The Ninth Inning (The Boys of Baseball #1) - J. Sterling Page 0,64

girl. Not even the sight of Logan and his piss-poor attitude fazed me.

The need to be with Christina consumed me like a fire with no help in sight. It raged, devouring everything in its path until there was nothing left to burn. We’d go up in smoke together, our ashes now one, and everyone else could go to hell.

In any other circumstances, I would have considered this moving too fast, but this wasn’t a normal relationship. We had years of history under our belts, and we’d slept together before. More than once. But there had been no post-sex cuddles or sleeping over after it was over. Sex in the past had usually been a wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am type of deal that I suddenly wasn’t very proud of.

Nothing about our situation now was the same as before. And even though it wouldn’t technically be the first time that we shared our bodies with one another, a strange anticipation lingered like it was. Parts of this were completely brand-new. I almost wished we’d never done it before, so I could treat her the way she always deserved to be treated—with care, with reverence, with love.

I balanced the pizza, breadsticks, salad, and wings that I’d brought over in my hands as I pressed the call button, and knowing I was on my way, she buzzed me in. Her front door flew open before I had a chance to kick at it, and she yelped in surprise before taking some of the food out of my grasp.

“Thank you,” I said as I closed the door behind me and followed her toward the kitchen.

“You bought enough to feed us for a week,” she said, looking at the sheer amount of food that covered her countertops.

I wasn’t sure if Lauren would be around, and I had no idea what Lauren ate if she was, so I’d bought a little of everything.

“Uh, you haven’t seen me eat pizza. There won’t be leftovers,” I said, and she let out a nervous giggle.

“Are you hungry now?” she asked as she opened a cupboard, but her eyes were asking me something else entirely. They weren’t talking about the food.

I wondered if she knew how easy she was to read. How every single emotion she felt was written all over her face, no matter what her words said.

I took a step toward her, wrapping my arm around her waist before kissing her senseless. Her body relaxed in my grip, molding against mine.

I pulled away for only a second to say, “I’m hungry for you,” before I continued kissing her and moving us out of the kitchen and in the direction of her bedroom.

If I had expected Christina to hesitate or push me away, I would have been wrong. She practically climbed my body, wrapping her legs around my middle so I had to hold her up by her ass, like she’d been counting down the seconds for this moment to happen.

“Lauren’s not here,” she admitted once we reached her doorway, and I kicked off my shoes without breaking contact.

“Good,” I breathed against her, my mouth fused to hers once more as I walked through, closed the door behind us, and deposited her on top of the bed.

She scooted back, giving me room to join her, but I could tell something was on her mind. I climbed on top of the bed, my body hovering over hers, and she looked so vulnerable, so trusting.

“What’s the matter?” I asked as her hand snaked around my neck, and she pulled me down.

Her tongue found mine as she teased, nipping at my bottom lip before kissing me deep. She was trying to distract me.

“Christina,” I said, my breaths labored. “Is it too soon?”

“No. It’s not that,” she said, but her voice was soft, hiding something.

“What is it?” I asked as I rolled off of her but still stayed close. She hesitated, so I reached for her hand and kissed it. “You can tell me anything.”

Her hand caressed my cheek, and I closed my eyes for a second before she started talking, “I just don’t want this to disappear. I know we’ve had sex before, but it doesn’t feel the same. This feels different. Does it feel different to you?” Before I could answer, she crushed me as she said, “I just don’t want you to go away after. I don’t think I could take losing you this time.”

Her confession damn near broke my heart in two. To hear her be so honest and to know that I