Page 25 of Nailed at Home Plate

I ran from her after our blowout on the field. I didn’t want her to be pissed. I wanted, with every fiber of my being, to dance with her like we had last night. But we already had one close call with a kiss while the woman was inebriated. Even if she claimed it was only a little, I didn’t want to take advantage of her in a moment of weakness and have her regret it the next day. I didn’t want to risk her career, or mine, with temptation.

My heart thudded in my throat as I ran down the steps from the dugout into the locker room. I needed to get out of here. The woman was out for blood, andI was the sole person on her murderous rampage radar.

Aggressive steps followed me and echoed endlessly off the metal lockers.

Shit.

I was cornered.

“You know what? I’m really fucking sick of your shit. So is everyone else. You think you’re all high and mighty because you play for the majors. Now that you’re back from the IL and barely batting over .200! Your reflexes are rusty! Every guy on this team is better than you.”

Cady’s sharp words hit me like a brick wall. Here I thought she was all dance moves and attitude, but I underestimated her knowledge of baseball. I did my best to ignore her truths as I whipped off my ball cap and threw it into the depths of my locker station.

Electricity was palpable in the air. My brain was a blur of emotion. I was pissed I had to be here. I was annoyed that Cady wouldn’t give me five seconds alone to collect my thoughts and figure out what happened last night and with practice today. I was crushed that she then had to go and admit to me all my faults this season in one breath.

Because she was right. She wasright. I hated to admit that every single thing she said was true. It didn’t make me any less pissed.

“You really need to get your head out of thatvery fineass of yours and back in the game. A routine surgery shouldn’t be holding you back like this. Especially since you had it before. Look, I get that you’re used to major league ball but, playing for the Sillys is where you’re at right now.” I tried my best not to flinch. But goddammit those words stung.

“So why can’t you just do your job? You’re here. Now. At the Sillys’ ballpark. All you have to do is listen to me and follow…simpledirections. Why do you have to be such a fucking stick in the mud all the goddamn time?!”

The normally cold but docile Cady was suddenly unrelenting. I didn’t know there was this much passion and fire in someone so petite. The words she spat in my direction were nothing but ice and fire. It wasn’t just…

Wait.

Did she compliment my ass?

I’d been ready to charge right back at her but now I was thrown off course.

Godfuckingdammit.

Why the hell did my brain have to hyperfocus on that one line of her tirade? They were words that I never thought would leave her mouth but actuallydid. Cady might, just might, be attracted to me? It was the opening I’d been waiting for with bated breath, but I’d been too much of a coward to admit it.

I’d never been in this sort of situation before. What do I do? Do I fight back? Do I laugh it off? Do I ignore it completely? Why were women so goddamn confusing?

It wasn’t until that very moment that I suddenly realized why all this animosity had been going on between us. Of why I bristled every time she got near to my body. Why I could barely string a few words together around her. Why almost every waking moment of my life over the past few weeks was spent thinking about Cady.

I really wanted to kiss her.

The need to kiss her was putting my tumultuous feelingsmildly.

I chanced a glance at her off to my right. Had this been a cartoon, there would have been smoke coming from her ears. With her hands on her hips, she looked seconds away from charging me like a damn bull. There was something in her eyes. Something aside from her anger glittered there in the stormy depths. Was it…concern?

“You’d better be fucking listening to me Jamie Rheem–”

Before I could realize what I was doing, my body moved of its own accord. It was on autopilot and Cady’s curves were the target. It only took two strides to confront her. The resolve in her squared shoulders melted as her hands fell from her hips in surprise. She wasn’t fond of having a taste of her own confrontational medicine.

For a moment it was an out-of-body experience as I found myself nose to nose with the woman. Well, I had to tilt my chin down to do so. I caught the whites of her eyes as my hands reached out to grip her hips and simultaneously closed the gap between us. It was almost as if the bowstring pulling us apart was suddenly loosed, sending, me the arrow, straight to the captivating target that was CadencefuckingAndrews.

My brain sat back in utter shock for a moment before it stood up and slow-clapped my body forfinallydoing what it wanted to do. I was a puppet and had some kinky motherfucker pulling the strings. I wasn’t in control of my body anymore. Or…was I?

I pushed her ass firmly against the equipment lockers behind her. They clattered as our bodies madecontact. In one smooth motion, I hefted my hands around her thighs and slid her petite body up the wall so that we were eye-to-eye. Not breaking our stare down, I reinforced her position by cradling my hands along the dangerous underside of her thighs.

A soft squeak left her mouth, curling her lips into an enticing O. Her hands shot out to grip my shoulders. From the look on her face, it seemed as if she couldn’t decide whether to shove me off of her or embrace it. But the moment she made her choice; myentirebody knew.

Her gaze met mine for only a single thudding heartbeat before there was a desperate mutual effort to bond our bodies together. This woman was a mouthful of petite sunshine and fire at any given time. Whatever she was lacking in height she made up for in attitude.

I couldn’t get enough of her.

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