Fool Me Once (Bad Boy Romance) Page 18

  It wasn’t the first time we had had this conversation. They hated the idea of me giving them things. They were old school and proud. According to the way they told the story, they sacrificed because that’s what parents did. They wanted to give me what they didn’t have when they were younger. I got it, but still thought they were being a little ridiculous.

  “What did the doctor have to say?” she asked, changing the subject.

  I shut off the iPad and turned to face her. “He says I need the surgery. The therapy isn’t helping it and the tear isn’t getting better on its own.”

  She nodded her head. “I see.”

  “Mom, this could be it for me. I might not get to play ever again. With or without the surgery, my career is over.”

  She put her hand on my shoulder. “Dayton, you are getting ahead of yourself. Don’t be so negative. It might all turn out just fine. You have to keep a positive attitude. You should know negativity only breeds bad outcomes. How much has been overcome by the power of positivity?”

  I smirked. “How much has been overcome without medical intervention?”

  “Oh, quite a bit actually. I could name several situations when the outlook was bleak but through prayer and positivity, things changed for the better. Take Evie’s mother for example. Things did not look good, but it changed,” she said.

  I hadn’t realized how bad things had been for Evie and her mother. I hated thinking about her going through it and worse, she’d been alone.

  “The statistics say otherwise. I might be whole, but I won’t be throwing the fastballs that got me into the league in the first place. It’s over, Mom.”

  She smiled. “When one door closes, another one opens. I think you are worrying about nothing.”

  “It doesn’t feel like nothing. Baseball is all I have,” I said, trying not to whine.

  She shook her head. “No dear, baseball was all you wanted. As you get older, what you want changes. I think you should revaluate what it is you really want out of life.”

  “Mom, I want to play baseball.”

  She laughed. “I’m sure you do, but at what cost?”

  “I have to get the surgery. I have to at least try to get my career back,” I told her.

  She nodded. “Then get the surgery.”

  I was about to tell her I was afraid of the surgery when there was a knock on the door. This time, the person doing the knocking didn’t come in.

  “Who is it?” I shouted.

  “Evie.” Her soft voice floated through the room.

  My mom smiled. “I’ll leave you two alone,” she said, patting my leg and going to open the door.

  The two of them hugged before my mom left. “This is a surprise,” I said to her.

  She shrugged. “I got done a little early today. I brought dinner,” she said, holding up a plastic bag from a local chicken restaurant. “Unless your mom just dropped off your dinner.”

  I shook my head. “She didn’t. She loaded me up with frozen casseroles a few days ago."

  “Perfect, then let’s eat!”

  We dished up our plates and moved to the dining table to eat the rather messy meal of fried chicken, corn on the cob and some delicious coleslaw.

  “How was your day?” I asked her casually.

  “Fine, normal, no big stars,” she said with a grin.

  “I don’t think I’m a big star, at least I’m certainly not a star anymore. I’m no one. I’m going to be a washed-up has-been before I even got the chance to be really famous,” I complained.

  “Don’t think like that,” she said with a scowl.

  “I’m going to lose everything,” I muttered.

  She put down her fork, wiped her mouth and her hands before she stared directly at me. “Everything? I don’t know much about how baseball works or how professional contracts work, but didn’t you sign on to the team a couple of years ago?”

  I nodded. “I did.”

  “And didn’t you make a boatload of money for the years you’ve been playing, like millions of dollars?” she pressed.

  I nodded. “Yes, but I could make ten times that amount if I was able to play a few more years.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I don’t think I’ve heard you sound like such a diva. It’s the poor me story. I don’t pity you if that’s what you’re angling for.”

  I shook my head. “I’m not looking for pity.”

  “Then quit acting like you’ve lost everything. So what, you’re only a lowly millionaire. You have a family that loves you and enough money to keep you living a life of luxury for the rest of your years, assuming you don’t blow it on pet tigers or gold toilets,” she said.

  I let her words sink in. “I get it and I do have a lot and I do feel blessed to have a good life, but it’s the loss of my dream that sucks.”

  “Do you think you could have a new dream? I mean, you’ve been living life in a baseball bubble. I assure you, there’s a great big world out there and I have a feeling you might find it interesting,” she said, her eyes lighting up with amusement.

  I shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t know. That’s part of the problem. I’ve never thought about anything else. I have been so focused on baseball, I’ve pretty much blocked out everything else. I didn’t even watch the Superbowl because I was focused on getting ready for the season. I’ve eliminated most distractions,” I said, grimacing a bit when I realized how that sounded considering my very publicized personal life.

  She laughed. “It takes serious dedication. I don’t think I could do that. I get distracted too easily. When I was younger, I probably wanted to be at least thirty different things when I grew up. I was one of those kids who saw something on TV and immediately decided that’s what I was going to do, even if I had declared something else the day before.”

  I smiled, imagining her as a carefree little girl with the whole world in front of her. “I think my parents would have preferred I was like that. I used to play different sports, but no matter how much my dad pretends he hates what I do, he was the one who pushed me into baseball. I got my hands on it and I just couldn’t let go. It was like an addiction. I practiced more than anyone else. I played harder than everyone else on the team. Baseball was my ticket out of Hope and once I got it in my head, I could think of nothing else.”

  “Then maybe it’s time to get it out of your head and let yourself think about other things that could fulfill you,” she suggested.

  “You’re right and you sound exactly like my mom,” I said with a chuckle.

  She wrinkled her nose. “Is that good or bad?”

  “Good, very good. She reminded me there was life beyond baseball. She wanted me to know she was in my corner, just where she’s always been.”

  “I’m here for you as well,” she said softly.

  I was surprised by how much her words affected me. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”

  “I’m serious, Dayton. I know the prospect of a surgery like that is a little intimidating, but I’m here. You can recover here. I’ll take care of you.”

  “Evie, I don’t want you to have to take care of me. I don’t want to be a burden on you,” I said, thinking about how much she protected those close to her.

  “You’re not a burden.”

  I smiled. “Of course you would say that. You would never want me to feel like that.”

  She suddenly looked uncomfortable. “Dayton, it’s more than that.”

  “What do you mean? Did they call you?” I asked, hating the idea she would be paid to take care of me, even if I didn’t want her to take care of me, I wanted her offer to come from her, not from her boss.

  “No. I haven’t been contacted and as far as I know, neither has Tom.”

  “Good.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  I shook my head. “Nothing, it’s nothing. I was just wondering if they’d already started making arrangements for my secret recovery.”

  “I offered to help you because I want to be there for you, not because
I was being paid,” she said, clearly offended.

  I realized I had put my foot in my mouth. “I’m sorry. I’m just a little freaked out by all that’s happening.”

  “I care about you. I know I probably shouldn’t, but I do. I care about you more than I’ve ever cared about another man. I’m not trying to freak you out even more, but I’m only telling you that because I want you to know my offer isn’t motivated by money,” she said.

  I stared at her, seeing the sincerity on her face and wondering how I’d gotten so lucky. I picked up my napkin and wiped my hands and then my face before getting up from my chair and moving toward her. She was staring up at me.

  “How in the hell are you so good?” I asked her in a husky voice.

  She smiled. “I’m not good. I just know I like to take care of those who need it.”

  I grabbed her hand and gently pulled her to her feet. “I’m glad I walked into your clinic that day.”

  “I’m pretty happy about that as well,” she said with a grin.

  “I’ll get the surgery and I’ll insist I can recover here. I want to spend more time here, with you. I want to be with you, but I don’t want to be the guy you’re nursing back to health.”

  She nodded. “I understand.”

  “Evie?” I whispered.

  “Hmm?” she murmured when I dropped my mouth to nuzzle at the side of her neck.

  “I want you,” I told her, moving back up to look directly in her eyes.

  She nodded her head. “I want you too.”

  I kissed her, gently at first before it kicked up a notch. I wasn’t interested in taking it slow. She wasn’t either. When we came together, it was all heat and fireworks. I couldn’t keep my hands off her.

  “Don’t move,” I whispered and stalked to the front door, throwing the deadbolt before walking back to her. She hadn’t moved.

  I grabbed her again and slammed my mouth against hers. Things were about to get dirty.

  Chapter 30

  Evie

  His hands were rough as he rubbed over my back, squeezing my ass hard and yanking me against him. I grunted with the force of his thrust. I reached my hands up to his face, squeezing him as I held his face steady for me to devour him. His body was throbbing against mine. I pushed my tongue inside his mouth, tasting butter and sweet honey.

  “I’m going to take you here,” he whispered, his hands moving to the button on my slacks and quickly pushing them over my hips and down my legs.

  My heart raced at the idea of sex on the dining room table. He made me want to do things I would have never thought of. It felt dirty and sexy as hell. I’d had him on the kitchen counter; it made sense to move to the table.

  I reached for his shirt and pulled it up, being careful not to make him extend his arm. I watched his face as he carefully pulled it off and tossed it to the floor. I smiled, running my hands over his chest before pushing my mouth against one nipple and then the other. His body jerked as I licked and then bit at it, pulling it into my mouth.

  He moved to push my panties down, and I quickly shimmied a little and let them fall to my ankles before stepping out of them. I looked up at him, testing to see if he was prepared to follow through with what he offered. He moved fast, using his arm to clear the plates, sending everything clattering to the floor.

  “Dayton!” I exclaimed.

  “I’ll worry about it later. Right now, it’s you I care about,” he growled, pushing me onto the table.

  I swallowed the lump of excitement and anticipation in my throat. “I’m right here.”

  He spread my legs, his eyes holding mine as he moved his hand up my inner thigh. I bit my lower lip, ready for him, eager for him to penetrate me. He paused, his knuckles scraping over my core as he stared into my eyes.

  “Do you want it?” he rasped.

  I nodded. “I do.”

  He ran his fingers over my slit before gently pushing inside. As usual when I was with him, I was already wet. I closed my eyes, wanting to savor ever moment of his entrance into my body.

  “Damn baby, you are so fucking hot and wet,” he whispered, dropping his mouth to mine.

  I moaned as he pushed in higher before pulling out his finger and caressing me. “More,” I said into his mouth.

  “More? Like this?” he asked, pushing a second finger inside me, stretching me.

  “Yesss,” I ground out.

  He pushed in deep, sending shivers up and down my spine as he worked my body.

  “More?” he groaned, his mouth dropping to my neck, kissing along my collar bone before moving back up to my ear.

  “I can’t,” I told him, knowing he had filled me.

  He sucked on my neck, the ecstasy spiraling. “More?” he asked again.

  I moaned. “Yes.”

  “Lie back,” he ordered.

  I dropped to my elbows and slowly leaned back, his hands on my thighs as I exposed myself completely to him. His eyes dropped, staring at me before running both hands up my thighs, pushing my legs farther apart.

  “Dayton.”

  He nodded. “Shh, I’ve got you.”

  He pushed in the single finger, readying me before the second finger pushed inside. I arched, spreading my legs as he pushed in deep. I was close to an orgasm. I felt a pinch as he slowly worked a third finger inside me.

  “Oh God!” I cried out, feeling as if I was going to implode.

  The pain and the beauty of what he was doing was too much. I began to orgasm without him doing anything but holding his three fingers strong and steady inside me as I screamed. The pleasure was the most intense I had ever experienced in my life.

  My head thrashed back and forth on the wood table, my body completely consumed by what he was doing. It wasn’t long before his fingers were gone and he was leaning over me, kissing me soft and slow, bringing me back down to earth. I opened my eyes.

  “You’re amazing,” he said.

  I smiled. “I still feel like I’m floating.”

  He grinned. “I think I can help with that.”

  He pulled me up to a sitting position, squatting low to drive himself inside me. I closed my eyes, once again filled by his hard strength. I whimpered with pleasure, my body still zinging with little aftershocks of pleasure.

  “God, I love you inside me,” I whispered.

  “I can’t do this,” he muttered.

  I opened my eyes. “What?” I asked, horrified.

  He reached under me, lifting me up. I wrapped my legs around him, my arms around his neck, letting him carry me back to his bedroom.

  “I couldn’t get a good position on that table,” he said, looking at me with a smile. “I want to fuck you and I want to fuck you good.”

  “Oh,” I groaned.

  He gently laid me on the bed, his body coming over mine as he lowered himself into me. He was the one groaning as he buried himself to his balls.

  “I never want to pull out. I’m going to stay hard and pushed inside you for the rest of my days,” he said, going up on his elbows and looking into my eyes.

  I had to giggle. “I think that could become a little problematic.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t care. Your body is so hot and wet and pulls me in so deep. It’s like an addiction. I want to be inside you.”

  “You’re inside me. Do something about it,” I said fiercely.

  He grinned, thrusting once. “Like that?”

  I nodded. “Like that, but actually, I think I have a better idea,” I said with a smile.

  He shook his head, using his weight to keep me pinned to the bed. “No. I’m on top. I want to fuck you, not the other way around.”

  His vulgar talk was turning me on. “Say it again,” I gasped as he thrust again.

  “What part?” he growled. “The part where I tell you I want to fuck you? I do. I want to fuck you hard and fast. I want you screaming my name as you come.”

  He was moving his hips, slow and powerful as his thrusts jerked me with each slide. “Yes,”
I breathed, his words and his moves had me starting another climb to heaven.

  “Yes, what, Evie? You want me to fuck you?”

  “Yes!”

  “Are you going to scream my name when you come? I’m going to make you come again and then when I’m done, I’m going to do it all over again. You’re not going to be able to walk straight tomorrow. When you look at me, you’re going to shudder and get wet, thinking back to me fucking you in this bed,” he growled.

  The words were better than any aphrodisiac. “I will, I will,” I gasped.

  “You will? Say my name,” he demanded.

  “Dayton!”

  “Again!” he shouted.

  “Dayton, Dayton, Dayton!” I shouted, over and over, the words a release I didn’t know I needed.

  It was freeing. I let go of all my inhibitions, letting him take complete control. I had never fully given myself to anyone. Never let go of the control I kept on my emotions, refusing to let anyone see me for who I was. Dayton stripped that all away.

  His thrusts became more intense, his face twisted, the veins in his neck popping out as he moved faster than humanly possible. He was a man on a mission. He was possessed.

  “Fuck!” he shouted.

  “Dayton!” I screamed, my body exploding.

  I could see stars behind my closed eyes. The intensity of his orgasm was contagious. It prolonged mine, drawing it out and wringing me out. I dug my nails into his back, holding on to him as if he would leave me.

  “Holy shit,” he gasped, his body still spasming even though he’d stopped moving.

  “No kidding. You’ve blown my mind,” I told him.

  “I think I blew a fuse,” he said with a chuckle, slowly dropping to his side.

  “Do you remember your name?” I asked him.

  He smirked. “As much as you were screaming it, how could I forget?”

  I slapped his chest. “Hey! You told me to.”

  “Yes, I did,” he grinned, rolling up and over to lay a kiss on my lips. “I did and my God, it was incredible.”

  I sighed with contentment. “I will agree with that.”

  He flopped back on the mattress. “I’ve got a mess to clean up, don’t I?”