Author: Jaci Burton

Her pussy gripped him as he felt the first waves of her orgasm clench around his cock. She cried out, and he swallowed her cries with his own loud groans as his orgasm crashed into him and left him holding tight to Elizabeth.

It wasn’t until he pulled out and went to untie her that he realized he’d fucked her without a condom.

His hands were shaking as he released the restraints and rubbed her legs, wondering how the hell he’d lost control like that. He never, ever lost control.

He crawled up onto the bed and pulled her into his arms. “God, Elizabeth, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

“No, I mean I didn’t use a condom. That has never happened before. I am always protected.”

She lifted up and looked at him. “Gavin, I’m on birth control. And I haven’t had sex in two years. I told you that. You don’t have to worry about me. I’m safe.”

Jesus. She thought . . . Jesus.

He dragged his fingers through his hair. “Honey, I’m worried about hurting you, not the other way around. But I’m tested regularly. Clean bill of health. And I’ve never, ever had sex without a condom. Until tonight. I don’t know what happened.”

She laid her head back down. “Don’t worry about it. It’s not like I’m going to pop up pregnant or try to trap you.”

That wasn’t at all what he was worried about.

“And about me asking you questions.”

She stilled. “Forget it, okay?”

“Okay.”

But he wasn’t going to forget it.

SEVEN

ELIZABETH WAS WAITING FOR HIM OUTSIDE HIS LOCKER after the game the next day.

“I thought we’d go have dinner at this new Italian restaurant in West Palm Beach.”

She’d brushed aside the night before, hadn’t said anything further about it. Gavin wanted to talk about it, but every time he’d try to bring it up she changed the subject. He wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but he could grab a clue.

“Italian it is.” He grabbed his bag, put his arm around her, and they pushed through the doors to the parking lot.

He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw his brother leaning against a car.

Mick’s smile died instantly when he spotted Gavin with his arm around Elizabeth. Mick pushed off the car and came toward them.

“Oh, shit,” Elizabeth whispered, stepping away from him.

“Hey,” Gavin said as Mick approached. “I didn’t know you were in town.”

Mick hugged him, but he wasn’t smiling. “Yeah. I had a meeting in New York, so I thought I’d take a quick flight down here and catch one of your games.”

He nodded at Elizabeth. “Liz.”

“Hi, Mick.”

“So, what’s going on?”

Gavin shrugged. “Preseason stuff. You know the drill.”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it. What’s going on with you and Elizabeth?”

Elizabeth turned to Gavin. “I’m going back to the house. I’ll let you catch up with your brother, okay?”

Gavin nodded. “Sure.”

He watched her walk away. She looked miserable. “Give me a second, Mick.”

He caught up with Elizabeth. “Hey. I’m sorry. I didn’t know he was in town.”

She lifted her head. There were unshed tears in her eyes, but she masked her unhappiness with a wide smile. “It’s no big deal. You catch up with your brother. I’ll see you later.”

Uncaring whether his brother saw or not, Gavin cupped her cheeks and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “I won’t be long.”

Elizabeth grasped his arms. “You take your time and enjoy catching up with Mick. I have some contract stuff to work on anyway.”

He waited while she got into her car and drove off. When he turned around and walked back, Mick had a furious look on his face.

“Want to go get something to eat?” Gavin asked.

“What the fuck is going on?”

“Look. I’m hungry. Let’s eat and then we’ll talk. Follow me.”

It was a chickenshit excuse, but Gavin needed a few minutes alone in his car to get his bearings before facing his big brother. He drove them to a restaurant several miles away from the ballpark where they could grab some burgers and where Gavin could get a beer. Since Mick was an alcoholic, he ordered a soft drink.

Once the waitress took their food orders and brought their drinks, Mick leaned forward.

“What the fuck, Gavin? Elizabeth? Are you out of your mind?”

Gavin’s chin lifted, irritation making him grip the glass tightly in his hand. “What about Elizabeth?”

“You know what she did to Tara and Nathan. Her betrayal of them hurt them. It hurt me.”

“And she knows it. She apologized and she fixed it. And you fired her. What the hell do you want from her, man? Blood? A limb, maybe?”

“I can’t believe you’re seeing her. How long has this been going on?”

Gavin’s lips lifted. “Now you sound like Mom.”

“Not funny. I’m serious here. Or maybe I should ask if you’re serious. Are you just fucking her? Or maybe you’re just fucking with her. Surely you don’t care about her. Do you have any idea how screwed up this is?”

Once again it was all about Mick. How many times in Gavin’s life had the world revolved around his brother? First it was football, then his alcoholism. The family had always rallied around Mick. Gavin supposed being the oldest had its advantages. You got to do everything first. Mick had always been the shining example that Gavin had to follow. And then when Mick had fallen from grace with his battle with alcohol, he’d dragged himself up by his bootstraps and shown everyone what a hero he was and become an NFL star.

Oh, sure, Gavin had his own successes in baseball, but really, after everything Mick had been through, Gavin’s success in the major leagues was pretty much an afterthought.

And now with Elizabeth, she was the agent Mick had fired. So Gavin wasn’t supposed to date Elizabeth because she had screwed over Mick’s fiancée? Even Gavin’s girl wasn’t good enough for Mick?

Fuck that.

The waitress brought their burgers, and the conversation was put on hold temporarily while they dove into their food. Unfortunately, Gavin’s voracious appetite waned as he thought about Mick’s attitude toward Elizabeth and Elizabeth’s reaction to seeing Mick there.

“So, are you going to tell me what’s going on?” Mick asked, pouncing as soon as Gavin pushed his plate aside.

“I don’t know what you’re fishing for, Mick.”

“You and Liz. What’s the deal?”

“Stay out of my personal life, Mick. Shouldn’t you be concentrating on your own?”

Mick’s gaze narrowed. “Don’t bring her around the family.”

“Mom loves Elizabeth.”

“Not right now, she doesn’t.”

“Has she told you that?”

“She doesn’t have to. She knows everything that went down with Tara and Nathan.”

“And she said . . . what, exactly?”

Mick tossed his napkin on the table. “You know she doesn’t like people who interfere in other people’s lives. And she doesn’t like people who hurt kids.”

Which meant Mom hadn’t directly said anything negative about Elizabeth. “You’re just making this all up as you go along. Look, Mick, I get that you’re defending Tara. If she were my woman, I’d do the same. And I understand you’re still pissed at Liz for the way she manipulated all of you. But my relationship with her isn’t the same, and you can’t judge me . . . or her . . . for it. You need to stay out of it.”

Mick shook his head. “Sorry, but you’re my brother, and you haven’t always made smart decisions where women are concerned.”

“Oh, so now you’re saying I’m stupid.”

“I didn’t say that. But you know Liz. Or at least I thought you did. Can’t you see what she’s doing?”

“She isn’t doing anything. We’re having some fun together and that’s all. It doesn’t have anything to do with you. Leave it alone.”

Mick stared long and hard at him. It reminded Gavin of when they were kids fighting over a toy. But Elizabeth wasn’t a toy. And this time Mick wanted Gavin to throw her away.

“I think you’re making a mistake. She’s only with you because she’s trying to keep you as a client.”

“I’m not that stupid, Mick.”

Mick leaned back and grabbed his glass of soda, finished it and took the bill the waitress presented. He took out cash and handed it to her with a smile. After the waitress left, Mick’s smile died as he turned his attention back to Gavin. “Just clear your head and try not to think with your dick. She’s playing you.”

“Thanks for thinking so highly of me.”

“I care about you, Gavin. I don’t want to see her hurt you the way she hurt me and Tara.”

“I think you need to get over your grudge against her and move on with your life. Plan your wedding to Tara. Forget about what Elizabeth did.”

They walked outside to their cars.

“Thanks for coming down here to see my game.”

Mick finally smiled for the first time. “You’re looking good.”

“Thanks.”

They hugged. “At least think about what I said.”

“Give Tara my love. And Mom and Dad, too. I’ll be back home soon.”

Mick inhaled and let it out. “This isn’t a game, Gavin.”

Gavin hadn’t felt that way before.

So why did he suddenly feel like it was? A game between Gavin and his brother, and Elizabeth was right in the middle of it.

EIGHT

“YOU’RE OUTTA THERE!”

Gavin tossed the bat in the dirt and headed for the dugout, mentally cussing out the umpire who’d called him out on strikes.

That last ball was low and inside and out of the strike zone.

“That last ball was right in your hitting zone, Riley.”

Gavin lifted his gaze to the Rivers coach, white-haired, heavyset Manny Magee.

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll get ’em next time, Manny.” Gavin flopped onto the bench.

“Your first game you were hitting them like there was an eight-year-old pitching tennis balls to ya. The past five games you haven’t hit shit. What the hell, Riley?”

Elizabeth had been gone for five days. The last five games he’d totally sucked.

Not that the two were related. At all. Gavin didn’t believe in women and their mojo on players, good or bad.

“I’ll work on my hitting, Manny.”

“You’re damn straight you’re going to work on your hitting. I need to see some lightning out of you, Riley, and soon. Because you suck.”

Great. He needed a hitting nosedive while in the preseason. Not.

“Where’s your good-luck charm?”

“Huh?” Gavin turned to Dedrick. “What good-luck charm?”

“Elizabeth. When she was here, you played good. Shawnelle said she hasn’t been to the past few games, and you’ve sucked. Which makes her your good-luck charm.”

“Oh. She had to head out of town for a few days on business. And she’s not my good-luck charm. I’ve been playing baseball for five years without her help, Deed.”

Dedrick spit sunflower-seed shells onto the ground. “Yuh-huh. That was before you started sleepin’ with her. Now she’s your good-luck charm.”

Gavin rolled his eyes, glad the game was in the ninth inning so he could get away from Dedrick’s knowing looks. He showered, did his media bit, and got the hell out of there, craving the quiet of his house.