Game For Love: All The Right Moves (Kindle Worlds Novella) (3 page)

Do what exactly? She still wasn’t sure why he wanted to go out with her of all people. Did he think she was a sure thing, or had her obvious difference
s from the women he usually dated make her exotic to him? And yes, she had sneaked more than a few peeks at his image on Google, his website, and the Atlanta Avengers website.

She rolled her eyes at herself. If Ryan ever found out, he’d probably do a victory dance and slap her butt. Not that she would mind the slap on the butt.

“Control yourself,” she muttered.

He was just a guy, a
very hot, sexy guy, but a guy nonetheless. And she refused to be played by him. So, tonight, she’d go out and have a great time. Then she’d do it again, and V-Squared would have its donation.

It was a win-win in her opini
on, and veterans like her brother, Rhett, would benefit from her sacrifice to the dating gods.

The doorbell rang again.

“Coming,” she called out, unlocking the front door. She opened it a crack and found Ryan on the other side. All her former blasé attitude about him being just a really sexy guy flew out the window. He wore dark jeans, a button-down shirt rolled up at the sleeves, and a pair of sunglasses.

“You look amazing,” he said
, taking off his sunglasses. He ran an appreciative eye over her, and she flushed. “Gorgeous. Wow. I’m at a loss for words, Peaches.”

Firecracker. Peaches. What was with him and nicknames?
“Don’t sound shocked,” she reprimanded. “Judging by your reaction, you were expecting me to answer the door in a ratty old pair of sweats and—”

“It didn’t cross your mind?”

Her cheeks heated even more. “Once or twice.”

He smiled. “An honest answer—I might not like it, but I can respect it.”

Suddenly, Bluebelle came bounding into the room. Ashley gave her a look. “And here’s my guard dog, protecting me from you.”

Ever since she’d rescued Bluebelle from the pound, the dog had been terrified of the doorbell and would hide out in Ashley’s room whenever she heard it. But now, it looked like she was coming out of her shell, which made Ashley more than a little excited for her dog.

Bluebelle shook all over, wagged her tail, and sniffed Ryan’s boots. “She smells Gunner.” He knelt on the front porch, scratching Bluebelle behind the ears. “G-Dog is gonna be so jealous I got to see you, pretty girl.”

Bluebelle’s tail wagged harder. Not that Ashley could blame her. “I
meant what I said about getting them together, Ryan. They were buddies for so long that it seems wrong to keep them apart.”

Ryan peered up at her, through lashes so long and thick that she was jealous.
Hers were almost nonexistent without mascara. “I agree.”

In that moment, she knew Ryan didn’t just mean their dogs. He meant them, too. She cleared her throat
, and then gave Bluebelle the command to go back inside the house. Her dog, the sweet girl, listened almost immediately.

“Let me get her a treat, grab my purse, and I’ll be ready to go,” she
said, already walking to the kitchen, but she froze when she heard a familiar crunching sound.

Looking back at
Ryan, and then at Bluebelle as she ate, Ashley asked, “Did you give her that?”

“I might have,” he replied.

She glanced up in time to see him dig into his pocket and pull out two more treats, one in each hand. He’d thought of Bluebelle. Her heart softened, despite knowing it was the wrong thing to do.

“That was
sweet of you to think of her,” she said.

He shrugged. “It was nothing.”

Grabbing her purse, she crossed the room and put her hand on his arm. “You don’t like compliments about the things you do—off the field, do you?”

“I don’t know how to respond.”

This sexy man, so confident on the field, in interviews, and when asking her out, didn’t know what to do? “Saying ‘thank you’ is more than enough.”

He stared into her eyes, his gaze so smoldering that she was surprised her clothes weren’t smoking. “Thank you.”

She took moved closer to him. “By the way, I read how much money you raised for V-Squared, and what you had to do on the mud run. If I had known the extent of it, then you wouldn’t have had to bribe me to go out with you.”

There, she was being honest.

“I would have given more, if it hadn’t been enough for you,” he said quietly.

“Money has it uses, but that’s not one of them for me.”

“So, you would have gone out with me, if I hadn’t had done anything more than happen to run into you at the hotel?” His head dipped, bringing those full, soft lips so close to hers that she dug her nails into his arm. His powerful, muscular arm.

Oh, sweet Jesus.

“Ryan, I—” She licked her lips.

That was all the invitation he needed because before she could take another breath and start again, his mouth was on hers.

His firecracker kissed like an angel. All soft and giving as she melted into him. Her sweet, little body
fit against his perfectly. She wasn’t too tall, and she wasn’t too short. Not too skinny and not too voluptuous. Most might say she was average, but not him.

Never him.

Cautiously, her mouth moved beneath his, and he kept the pressure light, not wanting to ruin this moment. He tentatively touched his tongue to her bottom lip, running it along the plump line, until she gasped her pleasure.

Her hands came up, not to push him
away, but to slide into his hair. He nudged her mouth open, and she parted her lips with a soft moan. Taking full advantage, he swept his tongue inside and tangled it up with hers.

A groan left
him, and he had to make himself stop before he swept Ashley off her feet and took her to bed.

He leaned back and gazed into her gorgeous face. Her lashes fluttered open, giving him an
up-close and personal view of just how blue her eyes could get. They were drowsy, full of desire and lust.

She blinked
, and he bit back a curse because he could see the exact moment reality hit her. Her forehead furrowed and her pink, sexy mouth pinched up a little.

“I didn’t mean for that to happen,” she said. “I didn’t—I took advantage of you.”

That wasn’t what he expected to hear. She took advantage of him? He was six-three and weighed two hundred-thirty-six pounds to her five-foot nothing and a hundred and nothing pounds.

“No, you didn’t. I did. You licked your lips
; I saw an opening.” He shrugged. “So, I went for it.”

“
You went for it?” She made a face, like the thought of what they’d done was distasteful.

“
Yeah.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “And you seemed to like it.”

Her mouth opened and closed a few
times, as he waited for her to give him a penalty that would send him out of the game they were playing.

“I’m ready to go,” she
announced, marching to the front door. She glanced back at him. “I can’t lock it, until you’re out. Unless you relish the thought of setting off the alarm?”

“Can’t say I do.”
Great. Just great.
He’d lost every bit of ground he gained with her. Except, she didn’t kick him out, and the only reason he knew she didn’t was because of the donation.

If that wasn’t a kick to the teeth, he didn’t know what was.

She gestured to the door. “Then let’s go.”

Their date was off to a rocky start, but Ryan wasn’t out of the game just yet. And the place he’d picked for tonight was forty-five minutes east of Atlanta, so no one would bother them.

He leaned back in his chair,
studying the woman sitting across the table from him. She was drinking the last of her martini, trying to capture the cherry that kept rolling from side to side in her glass.

Finally, her tongue got in on the action.

That
made him sit up a little taller. It also made his dick hard. All he could think in that moment was that little pink tongue licking his body, like he was a cherry she wanted to eat.

Mercifully, the cherry rolled into her mouth
a second later.

“In all the time we spent together, I’m ashamed to admit that I have no idea what you do for a living,” he said.

Setting her glass down, she leaned forward a little. “I stalk football players, sleep with them, and record it, so I can post the video on YouTube and make millions.”

Forget ang
el. She was a she-devil. Damned if he didn’t love it. “You be sure to get my good side when you do.”

She floundered for a minute. “What side would that be?”

He captured her hand in his, rubbing his thumb over her wrist. Her pulse was steady at first, but gradually picked up pace the longer he touched her. “I’ll let you be the judge.”

Ashley turned away from him, but not before he saw the smile on her face. However, she didn’t pull her hand away. “Want to start from the top?” he asked.

She nodded once, and then turned to face him. “I’m a designer. Most recently, I designed accessories for prosthesis.”

“How did you get started?”
He wanted to know everything about her.

“In college.
After my brother lost his leg, he joined a support group, and there were women in there that I became friendly with. One of the things that always came up was dressing for a date. The prosthesis made for legs are either plain, flesh colored, or sporty-looking. I mean, I get the functionality and all. But when a woman has a date, she wants options—
they
wanted options—to wear a dress and show off her legs. To feel sexy.”

Ryan nodded at her, completely fascinated by her story.
Actually, he was fascinated by
her
. “Go on.”

Ashley smiled,
obviously excited to talk about something she held so close to her heart. “One day, during art history class, we were studying a picture of a woman partially dressed, and she had these thigh-highs and garters on—very sexy. And it hit me. I could make those specifically for leg prosthesis.” She grinned. “I designed a prototype, got a patent, and started selling them online. Then, a picture of one of my designs went viral on Pinterest, and it steamrolled from there. It got to the point that I had to buy a warehouse, more equipment, and hire a bunch of employees to meet demand.”

“You seem pr
etty relaxed for a CEO,” he said with a laugh. “Most of the ones I know are tense, stressed, and don’t look that good in a dress.”

She laughed. “I sold the business to a major distribution company
for a good price and, in return, I get profit sharing as well as stock benefits.”

“And now?” he asked.

“Now… the sky’s the limit. I have so many ideas pinging around in my head,” she said, her blue eyes vibrant and warm like the sky on a summer day. “I don’t know what to do first, but since I don’t really have to worry about money like I used to… I have time.”

She
could always start with him
. “That’s a great problem to have.”

Ashley regarded Ryan for a moment. He sounded genuinely impressed with her.

“I sound rotten, right?” she asked.

He gave her a look. “For working hard and becoming successful
? Yeah, so rotten.”

Her cheeks heated, as did the rest of her body. He hadn’t stopped that slow glide of his over her wrist. Goose bumps covered her
skin, and her nipples were hard. So hard that he had to be able to see them through the thin material of her bra and dress.

“What about you?” she asked, her voice breathless. It couldn’t be helped, and since they were out in public, he couldn’t say much about it.

“Would I like to be your next project?” He rubbed his jaw with his free hand. “Would I like for you to work on me for hours…?”

Her eyes rounded. “No. Oh my gosh, that’s not what I meant.” But it could be what she meant.
Shut up
, she told herself. She didn’t date football players, and this date for charity didn’t count.

He let go of
her hand, and she wanted to pout.
Pout
. What was wrong with her? “Relax, firecracker. I know what you mean.” He took a drink of his beer. “But you already know what I do for a living.”

“I know what I’ve read about you, and what I’ve seen on television.” She tilted her head to one side. “Then there’s the billboard on I-20.”

The bridge of his nose flushed. “I wish they’d take that damn thing down. The guys give me so much shi—er,
grief
about it.”

“How
so?”

He shook his head. “I’m not telling you.”

She placed both hands on the table. “Yes, you will. You can’t just say something like that, and then refuse to tell.”

“No comment.”