Author: Jaci Burton

“That’s it,” he said, the desperation in his voice inflaming her need. “Let go, Alicia.”

She panted, raised her hips, and matched his movements, daring him to fuck her harder, to make this less personal. But still, he ground against her, giving her bone melting sensations that were meant to make her explode.

She held back, until he brushed his lips across hers and she met his gaze again.

“Trust me,” he said. “You aren’t in this alone.”

He knew. He felt it, too.

She let go.

He watched her come, and she let him. She knew she gave him so much in this orgasm, revealed so much, but she wasn’t able to stop herself from letting Garrett have this level of intimacy. And when he began to thrust hard, plunging in and out of her in rapid succession, he gave her everything in return, meeting her gaze with fierce abandon as he rolled through his own climax. She gripped his hand and held tight to him as he shuddered. She had never felt so connected to anyone before.

He finally collapsed and buried his face in her neck, but even then he continued to kiss her throat, and never once let go of her hand.

As she came down, one thought continued to spin through her head.

What just happened?

She was wasted, thoroughly spent, and surprised as hell that it had been so emotionally intimate.

Sex was always physical and fun, but she had an emotional connection to Garrett that shocked her. And when he rolled over, he pulled her against him. She felt the strong beat of his heart.

He hadn’t yet said anything, and she wasn’t about to. Not about this.

She was also lying on his injured shoulder.

She lifted her head then pushed away to sit up. “Am I hurting you?”

“My shoulder’s fine, Alicia.” He grabbed her and drew her close. “Lay your head on me and stop fussing over me.”

She was being overly concerned, she knew. She knew his capabilities and his limitations. Lying on his shoulder wouldn’t hurt him. Maybe she was searching for distance, especially after that—she had no idea what the hell had just happened between them. Certainly whatever it was had been something she’d imagined. It had been awesome sex, that much was certain. But it hadn’t been epic or anything.

Except that it had been epic. And monumental.

And that’s all it had been. Just really great sex. He hadn’t rocked her world or anything.

Other than like an earthquake.

This was ridiculous. She needed to get her mind off sex with Garrett and back to reality, which meant the first thing she had to do was get out of bed. Cuddling up naked next to him let her mind wander into dangerous places, like imagining him as some kind of sex god. Which he certainly wasn’t. He was just an average—okay, make that above average—lover.

She sat up and slid to the edge of the bed.

“Where are you going?”

She could barely meet his gaze, but she was no coward. Might as well face the situation, so she looked over at him, trying to keep her expression light and easy. “Back to my room.”

He arched a brow. “Why?”

“To sleep.”

Now he grinned. “Do I smell?”

She laughed. “No.”

“Was the sex bad?”

“Oh, God, no. It was really . . . wow, it was amazing sex, Garrett.”

Now he smiled, stood, and came over to her side of the bed. He pushed her back on the bed then climbed in after her. “I thought it was pretty fucking good, too.”

He pulled the covers over both of them, then tucked her in against his side.

Alicia stared out at the moonlight and took a deep breath.

“But I really should sleep in my own bed, Garrett.”

“Why?”

She opened her mouth then closed it.

Hell if she could come up with a good enough answer for him.

“I give up. I don’t have any idea.”

“Good.” He tugged her against him. “Because if you sleep with me, I can do this.” He rocked against her, his cock hardening again. A rush of desire flooded her body, her nipples tightened and her pussy quaked. When he cupped her breast and slid his cock between her legs, she arched back to rub her butt against him.

“Now that’s going to give me ideas.”

She laughed. “You already had ideas.”

“True.” He rubbed his thumb over her nipple, making her gasp as pleasure bloomed.

He licked her earlobe, then her neck. “I want to fuck you this way. Open for me, Alicia.”

Already eager to feel his cock inside her again, she lifted her leg while he put another condom on. He was back in a hurry, this time sliding inside her with one thrust.

Their coupling was passionate and furious as she ground against him while he pistoned his cock deep, fucking her with fast, hard strokes that made her crave an orgasm. When she reached between her legs to rub her clit, Garrett slowed down his thrusts.

“Make yourself come. Let me feel your pussy squeeze the come right out of me.”

She loved the low, dark tone of his voice. It spurred on her movements and brought her ever closer to the climax she was seeking. And when Garrett pulled her onto her knees, she went willingly. She dropped her chest and head to the mattress, and raised her butt in the air, letting him drive his cock deep into her, needing him inside her as far as he could go.

She swept her hand over her clit while he pounded her with his cock. He gripped her hips with his fingers, the pain and pleasure combined sending her spiraling over the edge.

“Garrett, I’m coming,” she cried, her pussy squeezing his cock like a vise as she felt the rush of her orgasm.

“I’m going to come in you, Alicia,” he said, his fingers digging into her as he slammed his cock deep, then shuddered against her. He wrapped his arm around her, and they both fell to the mattress as they rode out their orgasms.

Alicia caught her breath as Garrett rolled them over, then got them a washcloth and towel to clean up.

“Thanks,” she said with a smile.

“You made me sweat,” he said. “You’re always making me sweat.”

“Uh, you’re welcome. Or I’m sorry.”

He brushed his lips across hers. “No apologies for that sweat session.” He kissed her deeply, so deeply her toes curled.

She felt light-headed and ridiculously content.

* * *

GARRETT LISTENED TO THE SOUND OF ALICIA’S breathing and felt her body as she nestled against him in bed.

She was tense. A couple of orgasms should have taken care of that tension, but apparently being in bed with him made her anxious.

It took her about a half hour to fall asleep. Her body finally relaxed and her breathing became deep and even.

But she’d struggled with falling asleep. It hadn’t come easy for her.

Maybe he should have given her another orgasm. She needed to loosen up a little more. After all, she hadn’t even wanted to sleep with him.

Maybe he wasn’t as good as he’d like to think he was.

But he knew that wasn’t the case. He liked to watch her come, and damn, had he liked feeling her come when he was inside her. That slow burn had been agony for him, but worth every second. A fast fuck was always fun, and he’d really needed to get off, but he’d loved feeling every inch of her, her pussy clenching around his dick, tightening around him every time he slid deep inside her.

His cock hardened as he thought about what it felt like to be connected to Alicia that way.

He’d fucked a lot of women in his lifetime, but he hadn’t made love to very many. Hell, hardly any. He wasn’t much for deep emotional connections. They only got in the way of having a good time. But there was something about Alicia that begged for more than just a fast fuck, and like it or not, he was into her.

He knew it couldn’t last. She was his therapist. There was already a conflict of interest, and eventually, they’d have to part ways. But tonight they’d had a hell of a good time, and he wanted more of it. So while they were working together, they could also play together.

Because they’d just gotten started, and he wasn’t nearly finished yet.

And hey, sex was good for recovery. Something about orgasms and increased blood flow to healing tissues or something, right?

He’d discuss that with his therapist in the morning.

He smiled and closed his eyes.

 

 

SEVENTEEN

ALICIA HAD SLIPPED OUT OF BED BEFORE DAWN, wanting to get up before she and Garrett woke up together. Avoiding the inevitable awkwardness was always best, and despite sleeping with him last night, this was the light of day, and she was much more clearheaded now about where things stood.

She didn’t regret what had happened between them. She was an adult and had made an adult decision. She hadn’t been coerced, she’d walked into sex with Garrett more than willingly. Which didn’t mean it was going to be repeated. Falling into a relationship with him—sexual or otherwise—would be a huge mistake. Her job was to focus on his recovery, and that meant getting him on the pitcher’s mound. That was her number one objective, and she couldn’t allow herself to get sidetracked. She had a schedule to stick to, and spending days—or nights—playing with him could be disastrous to that timeline. Which wouldn’t be good for his career or hers.

She was hoping he’d see it the same way this morning. He was probably like a lot of guys when it came to sex. One time was great, more than that meant a relationship. Surely he was more interested in getting back to work than having repeat sex performances, right?

She went into her room to take a shower. When she dressed and came out, he was nowhere to be found. That gave her a reprieve, so she made some coffee and grabbed her notebook. She was in the dining room charting some notes when Garrett came inside from his run.

She chanced a quick glance at him as he headed into the kitchen. His back was turned to her as he reached into the cabinet for a glass to pour his orange juice into. His arms were glistening with sweat, his hair wet from the run. He wore shorts and a tank top and as he leaned against the counter, she could still remember what it felt like when he was moving inside her last night.

Her body responded with a tight coiling. She pushed the feeling aside and focused on her treatment plan.

“I woke up alone this morning.”

She squinted her eyes shut. She was kind of hoping he’d want to avoid the topic. Obviously not.

“Yes. I woke early and didn’t want to disturb you.”

He came over to the dining room table and sat across from her. “It was warm in the bed. We could have taken up where we left off last night.”

Her nipples tightened, her body all over that idea. It was still early. The bed was probably still warm.

No. She wasn’t going there. They weren’t going there, and it was best she suck it up and have this discussion with him now. She lifted her gaze to his. “You know that’s not a good idea.”

He grinned. “Since when is sex not a good idea?”

“Are you really going to make me be the bad guy here?”

He finished off his juice and set it on the table. “I guess I am. Because I don’t see anything wrong with what we did last night. Or with continuing it today. We both had fun. Nobody got hurt.” He moved his arm around. “Even my shoulder survived.”

She resisted the urge to smile. “It’s not a good idea. Your primary goal is pitching. Not having a sexual relationship with your therapist.”

But he did smile. “Oooh, you make it sound dirty when you say it that way.”

She rolled her eyes and stood, then headed into the kitchen to make breakfast. Garrett disappeared, which allowed her to exhale and get her riotous libido under control. She might have mentally resolved that she wasn’t going to have sex with him again, but her body hadn’t yet come to grips with that decision. So it was going to take a little time and probably more than a little mental fortitude.