Page 20 of Home Run
But when something was right, it was right, and time didn’t change it.
The fancy lounger was soft under my knees as I rode him. “Are you worried about what happens next? When we get back to work?” And sometimes there were thousands of miles between us.
“Hell yeah. I’d be a fool not to.”
“Because of how long we’ll be apart?”
He cupped my breasts and kneaded, studying them intently as he began to rock his hips and push upward. “You’re a very sexy woman. A lot of men and women wish they were with you.”
I froze with him deep inside me. “The same is true of you.”
He grunted. “Fuck, Hope. It’s just hard. We haven’t had enough time yet. I’m not ready to watch you get on an airplane without me.”
I cupped his face. “The only plane I’m getting on is one that goes somewhere warm with you. And even in March when you start spring training and I have my first race, it will be with confidence that this is just our beginning. We’re too good together for this to only be an offseason fling.”
He flipped us over and drove inside me all while taking my hands, threading our fingers, and holding them down beside my head. “You’re mine, Hope. I will fight for you.”
“You won’t have to. I’m not going anywhere.”
Because he needed it, I let Rhett work all that frustration out on my body. He needed to mark me and prove no man could live up to him. I rewarded him by letting him hear how true it was.
We sat tangled up by the fire for a long time after that. I didn’t want to let him go. The travel day, the change in houses, it all seemed to remind us both how new our relationship was, but how committed we both were. I had a lot of emotions.
“You make me happy, Rhett.”
“You make so fucking happy.” He held me tighter. “I’m really glad I sat in that hotel bar. And that you climbed up on the counter.”
I laughed, realizing only now how silly it must have looked. “I’m glad our event got canceled and that you played along. Who would have thought the love of my life was waiting for me to find him that night?”
He tilted my face up to his. “Love of your life, huh?”
I raised my eyebrows, daring him to say the same thing.
His words came out gruff and sincere. “You’ve been mine since the moment we met. I never thought I would meet someone who understood me. I see my teammates with their wives and girlfriends and they make sense. But I’m a grump of an asshole. Where on earth would I find a woman who could put up with that and understand I play a relentless game for most of the year? Seemed impossible. A woman like that would have to be a unicorn.” He laughed—or at least what passed as a laugh when it came from Rhett. “And I fucking found her. Thank fuck.”
The more he swore the more emotion he had flowing through his veins that he didn’t know what to do with, which meant he was feeling quite a lot at the end of that speech. So I grabbed his face and kissed him. That kiss, of course, turned into a makeout session. A proper one this time. Just passionate kissing that didn’t run headlong into sex. Apparently there was a limit, even for us.
After a while a noise started up that sounded a lot like crickets, but with a more perfect pattern. I ignored it because it was probably just some other insect I’d forgotten about while living on the road. Maybe it was grasshoppers, or locusts, or maybe moths had evolved into their next form. It was Florida, anything was possible.
Then Rhett scowled. “Why does my fucking phone keep vibrating? Does it think it’s a fucking sex toy now?”
So that’s what the noise was. Made sense now that I thought about it. Also, I realized I was actually getting quite cold and wouldn’t mind moving inside. “Maybe you should see if it’s an emergency.” The device had been making noises for a couple of minutes now.
“Fucking hell. You’re right.” We untangled and he retrieved his phone while I grabbed a fresh towel and wrapped myself up before heading to the door.
But I paused when I saw Rhett’s face fall. “Is everything all right?”
“The team’s been sold.”
That didn’t sound good. “Is that a bad thing?”
“We just won the fucking championship. Who sells a fucking winning team?”
Yeah no. That didn’t make any sense at all. A championship team was a premium. They had all the right pieces and parts for continued success. It was like buying a sports car that had already been tricked-out with special engine upgrades, fancy interiors, and custom sound systems, when you could have bought the stock car and done the upgrades on your own for a fraction of the price. Which begged the question, “Who did they sell it to?”
“Eli fucking Stirling,” Rhett bit out. “The rich bastard. Why the hell does he want our team?” He scrolled through message after message, shaking his head. “Know one knows anything yet. The news just broke.”
A change in ownership was big, but it probably wouldn’t affect the team too much. Maybe? It was probably just an investment for the billionaire. Another asset for his portfolio. Something solid with a proven track record.
At least I hoped that’s all it was. No one liked having their lives upended, especially for the whim of a billionaire. Especially not Rhett Ryan.
“Fucking hell.” He ran his hands through his hair. “Come on. Let’s go book us a sexy vacation where we can forget about all this shit.”
“Are you sure? This seems important.”
“Oh, it’s fucking important. And there isn’t a fucking thing I can do about it. What I can do is enjoy you.” He wrapped his arms around my waist, grinning. There was no trace of worry or anxiety even though I knew there had to be some in there somewhere.
But the mischief was back and I knew in the end everything would work out. So why not spend some fun, quality time with the man I loved? “I think I can find you some adventures to spice up your life.”
He barked out a laugh that made me shiver with excitement. “Oh Hope. Life with you is going to be one amazing adventure!”