4. Shane
Four
Shane
I feel like the walls of my office are closing in around me. I pace back and forth in front of my desk, raking my hand through my hair.
Sadie’s going to be here in less than thirty minutes to start her internship.
With me. For eight weeks.
Christ. What the hell am I going to do?
I collapse into my chair and stare unseeing at the computer screen. I’ve been both dreading and anticipating this moment in equal measure ever since she texted me to accept my offer.
It was an offer I shouldn’t have made. Having her around for the next eight weeks is playing with fire. It’s dancing on the edge of a cliff. One false move and I’ll plummet into the rocks below. Get burned. Whatever.
You get the idea.
I shouldn’t have offered, but I did, because seeing her sitting there in that coffee shop, those gorgeous silver eyes brimming with tears…fuck. It nearly killed me. I would have done anything, offered her the world on a platter, to erase the sadness on her face. Not just sadness. My girl was devastated.
She’s not your girl , I remind myself, dancing back a few inches from that cliff edge.
I let out a sigh, replaying the conversation in the coffee house for the hundredth time. And god, I’m such a sick fuck, because even though it killed me to see her crying and in pain, a part of me liked that I was there to take care of her. She was so vulnerable. So sweet. She needed me, and I was able to come to her rescue.
I want to come to Sadie’s rescue over and over again.
I close my eyes and let myself imagine gathering her in my arms, stroking her soft, lovely curls and whispering that she doesn’t need to cry, that Daddy will take care of everything. Take care of her.
“Fuck,” I groan out loud and scrub a hand over my face, my stubble bristling against my fingertips. I shouldn’t be having these thoughts. Not when she’s Lilah’s best friend. Not when she’s young enough to be my daughter. Not when she’s going to be my intern.
I have to get myself under control. I have to find a way to treat her the way I would any other intern. Polite, but distant. Friendly, but professional.
I close my eyes again, and this time my asshole brain conjures up the sensation of her soft skin beneath my fingertips as I brushed away her tears. I wanted to kiss her so fucking badly. I almost did.
God, what I would do for just a taste of Sadie’s luscious mouth. Just one taste.
Right. Like one taste would be enough.
Fuck. I’m hard again, despite the way I fisted my cock in the shower earlier this morning. I stroked myself roughly, almost punishingly as I imagined it was Sadie’s hand wrapped around me. That it was her hot little mouth swallowing my come with a hungry moan as I erupted all over the shower floor, her name on my lips.
Christ, I’m going to hell.
But before I roast in the eternal flames of the underworld, I need to survive the next eight weeks. I take a deep breath and smooth my hands down the front of my gray henley. A knock sounds at my door and my heart crashes against my ribs.
“Come in,” I call out. I’m amazed at how steady and calm my voice sounds.
The door swings open and Sadie steps into my office. She looks both professional and sexy as fuck in a pencil skirt that hugs her perfect ass and a silky blouse that hints at the ample tits beneath. Her hair is loose, her curls falling around her shoulders. Her lips curve into a shy smile.
“Hey, Coach,” she says easily, glancing around my office. The walls are covered in Toronto Thunder memorabilia and framed team photos. Her eyes linger on an older framed photo of me at the height of my playing days. She’s probably marveling at how much younger I looked.
I suck in a deep breath and stand from behind my desk. Okay. This is fine. Everything is fine. I just need my heart to calm the hell down and my cock to get the message that Sadie is off-limits.
“Hey, Sadie. Welcome.” I work to keep my voice friendly but brisk. “Let me give you a quick tour and introduce you to some key people.”
“Okay, yeah,” she says, nodding, but I don’t miss the way her smile falters slightly at my distant tone.
I gesture for her to precede me out the door, aiming for professional but probably landing somewhere closer to gruff asshole. She nods again, and as she turns, I’m powerless to stop my eyes from drifting down to her perfect ass. I imagine gripping it in my hands, her cheeks more than filling my palms as I thrust into her tight—
No! I growl at myself. I shake my head. Stop.
I lead her through the facility, pointing out the dressing rooms, training areas, and staff offices. I introduce her to the other members of my coaching staff, the trainers, and some of the marketing and PR staff. Everyone smiles and welcomes her warmly, because of course they do. Sadie’s like sunshine and flowers on a spring day. Who wouldn’t like that?
“So what exactly will I be doing?” she asks as we head back to my office. She looks up at me from under her lashes, her teeth sinking into her plump bottom lip.
My mind unhelpfully conjures up an image of Sadie on her knees, looking up at me just like that as she takes my cock between those sweet lips.
Fuck, yes.
I’d wind my fingers through her curls, urging her to suck me deeper. She’d moan around my cock, her lips stretched obscenely, desperate and eager to please me.
“Shane?”
Her voice snaps me back to reality.
I clear my throat. “Right. Sorry. You’ll be shadowing me, helping with administrative tasks, sitting in on meetings to take notes. Basic stuff to start.”
“Sounds good,” she says, nodding. Then she glances over at me, heat flashing in those impossibly pretty eyes. “I’m really excited to learn from you.”
“Uh huh.” I need to get away from her before I do something stupid, like pin her to the wall and kiss her senseless. My mind is reeling with all of the things I’d like to teach her. “Listen, I have somewhere I need to be. Why don’t you get settled at the desk outside my office? I’ll check in with you later.”
“Oh. Sure. Okay.” I can tell she’s taken aback by my abruptness, and I feel like an asshole, but I can’t handle being near her for another second. Not when all I can think about is bending her over my desk and burying my aching cock inside her tight little pussy while I tell her what a sweet, special girl she is.
I’m sick. There’s no denying it.
Throughout the day, I find myself drifting over to Sadie’s desk far more often than is actually necessary. I tell myself that I’m just checking in, making sure she’s settling in okay, but it’s such an obvious lie that I can’t make myself believe it. I’m like a moth to her flame; I can’t seem to stay away.
Every time I approach, she glances up at me with those stunning silver eyes, a soft smile on her pretty lips. “Everything okay?” she asks. Her voice is like honey, sweet and warm.
“Uh, yeah. Everything’s fine,” I say, shoving my hands in my pockets because they’re shaking with how badly I want to touch her. “You settling in okay? Have everything you need?”
“Yep,” she says with a little nod. “I’m just getting familiar with your schedule and your preferences.”
I swallow hard at that, my horny as fuck brain unhelpfully supplying me with a long list of my preferences, all of which involve Sadie. Naked. Handcuffed to my bed, legs spread for me like a good girl. Moaning my name when I make her come, over and over again.
Fuck.
I give a jerky nod. “Good.”
I know I should walk away, put some distance between us, but I can’t seem to make my feet move. I’m glued to the spot, drinking her in. She’s so fucking beautiful, it makes my chest ache.
As I watch, she tucks a stray curl behind her ear, exposing the elegant column of her neck. I imagine pressing my lips there, feeling her pulse flutter against my tongue as I taste her soft skin.
Sadie glances up, catching me staring and I quickly look away. Without a word or another glance in her direction, I head back into my office.
The day is a special kind of torture, trying to work while Sadie is right outside my office. But I white-knuckle my way through it, keeping our interactions brief and professional, even as all I can think about is kissing her.
It’s late afternoon and I’m on my way to the dressing room for a player meeting when Sadie rounds the corner, clearly on her way out for the day. We almost collide in the hallway, and I reach out to steady her, acting purely on instinct. My hand closes around her arm, and an electric current charges through my entire body at the contact, even though she’s bundled up in her thick winter coat. She sucks in a sharp breath, her pupils blown. Our bodies are only inches apart, and I can smell her perfume. Vanilla and cherries.
“Sorry,” she says, blushing so prettily I almost die.
“It’s okay,” I say, my voice deep and rough.
Her eyes lock on mine, and I swear I see something in those gray depths. Something hungry and needy.
But that can’t be, because there’s no way a young woman like Sadie would be even remotely interested in me. I need to believe that because if I thought there was even a chance she felt anything for me, I don’t think I’d be able to hold myself back from her.
But she doesn’t want me. This fucked up obsession is all me.
I exhale and take a step back. “I’ll see you on Thursday, Sadie, “ I say, and I wonder if she hears the catch in my voice.
She nods, her bottom lip caught between her perfect teeth. “Yeah. See you Thursday, Shane.”
I watch her walk away, hips and ass swaying, until she disappears around the corner. I lean back against the wall, resting my head against the cool cinderblock.
“Fuck me.”