PASSIONATE ENCOUNTERS (3 page)

“Hi, Mom.”

Surprise filled Troy’s eyes as they gazed over the length of
her.

“Wow!” His eyebrows danced crazily. “Hubba hubba!”

Hubba hubba?
Where in the world had he heard that
expression?
Emma spared him an affectionate glance, and ignored his overzealous
exclamation. He’d started calling her Mom about six months into his
relationship with Amanda, which was now going on a year and a half. They’d
talked about marriage but Amanda wanted to graduate from college first, which
Emma wholly supported.

It wasn’t that she disliked Troy. She adored him. He and
Amanda seemed suited to each other, getting along unusually well. Still, Emma
knew career goals sometimes had a way of getting in the way of a growing
relationship. These days Troy was very committed to finishing out his probation
period with the police department, putting that first on his list of
priorities.

She ruffled his sweaty blond hair, making a face and wiping
her palm on her shorts. “Hi, son,” she teased with a smile on her face. “Are we
winning today?”

His face suddenly looked years younger. “You bet!”

Smiling at his boyish enthusiasm, she glanced up. Her gaze
fell on a dark shadow standing at the back of the dugout. Officer Handsome or
rather, Mike Denton. The breath locked in her throat, and she knew the heat
flowing through her body had little to do with the hot weather. In addition,
she was sure her heart skipped a beat. No man should be that sexy in dirty,
sweaty clothes. She glanced away before he caught her staring at him a second
time.

* * *
*

Mike was getting a drink from the water cooler located at
the far end of the dugout when someone let out a low wolf whistle, drawing his
immediate attention. He glanced up in time to see Emma making sure the buttons
to her shirt were done up, a gesture he was sure she wasn’t aware of doing. His
gaze then shot to Pete, a fellow teammate and the culprit behind the whistle.
There was no doubt it had been meant for Emma. He looked as happy as a kid
running after an ice cream truck, his eyes dancing with harmless admiration as
he nodded at Mike in her direction.

Pete liked women in general so his lusty expression wasn’t
to be taken seriously. Still, Mike didn’t like the implication behind it. His
gaze returned to Emma, moving over her lazily. He smiled when he saw her tug
her shorts down at the back of her thighs. It was obvious she was uncomfortable
as hell. She shouldn’t be; she had a nice body and very nice legs. It was while
his eyes were taking a leisurely stroll back up to her face that Troy’s
greeting finally registered, causing his eyes to narrow on her.

Mom?

His ears must be full of wax. That morning in her house he
thought she’d looked around thirty but the way she was dressed now didn’t make
her look old enough to be the mom of anyone over five. Furthermore, Mike knew
for a fact she wasn’t Troy’s mom, which meant she had to be Amanda’s. He didn’t
believe it. If she was over thirty he’d eat his hat. He looked long and hard at
her face, seeing nothing that proved she could be the mother of a
twenty-year-old. Nevertheless, he couldn’t deny the strong resemblance between
her and Amanda.

Suddenly Emma looked directly at him and his mouth went dry,
his pulse jumping erratically.
Fuck!
The impact of those dark, smoky
eyes went right through him, catching him unaware and sending his senses
scrambling into overdrive. Making him think about that morning in her house a
week ago, when they’d looked at him with such soft appeal. He could still
remember the disappointment he’d felt when he got back to the station later
that day to discover her story had checked out. He’d wanted an excuse to return
to her house.

He took note of her high cheekbones and the generous
fullness of a mouth that made him hungry as hell. A delicately sculptured nose
and softly rounded chin he’d noticed the other day but hadn’t taken the time to
truly appreciate because of the situation, and lack of time. Scrubbed free of
makeup, she had the fresh, healthy appearance of any Dove soap commercial model
he’d seen on TV. Strands of soft curling hair escaped the confines of her loose
ponytail, gently blowing against the slim column of her neck.

As his gaze roamed down her body again, a smile caused the
corners of his mouth to curve upward. Mike estimated Emma was a good foot
shorter than he was which he bet contributed to her soft, luscious curves. And
being a man who appreciated the female form, he narrowed his eyes on the dark
cleavage between her full breasts just as Pete moved to his side, snagging his
attention.

“Hey, man, check it out.” He elbowed Mike in the ribs with
enough force to make him grunt. “A real looker, huh?”

The very looker Mike had just been eyeing, only Pete had
been so caught up in his own gawking he hadn’t noticed.

“No ring on the finger either,” Pete pointed out, talking
low. “What do you think, twenty-five, twenty-six?”

If what Mike had just overheard were true, the woman in
question could be closer to his age, forty. This would make her almost old
enough to be Pete’s mom. That thought put a grin, if nothing else, on Mike’s
face. “I didn’t know you were into older women.”

He felt more than saw Pete’s shrug.

“She’s not that much older,” he said without care. “Besides,
it doesn’t matter to me. Age can be a plus.”

He gave Mike a lecherous grin that said more than words.

“Experience, you know, man.”

Usually Pete didn’t bother him but for some odd reason his
intense interest in Emma rubbed Mike the wrong way. “I just heard Troy call her
‘Mom’,” he informed him, wanting to erase the smitten look from the other man’s
face.

Pete reared back with total surprise, his bushy eyebrows
arched high. “You’re kidding, man! Tell me you’re just making that up. You just
want her for yourself.”

I do want her for myself.
Mike narrowed his eyes on
Pete for a moment, resisting the urge to clobber him. What the heck was the
matter with him? He shook his head with disgust, deciding there was no getting
through to him. Against his will, Mike’s gaze returned to Emma.

She and Amanda were slowly making their way in his direction
and Amanda was making a half-hearted attempt at introductions along the way.
His gaze followed the responses of the players sitting on the bench as they
walked by, watching their eyes roam appreciatively over Emma. There wasn’t one
man who didn’t show an interest in the shapely hips and legs paraded before
them.

Her cute ass.

Mike didn’t know where it came from but he was hit with a
jolt of jealousy so unexpected it sucked his breath away. He quickly turned
back to the water cooler for another drink. Hoping it would calm his suddenly
taut nerves. The thought crossed his mind that he might as well take the damn
thing and hold it over his head. He had no claim on Emma, so why was he feeling
so possessive towards her?

God, he prayed he wasn’t as transparent as he felt.

* * *
*

As they moved slowly along, Emma did her best to keep a
wooden smile on her face, acknowledging the introductions in some small way.
She’d never remember all their names and after the eighth or ninth man, their
dirty, sweat streaked faces became a familiar blur. She knew they were all
police officers but some of them didn’t look old enough to shave. Still, it
didn’t keep them from looking at her like she was an attractive woman. That
knowledge sent a little thrill through her.

It was obvious they were heading to the end of the bench
where there was room to sit, but Emma would have been content to remain out of
the dugout altogether. Her only consolation was they weren’t the only women
there. As they neared the end of the dugout, she stared at Mike. He was getting
a drink, but she was sure he’d been watching her earlier. She couldn’t help be
aware of him too, watching the muscles flex in his biceps as he brought the cup
to his lips. Observing the way the corded muscles in his throat worked as he
drank. Emma sensed he knew she was there, yet he didn’t appear in any hurry to
acknowledge her.

“Mike, I’d like you to meet Mom, I mean Emma.”

Amanda pushed Emma in front of her as though she were a shy,
reluctant child.

Surprise caused Emma’s head to snap in Amanda’s direction.
There was definitely something different in her tone this time. A difference
that caused alarm to shoot through her, which settled in her belly like a
five-pound box of chocolates. The feeling became worse when she caught Amanda
glancing at Troy, who was sitting there with his arms crossed, shaking his head
with disgust. If Emma didn’t know better, the happy-go-lucky Troy was almost
angry.

With a resigned sigh, she glanced at Mike, beginning to wonder
if he was going to ignore them. He finally turned, with obvious reluctance, to
acknowledge them. Crushing the empty cup in his hands, he tossed it into the
nearby garbage can.

He acknowledged Amanda briefly before directing his slightly
amused gaze on Emma. “This is chunky mama?” he asked in disbelief.

Emma’s startled gaze flew to Amanda, who’d recently taken to
calling her that when they were working out at the gym together. Apparently
that wasn’t the only time she used it in reference to her.

“I see you know our family secret,” she said softly, her
words meant for him only. She held her hand out. “But I won’t hold it against
you. Nice to meet you, Mike.”

For a moment it looked as though he wasn’t going to return
her handshake. He stared at her outstretched hand as if it were a poisonous
snake or something before finally grasping it. Emma couldn’t ignore the sharp
current of awareness traveling up her arm when they touched. She wondered if he
felt it too.

“Nice to meet you.”

His gaze ran over Emma as though looking for the reasons of
her unusual nickname. His inspection was far from impersonal, and her body
responded in an obvious way.

“This isn’t the first time,” Emma breathed in a silky voice,
noticing his eyes were sexy even when they were sharp and assessing. She
ignored the sudden, erratic jump of her pulse. But she couldn’t ignore the
tingle in her hardening nipples.

“No, ma’am,” he agreed in a deep voice, leaving it at that.

She was vaguely aware Amanda remained in the background,
looking on with too much interest. But she was unable to break eye contact with
Mike. Something about him excited her, pulling her in like a magnet. When it
occurred to Emma they were still holding hands, she slowly slipped hers from
his warm grasp.

She wasn’t surprised to realize she was attracted to him.
The bright blue of his eyes held her captivated, reminding her of the crystal
blue waters off the Bahamas. She could eagerly dive in and discover the secrets
behind those intriguing orbs.

The silence between them made Emma uncomfortable and she
glanced out at the ball field. “That was a quick inning; it looks like your
team is up,” she said softly, watching the other team returning to the dugout
opposite them.

“Do you play baseball?” There was a faint twinkle in the depths
of his eyes.

“No, I’m too…” She caught herself before saying what was on
the tip of her tongue. It occurred to her she was far from the oldest kid on
the block. She gauged Mike’s age to be somewhere around forty.

The grin that broke out on his face took her breath away,
and left her feeling flustered inside.

“Too old?” he supplied, guessing where her thoughts were
heading.

Again his gaze swept Emma from head to toe and back again.
Only this time with more boldness.

“From where I stand, ma’am, I’d say you’re on the right side
of perfect.”

Her jaw dropped with surprise, and Emma’s belly did a
flip-flop. Mike was gone before she could utter another word. It’d been so long
since she’d received a compliment that she didn’t know how to react.

Amanda broke her concentration by stepping directly in front
of her. Blocking her view of Mike as he was leaving the dugout.

“You can close your mouth now.” Amanda’s tone revealed she
was as pleased as punch about something.

Emma slowly focused her gaze on her, struggling to pull
herself together. “What?” She didn’t know what Amanda was talking about.
“Aren’t you supposed to go out on the field with the others?”

“I’m going; are you going to wait for me here?”

Emma wondered if that was a good idea. She looked at the
field. Her gaze landed immediately on Mike. Suddenly she felt flushed. She met
Amanda’s eyes with a feeling of guilt. She didn’t like the smile on her
sister’s face; it suddenly reminded her of the look on Troy’s face earlier.
“What are you up to?” she asked suspiciously.

The pink tinge in Amanda’s cheeks was a sure sign she was
guilty as sin about something. “Nothing, I swear.”

Emma stared at her for a long moment before saying, “Go play
ball, troublemaker.”

Chapter 3

Mike tried not to notice Emma on the sidelines but she was
damn sexy and more than once he found his concentration on her and not the
game. Every time he pitched, he looked at her, narrowing his eyes against the
glare of the midmorning sun to make her out in the shadowy confines of the dugout.
He was still having a devil of a time believing she was the mother of a
full-grown daughter.

Babs Neely stepped up to the batter’s plate, taking a few
practice swings with a bat almost as long as she was tall.
An easy strike
out.
He grinned. He couldn’t recall a time she’d so much as made it to
first base. The first two strikes went as predicted, but once again Mike found
himself distracted when a movement from the dugout showed Emma going to the
water cooler. Therefore, it didn’t come as a complete surprise when he finally
got nailed, and by Babs of all people.