Playing for Kicks (Play Makers Book 5) (38 page)

“Yeah, that makes sense.”

She slipped out of the bed and grabbed her
jeans and his Villanova T-shirt. “Can I borrow this? And take a
quick shower?” When he nodded, she headed for the bathroom, warning
him with a teasing smile, “Don’t go anywhere, Romeo.”

• • •

Sean dressed in jeans and a fresh shirt,
knowing instinctively she wouldn’t come back to bed. As much as he
wanted her to stay, he had seen it too many times now. She had her
process, as she called it, so she would insist on going to the
hotel, making her notes, making her mysterious doodles, and thereby
making sense of it all.

Someday she’d let him be a part of it, but
not tonight. So much had happened to her, and while he trusted that
she had told him everything, he couldn’t begin to imagine the chaos
of emotions. Zone D had been a sanctuary to her, no doubt about it.
How many times had she talked proudly of her bouncer? And of her
regulars—great guys who just loved sports, beer and some harmless
flirting.

Harmless my ass.

The fact that she had run to
him
—not
to Hawaii, not to her sister—meant a lot. If only he had found a
better way to comfort her. To be strong yet resist for her own
good. But in his defense, she had seemed frantic for it, and he had
needed it too. Needed to possess her, to know she was safe, to know
she was his.

Nice job, Romeo,
he mocked
himself.

When the bathroom door opened he braced
himself for the worst, but to his surprise her blue eyes were
sparkling as she walked into his arms, slipped one hand behind his
neck in that sexy way she had, and kissed the hell out of him.

Deciding to just go with it, he returned the
kiss, then murmured, “Let’s go back to bed,” despite the fact she
was fully dressed.

She smiled in apology. “I want to, but you
know how I am. My head’s a jumble. A
good
jumble, thanks to
you. But still, I need to figure this out.”

“We can figure it out together,” he said,
trying for an upbeat tone.

“That sounds like so much fun,” she admitted.
“But I can’t think with you around. So how about this?” Her tone
turned breathless. “You have training camp tomorrow, right? So come
straight to the hotel afterwards. We’ll order room service and hang
out in bed. Naked. And if you want to spend the night, yum. Even
better. I’m all yours, Sean,” she added solemnly. “And I’m so glad
we did this.”

He knew he should just let her go. This
really
was
her process so he didn’t take it personally.
Still, it had a familiar ring to it, so he said carefully,
“Remember the day you met Bannerman? He came out of left field with
that Giants game, and instead of saying ‘no,’ you said it was a
great idea. Then you took off at a run. I didn’t blame you—”

“It’s nothing like that,” she protested. “I
barely knew you back then. Now we’re lovers.” Her eyes sparked
again. “We’re
lovers,
Sean. Can you believe it?”

He grinned in relief. “It’s freaking
awesome.”

“I’ve been a fool to make us wait. And now
that we’ve done it, I know it’s rude to run out on you. But it’s
been such a crazy night—”

“Yeah, it’s a miracle you’re so happy.”

“I can’t
stop
being happy. Because of
you. And tomorrow we’ll pick up where we left off, okay?” Stroking
his cheek with her fingertip, she said in a sultry voice, “The
Lancers might have to send out a search party. Because I might just
tie you to my bed.”

“That sounds amazing.”

“It is. And I’m on birth control, so please
don’t worry about that. We couldn’t be better, Sean. I
promise.”

“Can I drive you to the hotel?”

She shook her head. “But I’ll use valet
parking. I’ve had it with self-inflicted danger, trust me.”

Warning bells rang in his head, telling him
not to let her go. But why? If she was actually upset about having
sex ahead of schedule, she wouldn’t tell him to his face even if
she stayed. And he had seen how well her process worked, hadn’t he?
They had gone from hanging out to buffer dating to making love,
thanks to her ability to retreat, re-group, and then re-invent
their relationship.

Conflicted, he took her hand, but only so he
could examine her wrist again. “I hate that effing scumbag, Tess.
Can’t we put some ice on this before you go?”

Her eyes clouded. “I hate that effing scumbag
too. And the best way to put him to rest is a scathing journal
entry. Especially if I follow it up with a dirty story about some
hunky farm boy and the bar maid he rescued from an ogre.”

He couldn’t help laughing.
“That’s
your process?”

“You don’t approve?”

“It’s awesome.”

She flashed an appreciative smile, then went
back to the bed to find her X-Cals, which she slipped onto her
feet.

Then to his surprise, she dashed back to
him—straight into his arms—and kissed him eagerly. “I can’t wait
for tomorrow. Come straight to the hotel. Promise?”

“I promise.”

“And don’t kick the ball too far,” she added
teasingly. “I don’t want anything to ruin our first full night
together.”

“Don’t worry,” he agreed quietly. “Nothing’s
going to ruin it. I promise.”

• • •

As Tess drove to the Ashton, her head was
spinning and it had nothing to do with Zane. She honestly couldn’t
believe she and Sean had gotten it on. Or rather “made love,”
because wasn’t that what they had done?

That sort of passion was a first for her, and
while it felt momentous, it also confused her. Wasn’t sex supposed
to be fun? Light and playful? Not serious and momentous, and while
she knew it was partly her fault—her need to get past the thing
with Zane—it felt uncomfortably ponderous.

“It’s grown-up sex,” she scolded herself.
“Had to happen sometime, didn’t it?”

She had seen it in movies. Had known her
parents did it. Probably Jill and her husband too since he was in
his forties and Jill had been
born
an adult. But they were
duds, weren’t they?

Now she wondered if Johnny and Erica got all
heavy with it too. Not that there was anything wrong with that. But
Tess? Sean?

Did he do it that way with the twins?

Laughing ruefully, she eased into the
circular driveway in front of the hotel and idled at the valet
station. A cute guy ran over to open her door and take her keys,
but she recognized a second man as well. A security guard named Ron
who stepped up to her before her feet even hit the ground.

“Good evening, Miss Colby. I’ll be walking
you to your room. Any luggage?”

The gesture touched her heart. Sean must have
called ahead, needing to know she arrived safely. Maybe even
guessing she would have this moment of—well, what was it? Not doubt
exactly. More like insecurity.

“I don’t have luggage,” she told the guard.
“But I appreciate the company. Thanks, Ron.”

“No problem.”

They strolled through the lobby and took an
elevator to her floor as they chatted about the cloud cover over
Portland that week. Then he walked her to her room and waited until
she successfully swiped the key card before he wished her a good
evening and respectfully backed away.

Slipping into the suite, she closed the door
firmly, used the extra deadbolt, then pulled out her phone and
called Sean. “I’m back in my room safe and sound. Thanks for the
bodyguard.”

“How are you doing?”

“I’m doing great, thanks to you. Get some
sleep, Sean. We don’t want Riga seeing circles under your
eyes.”

“Yeah, that would be bad.” He hesitated, then
said, “My phone’s on extra loud, so if you change your mind, call.
Otherwise . . .”

“Otherwise we pick up where we left off,” she
confirmed. “Right after practice. You don’t even have to shower
first because let’s face it, I’m just going to get you sweaty
again.”

His laugh warmed her ear. “Sounds like a
deal. Get some sleep, babe.”

“You too.”

“I love you, Tess. You know that, right?”

“I love you too,” she said automatically.
Then she ended the call and stared at the phone.

Had they just said “I love you” for the first
time? Like
that?

She didn’t regret the sex. She had needed it.
He
had needed that. And it was long overdue.

But this was different. There should have
been flowers and champagne and wide-eyed amazement. Maybe not for
Sean because he had said it so many times before. To Mindy in the
hot tub. To Kerrie and Melody in no particular order. And God only
knew how many women in between.

But for Tess it was a first.

“Except you
do
love him,” she reminded
herself. “So what’s the big deal?”

Confused and suddenly weary, she pulled off
her shoes and took them to the closet, where she wriggled out of
her jeans and stuffed them in the laundry bag along with the Colbee
tee and panties she had brought in a bundle from Sean’s house. She
would sleep in his Villanova shirt, grateful that she had an
amazing guy like him to take care of her when things went
south.

Her gaze fell on the Hawaiian sarong and she
exhaled wistfully. It would have been so awesome giving herself to
him for the first time in that dress. Swaying to the music. Taking
their time. Laughing, teasing, hours of foreplay
. . .

Had they even
had
foreplay tonight?
Even five seconds?

“Grow up,” she reminded herself, pulling the
dress from its hanger and rolling it into a ball. “This was ten
times better. Because
this
was real life.”

Crossing to the dresser, she shoved the dress
into an empty bottom drawer and found a pair of flannel pajama
bottoms to wear with the Villanova shirt. And then, because she
knew she couldn’t sleep yet, she scooped up her notes and sketch
pad and brought them to the bed.

Her plan for a journal entry about Zane and
the cops had never really been viable because for Tess, the best
way to banish a bad memory was to supplant it with a good one. In
this case, Sean, so she decided to work on his part of the article.
She had struggled to find the real him. A strong figure rather than
a dreamer like herself.

Hadn’t he proven himself tonight?

Inspired, she flipped open the sketchbook and
giggled when it opened to Mindy and Sean in the hot tub. Such a
classic with wisps of steam surrounding their blissful faces,
unaware of the hairy gorilla banging on her parents’ front
door.

Paging through the doodles, she decided she
really did love the guy. Who wouldn’t? Sir Kiss-a-Lot? The twins
playing tug-of-war with his extra-long arms? Sean with Erica,
intoxicated by her primal scent. Gazing innocently on Rachel’s
beauty. On Darcie’s gorgeous breasts.

Saving the best till last, she flipped to the
zany sketch of a bartender who was actually a cocktail waitress in
an ultra-short skirt and high heels, balancing a tray of martinis
with one hand as one stick-figure leg kicked back gleefully. Her
ponytail bounced in the air, probably from the force of erotic
arrows shooting from the eyes of a tall, hunky football player with
the most gorgeous stick figure muscles ever.

Tantric Romeo.

So amazingly perfect.

Except it was all wrong now, wasn’t it?

As if in confirmation, a single tear fell to
the porous paper, blurring the spot that had once been his goofy,
orgasmic grin.

And all she could think was,
Oh, God,
Tess. What did you do?

• • •

Training camp the next day was brutal, not
from anything that happened on-site, but from the need for Sean to
be done so he could check on Tess. Make sure she had really
recovered—physically
and
emotionally—from that asshole’s
assault.

He also needed to know if he had made things
worse. Had gone too far. He was still kicking himself even though
he knew she had wanted it. Needed it. At least at that moment.

Still, he regretted the way it had erupted
out of nowhere. Not just unexpectedly but with such fire. Such a
fierce possessiveness. As if he needed to put his mark on her. From
a sense of love and honor, surely, but it wasn’t Sean’s usual
style. And it
definitely
wasn’t Tess’s.

If she had just showered and left, he would
have been worried. No amount of wide-eyed reassurance would have
convinced him she was fine with it. Not that he would have tried to
stop her, but at least he would have apologized straight out.

But that extra kiss? The one she had planted
on him at the end? Not even Tess could fake
that.
It was too
exuberant. Too joyful. Completely free of doubt.

Then there was her prediction that the
Lancers would need to send a search party for him because he and
Tess were gonna rock the night away.

Yeah,
he told himself with a rueful
grin as he headed for his car.
Not even Tess could fake
that.

Pulling his phone from his pocket, he checked
first for a text from Murf, who had promised to get the details
from the incident at Zone D. Maybe even a copy of the police
report. But there was nothing yet, so Sean took a deep breath,
conjured up an image of Tess, ponytail and all, and called her.

“Sean? I’ve been on pins and needles,” she
told him in a soft voice. “I can’t wait to see you.”

“Man, that’s good to hear. How’re you
doing?”

“Perfect. How was practice?”

“I didn’t kick the ball too far,” he quipped,
using her favorite line.

He expected her to laugh, but instead, she
just sighed and said, “Okay, I’ll order room service. Are burgers
okay?”

“Sure.” She didn’t sound like herself, not
that that surprised him, given what she had gone through. Still, he
felt a twinge of concern and told her gently, “You sound tired,
babe. Did you get any sleep?”