by Jaci Burton
Only then did he climb up her body, kiss her deeply, then put on the condom and thrust into her.
He raised himself up on his arms. "Now we'll come together. I want you to squeeze the come right out of me, Kat."
She reached up and slid her fingers over his lower lip. "Make me."
Again, that animalistic growl that never ceased to make her sex flutter. He dropped down on top of her and cupped her butt with his hand, tilting her pelvis up so he could grind against her.
"I'll make you. I'll make you come so hard you won't even know your own name."
He kissed her, his tongue doing delicious things to hers. The kiss was deep and heady and she lost all sense of herself as he seduced her with his mouth and with his cock. And when she exploded, he was right. She was gone, an out-of-body experience, and she had no idea who she was. She knew only pleasure, only the slide of her hands across hard muscle, the feel of her pussy clenching his cock as stars exploded behind her eyes. She heard his loud groan as he went with her, felt them both shuddering together, then collapsing, holding on to each other like a lifeline in a storm of ecstasy.
He'd taken her breath away, exceeded all her expectations as to what sex was all about. And now, as he lay next to her, rubbing her back and kissing her shoulder, she realized she'd waited entirely too long for this sex thing.
Or maybe she'd waited just the right amount of time. Because Grant was pretty damn good at this. So maybe she'd just been waiting for the right guy to introduce her to it.
"Tired?" he asked.
"Mmm-hmm."
He brushed his hand over the top of her head, then kissed it and tugged her against his chest. "Sleep, Kat."
That sounded like a really good idea. "Okay."
TWENTY-TWO
GRANT WAS PRETTY GOOD ABOUT SWITCHING FROM play mode to game mode.
Last night with Katrina had been all about play. Today, it was getting into game mode. There were three days until the game, and even though it was still preseason, with every game, they drew closer to finalizing the team and the start of the actual season.
He worked with the offensive coordinator and the backup quarterbacks, trying to confirm the plays they'd use this year. He spent time trying out the rookie receivers to see who would make the team, who was going to fit with the organization this year.
All in all, there was a lot going on right now, especially for those who were busting their asses to make the roster.
Grant was the starting quarterback. His job was set. But he knew there were other guys on the bubble. His job was to help the team figure out which guys would stay, and which would go.
He'd explained all this to Leo as they'd driven in this morning. He was pleasantly surprised to find Leo up and ready when he'd come down at seven-thirty for coffee.
"It's not even eight a.m. yet," he'd told him.
"I figured whatever you had in mind for me today, I'd better be early," Leo had said.
Katrina might be worried all the time about these kids, but she'd done a fine job giving them the right tools they'd need to succeed. Leo had the work ethic in place. Now it was up to Grant to tap into it.
When Grant had told Leo he was taking him to practice today, Leo's eyes had widened. He was so excited, even though Grant had told him he couldn't work out with the team or anything.
"It's just watching, ya know?"
"I don't care," Leo said. "I'm excited just to be there to see the team go through practice. It's the closest I'll ever get to seeing a pro team do this."
Grant slung his arm around Leo's shoulders. "At least until you make a pro team yourself."
Leo let out a snort. "Yeah, like that's ever gonna happen."
Grant had stopped him there. "With an attitude like that, it never will. If you don't believe in yourself, how do you expect anyone else to? How will a college coach believe you've got what it takes to make the team?"
Leo had looked embarrassed. "Okay, you're right. I'm fast and I'm good enough. I know it. I'm just getting a late start, is all."
Grant slapped him on the back. "That's better."
Grant introduced Leo to all the guys in the locker room, then placed him with one of the assistant offensive coaches, who promised Grant he'd explain everything there was to know about football.
Grant was certain Leo was going to get one hell of an education today. There would be yelling and cussing, and if Katrina knew that, she'd likely be horrified. But this was a player's world, and Grant was confident Leo could handle it.
In fact, during one of their drink breaks, Grant spotted Leo glued to the coach's side as the coach was screaming obscenities at one of the wide receivers. Leo was doing his best to suppress a grin.
Yeah, the kid was doing fine.
So was the team. Rookies looked acceptable; the few guys they'd signed during free agency were a good fit. They'd shored up holes in the defense, and JP McClellan was back on the offensive line after an injury last season. Grant felt confident in his team this year.
Grant had been studying the playbook when Cole Riley came over.
"How's it going, Cassidy?" Cole asked.
"It's going so great that I think you're going to have a good year, because I'm going to be throwing to you a lot."
Cole grinned. "Of course you are, man. Because I'm a superstar wide receiver. And you're the superstar QB."
Grant laughed. "Yeah."
"Isn't that Katrina Korsova's brother? The one you introduced me to the other day?" Cole asked, tilting his head toward the sidelines.
"Yeah. He's interested in playing football, so I brought him along with me today to give him some insight."
"Cool. So you're dating Katrina? Since when?"
"Since, I guess that shoot I did with her in Barbados."
Cole nodded. "She's hot."
"She's smart and funny and beautiful. A lot more than just hot."
Cole held up his hands. "Hey, you don't have to convince me. I married smart and funny and beautiful."
Grant laughed. "How is Savannah?"
"She's great. She's in Los Angeles right now, working on an image rehab for a basketball player."
Grant slapped Cole on the back. "You got lucky getting her to marry you, since you're such an asshole."
"Don't I know it."
He and Cole met up with the other receivers and quarterbacks to go over a few plays with the coaches, then it was back to practice. The drills were going well, and they had a game plan for this weekend.
When practice ended, he fetched Leo from the coach.
"How did it go?" he asked as they left the locker room and headed for the parking lot.
"It was fantastic," Leo said. "I mean, I mostly stayed out of the way and watched, but Coach asked me some questions. And when he found out I haven't played football yet, but that's what I want to do--like really wanna do--he gave me some tips on how to bulk up, and what I should be doing to prep for the upcoming football season. And he said if I really wanted to make the team, I should start working out at least four days a week and keep running."
Grant smiled. Coach had given Leo sound advice. He wasn't blowing smoke up Leo's ass by saying it. "That's great."
"Yeah. And then he made me run drills with the receivers. Did you see that?"
He had, but he figured Leo would want to tell him all about it. "Is that right? How did that go?"
"They smoked me, of course. But Coach said I was fast." Leo turned and started jogging backward. "Can you believe that? He said I was lightning fast. That's good, right?"
"That's really good. He thinks you have potential."
Leo was beaming. Grant was glad he'd invited him along today. The kid needed a lot of big boosts in his self-esteem, especially as it related to football. He really wanted Leo believing in himself, that he could do it.
Today helped.
"So, you like baseball, too, right?" Grant asked Leo after they'd pulled out onto the highway.
"Sure."
"My brother
, Tucker, plays for the Rivers."
Leo nodded. "I know. He pitches."
"Yeah. I thought we might catch a game tonight, since the Rivers are finishing up a home series."
"No shit. I mean, yeah, I'd love to go. Kat doesn't really follow baseball. You think she'll let us?"
"I already talked to her about it. She said it sounded like fun."
Leo shook his head. "You're a good influence on her. At least sports-wise. Before you, she would have never gone to a baseball game."
Grant laughed. "Good to know."
They headed back home. The girls weren't back yet, so Leo went up to his room to take a shower and change clothes. Grant made a few calls and went through his mail. He had given Katrina the code for his garage door and keys to one of his cars, which she was a little unsure about, but he'd told her it had GPS, so she could plug in addresses, and she and Anya could go wherever they wanted.
Anya had been excited about having a day to explore and Katrina had seemed happy to have the freedom of his Camry, even if she was a little nervous about driving in a strange city. He hadn't been worried. He knew Katrina would be fine.
When he heard the garage door open, he went to greet them.
They were carrying packages. A lot of packages.
"Let me take those," he said, grabbing the bags from both Katrina and Anya. He set them on the counter. "Did a little shopping today, huh?"
"Yes," Anya said. "We found a great mall. And you'll be happy to know Kat didn't hit anything with your car."
Grant laughed. "I wasn't worried about it at all."
"I was," Katrina said, laying her purse on the counter next to the bags. "I don't have an opportunity to drive all that often. I was a little rusty."
"Well, now you've had practice."
"Maybe you could teach me to drive, Grant," Anya said. "It's a major crime that I'm seventeen and don't have a license yet."
"You live in New York and don't need to drive," Katrina said.
"You live in New York, too," Anya shot back. "Yet you have a driver's license."
Katrina shrugged. "I figured at some point I might need to drive a car, so I took driving lessons a long time ago and got my license."
Anya looked to Grant. "See? Which means at some point I might need to know how to drive."
Katrina sighed.
Grant laughed. "She has a point."
Katrina slid Grant a look, then directed her attention to Anya. "Fine. We'll see about taking care of that this year."
Anya grinned. "Awesome."
"So what did you all buy?"
"Kat and I both got new capris. I love mine and I'm definitely wearing them to the game tonight. Kat bought pillows for your sofa. I helped pick them out. We argued for a good twenty minutes over which ones. She won, but only because she has the credit card."
He looked over at Katrina. "You bought pillows for my sofa?"
"Yes." Katrina went to the counter and pulled two pillows from the bag. "I thought you needed something extra on your sofas. They'll add a nice design element and be extra comfortable."
He didn't know much about decorating, but the pillows were a tan with black and looked nice on his couches. What he really liked was that she'd thought about him.
"They look great. Thank you." He put his arms around her as she surveyed the sofas. "It was so thoughtful of you."
She shrugged. "It's not a big deal."
"It is to me."
"Before you two make out or something, I'm going upstairs to change," Anya said, scrunching her face up and grabbing her bags.
Grant grinned as she left the room. But she winked at him as she walked by.
He got the idea Anya approved of him.
For some reason, that meant something to him.
He turned Katrina around in his arms and brushed his lips over hers. She melted against him, so he deepened the kiss, intending to take just a quick taste. But she felt good, her body warm and pliant. He was getting hard, and he didn't know when the kids would be back downstairs, so he pulled back.
"Did you have fun today?"
"We did. I only had to do a quick reshoot, so we were out of there within a couple of hours, which left us the entire day to go sightseeing and shopping."
"Did you visit the Arch?"
She shook her head. "We were going to, but we ran out of time."
He nodded. "Maybe we can fit it in tomorrow. I could take you."
"Don't you have practice?"
She palmed his chest, her nails digging in just a little. It made his blood rush. He wondered if there was time to sneak upstairs to his bedroom. The idea of a quickie appealed.
"I'll have time to take you all to the Arch tomorrow."
He was just about to tug on her hand, to lead her upstairs, when Leo came down.
"Oh, hi, Leo," Katrina said. "How was your day with Grant and the team?"
Time was up. He left Katrina and Leo to talk. He ran upstairs and changed clothes. When Katrina came up and closed the door behind her, he turned to face her.
"Everyone ready to go?"
She nodded. "It'll only take me a few minutes to get ready."
"Don't worry about it. We have plenty of time."
He was going to head downstairs, but then Katrina asked him to help her unzip her sundress.
That got his attention. He walked into the bathroom.
"Turn around," he said.
She did, facing the mirror.
"Pretty dress."
Her gaze met his in the mirror, her lips turning up into a smile. "Thanks."
He drew the zipper down, his knuckles brushing bare flesh. He couldn't resist as he bared the skin of her back, so he leaned in and pressed a kiss to her shoulder.
"Do we have time for this?" she asked.
He gently pressed on her back, bending her forward. "Absolutely not."
Moving into her, he was already hard when his crotch met her butt, rubbing his body against hers. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to feel her, the heat of her, breathing in the scent she gave off.
It was heady, and he wanted her.
"If you're going to fuck me, you should unzip, and I should get out of this underwear."
He opened his eyes, saw the passion reflected in hers, and dropped down on his haunches, reaching under her dress. He found her panties and pulled them down.
"I wish I had time to eat you, make you come," he said, lifting her dress and pressing a kiss to her hip bone.
She let out a breath. "I do, too."
He stood, opened the center drawer and took out a condom from the box there. "I'll make you come another way. With my fingers, when I'm inside you, fucking you deep."
"Grant."
His name floated from her lips like a sexy whisper. He unzipped his pants, put the condom on, then lifted her dress over her butt. Damn, she had a pretty ass. He took a minute to let his hands roam over her, slid his fingers between her legs.
"You're wet," he said.
"I'm ready for you. Just you talking to me, touching me ... I'm ready."
He pulled the straps of her dress down over her shoulders, taking her bra with it, baring her breasts. He cupped a handful of her, rolling her nipple between his fingers as he slid into her pussy.
"Oh," she said, pushing against him as he thrust.
He let his hand roam down, palming her sex, rubbing her clit as he drove into her again and again.
"Yes, there," she said, giving him momentum.
He'd been consumed by her since that kiss downstairs. Looking at her, breathing her in--she made him want her in ways that were inexplicable to him.
She tightened around him, gripping him, making this pleasure unbearable. He needed to come in her, but first, she was going to come.
He played with her clit, listening to the sounds she made as he moved within her. He was learning her body, finding out what hit her hot buttons. She liked him to move his hand fast and easy against her, and as she clenched around him in orgasm, h
e shoved deep in her and let go, shuddering as he came, feeling her body unravel around him in deep, rhythmic waves.
He was sweating against her back, out of breath and had never felt anything so good.
She lifted up and leaned against him. "I'm going to need a quick shower now."
"Yeah, me too."
They both jumped in the shower and did a quick rinse off. He got dressed, then got out of Katrina's way and headed downstairs.
"What is she doing up there?" Anya asked. "It usually takes me twice as long as her to get ready."
Grant just shrugged. "No idea. I think she might have changed her mind about what she was wearing. Or ... wait. I think she said something about hopping in the shower."
Anya rolled her eyes. "Whatever."
She went back to scrolling through her phone, so he figured they had managed to skate by without the kids figuring out what had happened upstairs. Or maybe the kids were smarter than he gave them credit for and they simply didn't care.
Either way, Katrina came downstairs a short time later, looking gorgeous in her new black capri pants that hugged her curves. She wore a hot pink tank and tennis shoes and looked absolutely edible.
How could a woman dressed so casually look so damn sexy? He wanted to undress her and lick every inch of her.
He filed that thought away for later.
They drove to the ballpark and made their way to the ticket window, where, thanks to his brother, tickets were waiting. He'd texted Tucker yesterday after he'd gotten the idea to take Katrina and the kids to the ball game.
That had been a fun conversation.
I need four tickets to tomorrow night's game.
Tucker had texted him back with: Asshole. Next time give me more notice when you want four seats. You'll be lucky if I can get you bleachers. We're popular, ya know.
Grant had texted back with: But you can get me box seats anyway, right?
Tucker had ignored him for about an hour, then texted back with: Probably. And fuck you.
Grant grinned when he opened the envelope with his name on it and found four box seat tickets.
Because that's what the brothers did for each other. They gave each other shit, then they pulled through when necessary.
They went through the gates and Grant led them through the crowd and up to the stands.
"Wow," Leo said as they found their place. "These are great seats."
They were along the first-base line with an excellent view.
"Tucker's having a good season," Leo said, reviewing his brother's stats on his phone. "He's twelve and three so far on the season, with a two point three earned run average. He's also got over a hundred strikeouts. He's like a beast out there."