Here for You (22 page)

The park has an energetic buzz and people slowly make their way out. Stan needs to get home to his wife, and I thank him profusely for coming with me. We make plans for him to sit in the box with us tomorrow night. I’m not sitting in the stands tomorrow when Cam is not pitching. Even though the rest of the two sections are very supportive, I don’t need to risk any drama.

My phone vibrates a few minutes later. I notice Quinn reaches for her phone at the same time.

From: Cam

Get your gorgeous ass down here!

Quinn must have a similar text because when she makes eye contact, she shrugs. “I guess we’re being summoned.” She gives me a small smile. “Are you okay, Ash?”

I wave my hand at her. “Girl, I’m fine. One person is not going to ruin my entire evening. It was just a little beer. No big deal.”

She narrows her eyes at me but accepts my answer.

I approach her quickly so she doesn’t have time to react. I dip and grab her around the waist at the same time. She’s over my right shoulder in less than a second. I hear the laughter escape her lips and the sound hits me in the gut like it always does. She tries to wiggle off but my arm tightens around the back of her thighs. My left shoulder is still icing and I don’t want to tweak my left side, so I have to hold her firm with only one arm. I think she senses this because she stops trying to move.

“Can you let me down, Cam?”

Her voice is low and breathy from laughing, and desire surges through me. “I will as soon as I’m sure you’re staying inside, sweetheart. I’m not going to give you the chance to run away.”

Quinn is laughing as she keeps pace with me. Johnny wraps his arms around her as soon as we reach him. I continue on to take Ashley by everyone else. Coach sees me when I walk in the locker room.
Shit.

“JC. Put the woman down. We don’t need you injuring yourself.”

I slowly let Ashley slide down my body until her feet are back on the ground. “Coach, I hope you aren’t implying my girl is fat because I don’t think she’s gonna like that.”

I wink at Coach, whose mouth lifts slightly while the rest of the room laughs at the comment. I give him a nod so he knows I understand what he’s saying loud and clear. He nods back and heads out of the room.

I look at Ashley. She looks sexy in the Flyers hat and jacket. I pull the hat up and turn it around before settling it back on her head. I want to see her eyes and be able to reach her mouth easier. “I’m really sorry about tonight.”

Her eyes meet mine, and she smiles. “Why? You gave me my first postseason win. That’s what I asked for.”

“I’m serious. That never should have happened. I swear to God it took everything in me not to jump that wall and kick the shit out of that guy.”

“Don’t worry. The guys in the stands were plenty protective. They had his face in the cement before I could even blink. I just don’t think anyone expected him to toss the beer.”

I lean down to give her a kiss because her pink lips are too tempting not to taste right now. “Hmm. Apparently it wasn’t a very good beer choice.”

Her face turns into a pout. “Are you saying that I don’t taste good?”

I chuckle. “No. You always taste delicious. I’m just teasing you.” I give her another quick kiss. “Come on. I want you to meet Cameron and Monica.”

Those doe eyes look up at me. “Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure.” I grab her hand in mine, and we make our way to another room where some of the women and kids are hanging out. I see Monica talking to Becky, King’s wife, and I head for them.

“Hello, ladies. Monica, I wanted to introduce you to Ashley. She’s your neighbor. Well, when she’s staying at her beach house. She lives in the city most of the time.”

Ashley puts her hand out to shake Monica’s but Monica just glances at it and puts her arms around Ashley instead. I don’t know why but the gesture touches me. I know Monica still has bad days, and I’m not much help at those times. I try to be, but I don’t always know what to say. She’s become friends with Becky over the last few weeks and I’m happy she has someone. Monica never liked Crystal, and I know she’ll love Ashley.

I hear him running up behind me before I see him. His arms wrap around my lower leg, and when I look down he’s smiling up at me the way I love. “What’s up, buddy?”

“Uncle Cam, you won!”

“I did. Were you watching the whole time?”

He nods rapidly. “Uh huh.”

“I want you to meet my friend. Ashley, this is my favorite nephew, Cameron.”

She winks and looks down at Cameron. “As in
the
Cameron Williams?”

I chuckle as he looks up at her in awe. She squats down to his level and puts her hand up. Cameron leans forward and high fives her without hesitation. “It’s nice to meet you, Cameron. I’ve heard a lot about you.” She tweaks the bill of his hat and he laughs. “Your uncle is pretty amazing, huh?”

“Yeah. He plays with me sometimes. He says I’m gonna be even better than him when I grow up.”

“I bet he knows what he’s talking about. I would trust what he says.”

Cameron nods at her as if the words out of her mouth make it true.

I bend down to pick up Cameron with my right arm. “Come on, buddy. Let’s go get this ice taken off my arm. We’ll let the ladies chat. Sound good?”

“Yeah.”

I nod to the women and walk away with Cameron in my arm. I turn back slightly to see Ashley watching me. I can’t read the expression on her face but I feel another layer of my defense peel away.

“But you should go out with the team. You just won your first game of the series.”

He puts one arm around my back and pulls me to him. “You had a beer thrown on you tonight because of me. I’m taking you home so you can shower and get out of these clothes.”

He drops his arm and takes my hand in his. I follow behind him because I really have no choice. Almost everyone is gone from the locker room, and pouting here is not going to get me much. He’s made up his mind, so I resign myself to following him.

He opens the car door, and I slide into the seat. He’s driving his silver Porsche tonight rather than the usual black Escalade. It’s not really warm enough to put the top down, but I’m tempted to ask. If that asshat hadn’t thrown his beer on me, everything about today would be perfect. Well, other than having to see my sister and Charlie. Fine. But the win was perfect, and hanging out with Quinn and Stan was great.

As soon as Cam pulls the car out on to the street, he reaches over to grab my hand. He lifts it to his mouth and brushes a kiss across my knuckles. The touch sends a shiver through my body. Every part of me is on high alert tonight, and I’m afraid I could explode at the mere touch of his hand.

“Thanks for coming to the game tonight.”

I furrow my brow. “Of course. It was a big game for you.”

He doesn’t say anything else to this, and we ride most of the way to his place in silence. I think both of us sense the next shift in our relationship, and it’s easier to just wait for it to come rather than talking about it.

When we get to his building, he stops at the main desk to pick up take-out food that has been delivered. “When the heck did you order this?”

“When I took Cameron with me to get my ice taken off.”

“You were pretty sure I wasn’t going to push on going out with the team.”

He laughs. “No offense, but I was making the decision. I didn’t want you to have to go out tonight. Now, let’s get you in the shower and cleaned up.”

When we walk into his place, he sets the bag of take-out on the entryway table and grabs my hand. I follow him down the hall to his bedroom. He turns to walk into the master bathroom as I sit down on the edge of the bed to unzip my boots. I pull each one off followed by my socks. I hear the shower turn on, and Cam comes back out smiling.

“Water is warming up. I’ll get the food ready while you clean up.” He leans down to kiss me before he walks back out the door.

This whole arrangement we have is strange. Since it helps him to sleep through the night, I have practically moved into his place. Which is odd considering I don’t even know what term to put on our relationship. Everything between us feels completely natural and comfortable. I want to be here with him, and he says he needs me here.

He doesn’t pressure me for anything more than I’m willing to give. Like right now: he leaves rather than watching me undress. He’s seen me naked—well, in the dark—but he doesn’t press the issue now. I’m not sure how I feel about this because I’m to the point where I want him to touch me. I don’t want to pretend the chemistry between us isn’t there. It’s undeniable. The air around us practically crackles when we’re near each other.

I slowly remove my jeans and the jersey they gave me after that jerk soaked my shirt and vest. Carrying the clothes into his enormous walk-in closet, I head to the area where my stuff is sitting. This is another slightly awkward situation. Cam has tried to talk me into throwing my dirty clothes with his because his housekeeper will take care of them. I haven’t been able to make myself comfortable with this but now that my jeans smell like stale beer I want to throw them in there.

I shrug as I toss them in the hamper with his stuff. I throw the hat, jersey and jacket on the marble-topped island in the center of the closet. I grab a thong from a pile of my clean clothes and walk over to one of the shelves. I reach up to pull one of his t-shirts from the shelf. For some reason, I want to wear his shirt tonight rather than my pajamas or one of his jerseys that I often wear.

I pad to the bathroom where the water has probably turned cold by now. I hold my hand under the spray and find that it’s still warm, but I turn the handle to heat the water a little more.

I step in and just let the water wash over me. I don’t move for a few minutes, allowing the spray to soothe me. I don’t know why my mood has changed, but I’m pretty sure it has something to do with the fact that I want it all, and I don’t know if I will ever get it. When I see how he is with Cameron, it honestly makes my ovaries ache. I want it all with Cam—down to the freaking white picket fence—but I don’t know if I will even get to official girlfriend status.

It hurts because we’re so perfect together. He knows it and I see the same pain in his eyes at times. Unfortunately, the first time we met was about a month too late.

I shampoo my hair and wash the beer smell off my skin. Once all the soap is rinsed off, I turn the water off and reach for my towel. Yes, I have my own set of towels in Cam’s bathroom. I dry off and wrap the towel around my dripping hair. After sliding on my thong, I pull his shirt over my towel-wrapped head. I grab my face lotion and squirt a few drops on my finger. I dab it around my face and rub it in.

My reflection looks sad, and I mentally tell myself to snap out of it.
There’s a great guy on the other side of the condo that treats you like a queen every chance he gets. He’s kind, generous and protective.
Other than my mom and Quinn, no one has ever taken care of me this much. He may not be able to give me everything, but he gives me all that he can. And for that I should be happy.

I look closer at my reflection and make the decision that I’m going to take whatever I can get from him. I may get hurt—but then again, I may not. Just because every other man in my life has let me down doesn’t mean Cam will too.

I pull the towel off my head and hang it on the bar to dry. I quietly make my way down the hall toward the kitchen. Cam is putting food on plates and has a glass of wine poured for me.

“Hey,” I say quietly as I walk to the edge of the counter.

Without looking away from the food, he chuckles. “I was beginning to think you fell in.”

A soft, barely audible sound escapes me, and he looks up from what he’s doing. His expression shifts, and he sets everything down before walking over to me. His large hands engulf my waist as he lifts me onto the counter to put me at eye level with him. One of his hands moves up to my cheek and cups the side of my face. “What’s wrong?”

I shake my head afraid to speak. Damn these emotions. Not even a hint of my Ice Princess demeanor can be found, and I am reduced to a vulnerable little girl. “I’m fine.”

“Are you upset about the incident?”

“No.” I shake my head. “That was no big deal.”

“Then what’s wrong, baby?”

I shrug one shoulder up and look away from his intense stare. His hand drops from my face and runs through his hair.

I don’t want him to feel bad about the demons hiding inside him. It’s not his fault he’s going through this, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting him to be rid of them. All I want is for him to give us a chance. A real chance with no doubt that he will stick by my side. But even if I can’t have that, I’m still taking everything I can get now.

He drops his forehead to mine and his hands go around my backside pulling me forward until I’m flush with his body. “I’m sorry, Ash.”

I shake my head once against his. My arms snake around his neck, and my mouth captures his with all the passion I feel at the moment. Apparently stunned by the gesture, his lips don’t respond at first. But less than a second later, he understands.

I moan when his hands glide under his shirt up to my breasts. His thumbs flick across each taut bud, and my head drops back. My body feels alive with every sensation and there is no way I could stop this even if I wanted to. He pulls his shirt over my head and drops his mouth to my breast, and when I feel the warm caress of his tongue, my hands go to his hair and my fingers latch on. He growls, and the sound hits me all the way to my core.