Hot Number (Hot Zone 2)

He gathered the equipment together and they loaded it back in the Jeep. After washing their hands with bottled water, they sat down and ate in a shady spot beneath a large tree. The sun beat down overhead but the large leaves kept them from the worst of the heat and they enjoyed the turkey sandwiches Pops had made along with the chocolate-chip cookies Micki had added to their bag.

Full from food and exhausted from their workout, she raised her hands overhead and yawned.

"Lie down." He folded his legs beneath him and patted his thighs.

"You're a tough man to say no to." She did as he suggested, stretching out so her head lay in his lap and her body stretched out on their large blanket.

He massaged her temples with his fingertips and she relaxed, shutting her eyes and allowing herself to breathe easily.

They spent an entire day in each other's company doing nothing but just being together. She couldn't recall a time when she'd felt more at ease. She couldn't remember a time when she'd felt more like herself. She couldn't remember a time when she'd been happier. Or one that had ended so quickly.

They returned to the house long after the sun had set Damian dropped his keys in the kitchen and, yawning, Micki waited as he hit Play on the answering machine.

First there was the usual litany of messages from his sisters and nieces, all of which she knew he'd return before they turned in for the night

Then she heard a vaguely familiar masculine voice break the peacefulness of their day. "Fuller, it's Coach. Since you're flying in tomorrow morning, I expect you in my office at four and suited up with the rest of the team tomorrow night."

Damian's guilt-ridden eyes met hers. She didn't have to ask why he hadn't mentioned leaving before. Because if he had, they probably wouldn't have shared the same kind of carefree day. She wouldn't have seen his field of dreams and she definitely wouldn't have let herself pretend their time together didn't have to end.

"You can stay as long as you want," he said.

She shook her head. "No thanks. It's way past time I head home, too." She put up a brave front, a pretense that this particular ending didn't bother her at all.

Ironic that she'd been coerced into coming to the island in the first place and now she didn' t want to leave.

DAMIAN AWOKE WITH MICKI in his arms. On the night-stand were two crinkled foil packets, evidence that they'd made love not once but twice last night. And not quickly or frantically either. Instead their joinings had been slow and leisurely, so neither one of them would be likely to forget this time on the island.

Now, Damian watched Micki sleep. Her blond curls were tousled around her face, much as they'd been after she collapsed on top of him. He liked when she was on top because he knew she was controlling the pace, sometimes squeezing her thighs together and milking him for all she was worth and other times releasing so her mound ground into him at just the right spot, all so she could make her climax and his that much stronger. In a few short days, he knew her that well.

She'd come to know him, too. Enough that when she'd heard the coach's voice, she hadn't condemned him for not leveling with her sooner. She hadn't complained about him having to leave. Not a single pout or whine, he thought. Micki didn't do any of the things that bothered him in other women and yet a part of him wished she would.

So he could find an excuse to walk away with no guilt? No regrets? No second thoughts? He'd have plenty of those, Damian knew because leaving her was the last thing he wanted to do.

And leaving her was exactly what he had to do in order to preserve what remained of his career. If this time had taught him anything, it was that he'd been right about his inability to split his focus. When he was with Micki, he didn't give the game a second thought. Not even with Carter belting home runs and breathing down his neck.

He had to return to New York and deal with his life. Beyond the recent injury, he had the ongoing issue of arthritis to deal with and a talk with Yank was overdue.

It was time he faced the painful fact that this season, or next if he wanted to push it, should be his last. He'd buried the truth as well as himself inside Micki's willing body last night, but the sun shining through the bedroom blinds was a wake-up call he couldn't miss. A wake-up regarding many things. His career was just one of them.

CHAPTER EIGHT

ON THE PLANE RIDE HOME, Micki feigned sleep because it was easier than making small talk while looking at Damian’s handsome face. They'd had their fling and it had been more than she'd ever dreamed of.

Yet it was time she faced a few harsh realities. Yes, she and Damian had shared some amazing, special, magic moments. Intimate moments, and not all of them sexual, she thought recalling their time on his baseball field. Yet obviously nothing he'd experienced with Micki had distinguished her from any of the other women in his life. Otherwise they wouldn't be on the verge of saying goodbye, she thought as Damian walked her to the limo she'd arranged to pick her up from the airport. She didn't want him to feel responsible for her for a second longer than necessary.

The truth hurt because despite knowing the score going in, she'd hoped for more from Damian. She wasn't going to get it. Time to move on with some great memories and enough of a confidence boost to send her into the dating world with a new look, new image and new attitude. And maybe she had some swampland she could sell herself and call it paradise.

Standing by her car, Micki turned to Damian. The least she could do was hold her head high while she proved to him she'd meant it when she'd said all she wanted was a short affair and she was enough of a grown-up to walk away with her pride intact.

Damian met her gaze, a serious expression on his face. "Micki-"

She shook her head. She didn't want to hear him belittle their time together. It was a turning point in her life and she'd never regret it.

“Thanks for kidnapping me." She didn't have to force a smile. Around Damian, it came easily.

"My pleasure." His voice held a sincerity that took her off guard.

"Don't be too hard on Carter," Micki said, covering a subject she knew was important. "He's young and stupid. He'll defeat himself. People like him always do."