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  More than anything, she wanted him inside her. Just like that. She spread her legs and arched her hips up to him in a silent message.

  His laugh rumbled against her.

  “I can’t wait, either, darlin’.”

  Joe fished a condom from the nightstand, rolled it on, and in what seemed like seconds was inching himself inside her tight, wet cunt. And oh, sweet heaven, such pleasure raced through her it consumed every part of her body.

  “Ride with me, Shay,” Joe coaxed, his lips just barely touching hers. “Let me have you. Come on.”

  While he spoke to her, his hips were moving and his engorged cock moved in and out of her tight clasp. She bent her legs, then wrapped them around his waist, pulling him to her as tightly as she could. It made his movements shorter but more intense, the tip of his shaft dragging each time against her sweet spot. Each time the head of his shaft bumped the mouth of her womb electricity zinged to every part of her body. Could he tell how ready she was? How close to the edge?

  “Now.” His ragged voice reached into her. “Now, now, now.”

  “Yes,” she begged. “Yes, now.”

  Two thrusts, three was all it took to take them over the edge together. If she’d thought the release from a quickie would be less intense than one resulting from long foreplay, she was dead wrong. Her orgasm hit the second his did and they shook together so hard she hung onto him to anchor herself in the sensual storm. It was over quickly but she was no less depleted, no less drained. Her heart beat wildly, and she struggled to get enough breath in her lungs.

  She felt the hard thump of Joe’s heart beating against her breasts, heard the ragged seesawing of his breath until finally he, too, lay limp, still holding her. Neither of them said a word for long moments. Then Joe lifted his head and placed a soft kiss on her mouth.

  “Words fail me,” he told her in a low voice. “I’m not a big fan of quickies, but Jesus, Shay, you just blow my mind.”

  “Joe, I—”

  He freed one hand and touched a finger to her lips. “Whatever it is, don’t say it. Just think of this as a great way to start a Saturday.”

  She couldn’t argue with that, but she had to say this one more time. “This can’t just be about sex. I can’t be nothing more than—”

  “Ssh. It won’t. I promise. Trust me. Please. Give me a chance. Give us a chance.” Then he grinned and slowly withdrew from her body. “But I have to say, as quickies go it’s sure the best I’ve ever had.”

  Shay laughed. It was suddenly so easy to laugh with this man, to just enjoy being with him. To cherish every minute.

  “You did yourself proud,” she teased.

  He whisked his mouth over her before rolling out of bed to dispose of the condom. Approaching the bed again, he held out his hand to her. “Time for a shower. Then breakfast.” He checked the time on his cell phone, lying on the nightstand. “Better make that brunch.”

  “Fine by me.” Her stomach chose that moment to rumble. Her face heated with embarrassment. Joe just winked.

  “Yup, time to eat.” His face sobered. “Listen, I have some stuff to do this afternoon that’s sort of for my program.”

  “What kind of things?”

  “Just Joe Reilly bullshit, but it goes with the territory. Just a couple of things but they could take up a chunk of time. I can bring you back here after we eat or”—he paused—“you could come with if you want to.”

  She glanced up at him warily. “You’re going to spend the day with me? Even though you have business stuff to do? Are you sure?”

  Uncertainty flitted across his face so briefly she wasn’t sure she actually saw it, replaced almost at once by a smile. “Absolutely.”

  She was mulling it over in her brain when his cell phone rang and her automatic reflexes kicked into gear. Of course he’d get a call. She was surprised he hadn’t been flooded with them since he’d been in town, women chasing after him as they’d done for as long as she could remember.

  He picked up his cell, frowning. “Hello? Yes. No, I was up. No problem. Would it be just as convenient for me to give you a call later? Uh-huh. Yes, of course. Okay, this afternoon. Thanks.” He hung up and tossed the phone back on his nightstand.

  Shay’s stomach muscles tied themselves in a knot, and she had to force herself to relax. “Let me guess. One of your harem is looking for you.”

  He shook his head. “No, just some business I have to call back on sometime today. God’s truth, that’s all it is.” He cupped her chin and forced her to look at him directly. “If that was just some female, I’d never have taken the call. I made a promise to you and I intend to keep it, no matter how hard it is to get you to believe it. So. Like I said, shower, then brunch, okay?”

  “Okay. But we shower separately.”

  He laughed. “You’re no fun.”

  “Not when I’m hungry.” She gathered up her clothes from the night before, holding them against her, and winked. “And I warn you, I’ve got a big appetite.”

  “I’ll let you get away with it but just this once.”

  When she reached her own room, she shut the door and leaned against it, closing her eyes. What had she gotten herself into? One minute Joe Reilly was giving her spectacular sex and promising her whatever she wanted and the next he was taking a call he couldn’t discuss with her. Maybe it was just business. He was under no obligation to roll out the details of his life to her. She chewed her bottom lip. What if it was another woman, despite what he said?

  Okay, enough. She’d made her decision. Time to take a shower, get dressed, and take this one day at a time. One hour at a time if she had to. She’d give herself a chance. Give him the chance he’d asked for.

  She’d waited all these years, never expecting this to happen. Now she needed to dredge up some measure of trust to make it true.

  * * * *

  Joe cursed his luck as he shaved. Timing was always everything in life and sometimes his just sucked. Marge Faraday had some questions for him. As chair of the Reach for Success Foundation, the parent organization of the fundraiser, she wanted all the blanks filled in. Not unreasonable with the event only a week away. He could have just told Shay who it was but he had this crazy-obsessive need to lay the groundwork for everything before giving her the full picture of who he had become. They had been out of touch for so long. He knew with painful clarity how she’d seen him before. It was important for him to find the right moment to tell her about his epiphany and explain the changes in his life and how he lived it now.

  Not with another woman, that was for sure. He’d work hard to keep convincing her of that.

  It still stunned him to realize with the number of females he’d gone through in his life it was Shay Beckham who pushed every one of his buttons and made him feel something real and special. However he made this whole thing come together, he knew he didn’t have unlimited time to accomplish it. The fundraiser was Saturday night and his Coaches Conference meeting the following Monday night. He wanted to take Shay with him to the fundraiser, which meant getting her totally on board with this version of Joe Reilly before then.

  He would do this right, all the way. Hank could be back any day, although his two texts in the past few days had been totally uninformative. Joe wanted to make sure that this thing with Shay was on solid ground by then. If he screwed up, Hank would dismember him one limb at a time.

  He stared at himself in the mirror, noticing the fine lines at the corners of his eyes, the barest hint of gray threading through his temples. He certainly wasn’t old, but he wasn’t a kid anymore. He’d been making all those changes in his life and now, with Shay, he wanted an anchor. Some permanence.

  He’d probably be getting a lot more calls from Marge Faraday. Maybe at brunch with Shay he could find a way to work his life changes and the reason for them into the conversation. He had to do it just right.

  But when they walked into Magic Waffle House just before noon, his plans took an unexpected detour.

  “He
y, Rocket Arm!” a voice called to him.

  Joe was stunned to hear the nickname. Although a reporter had given it to him in high school and the name stuck all the way through the NFL, no one had called him that for a long time. He glanced to the right and saw two of his former Granite Falls High School teammates sitting in a booth, each with a woman. He had just seen Rafe the other day at lunch, but the last time he saw Mike was fourteen years ago. Still, he recognized him right away. Was his entire past suddenly congregating in San Antonio?

  “Is that Mike Lazarus?” Shay asked, peering in the direction of the voice. “Holy cow, he hasn’t changed a bit. What’s he doing here?”

  “I have no idea.”

  Mike was motioning for them to come over to the booth.

  “Let’s go say hello,” Shay urged. “Lord, I just ran into Jilly Knight at the grocery store. Did you know she’s married to Jason Mackenzie? Other than her, it’s been ages since I’ve seen anyone from Granite Falls High besides you and Hank.”

  Joe wasn’t the least bit interested in making this a social gathering. Joining a group was not in his plans. He wanted Shay to himself so he could have a quiet conversation with her and open the door to his life for her to see the new him. Maybe going out for breakfast wasn’t his best and brightest idea after all.

  “Come on, Joe,” she urged. “Let’s go say hello.”

  He bit back his objections. “Sure. Let’s do it.” With his hand at the small of her back, he guided Shay toward where the others were sitting.

  As they approached, Mike rose and held out his hand. “Joe! It’s good to see you after such a long time.”

  “Yeah, same here.” The other man in the booth rose and turned to face him.

  “Rafe? Damn. I hardly ever see you and now it’s twice in one week.”

  “Yeah. It’s great hooking up with you like this. Everything still going good with—”

  “Yeah, great,” he cut Rafe off.

  He glanced at Shay. She looked from him to Rafe and back again. Uh-oh. Immediately she was suspicious. He knew exactly what she was thinking. His lunch with Rafe earlier in the week had been all business, so why hadn’t he mentioned it? Rafe was single, good-looking, easy to imagine the two of them having lunch with a couple of sexy women. If he had just casually dropped the fundraiser into the conversation with her the first night, explained it was one of the things he was in town for, he wouldn’t feel uncomfortable about introducing it now. If he brought it up now out of the blue, Shay might think he had something to hide. Well, he did, only for reasons he was now thinking might be more and more illogical.

  Maybe his stupidity would get him hung. He needed to bring her in on this as soon as possible. Joe gave his brain a mental shove to tune back into the conversation.

  “We didn’t expect to run into the famous sportscaster when we came here for brunch,” Mike was joking.

  Joe snorted. “Famous is just a word in the dictionary. I do okay.”

  Mike pointed to Rafe. “The two of us watch Inside the Helmet every season. Damn good job, Rocket.” He looked at Shay. “How about introducing us to your gorgeous date?”

  Joe draped his arm around Shay’s shoulders in a casual yet possessive gesture. “You guys remember Shay Beckham, right?”

  Mike’s jaw dropped. “Hank’s skinny little kid sister? The brat? Are you shitting me?”

  Joe gritted his teeth. “Yeah, she’s grown up a little, so let’s treat her like an adult.”

  A red flush crept up Mike’s face. “Sorry,” he muttered. “Nice to see you, Shay.”

  “You’ll have to forgive him,” the lovely redhead in the booth said. “He’s not at his best when he’s sleep deprived.”

  “Damn.” Mike shook his head. “Yeah, excuse my lack of intelligence this morning. I’m just a mess today.”

  She smiled at them. “I never got to see you guys play, but Mike and Rafe talk about it all the time.”

  “Too true.” The brunette sitting in the same booth laughed.

  “Since Mike seems to have left his manners at home,” Rafe broke in, “let me make the introductions. The redhead is Mike’s long-suffering wife, Shana. And this,” he nodded to the other woman, “is Shana’s sister Annaliese.”

  “Annie,” she interrupted. “The other is a real mouthful.”

  Shay moved forward a little. “It’s very nice to meet you.” She looked at Mike and Rafe. “I remember watching the team play. Four state championships in a row. You guys rocked.”

  “Thanks.” Mike smiled at her. “Listen, how about joining us? We just got here.”

  “No, thanks, I—” Joe began.

  “Please,” Mike interrupted. “We insist. How often do we get to see each other?”

  “Yes, please,” Shana urged. “Mike needs as much male bonding as he can get right now.”

  There was just no graceful way to get out of it. Joe nodded and waited for everyone to shift to a large round table, his hand again resting at the base of Shay’s spine, as if to say, I’ve got your back. She’d been very quiet through the conversations except for her one comment. He couldn’t tell if she thought this was a good idea or wanted to bolt for the door. All he knew was his plans for brunch were shot to shit. This was not the intimate little meal Joe had planned, relaxing over coffee while he told her about his afternoon schedule and why he wanted her to go along with him.

  “So,” Mike began when everyone was seated again and the waitress filled coffee cups. “You and Shay, huh? Wow!”

  Beside him, Shay shifted in her chair. “We just, um, that is—”

  “Yes, we are,” he overrode in a firm voice. Deliberately, he reached for her hand and closed his fingers over it, resting it on the table for everyone to see. If he was going to make a statement, he could just start here. Maybe this would get some kind of message across to her and calm her jitters.

  Shana burst out laughing. “I hope the two of you figure it out pretty soon or you’re liable to have a problem.”

  “I’ve got it figured out,” he told them. “Shay just needs to catch up. I’m working on that.” He had to steer this conversation in a different direction. “So what’s new with you guys?”

  A lot, it appeared. The reason Mike and Shana were sleep deprived was their latest addition to the family, Jonathon, one month old.

  “We’ve got two others,” Mike said. “They’re seven and four. No rest for the weary.”

  “We caught a little break,” Shana told them. “Jon’s christening is tomorrow so my folks are in town for a week and they took babysitting duties today. Mike and I get to act like adults for a few hours. The house is a zoo, as I’m sure you can imagine. Mike and I grabbed up Annie and Rafe, the baby’s godparents, and escaped the madness for some grownup down time.”

  Shay looked at the other couple. “Okay, now it’s my turn to ask. Are you two—” She waggled a finger between the two.

  “Oh.” Annie burst out laughing. “Not even on a good day. We’ve known each other too long.”

  “Yeah, but look at Joe and Shay,” Mike pointed out. “They’re—”

  “Not a topic for discussion,” Joe interrupted. “So what are you guys up to these days?”

  “I’m not sure if you’re caught up on everyone,” Shana said, “but Mike never played after high school. He went on to get his law degree at the University of Texas. That’s where we met. He got some good offers when he graduated but the one in San Antonio was the best.”

  “Never regretted it,” Mike added. “Ran into Rafe again when he was training security for one of our corporate clients and, well, here we are.”

  Rafe looked from Joe to Shay. “Is everyone living in this city now?”

  “I’m not but Hank is,” Joe told them. “He’s an engineer.”

  “How come he’s not here with you guys today?” Annie asked. “Is he antisocial?”

  “He’s out in Wyoming on a project,” Shay explained. “He’ll be so jealous when I tell him about this.”

&nbs
p; “How did the two of you get together?” Rafe asked.

  “That’s a long story best left for another time.” Joe laughed and immediately changed the subject.

  Brunch turned out to be a lot more relaxed than he expected. This was the first time Shay had had contact with anyone on the team in years. Everyone seemed to be going out of the way to make her as comfortable as possible. No one referred to her again as Hank’s skinny, bratty sister and he sensed her relaxing a little at a time. She participated in the conversation as much as everyone.

  For Joe, the meal was both enjoyable and torturous. Shay ordered pancakes she drenched in butter and maple syrup, and he wondered, watching, how she kept herself in such good shape. Every time he slid a glance at her, he tightened his fingers around his fork to remind himself he couldn’t simply lean over and lick the tiny beads of syrup from her lips. He hoped to hell no one noticed the pure lust he was sure blazed in his eyes. He was more than grateful the table hid his erection, which seemed to have a mind of his own.

  He forced himself to concentrate on the conversation and that helped calm his body down. They talked about those great years at Granite High, some of the games, relived some special memories. The conversation made Joe realize how far he’d drifted from a lot of his high school teammates. Only since he’d begun working with scholarship foundations and fundraisers had he reconnected with some of them. Rafe was already on board. Now he needed to get Mike involved. If he didn’t have a chance tomorrow afternoon, he’d get Mike’s business card and catch him at his office on Monday.

  “Why don’t the two of you come to the christening tomorrow?” Mike asked.

  “Oh, I’m not sure it would be appropriate,” Shay protested. “I mean, none of you actually know me and you haven’t connected with Joe in a long time.”

  “Reason enough to do it now.” Annie smiled. “What better way to bond than over a baby? And Shay, you can stand in for both yourself and Hank. One o’clock. Church of the Redeemer.”

  “We’re having a little get together at our house afterward.” Mike looked at his wife, who nodded. “It would be great if you’d come.” He fished a business card out of his wallet and wrote on the back of it. “My address and cell.” He handed the card to Joe.