They came together again, like a finely tooled lock sliding into place. She gasped into his kisses as he worked her over slowly. Every thrust moved him closer to the edge of bliss. He was shaking with anticipation by the time she cried out for him.
It was a sweet relief to let go then, chasing her over the edge, panting into her mouth, gasping as he burst with pleasure.
"Jeez," she breathed as they both came down.
"That only took the edge off," he said, kissing her. They rested together, saying nothing that couldn't be said with hands and kisses and sighs.
"Let's not talk," she whispered at one point. "I'm all talked out."
That was fine with him-for now, anyway. But sooner or later she was going to have to discuss their future. They had a future coming-he'd make sure of it.
FIFTEEN
Lauren slept very little that night. She and Mike would drift off together for a while, until one of them shifted and woke. In the privacy of darkness, hands would inevitably begin to caress and explore. Searching gave over to craving, until they found themselves locked in another sweaty embrace.
She lost count of the orgasms before they finally fell asleep for good. A couple of short hours later, she awoke one final time to light creeping under the draperies, and the sensation of Mike kissing her neck.
"Hey," he said, his voice hoarse. "I have to go. But I wasn't going to leave without saying good-bye."
She wished he would have, actually. Even though last night had been amazing, now things would only get awkward. "Good-bye," she said softly.
He smoothed the hair away from her face, smiling down at her. "Thank you for making me happy."
"You're welcome," she said quickly. "I was pretty, uh, happy, too." It was as good a euphemism as any.
"I really don't want to walk away from you right now." He traced the shape of her cheek with his thumb. "I want to take you out for breakfast and cuddle more."
"Not happening," she pointed out. "The bus boards in"-she checked the clock-"an hour. And I don't want to be everyone's gossip nugget this morning."
He pulled a face. "There are women who'd sleep with me for the bragging rights. And the only one I want in my bed doesn't want anyone to know."
"Well we tried that," she pointed out. "And when it ended, the gossip followed me, but not you."
He chewed his lip. "This won't be solved today, I guess."
Or ever. She patted his hand. "Go start your day. The play-offs wait for no man."
He leaned down and kissed her very thoroughly, his stubble abrading her lips in the best possible way. "Bye, Lo. Bye for now."
It was tempting to remind him that there weren't going to be any repeats of last night's festivities. But since he wanted to keep things happy, now wasn't the right time to say that.
He left, and she got slowly out of bed, feeling deliciously sore in all the right places. It had been a long time since she'd felt this way-satisfied. Her sex life had been scant these past two years. She'd been out on a few dates, every one of them inspired by either loneliness or the desire to prove to herself that she could be wanted.
Ugh. It had been a crappy couple of years trying not to think about Mike Beacon. There was a small chance that last night's shenanigans could help stop the tide of pathetic thoughts. And anyway, she had a pregnancy to plan and a new chapter in her life to welcome.
She went into the bathroom and stepped into the walk-in shower to wash her hair. She'd really expected to feel more regret right now. Maybe it would hit later. It was true what they said about releasing sexual tension-she felt too loose right now to worry about much of anything.
When she was nearly packed up and ready to roll, there came a tap on the door. Lauren opened it to reveal Georgia. "Morning!" the publicist said. "I come in search of my garment bag and Becca's manicure tackle box. She asked me to fetch it for her." Georgia raised an eyebrow. "Why do you think she'd ask me to do that?"
Lauren had no clue. "I had to tuck her in last night. She drank a little and got woozy. It wasn't that embarrassing, though." She opened the door wider to admit Georgia.
"Oh, no! Is she okay? I would have helped."
"She's fine. I sent Nate to check on her later."
"Do you think . . . ?" Georgia's eyebrows rose. "Maybe something happened between her and Nate last night?"
"In my dreams," Lauren scoffed. She grabbed Becca's case and set it near the door. Then she popped open her own pocketbook to leave a tip for the housekeeper.
Georgia grabbed her garment bag off the desk chair and then seemed to freeze. "Wow, Lauren! Did you do it?"
"Um, what?"
Georgia looked up with sparkling eyes, then pointed at something on the cabinet shelf. "Did you seduce a basketball player? You're my hero."
Lauren crossed to the desk to discover . . . a hastily discarded condom package on its surface. She picked it up and crumpled it in her hand.
It had been a three pack. There were none left.
She dropped the evidence in an otherwise empty wastepaper basket. Then she raised her eyes to find Georgia's amused ones watching her. "Don't laugh."
"I wouldn't dream of it. As long as I get at least one juicy detail."
Slowly she shook her head. "No can do."
"Not even his position? Point guard? Center?"
"Goalie," Lauren said quietly.
"Oh," Georgia whispered.
"Yeah."
"Wow. You were right. That dress has some powerful mojo."
Lauren clapped a hand over her mouth. "I guess it does. Don't tell anyone, okay? It isn't going to become a thing."
"Huh. Does he know that?"
"I hope so."
"Maybe Florida makes people a little crazy," Georgia speculated as the two of them headed out the door. "Leo and I did it in a hammock on the beach last night. I've never done that before."
Lauren gave a snort of laughter. "It is Florida's fault. Let's blame Florida."
The two of them went downstairs, where the team milled around, looking hungover. At least Lauren wasn't the only one who'd had a wild night. She kept close to Georgia and steered a wide berth around Mike Beacon. Though it was tempting to stare at him and relive the finer points of last night's sexcapades.
Go ahead, she dared herself. The virtual replay was the only kind she was going to get.
She boarded the bus when it arrived, taking the seat beside Georgia. Lauren pulled out her phone and began to deal with the day's e-mails. But the bus just sat there longer than it should have. Lauren looked up and waved over Jimbo, the youngest member of the operations team. "Is there a problem with the schedule?"
He was handing out paper sacks containing muffins, and small cups of coffee, which she and Georgia accepted gratefully. "We're waiting on Nate," Jimbo said.
"Ah." The bus couldn't really leave without the owner. And the jet would wait for him as long as it took.
She went back to her e-mail. From the back of the bus she heard Mike's laugh. Who knew what he was laughing at-probably one of Doulie's jokes. But the sound resonated inside her chest and made her feel fizzy inside.
Georgia nudged her. "Omigod. Look. Out the window."
Lauren craned her neck to see what Georgia meant. Outside, Nate was leaning into the back seat of a hired sedan with tinted windows. Way in. "So?"
"Becca got into that car first-she's flying back to New York out of the Lauderdale airport. Do you think he's . . . kissing her good-bye?"
Lauren stared as Nate's back emerged from the car. He snapped the door shut with typical Nate efficiency, his face unreadable. Then he walked out of her line of sight to board the bus.
"Did you see that?" Georgia asked in an awed tone.
"I don't know what I saw."
A moment later the doors to the bus closed and the breaks squeaked. The bus began to roll forward. As Nate slowly approached their seat, both Georgia and Lauren stared at him.
"Problem?" he said, giving them a frown.
"Not in this row," Lauren said, watching for a crack in his stern facade. "You?"
He gave her a Nate frown and moved past, heading toward the back.
"Maybe I imagined it," Georgia whispered.
"Maybe," Lauren agreed.
She went back to work and tried not to listen for Mike's laugh among the others.
• • •
Forty-eight hours later, her phone pressed to her ear, Lauren listened to an endless stream of voice mails for Nate. Multitasking, she hustled into a hotel conference room where the team's lunch was set out. While one of Nate's tech officers droned on about their upcoming trip to China, she handed Jimbo a new itinerary for the next twenty-four hours.