She expelled a sigh of frustration. “I have officially been roped into the news cycle regarding the Sharks. And as predicted, the biggest issue is the fact that I’m a woman.”

  Alex sighed. “Shit. What did they say?”

  While Daisy recounted what she’d just watched, which included sending him a link so he could see for himself, Alex listened patiently. “They think my decade of experience is nothing,” she concluded. “Completely overlooking the fact that if I were a man, I’d have joined the NFL ranks years ago.”

  “It sucks, but this sort of thing is going to happen.”

  “I have to prove myself at every turn. Work twice as hard to get half as far. How do these assholes not see this?”

  Alex tutted. “Well, the good thing is that you’ve got your own thing. No one can claim to have done it better. Certainly, nobody in this family.”

  She laughed a little. That much was certainly true. Alex lived securely in his father’s shadow, which often came up between them. “Yeah, I guess there’s that.”

  “You’re a trailblazer. And that role comes with as many risks as it does benefits. I’d say sit back and enjoy it while it lasts.”

  Daisy hung up feeling better overall and ready to finally drive back to work. As she navigated the leafy, sun-dappled streets, she couldn’t help but comb through the situation even more. Why didn’t you call James? The question was simple but surprising. Alex had been her confidant for so long, of course she’d call him. But there was more to it than that.

  James was becoming a fixture in her life. Almost a confidant as well. Their lives were intermingling, and in a big way. And the longer she thought about it, the more she realized that James was intrinsically linked to this situation. The sports media would latch onto any perceived fault and twist it to depict her as incompetent. She’d been coming up against it her entire career. So what would happen if she and James took this fling even further, and she became linked to him in the sports world?

  Chuck Zoom would have a field day with that—that much was certain. Daisy never truly believed she’d end up on his radar, but less than a month in and bam. So of course these male leaders of sports news would crawl all over a romance between a female coach and a celebrated quarterback like flies on fresh meat.

  The realization trembled through her, leaving her feeling uncomfortable and jittery.

  At the training facility, Daisy beelined for her office where she got lost in sports training manuals until lunchtime. It was an alternative workout day for the guys, which usually meant yoga or tai chi, so Daisy figured she’d use this chance to snag the weight room for herself for once. Today’s events called for blending work and private lives.

  She changed into her workout clothes and headed for the gym. She needed to let off steam in a bad way, and the punching bag was her destination. After some stretches and getting her gloves on, she laid into the heavy bag. Thup thup. The rhythm was mesmerizing, cathartic, completely necessary.

  “Lemme guess. You’re imagining Chuck Zoom’s head here.”

  James’s voice startled her out of her concentration. Her heart was racing after such concentrated punching, and sweat glistened on her chest and biceps already.

  “Yeah, actually,” she said, laughing as she ran her arm over her upper lip. “I take it you saw the video.”

  “Oh yeah. That was one of the first orders of business this morning,” James said. “One of the guys caught it and showed the rest of us. Then Coach found out. Nobody really cared, though. This sort of thing gets hashed and rehashed all the time.”

  “I know. Dicks like him are part of the job.” She sighed, resting her boxing gloves on her hips. “Still gotta punch it out.”

  “Let me know if you’ve still got some steam to let off later,” James said, nodding toward the swinging punching bag. “I have a plan B if you need it.”

  “Oh yeah?” She could sense the subtle request here: Let’s spend more time together. And god, she wanted that. “You want to go for home plate right here at work?”

  He laughed, shoving the bag a little. “No, Daisy. I’m not talking about boning. Though,” he said, lowering his chin as he found her gaze, “I’m not opposed to that.”

  Heat flooded her, and she couldn’t help but shove at his shoulder with her big boxing glove. “So what’s plan B?”

  “I just have an idea for an extracurricular activity,” he said with a shrug and a mysterious smile. “Something where we can have fun and blow off some steam.”

  She eyed him suspiciously. He was being vague on purpose, which she ate up like candy. He was so good at being thoughtful, reaching out to her, making sure she knew that he prioritized her well-being. Honestly, she wasn’t sure how he balanced it all, but that was probably why he was great at being team captain. He could sense when people were off. What they were lacking. How they might feel better.

  But after today’s unsavory media coverage, continued time at James’s side could only lead to one thing: being outed to the sports community as having an affair with a player.

  This could be her chance to start putting distance between them. Now. Here’s your opportunity.

  But as she drank in his soft brown gaze, those powerful shoulders that had lifted her so effortlessly onto his kitchen counter earlier that week…she found it impossible to say no.

  Because she didn’t want to. All she wanted was more James.

  “I trust you,” she finally said. “So let’s go for plan B.”

  9

  “Where are we going?” Daisy had asked no fewer than three times already, but each time, James just shook his head and continued smiling.

  They’d both gotten off early today, so James insisted she hop in his car and let him drive. She sat in the passenger seat looking frustrated and gorgeous. She definitely still had steam to let off—he just hoped she’d like his idea.

  “I’ll give you one hint,” he said, and she perked up. “We’re going to pick up Emma first.”

  “Okay…” she said, furrowing her brow. “So it’s a family activity. And one that blows off steam.”

  “Correct.”

  She sighed through a smile. “I wish you’d just tell me.”

  “But why ruin the surprise when it is so satisfying to see you like this?”

  She swatted at his thigh as he turned a corner, and he grabbed her hand in his, bringing her knuckles to his lips. Her lashes fluttered, and he swore he could see her heart swelling in her chest.

  “I don’t want you to have a bad day,” he said. “Not Coach Daisy. Not before the game this weekend.”

  She groaned. “I know. I’m sorry. I’m getting over it.”

  “Not your fault. This shit is hard to deal with. Trust me, I’ve had plenty of days ruined by dumb shit the media said.”

  “So I guess I just need to get used to this,” she murmured, looking out the window. “Suck it up, buttercup, right?”

  “In theory,” James said. “But it’s not that easy.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Sex does help, though,” he added.

  She burst out laughing, and the sparkle in her eyes told him just how much their car ride was helping to lift her spirits. He’d take that as a win for now.

  “And you want to help me?”

  “I want to help you so fucking much,” he said, unable to hide his mischievous grin. “Like, you have no idea how much of a good Samaritan I want to be when it comes to this.”

  “What a helpful person you are,” she teased.

  “I plan to help you as many times as you need, too,” he went on. “I’ll help you on my kitchen counter. I’ll help you in your bedroom. I’ll even help you in your office sometime, if you have a lock on the door.”

  Laughter consumed her as she covered her face with her hands. “You better watch out or I’ll make you help me on the side of the road.”

  He squeezed her knee, which made her giggle. Then he moved his hand higher up her toned leg, squeezing along the way. “What can I say? I was born to help.”

  “Careful, Sullivan. I was serious about that side-of-the-road thing.”

  He wet his bottom lip, feeling his cock twitch in his pants. They were less than a half mile from his house, so this was bad timing. “Okay. Hands off for now, but only because it’s T-minus one minute until Emma gets in the car.”

  Daisy unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned across the center console to press a kiss to his cheek. “Fine.” She trailed her hand down his chest, lingering at the waistband of his shorts. Her fingers danced lightly over the front of his pants, as though teasing out what might lay beneath. He grabbed her wrist with his free hand, all the blood rushing to his groin as he guided her hand to safer territory—his knee.

  “Daisy,” he began, “you are an expert at driving me crazy.”

  “But I want to help too,” she teased, before pressing another kiss to his cheek and settling back into her seat.

  He groaned just as he pulled into the brick-paved cul-de-sac in front of his expansive house. “You’re going to kill me.” He honked once, knowing that it would be a moment before Emma exited. He gritted his teeth as he looked over at Daisy. “But you better watch it. All this teasing is gonna come back to bite you in the ass.”

  “Is it?” She looked positively delighted. He couldn’t remember having this much fun in recent history. Even their car rides were full of laughter and teasing. When was the last time he’d felt this good around someone? “I better provoke you even more, then.”

  James grinned over at her. “Try me. I’ll have no problem with that.”

  Emma came out of the house dressed in workout shorts and a T-shirt as he’d instructed. James was keeping everyone in the dark for this plan. Emma climbed into the back seat, gasping when she saw Daisy.

  “You’re coming too?” she shrieked, wrapping her arms around Daisy from behind the passenger seat. Daisy laughed, trying her best to return the awkward hug. James’s chest went tight from emotion, but he busied himself with pulling onto the street.

  “I am! I can’t wait to see what your dad is planning for us. What do you think it is?”

  “Hmmm…probably shopping and then ice cream,” Emma guessed.

  “You are so wrong,” James confirmed.

  The two of them kept guessing during the short drive to their destination. Each guess was a miserable failure. Only when they pulled into the parking lot of the Savannah Hills Laser Tag did Emma gasp.

  “Yayyyy!” his girl cheered. Daisy sent James a private smile, and he reached over to squeeze her knee.

  After James paid for everyone’s tickets, they were suited up and ushered into a darkened game room. The air smelled of musty air conditioning and incense, and once the panorama of laser lights began, it was game on. James and Daisy and Emma worked together at first to defeat their faceless foes, but as the other participants were eliminated, James was forced to turn on the girls.

  Emma’s shrieking laughter and Daisy’s occasional outbursts kept James on his A game. But when he and Daisy were involved in a shoot-out, Emma crept around from behind and took them both out. When the lights came on, his daughter pumped her fists in victory.

  “Excellent job, Emma,” James said. “You learned those skills from your Dad, didn’t you?”

  Emma was all giggles and smiles as the trio left the facility. They opted for a quick dinner at Emma’s favorite burger joint, and by the time they were scraping their ketchup cups with their very last fries, it was damn near bedtime.

  “Emma,” James started, “I’m going to have the nanny pop over for just a little bit because you need to start getting ready for bed, but I need to take Daisy to go pick up her car.” He squeezed the steering wheel as he talked, already seeing how this plan would benefit his ulterior motives. He looked over at Daisy and then at Emma through the rearview mirror. “Sound good?”

  They both agreed, so James sent the nanny a quick message before heading home. Iris was there by the time he pulled into the driveway—she lived just a few streets over—and Emma scurried into the house to start getting ready for bed.

  “Now,” James said as he eased back onto the road, “back to our Good Samaritan planning.”

  Daisy laced her fingers through his. “Do you have time for dessert at my place?”

  He made a display of checking the clock and considering it. “I have a curfew but…I think I can make an exception.”

  “You are the definition of helpful,” she teased. They drove like that, hand in hand, sending each other secretive smiles, until they got to the Shark training facility. Daisy’s car was the last one in the lot. A moment later, James followed her sedan onto the road and through the short crosstown trip to her condo.

  He parked behind her in the short driveway, following her up the tree-shaded walkway to her front door. He wrapped his arms around her from behind as she unlocked the door, pressing soft kisses to the back of her neck.

  “You make it hard to concentrate,” she said breathily, failing for a second time to unlock the door.

  “Then concentrate on me,” he said simply, spinning her around so he could plant a sloppy kiss on her lips.

  She laughed through the kiss, throwing her arms around his neck. “But we’ll have so much more fun if we can make it inside.”

  He grunted, breaking the kiss and gently pushing her toward the door. “Okay. Let’s go.”

  Daisy made quick work of the lock and pushed open the door. Her dark and silent condo awaited them, the air fragrant with her perfume. She flipped on a light, and the moment the door was closed, James pulled her back into his arms.

  “So when you were talking about dessert earlier,” he said, pressing hungry kisses along her jawline, “you were talking about yourself, right?”

  Her eyes drifted shut. “Mm-hmm. Absolutely.”

  “Good. Because I need to limit my sugar intake.” He coaxed a sloppy French kiss out of her. “The only sweets I can have are flowers.”

  She laughed helplessly, pushing her hands up beneath his T-shirt. “Take this off already. Please.”

  He obliged happily, tearing off his Sharks tee to reveal his bare chest. She hummed happily, pushing her hands over the newly exposed skin.

  “Take this off too,” she murmured, dipping a finger beneath the elastic waistband of his workout shorts. “Shorts are so pointless, after all.”

  “Completely agree.” He toed his shoes off then pushed his shorts down, leaving him in his tight black—and rapidly tenting—briefs.

  “Mmmmm.” A lovely smirk hung on her lips as her hands roamed his hips and the tops of his thighs. “My fourteen-year-old self is having a heart attack.”

  “Dream come true, huh?” he teased, tugging at the hem of her work polo. “Now this.”

  Daisy pulled off her shirt, leaving her in a pink satin bra that perfectly hugged her heavy breasts. James hummed as he dipped down to press kisses across her chest. He cupped the satiny fabric, desperate to see more, to see everything.

  “Upstairs?”

  “Right here,” she said, pushing at his chest until he stumbled backwards and onto the couch. He sank into the soft cushion, his legs spreading as she stood in front of him and shimmied out of her jeans.

  “Mmmm.” His briefs were tented fully now, and he adjusted himself. In the process, his cockhead slipped out, trapped by the waistband of his underwear. She bent over to tug her jeans over her ankles, nearly face to face with his groin.

  “Oh, that’s almost too helpful of you,” she murmured, flinging her jeans aside before she sank to her knees in just her bra and a pair of skimpy black panties. He leaned back into the couch, mind swirling as he beheld her sexy figure kneeling between his legs. He bit at his bottom lip as she ran her finger under the waistband of his briefs, then tugged it down, exposing the full-length of his cock. Her eyes went hooded, drinking him in. She fisted the base of him, and he bucked beneath her. Her soft, warm hand was like heaven wrapped around him.

  He groaned as she started pumping, making his cock swell even bigger in her grip. His balls tightened as she dipped down and took the bulbous head in her mouth. A groan rumbled out of him, and he sank further back on the couch, his finger snaking into the silken wonderland of her hair. He made quick work of freeing it from its ponytail, enjoying the way the dark tresses splayed across her shoulders. He could come just from this sight alone.

  “Jesus, Daisy,” he moaned, rocking against her mouth as she swallowed the length of him, time and time again. “Your mouth is incredible.”

  She gurgled something from around his cock, then took one last slobbery pull at him. When she popped free of his dick, her lips were puffy, and she wore a big smile.

  “I’ve been waiting to do that for too long.”

  He groaned, gathering her into his arms so that she fell into his lap. Her legs folded beneath her, and he fumbled with the clasp of her bra as she settled on top of him.

  “Speaking of things we’ve been waiting too long to do.” He unhooked her bra and slid the straps down, freeing her breasts. Her dark nipples stood at attention, and he surged forward, snagging one between his lips.

  “Ooooh, my god.” Her head lolled to the side as he flicked his tongue back and forth across the tight bud. He gripped her by the hips, helping her settle into just the right place on top of him. Her panties were soaked, the fabric trapped against his straining cock.

  “Mm-hmmm.” He switched his attention to the other breast as he let one hand wander between her legs. His thumb snuck between the fabric of her panties, finding a barely-there patch of hair. When his fingers made contact with her swollen nub, he teased it gently, watching the expressions on her face.

  Her brows drew together, and her eyes drifted shut as he worked her clit slowly between his fingers. Her head lolled backwards. She gripped the ridge of his shoulders, nails digging into his skin.

  “Oh my god, Daisy,” he murmured, pressing kisses along her clavicle. “You are so wet.”

  “I know. You do this to me,” she breathed, arching against him as he moved his fingers lower, until one slipped inside of her. She gasped, bucking against his hand. “Ohh, James. Yes. Please.”