Page 5

CHAPTER FIVE

SILAS

It had been a long time since I’d fallen into a sleep so deep, it took a few minutes to register where I was after my eyes popped open. That had been life on the road, especially during my last couple of years of playing. I’d never had any trouble acclimating to a strange bed, and I’d pass out the minute my head hit the pillow, enjoying a long and dreamless sleep until I had to play at whatever field in whatever city I’d been in at the time.

I smiled at Rachel’s soft sigh as she stirred next to me, cuddling into my chest as she rolled over. Maybe she’d forgotten where she was too, but my heart still seized when she reached for me in her sleep.

I tightened my arms around her, enjoying the last few moments before I had to let her go, the odd yet deep contentment that had washed over me when I’d woken up already dissipating to dread.

It was what we’d agreed on. I had my reasons and it had sounded like she had hers, so one night was our limit.

So why was it so hard to say goodbye to a woman I’d only known for a day?

I reached to grab my phone off the nightstand. Five a.m. glowed back at me before I set it back down. I had been sure it was earlier, judging by the pitch-black street outside the window, the soft glow from one streetlight seeping through the sheer curtains.

Then I recalled reading two o’clock on the tiny alarm clock next to the bed before we both drifted off to sleep.

I had a long day ahead of me and would pay for that later.

But it would be worth it.

I ran my hand down my face, still debating on telling her who I was. The press conference would be broadcast across sports channels and would be in the news for at least the next few days, ramping up again when the season officially started.

As a kid, I’d race to the newspaper we’d get delivered every morning to see where my favorite teams ranked in standings and would flip the paper over to get the big sports headlines from the night before.

My parents still bought the same newspapers, but most people chose how to get their news and what they wanted to know about these days. Rachel didn’t seem like a big sports fan, but I hated the idea of her picking up a newspaper or catching a story online about me. We’d both purposely held things back about ourselves, so not telling her wasn’t really lying, even by omission.

So, why did it feel like I was betraying her by not sharing where I’d be in a few hours or what I was really doing here?

Something told me she’d understand, and if she knew, she wouldn’t make a big deal over it or use the information to seek me out. And I wouldn’t see her past this morning, so if I wanted to tell her, what was the big deal?

If I told her, everything would be different. I wouldn’t be just a guy with a new job moving to a new city. It was what had stopped me from telling her about what I used to do and what I was here for in the first place.

To Rachel, I was just Silas. What I was able to do before and what I had to do now in my career didn’t apply. It was a breath of fresh air I hadn’t known I’d needed, as this transition had seemed to be choking me.

She’d soothed me in a way no one else in my life had because I hadn’t been open about the turmoil that had fueled my life since I’d blown out my knee. Not like I had been with Rachel, even though I’d held back all the key details about my identity.

Her comment about how impostors didn’t get impostor syndrome still echoed in my head, the only piece of advice that almost made me believe I could pull this off.

Because I sure as hell felt like an impostor, from the second I’d accepted the job. It would multiply when I stepped up to the microphones today to announce managing the Brooklyn Bats this season, but I’d do all I could not to show it.

I still had that drive to succeed, even if I had to direct other players instead of playing myself. As Rachel had noticed, I did care a lot, so maybe I could do this.

I felt the first spark of excitement over this job because of the beautiful woman next to me, and I couldn’t even thank her for it since she didn’t know what my job was.

While my time with Rachel had quelled some of my managing nerves, I was still sorting out all that happened between us. Fixating on a woman I couldn’t know past today was a distraction I didn’t need.

Nope, parting ways was the best thing. I’d make sure she got into a cab and hope she’d get home safely, fighting the temptation to get her number so I could make sure. I’d take what happened between us as the glorious thing it was, a few hours of awesome to straighten out my scrambled head.

Though, when we said goodbye, I knew my head would be scrambled for a different reason, but I could only dread one thing at a time.

“What time is it?” Rachel asked, her voice gravelly and full of sleep as she propped herself up on her elbows. The sheet draped across her torso, but I couldn’t resist a look when it drooped low, the side of her gorgeous breast exposed as she shifted toward the window.

We’d had sex until I’d run out of condoms and then had lain in bed talking until we both fell asleep. An old teammate had always advised us to pack three in our wallets, and while I’d never had the occasion of using more than one, for some reason, I’d listened.

For two people who didn’t know each other before yesterday, we’d fit together perfectly. I’d memorized every part of her body with my hands and my mouth, along with the sounds she made when I’d touch and taste her in all the right spots. She was beautiful from head to toe, and in another time, with another box of condoms, I wouldn’t have stopped touching her. Last night or ever.

Fuck, what was happening to me?

“Five,” I whispered, sitting up with the sheets still at my waist.

“I better get going,” she said on an adorable yawn. “I wouldn’t want to make you late on your first day.” Her sleepy smile made my chest pinch hard enough to want to rub away the ache.

Again, what the hell was wrong with me? I couldn’t catch deep feelings for someone I’d only known for a day. This was chemistry and good sex.

Really good fucking sex.

“I don’t have to be anywhere for a while. No need to rush.” Before I could help myself, I reached out to squeeze her shoulder, running my thumb back and forth over her soft skin. She needed to leave, and I needed to figure out a way to get her out of my head.

She turned toward the window as she let go of another loud yawn, stretching her arms over her head as the sheet dropped to the small of her back. Not being able to resist this one last temptation, I looped my arm around her waist and rolled her onto her back, the sweetest giggle escaping her when I settled between her legs.

“We should be figuring out how to detach, right?” she said with a sad sigh that echoed in my gut. “I mean—” she shut her eyes and shook her head “—you have to go to work, and I have to get my sister. This urge to stay under the covers with you until they drag us out has nowhere to go.”

“Yep,” I said, exhaling the same deep sigh but not moving away like I should have been.

“And you’re out of condoms. So starting anything up would be the cruelest kind of a tease, right?” My eyes fluttered shut when she sifted her hands through the hair at my neck, goose bumps trailing down my back as her nails scraped my scalp.

I spotted regret in her eyes, but also enough heat to make me forget about my original plan to gather her clothes off the carpet, hand them to her like the gentleman I hadn’t been last night, and wait outside the bathroom before I walked her to the hotel entrance and put her into a cab.

“Some things don’t require condoms,” I said, arousal more than sleep coating my words. If this wouldn’t last past today, what was the harm in taking just a little more?

I wanted it and her enough to ignore just how much harm a little more would be.

“Like what… Yes, right there,” she whispered, sinking her head into the pillow as I slipped a hand between us and traced lazy circles around her clit.

“Already wet. Did I give you good dreams?” I slipped a finger inside her, flattening my thumb over her clit as I pumped in and out.

“Too good,” she groaned, arching her back against me as I dialed up the pressure, adding another finger and wishing it were my cock getting lost in her one last time.

She met my gaze, eyes hooded with lust as a blush stained her cheeks and crept down her neck. She really was so fucking adorable when she blushed, but when she was turned on, she was so damn sexy I couldn’t stand it.

Her eyes on me as she drenched my hand were too much. If I was catching feelings, no matter if they made sense or not, I had to ease back from intimacy I couldn’t handle right now.

“What other things did you have in mind?” she asked, spreading her legs more as the urge to replace my fingers with my dick almost overtook me enough to forget how that really couldn’t happen.

As much as we’d held back with each other, I’d given her everything last night, more than I had given anyone in years. The sex hadn’t been just sex, and that had confused me most of all.

“I’d love one more taste for the road,” I whispered, taking her mouth in a quick but deep kiss before I dragged my lips down her body, tracing a slow circle around each of her nipples with my tongue, and trailed lazy kisses along the soft skin of her stomach, inching lower until I was between her legs. Even in the almost-darkness, the sight of her made my mouth water, and I dove in, sucking, biting, and kissing her deeply, as I’d done for half the night.

A loud moan escaped her as she grasped the back of my head, mumbling my name and how it was all too good. I couldn’t have agreed more. She was sweetness all over, and one more taste was the pure torture I’d expected it to be but still couldn’t resist.

I slid two fingers back inside her, pumping in and out as I ran my tongue all over her, only going in harder when she whimpered a please and dug her heels into my back. Her arousal dribbled down my chin as her whimpers grew louder. Her taste on my tongue and the way her beautiful body quivered under my touch made me lose what was left of my mind as she squeezed my fingers, sending me right over the edge with her.

I lifted my head, dragging sloppy kisses down the inside of her damp thigh as my release ripped through me and spurt all over the bottom of the mattress.

“Is there something I can do for you?” she asked, breathless, as she gazed down at me. “I’d like a taste for the road too.”

I laughed and shook my head.

“You already did, sweetheart. I came all over the sheets like a teenager.” I pressed a kiss to her knee, holding her hooded eyes. “In case no one has told you lately, you’re pretty fucking incredible.”

She was something I couldn’t explain or figure out and, I had the feeling, something that would linger in my head for a long time.

Rachel laughed, covering her face with her hands.

“This is such a bitch.”

Wasn’t that the fucking truth?

“I don’t have to be at the office until ten,” I said, still skating my hand up and down her leg. “How about I order us a little breakfast before I get you a cab to go home.”

“I don’t need a cab. The sun is coming up, and I’ll be fine taking the subway.”

“No,” I said, pushing to stand and shifting toward the bathroom to seek out a towel to clean up the mess I’d made. “Let me do right by you and get you home safely.”

“You did plenty right by me last night.” She quirked a brow at me. “But I appreciate it. The breakfast and the ride.”

I nodded and headed into the bathroom, popping over to the sink to splash some cold water on my face and get a damn grip.

I’d enjoy these next few moments with a beautiful, amazing woman before I let her go and then I had to try to forget how perfectly we seemed to fit in every way but real life.