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forty-six

Rory

Tuesday morning is the start of the Stars’ new season.

It’s also the day of Sage’s first dance lesson.

Lane is here with us because he can’t bear to miss his daughter’s first lesson. He can’t be here long, but he came anyway to be there for Sage.

The studio is in nearby Greenwich Village, so we all walk over together, Sage forging ahead of us in the cutest little ballet outfit you’ve ever seen. We arrive and check in, and the woman at the front desk leads us to a private room with the instructor.

Finch Ballet Company is renowned worldwide for training some of the world’s greatest ballet dancers. The studio owner, Eileen Finch, opened it nearly thirty years ago after she left the New York City Ballet. The notoriety she received as a ballerina had people flocking to her studio, and it’s grown every year since.

Eileen is going to be Sage’s instructor. Perks of having a famous baseball player for a dad who can pay for private lessons.

The three of us walk into the room we’re led to and find a woman, maybe in her late fifties or early sixties, with hair more gray than brown.

“Hello!” she says warmly. “I’m Eileen Finch. It’s wonderful to meet you.”

Lane takes her hand and shakes it. “Lane Brooks. This is my daughter, Sage, and her nanny, Rory.”

“It’s so nice to meet you,” I say. “Sage is very excited.”

“And I’m excited to have her here. She’s still very young, so it will take some time, but I’m certain Sage will become the perfect ballerina. Before we begin, I want to know more about you, and you can learn more about me. Sharing will help with Sage’s comfort, which goes a long way in training.”

Lane speaks up. “I’m not sure there’s much to know, but Sage is an only child. I’m a single father, so it’s just us two. Rory is her nanny and is the greatest help to me. I’m the center fielder for the New York Stars, so during the season, I’m quite busy and have to rely on her help. Sage absolutely adores her.”

“And I adore her right back,” I say, crouching down and pinching Sage’s cheek while she giggles.

“How wonderful that they have such a strong bond,” Eileen smiles.

“Rory and our friends are the only women Sage has in her life. I’m grateful they all love her, and she has some women she can look up to as she grows up.”

“You don’t have a partner?”

“No,” Lane sighs. “Sage’s mom and I were never together. She was quite the surprise when she came along, but she’s the best thing that ever happened to me. Her mom isn’t around, though, so I’m her only family.”

“Absolutely not,” I chide lightly. “You know our friends are your family. We all love both you and Sage. We’re not blood, but we’re still family.”

Eileen grins and clasps her hands together over her mouth. “I can tell I’m just going to love the three of you. To tell you a little about me, I spent ten years as a ballerina with the New York City Ballet before I left to open my studio. I had recently gotten married, and we wanted to start a family. Being here was much more conducive to that. We have three children, two daughters and one son, though they’re all grown now.”

“Did any of your children follow in your footsteps?” I ask.

“My youngest did. She was an incredible ballerina before she lost her passion.”

“Does she ever help out here?”

Eileen’s face falls, but she tries to mask it. “No. She doesn’t come by often anymore.”

There’s a twinge of sadness in her voice, and I think I accidentally touched on a tricky subject. I don’t know what may have happened, but it’s clear Eileen is upset over it.

She quickly gathers her composure and moves on as if nothing happened.

“Well,” she says, clapping her hands together. “Shall we start your first lesson, Sage?”

Being back at the stadium feels right.

I spent most of my youth with my dad at whatever field he was playing until he retired. From there, I’d go wherever he coached.

I’ve always loved baseball, and I can’t wait to see what the Stars do this season.

The guys are all out on the field right now, finishing up their practice before heading back to the clubhouse to prepare for the season opener tonight.

And we girls are hanging with Lucia in her office. The upside of being the only female athletic trainer is that she has her own space.

“I bet Sage just made the cutest little ballerina!” Ella exclaims.

“She sure did,” I smile, mussing up her curls as she sleeps on my shoulder. Eileen wiped her out, but at least she’ll be ready for the game.

“How’s Cole?” Lucia smirks.

“He’s great. He’s really excited to start the season.”

“He’s more excited to spend time with you, babe,” Lo says. “Even if he hasn’t told you yet, he’s so in love with you.”

I blush and bite back my grin. “I’m well aware.”

The girls gasp in unison.

“He said it?!” Ella asks excitedly.

“Over the weekend,” I reply. “We had a little date night at his apartment and danced around the kitchen. The moment was perfect, and he told me he loved me.”

“And you?” Lucia prods. “Did you tell him?”

“Of course. I’m ridiculously in love with him. I couldn’t not tell him.”

Harlow sighs happily. “You really are going to be my sister-in-law one day.”

I laugh and shake my head. “Slow your roll, Pierce. We only just said, ‘I love you.’ We’re not getting married.”

We’re interrupted by a knock at Lucia’s office door. Through the glass, I can see my boyfriend standing on the other side, already dressed in his baseball uniform.

I’ve always enjoyed the look of a baseball uniform, but Cole makes it look downright sexy .

Kind of makes me want to rip it off him.

Lucia gestures Cole inside, and he enters, closing the door behind him.

“There’s loverboy!” Ella yells.

Cole just chuckles. “I take it she told you.”

I just shrug. “It came up.”

He walks up to me and goes to put an arm around my shoulder but thinks better of it when he remembers that Lucia’s office is made of glass walls with the curtains drawn. “Any chance I can steal my girl for a little bit?”

“Go for it,” Harlow says, walking up to me. “We’ll keep an eye on Sage for now.”

“Are you sure?” I ask as Lo positions Sage on her shoulder, miraculously without waking her up.

“We’ve got her. Go.”

I thank them as Cole and I exit the office. He checks the hall to make sure no one’s around before he leads me around the corner into one of the small conference rooms, locking the door behind us.

Without a word, I’m pressed up against the wall with Cole’s mouth on mine.

“Hi,” I say softly, lips brushing his.

“Hi, Starlight,” he smiles. “Just wanted to see you before my game.”

I wrap my arms around his shoulders. “Am I your good luck charm?”

“Hell yes, you are. My batting through Spring Training was insane. Playing better than I ever have this year.”

“And you think that’s because of me?”

He looks at me lovingly. “I know it’s because of you. You’re the only thing that’s changed between this season and last. And now I get to see you out in the stands wearing my jersey with my name across your back. I feel possessive, even if I know you can’t do that often so we can still hide this.”

I smile and press my forehead against his. “How are you so sweet?”

“I’m just honest, Rory girl,” he replies, placing his hands low on my waist. “You know, I have a new walkup song this year.”

“Seriously? Why did you change it?”

As long as Cole has played on the Stars, his walkup song has been Main Attraction by Jeremy Renner. Yes, the actor Jeremy Renner. Apparently, he makes music, too. Who knew?

His face is sweet as he replies, “It was time for a change. I think you’ll like this one, too.”

I press our lips together, kissing him tenderly as he pushes his body into mine. As we kiss and stroke our tongues together, I can feel him stiffen beneath his baseball pants.

“Cole,” I laugh. “You did not just get hard right before your game.”

“You already know what you do to me, baby. I can’t control myself around you.”

I smile at him wickedly. “We can’t let you play like this, Sparrow.” I cup him over his pants, and he groans.

“Rory…”

“Yes, Daddy?”

That works on him every time.

Heat flares in his eyes, and possessiveness floods his features.

“What are you trying to do, baby girl? You want to be my little slut? Spread those thighs for me so I can sink my cock into your wet cunt and leave my cum dripping out of you while you sit with our friends?”

“Yes,” I breathe. “I want to make you feel good before your game.”

Cole lets out a breath and unbuckles his belt. “Turn around.”

I quickly do as he asks, thankful that I chose to pair my jersey with a skirt and boots for today since it isn’t as cold as it was last year.

I hear him push his pants down just far enough to free himself. He slides his hand under my skirt, grabbing my ass before pressing his chest to my back and whispering in my ear. “Is this why you wore a skirt today, Rory? Were you planning to be a slut before Daddy plays in his game?”

“No,” I say. “That’s just a lucky coincidence.”

I feel him grin against my neck. “Oh, I feel very fucking lucky.” He pushes my skirt up and pulls my panties to the side. The cold air of the room hits my pussy, and I shudder. Cole notches himself at my entrance, lips brushing my ear. “I love you.”

I wrap an arm around the back of his neck to pull him closer. “Fuck me like you don’t.”

He slams inside of me in one thrust, and I can’t help but cry out.

He quickly puts a hand over my mouth. “I need you to be quiet if you don’t want us to get caught. Your dad won’t like it very much if he finds me balls deep in his daughter’s cunt while she screams for her real Daddy.”

I moan against his hand as he thrusts again, hitting so deep from this angle. I love the feeling of being so full of him.

“This fucking pussy,” Cole grits, moving faster. “So goddamn tight and warm. All fucking mine.”

I nod frantically, unable to speak with his hand over my mouth.

Not that I could form words right now, anyway.

Cole thrusts again.

And again.

And again.

The filthiness of this is so damn hot. We could easily get caught. And it was so damn frantic that we didn’t even take our clothes off.

I moan out again, the sound stifled by his hand. He slips the hand that isn’t over my mouth between my legs, teasing his thumb over my clit. “You’re going to come for me, baby girl. You’re going to come on Daddy’s cock and steal all the cum from me. It’s all yours anyway.”

The forbidden aspect of what we’re doing right now, combined with his thumb on my clit is all I need to shatter around him, Cole still pumping deep as I ride out my orgasm.

“God.”

Thrust.

“Fucking.”

Thrust.

“Dammit.”

Thrust.

On the final thrust, he stills, filling me with his release and groaning into my neck.

We both take a minute to catch our breath.

“Well,” I say with a light laugh. “After fucking me like that, you better do damn good today.”

Cole chuckles, wrapping his arms around the front of my waist. “Just wait, baby. This is going to be the best game of my career.”

With his confidence, it just might be.