Free Hard Tackle: A Bad Boy Sports Romance by Jessica Ashe Page B

wine, making it look more like a date than a work event. Thank God Tasha’s already left . I could have solved that problem by having this meeting in the office, but I didn’t want to be there any more than he did.
    “Ready to ride me hard all evening?” Barton asked.
    “Do you have to turn everything into sexual innuendo?” I asked. “We’re here to work.”
    “You’re just hearing what you want to hear. I’m warmed up and ready to go. Whatever you give me, I’m going to give you back twice as hard.”
    “We’ll just see about that, mister.”
    I’d spent the last two days talking to Tasha about the interview techniques used by journalists. Some of the top journalists kept their techniques private, like a trade secret, but she told me everything she knew.
    The idea was to start with lots of softball questions to build a rapport, and perhaps lull the target into a false sense of security. Then the real work began.
    “Let’s sit at the table,” I said, moving the Chinese food into the kitchen. I then placed my phone down on the table and opened up an app to record the entire conversation.
    “You’re recording this?” Barton asked.
    “Yep. I want you to remember that every word you say is being recorded. You want this to sound like a casual conversation, but never forget that it isn’t.”
    “Alright, fine with me. I actually like the fact that you record things for posterity. That could be interesting when we finally hit the bedroom together.”
    I sighed. “I now have proof of you hitting on the reporter. Great start.”
    “I didn’t realize we’d started,” Barton protested. “Okay, from now. Go.”
    Barton put on what I assumed was his serious face. It wasn’t one I’d seen before, but I liked it. It was how I imagined him looking at me when he finally thrust himself inside me. A man focused on one thing, and determined to achieve his goals.
    Okay, Kristi, remember that you’re being recorded as well. Get your head in the game .
    I started off with some easy questions about how he’d settled in to the new area, and whether he liked the fans. He gave a smart answer about knowing the reputation of the fans, but still being amazed at the passion and support they showed for their team. It wasn’t original, but it ticked all the right boxes.
    “How is training going?” I asked. “It must be tough now that you’re making the step up to the first team.”
    “The last few weeks have been really hard ,” Barton replied. “I have lots of pent up frustration. I feel like I’m going to explode any minute.”
    Thank God his cock was under the table, because on instinct, I wanted to look down at it like I had done the last time we were together.
    “Doesn’t training help relieve the frustration?” I asked.
    “Training helps, but it’s no consolation for the real thing. When I finally hit the field for real, well, let’s just say it’s going to be messy.”
    ‘I want to come inside your pussy, Kristi.’
    Barton stared at me with an expectant grin while I tried to remember my next question.
    “What happens if you play your former team in the playoffs?” I asked.
    Barton shrugged. “I’ll treat it like any other game.”
    “You’re not worried about retaliation from the offensive lineman after you slept with his wife?”
    “Hey, if he knew what he was doing, she wouldn’t have come to me begging for dick.”
    I dropped my head into my hands and sighed loudly. “Brilliant. You’ve just admitted to screwing a teammate’s wife.”
    “You already knew,” Barton protested.
    “No, I was guessing based on the rumors. You just confirmed it.”
    “Oh. Shit.”
    We kept going, and I tried to ignore the mental image of Barton with the teammate’s wife. I’d seen the pictures of her. She was stunning, and looked that way no matter how and when she was pictured. I could never compete with that. On my absolute best day, when I’d spent hours getting ready, I probably passed for an eight