Getting Wound Up: A Sapphire Falls/ Love Between the Bases Novel-- PART ONE (8 page)

It seemed appropriate somehow that he was floating with Caitlyn.

She was also something he’d always known and something he’d always dreamed of—even though he’d been pretty adamantly telling himself that he couldn’t dream about her. He was no longer lying to himself. He wanted her. Good idea? No. Worst thing he’d ever done? Probably not. So, he was somewhere in between on that as well.

Caitlyn also took her third shot. The look on her face as she swallowed the liqueur was adorable.

“How many more shots do you need?” she asked.

He frowned. “What?”

“Well, it took two to get you to kiss me. You just had your third. I’m wondering how many you need to take me to bed.”

He just stared at her. He blinked. He was pretty much raring to go right now, actually. “How many do
you
need?”

She gave him a smile that wasn’t a bit tipsy. And was fully seductive. “I didn’t need even one, Eli.”

It was like his cock was voice-activated. All she’d done was
talk
and he was rock hard. “Damn, Cait.”

“You can’t be completely surprised.”

Was he surprised? That she was attracted to him? That she wanted to sleep with him?

Yeah, he fucking was. Because if his mind had ever even started to go in that direction, he would have shut it down.

“I don’t need anything to want you,” he said honestly. “I’m going to need a few more to get me
past
that.”

She took a long draw on her beer. After she swallowed, she nodded. “Okay, well, I’m going to need two more to get to drunk-enough-to-fall-asleep-even-knowing-you’re-half-naked-in-the-next-bed and drunk-enough-to-not-even-get-up-in-the-night-for-the-bathroom.”

Ah yes, the bathroom last night. As if that had been far from his mind all day.

“Two more it is,” he agreed, even as his body screamed at him to shut the hell up.

If he kissed her again, if he kept going…well, from the look on Caitlyn’s face, they both knew where that was going to lead them.

She ate a fry and took a drink of beer, then licked her lips clean of the salt.

An image of her on her knees, those lips and that tongue wetting some other things, flashed through his mind. He coughed and shook his head.

Then she raised her hand to the waitress again. She held up two fingers and waved them between her and Eli.

The girl brought four more shots over and set them in the middle of the table.

Caitlyn picked one up. “Okay, moment of truth. We drink these shots and we go to the hotel, to two separate beds, and home to Sapphire Falls tomorrow as friends. Or we don’t take these shots and we go back to the hotel to
one
bed. And then go home to Sapphire Falls tomorrow as friends.”

Damn, that second one sounded good. Too good to be true, actually.

He stared down at the shot glasses in front of him.

It would be so easy to just throw those back.

And it would be
so
easy not to.

Eli dragged in a deep breath and decided he needed to be honest. With them both.

“I want option two so badly I’m having trouble sitting here right now,” he told her. “But you want to get married and have kids and grow old in Sapphire Falls.” He paused, then said. “And I don’t.”

She frowned slightly.

“I mean, I might. That might be the way fate takes this thing. I don’t know.” He rubbed a hand over his chest that was suddenly feeling extremely tight. “But you made me realize, by dragging me down here, that I want this. I want more than I’ve had. I don’t feel good about it all. I feel pretty fucking guilty.” He swallowed and nodded, feeling some of the tightness around his heart loosen as he finally said this out loud. “I’ve been pushing what I want down deep because I do feel guilty wanting that when my family needs me. And I love my dad. And I resent what happened to him. And the store. And that I needed to come home. I resent Sapphire Falls sometimes. And…I don’t want you to be something, or someone, I resent, Cait.”

She was staring at him as she set the shot glass down with a thunk.

She slid off her stool and came around to stand in front of him. “I’m not going to let you give this up, Eli. Not for me or any reason. Neither will your dad. Or the town. As much as we all love you and love having you around, we also love you enough to want you to be happy. Why do you think we all forced you to come to the tryout? You might not believe in yourself but I believe enough for both of us.”

She grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him in. She put her lips to his and every thought but
all I want
evaporated from his brain.

It wasn’t just the kiss. Though Caitlyn’s lips were the sweetest he’d ever tasted, her sighs went straight to his cock and her ass seemed shaped specifically to fit in his hands, it wasn’t just the kiss that fired his blood and made him need in a way he’d never needed before. It was her passion—for him. Not for him physically but for his dream. She believed in him. When he felt like he was chasing something meant for someone younger or fresher or less jaded or more advanced, she helped him see that he was talented and passionate and smart.

God, if he could just bottle that up. Just absorb all of the things Caitlyn Murray thought and felt for him and take it out anytime he needed a shot…

But maybe he could. He could have her in his life, couldn’t he? Maybe it would be in little bits, maybe it would be over a long distance, but he knew, suddenly in that moment, that he needed her. He couldn’t go to Kilby or San Diego or even back to Sapphire Falls tomorrow without having her in his system and in his life.

As he continued to kiss her, he dug for his wallet. He extracted some bills—he knew they were all twenties; it was all he’d been able to get out of the ATM—and threw them on the table. He lifted his head and stood, looking into her eyes. Without a word he picked up the shot glasses, crossed to the bar and put them down where two girls were sipping cocktails.

“Haven’t been touched. Scout’s honor,” he told them.

Caitlyn’s eyes widened at the message he’d just sent. No shots, one bed. That was the deal.

He came back to her and cupped her face in his hand, his thumb caressing the soft skin of her cheek. “Thank you.”

“For kissing you?” She tipped her head and smiled impishly. “Anytime.”

“In two minutes.”

“What?”

“You said anytime. I’m going to need more in about two minutes.”

“What’s in two minutes?”

“We should be back to the hotel room by then.”

* * *

Caitlyn’s heart leapt to her throat as Eli grabbed her hand and started for the door.

He’d given away those last four shots. Was it crazy to see that as a pretty romantic gesture?

She was even able to keep up with his long strides as he headed across the parking lot and up the block to their hotel.

Neither of them said a word as he shoved the key card into the slot and then pushed the door open so hard it banged against the wall behind it. He reached for her and pulled her into the room with him. Then even better, he put his hands under her ass and lifted her so she had to wrap her legs around his waist. He kicked the door shut and put her up against it.

“You’re sure about this?” he asked, putting his lips just behind her ear.

“God, yes,” she assured him, her fingers digging into his shoulders. “Please.”

He kissed behind her ear, then down the side of her neck. Goose bumps erupted over her entire body and her thighs tightened around him.

She had never wanted anything more. Even knowing he was leaving. Even knowing he
wanted
to leave. She wanted one night. If that’s all she could have, she’d take it. And knowing it was only the one night would still keep her heart intact. This wasn’t about forever, this wasn’t about spend-our-lives-together love, this was…friendship gone wild.

She was good with that.

Caitlyn stroked her hands over his wide shoulders and down his back, touching all the places she’d been itching to for so long. His muscles bunched as he also ran his hands over her. The door behind her supported most of her weight and he was able to slide his big palms over her butt, the backs of her thighs and up her back to her head, where he threaded his fingers into her hair as he consumed her mouth again.

The kiss was filled with lust and sweetness at the same time. His tongue stroked boldly over her lip and she opened, showing him she was willing to give him anything he wanted. Their tongued tangled, their hands roamed, and the room filled with the sounds of need and pleasure.

Finally, he ripped his mouth from hers and, panting, stared into her eyes. “Need you naked. Now.”

She nodded, unable to speak. He let her slide down the door, stepping back when her feet touched the floor. He yanked his t-shirt over his head, throwing it to the side.

Caitlyn drank in the sight—the golden skin, the contours of his muscles, the way his abs bunched as he undid his fly and shoved his jeans down while toeing off his shoes. Soon there was a pile of cotton and denim on top of his shoes and he was reaching for her again.

He left his boxers on but she could see the straining length of his erection and her palms literally tingled with the idea of finally touching him.

He slid her t-shirt up and over her head, pausing to admire her in only her bra and jeans.

“So pretty,” he praised huskily, running the pad of his finger over the top edge of her bra.

Her nipples beaded instantly and she reached behind her for the hooks. She didn’t want anything, not even her favorite bra, between them. She wanted his hands on her.

“Touch me, Eli,” she said softly, flinging her bra to the side with the rest of their clothes.

“Oh, Candy-girl, there’s no way I’m
not
going to be touching you.”

She took his hand and lifted it to her breast. “Now.”

His eyes darkened as he cupped her, running the pad of his thumb over the stiff point. “Now and for a long time to come,” he promised, lowering his head again and kissing her.

Caitlyn felt as if she was feverish. She really thought she’d produce steam if someone poured cool water on her right now. She let her head fall back and hoped the door would hold her up as Eli kissed his way down her throat, licked her collar bone and then continued down until he took her nipple in his mouth.

She gripped the back of his head and whimpered. That was all she was able to do.

As he licked, then sucked, she was vaguely aware that he’d unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans and was working them down over her hips.

She kicked her shoes off and reached to help him, making sure he took her panties with the jeans. They were pink silk to match her bra, but she thought they were both probably beyond caring about her lingerie coordination.

She felt him lift his head and somehow pried her eyes open.

What was she doing with her eyes shut? She wanted to see all of this. She wanted to use
every
one of her senses to the fullest.

Eli was staring at her, his fists clenched at his sides, his chest heaving.

Caitlyn wet her lips. “You okay, Hotshot?”

He lifted his head. “I’m…so fucking okay. I’m just not sure where to start.”

She grinned, feeling lighter and happier and
hotter
than she could remember feeling in a very long time. “Well then how about
I
start?”

She leaned forward, hooked her thumbs in the waistband of his boxers and slid them down—over that magnificent ass, powerful thighs, toned calves and huge feet. Once she’d divested him of his underwear, she ran her hands over that same path but in reverse. When she got to where she’d started, she wrapped a hand around the hot, hard length of his cock.

A breath hissed out from between his teeth and he suddenly bent and scooped her up. He took the five long strides to the bed—her bed from the night before—and lowered her onto the mattress, following her down.

He wasted no time running his hands all over her body, kissing her lips, then sucking on a nipple, then licking his way down the center of her belly, swirling his tongue in her belly button and continuing lower.

She had to part her thighs to make room for his broad shoulders and when she did, he gave an approving growl.

“Let’s see just how sweet you really are,” he muttered. Then he lowered his head.

Caitlyn’s head pressed back into the pillow, her neck arching, her hands gripping the comforter on either side of her. Eli licked long and deep, then sucked on her clit, bringing her to the edge of an amazing orgasm within seconds. But before she could go over the edge, he lifted his head. “Oh, no, not without me,” he told her.

He climbed up the length of her body, kissing her deeply as his hand slid over her belly and between her legs. She moaned as he pressed a finger deep, making nerve endings she’d almost forgotten about jump to life. He added another finger, sliding in and out as she ran her hands up and down his back.

He rolled away slightly, reaching for something on the floor—a condom, she hoped—and she took advantage of the position to again take him in hand.