Monster Man (2 page)

He needed more. His
hands went to the navy blue skirt she was wearing. As he pressed her
back against the desk, he hiked it up, his hand on her creamy, soft
thigh. Hooking his fingers into the scalloped top of the cup of her
pink concoction of a bra, he jerked it down and his mouth clamped
onto the tight bud of her nipple. She arched her back and cried out
softly. With uncontrollable bursts, his hips bucked against hers, his
dick straining against the zipper of his jeans. His hand went to her
hot little box, pressing against her panties. She was drenched. For
him. Damn, what a turn-on. He shoved aside her underwear impatiently
and plunged three of his thick fingers into her slick channel.

She clutched his
shoulders and he laved her nipple with broad strokes of his tongue,
bit down with a growl, then sucked her hard. When he pressed his
thumb against her clit, she jerked and buried her face into his neck
to muffle the sound.

He was well aware
they could get caught and it only heightened the danger, the
forbidden quality of having her against the rules.

She thrust her hips,
murmuring his name, her muffled groans increasing. Her open mouth
panted against his skin as her tongue licked and sucked until she
cried out and stiffened. She went liquid against him with the most
delectable feminine sound he already craved to hear again.

“Is she in her
office?”

They both froze at
the sound of Dick Samuels’ voice, and then whirled when they
heard the swift knock and the twisting doorknob.

Panic clutched with
piercing claws and all the hot sensations that thundered in her every
pulse point dulled. Damn that jerk. Still stunned, she drew a
stabilizing breath.

Shane moved with the
lightning speed he was known for on the football field. He shoved his
shoulder against the door and whispered. “Cat...”

Cat looked down to
see her skirt hiked up and her blouse hanging open, the aftershocks
of her orgasm still pumping through her. She took deep, calming
breaths while she tugged her skirt down and fumbled with the buttons,
her nipple still damp from his mouth, aching and throbbing still.

The door opened
slightly, but Shane leaned in and it closed in Dick’s face.

“Catherine?
Are you in there?”

“Tell him the
door sticks,” Shane whispered with an unholy grin on his face.

Cat had to suppress
a laugh in spite of the serious situation.

“I’m
sorry, Dick. The door sticks.” She was almost to the top
button. All she had left was to tuck her blouse back into her skirt.
“Shane, could you help Dick with the door?” She almost
choked on her giggles.

As soon as she was
finished with her clothes, she scooted behind her desk and picked up
her water.

“Dick, you
might want to put your shoulder into it,” Shane said, and as
soon as he did, Shane let go of the door and stepped back. Dick
stumbled into Cat’s office and Cat had to grit her teeth and
swallow to hold back laughter.

Glaring at Shane,
then at her, Dick straightened and yanked his suit coat back into
place. “Do you have the list of patrons for the Halloween night
event?” he snapped.

Cat leaned forward
and scanned her desk. “Here it is.”

Dick came over and
snatched the folder out of her hands. He walked to the door and eyed
it before grasping the handle. Just before he shut it, he looked at
Cat. “Get maintenance to fix this door.”

She nodded, biting
the inside of her mouth.

The moment the door
closed, her eyes sought out Shane’s. “Yeah, get
maintenance to check out the door,” Shane mimicked perfectly,
and laughed. “The douche.”

“You are
so
bad.” Cat couldn’t help but join in. But her laughter
faded when Shane walked over and put both hands on the arms of her
chair. Her mouth went dry when he leaned forward.

“You have no
idea how bad I can be, and I promise all that badness will be so
damned good for you.”

He leaned in and
kissed her moist lips. She kissed him back, clung to his mouth. He
pulled away enough to whisper. “I want to fuck you. Right now.
Pick a surface. I don’t care. I just want my dick buried in you
until I can’t think, fucking you until you make that sound for
me again.” He grabbed her hand and pressed it against the
erection in his jeans.

She wanted to throw
all caution to the wind as she leaned forward, reaching for his
zipper.

“Cat?”
Holly’s voice came through the door.

“Dammit. Cold
reality doused her and she sighed, pulling away. “It’s
time that we really do some work, Shane.”

He dropped his head
and a thick lock of hair fell over his forehead. She ached to push it
back.

He lifted his head,
his laser gaze drawing her in. “We both know what we want,
Cat.”

She got up at the
knock and Holly’s voice again as she sidled past that mountain
of muscle. Cold reality doused her again. This was madness. She loved
her job. He wouldn’t be the one who was fired. Coming to her
senses, she said, “I won’t deny I’m attracted, but
I can’t take the chance.”

“I did only
ask for one kiss.” He moved away from her chair and sat,
drawing the hem of his sweatshirt over the huge bulge in his pants.
Cat groaned inwardly. Damn she wanted to see him, all of him.

Cat drew in a shaky,
grateful breath. “And you took a little bit more,” she
said as she reached the door.

His eyes lingered on
her lips. “Now I know why they say a little knowledge is a
dangerous thing.”

###

Cat rubbed at the
back of her neck as she left the Wildcats’ office at the end of
the day. Her thoughts heavily on Shane and what had happened and
almost happened in her office. When she reached her car, her
footsteps slowed. Shane was leaning against it. Her heart stopped, he
was so gorgeous. He’d changed, shaved, and tamed his unruly
hair. He was wearing a silky red T-shirt and a pair of sinfully tight
black jeans.

“I can see by
your expression that you aren’t too happy I’m here, but I
thought we could continue the discussion about the Halloween Night
fundraiser over dinner.”

“Shane…”

“That’s
a wonderful idea,” Holly said from behind her. She whirled to
find her boss standing at her left shoulder. “You don’t
mind, do you, Cat? We’re a little bit behind on the planning.”

There had to be a
God. There really, really had to be a God.

She turned back to
Shane. He was smiling wickedly as he sauntered toward her in that
sexy, loose-hipped way she loved.

“Of course,
she’ll need to be paid overtime.” Shane gave her a
conspiratorial wink as Holly moved away towards her car.

“Fine, fine,”
she said, waving.

“Shane, you
know the last thing on your mind is that project.”

“What’s
a little dinner?”

“What’s
a little kiss?”

“Busted. Look,
I just want to spend time with you. A crime? Not last time I checked
the playbook.”

“Wouldn’t
that be the rulebook?”

“Who cares?
We’re two adults discussing work over dinner, and if we happen
to talk about other things, too, well that’s our business.

“I know what
you want to talk about.” He followed her to the car and they
collided at the driver’s door. “It’s my car. I’ll
drive.”

He tipped his head
in a knee-melting, sexy way and reached to pull open the door. “I
was trying to get the car door for you.”

Soon they were
ensconced in a small café that looked shabby from the outside
but was very cozy inside. And dinner had been surprisingly tasty.

“I have to
admit. I didn’t think this was going to be….”

“Respectable?”

“Safe.”

“They don’t
call me Monster Man for nothing.” Shane laughed and rested his
forearms on the table. The waitress had left the check, but neither
one of them moved. He looked at her in that deep way that made her
feel as if she could fall forever into him.

“You have
gorgeous eyes,” he said.

His enticing cologne
blended with the primal scent of man to tease her senses, triggering
a raw, aching hunger that drew her closer to him.

“And your skin
is so soft.” He reached out and stroked her face, his
fingertips warm and teasing. Spellbound by the intimacy of his touch,
Cat had to close her eyes to keep control of her swelling desire.

“Excuse me,
Mr. Bishop?”

Shane looked up. A
girl stood holding on to the arm of a reluctant teenage male who wore
a San Diego Wildcats jersey. “My boyfriend thinks you are
awesome. He just loves the way you play ball.”

Shane stood and
reached out his hand. “It’s a pleasure, buddy.”

“Oh, he can’t
hear you. He’s deaf.”

Shane began to sign.
The look on the teen’s face was worth a thousand words. His
eyes lit up and for a few minutes, they carried on an animated
conversation.

The young girl was
beaming as the teen walked away. “Thank you so much. The
Monster Man rules! Kick ass on Sunday!” she said, punching her
arm into the air and pumping her closed fist.

He was grinning when
he sat down, and Cat felt like she’d been sucker punched. She
hadn’t wanted to know this man’s dimensions. It made
their attraction far, far more dangerous.

He took a drink of
his iced tea. “What’s important to you, Cat?”

“My family,
friends—the people in my life.”

“Good answer.”

“How about
you?”

He sat back and ran
his fingers through his hair, something she’d wanted to do all
night. “I need to do the right thing.”

“You learned
sign language from the program we did with the deaf.”

He nodded. “I
want to be a good role model.”

For a moment she
simply couldn’t speak. Her heart tightened, and she reached
across the table covering his hand with hers. It wasn’t fair he
was as gorgeous inside as he was outside.

“You think
that’s corny?”

She shook her head.

He stared at her,
his gaze like a soft caress up and down her body. She disengaged her
hand and grabbed up her purse. “It’s getting late. We’d
better go.

After he paid the
bill, Shane followed her to the car. With his heat simmering all
along her back, he said softly, “I can’t stop thinking
about having you. We have some volatile chemistry.”

She huffed in a
little puff of air at the feel of his warm breath on her neck, the
sensitive skin behind her ear. His words made her hot to have him.
She tried to control it, but it was like trying to control the tides.
She leaned back into the hard wall of his chest and his arms
encircled her, but then she remembered the job competition and jumped
away. “Shane. I really can’t.”

He nodded, breathed
deep, and opened her car door. They were back at the stadium almost
before she knew it and Shane was getting out of the car.

“Shane, wait.”
He paused and looked back at her. “I can’t stop thinking
about it either. It was so hot.”

“Let’s
do it again sometime.”

She grabbed his
shirt and jerked him forward. That unholy grin flashed across his
face and he said breathlessly, “I guess now
is
a good time.”

“Shane, shut
up,” she said, her voice hoarse. She fused her mouth to his,
wrapping her arms around his neck, knowing she was taking a risk, and
not giving a damn. Someone could see them. A security guard, a late
night worker, and she would lose her job. But drugged by sensation,
paralyzed by the soft heat of his mouth against hers, she opened her
lips, begging for more. Shane delved in with the seductive wet heat
of his demanding tongue and Cat started to unravel.

Suddenly, in the
quiet of the night, her horn went off with a loud blast and she
jerked away from him.

“Reality
bites,” he said softly, resting his forehead against her chin,
breathing raggedly.

His hair smelled so
good and, without meaning to, her fingers had crept to the nape of
his neck and delved into his thick, silky curls. She used to dream
about doing this on Sundays while she watched Shane on the monitors
in the owner’s box. Whenever the camera would focus in on him,
the tantalizing view of the dark curls caressing his neck, tamed only
by his sexy helmet, made her fingers itch to touch them.

Shane lifted his
head. “Cat, I promise you right here, right now, that I’ll
keep my distance. It won’t be easy, but I’ll do it. If
you change your mind, you know where to find me.” With that, he
gave her a melting kiss and got out of the car. Cat watched him go,
trying to stifle her looming panic. He was leaving it up to her? Oh,
damn. She was doomed.

The next afternoon
Cat realized she needed a photo release signature from Shane for the
Halloween Night fundraiser brochure.

She tried his home
number, but there was no answer. Finally she decided to check with
Lizzy, her see-all-know-all go-to gal. “Do you know where Shane
Bishop is right now?”

“Yes, I have
his schedule here somewhere on my computer. He gave it to me so I
could plan his engagements for the fundraiser.” She depressed
her mouse a few times, then peered at the screen. “He’s
down in the locker room working out. He pumps iron every morning
until ten thirty. You should be able to catch him in the weight
room.”

“Thanks,
Lizzy. I’m going to go over to the hotel to check out the
banquet room and make sure we’re all set for next Friday. I’ll
probably be gone for about an hour.”

Cat smoothed her
mango-colored sheath, gleefully sure the body-hugging fabric would
have his tongue hanging out. Grabbing her purse and her keys, she
made her way down into the bowels of the stadium. She pushed on the
door to the weight room and looked inside. No one there. She looked
at her watch and huffed a little irritated breath. Where was he? It
was nine thirty-five. He should be here.