Play Me

What did she mean when she said I was scared, too? Was she nervous about the team not being ready? About letting her father down? Maybe she was scared because she was developing feelings for me. Yeah, no, I seriously doubted that. Kendall had made it clear over and over again she wasn’t attracted to me. Hell, she even said I was difficult.

She also said I was kind and gentle.

Jesus, what the hell is wrong with me?

I picked up my pace and ran faster. Why in hell am I dissecting her conversation with her mother? So she thought I was kind. Maybe she liked the whole “white knight in shining armor” bullshit. I couldn’t think about it any longer. Between her insulting me, and giving me a fucking ball gag, I was about to lose my damn mind. I needed to get screwed—preferably by Kendall, but that was never going to happen.

Finding myself in front of my apartment, I paused for a few moments. Part of me wanted to walk over to her door, kick it in, and show her exactly what I would do with her little gift. I’d use it on her, and she would be the one biting down in sheer fucking pleasure. Too bad I tossed it.

An image of Kendall popped into my mind—her arms tied up over her head, me moving inside her, a look of ecstasy etched on that beautiful face of hers. I groaned before chastising myself for it. For all I knew, Kendall had cameras everywhere, recording every sound I made.

Scrubbing my hand over my face, I headed into my apartment. Tonight I would be jacking off at the very far side of the apartment, away from any shared walls. I may have to go into the pantry, for fuck’s sake. She surely won’t be able to hear me from there.

The knock on my door made me more nervous than it should have. Only Kendall would show up on my doorstep at seven in the morning. I mentally prepared myself for her.

I threw it open and glared at her as she stood there with a smile.

“Good morning! Good morning! Good morning!”

She held the last note for entirely too long.

I pushed the bagel I was about to eat into her mouth. “It’s too early. I’m not a morning person, and I can’t deal with you right now.”

Without missing a beat, she pulled the bagel out and took a bite as she followed me into my apartment.

“Cinnamon raisin? I wouldn’t have pegged you for that. Maybe more like a plain bagel to go with your starchy attitude.”

With a roll of my eyes, I grabbed my keys and the notes I had on the coach we were going to see as well as some additional players for recruitment.

“Let’s get going. The faster we get there, the faster this day is over.”

She looked at me with a strange expression—something that looked almost like guilt. She was up to something.

Ignoring the desire to push her against the wall and kiss the truth out of her, I grabbed my duffel bag and headed back to the door.

“What is the duffel bag for?”

With a shrug, I said, “I always bring a bag with me. It has extra change of clothes, some workout things, and a few protein bars.”

Her nose crinkled in the cutest way. “Why?”

“Habit, I guess. You never know when you’re going to want to work out or need an extra set of clothes.”

“Hunter, you do realize that Franklin is only a few hours away, right? I seriously doubt you’re going to need a change of clothes and a few protein bars.”

“You’ve never driven through Nashville. It will probably take us a good three and a half hours to get there. And what if we break down?”

Kendall raised one perfectly arched brow.

“In a downpour.”

She crossed her arms over her chest, and I tried not to look at her tits.

“For hours with no food.”

“Right. Way to be prepared, Coach.”

I watched her walk out the door and couldn’t help but admire the way her ass looked in those stark business pants she had on. When she had crossed her arms, her silk blouse opened just a tad, and I knew if I had really wanted to, I could have seen the swell of her breasts.

Stop or you’re never going to make it through this trip.

Whoever her fuck buddy was, I was jealous of the bastard.

We headed to my truck in the parking lot, and I came to a halt.

She did not. She. Did. Not.

Turning to face her, I narrowed my eyes. “You let the air out of my tires?”

With a look of innocence, she placed her hand over her mouth and gasped. “I wouldn’t even know how to do that! It’s quite rude of you to point the finger at someone with no proof.”

“Right. With a father like Damien Wales, you’re going to tell me you wouldn’t know how to check the air pressure in the tires on your tricycle?”

The corners of her mouth lifted in a soft smile.

“Guess we’ll have to take my car.”

She sauntered over to her BMW SUV. When I reached the passenger side, I caught her smirk.

Oh, she thinks she’s gotten one over on me. Okay. Hunter, two; Kendall, three. But the day is not over.

“Buckle up. It’s time to get going if we’re going to stay on schedule.”

I groaned in defeat.

“You do like making moaning sounds, don’t you?”

My dick jumped. We had

been bantering back and forth, and I decided it was time to bring out the big guns in this war. “Why? Do you like hearing me moan? I’m sure I can use my skills and we can both moan. Together.”

I had to give her credit. The only way I knew my comment affected her was the tightening of her grip on the steering wheel. She was a hard nut to crack.

“Together? Hmm. I foresee us doing just that. Once this team hits the field and we begin losing.”

I huffed. “I’m not the type of guy who likes to lose, at anything.”

The heat from her quick glance in my direction had me turning my head to look out the window.

“In the bag in the back seat, there are some travel snacks for you. I figured if my staff was going to go to all the trouble getting you your… treats… the least I could do was bring some.”

I reached into the back and pulled her purse up front with us. When I looked inside, I smirked.

Mike and Ikes. Yes!

I ripped open the box.

“You’re going to eat them now? Before breakfast?”

“Why not? I already ate.”

She gasped.

I couldn’t help but laugh and then popped a handful of Mike and Ikes in my mouth.

“Um, maybe you shouldn’t eat so many at once.”

“Excuse me, don’t tell me how to eat my Mike and Ikes,” I said around a mouthful of candy. The moment I started to chew, I knew something was terribly, terribly wrong.

“Holy fucking shit!” I yelled, rolling down the window, and started to spit out the mouthful of fire.

“Water!” I cried out as my eyes filled with something foreign and it began to leak out down my face. Tears? Are those tears?

Kendall pulled over on the side of the road and put the car in Park.

As she got out of the car, she called out, “I put a cooler full of water in the back!”

I jumped out of the car and spun around in circles, searching for anything to put out the flames in my mouth. My throat burned, and I was positive I would never be able to taste food again.