Slow Heat

Chapter 8

Sam woke up to the sound of rustling and squinted at the clock. One in the morning. The rustling was Wade. She could see his tall, built outline walking to the door. “What are you doing?”

“I’m hungry.”

Of course he was.

“I ordered a pizza and I hear the guy coming.”

Sure enough, a soft knock came at the door. The room service waiter handed Wade a box of pizza and Wade handed him some cash.

Sam sat up, nose wriggling at the scent of melted cheese and sauce, and, if she wasn’t mistaken, pepperoni. Her stomach rumbled. “Smells good.”

Wade switched the light on in the bathroom, which bathed the room with a soft glow. His broad shadow gleamed in the pale light, his hair rumpled from sleep. In nothing but dark blue knit boxers, he slouched on the couch, opened the box, and sank his teeth into a big piece. Moaning, he closed his eyes. “Oh, yeah.”

Sam’s mouth watered.

He took another bite and she couldn’t take it. “Um, hi.”

He looked up and took in her cream spaghetti-strapped silk nightie. His eyes darkened. “Hi.”

“You going to share?”

“If you are.”

She weighed the danger of letting him into the bed with the promise of the mouth-watering pizza. She wasn’t afraid Wade would push himself on her. Rather she was afraid she’d push herself on him. But then her stomach told her brain to shut up, and she scooted over. With a grin, he joined her, fluffing the pillows against the headboard to make them both comfortable before offering the box with an innocent smile that didn’t fool her one little bit. “You were going to share before I made room for you,” she said.

“Maybe.” He made sure that they were skin to skin as he polished off his first piece and looked at her. “Hope you haven’t forgotten that you owe me.”

“For…?”

“Coaching you at the game.”

“Let me guess,” she said dryly. “Monkey sex?”

He arched a brow. “Is that on the table?”

His boxers had slid disturbingly low on his hips. His body was perfection, hard and deliciously warm, and she wanted it on hers, pushing her down into the mattress, sinking into her… “No.”

“Something else then.”

“What?” she asked warily.

“Truth or dare.”

A game? “Truth,” she said, thinking she’d gotten off easy.

“Atlanta. The elevator. Just an alcohol-induced fuck, or more?”

She set down her pizza. Okay, maybe not so easy. Wade nudged her with his arm and she met his gaze. “Truth,” he reminded her softly.

“More,” she said, just as softly. “But I really wanted it to be just an alcohol-induced fuck.”

He absorbed that. “Did it really take you all year to get over it?”

“That’s two questions.” She reached for her slice again, licking cheese off her finger. “My turn. Truth or dare?”

“Truth,” he said, eyes locked on her mouth.

“Why did you ask me that?”

He paused and met her gaze. “I don’t know.”

She gave him a long look, but decided he wasn’t being evasive, he either honestly didn’t know or couldn’t put words to his need to know.

“Truth or dare?” he asked.

“Truth.”

“You could have any guy you crooked your little finger at, but you hold yourself back. Why?”

“I don’t know,” she said, giving him a taste of his own medicine.

He wasn’t as accepting as she’d been. “Maybe you’re afraid.”

“Of what?”

“You tell me. You grew up stifled by alpha males. I didn’t think you were afraid of anything.”

She paused at that shockingly accurate and insightful statement. “Maybe I’m happy to be my own woman. Maybe I don’t want to lose myself again.” She broke off, a little unnerved at what had come out of her mouth. “Okay, that sounded-”

“Honest.” He took her hand and pressed his mouth to her palm. “One of the most honest things I’ve ever heard you say.”

Pulling her hand free, she took another bite of pizza and chewed on it.

“The right man won’t hold you back, Sam.”

“Truth or dare?” she asked, needing a subject change.

“Truth.”

“Your most embarrassing moment.”

He winced and she laughed. “That bad?”

He didn’t say anything for a long moment as he inhaled another piece of pizza. “Would you buy the I-don’t-know excuse again?”

“No.”

He sighed.

“It can’t be that bad.”

He met her gaze. “It’s you thinking I slept with Tia.”

She gaped at him, shocked to her core that he would even give this a second thought. It was nearly as revealing about him as what she’d admitted only a moment before about never wanting to lose herself in another man again.

“You’ve slept with half the women in Santa Barbara county, why would that bother you?”

“Because I haven’t slept with anyone in months.” He paused. “And months.”

She gave him a get-real look. “There were pictures of you with Tia, Wade.”

“Last month we had a three-day break in the middle of spring training. I flew home from Arizona and spent the first day sleeping on my beach. My private beach. The only thing I can figure is that she found me there, dead to the world, and posed next to me, taking the shots herself.” He hesitated. “I haven’t slept with anyone since you, Sam. Truth or dare.”

“Dare,” she whispered around the bombshell he’d just dropped, not trusting herself with another intimate question. She braced for the dare to be something outrageously sexual. She had no idea how she’d get out of it.

Or if she even wanted to.

But he didn’t make a move toward her, just looked at her with those stark green eyes. “I dare you to believe it,” he whispered, and in her stunned silence, he took the empty pizza box, tossed it to the desk, rolled off the bed, and went back to the couch.

In the morning, the first sound Sam heard was someone singing in the bathroom.

Off key.

The bathroom door was open. She could see Wade brushing his teeth as he sang. He wore tux pants and an unbuttoned white tuxedo shirt that revealed a wide strip of broad, hard chest and washboard abs. His hair was wet and silky straight, falling over his forehead.

Holy cow.

He lifted his head and took in her undoubtedly bed-head hair and dazed expression, and smiled.

He hadn’t taken advantage of her last night, which meant that in spite of his smart-ass mouth and smart-ass everything, he was a good guy.

Unfortunately turned on and not sure what to do with that, she grabbed her last remaining suit and kicked his sexy ass out of the bathroom. By the time she finished getting ready, he was seated on the bed next to her open suitcase, flicking through the channels with the remote. “Daytime TV sucks.”

His shirt was still open, his feet bare, and yet in spite of it, or maybe because of it, he looked worth every penny of the multimillion dollar guy he was. He took in her carefully tamed hair, makeup, and her pale blue silk suit and smiled. “I love it when my date is smoking hot. I’m starving.” He rubbed his belly. “You have anything to eat?”

“I have a breakfast bar in my purse.”

“Is it a nuts and berries number, or something good?”

“Nuts and berries.”

“No, thanks. I’d prefer cardboard.” His hair was still damp, and because he was on the wrong side of a haircut, it lay against the nape of his neck. He smelled like himself, which was to say amazing, and his opened shirt kept giving her a peek-a-boo glimpse of those rock-hard pecs and eight-pack abs that could make a grown woman weep with wanting. The muscles bunched as he reached out to tug on her hand.

Though she wanted to remain far, far away so that she didn’t actually fall to her knees and try to lick him like a lollipop, she allowed him to pull her down next to him.

And then she saw what was in his other hand, the antique pearl pin she always had on her. “That’s mine.”

“I know. I’ve seen it on you. It’s pretty. Soft and pretty.” He cocked his head to look at her, and she knew what he was thinking.

“And I’m not soft,” she said. “I know. It was my mother’s.” Who had been soft and pretty.

At least in photographs.

“I think you’re soft,” he said quietly. “When it counts.”

She ran her finger over the pearls that had once belonged to her great-grandmother, his words meaning far more than they should. The pin was the only thing Sam had of her maternal side of the family. “I wear it because it makes me feel like she’s with me.” She shook her head. “And I have no idea why I just told you that.” She went to move away, but Wade leaned in and held her gaze, then kissed her softly, a kiss that made no sense at all and yet made her ache from the depths of her soul.

He pulled back, looking as thrown as she felt, so she broke eye contact and pinned the broach to her lapel.

“She died when you were young,” Wade said quietly.

“Yes. In fact, my brother killed her.” As his mouth fell open in shock, she stood, turning to the mirror to check herself over. “She died in childbirth. Sorry, my father always found that an amusing way to horrify people.”

Wade came up behind her. He slipped an arm around her waist and hugged her back against him, and met her gaze in the mirror. “No offense, Sam, but your father is an insensitive ass.”

“Yes, he can be.” She let out a breath and tilted her head to look up at him. “How about yours? Is he an ass, too? Is that why-”

He set a finger to her lips. “Still not going there.” He let go of her, watching as she applied lip gloss. “While you were in the shower, your phone rang.”

“I had the ringer off.”

“Okay, so it lit up silently. You smell good enough to eat, Sam. Is that peach-flavored gloss?”

“What?” She turned to stare at him. “Why did you answer my phone?”

“Because it was The Man. Your father himself.” The world-class athlete who caught balls whipping toward his face at ninety-plus miles per hour shuddered. “Christ, he’s scary.”

She had to laugh. “You’re not scared of anything, not even him.”

“Not true. I’m scared of plenty.”

“Like?

“Like not getting food. Hungry, Sam.”

She rolled her eyes. “What did you tell him?”

“Not that you keep kissing me. Or that you slept in my bed. And sure as hell not that you were in my shower. Naked. Wet. Glistening. All soapy…” His eyes glazed over and he gave himself a shake. “Sorry, but that’s a really great image.”

She narrowed her eyes at him as he sat on the bed and pulled on a pair of socks. He shrugged his massive shoulders. “Standard-issue male fantasy. Hot girl in the shower.” He stood and began to button his shirt.

“So what didyou tell my father?”

“It was what he wanted to tell you.” The good humor drained from his eyes as he tucked in his shirt and fastened his pants. “Jeremy’s in a ninety-day rehab program for prescription drugs. He’s-”

“Yeah. I already know.” She headed for the closet to get the strappy heels that would give her height and power. She was going to need both today. Too bad there wasn’t a closet where she could grab some extra common sense because she sure as hell needed some of that.

“Nice,” he said about the heels. “So you know about the rehab? You’re okay?”

“When are you going to learn? I’m always okay.” But since that was a big, fat lie, and she knew her eyes would give her away in a heartbeat, she grabbed her purse, keeping her face averted. “You coming, or what?”

He caught her at the door. “Hey. Hey,” he murmured when she tried to shrug him off. He merely tightened his grip and turned her around to face him.

She studied his chest. Not a hardship. “Wade, you’re hungry, remember?”

“Not going to distract me.” He tipped up her chin with a finger and looked her over. “Well, unless you’re ready to admit how bad you want me.”

“I admit nothing. Finish buttoning your damn shirt. Get your damn shoes. We’re out of here.”

And to make sure of it, she pushed past him and let herself out, leaving him to swear and scramble to catch up.