Pitching to Win (Over the Fence #1) (14 page)

She sits back in surprise. "Your girl?"

"Yeah...
you
, crazy. The girl I've been spending all of my time with. The girl I'd like to be able to call mine if she'd let me. If she'd stop being so damn stubborn."

I move closer to her on the lounger, so that she is almost sitting in my lap. I wrap my arms around her to pull her closer to me. "Say you'll be my girlfriend." I whisper, searching her eyes for some kind of positive answer.

"Owen..." she sighs, her dazzling eyes a mixture of caution and question. "You'll be at college, I still have another year left here, who knows where I'll be after that—“

I cut her off, trying to calm any nerves she had about making this official. "I'm only forty five minutes away. We will make it work, I can come here and you can drive to me some weekends. We don't have to outline everything now, but I just know that here, at school, hell wherever I am, there will not be another girl as amazing as you. I really want to give us a shot."

She’s silent for a minute or two, that sexy contemplative look marking her face. Finally, I couldn't take it.

Leaning forward, I framed her beautiful face with my hands, their size dwarfing her petite features. I stroke my thumb across her high cheekbones, and watch her lean into the caress. Moving my lips to hers, I swipe them softly once, twice. I coax her lips with mine, until we were kissing slowly and softly, moving our mouths in tandem.

I was trying to pour all of my feelings of hope into her. Come on, say yes.

"This is not fair. You're cheating." She groans as I swoop in for another languid kiss.

She moves her hands to my pecs, pulling on my shirt to move me closer. I am practically drowning in her fragrant smell, lilac with a touch of sunscreen. My hands move down her back as I pull her over to straddle me. I can feel her hot flesh through the gauzy material, and her scrap of bikini is doing nothing to conceal the wetness pooling from her core.

God, she is so wet I feel it through my shorts. My dick is so hard it feels painful pushed between us.

"Say you'll be my girlfriend." I grip her smooth, curvy hips, grinding her clit and ass up and down on my erection, giving us both the friction we desire.

A small moan bursts from her lips. "Fine," she croaks.

"What was that?" I lick the small, sensitive spot behind her left ear, and my dick twitches at her sharp intake of breath.

"Yes. I'll be your girlfriend." Minka is mewling at me now, pawing at my shirt to get it over my head.

I wrap her legs around my waist and stand, carrying her into her house. I suck and bite her neck as we go, her body barely hanging onto mine. I take us down a hallway, only to discover we'd ended up near the garage.

"Other direction," she half-giggles, half-whines because of how ready she is.

I head across the sprawling ranch, nearly running now I need to be inside her so badly. Meanwhile, the little vixen is raking her fingers through my hair and sucking on the spot on my neck that made my balls draw up in anticipation. Sensations are skittering down my body, zeroing in on the head of my cock.

Finally, finding her room, I march in and all but throw her on the bed.

"You drive me insane." I am fully aware I’m probably looking at her like a lunatic right now, but the way her face is flushed and her hair mussed up from my fingers, I have to strain to get my dick under control. I was seconds away from coming.

She squirms on the bed, not even able to talk, just telling me with her body what she wants. Frantically, I pull her tiny bottoms off, revealing her bare, wet pussy.

My dick twitches hard. This isn’t going to last long.

I dive down onto the bed and between her luscious, tan thighs. I can see her arousal, slick and dripping from her slit. I could die like this and have no regrets.

I take the first tentative taste, gauging her response. I haven’t tasted her up until this point, and am now wondering why I’ve waited so long.

Minka makes a long, satisfied moan and I think I might faint I’m so close to exploding. Trying to keep my release at bay, I suck and nip at her clit, her scent driving me nuts all the while.

I have to dig my fingers into her thighs to keep her from squirming.

"Owen, I need you. Now."

She doesn’t have to tell me twice. I whip my shirt off and fumble to kick my shoes and pants off, followed by my boxers.

I wince when my dick hits the air. Its so hot and heavy that the cool breeze coming in through the windows stings my flesh.

"Condoms?" I can barely speak I am so ready to be buried inside her. Shit, I can't believe I'd forgotten them again.

Minka smirks through her hazy eyes and opens her bedside drawer, throwing the small box at me. "At least one of us is prepared, Axel."

I tear at the box, not caring where the extra condoms fly as I grab one and rip at the foil. Rolling the little rubber circle onto my dick, I scoot her over to the other side of the bed and lie flat on my back.

"Get on top of me."

Her eyes widen, not expecting my request. I know she’s never done it this way, and I can’t wait to teach my girl just how much better sex can get.

Hesitantly, she straddles me, lifting her hips up until the head of my cock is just poking at her wet entrance.

"Wait." I reach up, dragging the gauzy film of a dress off and out of the way. Then I reach behind her, untying the little bikini top until the triangles gap at her breasts. I pull that over her head and marvel when her amazing rack springs free. I drag one finger over her taut nipple.

She gives a whimper, and I gently position her so that my cock nudges at her swollen lips. Placing her hands on my chest, she slowly lowers herself onto me.

I hold my breath, and probably popped a few blood vessels in various parts of my body, trying not to come. As she slides down me, her tight pussy grips me like a fist.

"Fuck, you're so tight, babe." The room is too hot, I can already feel sweat sprouting onto my forehead while trying to keep my orgasm at bay.

Minka's moans are coming out harsh and lilted now, and when she sinks all the way down onto me, she lets out a whoosh of a breath.

"I'm so...full this way. I don't think I can take it." She looks drunk with arousal, her fingers digging into my chest as she rocks to feel the motion of me inside her.

"Shit!" Even that small movement almost sends me shooting my load up into her.

"I'm so close Owen. Tell me what to do." She nearly cries as she says it.

Gripping her hips tighter, I forcefully drag her up, and then slam her back down onto me. I can feel the semen leaking from my head. I couldn't go much longer.

"Was that ok?"

She nods imperceptibly, her dilated eyes telling me that she needs the release as much as I do.

"I'm so close too, baby. Move for me. For us."

And she does. With me gripping her hips and her fingernails digging into my skin, we move together. Pumping and retreating, gasping and moaning.

I was impaling her from below, each time she sat back down on me, she took me all the way to the balls.

"Yes, oh god, Owen..." I know she’s about to reach her orgasm.

"Come for me. You're mine. Let me hear you."

I see the shudder that starts from the tips of her ears and snakes down her body, her gorgeous curves rolling with it. When it hits her core, she stops moving, her eyes locking intensely on mine for a split second.

And then she’s throwing her head back, her guttural moans shooting a beam of lust straight to my balls. Watching her face, completely relaxed with pure bliss, makes me go off like a trigger.

I jut and buck my hips up into her tight heat in a disjointed fashion, just trying to bury myself as deep inside of her as I can get. She leans over, completely sated. When her tight buds brand the flesh of my chest with their heat, I go off like a cannon.

A harsh shout works its way through me, and I can feel the pure fucking liquid pleasure work its way out of my dick. I pump my hips until I’m too tired to ride it out any longer, and even then I want to do it all over again.

Minka lays on my chest, both of us a little sweaty and a lot exhausted. I know she has to be bone tired; its the first time she’s ever done that and damn, had she ridden the shit out of me.

I know I should pull out, tuck her into my chest and let her nap for a little, but I am too selfish. Even after I’ve fucked her like the world is ending, I can feel the little bastard harden inside her tight, wet, perfect pussy.

I run my hand over her hair, trailing more than a few curls that have fallen out of her bun. I trace the velvety curves of her back until I hear her breathing even out, and I know she is probably close to sleep.

“We should mmmm get…uhh.” Her grumbling is adorable, and satisfying. I’d fucked the smartass remarks right out of her.

Fuck, now I was thinking about fucking her mouth, and I really needed to calm down.

“We should put clothes on before the chief gets home.”

That has me moving. I shoot up, whipping off my condom and trying to find a tissue to hide it in my pocket. I yank my boxers of the floor, putting one leg through and almost face-planting in my haste to pull them up my body.

Minka giggles, laying gloriously naked in the middle of her bed. “Are you that scared of him?”

“Babe, have you seen that guy? He would rip my nutsack off if he knew I was having sex with his daughter.”

Her dad really is scary. Scarier than my dad, which is saying something.

Getting up lazily, she begins to cross the room and pulls an outfit out of her dresser. I can’t help but stare as she bends over to put the blue lacy underwear on.

Focus, Axel.

I pull the rest of my clothes on, and then cross the room to wrap my arms around a fully clothed Minka. I pull her close, inhaling the smell of sex on her.

“Say you’ll come over tomorrow night.” I plant a kiss on her lips.

“Okay. I’ll come.”

I’d never brought a girl home before. With Allison, I always went to her house. And I secretly knew mom would never approve.

Now? I was so goddamned happy I’d waited.

O
wen insisted
on picking me up, so here I am, in his passenger seat rubbing my sweaty hands down the black lace circle skate I’d bought specifically for tonight’s dinner.

I’d been fidgeting the whole car ride, something I think Owen noticed after the sixth or so pass down my skirt, because he reaches across the console and tugs my hand into his lap.

“Will you calm down? They are going to love you.”

His smile does nothing to calm my nerves. I am naturally jumpy around just him, now adding his family and the pressure of that into the mix? I was bound to become catatonic by the end of the night.

Not to mention that I was now his girlfriend. And he was my boyfriend. For someone who had never had an official boyfriend, I was unusually calm. Not that I had ever anticipated this was where we would end up. But when Owen asked me to be his, it just felt natural. I’d never felt this sort of rightness that had settled into my soul in the last 24 hours.

After we’d had that round of mind blowing, world shattering sex in my bed,
in my bed
(I’d never be able to sleep the same in it again), he’d cuddled up with me on the couch and watched episodes of House Hunters while we ate ice cream. The whole thing was so domestic that I felt my inner future-housewife heart melting at the cuteness.

I had never been this person. I usually attacked any man who came within 20 feet of me. I shielded myself with my bitch armor. But Owen had broken through and peeled away the pieces, worming his way into my heart and lodging there.

And surprisingly, I didn’t want to dig him out. Ever.

I’d paired the mid-length black lace skirt with a fancier white satin t-shirt blouse, pearl studs and sparkly gold flats. I’d taken the time to smooth out my curls with the straightener I owned, and took extra care with my makeup, lengthening my eyelashes and making sure my lips were a pretty shade of maroon. The color matched my skin well.

We drive up to a large wrought iron gate, and Owen stops the car to punch in a code on the keypad. They swing open slowly, and he pushes the car through. The driveway winds up and up, until we coast onto a plateau and the house comes into view.

“Wow.” I hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but the Axel’s house…damn. I’d seen some great houses, what with the millionaire kids I went to school with. But this was something altogether.

You had to call Owen’s house a compound, there was no other word to describe it.

Just from the driveway alone I could see the ginormous main house, with its tuscan feel and sloping roofs covering beautiful wrought iron balconies. Next to that, on the sloping lawn, I could see tennis courts to the left, flanked by what I could only guess was a state of the art pitching/batting cage.

On the other side of the house, connected by what looked like a thin hallway, was a five-car garage.

“Its obnoxious, right?” Owen sighs.

“Actually, I think the design is beautiful.” His eyes crinkle happily at my assessment.

It was then that I realized he might be just as nervous as I was. “I’m really happy to be here with you.” I squeeze his hand and see his tense shoulders relax.

The car circled the drive, and then stopped, my door parallel to the giant wooden double doors. I stared at them, a bit frightened to move but a bit aware that I’d look weird if I stayed strapped into the car. I felt Owen squeeze my hand one last time. “Now or never.” He smiles at me.

This was a huge step, but I was ready.

I unbuckle as he swings his own door open, running around to my side to help me out of the high truck. He was probably hoping I’d flash him or something.

Not that I didn’t want to shed my clothes with him right now. He looked so sexy tonight.

His shimmering brown locks were slicked back in that way that made him look like a European model, his face a dark shade of brown from all the time he’d been spending outside lately.

Blue khaki slacks stretched around his muscular thighs, and perfect ass, and he’d tucked an off-white golf polo into them. Owen had completed his outfit with those preppy summer loafers all the guys around here wore.

He looked good enough to eat.

Taking my hand securely in his, he laces our fingers until my palm molds into his big, calloused hand. I take a deep breathe, preparing for what, I don’t know.

He leads us up the steps, winks once, and pushes open the beautifully crafted front door.

I step into the biggest foyer I’ve ever seen. And its decked out in all marble.

I’m rendered speechless for a second. After seeing Owen’s beach house, I shouldn’t be that surprised, but his real home was a work of art. Seriously, this was like a museum.

The ceilings sloped and dipped so that the entire open concept first floor just felt larger than life. The color scheme was much like the beach house, neutral and chic, but this was obviously a classier design. Mirror surfaced reflected the perfect light fixtures strung about, fresh flowers sat in extremely expensive looking vases, and everything about his home screamed class and money.

I had never felt more out of sorts in my life.

My nose is hit with a spicy, delicious smell, and Owen tugs me wordlessly toward what I can only assume is the kitchen as the smell grows stronger. He shrugs and laughs quietly, seeing the look of shock on my face.

I smack his shoulder. “I mean, I knew you were rich, but really?”

“I told you before, my parents are rich.” he whispers, swatting my butt since I’d stopped walking.

Cresting the small set of steps in front of us, we end up in the kitchen, which is, of course, fit for a restaurant staff of twenty.

At the stove stands the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen. And I don’t mean that she was probably the most gorgeous, she actually was.

"Caro! Oh my gosh, I am so excited that you are both here! You must be Minka!"

This woman, who I can only assume is Owen's mother, although I don't know how since she looks more youthful than me, bounds over gracefully. She wraps her arms around me, and I'm overwhelmed by the unexpected hug. But it's oddly nice, being in a mother's embrace, even if its not my own.

She holds me back at arms length. "Caro, you didn't tell me how beautiful she was. You're a very lucky man to have this gorgeous girl willing to put up with you."

I laugh at her chiding of Owen. "Yeah…caro, is it? Not singing my praises, huh?"

His mother's eyes twinkle. "And she's funny too. Caro means my dear. Portuguese is my first language."

Owen gives a half-hearted sigh, faking his annoyance. "Minka, this is my mother, Raquel. And yes, mama, she is very beautiful. But her smart mouth gets the best of her at times." He winks at me, a wolfish grin on his face. My stomach flutters and its totally not nerves from this dinner any longer.

"Carllll!" She yells, turning away to pop something in the oven. Is it bad that I'm surprised she is cooking? If I lived in a house like this I wouldn't even bathe myself. I'd hire someone to do it.

"What's for dinner, ma?" Owen wanders over, popping something that looks like a pastry in his mouth.

"Hey!" She swats at him. "No dessert before dinner. We're having Moqueca."

"Yes!" I glance at Owen, a question in my eye. "Fish stew, it's kind of like Brazilian jambalaya . But with coconut milk and spices. You'll love it, mom's recipe is bangin’.”

Movement out of the corner of my eye catches my attention, and I turned around. My breath catches in my throat.

Standing in front of me is an older version of Owen. Damn. Owen is going to be just as sexy when he is older.

"Minka, this is my dad, Carl." Owen cuts the tension.

"Hi." Its all I could say. Owen's dad is seriously hot.

"Nice to meet you. Finally nice to see how Owen's been spending all of his time..."

"Dad." Owen snaps, raring for a fight. I see their talk hadn't quite set in yet.

"Don't worry son, just expressing my appreciation that this young lady has been keeping you out of trouble this summer." He directs at me, "His baseball has really improved since you came along."

Owen shakes his head, but at least he’s smiling.

I have never been in the presence of three more good looking people in my life. No amount of new clothes had prepared me for this. I didn't fit into Owen's life. If I hadn't felt it before, I certainly did now. It was like a mortal standing next to Zeus and his family.

"Sit, sit, let's eat in the kitchen. We don't have to be so fancy, I want to get to know you, Minka."

Raquel ushered us all away from the large kitchen area and over to the breakfast nook. Which was ten times fancier than any room in my house. So there was that.

Taking a seat next to Owen and across from Carl, I placed my sweaty hands in my lap. I'd never had a boyfriend, much less met his parents. Or went over anyone's house for dinner except my friends.

"So Minka, senior year, right? Big times ahead! What do you think you want to do after high school?" Raquel studies me warmly, waiting for my answer. She was so nice. I'd always assumed beautiful people had ice where their hearts were supposed to be. Or maybe that was only Allison Renner and her band of groupies.

"Yep. I plan to go to college. I want to become a nurse." Owen squeezes my hand under the table, filling me with a bit more courage.

"That's wonderful! I always thought medicine would be such an interesting profession. Me, I was only able to become a dumb model." She flicks her beautiful mane of hair over her shoulder. I'd become a model too if I looked like that.

"Mom, don't put yourself down like that. You were one of the best in the world."

"Ah yes, caro, but I only mean that what Minka wants to do is admirable. Only the best people in life sacrifice their time and energy to help others."

She smiles at me knowingly, and I can’t help the wave of happiness that floods my chest. His mother has only known me a few minutes and yet it feels like we’ve been here for hours. She knows how to make someone feel welcome, and appreciated. I think I fell in love with her at that moment.

Raquel got up to take the food out and serve it into bowls, and a semi-awkward silence settled over the table. Now I saw why Carl was with Raquel. She lit up the room, could hold any conversation, make anyone feel welcome. She was his Owen.

"So...uh, Minka, where do you think you'll look for school?"

I feel my cheeks pink at Carl's question.

"Well..." I cough, unable to hide the coming embarrassment. "I actually have loved Grover since I took a tour there last summer. And the five-year nursing program is amazing."

Owen's head snaps around to look at me, a bright smile on his face. He looks like he wants to hug me and tease me all at the same time.

"Really?" Carl says at the exact same time Raquel yells over, "How wonderful!"

"We do have a great biology program...and several other stellar selling points..." That wolfish smile is back on Owen's face.

My face turns beet red.

"Oh lay off the poor girl, caro. You're embarrassing her." Raquel swats at his head as she sets the last bowl down in front of her husband and slides into her seat.

The meal looks delicious. Besides the fish stew, she'd prepared a summer salad and these bread and cheese balls Owen called Pão de queijo. And then proceeded to stuff five in his mouth.

Taking my first hesitant bite, the spicy flavors melt onto my tongue. "Oh my god." I spoon another spoonful into my mouth. "This is the best thing I've ever tasted."

They all laugh jovially at me.

"My wife's cooking is second to none." Carl heaves spoonfuls of stew into his mouth. I don't think Owen had come up for air since she set the food out.

We made small talk as we ate, if Owen was looking forward to going back to school, where Carl and Raquel were thinking about traveling. I learned that they had properties in Italy, Greece, Africa, and of course Brazil.

From the outside, their life looked like a fairytale. But I preferred the view right here from the kitchen table, where I knew the flaws and imperfections under the surface. It was more special that way.

I thought for the zillionth time how badly I'd misjudged Owen.

After dessert, Raquel insisted we sit out on the back deck and watch the fireflies. She even offered me some wine after the men had gone out to set up the cushions on the patio furniture.

“I’m not legal Mrs. Axel…”

“Oh none of this nonsense, Mrs. Axel. Please call me Raquel. Or mama.” She winked, looking so much like her charming son. “In my country, we don’t treat young adults like babies. Not like here. Under my roof, you are legal.”

Still not knowing how to respond, I shuffle my feet.

“It must have been tough to grow up without your mother.”

I snap my eyes to her’s, shocked that she knows such a personal fact about me.

“Did Owen…?”

“No, sweet girl, no. We motherless recognize it in each other.” She smiles sadly, conspiratorially.

“You lost your mother?”

“When I was nine years old. I always wondered what would be worse; losing her after her knowing her so long, or never getting to know her. Its a shit draw anyway you get it, though.”

I nod, suddenly overcome with sadness.

“Ay, I don’t say this to make you sad. I just want you to know, you can always talk to me. Especially if that bonehead out there screws up!” She smiles, clearly trying to cheer me up. “We are friends now. In each other’s life. And I have a feeling we will be seeing a lot of each other.”

Glancing out to the porch where Owen is actually laughing in the presence of his father, while they sling cushions on the chairs together, I have a feeling she’s right.

Not only was I in too deep now with Owen, but his family was pulling at my heartstrings too.