The Heat Is On (5 page)

“He'll be fine,” her mother said, literally pushing her out the door. “Honest. I'll call you later and you can hear for yourself.”

“Noooo!”

Tracy got in the car, her heart in her throat as she heard her son wail. Even though she knew she wasn't doing anything wrong, it tore at her to hear her little boy so upset. She turned the key in the ignition and backed out the driveway, swearing she could still hear his screams as her stomach roiled.

Thankfully, about ten minutes later her phone rang. She pulled over, seeing her mother's caller ID.

“See?”

Unbelievably, she heard Mason laughing. Apparently, the show was mainly for her benefit. But she did think he had some separation anxiety, and it probably didn't help that he had a father who had checked out.

“Thank you.” She exhaled in relief. She could picture her mother smiling.

“You are welcome. Now go have some fun and don't worry. Just be careful.”

She clicked off the cell. She knew her mother wasn't warning her about birth control; she had taken care of that issue after the Lily surprise.

She was warning her to take care of her heart.

It wasn't the first time that day she knew her mother was right.

“I hope you're hungry,” Connor said as Tracy entered the elegant kitchen.

“Starved,” she admitted, putting her purse on the counter and turning to him with a wavering smile. Her nerves were jumping inside of her, but she did her best to hide what she was feeling. “Something smells great!”

“Someone looks great,” he said, openly admiring her blue silk top and dangling earrings.

“Really?” She stole a covert look in the back of a hanging stainless steel pot, quickly adjusting a spaghetti strap and hoping there was no way he could tell that she had spent the last fifteen minutes in the parking lot putting on her makeup and jewelry.

With four little children, she didn't have much choice.

“Want me to prove it?”

His voice was husky, seductive, sending a shiver up her spine. Before she could react, she was in his arms, his hands in her hair, lifting her face to his. The kiss started as a gentle greeting, his lips touching hers before tracing down to her cheek and throat. But when he brushed her ear, the whisper-soft contact made her gasp with anticipation and pleasure.

So when his mouth returned to hers, Tracy couldn't help it. She rose up, fully embracing him, wanting to feel that rough, athletic body against her, wanting more.

He reacted immediately, emitting something like a growl in the back of his throat. His fingers tangled in her long blond hair, holding her still as his tongue explored her mouth. She could feel his hunger that had nothing to do with the food cooking, and everything to do with her. Heat shot through her, red hot and erotic, pooling there, between her legs…

“I think dinner is going to have to wait,” he said firmly as he eased his mouth from hers. His eyes were dark and smoldering as they searched her face.

She nodded between breaths, leaning against the refrigerator for support as he turned off the stove. Logically she knew she should be embarrassed. After all, she had barely gotten in the door before she was throwing herself at him. But when he turned back to her and she saw the look on his face, she knew he was feeling the same crazy passion.

He confirmed her thoughts a moment later when his mouth devoured hers even as he reached for the zipper in the back of her top. She helped him, laughing, fumbling with his shirt, remembering this from what seemed like an eternity ago and they were two thoroughly aroused kids in his dorm room.

Her silk top hit the floor in a shimmering puddle. Thankfully, she had a good black lace bra and panties that she had purchased with a gift certificate Jillian had given her from Victoria's Secret online. But she couldn't help but feel self-conscious. After all, she wasn't nineteen any more, and she'd been pregnant four times. Her hand went to her belly, felt the softness…

But when she met his eyes, all of her insecurities vanished when she saw his expression.

“My God,” he said, brushing his fingers across her nipples, making her gasp even as she dropped the skirt. “You are so beautiful.” He fingered her bra strap, openly admiring the lace. “So you still have a weakness for sexy lingerie. Good to know. I remember the first time I got that sweatshirt off you. You were wearing pink silk. Hot pink.”

She was astonished at his memory and decided not to tell him of her new reality, which was more in the line of basic cotton Fruit of the Loom. But before she could say anything, he picked her up her in one smooth, athletic motion.

“Put me down!” She laughed, and the wicked grin he gave her was more than reward.

“No way in hell,” he said, carrying her through the living room, and kicking open the bedroom door. “You tease me like that? Now you're going to pay.”

His words created an erotic image that was thoroughly compelling, and she was quivering with long-suppressed need and uncertainty. What if things were different between them now? What if she wasn't up to his expectations? They had been college kids when they had fallen in love, but since then he had dated dozens of beautiful, experienced women…

But as he shucked his pants, she forgot her fears and rose up on her elbows, drinking in the sight of his beautiful body. His shoulders were broader than she remembered, more manly, his biceps firm and well developed. He truly had washboard abs, honed from years of training, and her eyes lowered, tracing that dark hair that trickled down below his waist where he was hot and hard.

“Like what you see?” He grinned, climbing onto the bed beside her, his gray eyes twinkling in amusement.

His joke made it better, took the edge off her doubts as she playfully smacked him. “I didn't notice you holding back,” she said meaningfully.

“Not on your life,” he admitted, fingering the strap of her panties, making her catch her breath. “I want to see more. But not yet.”

That surprised her. When they were younger, the sex was hot and fast between them. And she didn't mind; Connor knew how to bring her to climax, and he always made certain of that before taking his own pleasure.

But now he was a man, and obviously determined to, as he put it, make her pay.

And she had a feeling she would love every minute of it.

“But what if I don't want to wait…” She tested him, teasing. Damn, it was so good to be with him again.

“Sorry.” He grinned, watching her gasp as he gently explored her soft skin until she was a shivering, whimpering mess. His fingers were hot beneath her breasts, his thumbs flicking across the hard nipples until she squirmed, and then he placed his palms on her breasts, increasing the pressure, giving her more.

“Please,” she begged as his lips caressed her flesh, his tongue flicking her where a moment ago his hand had been.

“Not yet,” he whispered.

It was costing him to hold back; she saw it in his expression. And that was even hotter, knowing the effect she was having on him.

Her hand reached for his chest and she began to return his caresses. Yet as her fingers traveled lower he stopped her, grabbing her wrist before she could touch him.

“Don't,” he growled, pushing her legs apart with his muscular thighs, his fingers finally touching her where she was dying for him. She gasped, her body arching helplessly.

“Ahhh. Tracy…
damn
. You are so hot and wet…”

She moaned at his words even as he yanked the scrap of lace aside, and then his mouth took her off the bed. He seemed to know exactly what she was feeling because instead of heavy contact, his tongue danced across her clitoris in a maddeningly intricate pattern. Gasping, her fingers fisting the bedspread beneath her, she felt the aching pressure increase until, frantically, she came to the edge.

A flick of his tongue and she fell over.

“Connor!” She cried out his name as she climaxed, her heels digging into the bed.

“That's it, baby,” he whispered, cupping her with his hand, rocking her world even more. “Now it's my turn.” He pulled off her panties, put on a condom, and then entered her with one powerful thrust.

It was so hot, the way he filled her, pinning her against the bed. She could feel her body expanding to accommodate him, even as her pussy continued contracting. That seemed to excite him even more, for he lifted her hips and pounded her, bringing up her knees so that he had full and complete access.

Within minutes she could feel it building again, that aching need deep inside. Nothing mattered except what she was feeling, and what was happening between them. When she cried out again, this time he thrust deep inside her, throwing his head back in a hoarse moan, his body pulsing as he came.

The minutes passed as they slowly came back to earth. Tracy's eyes fluttered and when they opened, she saw Connor gather her up in his arms, kissing her in that sensitive spot just behind her ear.

“I'm going to have to remember you like this.” He gave her a wicked grin. When she gave him a questioning look, he explained. “After all, it was this move that got us here a lot faster than I had planned.”

She smiled back even as her stomach growled. “You do that.”

“Bet you're really hungry now,” he said, getting up from the bed and tossing her his robe. “Bathroom is through there. I'm going to get us dinner.”

He closed the door, allowing her a few moments of privacy that she cherished. He hadn't been so thoughtful when he was young, but he'd grown into it as a man, and she found it utterly endearing.

When she got up from the bed, she saw that it was a completely rumpled disaster.

We did that
, she thought in satisfaction, tying on his white terry-cloth robe.
I just had wild sex with one of the hottest guys in baseball. Connor. My Connor!
For a woman who had spent the morning negotiating fights between toddlers, diaper changes, and watching
Frozen
princess dances, the thought was intoxicating.

And she knew she should be afraid: all of the feelings she had for Connor that she thought long buried were front and center. But try as she might, she refused to go there. Instead, her body glowed and she felt more of a woman than she had in a very long time.

She didn't think he'd mind if she grabbed a quick shower, and she realized this time there would be no interruptions. Even though that was a luxurious thought, she missed them. An aching hole opened inside her as she thought of Mason, so proud to be the man of the house; Chloe, her little fairy sprite; Ethan, a puzzle in so many ways; and Lily, smelling like a warm ivory rose as she lifted her baby arms…

Her throat knotted. This was the first time she'd had her mom over for the night since…Lily was born. It was wrong and right at the same time, and she felt out of sync, so used to the rhythm of her and the kids…

But she needed
her
time. She knew that. She couldn't limit her life to her children; she would burn out. Somehow she managed to get hold of herself, remind herself that she wasn't neglecting them; they would be just fine.

And she had a gorgeous ballplayer waiting for her in the next room.

When she returned to the kitchen, he had a glass of wine waiting for her. He turned from the stove, wearing nothing but pajama bottoms, which had to be hands-down the sexiest look for a man.

Ever.

“You okay?” He handed her the glass.

She took a sip of the amber liquid. It was cool, it was fruity, and it was wonderful. Her eyes lifted to his and she smiled. “I am perfect. You have no idea.”

“I have some. I feel a little incredible myself. Ready to eat?”

He lifted the lid and she saw angel hair pasta with vegetables, white wine, and garlic. A salad waited on the counter, and he put that on a table that was set with white linen, candles, and flowers.

Tracy was impressed. No man had ever cooked for her. In college, she and Connor had subsisted on pizza and coffee, like most other kids. And her husband barely boiled water. So when she saw the elegant linen, the expertly prepared food, and his obvious ease in providing all this, she had to fight the sting of tears that threatened.

“It looks amazing,” she said sincerely. “Thank you.”

“You are very welcome.” He smiled as if this were nothing. Easy. And for a guy batting over .300, maybe it was. “Let's eat.”

The salad was amazing, and the main dish even more so. He grated pecorino on top of the pasta, then he refilled her glass and made easy conversation about the team, their lack of motivation, and pressure from Pete. She was interested in everything he talked about, knowing so much about the game from the very beginning, and she sympathized with his dilemma.

“I think Pete sees you as someone who can influence the young guys, make them see the bigger picture. But I understand why you don't want to take all that on, especially at this point in your career.”

“That's it. If I was in it for the long haul, I might think differently. But right now, I just want to have fun.”

She wondered if he was talking about their relationship as well. Was Connor just looking for a fling? Could she do that? Could she just have a good time and not think of the future?

When he tried to refill her wineglass, she stopped him. “I have to drive home,” she reminded him, sitting back in her chair, perfectly satisfied in every possible way.

“Stay with me,” he said, his voice seductive. “Spend the night.”

She gave him a regretful smile. “I can't. But thank you.” She gestured to the meal, the wine, the flickering candles, and the white roses. “This was the nicest dinner I've had in ages.”

He seemed disappointed with her response, but he didn't grill her. “You don't have to go right now, right? Let's sit on the patio, enjoy the evening. I'll make you some coffee, and I have some lemon cake for dessert.”

“Lemon cake? Like the kind we used to get from Kelly's bakery?” She gazed at him in wonder.

Connor laughed. “Probably not as good, but it will do the trick.”

Tracy nodded. She was staying. Lemon cake.