Loved by the Linebacker (2 page)

Chapter 2

Camila

Sitting on the balcony of our penthouse suite that
we all shared the night before, luckily without the bathroom blondie, the
Purser brothers and I eat our breakfast in silence. Other than Blake and I
refusing to let her come back to the hotel with us, none of us have mentioned
the restroom incident. Evan’s chair scrapes across the patio as he stands,
forcing both Blake and I to look up at him.

“I’m gonna grab a shower before we head back.
Flight’s at noon, right?” Evan asks, walking away from us.

Blake and I meet eyes, neither of us wanting to
tell Evan about the change in plans. I lift my eyebrows high, my eyes getting
big, and mouth, “Tell him.”

Blake grumbles under his breath then calls to his
brother’s back, “Ev, you and Camila are flying out tonight. Redeye back to
L.A.”

Evan spins around, confusion with a touch of anger
is written all over his face. “Why?”

Blake eyes me and I know it’s my turn. Taking a
deep breath, I lean forward, placing my cup of coffee on the table. Slowly, I
turn in Evan’s direction. “You and I need to work together to prepare you for
negotiations.”

Evan scoffs, his large shoulders moving up and
down slowly and his t-shirt clinging to his muscles. “Whatever, I’m fine. As
long as I sign with the Seawolves and get the same deal as last year, including
the signing bonus, I’ll be good.”

Blake and I exchange a look, neither of us speaking.
The table shakes underneath Evan’s body as he slams his hands down. I jump at
the sudden movement and my coffee slips over the top of my mug while our
breakfast dishes clatter.

“Quit the fuckin’ sideways glances. I know you two
are tight, but if you have something to say, then just fuckin’ say it,” Evan
growls at both of us.

Blake stands up, pushing his brother back. “Chill
out, Ev. There’s a lot more to this game than just football. Spend some time
with Camila, listen to what she has to say, and it’ll better your deal when it
comes time for contracts.”

Evan balls his hands into fists and I can see his
chest puffing from anger. I know this all too well as Blake used to have a
short temper just like Evan. Quickly, I move between the two brothers, placing
a hand on each of their chests.

“It’s not a big deal. I just want to discuss some
things that I should’ve gone over when we first started working together.” I
speak calmly and look Evan in the eyes when I do, hoping he’ll see it as a sign
to trust me.

Above me, the brothers exchange a look and it’s
like I’m watching a tennis match as my eyes dart back and forth between the
two. Unable to handle the silence any longer, I push Blake toward the door.

“We’ll see you back in L.A. Don’t worry about us,
we’ll be fine. Right, Evan?”

I look up into Evan’s dark eyes and notice the
smallest hint of blue. He scratches his beard and runs his hand over his bald
head. Muttering, he drops onto the loveseat on the patio. I turn back to Blake
and nod, letting him know we’ll be fine. Taking a deep breath, I close the
sliding doors and begin my lesson with Evan Purser.

Evan

For three hours, I’ve been listening to Camila
drone on about every team in the league, who the coaches, managers, owners are,
but I haven’t been paying attention. This Brazilian beauty has been pacing in
front of me wearing the tightest jeans, a tank top that shows her midriff and
lots of cleavage, and a small cardigan as if that hides any of her body that
she’s flaunting. Her naturally tan skin is tempting me and I can’t keep myself
from licking my lips, wondering what her skin tastes like.

“Do you understand? Evan? Are you even listening?”
Camila stops in front of me, her hands on her hips and her eyes narrowed.
Uh-oh,
I’m busted.

Reaching out to her, I place my hands on her hips,
slowly sliding them to her backside and pulling her to me. Her hands grab my
shoulders, trying to steady herself and I can feel my cock twitching as my
thumbs rub up and down the bare skin between her jeans and tank top.

“Cami, why do I need to know all this?”

She takes a step back, but I hold her firmly in
place. “It’s Camila,
not
Cami and it’s important because it’s who you
know that makes all the difference in this world.”

My thumbs press harder against her skin, her waist
is small enough that I can almost make a circle with my hands all the way
around her. Staring at my fingers on her skin, I shrug. “I want to be in San
Diego with the Seawolves. Make that happen and fuck everyone else.”

Her fingers move under my chin, lifting it to look
at her. I sigh. I’d much rather stare at her taut tummy than in her eyes, but
again, I’m a man and other than football, sex is the only other thing on my
mind.

“Evan, I understand you want to stay in San Diego,
but first we need to explore other options. Let the Seawolves know there’s more
than one team that wants you so that they’ll offer you a contract we’ll
accept.”

I can smell the ginger and floral of her perfume
on her wrists. Moving my hand to hers, I lightly brush my lips across the back
of her hand. This penthouse needs to see some action. I move my lips down to
her wrist, inhaling her perfume, before kissing up her arm.

“Fine, Cami, just tell me what to do. Let’s forget
all this boring stuff and get on to something more fun,” I say softly, moving
my hand across the shirt on her stomach.

“It’s Camila,” she says firmly and grabs my hand,
bending my fingers backward.

Pain shoots down my wrist. “Fuck, Camila, what are
you doing?”

“Getting your paws off me. I’ll tell you once and
we’ll act like this never happened. I don’t have relations with my clients.
Understand?” She drops my hand and steps back out of my reach, a smirk on her
thin lips. Her wide nose flares slightly, yet she looks completely confident…and
so fuckin’ sexy.

I lean back on the loveseat, folding my hands
behind my head. “So you’re telling me that you’ve never fucked my brother?”

Ever so slightly she hesitates, but shakes her
head. “Blake and I are friends.”

I grin. “Really? It sure looks like more than
that. If you aren’t sleeping with him, then who gets that pleasure?”

Camila’s lips turn into a smile. “Evan, just
because you don’t mind letting the world know who you stick it in, does not
mean that we all do.”

I purse my lips and fake a shocked look. “Oh,
ouch, Cami. Got me right where it hurts. Maybe the truth is that you aren’t
getting laid…” I raise an eyebrow at my insinuation.

Her lips drop. “It’s Camila, not Cami. My love
life is my business, just like yours is yours…until it gets you in trouble.”

In a huff, she turns and walks toward the
penthouse. Her tight ass and swaying hips make me want her so much more.
Calling after her with a grin, I yell, “Okay, Cami. You know where I am when
you need a good lay.”

She pauses when I say her pet name then she slams
the door behind her. Despite my growing hard on, I grin, because Camila Lemos
has just offered me a challenge. The Brazilian She-Devil needs to get laid so
she can lighten up.

Chapter 3

Evan

Three-hundred and fifty pounds hovers above me.
The first couple sets were easy, but now I’m on my third and my pecs are
burning while my arms tremble under the weight of the bar. Grunting, my legs
lift off the ground as I struggle with every muscle in my upper body to rack
the weight.

“Grr…Blake…” I grunt to my brother who is standing
above me, supposedly being my spotter, but right now is just standing there
like a statue.

Finally, he leans over the bar, but doesn’t take
it. “Camila said you came on to her.”

Sweat is rolling down my forehead and into my eyes
making them burn. “So…”

Blake moves his hands over mine, not relieving me
of the weight, but instead applying more pressure. “So, you don’t do that shit,
Evan. She’s a professional and if you play your cards right, she can get you
any deal you want.”

Ignoring his comment, I dig deep, trying to find
more strength to push the bar up, but it barely moves half an inch. If he
doesn’t get this weight off me, I’m going to drop it all directly on my chest.

“Do you hear me, Evan? Don’t fuck with her,” Blake
threatens, his voice is low and his normal mellow attitude is gone.

My arms are shaking uncontrollably and I can’t
hold it anymore. Bracing myself for the fall, the weight is alleviated and my
Jell-O arms fall to my side. Blake racks the weights as I sit up, shaking out
my arms and rolling my neck.

“What’s your deal with her? Why are you so
protective?” I demand, standing up, knowing I am taller than him and not
wanting him to have any advantage over me.

“She’s good at what she does and you need to show
her respect, Evan,” Blake says in a patronizing tone.

I roll my eyes and laugh. “Look, you two might be
bed buddies, but you’re not doing a good job. You should’ve seen her, she
might’ve said no, but she didn’t want to.” It’s a tiny white lie, but no one
will ever know.

Blake puffs out his chest, bumping it against mine
and grabbing my shirt. “Don’t be a dick, Evan. If you want to make it in this
career, you need her on your side.”

I shove him off me and step around him. “Yeah,
yeah, whatever. You might be the oldest, but that just means you’ll retire
before me.” I don’t have to turn around to know Blake’s fuming. Sure, he might
have raised me since our dad ran out when we were younger, but he’s not the
boss of me anymore.

Camila

I can feel the tension being released from my
spine and shoulder blades as I hold the downward dog pose. The pull in my
hamstrings feels amazing and I let all the stress from the past couple weeks
roll away. I remain in the pose just a few seconds longer as the teacher
dismisses the class. Beside me, my two best girlfriends watch as they wait for
me to finish.

“I’m glad you’re back in town.” says Colie
Adamson, L.A. Stags head athletic trainer and also wife to the Stags’ pitching
coach and one of my former clients, Grant Adamson.

Standing up slowly, I let the blood in my head
begin to flow throughout my body and nod. “It’s good to be home, I feel like I
hardly am anymore.”

My other friend, Mia James, rubs her pregnant
belly as she sits on her mat. Her husband, Tate, is one of my clients and the
starting shortstop for the Stags. “How was the Super Bowl?”

I hold out my hand and Mia gladly takes it,
bracing her back with the other as I help her up. “Honestly? It was a
disaster.”

Colie’s eyes light up, excited to hear the drama,
while Mia frowns sympathetically. Colie’s blonde ponytail bounces up and down
as she nods, wanting me to tell more. I laugh at her antics and roll up my mat.

“Weren’t you with the Purser boys?” Mia asks,
waddling ahead of us as we all make our way out of the room. Mia is almost as
tall as her husband, who is six feet and she’s got the perfect figure. Even
pregnant, she looks stunning, seriously it's like she just has a basketball
stuck under her shirt.

I nod and hold the door open for her since I
passed her halfway across the room.

Colie grins. “Let me guess, it was the man whore
brother. Evan, right? What’d he do?”

Mia and I both laugh and the three of us stroll
down the hallway. “He just doesn’t understand the importance of networking.” I
shake my head, recalling his hands on my stomach and quickly I push away the
feelings he evoked. “Oh, and he had a quickie with some blonde in the bathroom
of the suite at the game. Then came on to me in the hotel room the next day.”

Mia gasps and grabs my hand. “Where was Blake? I’m
sure he didn’t like that.” Mia’s ex-husband, Asher, liked to use Mia for sex
and like a punching bag, so I understand her concern and feel bad for making
her think that way.

“No, no, Mia. It wasn’t anything like that. I
mean, he just…he asked if I’d slept with Blake.”

Both the women immediately stop and turn to me,
their eyebrows arched high with curiosity. Rolling my eyes, I laugh and shake
my head. “I’ve told you before, Blake and I are just friends.”

“Mmhmm,” Colie quips and begins walking again.
“Are you doing anything with him for Valentine’s Day tomorrow?”

“Ha ha, Colie. No, he’ll be in Chicago and
actually, Gregg will be in town,” I answer with a smirk. Gregg Turner is a
pitching coach for the baseball team in Kansas City. For the past couple years,
we’ve had a friends-with-benefits kind of relationship, which is exactly what
we both want. Nothing serious, no commitment, just companionship when we need
it, and someone to serve as my date when Blake’s not available.

Mia pats my arm. “Good, I’m glad you get to see
him again.”

Colie rolls her eyes. “I’m not. Come on, Cam, you
need to ditch him and find a man you can settle down with.”

I laugh as I put my arm around her shoulders. “I’m
sorry I haven’t found perfect guys like Grant and Tate. Besides, just because
you two are married and happy, doesn’t mean I have to be married, too. I’m
perfectly content with how my life is.”

Colie rolls her eyes again, glancing at me
sideways. “Whatever, Camila. You’re only getting laid what? Every couple
months? That is no way to live, girlfriend. You’re twenty-seven, that’s young!
At least if you aren’t going to get married, find a guy a little closer.
Please?”

Mia laughs, toddling a few feet behind us. “Colie,
just because you and Grant are like rabbits, doesn’t mean
everyone
is
like that.”

Colie scoffs and turns to Mia. “Like you have any
room to talk, Mrs. James!”

Mia narrows her eyes. “I’m not the one with a
three-month-old and pregnant again.”

My jaw drops and I turn to Colie, whose cheeks are
burning red. “
What?!
”

“Mia, you weren’t supposed to say anything yet. I
was going to tell her at lunch.” Colie says with a frown. “Grant doesn’t even
know yet. I literally peed on a stick before class.”

I put an arm around both of my friends. “That’s so
exciting and my lips are sealed. I’m happy for you guys.” I squeeze Colie’s
shoulder then look at Mia. “And thank you for letting the cat out of the bag.”

Mia laughs, tossing her brunette hair back. “I was
just trying to take the heat off you since Colie was giving you a hard time.”

I link arms with both of them as we continue down
the hallway. “Sounds like we have a lot to celebrate. Another Adamson on the
way and baby James’ arrival in just a few weeks.”

Colie looks over at me. “So if you’re not with
Blake, maybe Evan is an option? He’s a lot closer than Gregg.”

I laugh, blowing off the thought, but the memory
of his thick hands around my waist comes to mind. With his hands on me, there
was a burning deep in my stomach that I haven’t felt in a long time. I shake my
head. Evan’s a client. An immature, man whore one at that.