33. Willow

Willow

There are pretty strict rules during away games when it comes to hotel rooms. The guys all get their own room, but they're not meant to have guests. Like, not at all.

Which makes my decision to sneak into Ronan's room on this stretch very risky and very unusual for me, the girl who doesn't break the rules often.

But this man makes me want to throw my damn rule book out the window. I want him constantly. Even more so now that we've worked through the drama from the other week, and the world hasn't ended with everyone knowing about us. Which is why I jumped at the chance to fly out and join the team for the last few days of their away game series, even though my workload managing Maverick's situation is still heavy.

Three days out of town to watch the games and appreciate Ronan's talent openly without worrying about who's watching?

Yes, please.

Two nights of lying in my lonely hotel bed, knowing he's just one floor above me, also lying in a lonely hotel bed?

No, thanks.

Which brings me to the present, opening the door from the stairwell on Ronan's floor and peeking around the corner to see if anyone's out in the hall. It's late and the guys are tired after winning their game today. It's the last game of the series; tomorrow we'll hop on a plane and head home to Vancouver. And try as I might, I can't stay away from Ronan a minute longer. I need to feel his arms around me, his lips on mine, his cock inside of me.

I'm desperate for an orgasm only he can provide.

All it takes is one soft knock and his door whips open, a hand reaching out to pull me inside. I muffle my giggle as Ronan closes the door and flips over the security latch. "Did anyone see you?" he whispers in a low rumble.

I shake my head as I toe off my shoes, already turned on just from the sight of him, shirtless, wearing nothing but a pair of soft plaid pajama pants. "No one." I tear my sweater off over my head.

"Fuck, I've missed you," he groans softly as it falls to the floor. He stays at the door, watching me with a predatory gaze. "Having you so close these last few days but not being able to kiss you whenever I want, not holding you in my arms every spare second, not being able to fuck you every night has been torture."

My pants drop and I step out of them, clad only in my lace underwear and bra, and put my hands on my hips. "Who said you couldn't kiss me?"

He's breathing heavily, his arousal evident, given the bulge in his pants. His eyes are like molten fire, staring at me. "I was trying to be respectful."

Slowly, I advance, prowling toward him. "Word is out that we're together now; you can be respectful and still kiss me," I whisper as I reach him, placing one hand on his muscular chest, raking my nails lightly through the short hairs. "And there's no reason you can't fuck me now. In fact, I'd be very pleased if you would."

Ronan stoops down slightly, only to lift me up into his arms. My breathless giggle is swallowed by his kiss as he moves quickly into the bathroom. The only light comes from the bedside lamps, making the bathroom dark. It's intimate, the soft glow reflecting on the mirrors of the bathroom, the dim light making us rely so much more on touch.

And oh boy, do I want to touch. My hands roam across his chest and shoulders as we kiss. He's still holding me, my legs locked around his waist. Somehow, with one arm still tightly banded around me, he manages to use his other hand to turn on the shower. The room quickly fills with steam and only then does he set me down. He pulls a foil packet out of his pajama pocket, setting it on the shower ledge with a wink aimed my way. My hands hurry to unclasp my bra, and then I wiggle out of my panties as he pushes down his pants. He takes my hand and leads me into the large shower, turning so that the force of the water is on him and I get just a light spray of damp heat. Water droplets cling to him, tracing a path down his body that I want to follow with my tongue.

But Ronan tilts my chin up with his hand and kisses me swiftly. "Kai is in the room next door, Cherry. And these walls are thin. Which means you've got to be quiet. That's why we're here. So the water can hide the sound of you moaning my name when I make you come."

He tugs my lower lip between his teeth when he's done talking, biting gently before sweeping his tongue inside my mouth. We stay there, making out like sex-crazed maniacs for several minutes. The steam from the shower swirls around us, adding to the erotic energy. Stealing my idea, Ronan presses one more deep kiss to my lips before dropping to his knees, his tongue tracing the fall of water over my body.

"Mmm. I've missed you." He tilts his head up to look at me, and the look of pure wonder and happiness on his face almost brings me to my knees with its intensity. This mixture of sweet, romantic Ronan and the dirty words he speaks to me is the perfect blend of everything I've always wanted.

His lips graze my belly button, and then down farther, until he kisses the top of my mound. So close to where I want him, my hips move on their own, searching, seeking his touch.

"Ronan, please," I whisper, my head thrown back against the tile wall of the shower as he ghosts his lips around my sex. His hands dig into my hips, guiding me to widen my stance. And then, finally.

With the first swipe of his tongue, I have to clap a hand over my mouth to hide my moan of relief. The second swipe, I'm digging into the strands of his hair to hold him in place. The third, I'm lost. My hips writhe under his touch with every lick, suck, bite, and kiss.

After the last few days of look but don't touch, I'm ready to combust.

"More. Fuck. Yes. More. Ohmygod, Ronan. Right there!" My whispers become frantic, it's hard to stay quiet when he sucks my clit into his mouth, sliding one finger into my greedy sex. But just as my orgasm is within reach, he releases me, and there's no muffling my whine of discontent.

"Why are you torturing me?" I half growl, half whine as I slap his chest once he's standing up, towering over me again. I can feel his hard length between us and reach down to wrap my hands around it. But he stops me, his hand covering mine.

"Because I need to feel that pussy squeezing my dick. Holding me inside of you, where I belong."

"Then what are you waiting for?" I mumble against his lips, feeling his curve up in response.

"Are you aching and desperate for me like I am for you?" He leans back giving me an arrogant smirk.

My head bobs up and down.

"Good."

Fingers probe my entrance, sliding in and out easily as I gasp and let my head fall back, eyes closed. He teases me just for a minute or two more before withdrawing. My eyes fly open and I'm about to let him know just how I feel about this edging, but then I hear the telltale crinkle of the condom wrapper, and when I look down, he's rolling it onto his cock.

"Fucking finally."

Ronan just laughs at my impatience. With one hand, he lifts my leg, encouraging me to wrap it around his waist. He has to bend his knees slightly to line us up, and then he's thrusting into me, shallow at first, then deeper every time until our hips meet, flush against one another and he's fully inside of me.

"God, yes," I moan, and the sound echoes in the dim bathroom.

His mouth covers mine for a second, then without fully lifting his lips from mine, he whispers, "Shh."

Slowly, he starts to move. In and out. Our height difference makes his cock stroke my inner walls at just the right angle, the slight curve to his cock hitting me with every snap of his hips. The cool tile behind me contrasts with the intense heat of the water and of Ronan's body against mine.

With all his teasing earlier, it's all I can do to hold off my orgasm. I might want the release, but I don't want this to end.

"Fuck, Willow," he whispers against my skin as our foreheads press together under the spray of the shower. "I can't hold off, Cherry. I'm sorry. I have to —"

He's cut off by his own orgasm, and his low groan triggers my own as I gasp and writhe in his arms, my body clenching around his throbbing dick that I swear, I feel pulsing inside of me.

His head drops to my shoulder as he takes in a ragged breath before lifting his head to press the sweetest of kisses to my lips.

To my surprise, tears gather in my eyes. It hits me then, all the times I thought I saw something unreadable or undefinable on his face — it wasn't that I couldn't read him. I just wasn't ready for the truth of what was written so clearly.

He loves me. This man loves me.

And I love him, too. I just have to be brave enough to tell him.

A little while later, we're tangled together in his bed. I'm back in my bra and panties and Ronan's wearing his pajama pants to give us some hope of restraint. I can't stay the night, as much as I want to. The chance of getting caught sneaking out of his room goes up exponentially tomorrow morning. Which means I have to leave soon. But not right now.

Right now, I'm warm and comfortable, cuddled up against his side. His hand is drawing lazy circles across my bare skin, and his lips keep pressing soft kisses to the top of my head. There's an easy silence between us, and in that space, my mind starts to fill in the gaps, illuminating the parts of our relationship I tried to ignore.

The parts where I held back, afraid to tell him my deepest fears.

"In university, I had this professor. She was a former journalist. And she used to tell us stories of her time spent working the sports circuit. How women were treated as second-rate, about the rampant misogynism. It was horrible. She warned all of us girls that we'd have to work double hard for half the reward if we went into sports. That we'd constantly be fighting to prove we belonged in that space. That message never left me." I suck in a deep breath, letting the feel of his hand on me settle me. "When Uncle Mike offered me the internship, I almost said no. The Tridents were where I always wanted to work, but I wanted to earn my way. But in the end, Uncle Mike agreed he would never get involved in my career path, and he pointed out that using connections wasn't necessarily a bad thing." A small smile graces my face remembering that conversation. "Still, that fear of being seen as nothing more than a nepotism hire, the niece who couldn't get a job on her own, the woman who needed a man's help to get anywhere, it never really faded. Even after years of hard work, proving I belonged, and that I had value. It's never fully gone away. I struggle with it, even now. But anyway, about a year after I graduated and started my real job working for the team, the Vicki Daws story broke."

I see him frown in confusion. It's possible he never knew about this, but it's something I've never forgotten.

"She worked in HR for a team in Arizona. And she started to date one of the players. I'm sure it wasn't the first time something like that happened, but their breakup was especially ugly. She ended up losing her job and having to leave the state. It was a message to women working in sports everywhere. The players come first. I vowed then and there to never get mixed up with a player, especially not one from my team. My job, proving I deserved to be there, was too important to me to risk on something like a relationship."

Lifting myself up onto my elbow, I rest one hand on his chest and stare straight into his eyes.

"I've never once been tempted to break that rule for myself. Not until you. Somehow, you convinced me that what we had was worth the risk. Because you made me feel safe and like maybe I could somehow have it all. The player and the job. Turns out, I was right." I end with a soft smile, hoping he can see the words I'm not quite ready to say, even though my heart knows they're true.

Ronan lifts his head to kiss me. "I know what a gift that is, you trusting me and letting me in. I don't take it for granted, Cherry."

"I know you don't." I continue to stroke my hand over his chest. "That's why we're here right now. Because I do trust you. You're worth me letting you in — to my life and my heart." This time, I lower my head to kiss him. And when his hand comes up to tangle in my hair, holding me in place, I melt into him, into his kiss.

If I could, I'd stay here forever. But I can't, which is why, after making myself dizzy from his kiss for several minutes, I pull back. "I have to go," I say with more than a little reluctance as I climb out of bed.

Ronan's groan echoes how I feel. "Goddamn it. Mark my words, someday we won't be sneaking away from each other in the middle of the night. Someday, I'm going to fall asleep with you and wake up with you."

"I want that, too," I reply as I zip up my jeans. His gaze narrows in on the action and he frowns.

"I hate that you're getting dressed right now. Why did I think that once our relationship was public we'd have more time together?"

Crawling back across the bed in only my jeans and bra, I kiss his pouty face. "Because you forgot that you're still a famous baseball player who has to get some sleep so he can win all of his games."

"I'm not playing a game tomorrow," comes his grumpy reply. But when I move to back off the bed, he grabs me, pulling me down on top of him. "All I have to do tomorrow is sit on a plane and keep my hands off you. This whole ‘no guests allowed in your hotel room' is bullshit."

A giggle of pure happiness escapes me. It's a heady feeling, being the focus of his attention like this. Knowing he wants me as much as I want him, if not more.

"Bullshit or not, we're going to be good," I chide gently as I once again disentangle myself from his arms. "Which means I'm going back to my room, and we're both going to get some sleep. And tomorrow, no one will be any wiser about what happened here tonight. Got it?" I arch my brow at him, but the effect is lost when paired with my big goofy smile.

Ronan's is much softer in return, once again brimming with what I now fully believe is his love for me.

"Got it. Make sure you save the seat next to you on the airplane."

I pick up my shirt and nod. "Definitely." I pick up the white teddy bear he travels with and toss it at him. "You'll have to make do with cuddling Snowberry tonight."

"A poor substitute for you, Cherry."

I blow him a kiss, then creep out the door, checking that no one is around to see me sneaking out.

Once I've made it back down the stairs and into my own room, I flop down on my own bed with a very satisfied sigh.

He really is worth breaking the rules.