Out of Her League (37 page)

“
And here?
”
His tongue followed another silver trail.
“
They make me hot. You make me hot.
”
He traced every line, every curve, every mark upon her body, until she forgot what she
’
d been worried about in the first place.

“
We have a saying in my business—marks of the battle make you a man. These make you a woman, Evie. They
’
re something to be proud of, never ashamed. You got them creating life, and there
’
s nothing more of a battle, or a victory, than that.
”

He left her for just a minute, and the drawer on his nightstand opened, then shut. A second more, and he rose above her, joined himself with her.

He made her feel wanted, needed, cherished and beautiful. He made her feel things she had not felt in a long time—in a lifetime.

Faster and faster, harder, deeper he thrust, and together they shattered, shivering, shaking, sated.

He pulled her into his arms, yanked the cover over them both. Then he smoothed the tangles from her hair, rubbing his fi
ngers along her scalp and sooth
ing her nearly to sleep.

How long they lay there, content in each other
’
s arms, she didn
’
t k
now. For once, Evie let her wor
ries go and lived in the moment. His bed was as big as he was, comfortable and warm. She stretched out
her legs, curled against his side and looked into his beautiful blue eyes.

“
You know what I dream?
”
he asked.

She smiled.
“
I think you just gave me the X-rated version.
”

His laugh held true joy, something she had never heard there before.

“
I didn
’
t mean that kind of dream. I meant life dreams.
”

Rubbing her cheek along his chest, she reveled in the texture of his hair along her skin, his heat against her body and his scent filling her soul.

“
I
’
ve always wanted a houseful of kids. Boys, girls—doesn
’
t matter.
”
Her eyes popped open, and she stopped her explorations.
“
I like babies. I have this great memory of Toni right after her bath and just before bed, all warm and compact in one of those sleepers, smelling like baby shampoo and powder.
”

He hugged Evie close, but she just lay there like a lump. He didn
’
t notice.
“
I love them when they
’
re like that. I want that again. Not that I had it much before. I think at least three—not more than five. Doesn
’
t that sound like fun? How old are you, any
way?
”

Evie had gone from sexual satisfaction and happy dreams of a secret affair, straight
to shivering, shaki
ng fury.
“
What am I—your broodmare?
”
She got up and started searching for her clothes.

“
What
’
s the matter? What did I say?
”

“
I thought you
’
d changed. The way you
’
ve been acting since you came to town ... I really thought you
’
d changed.
”
She found her shorts tangled in the plain, brown bedspread.
“
But I should have known better. I should have known a guy like you would want to keep me barefoot and pregnant for the rest of my days.
”

“
What are you talking about?
”

“
You!
”
She shoved her arms into her shirt and nearly tore the sleeve free.
“
What you just said.
”

“
That
’
s my dream. Why are you shouting?
”

“
Don
’
t include me in your nightmare, buster. I
’
ve already lived it. I
’
ve had three kids, and I
’
ve raised them alone. I
’
m just getting to the fun part, and you want me to go directly to jail, do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars?
”

“
I don
’
t know what
’
s set you off. What did you think this was about?
”
He made a sweeping gesture to include the tousled bed.

“
Sex. Great sex.
”

“
It wasn
’
t just sex, and you know it.
”

“
Do I? Are you saying you love me?
”

“
I don
’
t know.
”
His voice was as uncertain as his words, but when he looked away, she knew the truth. Why did that hurt so much? It wasn
’
t as if she loved him, either.

“
This is what I
’
m talking about. You don
’
t talk about making babies when you don
’
t know anything about love.
”

“
Hey, don
’
t act so high-and-mighty. You
’
re the one who said this was just sex.
”

“
I said great sex. And it was. I would have done it again if you hadn
’
t started that baby talk.
”
She shuddered.
“
What a way to throw a bucket of ice on a girl.
”
Evie finished buttoning her shirt and headed for the door.

“
You
’
re leaving?
”

“
You got it.
”

“
But ... but I thought you could stay the night.
”

“
Are you nuts? This isn
’
t New York or Chicago. Heck, it isn
’
t even Davenport. You don
’
t go sleeping overnight at some guy
’
s house while your kids are home alone.
”

“
Toni
’
s there.
”

“
And what would she think if I didn
’
t come home? I
’
m her coach.
”

“
I
’
m her dad.
”

The way he said it, all quiet and beaten, took the wind out of Evie
’
s anger. What had she expected? He was just Joe, after all, and he couldn
’
t help what he wanted. But she knew better than to let him think she could ever live in his dreamworld.

“
I think it would be best if we forgot this ever happened.
”

He sat up. The sheet trailed over his lap, but the rest of him was completely bare. His skin was that perfect shade of bronzed gold that made women
’
s mouths go dry.

Evie swallowed the lust in her throat. That was
all it was, she assured herself. How could she not want to touch him, now that she knew how his skin felt against her hands, how his body felt against her own?

“
You think you can forget?
”
he asked.

“
Sure.
”
Her voice did not sound sure at all.
“
And unless it involves one of the kids or the teams, I think we should stay out of each other
’
s way.
”

“
Why? You going to be tempted?
”

To bed—definitely. To labor and delivery—not again in this lifetime.

She sighed.
“
Joe, please, don
’
t make this any harder than it already is.
”

“
If it
’
s so hard, then why do it?
”

“
I can
’
t be what you need, and you can
’
t be what I want. I had a marriage like that. I swore I
’
d never go there again.
”

“
What do you want? Let me try to be that guy.
”

The way he said it, so eager and sweet, her eyes sparked with tears. If he gave up his dream for hers, he
’
d wind up hating her. She couldn
’
t bear it. She
’
d rather not have him at all.

“
I
’
d make you miserable, Joe.
”

“
And you think I
’
d do the same to you.
”
His shoulders sagged, defeated.
“
You aren
’
t even will
ing to try?
”

“
I
’
d be willing to try. I
’
d even be willing to fail
again—if we were talking only about me. But we
’
re not.
”

“
The kids.
”

“
Yeah, the kids. They
’
re my life.
”

He nodded. At least he understood that.

“
Good night,
”
he said.

“
Goodbye,
”
she whispered, and slipped from the room.

* * *

Where
had
he
gone
wrong
?

That question plagued Joe for the rest of the night and throughout the days that followed. He had held her, loved her, offered her his dream. Then she
’
d flipped out and said she never wanted to see him again—unless it was business.

Toni seemed mad at him, too, and when he asked her why, she just rolled her eyes and muttered,
“
Men.
”

What was a guy supposed to do?

His mistake, to his way of thinking, was even to entertain the notion that their uncommon attraction might be love. He
’
d known from the first that Evie Vaughn could not be the woman for him. She was too much like Karen and not enough like...

Who? His mo
m? June Cleaver? Joe gave a dis
gusted grunt. Sometimes he got on his own nerves.

To be honest, now that he knew Evie, she wasn
’
t like Karen at all. The main reason she
’
d blown him off was her kids. She put them first. So why did she work like a do
g—night and day, summer and win
ter? She
’
d said his dream was her nightmare, so what was her dream? Would she let him get close
enough to ask? If he won their silly bet, would she ever talk to him again?

These questions haunted Joe throughout the final game of the season. Unfortunately, his last game and Toni
’
s last game were on the same night, same time, different sides of town. If both teams won, they would face each other in the World Series in Cedar City. An entire season of baseball, and everything came down to one game. Wasn
’
t that always the way?

A sudden cheer rose from the crowd, then the team. Joe jerked his head up in time to see his kids lift the pitcher, who had just struck out a final batter, onto their shoulders.

“
We
’
re number one,
”
they chanted as they marched about the field.

Joe smiled and accepted congratulations all around. He was happy for his kids, but his mind wasn
’
t on this game.