Happily Ever All-Star: A Secret Baby Romance - Sosie Frost Page 0,218

leafed through the binder.

The book was a holy grail of defensive strategies and routes. Every movement, every blitz, every one of our coverages was contained within that book, meticulously sorted and organized and annotated by the team, coaches, and myself.

Piper stared at the page. The arrows, X’s, O’s, and terminology would be as indecipherable to her as if it were written in Mandarin. That made it cuter when she furrowed her brow and pretended to study the contents.

“As my agent…” I let the word linger, savoring her distaste. “You should know the answer to this. If you get it right, you can help me pack for the trade to the Ironfield Rivets.”

“Go ahead.”

“Point to the position where I play.” I smiled as her expression fell. “Point to the circle that represents me in any one of those formations. If you want me to be traded, all you gotta do is show me where I line up before the snap.”

She didn’t answer.

“Come on, beautiful. You have a one in an eleven shot.”

The binder snapped shut. She threw it on the table, hands on her hips.

“I didn’t bring a swim suit.”

Six words a man would die to hear.

“We had a deal,” I said.

“I’m not skinny-dipping.”

“You’ve seen me naked. Fair is fair.” I crossed my arms behind my head. “We’re both adults.”

“Could have fooled me.” She shifted her weight. “Can I trust you?”

I laughed. “Not sure what you’re worried about. You’re the one who kissed me.”

“I did not!”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night…” I grinned. “Especially thoughts of me.”

“Unbelievable.”

She grabbed the towel from the floor and headed for the gazebo. A tug on the curtains afforded her a moment of privacy. She emerged a few moments later, the material wrapped snug around her curves.

Like she was determined to make every drop of blood pool in my cock.

Piper approached the hot tub. Her dark skin ached for more than the caress of the water. She delicately shifted over the edge, sinking into the heat and removing the towel just before it soaked in the tub. She fluttered it at my head to make me duck, and she slipped beneath the ripples.

Hidden.

Piper gave a timid moan, her eyes fluttering shut as the warmth overwhelmed her.

“And you put up a fight,” I teased.

She touched her finger to her lips. “Shh, shh, shh. This feels too nice to be ruined by you.”

Point taken, though now I warmed a little too hot. I stared at the lapping water, tickling the hazelnut softness of her skin. She slid down too far and covered her chest, but I could imagine what waited under the bubbles. She murmured another groan of approval.

“Should I leave you and the jets alone?” I laughed.

She didn’t open her eyes. A dark curl of hair escaped her ponytail. It wetted in the water, and I resisted the urge to tuck it behind her ear.

“I haven’t been in a hot tub before,” she said.

“You’re kidding. My own virgin?”

Her eyebrow arched. “Far from it.”

“Sounds like an interesting story.”

“Not one that you’d want to know.”

I stretched out, not bothering to hide my erection. “You shouldn’t doubt me.”

“Let’s just say, I made a lot of missteps in my life, but I won’t call them mistakes.”

“Why?”

“Because then I wouldn’t have the gifts I have today.”

“That’s what I like to hear,” I said. “If life gives you a hit, you hit it back.”

“Looks like you’ve done enough of that.” She pointed to my chest. “Are you always this black and blue after a game?”

The bruising was nothing new. Battle scars. I wasn’t lounging in a hot tub just to fool around with Piper. I was healing.

“It was a physical game. I played hard and won big.”

“It looked violent.”

I smirked. “You watched?”

She shrugged, revealing too much shoulder for such a modest lady. “Some of it. On and off.”

“What could be more important than watching me?”

Piper scolded me with a playful pout. “God, you have such an ego. Is everything over-inflated on you?”

“You tell me.”

She refused, though her eyes settled over me once more. The muscles. The bruises.

The tattoos.

I got the feeling she liked the ink, even if she’d never admit it.

“You can’t possibly like a game this…” Piper dragged her gaze to mine. “Dangerous.”

“It’s not dangerous.” I ran my tongue along the sharp points of my teeth. “Well…not to me.”

“What about the people you hit?”

“That’s why they make the millions that they do. I hit them, and they reevaluate their bank account before stepping onto the field.”

“And if you hurt them?”

“Part of the