Rosalie's Player (4 page)

Her heart raced when she heard footsteps getting closer to the other side of the door. There was a possibility she could run into Holt. It was his house too. What was it about that man that made her so crazy? She let out a slow breath when Ryder answered the door.

“Morning.” He smiled. “Come on in.”

“I don’t have to come in.” She had a better shot of not seeing Holt if she stayed outside. “I could wait out here. Are you ready to go?”

“Come in.” He took her arm and pulled her inside. “Holt’s in the shower.”

“Okay.”

“In case you’re worried about bumping into him.”

“I’m not.” She looked around. “Why would I be?”

“Well, the whole bar saw that kiss last night so...”

“Whatever.” She waved her hand in his direction, acting as if it wasn’t a big deal. People kiss. She was sure Holt didn’t give it a second thought. He never said another word to her all night. “Ready?”

“Almost.” He held up his cell. “I gotta call my sister back. She and her boys are coming to see the team play in New York when we’re there, and I want to make sure she got the tickets.”

“No problem. I bet your nephews are excited to see you play.”

“Yeah, they think it’s cool. I’m going to their school to take pictures and sign stuff. I can’t wait. I don’t get to see them that much during the season. With their dad being deployed, I like to be around as often as I can.”

“That’s really sweet of you.” She motioned to his phone. “Make your call. I’ll wait.”

“Thanks.” He headed upstairs. “Make yourself at home. I’ll try not to be too long, but my sister can get motherly on me. Likes to make sure I’m eating right and all that.”

“I hear you.” She had one of those motherly-type sisters too. “Big sisters mean well.”

She walked over to the floor-length windows in the living room. The trendy house had a spectacular view of the lake and the running trails where most of the team trained. Sage said it was a challenging place to run, but Rosalie couldn’t wait for Ryder to show her the paths.

“Waiting for me, kitten?”

A breath caught in her throat when she turned around to find Holt leaning against the kitchen counter in nothing but a dark gray towel. Her mouth went dry as a flutter of heat spread along her skin. The black ink she’d spied the night before sprawled over the left side of his chest and down his ribcage, dipping under the towel. How far did those intricate lines and swirls go?

“Holt.”

“You look surprised to see me.” He poured a cup of steaming hot coffee into a Crushers mug.

“I’m not. You do live here, so the chances of running into you are very probable.”
Stop babbling.

“Hmm.” He sipped his coffee. “Want a cup?”

“No thanks.” She tried not to focus on his bare chest and abs, but she was failing miserably. “I’m waiting for Ryder.”

“He may be a few minutes.” He brought the mug to his mouth again, forcing her attention to his lips. “His sister can talk.”

“I’m not in a rush.” She moved closer to where he stood. “You disappeared last night before I could say goodbye.”

“You were busy with your sister. Pitching takes it out of me, so I made it an early night.”

His dark hair was still damp from the shower, and she could smell the spicy scent of his soap as it permeated between them. His jaw was smooth, freshly shaven. Her fingers itched to touch his clean face.

“I run every morning at seven.” He stared, taking his time to study her.

“Is that an invitation?”

“Since you’re going to be here anyway, you may as well get up and run with me.”

“Why would I...” She laughed when she realized he assumed she’d be sleeping with him. “You’re quite the talker.”

“I’m stating the obvious. It’s only going to be a matter of time before we’re doing it, so stop acting like what I’m saying is so shocking.” He reached out and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her toward him. “Don’t fight it.” He set the mug down on the counter. “Go with it.”

“Why are you being so persistent? A few months ago you walked away with no problem.”

“I made a mistake.” He rested his gaze on her cleavage. “I thought you’d be easy to walk away from, but I was wrong, and I’m willing to admit that.”

“But you haven’t changed your mind about it being nothing more than sex?”

“No.” He dipped his head to kiss her neck. “I promise the sex will be really good though.”

“I’m sure it would be, but—”

“Shh.” He slid his hand up her stomach and over her breasts. Her nipples hardened in response. “I know you feel this. Every time we’re together it gets harder to hold back.”

She couldn’t deny that. “We have chemistry,” she agreed. “Lots of people do, but they don’t have to act on it.”

“We already are.” He nudged her flush against his hard form. “Feel what you’re doing to me.”

“Holt,” she whispered when he swiped his thumb over her nipple. “I can’t, I mean, we shouldn’t...”

“Yeah, we should.” Without any more persuasion, his mouth was on hers, his teeth grazing her lips as he pulled her mouth open and swirled his tongue around hers. When he cupped her backside, a warm rush of arousal dampened her panties.

She sighed into him as she ran her hands along his taut chest and shoulders. His warm flesh still heated from the shower drove her wild. She imagined him covering her naked body with his own as he drove deep inside her.

He lifted her up and spun her around, sitting her on the counter. He slipped the strap of her tank top down, revealing her breasts to him as they spilled out of her sports bra. Her head told her to stop, but her body led the way. She wrapped her legs around his hips, rocking into his hard abs as he licked and kissed her chest, his hot breath creating a delicious trail.

“We should probably take this to my bedroom.” He caressed her neck as he kissed her jaw. “Now.”

His bedroom? At nine in the morning? With Ryder in the next room? God help her, she wanted to say yes. But she couldn’t.

“No.” She pressed her palms into his chest, trying to regain some composure.

“No?” He nipped at her bottom lip. “You want to do it right here?”

“We’re not going to do it.” She wiggled out of his hold and slipped off the counter, taking a few steps back to create some distance as she fixed her bra and shirt. His scent lingered on her skin.

Hell! Why does he have to look so good?

“What’s the game?” When he leaned against the counter, she could see his impressive excitement poking into the towel.

“There’s no game.” At least she wasn’t the one playing any games.

“Bullshit. I feel it every time I touch you.” He picked up his mug. “Why are you pulling back?”

“Because all you ever do is touch me. Can’t you see how explosive we are? How fast things heat up?”

“That’s not a problem for me. It tells me the sex is going to be fuckin’ amazing.”

“Maybe I’m not looking for amazing sex.”

“What?” He looked like he might choke on the air between them.

“Amazing sex is great.” Until now sex had been mediocre for her. She hadn’t had that many partners, and the few sexual encounters she had were usually with frat guys who’d had too much to drink. “But a relationship can’t be about sex and nothing else.”

“A relationship?” Confusion spread across his face faster than poison ivy covered the skin, but he looked just as uncomfortable as he would if he were suffering from the itchy condition.

“A foreign concept to you, I know. I read the tabloids.” His reputation was the reason she warned herself to stay away from him. But she wasn’t even in town forty-eight hours and she couldn’t manage to keep her mind or her lips off him.

“Don’t believe everything you read.” He brought the mug to that kissable mouth again, took a long sip, and then continued. “My family is an easy target for those rags. My father’s in the senate, and every time a president from the opposing party takes office, my old man publicly fights with him every chance he gets. My mother is an heir to one of the largest diamond manufacturers in the country. Their only son is the starting pitcher for the number one team in baseball. We sell papers.”

“So all that stuff about you and those girls isn’t true?”

“I didn’t say that. I just said don’t believe everything they print about me.” He grinned, probably because he was impressed with some of the things printed about him. “If you change your mind about me and you, I promise you won’t regret it.”

“You’re something, but I’m going to pass.” She pulled the hair tie from her hair and redid her ponytail. “Unless you want to grab dinner or something and we could get to know one another. See if there can be more than sex between us.”

“Like a date?” More confusion.

“Another foreign concept?”

“We’re wasting time with this conversation.”

“I don’t think we are. It’s all very telling.”

“How are we ever going to hit the sheets, princess, if you don’t get these silly fairytale ideas out of your head?”

“That’s not the problem.”

“It isn’t?” His towel dipped lower than before, exposing more of that complex tattoo of his. How she ached to see the whole thing.

“The question should be how are we ever going to hit the sheets if you don’t start believing in fairytales?” She winked and headed for the door. “Can you tell Ryder I’ll wait outside for him?”

She had to get out of there. If she stayed, he would talk her into having sex. And while she wasn’t against letting him do all kinds of wicked things to her, now was not the time. Playing hard to get might be just the way to tempt her bad-boy.

She glanced back and smiled at him, noting the stunned look on his face before making her way onto the porch. She leaned against the railing and took a deep breath. Staying strong with a man who looked like him, talked like him, and kissed the way he did was going to be tough.

* * * *

“Fuck!” He tossed his cup in the sink, no longer in the mood for caffeine. He needed something stronger, but it was way too early for a shot. He had to get this girl out of his system. She was trouble. He could feel it.

“What’s wrong?” Ryder asked as he looked around. “Where’s Rosie?”

“
Rosalie
is waiting on the porch for you.” A man couldn’t even get a cup of coffee in his own house without bumping into the most stubborn, confusing woman he’d ever met.

“What’s got you so pissed off?”

“Her.” He pointed toward the door, disgusted by the fact that he’d let her get to him more than once. “She does things to my head.”

“Yeah, I’m real sure it’s your head she affects.”

“Fuck off.” Holt never let a woman torture him. Why was this one so different? Why was she inside his head? He hadn’t slept all night. Every time he closed his eyes, images of his sexy kitten dominated his every thought. He had a contact list full of babes stored in his phone. All he had to do was call one of them and be put out of his misery. But he didn’t want any of them. He wanted
her
.

“Ah, what’s wrong? Found a woman you can’t conquer?” Ryder laughed. “Serves you right for all those girls you screwed around with.”

“I can have any woman I want.”

“Obviously.” Ryder glanced out the window. “You’re going to have to play by a whole new set of rules with this one. She’s something else. Totally out of your league.”

“No kidding.” He gazed out the window and watched as she stretched. Her tight little ass filled out her light gray running pants, and her firm breasts bounced when she moved. “Why haven’t you gone for her? Or has she shot you down?”

“I like her, but we hit it off as friends and that’s all we are. Besides, you know I like Casey.”

“Yeah, well, you’re taking forever to hit that.” Ryder had been hanging out at Bennet’s all season, sweet-talking the owner’s daughter, but hadn’t made a move. “What’s the problem?”

“We were talking about you and how you have no idea what to do with a woman like Rosalie.”

“You’re right. She’s going to require a different approach.” Holt thought about how she responded to him. They had a physical attraction, there was no denying it.

“Like what?”

“If Miss Yale wants to be wined and dined, then that’s what I’m going to do.” He continued to stare at her. “I’ll give the princess exactly what she needs.”
And I’ll get exactly what I want.

He never backed down from a challenge.

Chapter 4

Rosalie slipped into her plaid shorts and purple tank top before tossing her hair into a messy bun on top of her head. She took a bowl of popcorn into the living room, cuddled up on the sofa, and opened her book. It was a sappy romance. One where the hero sweeps the girl off her feet and they ride off into the sunset. Her favorite kind.

Her parents always had a solid relationship. Her dad would often send her mom flowers for no reason at all. He’d take her on whirlwind weekend getaways, surprising her and not telling her the destination until they got to the airport. Her dad set the bar high when it came to romance. Every couple had problems and her parents were no exception, but they genuinely loved one another. Rosalie enjoyed watching them interact. Even after being together for thirty-two years, they were happy and very much in love.

A quick knock at the door pulled her from her thoughts. She glanced at the clock on the mantel. It was close to eleven. Sage covered the game, and she and Nic were headed to Bennet’s after. Ryder hadn’t mentioned dropping by, so she wasn’t sure who it could be. The unexpected guest rapped on the door again, a little harder this time. Rosalie quietly hopped off the couch and tiptoed to the large window. Peeking out the sheer curtains, she saw Holt standing on the porch.

Crap!

She was hardly dressed for a guest, especially him. What was he doing there? If she could barely keep herself in check in public with him, how was she ever going to control her urges when they were alone?

“Rosalie.”

When she glanced out the window again, he was staring at her with a big, sexy grin. His black t-shirt hugged his imposing muscles and his tight, worn jeans accentuated his athletic legs.

Nope!
There would be no controlling anything once he came through the door.