Thrown by a Curve

“Make me come,” she said. “I need to come again.”


Mindless with pleasure, she was a bundle of nerve endings, each tuned into the riotous pleasure he gave her.

Out of control now, Garrett fucked her deep, and when she felt him nearing the end, she let go, screaming at the orgasm he gave her. He yelled out when he came, too, and they rode the crest together.

He pulled out and turned her around, pressing his lips and body to hers, wrapping her in a cocoon of hazy afterglow.

“Will it always be like this?” she asked, brushing her lips against his.

“Like what?”

“So . . . intense. Lovemaking with you burns out a few of my brain cells every time.”

“Yeah, I know. And yes, it’ll always be like this.”

She loved his confidence.

They showered, dressed in their sweats, and climbed in bed. Garrett ordered room service dessert and coffee, then they settled in among the many pillows to watch a movie—some romantic comedy that Alicia had seen probably twenty times, but Garrett claimed to have never watched before.

He took some foam from her cappuccino and made a moustache on her face. She giggled and grabbed her napkin to swipe it away, but not before she made him a goatee from the last of her foam.

“Oh, I like that goatee on you. You should grow one.”

“Will I get more sex with the goatee?”

“Maybe.”

“Then consider it done.”

She laughed.

He stared at the TV. “You like this mushy stuff, huh?” he asked as he fed Alicia a chocolate-covered strawberry.

She savored the chocolate and strawberry mixed together. “Totally.” She took a sip of her cappuccino. “You don’t?”

He polished off the last of the cheesecake, then set the plate aside. “Not saying. But I’ll bet he ends up meeting her at the train station, even though he told her he was going to take that job in Europe.”

She sat up. “You have seen this movie before.”

“No, I haven’t. I’m just guessing. Isn’t that the way all these kinds of movies end? Boy meets girl, they have a hot romance, both determined they’re not going to fall in love, but by the end they realize they can’t live without each other, so they find a way to make it work?”

She lay back against the pillows and rubbed her feet against his. “Sounds a lot like our story.”

He looked over at her and entwined their fingers. “If the person you fall in love with is worth it, you’ll move mountains to make it work.”

God, she was in love with this man. He might not ever make it easy on her, but he was worth fighting for every step of the way.

Alicia snuggled against him with a smile on her face and settled in to watch the happily ever after.





EPILOGUE


ALICIA WASN’T ON DUTY FOR THE DAY’S RIVERS GAME. Instead, she sat just above the player’s dugout, thanks to great tickets provided by her awesome hot boyfriend, Garrett.

Liz was with her today, along with her parents and Gavin’s parents, who sat in the same row.

Liz squeezed her hand. “Nervous?”

“No, not nervous at all. Terrified is more like it.”

“Relax, honey. Garrett is going to do great.”

God, she hoped so. He was still working with Max, but she couldn’t keep her hands off of him, both from a therapeutic and a personal perspective.

“He looks good, Alicia,” her dad said.

“Yes, he does.”

“Even more, he looks ready. Fired up,” her uncle said.

She smiled. They’d been working on his form and his pitching motion for a month now, ever since Garrett had put his career on the line and offered to be traded just so the two of them could be together.

Now he was in the starting rotation again, and today he’d start his first game since his injury last year.

He’d given her the news two days ago, and since then she wasn’t sure who was more nervous—her or him. He’d told her about it after the game with Atlanta, shrugging it off like it had been no big deal.

She’d hooped and hollered and launched herself into his arms. That night, they’d celebrated by having dinner out, then hot sex after.

It had been pretty memorable hot sex, too.

“There he is,” Liz said.

The crowd roared. Alicia leapt to her feet, so thrilled to hear the thunderous applause as Garrett took the mound.

He looked so good in his uniform, tall and lean and in great shape. He looked ready to take on anything.

She hoped he soaked in the adoration, and that it helped fuel the fire she knew had been burning inside him ever since his injury last year. He’d worked so hard on his recovery, and he deserved this moment.

She loved him so much and wanted nothing more than for him to succeed.

And he would, because she believed in him.


*

GARRETT WOULD BE LYING IF HE SAID THE HOME crowd applause when he took the mound hadn’t caused chills to skate down his spine. He’d waited seemingly a lifetime for this, and now that it was here, now that he had the mound and the ball in his hand, he was going to make damn sure to shut down Houston.

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