I tipped back a bottle of Miller and closed my eyes, blocking out the lights and the crowd in the club and wishing everything was different. The band was decent enough. Desolate Sun usually was, but I just wasn’t in the mood to be social. I might not ever be in the mood again.

Academic probation. Two words that really shouldn’t ever be together. I’d certainly never wanted to hear them in the same sentence. But I had that afternoon. Academic probation meant no baseball. No baseball meant no scholarship. No scholarship meant I was fucked. I tipped the bottle back one more time.

“Whoa, whoa.” A hand clapped me on the back, and then Mike Willett, our first baseman, dropped into the seat across from me at the dingy little table. “Don’t get too far ahead of me.”

I snorted at the absurdity of that statement. There wasn’t anyone I was getting too far ahead of, not anywhere it mattered. “You don’t have to babysit me, Mike. I’m not gonna throw myself from the bell tower or anything.”

He stared at me like I’d lost my mind for saying something like that.

I was on academic probation with a shit GPA, and I was dyslexic. But I wasn’t stupid. “I know Coach wants you keep an eye on me.”

“I don’t mind, I just…” Willett breathed out a breath and shrugged. “Well, I just don’t know how I’m supposed to help you, Nate.”

I laughed even though I didn’t feel like laughing. “If you ever figure that out, you’ll far surpass every teacher and every counselor I’ve ever had.”

He shook his head. “You’re just always studying. It’s not like I can have a talk with you, get you buckle down and put school first. You already do that.”

I’d always done that with the same results. “You know how many major leaguers have a college degree?”

“Twenty percent?” he guessed, before taking a drink from his own bottle.

“Four point three.” I frowned. “You know what percentage of draft picks end up in the majors?”

“Twenty percent?” He grinned.

He was closer that time. “Seventeen. Essentially one in six. But not all of us will get drafted. Now I’m a good catcher— “

“You’re a great catcher.”

“I’m good,” I said again. “If I was great, if I was better than everyone else out there, that four point three percent wouldn’t bother me.” I shook my head. “But I’m not better than everyone else out there. And the odds are not in my favor, Mike.”

“Well, now you’ve got me depressed.” He took another swig of his beer.

“I have a high IQ,” I told him, and I held up my thumb and forefinger. “This close to genius, believe it or not. But my grades have always been shit. Probably shoulda picked a different school. Hindsight.” I blew out a breath. I’d always known that very few of us had any sort of real shot at the majors, and if Wheston University was gonna let me play ball and give me a degree that was gonna mean something to me later on in life in the process…Well, a degree from Wheston was better than a degree from ninety percent of the other schools out there. So I’d jumped at the opportunity, swore to myself that it would be different in college. I would study morning, noon, and night. And I’d done that, but I was still fucked.

And the last thing I wanted to do was go home to Texas, my tail between my legs, and work for the same chicken company my dad had all his life. But that’s what it was looking like.

Mike frowned at me. “Did you know my dad was the head of the medical school?”

“Yeah.” I’d heard that. Mike’s dad had been killed on some kind of trip for the university several years ago. Something like that. I wasn’t gonna ask for details.

“He always said talking to your professors was the best thing to do. You gotta appeal to their human side. They’re people too at the end of the day.”

I nodded. “Uh, yeah, when you’re dyslexic you’ve had those conversations your whole academic career.” And, honestly, most teachers, most professors were pretty understanding, but… “Professor Giraud does not give a shit. Told me he was tired of incompetent student athletes looking for a pass and he wasn’t giving one out this time. So I either ace the final at the end of the term or no baseball for me.”

And I’d never aced a test in my life, not one time. I knew the material. I knew it backward and forward, but me knowing it and me getting it down on paper were two very different things. God, what I wouldn’t give to be fucking normal. I took another swig.

“20th Century History, right?” he asked. “You want me to help you study?”

Studying was not the problem. Mike Willett was a good guy even if he didn’t understand shit about what it meant to be in my mind. “I’ve never aced a test, Mike. It’s not gonna happen.”

“You can’t think that way.” He shook his head. “You’re doomed if you think that way.”

“Don’t give me that positive thinking bullshit, ‘cause I’m not buying.” I pushed out of my chair and scanned the crowd. There was a sexy blonde on the other side of the club. I’d noticed her when she’d first walked into The Keep, and she caught my interest once again. Shoulder length hair, pretty lips and a tiny dress that barely touched her thighs.

“So what are you gonna do?” Mike asked.

I was gonna do the one thing that would put a smile on my face. “I’m gonna get laid.” And I was gonna do it while I still had the prestige of being Wheston’s catcher.

Mike laughed. “Yeah, ok. Just stay away from the bass player’s girlfriend.”

What? I dragged my eyes from the blonde to our first baseman “The bass player’s girlfriend?”

He grinned. “My sister. “ Then he shrugged. “The bass player’s a dick. You don’t wanna mess with him.”

I did not want any drama, just a little break from all the bullshit swirling around my life. I nodded toward the sexy blonde. “That girl over there?”

Mike shook his head. “Not my sister. Go for it.”

Daniel hadn’t noticed me. I’d even walked right in front of the stage and he still hadn’t seen me. The drummer saw me. Of course, Cade always looked at every girl in the room like we were some sort of sport he was trying to get a gold medal in. But my keyboardist was focused on the music, like he always was, even when he wasn’t playing.

Not that he was really my keyboardist. One kiss a few weeks ago did not make him mine, no matter how much I’d like for him to be. I wasn’t sure how to get his attention. So I’d borrowed my roommate Molly’s too-short dress tonight, because I did have nice legs, and I even let her do my makeup. I’d barely recognized myself in the mirror before I left the dorms.

The band was covering Get Lucky and they sounded great. I could listen to them all night. Or maybe I could just watch him all night. There was such an intensity about Daniel. Like he wasn’t playing the music, like it was part of him. And that was incredibly sexy, being so driven and determined…

“Hey,” came a deep voice from my side. Low, and rumbling with a charming southern twang.

I glanced over my shoulder to stare at the guy’s chest. Then I tipped my head back to look up at him. Damn. He was tall with broad shoulders and light brown hair and…

And I knew him. He was that jock in my history class. That guy on the baseball team. The handsome, serious one who never talked to anyone. Though he was taking to me now. “Uh-hey,” I said in return.

“Nate.” He gestured to himself.

Yeah, I knew that. “You’re in my history class,” I said and then added, “Brynne,” since he clearly had no idea who I was.

His hazel eyes, brown with some golden flecks, narrowed slightly on me, and he shook his head. “There aren’t any girls who look like you in my history class.”

Except I didn’t look like me tonight. I wasn’t trying to catch Daniel Fox’s attention in my history class. Daniel Fox wasn’t in my history class. “20th Century. Giraud. Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Eight o’clock. You usually sit in the front row.”

“Brynne?” he said my name like he was trying to figure out if he’d ever heard it before. He took a step back from me and looked me up and down, then he shook his head again like he still didn’t believe me.

I wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or not. But I nodded and added, “Brynne Wright. I loaned you a pencil the first week of school.”

“Well, Brynne Wright.” He shot me a charming smile. “The last thing I want to think about tonight is that class. You want something to drink?”

Shit. Was he hitting on me? The seriously, sexy baseball player? I had not expected that when I walked into The Keep tonight. I wasn’t even sure what I thought about it. Nate Carey had come out of nowhere and blindsided me.

“Sure. I’ll take a coke.”

His brow scrunched up a little. “Nothing in it?”

I lifted up my left wrist to show him the underage band they’d given me at the door. “What? You trying to get me thrown out of here?”

His hazel eyes twinkled under the lights as he said, “Well, no one’s checking IDs in my apartment.”

Uh-huh. Definitely hitting on me. But I didn’t move that fast. Besides, who knew what he had back in his apartment. A drawer full of roofies, cuffs, chains? “I don’t really know you that well, Nate. Probably safer for me to stay right here.”

“Well—” he frowned slightly “—I’ve got a table over there if you want to get to know me better.”

That I could do. Might figure out if I liked him or not. And maybe Daniel Fox might notice that some sexy baseball player was interested in me. That might finally get my keyboardist’s attention.

She smelled amazing. Like jasmine or something. Givenchy, I was pretty sure. Brynne. I would’ve sworn to God I’d never seen her before in my life. She walked toward the table where Mike Willett was still sitting, and my eyes dropped to the perfectly rounded little ass that her dress was barely covering. I was pretty sure I’d have remembered that ass. I was pretty sure I’d have remembered her face. She was really pretty. I’m not that fucking blind, am I?

And what were the odds she was in my fucking history class? There were 30,000 students at Wheston and about 50 in my history class. So less than half a percent chance. I had better odds making the majors. The whole baseball team did.

“Mike, Brynne,” I said in way of introduction once we reached the table.

“Hi.” Mike smiled at her.

“Hi.” She slid into the chair that had been mine.

I rested my hands on the back of her chair and she looked up at me over her shoulder. “A coke?” I asked, and when she nodded, I caught Mike’s eyes. “Another beer?”

“Why not? I’m not driving.”

“Ok.”

I went for the bar, ordered two beers and a coke, and then came back to the table to find Andre Williams and Chase Breckenridge, our centerfielder and our best pitcher, occupying the two other seats at our table. What the fuck? I’d been gone less than five minutes.

I handed Brynne her coke and then looked at Breckenridge with an expression that basically told him to get the fuck out of my chair, especially considering the way he was looking at Brynne’s tits. I hadn’t brought her over to our table to have Chase try to steal her away from me.

“Oh, sorry, man,” he said, scrambling to his feet.

“Me too,” Andre said, shaking his head. “Tough break, Nate. But the season hasn’t started yet. You can get off probation before we start playing.”

I wanted to punch him in the nose for saying that in front of her. I was trying to get her into bed, and he was exposing my failings right in front of her. What the hell was wrong with him? “Not talking about any of that tonight, Williams.” And that was the only hint he was gonna get before I crashed my fist into his face.

Brynne looked at me out of the corner of her eye, but I pretended like I didn’t notice as I slid Mike’s beer to him. Then I sat back and tipped my bottle back too.

“Oh, I love this song,” Chase said, bobbing his head a little as he started for the crowd. “See ya later.”

“Stay away from the bass player’s girlfriend,” Mike called after him.

“Not touching your sister, Mike,” Chase called back before disappearing into the crowd.

Andre chuckled to himself. This must be a running thing I’d somehow missed.

“Is Leah your sister?” Brynne glanced in Mike’s direction.

“You know my sister?’

“Barely.” She shrugged. “I’m a big fan of the band. I’ve talked to her a couple times at these things. She seems really nice.”

“She is that,” he said.

Which was saying something. I wouldn’t call my sister nice on her best day.

“So how do you know Nate?” Andre asked, leaning back in his chair, his eyes leveled on Brynne.

She sent half a smile my direction. “We’re in the same history class.”

I still wasn’t a hundred percent sold on that, but I nodded in agreement anyway.

“She’s in your history class.” Andre laughed. “No wonder you’re not passing.”

I was out of my chair before I could stop myself, and I would have grabbed the centerfielder by the throat if Mike Willett hadn’t jumped in between us. “Back down, Carey,” he said to me. “You don’t need any disciplinary issues right now.”

Which was true, but I was still seeing red. My life was going down the drain and I didn’t need a teammate mocking me over it.

Mike pushed Andre away from the table. “Hey, why don’t we go take a walk outside, Andre?”

The centerfielder glared at me but then nodded toward the first baseman. “Yeah, ok.”

As the two of them made their way to The Keep’s exit, I released a frustrated breath. And then I realized Brynne had seen that whole thing. I winced a bit in her direction. Her green eyes were rounded in surprise as she blinked up at me.

Fuck. If she took off running without a look back, I wouldn’t blame her. I probably looked like a fucking psychopath.

“I’m, uh, sorry about that,” I grumbled as I dropped back into my seat.

Her pretty brow furrowed and she said, “Yeah, well, it was nice talking to you, Nate.”

Meaning she was gonna run the other way as fast as she could. Shit.

“Don’t leave, Brynne,” I said, leaning closer toward her, touching my finger to the back of her hand. “It’s been a shitty day, and you’re the first thing that’s made me smile.”

“Sorry.” Her eyes softened a bit, and she leaned closer to me. “Is there anything I can do?”

Oh, yeah. She could slide out of that tiny dress and let me fuck her until I forgot everything that was going wrong in my life. “Just hang out for a while. Tell me something to distract me.”

When she smiled at me, it was the first bit of peace I’d experienced all day, ever since I was called to Coach’s office and informed of my midterm history grade.

“I don’t know the first thing about baseball,” she said. “You wanna explain it to me?”

“Nope.” That was just gonna remind me of the shitty situation I was in. “Tell me about you. Where you from? What’s your major?”

“Ok.” Her green eyes twinkled slightly under the club’s lights. I’m from Scottsdale. Right now I’m undeclared, but it’ll probably be English.”

I shook my head. “You don’t like to eat?”

“What?” She frowned.

“It’s just statistically one of the worst majors you can have. If you like eating, you might want to pick something more in demand in the marketplace.”

Her frown only deepened. “Well, I want to be an author. So…”

“So write,” I said. “You don’t have to be an English major to be an author. David Baldacci went to law school. So did John Grisham.”

“So I should go to law school if I want to be an author?” Her frown disappeared only to be replaced by an amused expression.

“Doesn’t have to be law school,” I said. “Just, you know, something with better prospects than English to put food on the table until you’re a New York Times bestseller.”

“Uh-huh.” She looked me right in the eyes and I could tell she liked me. Maybe it was the way her pupils dialed. Maybe it was the way she seemed slightly out of breath or maybe it was the fact that the vein in her neck was pulsing like mad all of a sudden. I wasn’t really sure, I was just relieved that she did. “And what is your major, Nate?”

“Business,” I replied. “Still the most in demand major out there. You gotta put the odds a little bit in your favor, you know?”

“Yeah, I’ll keep that in mind,” she said, but she didn’t mean it. I could hear it in her voice, not that I cared. As long as she kept smiling at me, I didn’t care about much else. “You’re from Texas, right?”

“Yeah.” I narrowed my eyes on her. “My accent that distinctive?”

She laughed. “You have a nice accent. But I think you said something in class about being from the oldest town in Texas or something.”

“Nacogdoches.” I nodded. While Texas had six flags fly over her, Nacogdoches had nine, and my family had been there since the 1820s. “You been there?”

She shook her head. “The only time I’ve been in Texas, we were changing planes in Dallas/Ft. Worth. I don’t think that counts.”

“Nope,” I said. “Not even close.”

“Hey.” A thin brunette grabbed the back of Brynne’s chair, looking down at my blonde like she knew her really well. “Aimee wants to head over Duke’s. You ready to go?”

Shit. She was just starting to like me. I brushed my fingers across the back of her hand once again. “You’re not gonna leave me now, are you?”

Brynne looked from me to the brunette and back again. “Molly’s my ride.”

Was that all? I flashed her my best Texas grin, the one I hoped was charming. “Honey, I can take you home when you’re ready to go.”

Her brow lifted at that. “Yeah, I need to go to my own home, Nate.”

“Cross my heart,” I said. “Whenever you’re ready, just say the word.”

The brunette frowned in my direction. “You know this guy?”

“Nate Carey,” Brynne said. “He’s in my history class.”

“Oh.” The brunette’s brow lifted like that meant I was trustworthy or something. “Well, do you mind if we leave you, then? Aimee’s got a headache and Duke’s is a little quieter.”

Brynne cast me a sidelong glance and bit her bottom lip. “You’ll take me home? You’re sure I won’t put you out or anything?”

My luck was turning around. I shook my head. “No problem at all.” If I was really lucky, we’d make a detour to my apartment first.

“Ok.” She smiled at me. Then she looked at her friend. “I’ll just see you back in the room, then.”

“Ok.” The brunette looked me over one last time, as if she was trying to record my image to her memory, just in case the cops needed a sketch artist. Then she started back toward the exit where another blonde was waiting for her.

“Your best friend or something?” I asked.

“Roommate.” Brynne shrugged. “But I like her well enough.”

“She seems suspicious.”

She laughed. “Maybe she’s just suspicious of smooth-talking Texans.”

I pretended to be hurt by that. “Just smooth-talking? Not gorgeous or sexy?”

She laughed again. “Maybe she’s suspicious of gorgeous and sexy Texans?”

“I like the way you say that,” I teased. “Has a much better ring.”

“Uh-huh.” Her eyes did that twinkling thing again like she really thought I was charming. “I had no idea you were so confident, Nate.”

And I wasn’t. It was all an act. But the best advice my brother-in-law ever gave me was ‘The sexiest thing a woman finds in a man is his confidence. So if you don’t have it, fake it or you’ll never get laid.’ And it hadn’t failed me yet. “Honey, when you’ve got ninety mile an hour fastballs headed straight for your face every day, you better be confident.”

She brushed her fingers along the back of my knuckles this time, and my dick stiffened from her touch. “I thought you didn’t want to talk baseball,” she said.

“I don’t. I want to talk you. I want you to tell me everything. What do you wanna write?”

Wow, he had a nice voice, just the right tone to send my pulse racing. And he was so charming. Full of shit…I mean, with the way he’d been looking at me all night, I knew he just wanted to take me home and throw me into his bed. But he was still charming. And right then, I was ok with the idea of being thrown into his bed.

He was sexy. And even if it was just for the night, it might be a night I’d never forget. But maybe it wasn’t just for the night. Maybe he really did like me beyond Molly’s dress and makeup. Didn’t I owe it myself to find out? I’d been trying so hard to get Daniel’s attention for so long, who knew how many other guys, guys who might really like me, I’d never even noticed? I’d never really noticed Nate before tonight, not beyond knowing who he was. And, honestly, I’d have never in a million years thought I had a shot with a guy like him. Tall, sexy, athletic…He was the most handsome guy I’d met at school, maybe anywhere.

His hazel eyes zeroed in on me as he slid his fingers through mine, to hold my hand. Wow, he had big hands. I mean they fit his stature, but my hand looked like a kid’s next to his. His thumb caressed the inside of my palm and lust shot right through me.

“You don’t wanna tell me?” he asked.

Tell him what? What had I missed? Damn, I was so distracted. I might not even know my own name if someone asked me. “Huh?”

“What you wanna write. You don’t wanna tell me?”

Oh. I shook my head. No, I didn’t want to tell him that, actually. “I haven’t ever told anyone.” Other than my mom and that hadn’t gone over so well.

That only piqued his interest, however, as his brow shot upward. “Well, now you’ll make me wonder all night what it is.”

I shrugged. “That’s only fair. You’re making me wonder about all sorts of things too.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Why you almost knocked your friend’s head off. What’s going on with your history grade. And why you don’t want to talk about baseball, when that’s what you do.”

“Figured it out. You want to be an investigative reporter,” he teased, his gaze holding mine like maybe nothing ever had before.

I shook my head. “Nice try.”

The song ended just then, and it must have been the end of the set because the guitarist hopped from the stage and the bass player wasn’t far behind him. I couldn’t help glancing in Daniel’s direction. He was still sitting at his keyboard, adjusting something, still not paying me or anyone else the least bit of attention.

If he was gonna notice me, wouldn’t he have done so by now? And if he wasn’t ever going to notice me, why should I wait around for that to happen?

“You want to write poetry,” Nate guessed again.

“Nope,” I said, returning my attention to him. “I’m a horrible poet.”

He moved closer to me, looking me over like the answer might be written across me somewhere. “You don’t look like a science fiction girl, so—”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “What does a science fiction girl look like?”

“Not you,” he said and his hazel eyes twinkled a bit as he did so. “Will you tell me if I guess right?”

And ruin all the fun of his guessing? Of his attention focused solely on me? I shook my head. “I don’t wanna tell anyone.”

The tip of his thumb caressed my wrist. “What if I tell you about my history grade? Even trade.”

An even trade. One secret for another. “Ok,” I said. “But you go first.”

He took a breath and tightened his hold on my hand. “Failed the midterm and that’s put me academic probation.”

Oh. That wasn’t good. I’d actually gotten an A on mine. “I’m sorry,” I said.

“Means I can’t play ball.” He blew out a breath. “Kinda the end of my life if I can’t fix things.”

“Shit,” I breathed out.

“Yeah.” A self-deprecating smile settled on his face. “So your turn. What do you want to write, Brynne?”

Shit. I really didn’t want to tell him. I didn’t want to tell anyone, not and see the same look in their eyes as I did my mom’s when I’d told her. “Romance,” I mumbled under my breath, hoping he hadn’t heard me but that I’d still technically fulfilled my end of the bargain.

His brow furrowed. “What was that?”

“Nothing,” I added quickly and pushed to my feet. “Think I’ll just grab another coke.”

“Not so fast, honey.” He still had my hand in his, and he tugged me onto his lap.

I sucked in a breath as his lips were a hairsbreadth away from mine. “Nate,” I whispered.

“Did you say romance?” he asked, that deep voice of his reverberated through me, leaving heat in its wake.

I swallowed nervously. What was I doing? I pushed back slightly from him, so I could see him better. “You know, I do pretty good in history. I could help you, if you want.”

His gaze was on my lips. “You wanna help me?”

I did want, if I could. I mean, we could study together, and I could maybe help him pull up his grade. “Yeah.”

“Then help me forget, Brynne. That’s what I need right now.” And then he slid his arms around me, making heat course through me, making my pussy throb in response. Nate pressed his lips to mine, and my eyes fluttered closed.

I didn’t hear the crowd around us. I couldn’t even get my thoughts in order, not when his tongue swept into my mouth and every thought I’d ever had evaporated into thin air.

He tasted like beer, salty peanuts and all male strength.

God, he was strong, every part of him. His chest beneath my fingertips, his arms wrapped around me and his legs under mine, like he was hard as iron everywhere. My fingers trailed up his chest and settled on his broad shoulders, and I kissed him back, just as passionately as he was kissing me.

Nate groaned against my lips and I felt it course through me. And then his hand was on my leg, sliding beneath my dress. His fingers edging their way under the thin, elastic strip of my panties, and…

Shit. We were in public. I pushed against his chest and shook my head. “Not here,” I whispered.

A slow smile spread across his face. “Where?”

“You have an apartment?” He’d mentioned it, hadn’t he? Molly wouldn’t be in our room, but I certainly couldn’t sneak him into the girls’ dorms this late.

“Yep.” He looked back at my lips and licked his. “Let’s go.” Then he lifted me back to my feet and pushed out of his chair. His hand was at the small of my back, guiding me through the crowd toward the exit.

And then we were outside the club. Nate took my hand and led me though the parking lot toward a blue Ford F-150. Hmm. He did seem like a pickup guy now that I thought about it. Maybe it was the Texas thing.

“Door’s unlocked.” He gestured to the cab.

“Uh-huh,” I said. “Gimme your keys, Nate.”

His hazel eyes nearly seared me from the intensity of his gaze. “I’m fine.”

He’d had at least two beers. “You get a DUI, you’ll be a lot less fine. Gimme your keys.”

He reached into his front pocket and pulled out a small set of keys, lifting them out toward me. “You know how to drive a stick?”

“Learned on my grandpa’s Sierra.”

That made him smile and he dropped the keys in my hands. “You know where The Cheshire is? Off Prince?”

“Yeah,” I said, as I rounded the cab to the driver’s side. “I’ve got a friend over there.” Though that wasn’t entirely true. John wasn’t really a friend anymore, if he ever had been. But I knew where the complex was.

I climbed up into the cab and adjusted the driver’s seat so I could actually touch the pedals and then realized Nate was laughing at me from the other seat.

“You gotta remember to move that back or it’ll take off my legs when I try to get in tomorrow.”

It probably would, he was so tall. I only smiled in response as I started the car and shifted into first.

I pulled out of The Keep and onto Drury Lane. “The Cheshire has nice apartments.” They were more expensive than my mom and stepdad could afford, which was why I was spending my second year in the dorms.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “They’ve worked out a deal with the school for a lot of the athletes. Scholarship covers most of it.”

“Roommate?” I asked, kinda worried all of a sudden about who might be waiting for us when we walked through his door.

“Dave Brady. Left fielder.”

Shit. “Is he home?” My voice squeaked a little. I was more than nervous now. It was one thing to go back to Nate’s apartment. Another for anyone else to know about it. And I didn’t even want to think about what anyone saw back at The Keep.

“Spends every weekend at his girlfriend’s.” From the corner of my eye, I saw him smile. “So, you’re all mine, honey. Nothing to worry about.”

I turned onto Prince, my heart pounding in my throat. What was I doing? Going home with a guy I barely knew, that’s what. And I really wanted to sleep with him.

His touch set me on fire and his kiss was like no one else’s. And I wanted him. I really, really did. I wanted his hand on my leg again, and I wanted his fingers under my panties, and I was pretty sure I wanted him buried deep inside me.

“Right there on the left,” he said, bringing me back to the present.

“Yeah, I see it.” I turned into The Cheshire complex and Nate directed me to his parking spot.

I’d never had a one-night stand before. And I was pretty sure that’s what this was…But I really hoped I was wrong. Please let it be more than that.

Shit. She was nervous. Her fingers trembled just a bit as she pulled my keys from the ignition and handed them back to me, and for a minute I thought she might decide not to get out of the cab at all. So, I hopped out of the passenger seat, navigated the front of my truck and opened the driver’s door.

I held out my hand for her to take and then helped her down from the cab. She was still trembling a little, so I tipped her chin upward and stared down into her pretty green eyes. “Brynne honey, you’re so beautiful.”

Her eyes softened, and I dipped my head down and brushed my lips against hers. A soft sigh escaped her, her hands slid around my neck, and my dick stiffened even more.

I deepened our kiss and cupped one of her breasts, feeling the weight of her in my hand. God, she felt great. Now my dick was really hard. I kneaded her, squeezing, smoothing my hand over her before starting all over again.

“Nate,” she rasped against my lips. “Can’t we go inside?”

Inside was exactly where I wanted to be. I lifted my head, flashed her that smile that had worked so well in the club and took her hand in mine. “I’m just right there.” I nodded toward my ground floor apartment as I led her to my door.

She came willingly now, eager even, and I couldn’t have been more relieved. If she’d wanted to go home instead of coming in, it might have killed me.

I turned the key in my door and then pushed it open for her to step inside. “The light’s right there on the wall,” I said.

She flipped it on as I shut the door behind us.

“Uh, you gotta take off your shoes.” I nibbled on the side of her neck. “Dave’s rule. He’s kind of a prick about it.”

“Yeah. My step-dad is too,” she said as she bent down and unstrapped one heel.

Fuck. Her ass was to die for. It took everything I had not to reach out and grab it with both hands and press my erection right against her. I kicked out of my sneakers as she unhooked her second heel, then she rose back to her full height, which was a lot less full with the heels off.

“And, uh, you gotta take off your panties too,” I said, smiling just slightly.

“Dave’s rule?” she asked.

“No.” I shook my head. “Nate’s rule. Kind of a prick about it.”

“Uh-huh.” She met my gaze and her green eyes twinkled in a way that really made my dick twitch. Brynne slid her hands up under her dress and then rolled a pair of hot pink lace panties down her thighs before stepping out of them. Then she held them up for my inspection. “Happy?”

“Never happier,” I growled before scooping her up in my arms and making a direct path to my bedroom. Brynne squealed in surprise as her purse flew off her arm in the process, but I didn’t give it a second thought.

She linked her arm around my neck. “And what about you?”

“I don’t wear panties,” I said as I laid her in the middle of my bed and loomed over her, inhaling that intoxicating scent of hers. “Boxer-briefs. No rule against those.” And then I kissed her like I had back at the club. My tongue slid between her lips, and this time, when I reached for her pussy, she didn’t stop me.

I splayed my hand across her belly and pressed the tip of my thumb against her heat. Shit, she was practically dripping, and I was still fully dressed. I might need to rethink a no boxer-briefs rule.

I pulled back from her to impatiently unbutton my shirt. And when her pretty green eyes met mine, I’d have been just as happy to rip the buttons from the shirt all together just to get the damn thing off. But then Brynne’s delicate fingers landed on my chest and she slid button after button through my shirt holes until the whole thing opened at the middle.

Her fingers touched my chest, lightly exploring and driving me fucking crazy. I quickly started in on the button on my jeans.

Oh my God, he was gorgeous. I’d never touched an athlete’s chest before and Nate’s was magnificent. Rippled muscles and six-pack abs. I wished I was half as toned as he was. He must spend every day in the gym.

“Honey,” he said softly, “you’re gonna need to take off that dress unless you want me to ruin it.”

Molly wouldn’t thank me for that. I lifted slightly from the bed to slide the edge of the dress out from under me. And then I pulled the whole thing over my head and tossed it over the side of Nate’s bed.

“No bra?” His gaze rake over my peaked nipples as he tossed his jeans across the room.

“Didn’t work with the dress,” I breathed out.

“God, I love that dress,” he said as he slid his underwear down his legs. “And those nipples. I really love your nipples, honey. They’re perfect.”

He licked his lips before capturing one of my nipples in his mouth. I sucked in a breath as heat flooded me and his hand found my other straining nipple, which he rolled between his thumb and index finger to really drive me crazy.

“N-Nate,” I whimpered.

But he didn’t stop. He flicked his tongue over me and nipped at my very tip until I was squirming beneath him, needing more, needing him inside me.

Nate lifted his head and grinned down at me, looking more handsome than ever. Shit. All of him was as muscled as his chest. His arms, his shoulders…I couldn’t see anything lower than that, but I really wanted to.

Nate shrugged out of his unbuttoned shirt, tossed it onto the floor and pulled out a condom from his bedside table in one sweeping motion. He was really good at that. He probably had a lot of practice. And that made me pause just for a moment.

Was I really going to do this? Sleep with some guy I barely knew, no matter how wet he got me?

And then he kissed me, dropping the condom on the bed beside me. The weight of him pressed me into his mattress and all rational thoughts fled my mind. All I could think about was Nate’s naked chest pressed against my breasts…Well, that and his dick pressed against my legs. I hadn’t seen it, but I could definitely feel it. And I really wanted it inside me.

He pulled back slightly from me. “That dress. You drove me nuts all night. I just kept hoping for a peek at your pussy, honey. Open your legs for me, ok?”

“O-ok,” I whispered. And then I let my legs fall apart.

Nate pushed to his knees and settled himself between my legs. Then he spread my legs wider and smiled like he really liked what he saw.

“Just a little closer,” he said as he hooked my left leg over his shoulder and brushed a finger across my clit. Shit, I could hardly breath.

Nate licked his lips as his thumbs held me open for his view. “Mmm.” His deep voice rumbled over my exposed flesh. “Such a pretty pussy.”

Then his hazel gaze trailed up my body, stopping at my breasts.

“Pinch those pretty nipples for me, honey. I want to see you come.”

And I wanted to come. There was nothing more I wanted in the world in that moment than to come for him. Obediently, I pulled at my nipples, tweaking and twisting as he moaned with approval.

God, my core pulsed with him still holding me open, and then one of his large fingers prodded at my entrance. He only pushed in a little bit before pulling back. The he went a little further, slowly fucking me with his finger until I let out a whimper.

“Nice and wet. So pretty.” He lifted my ass off the bed, bringing me closer to his mouth. And then he licked his tongue across me.

“N-Nate!” I barely breathed out. I could barely think.

“That’s it, honey,” he cooed. He hooked my right leg over his other shoulder too, and then he buried his mouth against my core. His tongue pressed inside me, then flicked against my clit, only to start the process all over again until I was pressing myself shamelessly against his mouth, needing more, needing everything he was giving me, but still needing more.

I twisted my nipples, matching the rhythm of his tongue. God, I was going to come. I was going to…

A scream was wrenched from me and my hands fell from my breasts to clutch his sheets as one wave of release after another crashed over me. I could only pant as I tried to catch my breath.

And then Nate rose up between my legs. He grabbed the condom from the bed and tore open the wrapper. He rolled the thin latex over his very large erection, though his gaze never left me. God, he was big, I hadn’t realized how big until he was right there before me like that.

“You want this?” he asked, pressing just the tip of him against my clit.

Oh, God, I wanted it. I nodded, unable to find my voice to respond.

My breath caught in my throat as he grasped my waist with both hands, lifting my ass off the bed one more time. “Wrap your legs around me,” he said.

And I wrapped my legs around him, never wanting to let him go.

Nate slowly pushed inside me, stretching me wide until my pulsing core swallowed all of him. I had never been filled so fully.

“Now touch your clit for me,” he grunted.

So I circled my clit as he pulled back before thrusting inside me once more. I worked my fingers faster, more urgently against my flesh.

“I want you to come for me again, honey.” That deep voice of his reverberated through me and I nodded once more. I wanted that too. I wanted it like nothing else. “Come right on my cock, ok?”

“Yes,” I breathed out.

“Good girl,” he said as my muscles tightened around him. “Just like that, honey,” he said, clenching his jaw. “That’s good. Keep holding me just like that.”

God, she had the sweetest pussy. It was fucking perfect. My balls tightened and I was so close. So very close to the release I’d needed all day. Her muscles clenched around me, and I bucked inside her. My hands held her waist and I guided her body to take me, to take each of my thrusts, every inch of me, harder and faster than before.

Brynne whimpered and her head fell back as her channel tightened again, then convulsed around me as she came.

God, she was fucking gorgeous when she came. Her pink cheeks, her peaked nipples, her pretty green eyes, which opened to hold my gaze.

I growled low in my throat as a stream of hot seed spurted from my cock. My hands tightened on her waist and I held her there until I finished, until every drop had been wrung from my balls.

Then I collapsed beside her, and dragged her on top of me. Her breasts pressed against my chest and I could have held her like that forever.

She nuzzled against my neck and kissed me there. “That was amazing, Nate,” she breathed out.

It was amazing. God, I’d needed that. I’d needed her.

I caressed the globes of her ass with my hands. And if she hadn’t just drained my cock so completely, I’d have fucked her again. “Brynne honey, you’re amazing,” I said as my breathing became less labored and sleep threatened to take me.