Page 6 of Home Run

I followed her into the little kitchen. She opened the freezer and stepped away, pulling herself up onto the kitchen counter in nothing but her damp panties. It was hard to look away from her nipples as they hardened from the cold of the freezer, but I did. “Chocolate, mint chocolate chip, cookie dough. A little basic, but not bad.”

“There’s whipped cream and chocolate sauce in the fridge.”

I pulled out the mint chocolate chip and handed it to her, then selected the plain chocolate for myself. “Spoons?”

“To the right.”

My hand shook a little as I pulled out the silverware. Was I nervous? Why the fuck was I nervous? It wasn’t like I was a rookie having his first one-night stand. I was a thirty-year-old starting center fielder who knew my way around a woman’s body like the back of my hand.

My gaze collided with hers and I realized it was because of her. Hope was exciting and unpredictable. I didn’t know anything about her, but I was pretty sure she’d still be a little wild and unpredictable to me even if I’d known her a year. As someone who made a fortune off my predictability and reliability on the field, this was disconcerting. Especially since I now realized that I had fallen into the same predictability in the bedroom. Go to a club with the guys? Pick up a woman. It was always a similar situation. A groupie who knew enough about baseball to recognize me and the guys. Someone who mostly wanted the thrill of sleeping with an athlete. Someone who would steal my fucking t-shirt on the way out the door in the morning.

Even when I dated someone regularly, it was easy and…predictable.

Fuck, I was boring when it came to this. And Hope was…well, she was not boring at all. Not sitting on the counter almost naked, breasts bared to me as she licked ice cream off a spoon.

“You’re fucking hot.”

“It’s the champagne and ice cream. It makes everyone look better.”

I moved between her legs, her thighs and panties cold against my hot skin. “No. It’s you.” As great as it was to have easy sex offered up, as lovely as it was to have her naked body on display, what was turning me on in new and exciting ways was just her.

“Well thank you. I don’t think I’ve ever received so many nice compliments in the span of an hour.”

“That’s a fucking shame. I guess I’ll have to compliment you all night long to make up for it.”

“I didn’t say you could sleep over.”

“I didn’t say I was going to sleep.”

She sucked in another little, excited breath. “You’re going to do wonders for my mental health.”

I set the ice cream aside, pulling her to the edge of the counter so I could run my fingers over her more easily. “You feel awfully real.”

She leaned back until her head rested against the upper cabinets, her breasts in the air, eyes falling shut. “You definitely feel real. Those are some long, magical fingers, Rhett Ryan.”

I’d tell her my big hands made me a better center fielder, but I wanted to keep tonight just about tonight. Sure we knew each other’s names, but everything else was a mystery. This connection between us wasn’t about money or fame or hope or dreams. It was two people very attracted to each other, reveling in the pleasure of it all. There was something very special about that.

“And you are very cold. Can I remove these wet things and warm you up?”

“Yes, please.”

I lifted her easily, rolling the wet underwear off, then down her legs. She had spectacularly muscular legs with strange tan lines at her ankles, calves, thighs, and bikini line. Like she spent large amounts of time in the sun in various states of dress.

I pushed the questions out of my head and stood up, sliding my fingers back between her legs where I could massage her into a fantastic state of arousal. “You’re very free with your body.” I nuzzled her breasts with my nose and lips.

She shrugged. “Nudity was never a big deal in my family. And I’ve spent a lot of time in countries that are much less concerned with nudity. Plus I like the freedom of being unclothed.”

“And I am appreciating that about you very much.” I sucked a nipple lightly into my mouth. She gasped and sighed. The sound relaxed me even more so I kept going.

“And I’m…appreciating…you,” she said with a sigh. “If I’m being honest—” she moaned, grabbing onto my shoulders and squeezing, “—I got a little thrill out of…oh god. Yes!”

I couldn’t help but smile against her skin as she shoved her breasts in my face and began riding my hand. The skin of her thighs went from cold to hot. I let her do the work while I studied what she liked, how she moved. She ground around until she found one of my fingers. I obliged by dipping it inside.

She threw her head back and moaned even louder. “Yes! Yes more of that.”

“More of what?”

“Everything!”

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