Catching Lily (Spring Training Book 2) Read online

  He didn’t think she looked nearly as disheveled as she thought. But he could fix that last request.

  He pulled open a drawer and pointed inside, beaming. “Fixed.”

  She glanced down. “You fucking have makeup in your bathroom? Why the hell?” She held up a hand. “Don’t answer that. I can’t even…” She tried to back out of his embrace, but he still had his other arm around her chest.

  He rolled his eyes. “These belong to my niece. I’m not that crass.”

  “Your niece?” She lifted her gaze.

  “Yep. It’s all child’s makeup. She likes to use my bathroom when she comes to visit, and she also likes to pretend she’s a grown woman instead of a six-year-old child. Her mom bought this stuff. My sister. I’m not saying it’s the sort of thing you normally wear, but surely you can find something to put on your lips and give you confidence. At least until you can grab your purse and hit the bathroom downstairs.”

  She glanced at him, the furrow in her brow easing. “Okay.” She nodded. “You’re right. It might work.” After dabbing some lipstick on, she met his gaze in the mirror. “Does your sister live close by?”

  “No.” He sighed. “She lives in Seattle. So do my parents.”

  “Bummer. That’s so far.”

  “Yeah. They visit a few times a year, though.”

  Thirty seconds later, they were in the hallway, racing down the stairs.

  “Zia’s going to see right through me.”

  “And you wouldn’t have told her about this later anyway?”

  She pursed her lips and then giggled. He loved the sound. “I would have. Eventually. But not right now.”

  “Don’t worry. I told you, no one’s going to be the wiser.”

  As soon as they hit the first floor in the kitchen, he tugged open the back door and ushered her outside.

  She shivered against him in the chilly evening air. It was Miami, but it was November. “How is this going to help, exactly? It’s just making us later.”

  He smiled. “Trust me for a minute, would you?” He led her toward the grill of his outdoor kitchen, grabbed her hands, and set them on the surface.

  “Shit. That’s cold.”

  “Yep. Put your cheeks on it too.” He did the same next to her.

  Seconds later, he was truly cold. He glanced at Lily. Red cheeks. Flushed. She grinned.

  He pointed toward the backyard. “Greenhouse is down that path. Flowers and plants line the right side. Herbs and vegetables line the left. You love roses, right?”

  She nodded, giggling now. “Of course. I would want to spend a long time smelling them. And I would probably try to talk you into letting me come paint them another day.”

  “Perfect. We’ve been out here for quite a while, then. Let’s go.”

  Lily followed him back inside and down to the basement. When they reached the bar area, not one of the guys paid any attention.

  Zia spun around on a bar stool. “Geez, girl. I was about to send a search party.”

  Lily picked up the glass of wine she’d left next to her friend and seamlessly met the eyes of five women. “Have you seen the greenhouse Dominic has?”

  Zia shook her head. “No. Should I?”

  “Absolutely. It’s spectacular. Totally going to want to shoot some pictures or sketch his roses one day.” She set her hand on Zia’s.

  Zia jerked her fingers out from under Lily’s. “Yikes. You’re freezing. How long were you out there?”

  Lily shrugged. “Not that long.”

  He was damn proud. Excellent performance.

  Chapter Three

  Three months later…

  “I can’t believe you’re getting married on Wednesday.” Lily leaned back on the love seat and propped her feet on the coffee table. “No. That’s not exactly true. I can’t believe you’re getting married on a Wednesday.”

  Zia giggled. “It’s February fourteenth. Why not? All the days are the same when Brett’s in the off-season. The same is true for most of his friends.”

  Lily stiffened at the mention of Brett’s friends. Included among that crowd would be Dominic.

  Zia continued, “It just worked out that way. I thought it was romantic.”

  “It is. You’re right. And I bet you didn’t have any trouble finding a venue on a Wednesday.”

  “Actually, you’d be surprised how many people want to get married on Valentine’s Day. No one seems to care that it’s the middle of the week.”

  “I bet no other wedding in Miami is going to be stacked with as many hot guys as this one, though.”

  “You mean as many rich guys?”

  “That too.” Lily stuck her hands under her thighs to keep from shaking. Ever since Zia had announced the wedding date and then asked Lily to be her maid of honor, Lily had been sweating bullets.

  Of course, the best man would have to be Dominic.

  “Why do you look so nervous? I’m the one who should be freaking out here. I’m getting married.” Zia rocked forward. “Can you believe it? I never thought I would get married, and certainly not to a baseball player.”

  “I’m so happy for you.”

  Zia tipped her head to one side and frowned. “You look more like you’re being led to the gallows. Something going on?”

  Lily tossed her head back and sighed toward the ceiling. She needed to fess up and tell Zia what happened three months ago before she found herself face-to-face with Dominic and things got awkward.

  “Lily… What’s up with you?”

  Lily sucked in a breath and faced her friend. “I need to tell you something.”

  “If you’re going to incriminate Brett in some way, keep it to yourself. I don’t think I could handle it.” Zia went totally white.

  “No. Oh God. No. Nothing like that. Remember the day you got engaged and you two dragged me along with you to that Monday night football party?”

  “Yes. How could I forget? I got engaged. It’s etched in my mind.”

  “Yeah. Right.” Lily licked her lips. “Remember when Dominic took me for a tour of his house during the game?”

  Zia frowned. “Not really. Oh…” she snapped her fingers, “…right. You went outside to see his greenhouse and that’s when you took a sudden interest in roses. Did you ever go back and photograph them?”

  Lily fought the grin that wanted to spread across her face. She couldn’t stop the heated flush that rushed up her cheeks, though. “Zia, I never saw the man’s greenhouse.”

  “Of course you did. Your hands were freezing when you came back inside, and, oh…” Her eyes widened. “Ohhhh…” At first she froze in a shocked position, and then she smiled. “You didn’t.”

  “I totally did.” Lily sighed. Why had she bothered to keep this a secret all this time? Who cared? She was a grown woman. If she wanted to enjoy a well-deserved, fantastic fuck during a party, she shouldn’t feel ashamed.

  “Oh. My. God.” Zia beamed. “That is so hot. Have you been seeing him secretly on the sly ever since?”

  “No.” Lily cringed. “That’s the awkward problem. Never spoke to him again. We didn’t even exchange numbers.”

  “Seriously?” Zia’s expression was priceless.

  “I hope you don’t think I’m a total slut. I’ve never done anything like that before in my life.”

  “Me?” Zia pointed to herself. “You do realize I slept with Brett on our first date, right?”

  “Shit. You did. I forgot that.”

  “Uh-huh. And it was so hot. I’ll never regret it.”

  Lily waved a hand in front of her. “That was different, though. At least you two were actually on a date and you’d met a few times before. I literally let some teenager lead me into temptation and make my world spin. If he hadn’t been famous, I wouldn’t have even known his last name.”

  Zia laughed hard. “Teenager? He’s twenty-six. Hardly a teenager.”

  “Yeah well, I’m thirty-four, so anyone who can refer back to something that happened in high school
is way too young for me.”

  Zia rolled her eyes. “You’re too hung up on age. It’s just a number. Was he inexperienced or something? Did he fumble around?”

  “God, no. Quite the opposite. He was…intense. The best lover ever. In fact, I’m ruined for all other men. I haven’t been on a date since then.” She pulled her hands out from under her thighs and twisted them in her lap. “Made it much easier to keep Luke the Jackass at arm’s length for the last few months, though. After having sex with a real man who knew his way around a woman’s body, I’ve never once considered taking Luke back.”

  “And it hasn’t been for lack of effort on his part. How many times a week does he still call you?”

  “Several. It’s becoming ridiculous. Leaves me messages. Says he’s a changed man. Says he broke up with what’s-her-name and can’t live without me. Blah. Blah. Blah. It’s vomit-inducing.”

  “I’m proud of you for not taking him back.”

  Lily shrugged. “I’m not a complete fool. I would never date a man who cheated on me.”

  Zia lifted her eyebrows. “Sweetie, he was probably cheating on you the entire two years. Even Ava knew that, and she’s your sister. You just wouldn’t listen to reason.”

  Lily sighed. “I know. I should have seen the signs. But I never had any proof. Just because he cancelled dates at the last minute or sometimes didn’t show up or disappeared for a few days didn’t mean he was cheating.”

  “It’s a good indicator. Besides, he was never remorseful. I tried to be a good supportive friend, but it was hard to watch you get hurt like that.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. I guess I had blinders on or something. He was my first long-term relationship. I didn’t have anything to compare it to. So I thought it was all okay. I thought maybe everyone’s relationships looked like that.” She threw up her hands. “I was a fool.”

  “Stop kicking yourself. You spent a lot of years raising Ava. But she’s grown now. It’s your time. So, you made a mistake with Luke. It’s over. You moved on. And then you met Dominic.”

  “Yeah. The same night. I thought I was out of my mind stupid.” Lily cringed.

  “Stop beating yourself up. It’s not like you slept with Luke the same day.”

  “God no. I hadn’t slept with Luke for months. I’d been pulling back from him for a while. I knew something was off before that afternoon.”

  Zia sat up straighter. “Okay. So, Dominic. You think this will be awkward?”

  “Totally. That’s why I wanted to tell you. I swear I would never do anything to mess up your perfect day, but I didn’t want you to wonder why Dominic and I might be kinda strange around each other. I have no idea what he’s thinking about our indecent liaison, but there’s no way he isn’t slightly freaked out about seeing me, either.”

  “He probably thinks you’re pissed that he didn’t get your number from me and call.”

  “Exactly. And honestly, I’m not pissed. It was one night. We hardly exchanged words. We were horny. We seized the opportunity. We scratched an itch we obviously both had.” She shrugged. “That’s all.”

  “That’s all?” Zia rubbed her hands together. “You just told me that you haven’t been on a date since then, you’re ruined for other men, and the asshole who easily lured you into his life time and again for two years no longer interests you. That’s not all.”

  Lily cringed. “Okay. True. But don’t tell Dominic that. It’s embarrassing. I know nothing about him. Whatever fantasies I’ve enjoyed for the last three months, I conjured out of thin air. They have no merit. For all I know, he could annoy me with some random disgusting habit in fifty seconds flat. Given the opportunity.”

  “Mmm. I bet you know more than you’re letting on.” Zia leaned back, wiggling her brows. “You know he’s a pitcher for Miami. You know he owns a kick-ass house. And since you slept with him, I’m betting you must think he’s good in bed, or you wouldn’t be brooding over him.”

  “I’m not brooding. Don’t be ridiculous.”

  “Then why did you bring it up?” She grinned, and then she leaned forward. “Brett says he’s a Dom. Is it true?”

  Lily gasped. How did Brett know that?

  “It is true.” Zia’s face lit up again. “I’m gonna swoon.” She placed the back of her hand over her forehead. “And you kept this to yourself?”

  “Girl, Brett isn’t exactly a pushover himself. Don’t try to tell me he isn’t dominant in the bedroom.”

  “Oh, he totally is. But I’ve heard stories about Dominic that put Brett to shame.”

  Lily’s face heated again. Not because Zia was right and she wondered how many people knew that about Dominic, but also because Lily’s panties got wet remembering the way he’d commanded her.

  “Come here.”

  “Hands behind your back…”

  “You do not want me to come hard and fast inside your tight pussy and leave you hanging. Trust me.”

  “You’ll crave it for the rest of your life now that you’ve had a taste of what it’s like to shatter under the hands of a Dom.”

  She’d relived every word he spoke that night a thousand times.

  Oh, yeah. He was a Dom. Probably trained at a club with someone. He was that cocky and confident. Even for his age. In some ways, his confidence in bed was so far superior to hers that he seemed older than her.

  “Stories?” Lily wasn’t sure she wanted to hear what Zia knew about Dominic. But she was also too intrigued not to ask.

  “He belongs to this BDSM club.” She tapped her lips. “Can’t think of the name of it. Starts with a Z…”

  “Zodiac.”

  “Yes.” Zia narrowed her eyes again. “Why do you know that?”

  Lily shrugged. “Everyone’s heard of Club Zodiac. It’s a popular, exclusive club in Miami.” That wasn’t entirely true. The reality was that Lily had considered going there more than once in recent months.

  Dominic had been right about one thing—Lily would never be content with vanilla after tasting his brand of sex. Did that make her a pervert? She wasn’t sure yet, but she’d trolled the Internet to see what sort of clubs were in the area.

  Two things kept her from attending a munch to get to know some of the members—fear that Dominic might be a member and fear that she might like the lifestyle far more than she was currently willing to admit.

  She’d done her research. She understood intellectually that having submissive tendencies didn’t make her weak. On the contrary, it showed an inner strength. But that didn’t make it any easier to let herself entertain the idea of putting her submissive side to practice.

  She shuddered for the millionth time. What if some asshole took advantage of her? What if she freaked out and embarrassed herself? There were so many what ifs that she stopped herself from giving the lifestyle a try.

  Nope. Instead she’d become a hermit. A nun. Because the only option left after ignoring her new truth and never contacting Dominic was to stop dating altogether. It sucked as a long-term plan, but it had only been months. Not years.

  “Does Brett go there?”

  Zia shook her head. “No. He’s kinda kinky but not that hardcore. Several of his teammates go to some clubs, though.” She hesitated. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I guess I was embarrassed. Especially that night. I thought everyone in the room would realize we had fucked in some dark corner. My hair was a mess. My makeup was worse. Ugh.” She closed her eyes and hung her head.

  “I didn’t notice. I totally bought the greenhouse story. Kept meaning to ask you if you went back to take photographs.”

  “Now what am I going to do?” That was the big question. On Tuesday night, she had to stand next to Dominic for the rehearsal dinner and then spend the rest of the evening making nice with him. Wednesday would actually be easier once they got to the crowded reception. But in both cases, she was going to fidget with worry.

  “For starters, you’re on equal ground, right? I mean, he didn’t call you, and you did
n’t call him. If anything, you have a slight advantage since typically it’s the guy’s responsibility to make the first call. And he totally could have gotten your number from me.”

  “This isn’t 1950. I’m a feminist. I don’t expect a man to call me any more than I could call him.”

  “Yeah, but he doesn’t know that.” Zia grinned.

  “Good point.” Lily set her teeth on her nail, trying hard not to bite it. She’d just had them done that morning for the wedding. “So, I’ll just act nonchalant about it, like it was no big deal. And I’m sure he’ll do the same.”

  * * *

  Dominic tugged on his tie for the tenth time. It seemed to be suffocating him, which was crazy since he wore a tie often and never had a problem.

  What he didn’t do often was face the woman he’d fucked hard in his bathroom and never called. He had his reasons. Dozens of them. But it would be ridiculous to try and explain himself when he obviously could have gotten her number from Brett and called her at any time.

  At first, he fully intended to. It seemed too soon the next day. He reasoned that he should wait three days, and then he’d been busy that day and three had become four, which turned into five. And by then, he felt stupid calling her and convinced himself she hadn’t intended to see him again anyway.

  Any call after the first week would have seemed like a booty call. Though he’d had several nights in the last few months when he’d felt more than willing to take that risk too.

  Damn, she was hot. He knew she was older than him, but she had no experience with BDSM. Which was a shame because that woman lit up the room when he took charge. She’d been missing out.

  Was it possible he’d misjudged her?

  He thought back on the way she’d flushed when he held her hands at her sides. His cock stiffened remembering her eyes rolling back and her mouth falling open when he thrust into her.

  She was cuter than ever when he tried to care for her afterward.

  Lately, his idea of sex had shrunk down to masturbating in the shower to her image. It would be embarrassing to admit it to anyone, but he hadn’t been with another woman since meeting Lily Phillips. That was the kind of hold she had on his balls.