Page 32 of Reckless Kiss

“It wasn’t so much in the words, it was in the way she said it. As if sex were the most important thing in the world. That chemistry and pleasure were somehow fundamental to life. I don’t feel that way. I mean, Ilovesex, but I also love football and food. I want to have a friendanda sex life. I just got the impression from Esme she was more like you, that sex was super important.” He downed the last of the beer sitting on the coffee table and stood up. “Hey, want me to give her your number? Maybe she’d be interested in one night.”

One night.We’d already had two and I wanted more.Chemistry and pleasure were somehow fundamental to life.That was exactly how I felt.

* * *

I didn’t askJeffry to give Esme my number. I really wasn’t sure why I didn’t take him up on that easy transition but something told me to wait. Esme had my number. She’d call it if she wanted to see me.

What I discovered over the course of that conversation with Jeffry was that I wanted more than another wild night. His description of her words and my life...something fundamental shifted. I realized my attraction to Esme wasn’t simply about chemistry and I needed time to figure that out.

But I didn’t expect yet another unusual invitation from Edmund Brown or for his beautiful daughter to be summoned to the party at the Renegades stadium as well.

Esme was gorgeous, as always, even in her more demure dress. Edmund brought out the black and conservative in her and while it was nice, it also masked her usual glow, made her seem unnecessarily muted. Like tucking a brilliant star behind a cloud.

We were in the season ticket holder’s suite at the corner of the stadium. Buffet lines boasted a variety of food, while waiters wandered around with trays of appetizers. Every bar was manned and drinks flowed freely once again.

Esme stood quietly off to the side, clearly avoiding her father. Her black dress swirled around her calves and the elegant lines clung to her curves. Her hair was curled and pinned, her eyes were dark and her lips were red.

But before I could move in her direction I was stopped by two of my clients.

“Yo, Mr. Hancock!” Derek Byers clapped me on the back. The man was half a foot taller than I me and several inches wider. Beside him stood his best friend and fellow Renegade, Russ Watkins, stood beside him with a wide grin.

“Well if it isn’t The Blockade.” The two men made an impenetrable wall on the field and had picked up the nickname two seasons ago.

“The new owner sure knows how to throw a party,” Russ said, sushi in hand.

“Indeed he does.” I scanned the room for my other client but didn’t see him. That’s when it occurred to me this wasn’t the whole team. It wasmostof the starting lineup, but not all. It wasmostof their backups, but not all. It wasn’t even all of the Special Teams. There didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to who was here and that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. A handpicked selection of players and their agents? No media. No family. “Any ideawhywe’re partying?”

Derek and Russ exchanged a look I didn’t like one bit, then Russ shrugged. “I think Mr. Brown just wants to get to know his best players.”

Mr. Brown. He said it casually, like he’d spent time with the owner and felt a familiarity toward him. I really, really didn’t like that.

“His generosity is my gain then, isn’t it?” It was best to play along until I figured out which kind of fire I was playing with.

“Sure is,” Russ nodded, his hands so full of food he very nearly dropped it all. “Just nod and give the man what he wants. The rewards are delicious.” And then he devoured nearly all of the food he’d been holding only a moment ago.

Did he even have time to enjoy it? Did it matter? No, probably not. Elite athletes were all energy in, energy out, like exceptionally good-looking machines.

“I find giving people whatever they want usually has consequences. That’s why you’ve both hired me, remember?” I looked at each of them pointedly. “Is there anything I need to know?”

The giant men exchanged a glance that didnotinstill any confidence in me whatsoever. There was something else going on here and it smelled an awful lot like an Edmund Brown rat.

“Sure Mr. Hancock. Of course we’d tell you if something came up.” That was Russ again, giving a truly unconvincing performance. I made a mental note that he shouldn’t be considered for any endorsements that would require light acting.

“Team is family, right?” Derek said. “And families take care of each other.”

“Family in spirit. At the end of the day it’s your livelihood and future on the line, not Edmund Brown’s.”

Both men blinked at me, then slowly nodded.

“Sure Mr. Hancock. Enjoy the party.”

They slid off as quick as they could, confirming once and for all that the Renegades new owner had gotten to my players with some sort of deal. He’d once again violated the regulations and was making up his own rules. But there wasn’t a thing I could do because all I had to prove it were feelings and instinct.

No, for now I needed to play my part. Observe. Attempt to earn back the trust of the clients who I thought trusted me completely. Get one of them to confide in me or somehow get myself invited into this inner circle of trust. Then and only then would I know what kind of fire I was playing with.

Of course there was the very real chance I’d wind up burned along with everyone else when this went south—and I had no doubt that eventually this would end badly. I certainly didn’t want my players caught up in it any more than I wanted it for myself.

It was at that moment that my attention was drawn back to Esme, still standing in the shadows, but now with a very tall man. Yes, my male instinct to incinerate any man near the woman I wanted kicked in, but before I let it get out of control I noticed that they were arguing and Esme looked absolutely furious this man was here. Her eyes were pure fire, the vein in her neck throbbing between her tensed muscles, her hands clenched into fists at her sides.

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