how damn sexy and hot you looked standing there with your arms crossed, your shades on … and despite a gazillion women fluttering around you … you only looked at me. Even with your sunglasses on, I could tell, you only had eyes on me. From that day on, I knew you were my weakness. I fought. I argued. I was a royal bitch,” she ended on a whisper. “Because deep down, I wanted you.”

She hadn't planned on spilling her guts to him or confessing to how much he'd turned her on from the first minute they met.

For several seconds Dominic didn't say anything. She started to get off him, when he took the sunglasses, put them on, and flipped her over onto her back. Her body came alive. Excitement, Lust. Love. Hope. Anticipation. All her emotions tangled together.

“Dom … ”

He remained silent and all she could concentrate on was the feel of his hard body settled between her legs. Her thin mesh jersey top she borrowed from him was no barrier to the heat that rolled off him. Her nipples hardened and ached. She dragged in a deep breath, and trailed her hands up his arm, over his shoulders.

His eyes were hidden behind the sunglasses, his lips parted. “You, Diana Spenner, are the only woman who I have ever wanted to look at.”

Oh, geez. She liked that. A lot.

There was no way she could hide her reaction to his confession, not from a man who knew every type of woman and enjoyed them his whole life. And she was his favorite. The warmth she was experiencing coiled deep inside of her.

She was practically panting as she reached between them and pulled his boxers out of the way. “Condom?”

He stretched to the side, never leaving his position between her thighs, and grabbed another condom off the nightstand. With ease, he ripped open the foil, covered himself, and brought his attention to her. Her lashes fluttered shut and she held herself still, barely breathing.

“Open your eyes,” he whispered, his words thick with control.

Diana wasn't sure if she could look at him, but then his mouth was crushing hers and everything about the moment became him. The way he touched her. The feel of his lips pressing down, eliciting a response from her — one she couldn't deny. Her emotions tumbled out in a raw, soul-burning phenomenon. She wanted him now. Hard and fast. Her and him.

His tongue, moist and demanding, parried with hers. There was an urgent possessiveness in the way he kissed her. Every kiss she'd ever experienced in the past, every boyfriend she'd ever dated, every fantasy she'd created in her head burned away with the memories Dominic created for her. From right now, there was only him.

One hand came off the bed and he stroked her heat with his finger, opening her, and guiding himself in. He slowly plunged into her wetness, holding himself there with more control than she was feeling herself. She ached for him.