Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
~DANNY~
The game was a win, something Tampa has been needing.
There was chemistry out there tonight—again something that’s been lacking.
I’m not sure if it was the team bonding I witnessed or if the Blaze was just hungry.
Mac was on fire. She ended the night with a hat trick, and I hadn’t seen her smile that big in a long time.
It was nice.
Searching the locker room areas for her, I come up empty.
No Mac. I was hoping to get a glimpse of her so I could grab her, and we could talk.
I don’t want to talk about work; there are no questions to ask for the article.
This is time I want for just me and her.
But with no sign of her at the stadium, I head to her house hoping she’ll be there.
It’s team housing, so there’s always the risk.
But Mac got lucky and is in one that’s more out of the way than the rest of the team.
Her backyard is private to the others, which I’m sure she appreciates, being the quiet and sometimes shy girl who would rather play the game than talk about it or socialize in large crowds.
That’s a bonus to writing the article on her; I’m getting to know her more than I would be if I was just some guy hanging around a bar.
Sure, I feel bad when she’s telling me things because she has to.
The piece is for work, after all, but even still, I enjoy the little flickers of information that come my way about the blonde beauty.
Sure enough, I can hear the sounds of the ball smacking a rebounder in the quiet of the night.
I look around the well-lit complex; the townhomes the team live in are all white, with alternating-colored shutters.
Mac’s backyard is fenced in. I grab the six-foot tall privacy fence gate and swing it open.
There she stands.
Her back is to me, and she has three bright blue-and-yellow Tampa Bay soccer balls at her feet.
I stand here, arms crossed over my chest, taking in the sight of her.
For someone who just scored three goals, her posture is telling me she’s not happy with herself—shoulders slunk low, head down.
A weight has found its way onto her shoulders, and I wonder why.
Everyone in the stadium had such an electric energy about them tonight.
It didn’t feel like it was just the win; it looked like a group of fans who finally had confidence in their team.
When that first goal went in for the San Diego Wave, I thought for sure I’d see heads shaking as I had before. But not this time.
The fans were on their feet, encouraging them to keep going.
You could tell the girls felt that way too, encouraging one another on the field and on the bench.
Talking more than they had in other games.
Calling for passes. They looked like a team, and the crowd picked up on it.
Hell, I picked up on it. I was cheering for them too, more feverishly than I normally would have been.
“What are you doing here?” Mac says, not turning around to see me.
“How did you know it was me?” I ask her, smirking at her back. Her hair is in a low ponytail and still wet from the shower. She’s got on a pair of black shorts and a white shirt. There’s no doubt in my mind that it has a Tampa Blaze logo on it.
“Lucky guess.” Mac turns so that she’s facing me.
I can see that there is in fact a Tampa Bay Blaze logo on that shirt of hers. It’s tighter than the practice shirts and jerseys she wears. This one is pulled snug across her breasts. I stare at them a bit too long, because when I look up, she’s glaring at me.
“What are you looking at?”
“I think you know,” I say, winking at her.
Mac giggles and turns back to the rebounder. She’s not dismissing me, though. But she keeps smacking the ball.
Thump. The ball makes another loud smack against the wood. She’s the only one with this type of contraption in her backyard, and as far as I know, she’s the only one who uses it.
“You won. You know that, right?” I ask her. I move so that I’m standing off to the side of her rebounder. I can still see her face and watch those beautiful blue eyes roll as I state the obvious.
“Yeah, I do. But one win doesn’t wipe away the rest of it,” she admits with a shrug.
“Oh, come on. That was the best game I’ve seen you and this team play all season.”
The smile the compliment rewards me with is worth me giving her about twenty more of those.
But I don’t. I wait for her to explain herself.
Before she does, she passes the ball to the wood, receiving it back with a perfect stop.
I want to step in and break the movement, so she’ll talk to me, but I let her go.
Let her work through whatever it is that’s going on in that head of hers.
The silence stretches on, and finally she turns and looks at me.
“What are you doing here?” Her tone isn’t accusatory or rough; it’s genuine curiosity. “I hadn’t expected to see you tonight.”
I shrug. “I wanted to see you.” I cringe inwardly at my words.
Why do I sound like such a chick? I’m basically telling her that I missed her.
That I wanted to see her. That I wanted to have those long legs wrapped around me while she moaned and begged for me to drive into her until she couldn’t take anymore.
“It is nice to see you.”
“Don’t sound so disappointed that you have to admit that to me,” I tell her.
She only shrugs at my comment. There is no witty retort; not like before. I guess the verbal foreplay that’s been happening between us isn't going to continue tonight.
“What’s going on?” I move closer, circling her in my arms as I gently pull her toward me. She comes so easily and lays her head on my shoulder. I get the feeling she needs this hug more than she needs the victory tonight. And I don’t understand why. “Talk to me.”
The silence in the quiet of the backyard is stretching between us, but I don’t push, and I don’t ask her questions I know she’s not ready to answer.
She’ll tell me all in good time, I think.
I can see a few teammates’ windows from here.
But there are no soft glows coming from them. No one else is home.
“The rest of the team go out to celebrate?”
She nods. “Yeah, they wanted to head out tonight.” After stepping out of my arms, Mac picks a ball up and begins juggling it in front of her.
I watch with rapt attention as it lightly bounces from one knee to the other. It’s slow and deliberate. I’ve seen her work it much faster than this, but tonight she’s moving slowly on purpose. My dick twitches at the thought of working her slowly over and over again.
Fuck! What is it about this girl that makes me take everything she does and turn it dirty? Every moment, every touch, and all her words stir something inside me. She needs me to be someone who will listen to tonight, and all I want to be is the person who makes her moan.
“I should be on cloud nine like the rest of them tonight. We won, and I got a hat trick.” She shrugs and shakes her head. “Those are all good things.”
“They are.” I nod and patiently wait for her to continue.
“I wanted to look at the media tonight and be like, in your face. Because, you know, we pulled off a win, even though they were sure we were going to lose.”
I’m one of those members of the media who normally tell her that the organization, even though it’s new, isn’t hacking it.
“The last thing anyone thought this city needed was an NWSL team.”
“I think you’re proving otherwise,” I remind her.
“Look at those fans tonight. The arena was downright electric tonight. I couldn’t believe it.
It was amazing to see you all succeed, and I loved the win.
Every last fucking second of it.” I step closer to her and bring my hands up to either side of her face.
“You were amazing out there, and this team is exactly what we have been missing.”
She smirks. “Are you trying to tell me you were wrong?”
I lean in and brush my lips with hers. “I would never admit being wrong.” Her eyes sparkle in disbelief, so I add, “Normally. But this is one of those times that I think I’m happy to say I was wrong about this team, and most importantly, you.”
Mac giggles. “That’s only because I give you ass.”
She’s deflecting, trying to keep the emotions on the surface, making sure I know that this can’t work, especially if the media is to take her seriously as a player and the Blaze seriously as a team.
She needs them too. Mixing a little business with pleasure is a surefire way to make sure everyone has doubts about her ability and the team’s worth.
“I think there’s more to it than that. But we can go with that—for tonight.”
She shakes her head. “Danny boy, there is no way you need anything more from me than what I’ve been giving you.”
“That’s not true. I need something more.”
“What could that be?” Her blue eyes dance with amusement.
“I could use a bit more of that ass.”
“We did just win, and I stupidly chose not to head out with the team. Instead, I came here to get a little more work in.”
I don’t miss the double innuendo.
“I think I can help out with that. But tell me something, Mac, are you sure you’re going to be able to keep up with all the strenuous activities I might want you to do tonight?”
Mac pushes her body forward just a bit, and I pull her in tighter. I know what she’s looking for—that connection and the feeling of her body on mine. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t looking for the same thing.
“Oh, do you think just because you played ninety minutes of soccer that I don’t want you to ride me?
” I tease her, taking my lips and nipping hers.
She responds by moaning into my mouth and titling her hips into mine just a bit.
I smile into our kiss, and I know that I have her.
It’s the only thing I’ve wanted since I watched her run up and down that field.
If I said those words allowed she would correct me and call it ‘the pitch.’ And I would remind her that she’s in America, not London.
I give her a tight squeeze that feels more like a comforting gesture than passion at this point, but with the things this woman has done to me, the way she’s turned my life upside down, I can’t help but feel like she might be feeling the same way as she relaxes into my touch.
“Wanna come in for a bit?” She peeks up at me from under her lashes. “I didn’t exactly go out and celebrate the big win. Would you like to come and celebrate with me?”
“Yeah, and if I ever say no to that offer, you should probably just shoot me.”
She chuckles. “That’s an interesting way of answering me.”
“Yes, I’ll come inside with you. Let’s celebrate you.”
“We’re not celebrating me,” she clarifies. “We’re celebrating the team's win.” She grabs my hand and starts to lead me inside.
“Aren’t you worried someone will see us?” I ask her as I follow her toward the apartment buildings.
“No one should be home right now, so no one will see you.”
God, she’s so sexy moving around in those little shorts, hair still pulled back.
That sway of confidence in her hips. The side of her that only I get to see.
The sexy side. The confidence is there on the field, but this is different.
I get the feeling I won’t be in charge tonight, and I can’t wait to see what that looks like.
I’m right too. Once we get into her apartment, she drags me back into her pale purple bedroom. I barely get a minute to look around the apartment. It’s sparse, from what I can see. Once we’re in her bedroom, she pushes me toward the bed.
“Let’s lose the pants and that shirt,” she instructs.
“Oh, you’re getting me naked quite fast,” I tease her.
“I am. Learned that trick from you.” She winks at me and pulls her own shirt over her head. Her shorts are spandex, and I hadn’t noticed how well they show off her muscular legs. She looks hot. I have a feeling it’s about to get hotter in here.
I remove my clothes, as requested, then sit on the bed in my boxer briefs. I watch as she slowly makes her way over to me.
“I think there’s something I want to do.”
“And what is that?” I ask her, although I have an idea because she pouted a bit when I didn’t let her suck me off.
“If you could please lie back, I would appreciate it.”
“Oh, you are so polite,” I croon at her.
She chuckles. “Yeah, something like that.”
Pulling at the waistband of my briefs, just enough so that my cock springs free, she grins widely. “Yes, this is what I have been wanting to get my lips on.”
Mac licks her bottom lip and leans in to take me into her mouth. I grin with anticipation as the warmth of her mouth closes over me. She bobs up and down on my cock, letting her teeth drag just a bit.
I moan. “Jesus, baby, that feels so good.”
Just when I think it can’t get any better, her hand slips into my briefs and cups my balls.
I throw my head back and say her name over and over again.
I can feel it. I’m getting close. It’s almost embarrassing, but the woman has a mouth that is unbelievable.
I can’t get enough of it. She strokes me and changes the pace while I lean forward and take a hold of her head, rubbing at her scalp, really trying hard not to adjust her pace.
“Do it,” she grits out from around my cock. “Show me what you need.”
“I need faster,” I tell her. She just nods, and I move her head faster and faster. She’s taking it all in, moaning along with me. The vibrations from her throat are causing me to get closer. “Fuck, baby, I’m going to come.”
She moves quicker, the way I had when I was moving her head. My balls clench and I empty into her mouth. Mac takes it all like a champ before sitting back on her heels when she’s finished, wiping at the corner of her mouth.
“Goddamn, woman, you just might be the death of me,” I tell her.
“Glad you approve.” She stands and her shorts come off. “Now lose those boxers. I need to go for a ride.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I remove my shorts, and she hops on so that she can rock my world yet again.