The Curve Ball (Indianapolis Lightning Book 2) Read online

  I spend the next hour or so splashing around with Evie, Penelope, and Addison. The bigger girls love swimming up and playing with Evie, then getting out and jumping back into the pool. I swear they purposely try and make the biggest splash they can possibly make with their little bodies with each new jump.

  “Are you ready for Daddy to be home?” I ask Addison once we’re out of the pool and all drying off. We move away from the side of the pool and closer to Jillian, so she helps the girls get dried off and changed out of their suits.

  “Yep! He’s going to take me to lunch tomorrow!” she tells me, all excited about her plans with Derek.

  “That sounds like fun. What about you, Penny?”

  “I don’ts gets to go tomorrow,” she pouts, and I can tell she doesn’t like that.

  “I’m sure Daddy will do something special with you, too,” I reassure her.

  “Yep, Penny’s date with Daddy is the next day,” Jillian says, trying to remind her daughter of that fact.

  “See, Penny, Daddy wouldn’t forget about you,” I tell her, trying to cheer her up.

  Evie starts to fuss, so we all head inside to find a snack. I sit Evie in her highchair and put a few puffs on the tray in front of her. She’s just recently started eating a few things. She loves her some mashed avocado and will gnaw on practically any fruit I put in these little mesh feeder things that I found that make things safer for her to try and eat now that she’s old enough to eat solid food.

  “Do you mind keeping an eye on her while I go change quick?” I ask Jillian once everyone is settled in with a snack.

  “Of course,” she tells me, waving me off. I quickly head to my room and slip into a tank top and shorts. I was already fully dried off, so the process is quick.

  “Did you want to stay for dinner?” I ask Jillian as I enter the kitchen. The girls are just finishing the cut-up apples I gave them.

  “You don’t mind?”

  “Of course not. I was just going to order some takeout tonight anyway.”

  “Then, yes. All I’d be able to muster was a drive-through on the way home, so that saves me a trip outside of the neighborhood.”

  “What is baby boy in the mood for?”

  “Oh man, what isn’t he in the mood for?” she jokes. “Some carbs sound delicious right about now, maybe pizza?”

  “We can do that,” I tell her, picking up my phone and placing an order for delivery. “Done. Order will be here in about forty-five minutes.”

  “You’re a godsend and the best sister-in-law a girl could ask for.”

  “You’re not so bad yourself,” I tell her as we move out into the living room. I bring a bottle for Evie with me and prop her up in my arms as she takes hold of it. She’s been able to hold it herself now for a few weeks and is insistent on doing so. The girls playing with toys keeps distracting her, so I eventually take it from her and plop her down in the jumperoo so she can play safely.

  “So, anything happening between you and JJ yet?” she asks. I knew the questions were going to come again at some point.

  “Nope, not that the tension between us isn’t there. We’ve had a few close calls, that one hot-ass kiss early on. But we both try and keep our distance when it's just the two of us here and Evie isn’t awake. It's for the best,” I tell her, not sure who I’m trying to convince of that.

  “I still don’t see what the problem is. You’re both consenting adults, and obviously, the attraction goes both ways. Why continue to fight it?” she asks.

  “So, say we act on this attraction. What happens after that? Things would get weird, and I’m his employee. If things went bad, what would he do about Evie? It’s not like he can just hire any person off the street to come to take care of her. Not many people would be willing to just move in. Not to mention, how much that would kill me to no longer be in her life, here taking care of her every day.”

  “But what if it’s meant to be? What if you guys try it out and see where things go? Maybe he’s ready to settle down. I haven’t heard Derek complaining that he’s going out all the time, anymore. I think that Evie has really changed him in these past few months.”

  “She definitely has, and you’re right. He hasn’t gone out partying since she arrived. He’s hardly even gone out for a beer with the guys after a game. I think he might when they’re on the road, since it isn’t like he can come home and see her, but I don’t know for sure.”

  “He doesn’t. Nothing more than dinner with the guys,” Jillian tells me. “That’s what I’m saying. Derek was telling me all about how much he’s changed. How much he’s noticed this about JJ. How he’s always talking about Evie, and much to Derek's dismay, JJ talks about you.”

  “Ugh. Why does life have to be so complicated?” I groan, tossing my head back on the couch.

  “Welcome to adulthood.” Jillian laughs next to me. “Look at how crazy my life has been in just the last year. I divorced your brother because of his antics, and now we’re re-married with a third kid on the way. If that doesn’t say complicated, I don’t know what does.”

  “But your situation is different. You guys have been together for a while, and it took that to wake my dumb-a-s-s,” I spell the last of that word out so that the little ears don’t overhear and repeat it, “brother up and realize that he was throwing away the best thing that’d ever happened to him.”

  “What if this,” she says, spinning her finger in a circle like she’s pointing out everything in this house, “is the best thing to ever happen to you? You can’t tell me in one breath that me going after what I wanted, and was best for my family, was a smart move, but not do the same thing for you. My advice is to go for it, Riley. Kiss the man. Drag him to bed, strip his clothes off, and take what you want. He’s not going to tell you no, and we all know that. If you’re worried about your brother's reaction, don’t be,” she says and winks at me. “I’ll distract him for you.”

  “He’d be pissed. Even with the changes that JJ has made these few months, Derek still tells him to stay away from me.”

  “Eh, he’ll get over it, and if he doesn’t, then I’ll withhold sex from him,” she says, and I see a little evil gleam shining in her eyes.

  “You wouldn’t!”

  “Oh, I would. He’ll change his tune really damn quick, or he’ll just have to become friendly with his right hand again.”

  “I love you,” I tell her just as the doorbell rings. I jump up, going to answer the door. I hand over a tip to the delivery driver, then accept the boxes and carry them into the kitchen. “Dinner is served!” I call out to everyone and hear three sets of feet against the tile floor as they come into the kitchen.

  Jillian has Evie on her hip as they all join me. I’ve already pulled out some paper plates and have a slice of pizza on two plates for each of the girls. I get them set up first, at the table with their pizza and two juice boxes. I’ve started keeping things here for them since they come over so often with me being here all the time with Evie.

  “This was just what I needed,” Jillian says as she finishes a second slice of pizza.

  “It was,” I agree with her.

  “Are you going to be okay with bath and bedtime?” I ask once we’re finished with dinner and I’ve cleaned everything up, wrapping the few leftover slices up and placing them in the fridge. “I could always follow you home and help tonight.”

  “I think we’ll be good. They’ve been so helpful lately. It’s like they know this baby is taking its toll on me.”

  “That’s good. But if something changes, please call. I can always pack Evie up, and we can come over.”

  “Thanks, but we’ll be fine. Plus, I don’t want to impose on her bedtime. I know how important that is to keep babies on their schedules.”

  “Truer words have never been spoken,” I agree.

  I help Jillian get the girls packed up and out the door, then scoop Evie up and head into the bathroom to start her bath. I could tell our afternoon in the pool is catching up with her, so b
edtime might be coming a little early for her tonight.

  Forty minutes later and I’ve got a conked out Evie sleeping peacefully in her crib. I grab her laundry basket as I leave the nursery and get a load started. With a full evening by myself ahead of me, I might as well do something useful. Once JJ is home tonight, he has the following forty-eight hours off. No games, no practice, no meetings. So that means that I have at least twenty-four hours off. Not that I mind spending my time with Evie, but I’m also looking forward to a massage and pedicure. Maybe a glass of wine or, better yet, maybe Jillian and I can go out to dinner without kids. She can leave the girls with Derek, and we can have a girls' day.

  I fill a glass with some lemonade, grab my Kindle from the kitchen counter, and head outside to relax in the pleasant evening air that has settled in now that the sun is going down. I get lost in my book, not even realizing how much time has passed until I hear the door slide open. I look over and see JJ standing in the doorway, looking good enough to eat.

  “Hey, how was the flight home?”

  “Good, uneventful, like usual,” he tells me, closing the space between us and taking a seat on the chair next to me. “How was it around here?”

  “Good, Jillian and the girls came over, and I took them swimming. Then we ordered pizza for dinner.”

  “Sounds like a good day. How was Evie?”

  “Just fine. Between playing with the girls and the pool time, she crashed a little early and hard, so I’ve been out here for hours just reading.”

  “Reading another one of your smut books?” JJ asks, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

  “Don’t be an ass,” I tell him, smacking his arm with my hand. “But if you must know, yes, it’s a romance. A sports romance; baseball, to be exact,” I tell him, raising an eyebrow at him.

  “Hmm,” is all he hums out. He runs his fingertips along the sensitive skin of my wrist that still on the armrest of his chair from me smacking his arm just a few seconds ago. My pulse races, and if the deepening smirk tells me anything, he notices. “I could show you a thing or two that you wouldn’t find in the pages of one of these romances you love to read.”

  “You sure about that?” I ask, raising my eyebrow again at him, in challenge this time.

  “Sweetheart, I could show you all kinds of things,” he states. I can’t tell if it’s a challenge or a warning. All I know is I feel those words down to my core, and I find myself needing to rub my thighs together as I try and find some friction to relieve the ache that has settled there.

  My movements do not go unnoticed. The air between the two of us crackles. Jillian's words come back to me from earlier. The encouragement to go after what I want. Is this my moment? What would JJ do if I stood up, grabbed his hand, and pulled him inside? Would he go along with it?

  I don’t think about it. I stand up and do just that. I grab his hand and pull him to the back door. He stops me at the threshold, turning me so that we’re facing one another, standing chest to chest. I have to crank my head to look up and into his eyes when we’re this close, due to our height difference. I see so many things dancing around in his eyes. Wariness, lust, and desire are just a few of the things I can pinpoint in the dark blue eyes.

  I lick my lips and watch as his eyes drop to watch as my tongue slides along them. “If we cross that doorway together, I can’t promise that I’ll be able to stop myself from touching you, so if you don’t want that to happen, you need to step back and go inside by yourself,” he tells me, searching my eyes for clarity.

  Thirteen

  Justin

  I look into Riley’s eyes and give her a few seconds to make a decision. I’ve stopped myself so many times from this exact situation playing out since she moved into my house, but that control is about to snap.

  Every time I find her in those little shorts she likes to walk around in that hardly cover her ass. The bikinis she’s started wearing, now that it’s pool weather, drive me fucking insane. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve had to excuse myself and go rub one out in my shower because of her being around me, consuming my every thought over the last few months.

  “Last chance,” I growl as my lips near hers. I slide my hands up her arms until I’m cupping her face with both of my rough hands.

  “Shut up and kiss me, JJ,” she whispers between us, and I do just that. My lips cover hers. Soft for the first second or two. Then she opens for me, and I take it all. I’m a greedy bastard. One that hasn’t been laid in months. And my dick is all over the fact that I’ve got a beautiful woman in my arms and pressed up against my body.

  I drop my hands to her waist and then to her ass. I cup those perfect cheeks in my palms and give them a good squeeze before I lift her up. Her legs go around my waist as she locks her feet together, securing her around me. My cock is hard as a steel beam, and her center pressed against me just above it is driving me fucking crazy. I spin us until I can push her back against the wall next to the door. I grind against her, all while still devouring her mouth.

  Riley tugs at my shirt, and I break the kiss long enough to pull it off over my head. I tug at her tank top, and it joins my T-shirt on the floor a second later. I drag my fingertip along the top of her lacy bra then follow the path with my lips. I drop my mouth a little lower, flicking my tongue over her nipples, and revel in the fact that they pebble as I do just that. The moans that fall from her lips have me almost coming in my pants like I’m a fourteen-year-old boy seeing his first set of tits.

  “You like that, baby?” I ask against her skin.

  “Yes!” she moans, and I reach behind her, finding the clasp of her bra, and flick it open one-handed. It joins our shirts on the floor moments later, and I return to sucking on her nipples. They’re perfect. The prettiest dusty rose color, darkening as I suck and roll them between my fingertips.

  I kiss my way back up her chest, finding a few sweet spots along her neck and jaw that have her purring like a cat. I devour her mouth once again when I reach it.

  I’ve had enough of making out against the wall like a teenager, so I step back and carefully make my way through the house, stopping only once we’re inside my room. I close the door, then pin Riley against it.

  “I need to taste you,” I tell her as I set her down on her feet, then drop to my knees. I look up at her as I tug her shorts off her hips. She steps out of them, one foot at a time, our eye contact never breaking. Once the shorts are on the floor a few feet away from us where they landed after I tossed them, I take my fill of her almost naked body. I feel her creamy smooth skin as I run my fingertips from her ankle up the backs of her calves, over her knees, and up the backs of her thighs. I bring my hands around to the front, running the pads of my thumbs over her clit that is still covered by a scrap of lace. It is sexy as fuck, so I lean forward and kiss it. I suck in a deep breath, filling my lungs with her scent. I can smell her arousal, and it makes my cock harden even more in my pants.

  I watch her for any signs that she doesn’t want this. Her chest heaves as she sucks in a few breaths, waiting for my next move. I spread her legs a little farther apart, making room for my shoulders. Once I fit between her thighs, I move her thong to the side and then run my tongue from her core to her clit, and I swear she levitates off the ground. I pull back slightly and look up at her, and the blissed-out look on her face tells me this is precisely what she wanted. I return to my previous position, alternating between sucking and flicking her clit with my tongue, and slipping it into her pussy as it clenches. I move back up to suck on her clit, just as I slide a finger inside her. She’s so fucking tight, and it’s at that moment I recall what she told Jillian a few months ago. She’s so tight because she’s a fucking virgin.

  “You like that, baby?” I say against her clit. My finger slides in and out of her pussy as I fuck her slowly with it.

  “Yes,” she pants. “Please don’t stop. I’m so close.”

  “That’s it, baby. Come on my tongue,” I tell her as I replace my finger w
ith my tongue. I fuck her, my tongue slipping inside her as she grinds her pussy against my face, riding out her orgasm. I lap at every drop of her sweetness as she comes. I’m going to become addicted to the taste of her, I can tell already. I stroke her through her release, waiting patiently as she comes down from the high that hits your body after an intense orgasm. I look up at her, watching her until she looks down at me. The smile that fills her face has me ready to slide my cock inside her and take her until I fill her with every drop of cum that is built up in my body.

  “I never imagined you on your knees for me,” she says into the silence.

  “I’ll gladly get on my knees for you anytime. You’ve got the sweetest pussy,” I tell her, then swipe my tongue along her slit once again. “And I don’t get on my knees, but for you, I’ll do it anytime, anyplace.”

  “You can’t be serious,” she stammers out. I stand up, my knees popping from being down so long. I pick her back up, wrapping her legs around my waist.

  “I’m as serious as a heart attack,” I tell her as I take her mouth with my own. I let her taste her own release. “I was never about dropping to my knees for anyone else. That was always the place for the woman to be, but I see the errors of my past.” I smirk at her.

  “You’re such an ass,” she says, smacking my chest.

  “Former ass. I’m a changed man now.”

  “Mhmm,” she hums. “Think you can take me over to that big bed of yours?” she asks, pointing over my shoulder at my king size bed.

  “Is that what you what? I don’t know if I can stop myself from fucking you if you touch my bed.”

  “I’m sure,” she says, a little nervousness coming through her voice, but also a whole lot of confidence. Confidence that I find sexy as fuck.

  I close the distance between my door and bed, sitting Riley down on the mattress and boxing her in on the bed. “Tell me what you want,” I tell her, my voice as gravely as it gets. I want this woman more than I’ve ever wanted anyone in my life.