She shook her head. “It’s not the same.”
“No, it’s not. But that is life, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is. I am still struggling to figure out where I’m going to fit in without competition.”
“How long has it been since you competed?” he asked. He thought she’d been working at Luna Azul for at least a year.
“Three years. I filed a protest as soon as it happened. And I don’t want to sound like I’m full of myself but things usually work out for me. I just expected this to do the same.”
“My dad used to say that everything happens for a reason,” Nate said, hearing his father’s voice in his head. “We might not understand the reason but it’s there.”
She tipped her head to the side and studied him. “Do you believe that?”
“Yes, I do. I’m going to tell you something I don’t let most people know,” he said, leaning across the counter so that their faces were close.
“What is that?”
“I couldn’t have been as content playing baseball as I am with the life I’m living now.”
“Really?” she asked, sounding a bit skeptical.
“Truly. I get to see my brothers every day. I’m paid to entertain my friends and make sure that people have a good time. Is there a better job in the world?”
She nodded. “I see what you mean. I do love dancing and I’m able to do that every night.”
She got a far-off look in her eyes and he knew there was more to the story than she was letting on. “I guess I had gone as far as I could in that career. It was time for something new.”
“And you get to spend the morning with me,” he said.
“Wow, Nate, don’t sell yourself short,” she said with a laugh.
“I never do,” he said, kissing her.
Nate’s advice made sense and she liked the way he gave it out effortlessly and didn’t try to pretend that he had all the answers. He was more than she’d expected him to be, but then he’d been surprising her all night. She should be used to it.
“I’m not really hungry,” she said at last. She hadn’t come back to his place to eat and they both knew it.
“I’m not, either.”
He came around the counter and drew her to her feet. “Want to see the rest of this place?” “Yes, I do.”
He led the way down the hall to his bedroom. On the walls were exquisite pictures in bright colors that reminded her of Mexico City. His home was very modern and now. But it wasn’t a cold, modern decor, it was very warm and inviting and Jen was amazed that she felt so at home here.
She drew him to a stop under a portrait of him wearing a Yankees cap. “When did you take this?”
“Season opener. My dad wanted it … he was so proud of me for going pro. He came to every game if it didn’t interfere with his playing schedule. This hung in his bedroom at our home on Fisher Island.”
“When did he die?” she asked.
“Two weeks after I got injured. He didn’t know I’d never play again,” Nate said. “I’m glad.”
“I think he’d still be proud of you,” she said. She knew that her parents would have been proud of her no matter what she did. Marcia always said that parents just wanted their kids to be happy. Usually she was referring to her own seven-year-old son Riley.
“I’m not sure. Why am I telling you all this stuff?” he asked.
“People tell me things,” she said. “I think I look like the girl next door and people just feel comfortable with me. You probably do, too.”
“Girl next door? What do you mean by that?”
“Just someone comfortable. You know, the kind of girl you can tell your secrets to.”
“You called yourself a girl.”
She mock-punched his shoulder. “I do it all the time, but that doesn’t mean I like hearing a man call me a girl.”
He smiled. “Just when I think I have you figured out you do something else to surprise me.”
“I hope I’m not so easy to figure out,” she said. No matter that she told him about her dancing suspension. She usually played her cards closer to her chest. But to be honest, she had no idea how to deal with this life now that she had no direction. And opening up to Nate felt right somehow.
“You’re not. You are very complex,” he said, pulling her into his arms. “And very beautiful.”
He leaned in close and whispered in her ear, telling her how sexy he found her body and how much he wanted to touch her all night. His breath was warm and she liked hearing what he said.
He made her feel like she wasn’t incomplete. And that was it, she thought. Since she’d had her appeal denied, she realized that she’d felt broken, but here in Nate’s arms none of that mattered.
She twined her arms around his neck and lifted herself up to kiss him. His mouth moved hungrily over hers and she lost herself. His hands skimmed down her back and settled on her hips. He pulled her closer to him.
The feel of his strong, muscled arms around her made her feel very delicate and feminine. She had never been with a man who felt like Nate did. He was strong, muscled, his body still in shape from years of being an athlete. There was no way for her to pretend he was anyone other than Nate Stern.
Her blood flowed heavier in her veins as he moved his hands over her. She knew that Nate was in control of this embrace. She was letting him set the tempo and as much as she wanted him, she wasn’t ready to take the lead in anything between them. He lifted her off her feet.
“Wrap your arms and legs around me,” he said.
She held tight to him as he walked them into the bedroom. He sat down on the edge of the king-size bed. His hands roamed up and down her back as she looked down at him.
He tipped his head up and kissed her. There was passion in the kiss but also a note of tenderness and it was the tenderness that won her over. She held his face in both of her hands and plunged her tongue deep into his mouth. He reciprocated, tangling one of his hands deep in her thick hair.
He held her tight as passion overwhelmed her.
He leaned back and she straddled him on the bed. He palmed her breasts, cupping and fondling them gently. She undid the buttons of his shirt and he slowly drew her blouse up her torso. She liked the sensation of the cloth against her skin. She stopped what she was doing and tipped her head back, enjoying the moment.
His hands were warm against her flesh and he draped the fabric over the top of her breasts so that it hung there. His big hands encircled her waist and drew her down toward him.
She felt the warmth of his breath against her nipple a moment before his lips closed around it. She held his head again as he suckled her through the lace of her bra. Everything in her tightened as he caressed her.
She tried to reach behind her to unfasten the bra but he held her wrists. “Not yet. I want to do it this way.”
“You do?”
He nodded.
She reached between their bodies and found the hard ridge of his erection. She stroked her hand up and down over him through the fabric of his pants.
“Do you like that?” she asked as he arched his back and moved his hips against her stroking