Stealing His Heart (The Kingston Heat Series) (4 page)

When she moaned into his mouth, he placed one last kiss on her lips before pulling away. He looked at her for a moment, pressing his forehead to hers as he stuttered a few words.

“That was...well, I’ve never...” He ran his fingers through his hair. “You have me tongue-tied, sugar. That doesn’t happen often.”

Now she wanted to know what else he could do with that tongue.

“You best get in that car and drive away before I...”

She’d never wanted to have a one-night stand more than she did at that very moment. Maggie had said if there was ever a guy to have one with, Pax would be the one. He was a no-strings-attached player. Why hadn’t he asked her to go home with him?

“Be safe driving home.” He reached for the handle and opened her door. “You have some sweet dreams. I know I sure will.”

Sleep? That was the last thing on her mind.

Chapter 4

“What do you mean you didn’t have sex?” Maggie blurted out as they sat on Soph’s front porch. “Not even a hand job in the parking lot?”

“Shh!” She closed the door to the cottage she shared with her parents. “My dad’s in there.”

“Sorry, but you spent hours talking to the hottest, dirtiest guy on the Crushers and you didn’t go home with him?”

“He didn’t ask me to.”

“I’m not sure how you managed to screw this up.”

“Excuse me? How is this my fault?”

“Paxton Hughes sleeps with everyone, or so I hear.”

“Maybe you heard wrong.” Soph had spent the whole night thinking that maybe the buzz surrounding Pax’s player persona was just rumors. The media needed a story so why not go after one of the most gorgeous men in baseball? He was young, sexy, and in the prime of his career. The tabloids loved to make up stuff to see in their rag sheets.

“I don’t think so.” She shook her head. “He’s with a new girl every week. You don’t think he’s sleeping with them?”

Soph didn’t want to think about it. Pax had been funny, witty and polite. He talked about his childhood, his mom, and two younger brothers. The way he was with her didn’t match the way everyone else talked about him.

“Kyle said his friend Kenny has women sent up to his hotel room all the time.”

Soph sat down on the rocker and recalled that kiss. There was chemistry. She’d felt it. He felt it. Didn’t he?

“Maybe he was tired?” Maggie said. “No big deal. Kyle can take us to the next party and you can pick someone else. Someone who is interested in you.”

“He gave me his number.”

“What?”

“He wants to get together next week. When they get back from Philly.”

“Hmm.” Maggie smirked. “Maybe people are wrong about him. I wouldn’t have pegged him for the courting type, but maybe his mama raised a good southern boy.”

“I’m not going to get my hopes up. He might not even call.”

“How did you end things?”

“With the best freakin’ kiss I’ve ever had.”

“Oh, my, God! He’s a good kisser?”

“The best.”

“Hate to tell you, sweetie, but that’s not saying much.”

“I haven’t had much experience, but I know what a good kiss is and his was off the charts.”

“Did he make you wet?”

“Maggie.” Soph rolled her eyes. Her friend had never been shy when it came to kissing and telling. “Would you stop?”

“Were your panties damp?” She tapped her foot, waiting for an answer. “That’s the best way to judge if it was a good kiss.”

Sophia placed her face in her hands and nodded. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Damn! You need to call this man. Right now.”

“I can’t.” She looked at her watch. “He has an afternoon game. They’re probably at batting practice or something.”

“Well, text him and tell him you had a good time last night.”

“What would you say?”

“I would tell him his kiss made me wet, but we both know you’re not going to do that.”

“You are so gross.”

“I’m very sexual. Guys like that. A hunk like Pax would
love
that, but you need to be you. Just say hey and tell him you’re thinking about him.”

“What if that makes me sound needy?” She didn’t want to stalk him. Pax didn’t need to be bothered with girly crushes. He could have any woman he wanted.

“You won’t sound needy. I have a feeling he likes you.”

“He doesn’t even know me.”

“You talked for hours. You shared a piece of cheesecake. If sex was the only thing he wanted he would have taken you out of there and fucked you. He wouldn’t have wasted his time on small talk. Guys don’t do that.”

“Maggie!”

“I’m serious. You talked, ate dessert, and he kissed you goodnight. Normally I’d say he was a real dud, but knowing his reputation, I don’t know, I’m thinking he was looking for something else.”

“Or someone else. Maybe I’m not his type. If he sleeps with every girl he meets, maybe he just wasn’t interested.”

“Nope.” She rested her hand on the railing. “Trust me. I know guys.”

That statement couldn’t have been truer. Maggie loved men. Had from the time she was twelve. There wasn’t a guy out there that she couldn’t make fall to his knees. Her fiery red hair, curvy body, and dirty mouth often got her what she wanted when she wanted it.

“They can be real dicks at times. I’ve had my fair share of dicks.”

“Tell me about it.” Soph snickered.

“Very funny.”

“Sorry. I couldn’t resist.” She stopped laughing. “Tell me what you think.”

“Pax wouldn’t have invested an entire night in getting to know you, give you his number, and kiss you goodnight if he wasn’t planning to see you again. Text him.”

“I’ll think about it.” Making the first move wasn’t her style. Not that she had a style when it came to men, but she didn’t see herself texting first.

“You’re gonna screw this up, aren’t you?” Maggie threw her hands in the air, her Irish temper seeping through. “You have to make the first move. You can’t let an Adonis like Pax get away.”

“I don’t want to do something hasty. I need to think it through.”

“You’re going to over analyze this like you do everything else. Stop being so cautious and live a little. It’s time, sweetie.” Her tone softened. “You’re not that college sophomore anymore. You’ve let too many years go by.”

Maggie was right. Ever since her break up with Ryan she hadn’t trusted another guy. She didn’t allow anyone in. Living without a man in her life seemed easier than letting someone hurt her. Taking a chance wasn’t something she’d wanted to do, but it was time for a change. She wanted to take a chance with Pax. Now she had to figure out how to do it.

* * * *

Sophia thought long and hard about her conversation with Maggie as she and her dad watched the Crushers beat the opposing team on Saturday. Pax was on fire, giving up only one run in the seven innings he pitched. After the game she composed a text...

Great pitching, cowboy.

She couldn’t hit send. She was too afraid. He might think she was silly or worse, one of those obsessed girls who followed the players all over town. What if he didn’t respond to her message? What if the reason he didn’t take her home and have sex with her on Friday night was because she wasn’t what he wanted? Maybe that kiss was a polite brush-off.

“Tell him his timing was off in the third inning,” her dad said as he reclined in his favorite chair. “He made me nervous.”

“What?” She looked up from her phone.

“You’re sending a message to the pitcher. Tell him he almost gave up a run when the hitter shot one into left field.”

“I will not.” Soph laughed. “And how do you know I’m texting Paxton?”

“I saw the way you watched the game. In all of the years you’ve been watching baseball with me you’ve never paid that much attention to any player before.”

“You’re exaggerating.” She glanced down at her phone and deleted the unsent text. “I always pay attention to the game.”

“Hmm…” He went back to watching the post-game talk. “You like the pitcher.”

Her dad was right. She liked the pitcher. More than she thought she would. She placed her phone on the table and plopped down on the floor in front of the TV when the reporters started interviewing Pax. She liked the way his voice sounded, especially now that she’d heard it in person.

“See,” her dad said. “I told you.”

“Papa, stop it!”

“You like the pitcher.”

What’s not to like?

* * * *

On Sunday afternoon, Sophia helped her mother prepare a big dinner for the three of them. Her mother always made too much food. Maggie usually joined them for their Sunday dinner but today she was with Kyle. Sometimes when the Cambridges were home they would eat with them in the cottage. The place was small but cozy and everyone who entered always felt welcome. Her parents were the warmest people she’d ever met.

“Hey, princess,” her father called from the family room. “The game is on.”

“Pax isn’t pitching,” she yelled back.

“What? We only watch the game when he’s pitching now?”

Her mother smiled at her. “Your father thinks you like the pitcher.”

“A little.” She rolled out the dough for the fresh baked bread they’d be serving with dinner.

“Is he as attractive in person?”

“Better in person.” Sophia recalled the way he stared at her with raw intensity. His attentiveness made her feel like she was the only girl in the room.

“Your father can’t stop talking about how you got to meet Nic.” She laughed. “He isn’t as impressed with Paxton.”

“Because Paxton isn’t Greek.” When her phone beeped with a text, her stomached did a flip. She glanced over at the screen.

Did you text him?

“Maggie?” her mother asked.

“Yeah.”

“Did she change her mind? Is she eating with us?”

“No, she has a date.”

“He could eat here too. We have enough.”

“Too much, but it smells delicious.”

“Go watch the game with your father,” she said. “I have things to do in here. Maybe you’ll see Pax in the dugout.”

“Am I that obvious?”

“You did talk about him the whole time he pitched yesterday. I haven’t seen you this excited in years.”

“I’m acting like a ridiculous teenager with a celebrity crush.” She washed the flour from her hands. “It’s not like me.”

“We’re all entitled to a crush every now and then.” Her mother hugged her. “I’m sure you’ll get to see him again. He did buy the property across the lake.”

“I heard.”

“You’re neighbors. You’re bound to run into one another.”

* * * *

Saturday’s game had been long and hard. Pax endured the residual effects of pitching seven innings all night. He was happy to sit in the dugout and cheer his teammates on during the Sunday game. After the usual locker room antics and coach talk, he headed home. Some of the guys were going to dinner before tomorrow’s road trip to Philadelphia but he had other plans. He didn’t think he’d make it until Friday. He needed to see Sophia before he left.

He hadn’t called her since leaving the bar. At first, he didn’t want to appear too needy so he waited, planning on doing it after the game on Saturday. But a few beers with the guys and a card game later, he went home and iced his shoulder. He fell asleep on the couch and didn’t wake up until it was time to head to the stadium on Sunday. Now he was home and restless. A phone call wouldn’t do. He had to see her again. Figuring out what it was about her consumed his every thought. He had no idea how this dating thing worked but he was fairly certain he would have to initiate things.

He walked down the long, winding path to the back of the lake. When he ran into her the other morning she pointed in that direction when she told him where she lived. The area was secluded and there were only a handful of houses back there. Luckily, he’d seen her car in the parking lot the other night, so he knew what to look for. He’d spotted it parked on a side driveway at one of the larger homes in the community.

When no one answered up at the main house, he walked down the path to where he’d seen her car parked. He saw a quaint cottage. The windows were open and the most enticing aroma flowed out of them. Perhaps these people would know where he could find Sophia.

He made his way up the cobblestone path, admiring the colorful spring flowers and rose bushes that surrounded the property. He’d have to find out who the landscaper was and have them come out and spruce up his place. Since moving into his new home, he hadn’t had much time to tend to all of the details that went with owning such a large lot.

Through the screen door of the cottage he could hear her giggling. Just like she had the other night for him. He was in the right place, so he tapped on the door.

“I’ll get it,” she said as he watched her through the screen door.

“Hey.” He smiled when she appeared. “I was in the neighborhood, so I thought I’d drop by.”

“How did you know I lived here?”

As she stepped out onto the porch he took in her appearance. She wore a pair of tight-fitting black yoga pants and a lightweight gray long sleeve shirt. Her feet were bare and he noticed the pale blue polish that covered her toes.

“This was the path you took Friday morning and I saw your car. I knocked at the main house but there was no answer.”

“Mr. and Mrs. Cambridge are out of town. My parents are the caretakers of the property.”

“So you live here?” He nodded toward the charming two-story cottage. “I like it.” It reminded him of a small vacation home they had rented one summer when his father was still alive. His mother adored it. He had many memories of that particular July.

“What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to see you. I meant to call last night, but after the game things got hectic, and then I went home and crashed. This morning I had to get up and get to the field.”

“I watched you pitch yesterday.” She tucked her hair behind her ear.

“What’d ya think?”

“I think you did okay.” She looked into his eyes. “You did let up one run.”

She’s teasing me.

“Everyone’s a critic.” He reached for her hand because he couldn’t resist touching her. “I missed you.”

“I was going to text you, but I didn’t want to bother you.”