As he pounded into me, I was at his mercy. Bound by him. To him. He snapped his hips, withdrawing just enough that I felt the loss of him before filling me again in a soul shattering thrust.

  There was a hard edge to Kane’s hunger right now. A deep, insatiable need that I felt down inside my soul.

  I loved it. Loved the violent need driving him into my body as he sought his own release inside me. I loved the way my breasts rocked on my chest and the ache in my hips as I clamped my legs around his waist.

  Without warning, he pulled out and flipped me over, pulling my hips up until I was on my knees before thrusting inside me again. Gripping me by the back of the neck, he pushed down until my cheek was against the bed. He held me there as he ground into me over and over.

  Curling my fingers into the sheets, I surrendered to all he was doing to me. Surrendered to everything I felt. Everything he was doing. Everything I was feeling. It was all so good.

  He fucked me mercilessly until I was crying with the intensity from being driven from one climax to another. It was insane. Wild. Primitive.

  I loved it.

  The warmth of his sweat dripped down on me, and I pushed up onto my hands until my back was connected with his front. His arms encircled my waist and held me still as he thrust up into me, his mouth sucking the lobe of my ear then my neck.

  He shifted us again, and I was on top, glad to be able to see his face. His green eyes blazed as I rode him, grinding my clit into him hard. His fingers pinched my nipples as I set a new pace, driving down over and over.

  “Lean back,” he instructed, and I did, changing the angle and giving him better access to my clit. I keened, unsure if I could survive another orgasm, but knew that I had no choice.

  And when I came one last time, he finally found his own release.

  ***

  Waking up in Kane’s arms was like waking up next to a furnace. It was a good thing I was cold natured, or I wouldn’t have been able to breathe.

  As quietly as I could, I rolled over so I could see his face, and moaned.

  Holy vagina.

  I was sore.

  Everywhere.

  And I needed to pee.

  Rolling again, I managed to get off the bed without waking Kane and limped/walked to the bathroom. I found myself humming “Side to Side” as I shut the door behind me.

  Wow.

  His bathroom was bigger than my living room, a huge tub taking center stage.

  Moving slowly to the faucets, I gave them a turn. A nice hot bath would be wonderful about now.

  Last night had been a fantasy. A dream. And if I wasn’t so sore, I’d wonder if it had even been real. But every step I took was evidence of how real it was.

  Turning, I looked in the mirror, wondering if I looked different after a night such as that. I gasped. I did look different. I had at least a dozen marks on my body.

  I looked closer. Were those teeth marks? Yes. And hickeys? Crap. My hips bore the bruises from his hands. I was glad it was getting cooler outside because I’d be wearing a turtleneck or scarf for a while. It was worth it.

  I examined one of the black marks closer. I’d never had one before. I wondered when I got it. Sex session one, two, or three?

  Staring at myself, I recalled how it felt to have him driving into me, his breath ragged in my ear as he yelled my name. My hand on his chest, his grandmother’s ring gleaming on my hand as he made me come.

  “Stop it,” I told myself. “Just stop.”

  This wasn’t real.

  Averting my gaze, I tied my hair into a knot on top of my head before stepping into the steaming tub. I whined as the hot water touched the raw spots as I sat down. Finding the button for the jets, I turned them on and leaned back, closing my eyes.

  “You look like a mermaid.”

  I jolted upright, swearing as my body sang with the movement. Kane was sitting on the edge of the tub in only a pair of boxers, grinning down at me.

  “Then I must be in mermaid heaven,” I sighed.

  He frowned and leaned closer, reaching out a hand to lift my chin. “Did I do that?” He stroked a finger down my neck, touching both hickeys with his fingers.

  I grinned up at him. “If it wasn’t you, I’m running screaming from this apartment.”

  He was still frowning. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

  “You didn’t. You fucked me — hard.” I deepened my voice on the last word.

  That got a little smile from him. “It was fun.”

  Fun?

  “Intense feels more appropriate to me. Crazy. Amazing. But, yeah, fun could work too.” I examined his face. “Are you alright?”

  He nodded and stood, slipping off his boxers before sinking down into the water. Sliding in behind me, he pulled me into the vee of his legs, my back cradled against his chest.

  He hissed, and I laughed. “You sore too?”

  “You, my dear, rode me raw. And dammit if I don’t want you again.”

  I turned until our eyes connected. “If you touch me anywhere below my belly button, I’ll have to cut your penis off.”

  He winced. “Message received. Besides, we have brunch with my parents in an hour so—”

  I sat up straight. “Oh no, I completely forgot about that!” Panic hit hard and fast, a jolt of adrenaline shooting through my system. “I don’t have any clothes. Or makeup. Shit. My hair.”

  Kane laughed. “Simmer down. Let’s get dried off. I’ll get dressed, and we’ll head over to your place. You can wear some of my sweats and a t-shirt, so you don’t have to drag that fancy dress back on for your walk of shame.”

  I fake glared at him but relaxed a little bit. Leaping from the tub, I reached for a towel.

  “Fuck.”

  I whirled around. “What’s wrong?”

  He was staring at me. “I really hurt you. You’re bruised everywhere. Shit, I’m a fucking animal. Why aren’t you running for your life?”

  I turned to the mirror. “It isn’t that bad, and I enjoyed it in the moment, so it’s my fault too. Besides, I’m so fair-skinned, the tiniest bruise stands out.”

  He didn’t seem convinced.

  “What are you doing? We have to hurry. Do you know how long it takes to blow dry this mop of hair? You can rub liniment on me later if it makes you feel better, but right now, we need to go!”

  Kane rose from the water, looking like a god rising from the ocean’s depths. I blew out a breath. “You are one fine looking human being, Bartholomew.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “Of course that name takes the whole god-like thing down a notch or two, I think.” He narrowed his eyes even further, and I laughed. “Just kidding. I love the name. That’s what we’ll call our fake baby.”

  “Are you always this crazy in the morning?”

  I grinned. “Come on, FF. Find me some clothes so we can continue to lie to the faces of your family.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  Kane

  Lie.

  I didn’t want all this to be a lie.

  We were in a taxi, and Eliana was chattering a mile a minute, running her fingers through her tangled hair. She had decided that we didn’t have time for her to wash it, so it had to go up.

  “Oh God,” she whispered.

  “What?”

  She glanced at the driver and lowered her voice even more. “I think this is your, you know, cum.” She looked mortified as she lifted the stiff strand to her nose for a sniff test, said nose wrinkled in disgust.

  I couldn’t help it, I snorted. “You didn’t think it was so disgusting last night when you—”

  She slapped a hand over my mouth. “It’s not funny,” she hissed. “Your semen was supposed to be in a condom, not There’s Something About Mary. Gross. I’ll have to really wash it now. I’m not going.”

  She was adorable. I’d never met anyone who made me feel so many emotions at once.

  “You’re going. Just put on a hat.”

  She seemed to consider it. “That’s an idea. Of course, I’ll look like a moron wearing a scarf and hat in mid-September, Hoover boy.”

  “Are you sure you don’t do stand-up comedy on the side?”

  It was her turn to snort. “I’m only funny when I’m super nervous or when I take Benadryl. It’s supposed to knock people out, but it ramps me up for some reason.”

  I laid a hand on her thigh. “There’s no need to be nervous. My parents and Nana already love you.”

  She leaned her head on my shoulder. “They are very nice.”

  “Yes, they are. And the brunch will go fine…” I looked at the traffic. “If we ever get there.”

  Eliana glanced at the clock. “What’s taking so long?”

  “Fire up ahead,” the driver informed us. “We’re locked in.”

  “Shit.” Rolling down the window, I poked my head out. Sure enough, thick dark smoke was rolling up into the sky. “It looks to be coming from a walk-up at the end of the block.”

  I looked around, trying to get a better grip on our location. I’d only lived in Long Island since February, and I didn’t know every part of the city… but this was familiar.

  Eliana was already out of her side of the cab. “Zoe!” she screamed and took off.

  I tossed the driver a hundred and sprinted after her. She’d gotten a head start but was wearing my oversized clothing, and her feet were bare. I caught up easily and grabbed her arm. She shook me off. “Zoe!”

  When I couldn’t stop her, a firefighter did. “Miss, you can’t go near there. It’s fully consumed.”

  And it was, I realized. Only three stories, the old building was flaming at each window.

  “Zoe!” she was screaming, hysterical, fighting me as I pulled her in close. “I’ve got to get to her. She’s my best friend. Zoe!” she screamed again.

  The sidewalks were chaos as additional emergency crews pulled in, accompanied by the clutter of rubberneckers and those who look dazed. Eliana’s neighbors perhaps.

  “What does she look like?” I asked Eliana, trying to give her something to focus on. “She probably got out and is searching for you.”

  Teeth chattering, Eliana nodded and started looking around. I gave her a little shake. “Baby, what does she look like. Do you have a picture?”

  Her fingers were trembling so hard, I held the phone while it scanned her fingerprint. Taking over, I tapped to her images and began going through them. “There,” she said, and I enlarged it, taking in the pretty brunette with trendy red glasses. Her hair was a mass of dark curls all over her head.

  “Okay, let’s walk around and look for her.” I couldn’t think of anything else we could do.

  Tears streaming down Eliana’s face, she clung to my hand as we wove through the crowd. “I don’t see her,” she said.

  “Let’s keep looking.”

  Going around the side of the building, I caught a flash of massive curls. A woman was huddled on the opposite side of the street, a blanket around her shoulders, her face in her hands. I steered us in that direction.

  “Eliana, is that her?”

  I was holding my breath as she turned to look.

  “Zoe!”

  The woman looked up, and relief was like a full body slam. Eliana ran to her friend, who was now on her feet, crying hard as they embraced. Tears pricked my eyes as I witnessed their reunion. Giving them some privacy, I stepped to the side and took out my phone to call Dad.

  “Hey, Kane. Glad you called. We’re running late. The traffic is hell. A fire someone said.”

  “Yeah, that’s why I’m calling. It’s Eliana’s building that burned. She’s okay,” I added quickly, “so is her roommate, but it looks like a total loss. I’m going to hang out here and figure out how best I can help.”

  “What can we do to help?”

  I looked around at all the stunned and stricken faces. “People are going to need housing. Clothes. I don’t know. It’s really bad. I don’t even know if there was a loss of life. They don’t have the fire contained yet. Looks like other buildings are threatened and—”

  “Don’t you worry about it, son. I’ll make some calls. You take care of your fiancée and her friend. I’ll do the rest.”

  “Thanks, Dad.” My throat closed up, and I coughed to clear it. “Give Nana a big hug for me, and tell her I’ll be in San Francisco for a four-game stretch soon. I’ll come by and see her then.”

  “Will do. Love you, Kane. Bring Eliana with you, if you can. I like that girl. She’s a keeper.”

  Turning, I watched Eliana take off the NY Beasts hoodie I gave her earlier and put it on her friend. “Yeah, Dad. She is.”

  ***

  “Need anything before I go?”

  Eliana and Zoe still looked dazed, but they were at least clean now as they sat on my couch. They were in new clothes, complements of my mother and Nana, who skipped getting on a plane and went shopping for the newly homeless instead.

  Mom was holding Eliana’s hand while Nana held Zoe’s, and they were all waiting for food to arrive from a local sandwich shop. Dad had to get back, but he’d texted me several times that he was working on securing housing for the tenants who lost everything.

  The girls would be staying with me in the meantime. Mom and Nana would stay at a hotel and fly home tomorrow.

  Eliana smiled up at me, her red-rimmed eyes still holding a well of sadness within their depths. She was devastated that she’d lost the pictures of her grandparents. I could tell the loss was sitting heavy on her. “It feels like I lost them all over again,” she told me.

  But at least she was alive.

  “Good luck today. I’ll be watching.”

  I bent down and kissed her. “Promise?”

  She pulled my head down and kissed me back. “Yep. Your good luck charm won’t let you down.”

  Earlier, she’d said that I was her good luck charm too. After all, if she hadn’t spent the night with me, she would have been in the apartment when it went up. And because she hadn’t been there, Zoe didn’t want to stay alone and had stayed with another friend. Eliana said our night of sex had saved them both.

  “Well, tell her you love her, Kane Bartholomew,” Nana ordered, rolling her eyes before muttering, “Men these days. They don’t know how to be romantic.”

  Blue eyes met mine and something inside me twisted. I’d never said that to anyone outside of family. Truth be known, I hadn’t expected to say it for many years to come. But Nana had me in a corner, and from where I was standing, I could see her waiting impatiently.

  “I love you,” I said, and that something twisted again.

  She blinked several times, and the tip of her nose turned pink. “I love you too.”

  It was hard stepping out of that door. Usually, before a ballgame, nothing came between me and the field. I was always early for pregame practice, stretching my body out and going through agility drills so I could catch anything that came my way.

  But I didn’t want to leave. I didn’t want to break eye contact with her. Didn’t want to leave the room that vibrated with her sweet spirit. I wanted to be the one holding her hand and ordering her food.

  As if she could see the hesitation, she gave me a wink and the spell was broken.

  I winked back and walked out.

  On the sidewalk, Joey Something-or-other slapped a paper against my chest.

  “You made the papers, Kane. Congratulations!”

  I looked down. “The Beast Of First Base Is Off The Market.”

  Below the headline was a full-color photo of my girl and me, the huge ring sparkling on her finger.

  We both looked really happy.

  I grinned back at Joey. “Thanks.”

  ***

  The guys were as boisterous as usual in the locker room, getting ready for the game. We’d lost twice to these bastards and didn’t want to fall to them again.

  My phone pinged just before we headed out to the field. A picture text from Eliana. I laughed out loud when I opened it. Apparently, my fiancée had been in my closet, and the entire group of women were wearing Beasts gear. Nana looked quite fetching in one of my caps.

  Eliana: The cheering section is ready.

  Me: Four good luck charms. I’m a lucky guy.

  Eliana: xoxo

  Me: ☺

  It was lame, but I was still dealing with everything that was happening and had been granted zero time to process it all.

  “That the lucky lady?” A big hand came down on my shoulder, giving it a hard squeeze. Rhett Hamilton stood beside me, a society section in his hand and a twinkle in his eye. “Engaged, huh? Son, when I said to work on your public relations, I didn’t mean you had to slap a ball and chain on it.”

  I laughed but said nothing.

  “I’ve already checked her out. No skeletons in her closet that I can see. You did well.”

  “Thank you, sir. She’s special. I’d planned to bring her to the game today, but her apartment complex burned down.”

  He looked genuinely concerned. “Shit. I got caught up in that traffic. Is she okay?”

  “Yeah, she wasn’t there. Neither was her roommate. Lost everything but their lives.”

  He squeezed my shoulder again. “Then they kept the most important thing. Let me know if there’s anything they need. We have some empty team apartments. We could put them up for a few days, or weeks. Whatever.”

  “That’s kind of you, sir. She’ll be staying with me for a while, but I’ll let you know if anything comes up.”

  He eyed me closely. “You okay to be out on the field? Something like that can shake a man up.”

  I shook my head. “I’m good. I’ll be playing in memory of the two people who lost their lives today. Gives me something to concentrate on. Plus, Eliana is watching. We’ve won every game but one since I’ve known her. And that loss was because she wasn’t watching. I blame her.”

  Rhett’s brows furrowed. “So you’ve known this woman less than two weeks?”

  I felt my face grow red and nodded.

  “And for most of that time, you were on a helluva long road trip?”

  I nodded again.

  “And now you’re engaged?”

  I lifted a shoulder. “When you know, you know.”

  He looked up at the ceiling and exhaled a long breath. “Alright, son. I’m going to believe that you know what the hell you’re doing.”