“I couldn’t tell my parents or Clair for a while. You have to understand—”
AJ kissed her softly before she could finish, tasting what he’d been dying to since that first day he ran into her. Her mouth was as agonizingly soft and delicious as he’d imagined. It made him want so much more.
He pulled away with a smile, barely able to contain himself. If he didn’t need to get this absolutely straight and she hadn’t just finished saying she didn’t want Clair to know, he’d be all over her already. “How you handle things with your dad and Clair is entirely up to you. I’ll go along with whatever you ask. We can keep it on the down low as long as you want. It’s the other part I won’t compromise on. You don’t have to tell anyone you’re with me until you’re ready. I just need to know you’re in agreement with this being more than just a friendship.”
An expression of sheer relief came over Addison’s face, and she smiled, her gorgeous dark eyes sparkling. “You know when my father started training you full-time and he began telling me about you, I could hardly believe it. Everything else about you seemed so perfect. And then on top of it all, here was my dad calling you a class act.” She continued to smile with a small shrug. “Class act with a short fuse.”
Addison laughed softly but quickly went serious again. She still hadn’t agreed to anything, and the hesitation in her eyes made AJ anxious. She took a deep breath and squeezed AJ’s hand. “It’s not that I’m not attracted to you or that I don’t think that something more than a friendship with you would be anything but amazing,” she said, and he hung on her every word. “I’ve just always been terrified as it is to disrupt or complicate Clair’s life. She’s not your typical little girl. Like you said earlier, she worries about things she shouldn’t, and with her being so close to you and all, this could be even worse if things don’t work out between you and me than if you were just any other guy.”
Clenching his jaw, AJ stared at her, hoping he wouldn’t sound as agitated as her response was making him feel. “Maybe we should think a little more positive then. Why assume things won’t work out? I’ve given this a lot of thought, and I wouldn’t be suggesting this or even be here right now if I didn’t think they could.”
That last statement wasn’t entirely true. Up until tonight’s game when he’d hardly been able to concentrate, knowing he might get to spend time with her again, he still wasn’t so sure about taking this risk. But after spending the evening with her and especially after tasting those lips, he knew he was a goner. He wanted this bad now.
A sudden twinkle in her eyes gave him hope. Then she closed them for moment, making AJ hold his breath. “Gosh,” she finally said as she opened her eyes again with a slight smile. “If there’s anyone I’d make an exception for because I swore I’d never date a baseball player again, it would be you.” AJ searched her eyes but dared not say anything until she was done. “You have no idea how tempting this is,” she whispered.
“Then say yes,” he whispered back, unable to hold his silence any longer.
“Yes,” she said then quickly added. “But . . .” His brow rose as his eyes glanced down at the finger she held up then back to her eyes. “You’re going to have to be patient with me. I don’t want anyone to know yet. Not for a while. Not until I’m certain it’s all going to work out and that Clair’s ready to know about this. It’s my biggest hesitation about this.”
“You have more than one?” he asked, searching her eyes.
“Well, yeah,” she said as if that were a given. “Getting my heart broken is the other. It’s been a long time since I’ve opened my heart to anyone, and I can already tell falling for you is going to be just too easy.”
“Well, it’s too late for me now,” he said, his eyes going from her eyes to her lips and then back again. “I’ve already fallen for you.” He kissed her softly then closed his eyes before adding with a whisper. “I’ll do this however you want. No one else has to know as long as we do.”
He opened his eyes and was pleased to see the hesitation in her eyes was gone and that twinkle he’d seen in them earlier was back. “Okay.”
AJ kissed her again, feeling a mixture of bliss and disquiet. He’d been so glad that he finally seemed to have a handle on his short fuse. It really did feel like a weakness, and it felt more important than ever that he didn’t come across as weak. Suddenly, he had two very important reasons to continue to be a class act—minus the flaw. There were two people in his life now who he knew he’d have to prove he was worthy of being a big part of their daughter’s lives. And rightfully so. Only he could already tell that fuse would be extra short when it came to anything that involved Addison and Clair. He didn’t want to blow this.
He had his work cut out for him, but she was worth it. They were absolutely worth it. Addison and Clair were a package deal, a precious package he now felt she’d bestowed a rare opportunity to try and win over.
The kiss was supposed to be a soft one: a sweet, harmless, getting-to-taste-the-lips-and-tongue-that-belonged-to-him-now kiss. But the longer he kissed her, the more frenzied it got. Like the irrepressible rage that often overtook any self-control, the hunger he was feeling for Addison now overwhelmed him. He had to pull away. Catch his breath. Calm his pounding heart—his throbbing cock. “So the just-between-you-and-me stuff,” he said breathlessly. “Exactly how slow did you want to take that?” He traced her lips with his tongue slowly. “No pressure,” he said, sliding his tongue into her very willing mouth. “I’m just wondering.”
Chapter 9
Addison
Shameful was what Addison would have been feeling if this were anyone else. The moment they closed the door to the private bathroom in her bedroom, he’d pinned her against the door and devoured her mouth. His eager tongue explored every inch of her lips and mouth feverishly. It wasn’t long before she was lifting her leg around him, making him automatically scoop her up by her ass, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, her arms around his neck. Between panty-soaking kisses, she’d told him she wasn’t sure how slow she wanted to take this but whatever they did tonight they had to do somewhere they could lock the door, even if it was just to make out. As crazed at it made her to finally be able to run her hands all over those muscled arms and chest—something she’d been fantasizing about doing for years—it was highly improbable that this would stop at just making out.
Clair was a deep sleeper when she was this exhausted, but there’d been a time or two Addison remembered her getting up and crawling into her bed in the middle of the night, even when Addison had been sure her daughter was completely knocked out. The last thing she wanted was for Clair to wake and find them making out in the front room where this started or, worse, in her bed if they took it there.
So she’d suggested the bathroom and AJ hadn’t hesitated. Now he had her pinned against the wall, her legs wrapped around him as his bulging erection pressed against her aching crotch. She wanted him inside her more than anything. Maybe if her father hadn’t called him a class act more than once. Maybe if Clair didn’t gush about her best buddy on a daily basis. Maybe if he hadn’t made such a compelling argument about wanting more than just a fling—demanding that anything that happened between them would be serious and exclusive—maybe then she wouldn’t feel ready to rip her own panties off and spread wide for him. But who was she kidding? This wet dream come true was one she never imagined ever actually happening.