Home Run Baby: A Sports Romance (8 page)

I grit my teeth. “Did he?”

“Said he wouldn’t do the article without you. I guess the two of you are old friends?”

“Yeah,” I say. “Something like that.”

“So, I will meet you at the Downtown Inn tomorrow morning at eleven. I’ll bring all the equipment you need with me. All you have to bring is that wonderful eye of yours and your suitcase.
Pack heavy but travel light.
We’ll be on the road with the team until September.”

“Okay,” I say, unable to form any other word.

“Bye bye, hun!”

“Yeah. Bye, Trisha.”

I hang up and drop the phone onto the table.

“Who was that?” Rose asks. “What just happened?”

“That…” I stand up and pace on the carpet, reaching up to scratch my head. My fingernails accidentally slide across my bruise and I wince hard at the pain firing down my neck. “That was Trisha Wells.”

“I know that name…” she pauses. “Where do I know that name from?”

“From
Sports Illuminated
magazine.”

She gasps. “Holy crap.”

“Yeah.”

“What did she want?”

“She wanted to offer me my dream job,” I answer, “at my dream employer. The annual holiday exposé piece. Benefits, per-diem…” I kick a chair leg.
“The works!”

“Daisy, that’s
awesome
!”

“No.” I shake my head. “No. This is very much
not
awesome, Rose.”

“Why not? What am I missing?”

“Because this year’s exposé is on
Hunter Novak
, who,
apparently
, recommended me for the job and won’t do the damn article at all unless I’m involved.”

Rose furrows her brow, thinking hard. “I still don’t see the problem.”

I dig my toes into the floor. “The
problem
is that I didn’t earn this, Rose.”

“
Pfft.
Says who?”

“Trisha Wells never would have glanced
twice
at my portfolio before — but now I’m suddenly first pick for one of the biggest sports articles of the year? It’s bullshit.”

“I don’t know…” She shrugs slowly. “I think it’s kind of sweet.”

“Sweet?”

“Hunter wants to help you,” she says. “This exposé is huge. The fact that he would pass on the opportunity if you weren’t involved says
a lot,
if you ask me.”

I let out a frustrated sigh. “Who the hell does he think he is? That he can just wave a finger and take over my life? That knocking me up somehow means
he owns me
? This isn’t okay…”

She frowns. “Daisy, your hormones are all over the place right now. You’re taking a few
really
wacky leaps in logic here.”

“No, I’m not.” I bolt towards the door and grab my keys.

“Where are you going?”

“I am going…” I charge back to the table for the scrap of paper and my phone, “to the Downtown Inn, Room 2-1-7, to give
Hunter Novak
a piece of my mind!”

“I do not condone this behavior!”

“Yeah, well, I don’t condone…” I pause with one foot in the hallway, “your face!”

“We have
the same face.
”

“Shut up!”

I slam the door behind me and rush down the stairs.

Home Run Hunter
. More like
Broken Nose Hunter
when I get through with him.

Chapter 10

Hunter

A knock strikes my door, banging loud.

I instantly sit up on the bed, torn from sleep. Not that I wasn’t jolting awake every three minutes anyway just thinking about how fucked up my day has been.

The knocking continues; a quick, unending tap.

“Open up, asshole!”

I smile and make my way towards the door in nothing but my slacks. Sounds like someone got a call from Trisha Wells.

I pull the door open, instantly drawn to Daisy’s stunning blue eyes. She lowers her closed fist, her chest heaving in and out as she stares up at me.

“Hey, Dais—”

“Who the hell do you think you are?”
she asks.

I drop my grin but I pause to admire the adorable pink puffs taking over her cheeks. She fights the obvious urge to gawk at my chest before shoving past me into the room.

“Would you like to come in?” I ask the empty hallway before pushing the door closed.

“Well?” she asks.

“Well,
what
?”

“Who the hell do you think you are?”
she repeats.

“I thought that was rhetorical.”

“I need to set up some boundaries here.” She holds up a finger. “First, you don’t get to recommend me for jobs.”

“Why not?”

“Because I said so.”

I shake my head. “No. I saw an opportunity to help you and I took it.”

“Second…”
She holds up another finger. “You don’t get to decide whether or not I need help.”

“No, you’re right,
you
do,” I say. “And you walking into that bar six weeks ago was an obvious cry for help.”

She scoffs. “No, it wasn’t.”

“You’re carrying my baby, Daisy,” I say. “I want to help you.”

“I didn’t ask for your help!”

“I got the feeling you never would, so I did what
I
thought would be best for
my
child. You’re not the only parent here.”

She crosses her arms over her chest. “I’m not taking the job. I don’t need your pity.”

“This isn’t—”
I stop, holding back my anger. “You know what, Daisy? You ever think that maybe it’s not a line of text missing from your résumé that’s fucked up your life so much? That maybe it’s just
you
?”

She scoffs. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me! How many times have you ever asked for help? Or
accepted
help? How many times have you ever relied on anyone but yourself? Life is a team sport, Daisy. Maybe you’d be better off right now if you weren’t such a stubborn, selfish brat.”

Her jaw drops and she steps back, just barely holding herself up. “Oh, wow…” she says, her eyes glossing over. “That was really hurtful.”

Guilt stabs through my chest. “Christ, I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have said that…”

“No, it’s good. I, uh…” She sniffs at the floor. “I really needed to hear that.”

I watch her eyes shake, just waiting to spill over with tears. “Are you sure?”

She nods and her lip trembles. “I kind of
liked
it.”

I furrow my brow. “What?”

“Hit me again.”

“Hit you?”

She waves her hand, gesturing towards herself over and over again. “Critique me.”

“Seriously?”

“Hurry! Before I change my mind.”

“Uh… I think the jealousy you have for your sister is petty and stupid. She’s not smarter than you are, you’re just lazier than she is.”

“Whoa…”
Tears fall down her cheeks. “Okay. What else?”

“I think the real reason why you — yes,
you
— sabotage your relationships is because you don’t get enough attention when you’re happy.”

Her face falls and she lets out a loud, gut-wrenching sob.

I wince. “Ah,
shit
. Uh…”

“I’m fine!” She holds her face and cries.

I step forward and reach out to her but my hands just kind of linger in the space between us. “Yeah… you look just peachy there…”

She laughs and wipes her eyes. “No one’s ever talked to me like that before.”

“I’m sorry. I—” Her wet fingers grip my slacks and she pulls me in until our bodies touch. “Daisy, what are you doing?”

“Keep going,” she whispers.

Her fingertips strike fire on my skin as she rakes them down my abs. “Daisy—” She pushes up to kiss my neck and I pause. “Are you sure you wanna be—”

“Please, Hunter,” she says, her hot breath tickling at me. “Don’t stop.”

I rest my hands on her shoulders, ready to guide her back but that sweet tongue of hers laps at my earlobe and turns me stupid. “Okay… there’s definitely some kind of hormonal imbalance happening here…”

She sniffs. “It’s fine. I’m fine. This is fine.”

I try to speak but she kisses me, forcing her tongue deep into my mouth. I kiss her back, unable to help myself as she eases her hands into my pants, sliding around me to cup my ass in both palms.

“Whoa—” I say, breaking our lip lock. “You
really
want to do this again, don’t you?”

“Yes,” she moans, gripping my hard cock.
“And you do, too.”

“Oh, I do…” I nod. “I’m just having a difficult time with the whole
crying
thing
—”

“I’m fine.”

“I know, I know…” She gives me a master stroke and I grunt with pleasure. “But…”

“Hunter,
please
,” she says, staring up at me with those glistening eyes. “I understand your concerns… but I really,
really
need this.
Right now.
”

Fuck it.

I kiss her, hard and fast, as she presses her body even harder against mine until I fall backwards onto the bed.

She lowers her jeans and panties to the floor and kicks them away before mounting me and taking my cock in her capable fingers again.

“Wait—” I say, snatching her wrist. “I don’t have a condom.”

She raises her brow.
“Seriously?”

My eyes fall to her stomach and I shake my head. “Oh, yeah. Never mind.” I pull her down to kiss her, falling even deeper in lust.

She guides my tip downward and rubs herself on it, sparking her own desires as I sit back and watch.

Her hips rock on me and she moans. I feel her wetness building between her lips and blood fills my dick even faster. I’m rock hard and throbbing, almost ready to explode, as she takes me inside of her.

I groan, feeling her tightness engulf me as she rounds her hips on me. She rides my bare cock and I feel everything; every twitch and squeeze deep inside of her. It melts me to the bone but I focus it all on her, determined to give her what she needs.

She moans for me as I thrust upward, meeting her perfect bounce.

“Harder.”

I take hold of her hips and she leans forward to rest her palms on my chest, holding herself up as I pound her even more. Her breasts heave beneath her shirt. Her thighs quiver. She grinds me and ecstasy flashes in my eyes.

“Holy shit…”
I groan.

She laughs at me and bounces faster. Her expression shifts, sliding from blissful relaxation to an ecstatic frown as she approaches climax.

“I want you to come with me,” she moans. “I want you to come
in
me.”

I bite my cheek, floored by the obvious taboo and my balls clench. Any other time, any other woman, and I’d deny her, but I look up into the eyes of the mother of my child and I can’t stop. I fuck her faster, barreling towards home plate and I can tell by that crease in her brow that she’s about to let it all go.

Her pussy seizes around me, signaling her orgasm and she throws back her head. I do as she wants and I come hard, unloading inside of her. It feels just as good — make that
better
— than I thought it would. Feeling that warmth wrapped around me, pumping every unprotected drop of me. It fires stars through my vision and I lose all track of my senses while she writhes on me.

Daisy leans forward and balances on her arms. I look up at her, admiring the sweat on her brow and the subtle twitch of her whole body. I cup her face and she opens her eyes, still glistening from forgotten tears. I kiss her, ignoring the oxygen my body needs in favor of that little intimacy and she envelopes her sweet lips over mine.

Finally, she pulls away and slides off of me to catch her breath.

“Fine,”
she snaps, walking towards the bathroom.

I look up, barely able to raise my head. “What?”

She disappears into the bathroom. “I’ll take the damn job.”

I collapse back down and smile, listening to the soothing sound of the shower head bursting on. “All right,” I mutter, resting my eyes.

“But…”

I flinch, sensing her voice right above me and my eyes shoot open.

She stands there, staring down at me with her hands on her naked hips. “But
you and I
have to try and make this work.”

“Okay…” I sit up on my elbows. “What—”

She spins around and retreats back into the bathroom, sliding her shirt up over her head as she goes.

“Daisy?” I ask the empty room.

I stand, pulling my slacks up as I move into the bathroom. Warm steam hits my face and I see her form moving behind the shower curtain.

“Make
what
work, Daisy?” I ask her.

“This,”
she says, shouting over the gushing water. “You and me.”

I blink. “You’re saying that you want us to…
get married
?”

The shower shuts off and I grab the nearest towel from the shelf as she pushes the curtain aside. She takes it from me and holds it in front of her face.

“I’m
saying
that I want us to start from the beginning,” she says, patting her cheeks dry.