Stealing Home: A Diamonds and Dugouts Novel (26 page)

BOOK: Stealing Home: A Diamonds and Dugouts Novel
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She gasped, “What’s that?”

He cupped her face in his hands and lowered his mouth over hers. “I love you, too. And I forgive you. I died inside when you left me last week. I need to be with you. Now, forever. Say you’ll never leave me again. Please. I’ll get on my knees and beg for you. Just please don’t leave me. When you go I can’t breathe.”

He felt her tremble beneath his hands. “I’ll never leave you
. Ever.
I’m your woman. And you’re my beautiful, perfect man. My smooth-talking catcher with the fast hands. Now kiss me, show me your moves and make it count.”

He smiled against her mouth. “Anything for you, baby.” Because she was his woman and she was crazy for him. She was beautiful and she thought he was perfect.

And that made her perfect.

 

Epilogue

Four Months Later

L
ORELEI STEPPED OUT
the back door of Peter Kowalskin’s house and walked across the patio, plastic cup of keg beer in hand. She strode by Leslie, John Crispin, and a dozen other players. She sidled past Drake Paulson floating on a blow-up lobster in the pool—still clothed, thank God—toward the man lounging beneath a green and white striped umbrella table.

There he was, in tan cargo shorts and a navy “Baseball Players Hit It Hard” T-shirt, dark blond hair curling around the edge of a baseball cap. Her husband. Denver Rush’s star catcher with the quick moves. Her lover, her best friend. Her heart.

He glanced up and smiled when he spotted her. “Hey, honey, come over here and help me convince this loser that you are officially, seriously off the market.” He leaned back in his plastic deck chair and tipped his chin at Kowalskin.

It was September and they’d been married three weeks already. Three wonderful, magical weeks on so many levels. Michelle was getting stronger and healthier every day since she’d had surgery. It still made Lorelei cry when she looked at her sweet, precious niece and knew the little girl was going to live to grow into a woman. That she had a future.

And Logan—he was a new man. A man with hope and happiness. When he smiled and laughed, it reached his eyes. Even now he was in the pool, all bright smiles while he towed Michelle around on a floaty and she giggled and splashed at him. Seeing them together like that made her heart sing a very happy song.

She had that computer chair she’d always dreamed about—the one that cradled her behind like a glove. And she was trying her hand at writing a full-length novel. Oh, she was still writing articles about which organic pesticides were most effective and she still got all excited about it. The tomato plant Mark had given her had been the inspiration for a zinger of an article about natural compost. When it had appeared in last month’s
Go Natural
gardening magazine, Mark had bought a copy and practiced reading it to her one night while they’d snuggled on the couch. He’d been mighty impressed to discover horse crap was high in nitrogen.

He said that the Rush would win the World Series for sure because he had the most potent lucky charm a guy could get.
Her
. And yeah, she’d rewarded him good for that one.

Mark raised his hand and slid his arm around her waist when she reached his side. “Tell this bozo you’re not interested, sweetheart. That you’ve got me whipped good and I’m your love slave.” He winked at her and caressed her bottom. “And that you’re Fonda Peters, my rodeo queen.”

Lorelei laughed and slid onto his lap. He had her there. When it came to him she was definitely Fonda Peters—sex goddess.

And why shouldn’t she be?

He was Mark Cutter, all-around major league badass. The sweet-talking catcher with the best moves on and off the field. Who she was so deep in love with that she’d never get out. Never want out.

And because he was seriously good with his hands.

 

Can’t wait for the next big game?

Keep reading for a sneak peek of Jennifer Seasons’s

next book in the Diamonds and Dugouts series:

PLAYING THE FIELD

Coming July 2013 from Avon Impulse

 

 

JP
REACHED OUT
an arm to snag her, but she slipped just out of reach—for the moment. Did she really think she could get away from him?

There was a reason he played shortstop in the major leagues. He was damn fast. And now that he’d decided to make Sonny his woman she was about to find out just how quick he could be.

With a devil’s grin, he moved and had her back against the old barn wall before she’d finished gasping. “Look me in the eyes right now and tell me I don’t affect you, that you’re not interested.” He traced a lazy path down the side of her neck with his fingertips and felt her shiver. “Because I don’t believe that line for an instant, sunshine.”

Close enough to feel the heat she was throwing from her deliciously curved body, JP laughed softly when she tried to sidestep and squeeze free. He raised an arm and blocked her in, his palm flush against the rough, splintering wood.

Sonny shook back her rose-gold curls and tipped her chin defiantly. “Believe what you want, you cocky ballplayer. I don’t have to prove anything to you.” Her denim blue eyes flashed with emotion. “So why don’t you take your swagger and your over-the-top flirting and go use it on someone who cares and has the time. I have a business to run and a son to raise.”

JP settled his gaze on her mouth. He wondered what it would feel like to kiss those juicy lips and decided to find out. Though she said she wasn’t interested, her body said different. He could feel her pulse, fast and frantic, under his fingertips.

It made his pulse kick up a notch in anticipation. “There’s a surefire way to end this little disagreement right now, because I say you’re lying.” He cupped her chin with his hand and watched her thick lashes flutter as she broke eye contact. But she didn’t pull away.

JP knew he had her.

Her voice came soft and a little shaky. “What do you want me to do?”

Lowering his head until he was a whisper away, he issued the challenge. “Kiss me.”

Her gaze flew to his, her eyes wide with shock. “You want me to do what?”

What he knew they both wanted.

“Kiss me. Prove to me you’re not interested and I’ll leave here. You can go back to your business and your son and never see me again.”

As he watched her contemplate, she bit her plump bottom lip and stared at him. It was too much temptation for him to ignore.

He flattened her against the wall and took her mouth in a searing kiss. She whimpered against him and he felt her hands flail helplessly. Her body was taut as a bowstring.

He kept up the seductive assault on her mouth until she sagged against him and her hands fisted in the back of his shirt. Until she was kissing him back with every bit as much desire. When she moaned and slid her tongue over his bottom lip he knew he had her right where he wanted her.

Pulling back, he took in her glazed, passion-drunk expression and tasted the victory. Damn straight, she was interested. “See you next week, sunshine.”

 

About the Author

JENNIFER SEASONS is a Colorado transplant. She lives with her husband and four children along the Front Range, where she enjoys breathtaking views of the mighty Rocky Mountains every day. A dog and two cats keep them company. When she’s not writing, she loves spending time with her family outdoors, exploring her beautiful adopted home state.

Visit
www.AuthorTracker.com
for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins authors.

 

Give in to your impulses . . .

Read on for a sneak peek at a brand-new

e-book original tale of romance from Avon Books.

Available now wherever e-books are sold.

ALL OR NOTHING

A
T
RUST
N
O
O
NE
N
OVEL

By Dixie Lee Brown

 

An Excerpt from

A
T
RUST
N
O
O
NE
N
OVEL

by Dixie Lee Brown

Debut author Dixie Lee Brown launches her
Trust No One
series with this tale of a hunted woman and the one man who can save her life . . . if she’ll let him.

 

 

“T
rust me. This is the safest way.”

Everything required trust with Joe. So, did she trust him? If she ever got back on the ground, she might be able to answer that question. Cara looked over the edge of the platform.
There’s no way!

“Take your time. Go when you’re ready . . . unless you want me to give you a little push.”

“You wouldn’t dare!” She wrapped her arms around the pole.

“You really don’t trust me, do you?” He laughed.

“I was starting to, before you said the word ‘push.’ ”

“There’s hope then? If I choose my words more carefully?”

“Maybe . . . if I ever get down from here.”

“Let’s sit for a minute. Things will look different from that perspective.” He sat, dangling his long legs over the side. Cara positioned herself beside him, her hands nervously flexing on the rope that joined her to the zip line.

“Jumping doesn’t seem any more reasonable from here.” Too bad, since sitting close enough to rub shoulders with him made her nearly as uncomfortable as the stupid zip line.

“We’ll just hang out and talk for a while then. That okay?” He gripped the edge of the platform and leaned forward, turning to look at her.

“The last time we talked, it ended badly.”

“Now we know which subjects to stay away from.”

“Yeah, anything to do with either of our private lives.”

“I think it was your ex-husband and my desire to protect you from him that got us crossways with each other.”

Cara glanced sideways at him. He was looking at her. Their eyes met. The strangest emotions coursed through her. Somehow, it didn’t sound so bad when he said it like that. Who didn’t want a knight in shining armor? She was afraid for Joe, but he sounded so confident that he could protect her, and himself, she almost believed it. Recognizing the danger in that, she tore her eyes away from his.

“We’re making progress. You didn’t rip into me that time.” A grin came through in his voice.

“It doesn’t do any good to try talking sense into you.” She wanted to sound serious, but her heart was no longer in it. She forced her mind back to the task at hand, considering the likelihood that she’d ever be able to
zip
off this ledge. What was the worst that could happen? The cable could break, and she’d plummet thirty feet to the ground. End all of her problems. More likely, it would be a gradual descent, with the jump from the platform the only really exciting part. She could do this.

“We’ve got unfinished business, you know. We might as well take care of it while we’re sitting here.”

“What’s that?”

“I almost had you talked into dinner that night we met.”

“You weren’t even close.”

“I think you were as intrigued with the idea as I was.” He grinned. “I also think we stood a good chance of ending the evening with a kiss.”

“That’s a stretch. You’re making the same mistake you made that night. Going from confident to arrogant in about two seconds flat. There was no chance in hell you were going to get a kiss.” Cara smiled at his wounded look.

“Will my chances ever improve?” His eyes met hers again.

She’d forgotten what a good-looking guy he was. The same mesmerizing pull she’d experienced the night she met him overcame her better judgment now. For a moment she wondered what it would feel like, his lips on hers, his arms holding her close, while they lost themselves in each other.

Cara drew herself up short. Was she completely crazy? She was barely free from one dangerous man. Why would she get involved with another? There was an attraction between them she couldn’t deny, but nothing could ever come of it.

“Maybe.” The word slipped out, almost on its own.

 

Copyright

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Excerpt from
Playing the Field
copyright © 2013 by Candice Wakoff.

Excerpt from
All or Nothing
copyright © 2013 by Dixie Brown.

STEALING HOME
. Copyright © 2013 by Candice Wakoff. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

EPub Edition APRIL 2013 ISBN: 9780062271440

Print Edition ISBN: 9780062271457

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

 

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United States

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http://www.harpercollins.com

BOOK: Stealing Home: A Diamonds and Dugouts Novel
12.89Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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