Rosalie's Player

Rosalie’s Player

by

Ella Jade

Rosalie’s Player

Copyright © 2015, Ella Jade

ISBN: 9781940744827

Publisher: Beachwalk Press, Inc.

Electronic Publication: July 2015

Editor: Leigh Lamb

Cover: Fantasia Frog Designs

eBooks are not transferable. No part of this book may be used or reproduced without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations in articles and reviews.

This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

Back Cover Copy

Once a player, always a player. Maybe not this time.

Hopeless romantic Rosalie Millan is fresh out of college and ready to start a new life in the baseball-obsessed town of Kingston, Rhode Island. Her sister has found her forever love with the Kingston Crushers’ second baseman, and now Rosalie wants the same thing. But the man she has her sights set on is far from boyfriend material. He’s wild, sex-crazed, and hell-bent on staying single. Still, Rosalie can’t seem to give up on the bad boy.

Up-and-coming baseball pitcher Holt Clemson is on fire, both on and off the field. His career has taken him to the top, and with that success comes women, and lots of them. After spending years watching his father cheat and lie to his mother, he’s become jaded when it comes to relationships. He can have any girl he chooses, but the last one he thought he’d ever want is the only one making her way into his heart.

Rosalie wants romance, love, and a man who will do anything for her, but Holt isn’t a hearts-and-flowers kind of guy. Can this unlikely duo find some common ground? Will Rosalie make Holt see that happily ever afters do exist?

Content Warning: contains explicit sex and adult content

Dedication

To the fans of Kingston Heat...thanks for proving baseball has never been HOTTER!

Acknowledgements

A special thanks to Regina Ross for naming our newest player.

Chapter 1

Rosalie Millan pulled up to the cozy cottage she now called home. The place belonged to her sister, Sage, but since Sage had moved in with her boyfriend, it made sense for Rosalie to take it over. She had graduated from Yale two weeks earlier, but didn’t have any career plans as of yet. Joining Sage for the summer while Rosalie figured out what she wanted to do with her life seemed like a good plan. One that she hoped to make the most of.

She had spent some time in Kingston over Christmas break and met a few members of the town’s major league baseball team, the Kingston Crushers. Keeping in touch with the short stop, Ryder Stanton, over the last few months kept her connected to the town. He turned out to be a good friend.

When she unlocked the door to her new home and stepped inside, the scent of the lavender roses that were left on the table by the patio doors across the room filled the air. Once inside, she caught her reflection in the large, oval mirror that hung above the foyer table. The entryway triggered a strong memory. One that had been buried ever since leaving in January, but she had been unsuccessful at keeping it hidden.

While spending the break with Sage and her boyfriend, Nic, Rosalie had become taken with Holt Clemson, the pitcher with the golden arm, and the looks to make any girl drop her panties on command. Well, maybe not any girl. Somehow, Rosalie had resisted his charisma. She’d spent many sleepless nights wondering why she hadn’t lowered her inhibitions and done all sorts of wicked things with the dark-haired, blue-eyed, wild southern boy. Every other girl he’d flashed those incredibly white teeth at probably had.

He had been blessed with sinfully good looks, a deep voice laced with a slow Texas drawl, and a body that even the most conditioned athletes would envy. Plus, he came from money, and lots of it. His only drawback was his delivery.

Holt pushed Rosalie against the foyer table, pinning her with his muscular thighs. Her head spun from the shots she’d done at Bennet’s Bar. They had played pool with some of the team, drinking and having a good time. Holt didn’t drink because he was driving, so he offered to take Rosalie back to the cottage after he dropped a few of the other guys off. Sage was spending the night with Nic, so the place was all theirs.

“You sure you want to invite me in?” He tucked her hair behind her ear. “Knowing there’s only one thing on my mind?”

“I don’t believe you only want one thing from me.” She took a deep breath, adamant he’d felt the connection they’d shared the two times they’d seen one another. Despite his bad-boy reputation, Rosalie still wanted to be with him.

“You’re right.” He grinned as he looked her over. “I might have a few things on my mind, but they all have to do with you naked and willing.” He took her face between his hands and kissed her hard, his tongue swirling inside her mouth to mingle with hers. “Still want me here?” He released her and waited for an answer. His full lips glistened with her lip gloss.

She nodded.

“You don’t look too convincing, princess.” He turned her around so that she faced the foyer mirror. “I don’t do relationships.” He trailed his lips along the rapidly pulsing vein on her neck. “I do sex.”

“Then do it.” Her legs quivered when he slipped his hand down the side of her jacket and under her skirt. He didn’t break eye contact with her in the glass as he yanked her thong in his hand and jerked at it, ripping it from her.

She gasped at his quick action.

“See, I’m not like those guys at Yale—all refined and gentleman like.” He moved his hand down her bare backside and between her legs. “I take what I want with no regrets.”

“What do you want?” Her voice cracked when she realized she may have bitten off more than she could chew with a guy like Holt. She didn’t know much about him. She’d watched the women at the bar flock to him, and got a thrill when he ignored them and paid attention to her.

“This.” He slid his fingers inside her wet heat, moving them in and out as he squeezed her breast with his other hand. “I can’t give you what you think you want, but I can give you everything you need.”

She clenched around his fingers, rocking into his hand.
God, am I going to come right in the doorway of my sister’s cottage?

She gripped the edge of the table as he stepped closer to her, pressing his erection into her backside.

“So what do you think?” he asked. When he withdrew his fingers, she sighed in frustration. “Can you play my way?” He ran his wet finger over her lips, pushing her mouth open so she could taste her arousal. He stared at her in the mirror, waiting for her to answer. “On my terms?”

“I can handle you.”
I think.

“There’s no doubt in my mind you can handle me physically.” He spun her around to face him. “You’re the hottest babe I’ve ever met. A walking sex dream.” He smirked. “It’s here.” He tapped her forehead. “And here.” He placed his hand on her heart. “Those are the places you won’t be able to handle me.”

Her breathing picked up when he didn’t remove his hand from her chest. She was certain he could feel her heart pounding hard.

“I’m not hearts and flowers, princess.” He lowered his lips to hers. “Not now, not ever.”

She gazed into his ice blue eyes, wanting more than anything to give in and do what her body wanted.

“Do you still want me to stay?”

“No,” she whispered. “Not if it’s only going to be about sex.”

“I can respect that.” He pressed his lips to hers, kissing her softly. “I don’t like it, but I can respect it.”

“Why are you so sure it will only be about sex?” They’d spent hours getting to know one another. His personality complimented his good looks. He was carefree, fun, and full of energy. They seemed compatible, so why couldn’t it be more than sex?

“’Cause that’s all it ever is for me.” He winked before turning and opening the front door. “Safe travels back to school.”

That was that. He’d strode out of the cottage without a second glance. In a matter of a few days, he’d managed to find a way into her head, and in less than ten seconds, he’d shattered any chance she thought they might have had.

His reputation was no secret. Why had she thought she’d be any different to him? She wasn’t sure what had infuriated her more—the fact that he did nothing to hide who he was and what he wanted, or that she would rather have had him woo her into believing there would be more. He was far too confusing and would only lead to heartache.

Rosalie returned to school a few days later and never spoke to him again. Now that she was back in town, he would be hard to avoid. She promised herself she wouldn’t fall for a guy like him. He was a player. Flings and one-night stands weren’t anything new, but they were never very satisfying. There hadn’t been a steady boyfriend in her life for two years. The last thing she was looking for was a guy who wanted to use her for sex. No matter how good that sex would be.

“You’re here.” Sage barreled through the door and wrapped her arms around her sister. “I’m sorry, I meant to be here before you, but I got tied up at the station.”

Sage was the sports reporter for the local station and had a dream job of following one of the hottest baseball teams around the country. Not only did her sister have a fulfilling career, but she was in love with Nic Cordova, the Crushers’ second baseman. Rosalie adored her sister’s boyfriend, and couldn’t be happier for Sage, even if she envied her life a bit. A great job and a hot baseball player to cuddle with at night. Not a bad situation.

“I just got in,” Rosalie said. “I haven’t even unloaded my bags from the car.”

“I would have brought the guys from the team, but they have a game tonight.” Sage took her sister’s hand and led her to the couch. “The fridge is stocked, and Mom insisted I have a service come in to clean and make up the bed. She still thinks you’re twelve.”

“The place looks great.” They plopped down on the sofa, and Rosalie toed off her flip-flops and pulled her knees into her chest. “Thanks for letting me crash here.”

“Are you kidding? I have a lease on this place, so I’m happy you could take it over. Besides, I’m so excited you’re here. Nic is too.”

“I can’t wait to see him.” Rosalie and Nic always had a special connection. He started dating Sage when Rosalie was just a kid. He was the big brother she never had. “How are things between the two of you?”

“They couldn’t be better.” Sage smiled. “Things are definitely better this time around.”

They had been high school sweethearts, but when Nic’s professional career took off, they hit a bump in the road and it took them seven years to reconnect. Rosalie was happy for her sister. Nic was her forever.

“Good.” Rosalie had worked hard to get the two of them back together. “I knew you were meant to be.”

“Even when I didn’t.”

“That’s what little sisters are for.”

“Anything new with you and Holt?” Sage asked.

“Holt?” Rosalie rolled her eyes. “I haven’t spoken to him since I left Kingston in January.”

“Really?” Sage shrugged. “I thought you would have kept in touch with him.”

“What made you think that?” Why would she want to even speak or think about a man like him? Because he was everything she could ever dream of in a guy. She wanted his lips on hers, his hands in places they didn’t belong, and his dirty words whispered in her ear.

“You two were inseparable for three days. You talked about him incessantly before you left. I thought you’d at least text him while you were at school.”

“I guess we were just too busy to keep up with one another.” Rosalie didn’t want to make a big deal about her non-existent relationship with a man she thought about all the time.

“What about Ryder? You managed to keep up with him,” Sage reminded her. “That wasn’t too complicated.”

“Ryder is anything but complicated.”
He’s not Holt.
“How did you know I was still talking to him?”

“He mentioned it to Nic.” Sage inspected her fingernails. “I need a manicure. You want to get one tomorrow?”

“Sure.”

“Good, then you can tell me all about your plan.”

“What plan?”

“The one that involved you staying in contact with Holt’s roommate. The guy you’re not interested in.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Her sister had a knack for getting information. She always had, so it was no surprise when she became a journalist. Rosalie didn’t want to be front-page news.

“Come on, Rosie.” Sage shook her head. “I know you like Holt.”

“What’s not to like? He’s hot.”