Rookie Mistake: A Sports Romance Novel (The Beasts of Baseball Book 1) (60 page)

I needed to give her the world, to support her financially, emotionally, physically. The way she took my cock so good the night before left me without a doubt that she needed carnality in her life as much as I needed it in mine. How unfair to think that she would be willing to forgo having someone fuck her for two years, or ten. Who knew what I was up against?

And yet the idea of anyone touching her but me left me murderous and filled with a dark rage I’d never felt before.

I shifted a little and kissed her lips, wanting to see her pretty blue eyes open and have her know that I was there with her. She was beyond precious with her need to be my girl, but there was a strength and aggression to her that forced me away from the softness she offered and drove me toward a deep founded respect for her. She was every man’s wildest dream, and yet here she was… in my arms.

“Morning,” she whispered softly as her eyes blinked open.

I moved in for a long kiss, not caring about anything but her being in my arms. “Morning, baby. You sleep okay?”

“Better than I have in years, actually.” She kissed me again and snuggled up beside me. The soft press of her breasts against my side as her legs wrapped around me caused my cock to harden, though I had no clue how. We’d fucked all throughout the night, taking our time to enjoy each other in each and every way possible.

“I’m not sure sleep was the right word, though.” I chuckled, experiencing a lightness in my spirit that I coveted. “It was more like a nap than a night of sleep.”

“I’d take it every night over eight hours of sleep.” She brushed her hand over my chest and pressed her lips to my neck. “You were so fucking hot last night. Like my darkest fantasies come to life.”

“Worth the wait?” I turned to face her and pulled her back against me so I could run my hand over the curve of her hip and squeeze her ass before we had to get up.

“God, yes. Though I don’t think we should wait more than a week again.” She smiled, but I couldn’t muster up a positive expression to return. The thought of never feeling her beneath me, or tasting her sweet body left my heart shriveling in my chest.

“Speaking of…” I brushed her hair back from her face and leaned down to kiss her a few times. “You know we’re possibly looking at me serving some jail time. I don’t want you waiting on me.”

“That’s not your call.” She kissed me once more and rolled over, moving to sit at the edge of the bed. My view of her was stunning, and I once again questioned what the hell a bombshell like her was doing with a guy like me. “Besides… we have the option of a plea bargain if we need it.”

“Like offering them something to get me less time?” I moved to get a better view of her as she got out of the bed and walked toward her closet. My eyes moved along her, and I growled low in my chest. “You’re beautiful. Did you know that?”

She glanced over her shoulder and smiled. “I feel beautiful when I’m with you.”

“Shit… It has nothing to do with me.” I moved up to a sitting position, not wanting to miss one moment that I might have to watch her get dressed. If we ended up together, I’d have to make watching her get ready part of my morning routine. She was too stunning not to lay around and drool over her. She’d never let it happen, but I could dream.

“So the plea bargain…” She walked out with a pretty blue dress and heels in her hand as she stopped by the bed. “We just need to gather evidence that Dane was the center of everything. You have to be ready to offer him up on a platter should the SEC be willing to negotiate at all. You up for that?”

“I’m up for anything where you’re concerned.” I pulled back the covers and glanced down as my cock stood to attention.

She reached over and stroked me once as she leaned in to kiss my lips. “Behave. We have to get through this next week, and then I’m hoping I can make your life one long orgasm.”

“Fuck.” I dropped back on the bed and stretched out, giving her a full view of me. When I peeked up at her, her eyes were filled with lust. I laughed and rolled over, enjoying the fact that I could tease her so badly far more than I should. “Call in sick and come back to bed with me.”

“No. Get up and make us breakfast. I’m starving from working you all night.” She turned and walked to her dresser. “I need to get into the office this morning. We’re having a quick meeting at ten over your new case. I guess there’s some additional information that Lizzy and one of the other attorney’s has pulled up that I can use.”

“You want breakfast?” I got out of the bed and walked toward her shamelessly. After wrapping her in a hug, I pressed my mouth to her neck and bit down carefully, tugging a little. “What if I wanna eat you again?”

“Stop it. Seriously. You know you’re my weakness.” She bumped her butt against my erection and pulled from me. I reluctantly let her go, but not without caressing her rear and popping it softly.

“Yeah, cause that’s going to make me wanna stop.” I moved toward the bed and picked up my jeans. I pulled them on and walked into the kitchen to figure out what I could make us for breakfast.

She might have to go to work for the day, but I was headed back up to the lake. I needed a little more time in my hideaway before the hearing that was coming up far too quickly.

*

I spent the day out at the lake, trying to recapture a bit of the serenity that had always belonged to me. The sun sat perfectly in the late afternoon sky as I took my boat out and fished until I was sick of the silence.

My phone buzzed in my pocket as I pulled the boat back on the shore and started to walk back to the cabin, and I was a little surprised to see that it was my mother. She spoke with Mark all the time, and while I loved her, we weren’t particularly close.

“Mom?” I dropped down on the wooden stairs that led up to my place and leaned back.

“Hi, Zek. I just wanted to check in. Your brother was quite worried about you this morning when he and I spoke, so I thought I might need to call you. Are you doing okay?”

I should have been bitter that she hadn’t called during the rape scandal, but she owed me nothing. She’d done a great job raising us by herself, and me taking care of her financially was my thank you back down the line.

“I’m hanging in there. Just taking things day by day.” I let out a quick puff of air and glanced up at the sky. The fleeting feeling of freedom was heavy on my heart, but just being in nature helped to ease it a little. I would just do like I’d always done and pretend as if I were invincible. “I’m worried about Mark too, but then again, I always have been.”

“True. You’re more like the older brother than he is.” She laughed softly, and I closed my eyes. “I’m here if you need me, but I know you like your independence.”

“Thanks, Mom. Have you heard from Celia? I haven’t really spoken with her since everything went south, but she was pretty torn up during the trial.” Celia, my secretary had been my mother’s best friend for as long as I could remember.

“She’s called more times than I care to count. She’s really upset about everything. I guess her ex-boyfriend, Jon, dragged her into the middle of all of that stuff. She’s just sick over it.”

“I wonder why she hasn’t called me. My feelings are a little bit hurt by her not reaching out.” I got up and walked into the house to find a beer.

“Your feeling? The one that you have?” My mom laughed and I joined her, enjoying our silly joke from me being a tough kid with little care for anyone or anything.

“Yeah, that one. It’s bruised.”

“She’s worried about how you’ll react if she calls you. I told her just to give it time. You guys can reconnect when you get everything settled.”

“Alright. Well, I love you. I’m going to take a nap and then head up the side of a big scary mountain.” I smiled as she gave me a sound of disapproval. I used to live for that exact response.

“Just don’t roll down it or jump off it. Too many of us love you to lose you.”

“Never. I’ll come visit soon, Mom.” I dropped the call and headed for the bedroom. I needed a long nap after my night with Alisa. I could only hope that she was there, waiting for me in my dreams. I had a better chance of finding her there than I did in my reality. With the impending doom ahead of me, it was time to start unwinding my heart from hers. I’d given us both a night, and it was one I’d not soon forget.

I only prayed that she did.

CHAPTER 10

e

Alisa

One week later…

T
he last week had been spent in the office, working like crazy to try and pull all the various pieces together for Zek’s trial. It was a closed case hearing, and I was quite disappointed to find out that he wouldn’t have a jury, but simply a judge to determine the verdict. It was good and bad. With a larger pool of people, there were usually a few sympathizers to be found.

Zek had started to emotionally pull back after our hot night a week before in my apartment, but I understood it. He was concerned with me putting my life on hold. Funny enough, I’d been doing that since I was a girl for him. It would be nothing new, and yet the more mature parts inside of me understood it well, and almost appreciated it. Almost.

Lizzy invited us both to breakfast the morning of the trial, and though I was too nervous to eat, I wasn’t missing a chance to be with Zek. I drove to her house in silence as my stomach rolled with sickness and my chest ached with what-if’s.

I was almost desperate to cling to Zek, but I’d been good about not being overly needy with him since our long night together. He was going to make his decision to cut me off if things went badly, and I knew I was taking on something that couldn’t be won. It would hurt my career, and sever my ties with him for a while, but it was a hit I was willing to take.

Ben was out of the hospital and doing much better, which was the only ray of sunlight I had in my life at the moment. We were going to work on just being good friends. I’d explained where I was with Zek to him, and he seemed to support it, or pretended quite well.

I pulled up to Lizzy and Mark’s modest house and found that Zek was already there. After checking my teeth in the mirror, I got out of the car and walked slowly up to the front door. It felt like life was staring down the barrel of a gun at me. Like today was the end of something truly great.

There was no time for me to express just how much I loved Zek, but I would try to remind him in small bits and pieces throughout the day if he let me.

Lizzy opened the door as I knocked and gave me a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. She was worried too. We all were.

“Come on in. Mark took off this morning to have breakfast with us too, so if you smell something burnt, it’s the pancakes. The man burns dry cereal.” She laughed, and I gave her a smile as I followed her into the kitchen. I hadn’t seen Zek in a couple of days because of having to pull such late nights at the office, but he didn’t look good.

I moved toward him and bent down, not caring if the whole city was watching us. I wanted him to know that he wasn’t alone — not ever.

“Hey. I’ve missed you.” I kissed him softly at first and then harder as he breathed me in and reached up to touch my face with one hand.

“Me too. I know you’ve been busy with all of this stuff. I was trying to stay out of the way.” He smiled and kissed me once more before releasing me.

“That I have.” I moved back and dropped my purse in an empty chair. “Lizzy, you need help with cooking?”

Mark glanced up and smiled at me. “Aren’t you two sweet.”

“Watch it,” Zek called from behind me, and we all chuckled.

I grabbed a spatula and moved to the stove, needing something to do to keep from going nuts around Zek. Everyone was a bundle of nerves, though we all worked to keep our true feelings hidden. After finishing up the eggs, I joined everyone at the table and sat closest to Zek.

I couldn’t help but study him as he talked to Mark, the little boy in him coming out when he was messing with his older brother. His dark brown hair was a little disheveled, most likely from running his fingers through it too many times. His smile stole my heart as it always had, and I wasn’t sure how I could get through anything but a positive verdict later that day.

“Alright. Stop messing around.” Lizzy took my attention as she poked at Mark and Zek at the same time. “Let’s go over the questioning and our stories one more time. We have three agents from the SEC coming to the trial, and our judge is Mildred Carling. She’s known for being a little bit softer on white-collar criminals, especially if it’s a first offense.”

I nodded. “We need to bring in the fact that Zek was bullied into being a part of the scheme. His record shows that he’s been a great pillar of the community and has recently been under attack. The Mills case should be something we can use in our favor. We should try.”

“Agreed. If we need that ammo, we’ll use it.” Lizzy nodded and turned her attention to Zek. “We need you to make sure you’re ready to turn Dane over. You’re good with that, right?”

“Yes. Whatever you guys need me to do.” He pulled his napkin into his lap and took a quick sip of his juice. “What is the likelihood that we’ll get a favorable outcome today?”

“Less than ten percent.” I leaned back in my chair as my chest tightened. “We’re honestly looking at pushing the plea bargain if they’re willing to talk. There’s too much evidence that shows you were involved in trading fraudulently. The reason behind you doing something like this is the only thing we can rest our case in. Dane pushed you into it. That’s the story we’re sticking to. We won’t get off scott-free, but we might be able to get you put under house arrest.”

“And what is house arrest exactly? What are the rules?” His face paled visibly, and I reached for his hand, not caring what anyone thought. I needed to protect him almost as much as I needed my next breath. It was probably more the drive to protect myself by protecting him, but either way, I couldn’t let him hang alone.

“It’s another form of imprisonment where you’re confined to your house twenty-four hours a day for the length of the agreement. You can visit the police station, meet with your probation officer, go to church and visit the doctor if necessary, but all of those things have to be done under the supervision of a court appointed official, usually a cop.” Lizzy shook her head. “It’s better than sharing a jail cell, but it’s still prison.”