#playerdown: Players to Men Read online

  “Blue!” a low growl of warning rumbled in his throat. “Stop teasing…” He nipped my lip. Then his mouth covered mine in a sizzling kiss, his tongue sliding inside, sucking and tasting mine. I tightened my hold around his neck, kissing him with equal fervor.

  Then he grasped my hair and gently tugged, tilting my face up, kissing a fiery path from my mouth to my throat, igniting every nerve ending. I turned my face and sought his mouth again. His big palm covered my one breast and squeezed. A whimper of need escaped me. “War…”

  He cupped my chin, making me look at him. “You sure?”

  I blinked, in a daze. God, being in his arms was messing with my ability to think clearly. But heck yeah, I wanted him, and I agreed to try this relationship with him. “Yes,” I rasped.

  “Fuck!” he swore, his frustration evident on his face. “I don’t keep condoms here.”

  It was encouraging to know that he didn’t bring his hook-ups here.

  “It’s okay, I’m on the pill.” I took it to regulate my periods.

  “And I’m clean…” His hands dropped to my hips. “Then let’s get these off.” He tugged my shorts. “I want to feel you come on my tongue.”

  My breath caught at his words. I fumbled for the button at my waist. He took over, unbuttoned and unzipped, then dragged my shorts off, along with my underwear, leaving me bare to his eyes. I was so grateful I kept up with my full waxing. He spread my thighs further apart and stroked my cleft lightly. I gulped.

  “You’re damn beautiful, all over, Blue.”

  That tormenting shape of his erect sex, visible behind his sweats drew me. I slipped my hand inside, grasped his heated length, and stroked his rock-hard erection. A tick popped on his tight jaw.

  Yep. War was built and tall, and his cock fit in proportion to his size from what I could feel. The tip appeared above his waistband and snagged my attention, the rounded head wet with precum. I squeezed as I stroked him, and he grunted, grinding into my fist, then he was pushing my hand away, his stare heavy-lidded.

  “Later,” he grunted.

  He dragged me to the edge of the counter, drew off my top and bra, and tossed them aside. He palmed both my breasts and squeezed, his thumbs sweeping over my nipples, and I bit back a moan. Then his mouth covered my flesh, and he sucked—a tug I felt all the way to my core. He switched to my other nub, tormenting me with his tongue and teeth.

  God! “War—” I grabbed his thick shoulders, and he finally let go of my nipple. “I need…”

  His gaze on mine, he put his palm on my chest and gently pushed me back on the counter.

  I braced myself on my elbows on the cool surface, watching him trail open-mouthed kisses down my stomach. He held my thighs apart and ran his tongue through my cleft, lightly teasing my clit. A whimper of unadulterated need escaped me.

  “Do you like this?” he asked huskily. “Me touching you in this way?”

  “God, yes. More,” I rasped, nearly out of my mind, and his mouth came down on me, his tongue licking between my folds—

  I gasped, my hands fumbling on the counter, finding no purchase to hold onto, except for the man between my thighs. He ran his tongue up one side of my cleft and then down the other as if finding every hidden part of me. He tormented me with gentle pulls and light licks, taking me to the pinnacle and keeping me there, need and frustration swamping me.

  Desperate for that push, I slid my legs over his shoulders, trying to get closer. My panting grew, a throbbing pressure mounting. My fingers tightened in his hair, and I writhed into his mouth. I was so close.

  Those blue eyes met mine. He eased a finger into me, followed by another, and he worked them in a scissored motion. Pressure built in my core. A moan escaped me. “War…”

  He covered my clit with his mouth and sucked. God! I shuddered, sensations engulfing me.

  His lips tightened around my aching flesh, and then he tugged—

  “Ohhh—” Shit! I cried out as my climax hit, my body nearly arching off the counter, intense pleasure flooding my body.

  Jesus, Christ! I lay there, spent…

  “I love the feel—the taste of you when you come,” he whispered, kissing my inner thigh.

  Still panting like I’d run miles, I pushed upright, and he straightened, grasped my hair, and kissed me deeply. I tasted myself as he sucked on my tongue, then he shifted back, shoved down his sweats, and stepped out of them. He fisted his heavy erection, pumped once, twice—the sight making my stomach clench, wanting him inside me.

  Holding my gaze with his, he moved between my thighs once more, and his cock slid up my cleft, bumping my clit, making me shudder. I wrapped my fingers around his heavy shaft, wanting to touch him. He let me stroke him once twice, then he brushed my hand away. His jaw clenched as if struggling to control himself, he pushed into me, the thick round head breeching me.

  The air jammed in my lungs. Oh, crap, so tight.

  “Okay?” he rasped.

  I nodded, words lost in the sensual haze gripping me.

  His mouth came down on mine once more. As his tongue plunged into my mouth in a raw, carnal kiss, he thrust forward, his cock impaling me to the hilt.

  I gasped into his mouth. He felt so huge—but so freakin’ good inside me. Then he was picking me up and walking, and the sensation of his cock thrusting deeper had me moaning into his mouth.

  He braced me against the cool windowpane, grasped my hips, and rocked into me, his cock rubbing against my clit. Christ! I panted, the friction scattering my thoughts. Everything in me focused on where we were joined. I gripped him around his neck, moving with him, chasing after my orgasm like some raving addict desperate for her fix. He squeezed my bottom.

  “You feel so damn good, Blue,” he growled, jaw clenched, his focus on where his cock impaled me. Then he angled his hips and thrust up, hitting me right in the spot I wanted. A whimper broke free. My inner muscles clamped around his dick. His heavy-lidded stare shifted to mine. And then he was shunting in and out, harder, faster, the sound of flesh slapping flesh echoing in the silent apartment. My body tightened. “War—”

  His hand moved between us. His thumb pressed against my throbbing clit, and he thrust up hard—

  Oh, Goddd!

  My orgasm broke, my inner muscles tightening around his cock and crashing through me like a tsunami, hurtling me into impossible pleasure.

  “Fuck—yes!” With a grunt, he shuttled his hips faster and faster, and then he stiffened, a low groan escaping him, the sound so incredibly sexy as he found his own release.

  His chest heaving as he fought for breath, he lowered his brow to my shoulder.

  After several seconds, maybe minutes, he straightened. Arms tight around me, he crossed to the living room and sat on the couch, keeping me joined to him.

  “That,” I rasped, still gasping like I’d run uphill several times, “was quite something.”

  He laughed and nuzzled my neck. “I agree.”

  Smiling, I stroked his shoulders, then down his arms, loving the feel of his warm skin over hard muscles. My fingers stopped on a bumpy, six-inch-long scar on his left biceps, covered by a chaos of swirling ink.

  I frowned. “What happened here?”

  “An accident.” He grasped my hands, kissing my knuckles.

  Oh. With the violent sport he played, I wasn’t surprised. I shifted to get off him, then stilled. “Uh, we have a situation…” I glanced at our locked groins, my cleft wrapped around his thickness, and heat flooded my face. He smirked now, and I scrunched my nose. “I mean, once I get off you, I’m going to be dripping cum.”

  He gave an amused chuckle. “Give a guy a moment to get his breath back, Blue, and I’d figure out something. In the meantime, this is good where we are.”

  “You’re still inside me. Why wouldn’t it be good?”

  “How can you still be talking?” He nipped my chin, and I squeaked, yanking back, then I bit his lip. He grasped my hair and kissed me again, and his cock stirred inside me.
br />   “Really?” I mumbled against his devouring mouth.

  “We both seem to like the same thing. C’mon.” Smirking, he rose, still keeping us joined, and his cock grew firmer. “Does this help?” He thrust his hips, and ripples of desire resurged, sweeping from my core and spreading out. “No spillage.”

  God, I sucked in a breath, had no idea how I managed a sarcastic, “Yeah. Heaps.”

  He grunted out a laugh. “Shower first, then we have to get going.”

  “Back to weeding,” I groaned, dropping my head on his shoulder. “Slave driver.”

  “But look at the rewards?” he teased, angling his head and peering at me, and when I scowled, he kissed me again, a gentle brush of lips. “You don’t have to do anything, Blue. I just want you with me.”

  My heart tripped, and my throat tightened as it lodged there.

  Later, I’d deal with my chaotic emotions for this man. For now, I just wanted to enjoy this, and him.

  * * *

  After our shower and more of War’s tormenting sexy time in there, I finally managed to drag on sweats, because wearing jeans was so not happening, not with my core a little sensitive. I pulled on a tank top, then made my way to the living room.

  I found him dressed in jeans and a tee, waiting in the TV lounge, remote in hand, watching the sports news on ESPN.

  “I’m ready,” I murmured.

  He glanced my way, switched off the TV, dropped the remote on the couch, and made his way to me. “You coming in sweats?”

  I frowned. “Why? We’re going to the beach house, right?”

  “No. I have to meet with the team working on the commercial. They want to go through a few things and probably do some photoshoots, etc., first.”

  “Really?” I smiled. “Wow.”

  He arched an eyebrow. “Yes, really. Why so surprised?”

  “I’m not.” I lifted my shoulder in a little shrug. Then grinning, I said, “I thought you’d just stand there, no shirt, holding your hockey stick, and smirk.”

  His brow creased in confusion.

  I strolled back to the couch in the living room and pulled out the Cosmo from my tote, knew it would come in handy. “Like this.” I found the page and flashed it at him. “So, everyone would drool over your abs.”

  He huffed a laugh. “Not my choice, but they paid me a lot for that.”

  Of course, they did.

  I dropped the magazine onto the coffee table. “So, what’s the new endorsement? Sports gear, energy drinks, attire?”

  He was silent for a second, then said, “Shampoo.”

  I bit my lip, struggling to hold in my smile, my gaze lifting to his gorgeous, sun-kissed, shaggy brown mane. The Cosmo baiting didn’t even move him, but this… “Yes, you’re pretty enough with that hair.”

  He narrowed his eyes. Aware I’d probably stepped on a tiger’s tail, I hastily backed away. He leaped for me. With a shriek, I took off, but darn, he was too fast. He grabbed me around the waist. “You find that’s funny?”

  “Yes! It’s so girly—”

  He tickled me. Squealing with laughter and trying to evade him, I pushed at his chest, but it felt like attempting to move a deep-rooted tree.

  “Nooo!” I slid to my knees on the floor, struggling to get away. Instead, I collapsed on my back. He followed, caging my body between his knees, and tickling me until I had no breath. Tears ran down my face. “Stop…stop—”

  “Take it back.”

  “Okay-okay,” I gasped, fighting to draw air into my hurting lungs. “You’re not pretty—ugly, in fact.” He stopped, his palms gently stroking my sides. I had no idea how that would help get oxygen into my dying lungs.

  Smiling, he moved off me, and I curled onto my side, groaning. “I hate you permanently.”

  “Permanently, huh?” He lay on the floor next to me. “Well, that’s too bad, because I don’t feel hate toward you at all,” he said quietly.

  My heart clipped hard at the intense note in his voice. I blurted, “Yeah, only because you wanted to get laid.”

  He didn’t say anything for a second, then he rolled up and shifted to his hunches. “That’s where you’re wrong. But you’ll figure it out soon enough.”

  Figure out what?

  What more did he want? He had me. I frowned up at him.

  He shook his head and rose, holding out his hand. I took it, he drew me to my feet. “I’d like you to come with me for my meeting.”

  “How long will you be?” I asked, thinking of my workload.

  “From experience, this could take a few hours, the entire day, hard to say—” He glanced at his gray, titanium watch. “Damn, I’m gonna be late.”

  “The entire day?” Disappointment flooded me. “I can’t, I have a deadline.”

  “Right.” He nodded. “Okay. This is where I’ll be.” He got his wallet from the coffee table, removed a biz card, and gave it to me. “I’ll leave your name with security just in case.” He grabbed his truck keys from the side table in the corridor. His hockey stick, an old one with the chips and dents, rested against it.

  I followed him to the foyer. “Man, I would love to see you in action, shaking your mane.”

  He opened the front door and glanced back, eyes twinkling in amusement. He reached out, dragged me close, and kissed me hard. And then he was gone, the elevator closing.

  I sighed and shut the door. The penthouse suddenly seemed too big and lonely.

  “Well, if I can get some work done, maybe I could go and meet him—”

  A cell beeped.

  Not mine since it was in my pocket. War’s. I sprinted across, grabbed the phone from the kitchen counter, and ran for the front door to catch up with him. The truncated text brightened on the display. And I froze.

  I know who you are.

  No name of the sender, but that sure as hell sounded like a threat.

  The front door opened, and I hurriedly stepped back before my face got bashed.

  “I left my phone—” War broke off at seeing me with his cell.

  “It beeped. I realized you’d left it behind and was bringing it to you.”

  He took the device from my ice-cold fingers, and his mouth tightened at seeing the message. With a few moves, he deleted it.

  “Who is that?” I asked, rubbing my freezing hands on my sweats, freaking out for him.

  “No one important—”

  “War. Stop. Please, I’m scared for you. That sounded like a threat.” I knew sports stars had stalkers, and God knew what else.

  He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Don’t be. Probably some crazed fan.”

  I didn’t like that he would dismiss this so casually. “Why would they say that?”

  “Because my beginning isn’t like yours, Blue.” A tick worked in his jaw. “I…” He glanced out to the foyer, then back at me, and his expression hardened. “I come from trailer park trash.”

  Like I cared about that. “So? You need to block them.”

  “I did.” His mouth thinned. “I changed my damn number, too.”

  “This happened before?” I breathed.

  A terse nod. “A couple of months ago.

  And somehow, they managed to get to him again.

  “Don’t worry, you’re safe—”

  “They’re not after me! War, you need to report this!”

  “Whoever it is probably wants me to take this to the cops so that my trashy beginnings are broadcasted in the tabloids. Like I care. I’ll see you later.” He stalked out, his harsh words ringing in my ears.

  By the time I got my feet unglued and hurried to the door, he was gone.

  Dammit. War might dismiss it, but this had my stomach in a knot.

  I paced to the window wall, rubbing the goosebumps on my arms. Whoever this was, the way they worded the message made me think they wanted money.

  Pay up, or else his past would be splashed in the newspapers for the world to know about.

  So what if he lived in a trailer park as a child? I
t wasn’t his fault where his life started, but he’d moved away from it and made something of himself through hard work and broken bones, I was sure. The little I’d seen of it, hockey seemed rather violent, and the players moved like lighting on ice.

  Uneasy at this new problem, I headed for the bedroom to do some work.

  Whatever this was, I hoped War would talk to me. I wanted to be there for him like he’d been for me when he found out about my mother—

  My cell beeped with a text. War?

  My heart careening in my chest, I hurriedly removed my phone from my sweats pocket. Disappointment surged even though I was happy to hear from my friend.

  Ila: Just checking in after last night. Are you okay?

  I flopped on the bed and typed back. You threw me to the wolves!

  Ila: But what a wolf he is. And numerous drooling images appeared.

  I rolled my eyes. I was so embarrassed. Ray sent me the pic of me, head on the table!!

  Ila: Lol. I know. I don’t know why you’re embarrassed? You draw amazingly well, and you’re dating the hottest hockey player in San Francisco. Girls would kill to be in your shoes. So, no horizontal tango yet, huh??

  Gah. I don’t know why I told her anything. Since meeting Max, she’d lost some of her shyness.

  Me: Go away. Go trouble your man. I’m sooo done with this convo!

  Ila: He’s at the office. We’ll try the bench tonight.

  I burst out laughing and could almost see her smiling. Her typing dots danced for a bit…

  If you’re still in the city and not pulling weeds for the star player of the Cheetahs, come over, and we’ll have lunch.

  Grinning, I typed: Will let you know. Now, I’ve got to run. Work awaits me.

  I tossed my cell aside, opened my laptop, and started my work. My smile faded as my mind slipped back to War, hoping he was okay…

  By two o’clock, I gave up and knew if I didn’t go see him, I’d end up with an ulcer.

  Quickly, I traded my sweats for a pair of forest-green capri pants and teamed it with a sleeveless, high neck black top and matching espadrille wedges. I grabbed my tote and cell, summoned Uber, locked up with the keycard War had left for me, and headed out.