Sweet Spot: A Bad Boy Sports Romance (Bad Boys of Summer Book 2) (8 page)

Regardless of how much I told myself that I shouldn’t care.

I tapped my short, squared nails on the top of the foil covering my take out box and glanced up at Trey. “Well, I should probably get going. Thanks for dinner. You really didn’t have to do that.”

Trey smiled. “Not a problem. Now you can use your per diem cash on a Pay-Per-View movie or something.”

I laughed. “Right?”

“You a rom-com kinda girl? Or more into action movies?”

“Now, do I look like a rom-com girl to you? I gotta have some action. The bigger the explosion, the better.”

Trey laughed and my heart jumped at the sparkle in his eyes. I liked making him smile. He wore it well. The edges of it carved little lines around his full lips and I was tempted to reach over and trace them with my fingertips.

What is wrong with me?

I shook my head, desperate to snap out of whatever it was, and scooted to the edge of my bench seat. Trey followed suit. “I thought you were going to order something?”

“I’ll walk you back to your hotel first. You said you were across the street, right? Come on, I’ll walk you over there.”

“Oh! No, no. You don’t have to do that…” I nervously toyed with the ends of my wet ponytail and threw it over my shoulder. “I’m good. It’s not even that dark out…” I said, not even turning around to look outside. I had no idea how much time had passed since I’d crossed the street, following my nose to the hotel. For all I knew, it could be midnight and pitch black out there.

Trey laughed. “I’m pretty sure it is. Come on, let me walk you over there. I wouldn’t feel right just letting you go.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “All right, but you’re not coming in for a nightcap or a coffee or anything, so don’t even try.”

He chuckled. “Yes, ma’am.”

He took my elbow and steered me away from the booth. We walked in step with one another and both sighed as we left the side exit and stepped out into the crisp night air. “Man, I could get used to this cool air.”

Trey laughed. “Tell me about it. Is Oklahoma City always like living in a sweat sock?”

“Yup. Pretty much. The weather report might as well just say
sticky, with a chance of sweltering
.”

Trey laughed and I smiled along, loving his thick, rumbling tone. It wrapped around me and made it hard not to lean against him. I wanted to feel the way the vibrations would run over his chest.

I blinked away the mental image and straightened my spine and threw my shoulders back. “You’ll get used to it.”

“I don’t know. You’re from Texas. You’re more adept to the humidity than me. I got spoiled out in SoCal. I lived right on the fuckin’ beach. The sounds of the ocean, the nice breezes. Damn…”

I glanced up at the sudden change in his tone. His jaw was set and a twitch played at the muscle there. He shrugged it away and relaxed but for a moment, I’d seen past the wall of confidence and assurance and caught a glimpse of something else. Something dark.

Regret?

“We have some really nice lakes, though. It’s not the ocean, but it can be a nice day trip if you need a break from the city,” I offered.

He looked down at me and I fully realized the difference between us in height. He had to be at least ten inches taller than me. I would fit perfectly, tucked away under one of his sculpted arms. “That could work. When do you wanna go?”

I laughed. “You never quit, huh?”

He chuckled. “Nah. It’s not really my style. I was just thinking it might be the best shot at getting you in a bikini.”

“Hah!” I laughed along but my entire body quivered and lit up at the suggestion and the look in his eyes as he said it. We paused at the crosswalk, waiting for the signal to change, and our laughter faded as our eyes locked.

“You’re a beautiful woman, Josie,” he said, his voice a husky, seductive whisper.

I shivered again and he wrapped an arm around me.

“Cold?” he asked.

“Just a little,” I lied. In reality, every dang inch of me was on fire. Being wrapped in his arm, tucked against his rock solid chest was just like I’d imagined minutes before. Only better…so much better. The scent of his deodorant or aftershave clung to his shirt and enveloped me. Pine and citrus. Fresh and spicy. Absolutely delicious. I could only imagine how it would mix with sweat and sex.

Trey was carved perfection. Even without seeing what was underneath his tee shirt and relaxed fit jeans, I knew he was impressive. Pressed against his chest, images passed before my eyes. Trey’s lips on mine. His fingers brushing against my jaw and then getting lost, tangling up in my long hair. The way he’d feel hovering over me. The look in his eyes as he entered me. The way his cock would feel. The sound of his name on my lips, echoing through the room.

My heart raced at the images, each one more intoxicating than the last. I squeezed my thighs together, fighting away the pressure building between them. I tried—and failed—to remind myself of all the news stories detailing Trey’s history of bad behavior. I tried to argue with myself that he was only after one damn thing. And that he’d use me up and throw me away like a piece of trash.

None of my arguments could rip away the sexy images flashing through my mind. If anything, they only made it hotter and harder to breath. He wasn’t a nice guy. The kind of guy my daddy always wanted me with. No, Trey didn’t play by anyone else’s rules and I had to imagine it would be more evident between the sheets. He would know how to make me feel things I never had before, to make me push my boundaries, and want things…crave things…I’d never wanted before.

He would ruin me.

Fuck.

The light changed, and Trey held onto me for a second longer before starting out into the street. As we walked, I shook my head slightly trying to clear away the images from my mind like my brain was an Etch-a-Sketch.

“You okay over there?”

I smiled weakly. “Yeah. I’m just…tired…”

It was a pathetic lie. I’d never felt so awake in my entire life.

But he couldn’t know that. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. For all I know, everything he told me was a lie.

“Here,” he said, taking a large step forward to grab the door handle for me as we reached the front entrance of my hotel.

“Thank you.”

He released me and let me walk into the hotel, and I immediately missed the feel of being under his arm. He walked with me to the elevator banks and I reached out and hit the button with shaking fingers. “Well…this place looks…nice.” He glanced around the non-descript lobby with a grimace. The puke colored walls, upholstery straight out of the ’80s, and too-large, bulky furnishings, weren’t exactly on par with the hotel we’d just vacated.

I laughed softly. “Yeah. Apparently the station’s travel budget isn’t exactly in line with the Warriors.”

He chuckled. “Luckily we’re only here one more night, huh?”

A ding alerted us that an elevator had arrived and we both turned toward the scraping, screeching sound as the doors slid open. I winced. “That doesn’t instill a lot of confidence,” I said, glancing at the doorway to the stairs.

“I better go with you,” Trey said, grinning at me as I reluctantly crossed to the elevator. “You don’t want to get stuck all alone, right?”

New images popped into my mind. The elevator would screech to a halt, the lights flicker off, and then, sudden silence. Trey would press me against the wall and kiss me hard, desperately, as though he’d planned the entire thing. The air would quickly become thick and hot. Steamy. He’d strip away my blouse and the air would tickle my exposed skin.

I squeezed my eyes shut.
What is wrong with me?

“After you,” he said, ushering me inside.

We rode up to my floor, a quick and make-out-session-free ride.

I set off for my room and pulled my room key out of my pocket. “This is me,” I said, stopping in front of my door. “Thanks for walking me over.”

Trey grinned and set an arm over me, resting it against the door. He leaned in, his mouth lowering dangerously close to mine. “You’re really not going to invite me in?”

I laughed. “Shameless.”

“Guilty as charged.” With his other hand, he traced a gentle line over my cheek and down along my jawline. “I can’t help myself when it comes to you. You make me want… things. I want you.”

My stomach flipped over, and I bite at my own lip to keep myself from lifting them up to Trey’s.

“Josie…” he whispered, his fingers trailing down my neck.

Oh God.

I fumbled with my key card but managed to swipe it into the slot and a green light flashed, distracting him for a split second.

It was all I needed to break the spell he was casting over me. I twisted the door handle and pushed the door open. “Goodnight, Trey.”

He stopped the door before I could close it. “Tomorrow night, I’m gonna hit a homer, just so you know that I’m thinking about you.”

I grinned. “Just one?”

He reeled back, a look of shock on his handsome face.

I shrugged. “Just seems like a five-time home run champ could give a girl more than just one measly home run.”

He chuckled softly, the sound drawing me back in. “All right, for you, I’ll hit two.”

I smiled. “I’ll remember to put my money down on the Warriors.”

And with that, I closed the door, locking it right away, before I did something extremely stupid and irresponsible—no matter how bad I wanted to.

Josie

All night, I dreamed about Trey—and me—together. It was like I couldn’t escape from him. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to. Even before I fell into bed, I thought about our conversation in the bar. I couldn’t figure out how he’d managed to change the damn conversation from me railing against him, to him walking me home, flirting with me, and then I went to bed with a head full of steamy thoughts of us together—like
really
together. Super sexy hot fucking
together
. In fact, when I woke up, I was achy inside. Achy for Trey. And dammit it was still dark outside! A quick glance at the clock on the bedside table showed it was only a little after five am!

“Why am I awake?” I groaned, my throat scratchy from breathing in the air conditioning all night. I pressed my eyes shut again and rolled to my back. Trey was waiting for me as soon as I settled back into the pillows. What would’ve happened if I’d let him inside my room last night? Would we have hooked up? Would I have had the willpower to keep things from getting that far? I snorted with a laugh. “Yeah, right, Jo.”

He was too much. Too charming. Too smooth. Too devil-may-care. Too tall. Too broad shouldered. And too fucking sexy.

I knew exactly what would’ve happened, right there in my dingy little hotel room. With my eyes still closed, I snaked a hand down between the sheets and toyed with the elastic band of the boxer shorts I’d worn to bed. I played it over in my mind. I knew once Trey’s lips found mine—I would’ve lost all control.

My fingers slid under my shorts and I rocked my hips, tracing my fingertips across my aching pussy. I bit my lip and desperately wished Trey’s fingers were the ones stroking me. I gasped when I realized how wet I was. With a moan, I closed my eyes tight and teased myself, imagining Trey’s strong hands touching me. A rising urge gripped me and I panted his name, picturing his face between my thighs. Damn, he’d look good. I’d scratch at his strong back muscles and play my fingers over his smooth skin where I marked him with my nails.

One night with him would be worth the humiliation of letting him know he’d won our flirty little game of tug-of-war that had started before we even spoke for the first time. It started the minute we locked eyes across the runway and wouldn’t be over until he had his way with me.

My resistance was already gone.

With a frustrated sigh, I ripped my hand away from myself, straightened my shorts, and flopped over to my other side, forcing all thoughts of Trey Delgado out of my head. I had a job to do and laying there fantasizing about him wasn’t in the job description.

But it was so much more exciting.

What felt like a few seconds later, my phone went off, and my eyes popped back open. I struggled to shake away the last clinging remnants of the vivid dream I was tangled in and realized my tank top was drenched with sweat. The clock read six forty-five. I’d fallen back asleep. I sat up and peeled my tank top off. I balled it up and chucked it across the room, in the direction of my open suitcase, before reaching over to silence my phone. Instead of finding my alarm ringing, I realized with sleep clouded eyes, that it was actually an incoming call. My dad.

I tapped at the screen and pressed it up against my ear. “Daddy?”

“Good morning, baby girl. Were you sleeping?”

Heat grew in my cheeks, struck by the awkwardness of my dream and being woken up by my daddy. I was pretty sure Daddy still thought I was a virgin. Or at the very least, he hoped to hell I was. My mom knew the truth. She took me to get the pill when I turned seventeen and was dating Dustin, our high school’s track star. Dustin was my first. After that, there were a few guys in college, but after finishing school, I vowed to stop myself from jumping on the dating merry-go-round until I got my career settled.

Hell, after two years off the market, maybe I was some kind of
re
-virgin.

“Sleeping? Um, no…” I slapped a hand on my warm cheek and scrubbed the thought from my mind. “Well, yeah, kinda dozing.”

“I’m sorry, baby girl. I didn’t mean to wake you up. But, don’t you have to be to the station soon?”

“Normally, yes. I’m not in Oklahoma City though. I’m in Denver.”

“Denver? What the heck for? Big story?”

I wish
. “Not exactly…”

My dad sighed. “Are you in trouble, JoJo? Do you need money? I can send some money.”

I groaned and grit my teeth together. I knew he meant well, but the fact that his first inclination was that I was in some kind of financial trouble insulted me nonetheless. “No, Daddy. I’m on assignment. I’m following the Warriors on a road stretch.”

“The Warriors? Good heavens, Jo. Why?”

I sighed and flopped back against the flimsy pillows. “My boss wants me to get an exclusive with Trey Delgado. I’m sure you saw the Coyotes traded him to the Warriors.”