The tree knew better. The tree was stronger than both of them, crushing Joe's legs.
Though Dominic walked away from the crash physically unscathed, he was emotionally destroyed. Joe lost his scholarship and never played football again. Dominic should have been prosecuted, should have been made to pay for what he'd done. But Joe's family was big in politics in Washington State, and they had insisted on keeping the incident completely under wraps.
Which was where the official story began. Dominic went to college, went pro, made millions. But every day, he paid for that lack of control twenty years ago. Being with Melissa was the closest he'd come to losing his grip in all that time.
Plating their pasta in silence, he carried their dishes into the dining room.
Melissa took one bite and her eyes grew big. "Dominic! This is amazing. You could give your friend Jason a run for his money."
"I'll pay you to say that next time you see him."
She glanced at him in surprise.
Shit. He needed to watch himself around her. He didn't make women promises, and doing so now was out of the question.
Time to change the subject to something that involved less talking and more fucking.
He pushed his plate away. "I've been thinking."
She put her fork down. "About what?"
"All the jets."
She looked confused. "Jets?"
He nodded. "In my bathtub."
Melissa took a deep breath, and he enjoyed watching her breasts rise. "And?"
"I want to see them in action." He stood up and held out his hand. "With you in the tub."
She took his hand. "And you?" "And me."
He kissed her softly, and they headed for the bathroom, where he turned the faucets on.
"I've never undressed you," he noted quietly.
She smiled. "There usually isn't time."
He laughed. Sex and laughter had never gone together before, only with Melissa. "That's because I'm a greedy bastard," he said as he reached for the hem of her very sexy silk top.
"No complaints here," she murmured as she lifted her arms over her head.
He admired her nearly sheer lace bra with barely contained lust. He wanted to press her against the tiled wall and do a repeat of their first time together.
"You're too good for me," he said as he put his hand on her back and arched her breasts into his waiting mouth.
Her soft moan drove him crazy, as did the tender way she caressed his back with her hands. Instead of yanking up her skirt again, he reached for the zipper. The skirt fell to the floor and he rubbed his hands over her bare ass, all the while sucking her breasts.
He lifted her in his arms, and a moment later they were in the tub, her back to his front.
"I'm still wearing clothes," she said, lifting one garter-clad leg out of the water. Her lace-covered nipples floated into his palms.
"I did my best," he said, running kisses down her neck.
"There's always next time," she said.
"And the time after that," he agreed, unable to go one more second without touching her pussy. He slid his hands between her legs and she bucked into his hand as he delved into her.
"I can't get enough of you," he said, plunging two fingers in deep. His elbow hit the button that controlled the jets, and they were enveloped by tiny bubbles shooting at them from all directions.
"Open your legs, sweetheart." He rubbed his thumb in slow circles over her clit.
Her thighs moved apart and he urged, "Wider." Putting his hands on her hips, he positioned her in front of a jet. "Tell me when it feels good."
She gasped. "It feels good now. Oh, God!" she said. "So good."
"Come for me."
He undid the clasp of her bra and cupped her wet breasts. She moaned with pleasure as he toyed with her nipples and he couldn't stop himself from rubbing his erection into her soft, round ass. His cock was rock-hard and ready to explode as he kissed her neck.
She was breathing heavier, faster, and then suddenly her cries of pleasure were echoing off the walls. Dominic made sure to keep her clit directly over the jet, but as soon as her climax subsided he rammed his cock into her to the hilt. She floated above him in the water as he rocked her up and down on his shaft. He hadn't thought to bring in a condom, and it was going to kill him to pull out.
At the last second he pushed her away, rubbing himself on her soft skin, squeezing her breasts, biting into her neck as he came into the water.
When his heart rate returned to normal, Dominic helped Melissa out of the tub, wrapped her in a towel, and carried her to his bed. She was nearly asleep by the time he pulled the covers over her.
From sunup to sunrise, he'd fucked her four times, none of them in a bed. She deserved her rest.
Chapter Seventeen
When Melissa woke up in Dominic's bed, she instantly knew it would be far too easy to get used to sleeping there. How was she supposed to keep her guard up when he was everything she'd ever dreamed of and so much more?
He lay on the living-room floor doing sit-ups in a T-shirt and shorts, and her mouth watered. He wore headphones and hadn't heard her come down the hall, which gave her the opportunity to stare. Would she ever get used to looking at him? His thighs and calves were well muscled and taut as he pushed through his set.
He opened his eyes and grinned at her, slipping off the headphones. "Good morning."
Her stomach somersaulted like she was a teenage girl. "Hi," she said, getting a glimpse of the clock on the wall. Ten-thirty a.m.? "Is your clock right?"
"You were tired."
She blushed. Anyone would have been tired after that many mind-blowing orgasms. "I'm going to be late to work. And you have practice."
He stood up and walked over to her. "Kiss me."
She immediately complied, going up on her tippy-toes. His mouth was warm and intoxicating and she was panting by the time he ended the kiss.
"I'll drop you off at your apartment on my way to the gym. Are you attending the charity event tonight?"
She nodded and he smiled. "Good."
She was beginning to understand what that wicked gleam in his eyes meant. Somewhere, somehow, at the event tonight he'd be pushing her skirt up to her waist and taking her. The anticipation was already killing her.
Ten minutes later he kissed her long and hard in front of her apartment. "If I didn't have practice, I'd be fucking you on your kitchen table right now."
She forced herself to step away from him. Players were heavily fined for skipping practice, so he couldn't stay, no matter how badly she wanted him to.
"Don't bother wearing panties tonight," he said, then left.
Great. She was already wet and burning for him, with a whole day to get through before she could get any relief.
By the time she'd showered and dressed, it was time to meet her best friend for lunch. Alice owned her own recruitment firm and Melissa greatly admired the way she'd built the company into one of the top firms in San Francisco in five years. Focusing on retraining highly qualified women who were getting back into the workplace once their kids were of school age had quickly given Alice a unique edge. Alice claimed that ex-stay-at-home moms worked harder and faster than any man ever could.
Melissa suddenly imagined herself rocking a blue-eyed baby with Dominic's dark hair and skin.
Oh, God, when was she going to accept the truth? Not only was she not going to have babies with Dominic, she probably wasn't going to share his bed for much longer. Everyone liked novelty, Dominic was no different. He was attracted to her only because she was so different from the standard football groupies. But that didn't mean his attraction would last.
Arriving fifteen minutes early at the Pier 39 restaurant, Melissa ordered a glass of wine and watched the tourists as she sipped it. Happy couples abounded. Young mothers chased toddlers; fathers held video cameras. It was all so normal.
And so out of reach.
Alice walked in, reed thin, wearing impossibly high
heels, a red sweater, black slacks, and a funky pair of black glasses with red flecks in them. She wasn't a typical beauty, but there was something intriguing and sensual about her. Melissa had watched dozens of men try to latch on to Alice and fail miserably; Alice wasn't the girlfriend type.
"Honey," Alice said after they hugged, "I don't even need to ask how you are. You're glowing. Whoever he is must be incredible in the sack."
Melissa nearly choked on her wine. "Good to know I'm so transparent."
"Do I know him?" Alice asked.
Melissa shook her head. "No. At least I don't think you do." She cleared her throat and added in a much softer voice, "Although you might have seen him on TV. Or in some magazines."
Alice turned to the nearest waiter."We're going to need a full bottle." She refocused her attention on Melissa. "You didn't sleep with one of the Outlaws, did you?"
Alice didn't have a very high opinion of football players, even though Melissa was pretty sure she'd never been to a game. Melissa's guilty face gave her away.
"His name?"
Melissa looked at her friend. "You won't know who he is, what does it matter?"
"It matters because that way I can hunt him down and kill him if he ever treats you badly."
"Dominic is a good man," Melissa instantly defended him.
Alice tapped one manicured nail on the frame of her glasses. "Dominic. Hmm, that rings a bell. Is he tall, dark, and handsome?"
Melissa giggled. "You've just described half of the team."
"Are you in love with him?"
Melissa closed her eyes. "I don't know," she lied. "I don't think I should be." She opened her eyes. "I'm not sure it matters either way. He's not the marrying type."
Alice topped up their wineglasses. "How soon can I meet him?"
One of the things Melissa had always admired about Alice was her ability to make quick decisions. Melissa liked to mull over things to death, shred her worries to pieces in her mind until she was left with nothing but pulp. Introducing Alice to Dominic was too risky. It would mess with her plan to bury her head in the sand and enjoy all the naughty sex until he found someone else and the decision was taken from her.
On the other hand, what if Alice saw something she'd missed? Maybe Alice's impartial eye was exactly what she needed.
"There's a charity event tonight at the new aquarium," she said. "I suppose you could come with me. I'll have a client with me, though--another football player. So you'll have to promise to be on your best behavior."
Alice smiled, a wicked glint in her eye. "Hell, if sleeping with a football player will make me look half as good as you do right now, I'll be extra nice."
Summer passing camps were usually a vacation from the grueling practices during the season, and Dominic always enjoyed the chance to hone his skills.
Not today. He'd never fumbled so many balls, never lacked chemistry with the quarterback like this. Dominic poured a bottle of water over his head, trying to drown out the inner voice that said he was screwed, that sleeping with Melissa had jinxed him in some way, had stolen his mojo.
Ty waited until everyone else had left the field before razzing him. "She anyone I know?"
Dominic went still. "Just getting old." For once, he was glad to use his age as an excuse.
Ty didn't buy it. "Took me a while to get my game back on after hooking up with Julie. Don't fight it, man. It'll happen." He gave Dominic a knowing grin. "And let me know when we can meet the woman who finally fucked up your game. She's got to be pretty amazing." He headed into the locker room.
Several Outlaws swore by their "no sex before a game" superstition. Dominic had never noticed it mattering one way or the other, but maybe that was because none of those women had mattered.
Six hours later, Melissa smoothed down her strapless dark-purple dress in the passenger seat of Alice's car.
"You look great, girl. Loverboy's eyes are going to pop out of his head."
"Thanks," she said to her best friend, "but please don't call Dominic loverboy ever again."
Alice grinned. "I did a little research when I got back to the office. He did those Calvin Klein commercials for a while, right? They call him the Dominator?"
"He did." Melissa's face flushed. "And they do."
"No wonder you're so messed up over him. He has phenomenal abs."
They had arrived in Golden Gate Park just as the party was getting under way. Melissa had instructed JP to meet her by the fountain at 6:15 p.m., and prayed he wasn't getting into trouble. She'd stab him with her heel if he was.
Alice took in all the muscles, the gorgeous faces and bodies in their tuxes, and shook her head. "I can't believe I'm actually at this party. Although I certainly wouldn't kick a couple of these guys out of my bed for eating power bars."
Melissa grinned, seeing the world she'd inhabited her whole life with new eyes, realizing for the first time that she'd been taking it for granted. She instantly spotted Dominic across the room, deep in conversation with a top cancer-research specialist Melissa had met at a previous gala. She tried hard to turn a critical eye on Dominic, but it was no use. She couldn't find a single thing wrong with him.
JP walked into her line of vision. "Hey, boss," he said before turning the full wattage of his charm onto Alice, who had bucked the dress code by wearing black leather jeans and a slinky sequined top rather than a cocktail dress.
"Has anyone ever told you what a breath of fresh air you are in a stuffy room?" he said to Alice.
Alice adjusted her black-rimmed glasses. "No," she told him before turning back to Melissa. "Thank God it wasn't him," she said. "I would have seriously doubted not only your judgment but your sanity as well."
Melissa's heart raced. "Not here," she hissed.
JP watched the interaction with fascination. "The day I understand the way a woman's mind works is the day I'm going to start batting for the other team."
Alice faked a sweet smile. "You mean more often than you already do?"
His obvious surprise was cut short by a slow grin. "I'd ask you to marry me, babe, but we both know it wouldn't last. How about a drink instead?"
Alice shrugged. "What the hell. Maybe I can rack up some charity points myself tonight by teaching you how to read."
Melissa bit back a laugh as they headed to the bar.
Dominic looked up, their eyes locked, and she suddenly felt hot. She wasn't wearing any lingerie under her dress. Could he tell?
A photographer from the Chronicle came by to say hello, but the bare minimum of Melissa's attention was on their conversation about the upcoming football season. The rest was on every one of Dominic's movements, the way his hair had grown a bit long and was falling over his left eye, the fact that he was still watching her from across the room and his gaze made her warm and tingly all over. Eventually the conversation made its way around to her, and the fact that she was responsible for two new clients.
The photographer's face lit up when she told him who the two players were. "Let's get a shot of the three of you."
Dominic and JP sold papers; they really didn't need her in the picture. But it was a good opportunity to solidify her public standing as a new agent with serious prospects.
She located JP and Alice standing beside the bar, deep in conversation. What would the two of them have to talk about? The fact that they hated everything about each other?
"Sorry to interrupt," she said, "but I need you and Dominic for a quick photo, JP."
"Sure thing," he said, "But are you sure you want to make Dominic look bad by putting the two of us together?"
She fought the urge to roll her eyes. Alice didn't.
"One day, if you're lucky--and have lots of fantastic plastic surgery--you'll look half as good as Dominic," Alice taunted.
But JP just grinned. "Your version of foreplay is hot."
The four of them headed toward Dominic.
"Dom," JP said, "time to take pics with Melissa. You'd better go fix your makeup."
&nbs
p; Dominic's hot gaze swept Melissa's face, then he turned to the photographer, ignoring JP completely.
"How's life with the new baby?" he asked, and Melissa noticed the bags under the man's eyes. How did someone as important and famous as Dominic manage to know the small details about the people all around him? Impressed, she vowed to learn from his example.
"She's great," the man said. "My wife and I aren't getting any sleep, but she's worth it."
Dominic looked uncomfortable. Was it because she was standing there amid talk of wives and children? Did he know she'd been dreaming of having his babies?
Melissa took a step back, accidentally knocking into a waiter's tray, and cold, wet liquor seeped into her dress.
Alice quickly took charge. "We'll be right back," she told everyone, then linked arms with Melissa and pulled her to the women's restroom.
"Loverboy," Alice said, "is desperately in love with you."
Chapter Eighteen
Hope warred with confusion inside Melissa. "You're mistaking desire for love," she protested. They locked themselves into a large, private bathroom, where Alice grabbed a wad of paper towels and pressed them to Melissa's back. "No. He loves you."
"Oh really? Then how come the morning after our first time together, he told me how sorry he was? And that we could never make the mistake of sleeping together again?"
"But you have slept together again. Lots of times, right?"
Melissa's face flamed. "It hasn't changed anything. I can tell he still feels guilty, like he would stop sleeping with me if he could."
"Poor stupid bastard--trying to fight the obvious."
Melissa shook her head. "You don't understand. He's not interested." Alice snorted, and Melissa clarified: " Not in any kind of long-term way. Yet every time I tell myself to stay away from him, the next thing I know my legs are wrapped around his waist."
"No kidding. We were all getting a contact singe out there."
Melissa sat on the closed toilet seat and put her head in her hands. "I don't know what to do."
Alice reapplied her lipstick in the sink mirror. "Have you tried talking with him? You know, duct taping him to a chair on one side of the room so he can't jump you, and asking him some tough questions?"