Page 23

23

Knox

My teammates and I were still riding high after our win against the Dodgers. Several of the guys were discussing plans to go out as we exited the bus and made our way to the hotel entrance.

“Your hit in the eighth to put us ahead deserves a beer,” Kitner said, as he clapped me on the shoulder.

I smiled. “Can’t lie. That felt damn good.”

The hit wasn’t the only thing making me smile. Getting sent to the minors at the end of the spring training had been devastating. But I continued to work my ass off to prove to myself and others that I deserved to play in the big leagues. By the beginning of May, the Twins decided Fernandez needed more time to develop and I got called back up.

Finally, it seemed as if everything was falling into place.

Well, almost everything.

My dating life remained non-existent, but I didn’t allow myself to dwell on that too long. It had been almost a year since I’d last seen Crew Stratton in person, and while I still thought about him, I’d come to terms with how things had ended. Acceptance didn’t mean I no longer missed what we’d had, but I had to trust that one day I’d feel that strongly about someone again. For the time being, baseball filled any void I had in my life, and I was okay with that.

Of course, it seemed life liked to fuck with me whenever I started to get comfortable, which was precisely what happened when I walked into the hotel lobby.

Sitting in a high-back leather chair in the corner, Crew’s eyes bored into me. My steps faltered, causing Arroyo and Kitner to glance in my direction.

Arroyo quirked a brow. “Everything okay?”

I expected one of my teammates to notice the other MLB player staring at me, but maybe they didn’t recognize him in the all-black suit he was wearing instead of a uniform. Besides, the guys were distracted by a ton of fans asking for selfies and autographs.

“Uh yeah. I think I see someone I know. I’ll catch up with you two later.”

They both nodded and headed for the elevators, and I crossed the marble floor to get to Crew.

“Wow, this is a surprise.” I smiled. “What are you doing here?” I kept my voice quiet to avoid drawing attention toward us.

“Saw you were playing the Dodgers. Thought I’d come by and say hello.” He shrugged as though it wasn’t a big deal for him to be there, but the corners of his mouth tilted up, giving away how he felt about seeing me too.

“And you just happened to be in LA?”

“I was at the ESPYs,” he explained.

Well, that made more sense. I didn’t think he’d made the trip specifically for me.

“Do you want to come up to my room?”

He flashed me a grin, the one I could still see when I closed my eyes and allowed myself to think about him. “I’d like that.”

Suddenly, all rational thought left my brain, and the only thing I could think about was getting my hands on him.

We rode up to my floor in silence since a few other people were inside with us, and I hoped we wouldn’t run into any of my teammates as we hurried down the hallway to my room.

As soon as the door closed behind us, I pinned him against the wall and crashed my lips against his.

Nothing slow or sweet about this kiss. It was pure desperation and need as we started to tear our clothes off.

“I missed this,” he muttered against my mouth.

“No talking.” I pushed him toward the bed. “Just get naked.”

He didn’t argue. He stripped out of his suit while I kicked off my shoes, then shed the rest of my clothes. We fell onto the bed together and continued to make out as though we were starving for each other.

Maybe we were. It’d been nearly a year since I’d been with him, and it hardly seemed real that he was in my hotel room, kissing me like no time had passed.

Our bodies moved together as memories came rushing back of exactly what he liked, what made him groan, and what made him beg for more. I wrapped my fingers around his shaft, using my thumb to gather the pre-cum leaking from the tip and spreading it all around. He was hard already, and I was desperate to feel him claim me again.

“I need you now.” I flipped onto my hands and knees.

He leaned over the edge of the mattress and grabbed something from the floor.

I arched a brow when I saw the travel-sized bottle of lube in his hand. “So you thought I was a sure thing?”

He shook his head. “Just hopeful. Didn’t even think of it until I passed the drugstore on the way here. I picked up some condoms too if you want me to use one.”

My brain told me I should insist, but the temptation to feel every inch of him without any barrier between us was too much to ignore. “I’m still covered, and I got tested at the start of the season.” That was true, but I left out the part about not being with anybody since him.

His eyes met mine. “I’ve been tested too, and there weren’t any guys after you.”

The fact he said guys and not anyone wasn’t lost on me, but for some reason, it didn’t change what I wanted. I lowered onto my elbows and spread my legs wide. “Then we don’t need one.”

A second later, cool, slick fingers circled my rim before gently working me open. “You’re the only one I’ve ever gone bare with.”

“Oh, yeah?” I smirked, trying to ignore the happiness those words created. “Then you should probably hurry up and fuck me so we can both remember how it feels.”

He lined up his cock with my hole and pushed inside. “Just as tight as I remember,” he groaned, and it sounded more like he was talking to himself.

My hands gripped the sheets as he slammed into me again and again. “Faster!” I shouted as my entire body rocked forward.

Over the last year I’d forgotten just how incredible we were together, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he’d wrecked me for any other man.

The head of his dick brushed against my prostate repeatedly as he continued to pound into me. My moans filled the room as my spine tingled with my impending release, and I reached down to stroke my shaft.

Crew’s fingers dug into my hips hard enough that he’d likely leave bruises. “That’s it. Keep jerking yourself so we can come together.”

My hand worked at a furious pace, and it didn’t take long for me to clench around him. He bit my shoulder as he filled me at the same time my hot cum spurted from my tip.

He pressed a kiss to my neck, causing me to shiver, and then withdrew from me.

Neither of us said anything for a moment, but eventually he slid off the bed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m gonna use the bathroom real quick.”

I nodded. “Go right ahead.”

I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling. Had I just made a mistake hooking up with Crew? I’d spent the last year doing everything I could to keep myself from thinking about him too much, yet the second I saw him, I couldn’t ignore that I still had feelings for him. That I still loved him.

When he returned from the bathroom, he sat on the edge of the bed. “You good?”

I pushed up on one elbow. “Yeah. How about you?”

He nodded. “Yep.”

I had no idea what came next. It didn’t feel like the time to dive into some sort of deep talk. Neither of us really had anything to say anyway. We still lived and played in different places.

He reached for his clothes on the floor. “I should probably head back to my hotel.”

“Early flight?”

He pulled his boxers on. “We’re heading to Phoenix in the morning.”

“I’m glad you decided to come see me,” I admitted.

His eyes met mine. “Me too. We play you guys in a few weeks. Maybe we can grab a drink or something while I’m in Minneapolis.”

It was a casual suggestion rather than a concrete plan, but maybe that was all we could offer each other.

“Sure.”

Once he was fully dressed, he gave me one last smile. “See ya later.”

“Later,” I replied, and then he was gone.

I fell back against the mattress, the sheet bunched around my waist and the smell of him still on my pillow. The way my chest ached as I watched him leave made me wonder if having sex with him again had not been the smartest idea. After all, what we’d just done had brought feelings to the surface that I’d tried to shove down for the past year. Still, I couldn’t find it in myself to regret what we’d just done.

I loved Crew Stratton, and maybe I always would.