Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 85838 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 429(@200wpm)___ 343(@250wpm)___ 286(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85838 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 429(@200wpm)___ 343(@250wpm)___ 286(@300wpm)
I tense, but I’m not worried for me. I’m worried for him. We haven’t discussed how this whole thing between us is going to work. He’s the one who faces the bigger risk, so I’ve been waiting for him to tell me. I’m on the other side of my first big deal with a sponsor. I’ve got Eliza’s college fund set up. I want to support him as he navigates what’s next. And now’s as good a time as any to figure it out. “I want that,” I say seriously, stretching a hand toward him, rubbing his calf. “So badly. But how is this going to work?”
I don’t say it, but he knows what I’m asking—when can we be seen together?
Maddox scrubs a hand across his jaw. “This is what I’m thinking…”
I listen as he tells me his plan. The timing. What he envisions. And when he’s done, there’s only one thing for me to do. My heart is galloping, and all I want is to get closer to him. I move around the raft so our faces are a foot apart. My throat tightens with emotions. They rise up in me, eager to break free. “I love you,” I say, and my heart flies into his hands.
I’ve never said that to any man. I’ve never felt this way for anyone. He reaches for me, and we link our fingers together, squeezing tightly as he meets my gaze, joy sparking in his eyes.
“I love you, Zane Archer. So much.”
I lean over the raft, and I kiss him deeply under the rising sun, floating on the water. I kiss him for a good long time, savoring this new kind of first kiss.
All this kissing gives me ideas. So I move to the bottom of the raft, tug on his legs. “C’mere.”
“Are you going to…?”
“I am.” Then when his legs are dangling in the water, I settle my face between his thighs and drag my tongue along his hardening shaft. “Mmm. You’ll be a skinny-dipping lover in no time,” I murmur.
“Seems I already am with you,” he says, then wraps his hands through my hair. “Suck me off, Zane.”
I look up, meet his whiskey eyes. “I’ve got you, handsome. I’ve always got you.”
He closes his eyes, relaxing into my carnal attention, deserving it, delighting in it. I lick up and down his gorgeous shaft, savoring every second of touching him. Drawing him deep, I use my hand to twist around his base, building up friction as I suck.
Soon, he’s panting, grabbing my head harder. “Fuck, Zane. Yes. That’s so fucking good.”
His praise lights me up. I suck deeper, driving him wilder. He thrusts in my mouth, and this is not easy. Giving head to a man like Maddox takes a whole new set of skills.
I intend to master them all.
For now, my hand and my mouth and my desire are all I need. I deep-throat him. Don’t care if my voice will be shot at the game. He’s worth it. He fucks my mouth, and I ravenously devour his cock till he’s calling my name and shooting down my throat. I groan as I taste his release for the first time.
When I let go, I indulge in the sight before me—this blissed-out man, lounging on his yellow raft, enjoying all the rewards of falling in love.
Twenty minutes and a quick shower hand job later—courtesy of Maddox LeGrande’s talented fist—and I’m ready to take off for work. In his bedroom, I get dressed. Wearing last night’s clothes, I head to the bathroom to say goodbye to my man. I stop short when I see him standing in front of the mirror, concentrating, a towel slung low on his trim waist. He’s shaving, sliding the blade over his chiseled jaw.
“Hot. Just seriously fucking hot,” I say, coming up behind him. “Like a fantasy.”
He meets my gaze in the mirror, a sly smile curving his lips as he says, “I had this fantasy the day I saw you in Venice.”
Then he tells me he wanted this moment exactly and I smile. “I had the same fantasy in New York, Mad.”
All I want is to make his dreams come true. All of them. The bedroom ones, the romance ones, the heart ones.
But also the work ones, and I know how to do just that. When I reach the ballpark, I get started.
32
A HITTER’S GAME
Maddox
I’m the first in our group to arrive at the seats along the first-base line, two rows back. I scan the stands, hunting for Zane’s brother, in case I can see him. He told me their seats were a few sections away, near the third-base line.
No luck till I spot a busy little blonde in a purple jersey—Zane’s team color. The sprite is standing on the chair, pointing to the field. Next to her, a tall guy with a pitcher’s build urges her to sit.