ROMANCE: SPORTS ROMANCE: Bad Boys of Sports: A Complete Collection (Alpha Male, Football, Hockey Secret Baby Romance) (Contemporary Sports Romance) (11 page)

It didn’t take long. Janie seemed sensitive anyway, and when he stroked her just right, she lost it. She was still panting when he came up, licking his lips just to mess with her.

“D-do you want me to…?” She lifted a shaky hand to palm his dick through his pants. He clenched his jaw–damn he was hard.

“No babe,” he gently pushed her hand away and unbuckled his pants, stepping out of them. “I want to focus on you, okay?” He grabbed a condom out of his wallet and put it on, throwing the trash behind him carelessly. When he crawled onto the bed, Janie got the vivid impression of a panther, stalking its prey.

Rich slid up to her, his legs between hers, and kissed her forehead. “Ready?” he asked. Janie nodded, winding her arms around his back. Rich grinned–he could get used to this. He lined himself up and moved into her nice and slow. She closed her eyes, her head falling back to the pillow as her toes curled.

“You feel so good,” he whispered in her ear, and she shivered. Rich started a slow rhythm, doing more grinding than moving. Janie was eating it up. Every time he moved in, she rolled her hips with him, her mouth forever open in a silent “O.”

He picked up the pace when he felt himself nearing it, and she hoisted herself up on her elbows, demanding he kiss her. She slid her tongue into his mouth, and he grinned, moving faster and using his tongue to push hers out, invading her mouth as he did. Janie surprised him when she suddenly bit down.

“I’m… I’m—”

Suddenly she was squeezing down all around him, and he couldn’t help it, he was coming too. “I think I’m in love with you,” he breathed in her ear, his cheek against hers. He felt the corners of her mouth twitch into a smile.

Rich moved to lay beside her afterward, using a blanket to cover them up. He could care less, but he didn’t need Janie getting self-conscious. Speaking of…

“You’re so incredibly beautiful,” he told her, nuzzling her neck. “Inside and out.”

Janie giggled. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

“Oh yeah?” he asked, smirking. “Well, you—”

Suddenly, the door flew open, banging against the wall. Alyssa was standing there, looking at them with murder in her eyes.

“I thought I heard his voice in here,” she hissed, narrowing her eyes. Janie could see hurt there, and she realized what this must look like.

“Alyssa! I—”

“God! I thought you were my
friend
, Janie! How could you go behind my back like this?”

“I didn’t go behind your back. Let me explain—”

“You knew that I was in love with him, you cold-hearted bitch!”

“Wait,” Rich said with his palms out. “Hold on a sec. This is getting blown out of proportion.”

“Rich. Henry,” Alyssa seethed. “I’ve been looking for you all over the place for the past week. You haven’t been at the clubs or any of the usual spots, but I see now you were a little too busy. Your buddies told me you'd been M.I.A. with a new girl—a new girl named
Janie
.” She focused her fiery glare at her once again.

“Can you just give us a moment to put on some clothes, and we can talk about this like adults,” Rich asked calmly.

“Oh, you want some privacy, is that it? Well, you should have thought about that before you fucked like rabbits in my apartment!”

“Alyssa, stop!” Janie implored, getting up with a bed sheet wrapped around her.

“No, you stop, Janie. Stop your stupid little act. You want everyone to think you’re some angel, but I know who you are now. You’re nothing but a backstabbing whore!”

“That’s enough!” Rich yelled. “You need to calm down.”

Alyssa scowled at him, with tears in her eyes. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere, Rich. I needed to talk to you. But now, it’s all gone to shit.”

“You’re acting crazy, Alyssa. What you and I had didn’t mean anything. I never asked you to leave your husband—you were going to do that anyway with or without me in the picture.”

“Rich, I’m having your baby!” Alyssa shouted, a sob escaping her throat.

Both Rich and Janie’s jaws dropped, and a silence fell in the room as Alyssa cried silently.

“You said you weren’t going to have the baby,” Janie whispered.

“Yeah, well I’ve had a change of heart,” Alyssa said through gritted teeth.

“Wait, you knew about this?” Rich asked Janie with hurt in his eyes.

Janie shook her head. “I’m sorry, Rich.”

“Yes, she knew about this,” Alyssa shouted suddenly. “Now do you see what a complete bull-shitter she is? Get out of my apartment, you bitch! I never want to see you again.”

“Wait!” Janie implored as Alyssa shoved her toward the door with surprising strength. “Alyssa, stop!” Before she knew it, she was standing outside the door with nothing but the bed sheet still wrapped around her naked body. She heard further yelling inside, and soon Rich stepped out and slammed the door behind him.

Janie looked at him, still in shock over what happened in there. Rich handed her her clothes. “Here. We can come back for your stuff later after things calm down.”

“Rich, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about her pregnancy. It wasn’t for me to tell, and I asked her to let you know—”

Rich stopped her with a peck on the lips. “It’s okay, I believe you. None of this is your fault.”

Janie let out a sigh of relief as Rich squeezed her hand. “Come on, let’s get out of here. There’s a bit more privacy at my place if you don’t count the five-year-old. But she’s a few doors down and has an early bedtime.”

Janie smiled and quickly pulled on her clothes and took his hand again to be led out of the building.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Janie laughed into her phone, shaking her head at the antics of the other person on the line. “Look, I’ve got to go. No, I’m picking up groceries. Yeah, yeah, I know, but we agreed to wait to move in together. Oh come on, I just got this place! In fact,
you’re
the one who helped me find this place. Yeah, that’s what I thought. Uh-huh, yeah. Love you too. Bye.”

Janie hung up, still smiling from Rich and his not so subtle hints to just move in with him already. Thank goodness for Maddie, or it probably would’ve happened way too soon. She was aware, though, that she should probably ease into their lives rather than rush in. After all, they had a long, bright future ahead of them together as a family, so what’s the point in rushing?

Turning a corner, Janie was so caught up in her thoughts that she almost ran into someone.

“Oh! I’m so sorry–Alyssa?”

Her old roommate was staring back at her, her eyes cold but not angry.

“Janie,” Alyssa replied.

Well, at least she hadn’t walked away from her yet. “It feels like it’s been forever,” Janie tried to start a conversation.

“It’s been six months,” she said curtly.

“How are you? You’re…” she looked down at Alyssa’s enlarged belly, “absolutely glowing.”

“Look,” Alyssa said with an annoyed sigh. “You know I can’t hate you forever. I get it, I guess. I heard around that Rich had gone all lovesick for his daughter’s teacher, and that she didn’t like him back at first, or something like that. I mean, I realized you’d never do that to me on purpose.”

“Alyssa, I swear to you that I never,
ever
meant to hurt you.”

“Yeah…” Alyssa said as she wearily rubbed her belly.

“I didn’t mean to fall for him, but I think it was too late by the time you told me your feelings for him too. I tried to stay away, I really did.”

“And I’m sorry for being such a drama queen. It’s just these damn raging pregnancy hormones, especially at the beginning. I can’t believe I kicked you out while you were naked.” Alyssa let out a snort, and Janie couldn’t help but snicker too.

“So…can we go back to being friends again?”

Alyssa rolled her eyes but hugged her. “I mean, I am having Rich’s second daughter, so it would be awkward every time we see each other if we never spoke again.”

Janie bit her lip. It was strange that her friend was having her boyfriend’s baby, but she had already decided that she was going to just roll with the punches. Theirs wouldn’t be the only complicated blended family in the sports world.

“I’m happy for you, Janie,” Alyssa whispered weakly.

Janie squeezed Alyssa harder. “You’re going to find someone amazing too.”

Alyssa smiled as she pulled away. “I know.” With a small wave, she walked by, and Janie turned to watch her go. She was surprised to see Connor, Alyssa’s ex-husband, waiting by the store entrance, and she wondered if maybe Alyssa had already found that special someone too.  Or, at least, rediscovered him.

THE END

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Ball Skills: A College Sports Romance

CHAPTER 1

Angelica felt a tap on her bare, sun-kissed shoulder and looked up from her bowl of vanilla ice cream. It was already fall in Fulton, Georgia, and Angelica was still too hot to eat anything that was hot. The university football stadium had a limited list of options for cold snacks, and ice cream was the most delicious one. Angela turned her blonde curls to her left to look at Nikki with her pale green eyes.

“What?” She asked, bothered by the interruption between her and her ice cream.

Nikki rolled her honey brown eyes and tsk-tsked, knowing that her best friend was being overly sensitive.

“Calm down grouchy,” she hissed. “I was just trying to tell you that your man just walked onto the field.”

“My man? What man – oh,” Angelica replied, catching a glimpse of Bruce. The quarterback of the football team and star of her fantasies had just walked into the field, looking as gorgeous as ever. He was completely macho, with slabs of beautiful muscle perfectly in proportion. He had a bright blond buzz cut, clear blue eyes, and the most brilliant smile she had ever seen in her life.

“How can someone be so gorgeous?” She sighed, leaning on her palm as she stared at him, her eyes full of wanting. Her tortoise shell frame glasses slid down her nose irritatingly, and she wished, for the thousandth time in her life, that she could afford laser eye surgery.

“I don’t know,” Chris sighed, catching the tail end of the conversation as he approached the girls at their seats on the bleachers. “I’m just lucky I guess.” Chris, the wide receiver of the football team and Nikki’s younger brother, plopped down into the seat next to the girls. He grabbed a cheese-covered nacho off of his sister’s plate, swiped it in Angelica’s vanilla ice cream before tossing it in his mouth.  Both girls watched him with matching cringes. “What are you guys doing here so early?” He asked.

“Go away,” Angelica hissed, her annoyance for Chris bubbling over.  “Shouldn’t you to be on the field right now?”  Because the three of them had grown up together, he had always been like a brother to her. He was annoying most of the time with his overprotectiveness, but he could be funny from time to time. “We’re here early to grab the best seats in the house.”

“Yeah, the better to observe Mr. Quarterback over there,” Nikki pointed with a nacho.

Chris scoffed and ran a hair through his dark brown hair. “I don’t know what girls see in that guy. He’s a tool and as dumb as an ox too.”

“Shut up Chris!” His sister Nikki snapped, her honey brown eyes, identical to her brother’s, full of fury. “I bet he’s a sensitive guy, just waiting to find the right person to trust so that he can finally let his guard down and be himself.”

Chris raised a dark brow, unimpressed. “Yeah. Or he could just be a stupid tool. Come on, you girls are so supposed to be geniuses. Smart girls like intelligent guys, don’t they? He’s a douche and dumber than a box of hair. Rocket’s smarter than this guy!” He exclaimed.

Rocket was Angelica’s white ferret. To most people it was a creepy little thing, with white fur and bright red eyes. But to Angelica he was beautiful, and one of her best friends. Chris had gotten him for her on her thirteenth birthday, a week after her parents had died in an atrocious car accident that had left Angelica completely destroyed.  She had moved in with her grandmother, who lived next door to Nikki and Chris’s family.  The three of them and Rocket were inseparable ever since.

“That’s not a fair comparison,” Angelica defended. “Rocket is so old and wise now.  Plus, all ferrets are really smart animals. He uses the litter box and everything!” Thinking about Rocket, she decided she needed to visit him soon at her grandmother’s house. 

“See, that’s one step up from Bruce!” Chris shot back with a smirk.

The girls huffed in exasperation as Chris relaxed further into his seat.

“Fowler!” Bruce shouted a little too loudly as he approached their group. “What’s good man?”

Chris fought the urge to roll his eyes and stood up to greet his fellow teammate. From the corner of his eyes, he could see both Nikki and Angelica’s eyes grow wide. It was no doubt the closest they’d ever been to the star football player. He extended his fist and let it bump against Bruce’s in the familiar greeting.

“Hey man,” Chris all but sighed. “Just chatting with my sister and her friend before the game,” he explained, waving his hand over to Nikki and Angelica.”

“Hi!” Nikki said excitedly, standing up. “I’m Nikki!” She pulled her long straight black hair over her shoulder, playing with it flirtatiously. “I’m Chris’s sister.”

“Nice to meet you,” Bruce nodded to her, his eyes quickly drawing to Angelica’s bouncy golden curls. He smiled down at her and held out his hand. “Hi. You must be Angelica then.”

“Yep,” she said in a high-pitched voice, not believing that he was talking to her. She held out her hand and let it slip into his. It was warm and soft, and it made her tingle.

“Nice to meet you, Angelica,” he said, his voice as smooth as silk.

Chris felt a streak of jealousy shoot through his abdomen, and he coughed, breaking the silence.

“Are you two coming to the party tonight?” Bruce asked, letting Angelica’s hand finally slip out of his.

“What party?” Nikki asked quickly, shooting daggers at her brother for not telling her about it.

“It’s a pre-game bash at the Football House,” Bruce explained. “You have to have an invite from a player to get in.”

Nikki and Angelica both snapped their necks to turn to look at Chris, their stares deadly.

“You weren’t going to invite us?” Angelica accused.

“That’s low, even for you, Chris!” Nikki added, punching him in the arm. “Jerk!”

“Hey watch it!” Chris exclaimed, rubbing his arm.  His sister never held back when she took her throws at him.  She was tall and strong, just like him. “There’s no way in hell I’d let you two go to a player party. The guys get way too grabby.”

“Aw come on man, the guys won’t do anything if they know that they’re your sisters,” Bruce cut in.

“We’re not related,” Chris and Angelica said in unison, both looking annoyed.

Bruce chuckled, shaking his head.  He reached into his back pocket, pulling out two cards. “Well here, you ladies can be my guests then,” he offered, handing each of the girls a ticket.

Angelica and Nikki both blushed deeply as they thanked him for the cards. He said his goodbyes to the group and then headed back towards the locker doors, leaving Chris in a particularly bad mood.  It didn’t help matters for Chris when Bruce scored the winning touchdown seconds before the game was over. It was all anyone could talk about for days afterwards, especially Angelica and Nikki.