Jock: A Secret Baby Sports Romance (12 page)

Besides being bad with hints, he’s a world-class suck up.

“I know a great cigar bar, buddy,” he says eagerly, stepping forward with a particularly opportunistic grin on his face, like he and Holden are old pals.

“Not much of a cigar fan,” Holden shrugs, brushing him off. “I’m really more of a whiskey guy.” He looks
at me pointedly as he says it
.

I quickly look at my clipboard, as if there’s suddenly something extremely important I need to study on it.

“I’m a whiskey man myself, actually,” Dad pipes up. “But I’m not much for goin’ out and painting the town red these days,” he says with a chuckle.

He furrows his brow for a second before he turns and beams at me.

Oh no.

“You know,
London
is a pretty damn good whiskey aficionado herself, actually! Takes after her old man like that.” Dad slings an arm over my shoulders. “Hell,
she
could take you!”

A lump forms in my throat as Holden turns his gaze to me, the corners of his mouth curling in a wicked grin.

“Oh yeah? You a big whiskey drinker?” he says pointedly, smirking at me like he’s enjoying watching me twist on the line like this.

“Yep,” I say thinly.

“Any place around town you know that might have Pappy Van Winkle 23 year?”

Heat floods into my face as Holden’s eyes pierce right into me and sends a little warm shiver through my body.

“A Pappy fan, huh?” Dad chuckles, waving a finger at Holden. “I think you and I are gonna get along just fine, son!”

Holden grins. “Yes sir! I
really
enjoyed myself last time I had a few of those.”

His gaze only seems to get more intense, and I quickly swallow the lump in my throat as that warm feeling starts to find its way to places that I
certainly
don’t need being made warm by Holden Cade.

“That work out for you, honey?”

I can tell my dad is looking at me expectantly, but I’m still just looking right at Holden, my gaze icy.

“I’ve got work to do tonight.”

“This
is
work,” Dad mutters under his breath, giving me a stern look.

“Ms. Jacobs, I’d be
delighted
to have you show me around.”

Holden’s still staring right at me, that supremely cocky grin plastered across his supremely perfect face.

‘I’m wondering just how bad you want me to make you my little slut.’

I ignore the illicit little shiver that tingles down my back, along with the pulsing throb between my legs as he looks at me like that.

“Fine,” I say flippantly.

Holden licks his lips.

“Well then, we’ll reconvene tomorrow after our boy here has had a chance to take in the town, shall we?”

Dad and Randy shake hands and the room starts to break as the other board members begin to leave or talk amongst themselves.

“See you tonight, sugar.” His voice is velvet in my ear, and I can feel my tingle before I whirl on him.

“Just so we’re clear, this is
just
a business thing,” I hiss under my breath, jabbing a finger at his broad chest.

“Perfect,” he purrs. “I’ve become a big fan of your ‘business’ things.”

My face goes bright red as I whirl around. But Dad and Randy are halfway out the door of the conference room, and far out of earshot.

“
Watch it
,” I hiss as I turn back to him. “I’m your boss now.”

He shakes his head as he takes a step closer to me.

“Not yet you’re not.”

A hand goes to my waist, and I can feel the breath catch in my throat before I force myself to step away from the gravitational pull of him I keep seeming to get caught up in.

“Not happening,” I say as coolly as I can, shaking my head.

All I can think about are those stupid tabloid pictures of him and his army of football groupies. Giggling, touching him, letting him pour champagne all over them. There’s a long list of silly girls who’ve been wooed and used by Holden Cade, and here I am signing my name on the bottom of it.

He leans down, his lips by my ear.

“And if you wanted to go ahead and wear one of those cute little cowgirl hats again, I got a stallion you could ride on.”

I shiver, feeling the flush bloom through my face. I rake my teeth across my lip, inhaling the scent of him and feeling dangerously close to falling right into him before I manage to center my head and pull away.

I step back from him, quickly taking a breath.

“
Keep dreaming
,” I say with a thin smile.

“Oh, believe me, I will.”

He steps close again, letting his fingertips trail over my hip.

“I’ll keep dreaming of it until you’re moaning my name again with every inch of my cock inside that tight pussy of yours.”

Oh, God.

And this time, I know I’m going to fall. His crude, dirty words and that hot voice of his slipping inside my ear has me so damn hot and
so
wet. And I know if he asked, I’d let him take me right here and right now in the middle of the damn conference room.

“Hey, dick-head, you ready? We got some financials to go over.”

I gasp and jump away from Holden at the sound of Randy’s voice - pulling back like I’ve just touched a hot pan with my hand.

I swallow quickly, my face positively
beating
with heat as I look up and momentarily lock eyes with the hot, consuming,
prick
of a jock grinning away at me.

“See you tonight,
sugar
.” He winks as he turns. “Seriously though, wear the hat.”

R
emind
me why you said yes to this?

I glare at my reflection in the full-length mirror in my bedroom.

Duty, I guess. Duty to my dad and this team, and knowing that despite his infuriating arrogance and his cocky charm, we
do
need Holden Cade.

I feel an illicit tingle run down my spine as I say it again, hoping to convince myself that agreeing to go out with Holden again is for “duty” and
not
because of any lingering forbidden urges I may have for him.

I sigh and slump my shoulders at the outfit reflected back to me - the fourth one I’ve tried on. Because as much as I want to brush off what happened before with him as just a one-time thing, and as adamant as I am with myself that
of course
what happened before will never happen again, here I am preening for him.

Ridiculous.

But still, this last outfit with the
jacket
?

Uh, yeah, no way.

The apartment phone rings as I’m struggling with the quarter-sleeve blouse that looks better fit for teaching fourth grade math than it does going out on the town with the hottest man in professional football - however much it is
not
a date.

“Ms. Jacobs?” It’s the building concierge downstairs. “There’s a package delivery for you down here.”

My brow furrows in puzzlement considering the late hour.

“Okay, thanks David, you can just send him up.”

I’ve managed to rid myself of the schoolmarm blouse and slip back into a sweatshirt and jeans when there’s a knock at my door.

“Evening ma’am. Sign here please.”

I look at the garment bag in the delivery guy’s hands in puzzlement as I scrawl my name across a tablet screen.

“Hey, who’s this from, by the way?”

The guy pulls a delivery receipt out of his pocket and frowns.

“It’s from a Mr. Pappy Winkle?”

I roll my eyes.

Of course it’s from him.

The delivery guy smiles at me as he passes me the garment bag.

“Have a good evening.”

Back in my room with the garment bag draped across the bed, I rip open the small card that was taped to the zipper.

The corners of my lips pull back in a small grin before I can stop it as I pick up the package by the hanger and start to pull open the zipper.

“Well, let’s see what you’d like me to wear instead, Mr. Ca-”

I freeze as the garment bag drops away, and I can feel the heat bloom through my cheeks as I stare at quite possible the shortest, skimpiest little black dress in the world. I blink as the heat comes rushing into my face, staring at the scandalously teensy dress hanging off the hanger in my hand.

No way.

It’s not a cocktail party black dress. It’s not “flirty”, or “fun”. It’s what I’d wear if I were waitressing at a strip club, or dancing in an 80’s rock music video.

Huffing, I almost throw the stupid thing across the room.

Give me a break.

It’s enough that I have to walk back into the lion’s den and take Holden out on the town again. But there’s not a snowball’s chance in hell that I’ll be doing it in
this
thing. I roll my eyes as I stand there staring at the dress, trying to even imagine the gall and the arrogance it would take to even
send
a woman something like this to wear. I bite my lip, running a hand over the soft silk, the delicate embroidery along the scandalous hemline, and the plunging neckline.

And yet, as wildly inappropriate a gift and as porn-star racy as it is, it
is
a gorgeous dress.

Oh screw it.

I’m pulling off my clothes and slipping the skimpy thing down over my body before I know it, feeling a heady, naughty rush as the cool silk skims over my skin. I pull it down, my face only getting redder as I realize it
is
down as far as it goes. Taking a deep breath, I finally drag my eyes up to the mirror.

Whoa.

I look scandalous. I look like a senator’s mistress. I look like a femme fatale.

…And I look
hot
.

So, this is what Holden Cade likes his dates to go out in, huh?

I roll my eyes at the thought. Briefly, I flash a flirty kiss-face in the mirror as I twirl, blushing again as the super short hemline teases up over my ass.

I stop, breathing thickly and blinking.

No. Good LORD no.

I quickly pull the dress off and toss it on my bed, shivering as the silk leaves my body.

I may not have to go out tonight to meet Holden Cade dressed like a math teacher, but I’m sure as
hell
not going as a call-girl either.

* * *

"
Y
ou're not wearing
what I asked.”

I resist the urge to roll my eyes and scowl at him. I know exactly why the smug smiling jock standing in front of me sent me the dress he did, and it wasn’t because he legitimately thought I’d wear it.

It’s to fluster me. And so far, he’s been doing a pretty great job of doing just that. So far, he’s managed to turn me into this blushing, huffing, eye-rolling and scowling version of myself that I’m frankly starting to get tired of.

That ends tonight.

Because tonight, though I may
have
to be out with him, I’m going to show him exactly what I consider him.

A work thing.

An acquisition.

An ignorable, forgettable distraction.

A one-time thing, and that time has passed.

So instead of scowling, I only smile sweetly, tossing my hair over my shoulder.

“Oh, did you want me to go with the washcloth you sent me?”

Holden grins wolfishly as he nods.

“Yup.”

We’re standing outside and slightly away from the front door to some new hyped-up club downtown.
Not
my scene, but loud house music and trashy club girls seems like the sort of place Holden Cade would spend his nights, and the whole
point
of this is to convince him that Houston is the city for him.

“Well, be honored, I hardly ever wear dresses.” I gesture down at the far demurer purple Herve Leger number I finally found in the back of my closet.

“I seem to remember you wearing a dress for our date in Denver.”

I almost falter in my plans to resist scowling at him before I catch myself and just smile.

“
Not
a date, and like I said; a rare occurrence. You should feel lucky.”

Holden grins. “You know, I do seem to remember getting lucky.”

My mouth flies open as the blush blooms hot across my face, and I’m
almost
about to lose it and tell him where he can go shove it when he holds a finger up.

“Bottle that up and use it as dancing fuel instead, okay?”

I resist a scowl with everything I have.

“I don’t really dance much.”

“Well, tonight you do,” he says, holding an arm out.

I chew on my lip for a second before I finally put my arm through his.

I can feel the jealous stares of other women waiting in line as we breeze to the front. A bouncer recognizes Holden and quickly unclips the red rope across the door, ushering us inside.

“No lines for big shot quarterbacks, hmm?” I say with a teasing tone.

“Oh, I can get into all
sorts
of places, sugar,” he murmurs into my ear as we step into the bouncing pulsing darkness of the club.

I shiver.

Holden maneuvers us over to the bar, a nervous flutter in my stomach the whole way.

“Double bourbon?”

Terrible idea.

And this time, I actually listen to that voice inside my head. Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned from years of negotiating and scouting, it’s this: learn from your mistakes. And drinking with Holden Cade is most assuredly a mistake.

Because I
know
where that leads to, and I do
not
plan on repeating last time.

…As much as the idea of doing so brings a shiver to my body.

I quickly look back up at him, shaking my head.

"Just a sparkling water.”

Holden gives me a strange look before turning to the bartender, ordering our drinks.

“Well, shit. There go my plans of getting you drunk and having my way with you," he says with a cocked eyebrow, handing me my plain sparkling water.

I flash him a look. “Oh, I believe it was
me
having my way with
you
," I shoot back.

He shakes his head. “I feel so dirty.”

“Oh, you should,” I fire back with a sly grin, sipping my sparkling water. “But I highly doubt
I’m
the cause of that.”

Holden laughs through a sip of whiskey. “Still stuck on these tabloid stories, huh?”

I shrug. “Hey, I’m just worried about you causing problems for the team with your shenanigans.”

“So, it’s not like you’re irrationally
jealous
or anything then, right?”

My eyes dart to his to see him wagging his brows at me, smirking like he’s
dying
to get me to react the way he wants me to.

I don’t.

“Aww,” I put on a fake pouty face as I reach up and pat his perfect cheek. “You didn’t think that one night was good enough to get me to fall all over you, did you?” I sigh.

Holden’s grin only widens.

“Sure you want to go down this road, sugar?”

“Oh,” I shake my head, still smiling sweetly at him as I dart a finger back and forth between us. “There
is
no road here,
sugar.
”

Holden suddenly pulls me close, making my breath catch.

“See, I look at an uptight girl like yourself, and I have zero doubts that the other night was the best sex of your whole damn life,” he growls into my ear.

I swallow quickly, feeling the blood roaring through my ears and the scent of him filling my senses.

I wet my lips as I look up at him.

“I’ve had better.”

“No you haven’t.”

I shiver.

Right there with his hand on my arm and his body hard against mine in the swirling masses of the club, I
shiver
.

And he knows it.

“Dance with me.”

It’s a command, not a question. But instead of getting indignant or resisting, I only nod.

I definitely nod.

We leave our drinks behind as he pulls me into the pulsing crowd. His hands move to my hips, mine to his powerful arms as we move together, eyes locked. The music slides over us as he pulls me tighter against him, his hips rocking into me and mine responding in turn. I gasp as I feel the thickness in his pants pressing hotly and demandingly against my belly.

I blink quickly as I stare up into his eyes.

He knows I feel it.

He
wants me
to feel it.

We grind together as we dance, locking eyes and saying nothing as we rock with the music. Holden leans in and then pulls away, and God help me, all I want is for him to kiss me then.

And I’m not even drinking.

He does it again, leaning close and letting his breath tease over my neck. I whimper quietly and I can feel his deep chuckle rumbling through my body.

He’s teasing me, and he knows it. He knows
exactly
how much of a puddle this is turning me into.

But
I
also know how damn
hard
I’m making him, putting us at a sort of standoff wondering who’ll make the first move.

The music slows into this deep,
throbbing
sexy beat as the lights dim even further. And this time, as he leans in to tease me again, it’s more than I can stand.

I break.

I moan when his lips sear against my own, moaning as I feel him growl and open his mouth to mine. Tongues slide together as his hands circle around my waist and down to my ass. He cups me tightly, making me moan more as he pulls me tight against the throbbing cock in his pants.

But suddenly, I find my head. Suddenly, I can see clearly again if only for an instant.

But it’s all I need.

I gasp, yanking back from him and bringing a hand to my mouth as I shake my head.

"Are you fucking
crazy?
" I hiss.

Holden’s eyes flash. He reaches out and yanks me back to him.

“Yeah, a little."

And then I’m kissing him all over again, moaning into his mouth and letting my body press against his in the semi-anonymous darkness of the crowd.

Crowd
.

Suddenly, all I can think about is someone noticing who he is and grabbing a picture or something. And then my mind drifts to the tabloid headlines of him doing
exactly
this sort of thing with however many other girls in however many other clubs.

I pull back and push him away, shaking my head at him.

No
.

I will
not
be one of Holden Cade’s little conquests, because I am
not
that girl.

Holden’s face darkens as he moves towards me again. But this time, I’m shaking my head as I whirl and start to push my way through the crowd away from him.

Because I
have
to get away from him, or I might lose myself all over again.

Club music is pounding as a strong hand grabs my arm through the crowd, making me gasp sharply as it pulls me back. I whirl as he pulls me hard against him.