Pitching phenom Bruce "Jilly" Gillette has a hard time talking to women. His hulking presence of tattoos and muscles is what makes him an intimidating closer on the mound, yet off the field, he's painfully shy, uncomfortable in his own skin.
Desperate to revamp his loner image, the New York Kings hold a dream date contest, granting the lucky winner a night on the town with their surly reliever, doing whatever it takes to force Jilly out of his comfort zone.
Hailey Halpert enters the contest on a whim, looking for answers as to why her high school relationship with Jilly hit the skids. Now she’s a popular romance author writing under a pen name, and her reappearance in Jilly's life is no accident. It turns out that her novels are all about the sexy players on the Kings, and Jilly has no clue that he's about to become her new leading man.
"Jilly, are you coming or what? We have a game to play today, or at least I do, so get your blubbering ass in gear." Scott opens the car door, waiting for him to get in.
Then Jilly does something I don't expect. He slings his good arm around my waist, lifting me straight off the ground. I gasp when I feel my feet hovering in midair, and immediately clutch at his shirt. He gives me a sultry smile, the kind I've never seen him give me before, like there's a naughty side lurking deep inside of him that I'm only now getting to see, and it thrills me beyond belief. It's like he's finally comfortable showing me just how much he wants me. He doesn't care who's watching. He intends to put on a show.
He dips me back as far as I can go so that all I see is him. I'm not aware of Scott standing there tapping his foot. The noise from the street falls silent. Even the rays of sun are hidden overhead. All I hear is Jilly's labored breathing in my ear. All I feel is the curling of his massive bicep as he holds me effortlessly above the ground. All I see is the darkening desire in his lust-filled eyes as his lips get closer to mine. But when he kisses me, it's soft, gentle, showing me that he still feels the need to be careful with me, unsure of his own strength, like he doesn't want to take the chance of hurting me. To him, I'm still something delicate and fragile he needs to protect.
But I'm not going to break. I kiss him back more forcefully, letting him know I can handle whatever he can give me, that there’s no need to hold back. He moans, his hot tongue finding its way into my mouth. I hear a few car horns beep as they drive by, but I block them out. I close my eyes and surrender to what he's doing to me. He readjusts his footing, holding my body against his as he stands up straight, pressing me as close as he can to his massive chest. I feel the drumming of his pulse as my fingers skate across his neck and I reach up to hold onto him even tighter, when Scott coughs loudly.
"I think it's about time to break it up, kids," Scott urges, bringing us back to reality, sharply clapping his hands. "I think the whole city knows you wanna get in each other's pants."
I reluctantly draw my swollen lips away from Jilly's. He gives me that sexy grin again before nuzzling the tip of my nose. Taking his time, he slowly and seductively lowers me to my feet, making sure I can feel him straining against me. I whimper, biting my bottom lip to keep from crying out, resting my hands on his hips, trying to catch my breath.
"I can't wait for our date tonight," he whispers so that only I can hear him, aware that people are standing all around us taking our picture.
"I don't think I'm gonna make it till midnight." I pout, pressing my forehead to his chest, not wanting to share this moment with anyone but him.
"The anticipation will only make it that much better." Jilly kisses the top of my head, sighing as I withdraw myself from his embrace.
"I intend to hold you to that." I grasp his hand, stretching my arm as far as it will go, not wanting him to leave.
I watch sadly as he ducks into the car, cramming his body into the back seat next to Scott. Last night, I could've been with him, but I turned him down, and I can’t shake this helpless feeling that our time together is running out.
Collette West grew up as somewhat of a jock-nerd hybrid. Entering the world three weeks premature, her dad nearly missed her birth because he had seats behind the dugout for a sold-out, highly-anticipated match-up between two of baseball's biggest rivals. Not to be outdone, her book-loving mom taught her how to read by the time she was three. A love of the game coupled with an appreciation for the written word were instilled in Collette's impressionable brain from a young age. No wonder her characters believe in the philosophy: sports + romance = a little slice of heaven.
Splitting her time between the Pocono Mountains and Manhattan, Collette indulges her inner fangirl by going to as many games as she can from hockey to baseball and downloading every sports romance novel in existence onto her iPad. When she's not clicking away on her laptop, she enjoys walking her dog in Central Park, satisfying her caffeine craving at the Starbucks on Broadway and keeping an eye out for Mr. Right. But above all, she loves dishing with her readers. Email her at collette_west@yahoo.com.
She is the author of NIGHT GAMES and GAME CHANGER.
