Free Playing for Keeps by Kate Donovan

stroking his bicep, loving the power, the hardness, the fever-hot skin. Then as he fumbled to pull her blouse up, she did the same with his polo, shoving it up, and then moving her mouth down to lick his rock-hard chest.
    “Damn, Erica,” he growled, pulling off his shirt, then dropping to his knees so he could reach under her skirt, pulling her panties down and tossing them across the room, then looping her left leg around his neck and plastering his mouth—his tongue —between her thighs.
    She was moaning his name now, shocked by the move, and madly in love with its perpetrator. She throbbed desperately, and when he almost had her at the precipice, he stood and shed his jeans. A condom appeared out of nowhere and then he was in her, thrusting, growling her name again and again, swearing and thanking then swearing again, like it was her fault he was coming so quickly.
    But all she cared about was that she was getting there even quicker. Her body grabbed his hard, thick cock in frantic, rhythmic embraces that grew faster, then imploded completely, centered almost to a pinpoint then burgeoning out again, rippling through her while he complained playfully, accusing her of sabotage as his thrusts grew stronger and more delicious until they rocked each other hard, one last, perfect time.
    Then they were still, and she would have slipped to the floor in a giddy heap if he hadn’t kept her pinned in place. Grinning down at her, he insisted, “I knew you’d be fun.”
    She gave a long, satisfied sigh. “I wish we could stay like this forever.”
    “With me inside you? Yeah, I could make that work. Give me a couple of minutes,” he added, “and we’ll go again.”
    She wriggled free, and tried to look serious, but the muscles of her face were just too happy, so she settled for reminding, “You know we can’t. That was our free shot, and you made it count.”
    “Yeah.” He pulled her close again, burying his face in her hair. “Like I said, I’m glad we did this in person. It would have killed me otherwise. I mean, it’s killing me this way too, but at least . . . Damn, just tell me to shut up.”
    “Never.” She sighed. “That’s just what I was thinking too. I’m so glad we did this. And it serves them all right for having such dirty minds.”
    “Yeah. Let’s just hope they start spreading rumors that we did it twice—”
    “Okay, okay.” She laughed and pulled free. “I’d better get going, John. I’ve got a plane to catch.”
    “I’m driving you to the airport. No arguments.”
    “No arguments,” she agreed easily. “As long as you drop me at the curb.”
    “Yeah, I know. We don’t want anyone to see you with me. It’s gonna kill me to watch you walk away, but that’s how it is.”
    “And when we see each other again next week? At the shoot? It’ll be all business. Not just pretending, but for real. Right?”
    “I can do that. For you . Because”—he moved in for another kiss—“you’re the hottest, sweetest girl I’ve even known. And the most talented. I’d never screw that up for you, baby. So just stop me any time.”
    He was hard again, and she couldn’t resist. So she moved her mouth to his ear and whispered, “They probably think we did it twice in that bar.”
    “Yeah, twice.” His tone was dazed, but he managed to produce another condom without delay, and then they said the best good-bye Erica could possibly imagine.
     
    • • •
     
    He still got her to the airport on time, his mood so determined it reminded her of what he’d said about shifting from “goof-off” middle child to big brother so abruptly. It had already been the worst day of his young life, losing not just his hero brother but also his mom. Then suddenly he had a new job, new responsibilities, making it even worse.
    She wondered if maybe, in an odd way, it had helped him deal with the staggering loss. Coach Aaron Spurling had a reputation as the world’s best motivator, beloved by his players as