Playing for Kicks (Play Makers Book 5) (43 page)

“I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen, I
promise. You two have fun.”

“We will,” Sean told her. “Bye, babe.”

Tess smiled as he ended the call. “If you
decide you want to go to the game—”

“Yeah, I don’t see that happening.” Reaching
for her, he pulled her down and deftly trapped her body under his.
“We’re definitely having pancakes for the rest of the day.”

Chapter
Thirteen

Four hours later, Sean was sitting up in bed
and half watching the Giants game with the sound muted as he
marveled at the naked, slumbering woman in his arms. It wasn’t just
the sex, although that had been awesome. It was her amorous mood.
Completely unrestrained. As though she had finally given herself
permission to fall in love with him.

Tess loved rules. Boundaries. Escape hatches.
And so he had expected another round of those even when they
finally got it on. Instead, she was his, body and soul, again and
again, making it clear this was the new normal.

No buffer. Just the most beautiful sight he
had ever seen. Nude and relaxed, molded to him even in her sleep.
Not just trusting, but visibly blissful, her guard down, her face
nestled in his chest.

Then she stirred, and he was sure she’d be
self-conscious, but instead she just opened her huge blue eyes and
smiled at him. Then she snuggled closer, saying in a soft voice,
“You’re awake.”

He tried not to grin like a fool. “Yeah.”

She shifted so she was half sitting, her hand
still caressing his chest. “Are we winning?”

“Yeah, but it’s close.”

“I’m pretty sure we’ll win,” she said,
teasing him with more than words as her hand stroked his penis,
getting him hard. Then she straddled him and lowered herself down,
wet and hungry, her movements slow and seductive, trying her best
to torture him.

“You feel so good,” she told him
breathlessly.

He could barely think, much less speak. Then
predictably she lost it, coming fast, gasping his name. And he had
to laugh because she
always
came fast when she was on top,
then tried to blame it on
him.

Flipping her onto her back, he finished the
job, coming while bringing her to a second, even noisier
climax.

“Oh, God,” she said happily. “No more dirty
talk. We can’t handle it.”

“Yeah.” He rolled her onto her side so he
could look into her eyes. “We’re unbelievable together.”

Her gaze warmed. “You’re the best. And I’m
not just saying that so you’ll keep doing it.”

“I’ll definitely keep doing it.” He studied
her curiously. “You said it was just the two guys? The French dude
and your brother’s friend. I don’t care if there were more—”

“It was just the two.” She snuggled closer.
“I tried to wait for you, Romeo. Honest. But between one guy’s
accent and the other one’s puppy-dog eyes, I weakened.”

“Yeah, I tried to wait for you too. But it’s
a minefield out there.” Pulling her close, he admitted, “Those were
fun days. But I always wanted
this.”

“Me too.”

He stroked her damp hair. “Are you hungry,
Tess? Should I order food again? Or do you want to go out?”

“Let’s order in. Your choice, since all I
want is you. And a shower.”

“Go ahead. I’ll call room service.”

She slipped out of bed and headed for the
bathroom without bothering to grab any clothes, which reminded him
he was dating a nudist.

Excellent.

After he ordered BLTs and chips, he got
dressed and went back to watching the game, mostly to see if the
cameras zoomed in on the Triple Threat’s luxury suite. Then his
cell phone erupted with a few bars of Johnny Rivers’s “Secret Agent
Man.”

Murf.

And since Murf was always brief, and wouldn’t
bother him on the weekend without a good reason, he took the
call.

“Hey, Murf. What’s up?”

“Are you at the game? How’re we doing.”

“We’re winning. Barely. But Tess and I are
watching from our room. Fewer distractions, right?”

Murf chuckled. “No comment. And actually,
it’s Tess I’m trying to reach. But she must’ve turned off her
phone. Now I know why.”

Sean knew this tone of voice. Murf had good
news. Correction—Murf had
great
news.

“She’s in the shower. Is this about the
article?”

“Did you read it?”

“No, not yet.”

“You’re in for a surprise, buddy. She makes
you sound like a folk hero. No lie.”

“She wrote about me? The last I heard—well,
never mind. Are you saying it’s good?”

“It’s huge. Not just in my opinion, but my
guy at
SI
went nuts over it.”

At that moment the bathroom door opened and a
very naked Tess strolled out, so beautiful he wanted to disconnect
the call and take her back to bed. Instead, he said loudly, “It’s
Murf. Do you want to call him back?”

“Oh!” She ran back to the bathroom for a
thick hotel bathrobe. Then she hurried over to Sean, her hand
outstretched.

“He can’t see you, you know,” he teased
her.

She laughed, then to his surprise she
switched the phone to speaker mode. “Hi, Murf. You’re on speaker
with me and Sean. What’s the verdict?”

“I love it, kid. Even more than I thought I
would.”

“Really?” She sent Sean a grateful look as
though he had co-written it. “Whew.”

“I’m not kidding,” Murf insisted. “I expected
it to be light and funny. Like your bartending stuff. And it is.
But there’s depth, too. And in a few places I’d even say it’s
powerful. In other words: nice job.”

“Thank you.” She snuggled against Sean and
admitted, “That means a lot.”

“I gave my buddy at
Sports Illustrated
a sneak peek and he’s sold.”

“
What?”

“They want to split it into three
installments. Which works, right? That’s basically how you set it
up. John, his dad, and Erica. Then Alexi and Noah. Then Sean and
the wrap-up. And they want the superstitious-athlete piece too if
you’re still up for it. We figure since you wrote this one so
quickly, you can have that done by October.”

“You think I wrote this one fast?”

“Yeah. So just retire from bartending and
hold on to the suite at the Ashton since it’s clearly working.
They’ll give us a good rate, I promise.”

“Hold on.” She grasped Sean’s hand. “Give it
to me straight, Murf. Is the stuff about Noah too intense? I don’t
mind being edited, so don’t hold back.”

He was silent for a moment, then said in an
unusually proud tone, “They loved it, Tess. So did I. And Noah
actually got choked up. Or maybe that was me. Anyway”—he cleared
his throat—“he approves. And my guy at
SI
wants you to
follow it up with another piece if you’re game. Really shine a
light on the NCAA’s bias in favor of advertisers.”

She winced. “I already strayed outside my
comfort zone. Like you said, I want to write fun pieces, not
hit
pieces.”

“Are you okay with one of the
SI
guys
writing something for a future issue? Because now that you’ve
pointed out how the car manufacturer lured Noah into his mistake
and then
advertised
during the very games where
he
was suspended, well, let’s just say they’re hot to avenge it.”

She sank down onto the bed. “That would be so
great. I didn’t have the nerve to take it further, but if
they
will . . . well, that would be great. And if
they have a female writer on staff, they should consider giving it
to her. Along with the guys, obviously.”

“Understood,” Murf assured her. “You can have
anything you want, kid. That’s how good it is. Not just the part
about Noah, but you really humanized John and Alexi too.”

Tess sighed. “I can see it with Alexi. But
why Johnny? He already comes off as perfect in every article I
read.”

“I agree. Like a rock. But you showcased his
sense of humor, which the public rarely sees.”

She gave Sean a sheepish smile. “And the part
about Sean and his shoes?”

“You mean the most amazing guy on the
planet?” Murf asked with a chuckle. “Either you’re in love or
you’re good at faking it.”

“Oh, Lord . . .” She laughed
self-consciously. “You know he’s on speaker, right?”

“I figure it’s not a secret.” Murf’s tone
grew brisk. “Ed knows all this, but you’ll need to touch base this
week to reformat for the serialization. And you’ll get an advance
check soon, so just quit the bartending cold turkey. You’re on your
way, kid. And we’re all riding your coattails, so thanks.”

“Thank
you.”

“More later. My flight’s leaving, so I gotta
jet. Sean? Take care of our girl.”

“I’m on it,” Sean promised, his gaze fixed on
Tess’s radiant smile as he ended the call.

Then he sat next to her and murmured, “Not
bad. How does it feel?”

“Kind of numb. But good.”

“So some sleazy car salesman lured Cunningham
into taking the free car?”

“Even worse. Noah had saved enough money for
a used car, but the salesman convinced him to take his time
deciding, and to borrow a demo model in the meantime. When he asked
Noah if he could take his picture with him to put on the wall of
his cubicle—well, it just seemed like common courtesy, right? And
FYI, that’s how I ended up in bed with my brother’s friend so I’m
pretty sympathetic to good manners.”

He grinned. “Can I read the part about
me?”

She nodded. “I’ll send the whole thing right
away. But you should wait for tomorrow afternoon when I’m back in
Seattle. So you can concentrate without me peering over your
shoulder. Naked.”

He touched her cheek, knowing this was a
reminder they’d be apart for two whole days. It felt wrong, but
maybe it was perfect for her. A clean break with bartending then a
new life with Sean.

“You
talk
about naked, but all I see
is this robe,” he complained.

When she started taking it off in a slow,
striptease dance, room service knocked at the door, so she said
with a laugh, “I’ll get it. Just remember where we left off.”

He pulled her into a soft embrace. “Congrats
on the article, babe.”

“Thanks, Romeo.” She bit her lip as though
unable to find the right words, then giggled when a second, louder
knock sounded. “The food’s getting angry.”

“I’ll get it.” He brushed his lips across
hers, then hefted her up in his arms and tossed her onto the bed
before heading into the sitting area to answer the door.

• • •

Since Tess needed to be at Zone D by four on
Sunday, she and Sean flew to Portland late Saturday night so they
could spend a leisurely morning at his house before he brought her
to the hotel for the RAV4. He offered again to come along as her
bouncer, but she convinced him she needed to do her final shifts as
if nothing awful had happened.

She hadn’t felt stressed about it, since the
assault had been an aberration and all her other memories of
bartending were so positive. Still, when she walked into the place
a half hour before her shift, she flashed on the ugly scene.
Jerry—so inattentive. Zane and Pound Dog ramping up the disrespect.
Tess blithely relying on the thick oak bar between her and her
customers to form an inviolable barrier. Right up until Zane
violated it.

Ed hurried over to her and said mournfully,
“Too soon?”

“What? No, not at all.” She gave his chest a
quick squeeze. “Let me guess: you’re my new bouncer?”

“Damn straight. I’m trying out two new guys,
one of ’em recommended by Rocky himself. But for a while, I’ll be
here too. For you
and
for Victoria, assuming she’s still
willing. She was pretty shook up.”

“But she’s also level-headed. I think if we
get some decent protection, we’re back in business.”

He arched an eyebrow. “What about you? You’re
still leaving after tomorrow night? I don’t blame you, but—”

“I’m still leaving, but it has nothing to do
with Zane. Plus, I still expect my going-away party during MNF, so
don’t try to wriggle out of it.”

“Come and sit with me.” He led her to a
table. “What’s with the new boyfriend? Is it serious? Even though
he lives in the middle of nowhere?”

She laughed at the typical Seattle view of
Portland. “Turns out it’s an amazing city. So are the people. And
he’s a Lancer, so he pretty much
has
to live there.”

“A Lancer? Which one?”

“The best one, of course. This is top secret,
Ed. Promise?”

He chuckled. “So you can dump him the first
time something goes wrong? Got it.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re commitment-phobic. Look at poor Gator
Guy. He hasn’t been the same since you dumped him on the second
date.”

“Trust me, I wasn’t scaly enough,” she said
with a sheepish laugh. “Plus, who needs men in her life when she
has you and Ed?”

“But this is serious? That’s actually great
news, kiddo. I don’t even care which one it is. As long as it’s not
Bannerman.”

“Bam’s
perfect
for me, but he’s
engaged. So . . .” She hesitated, then admitted, “It’s the
kicker.”

“Sean Decker?” Ed whistled. “Outstanding.
He’s future Hall of Fame, you know. Guaranteed.”

“Not that it’s important, but he’s a nice guy
too.”

“Yeah, I figured. It’s good news, Tess. I’ll
miss you, but at least I won’t worry about you. Especially since
you’re in more danger
here,
apparently.”

“Silence, infidel. I love Zone D more than
all you manly-men put together, so don’t slander it, please?”

“That’s great to hear. So?” He arched a stern
eyebrow. “Are you moving to Portland? Have you told the other Ed?
He’s gonna cry, poor schmuck.”

She started to insist she hadn’t decided yet,
but was that really true? She wanted to be with Sean as much as
humanly possible. And the job with Erica only made sense if she
lived in Portland. So shouldn’t she find a little apartment close
to the Rorsch Enterprises campus, then have the best of all worlds
while she wrote the second article?