Over the Fence: Lyssa Layne's Baseball Romances by Lyssa Layne Page B

“Yours!”
    Jace grabs our bags and leads me to a car waiting outside. Helping me into the backseat, I notice the reporters surrounding us and realize they must have been tipped off. Thirty minutes later, the car pulls up in front of a luxury loft building in Manhattan. I look at Jace, confused.
    He gets out of the car and holds his hand out for me. The flashes from the cameras are blinding. I’m used to the occasional paparazzo here or there, but not this constant, everywhere we turn photo taking. Jace squeezes my hand and nods up toward the building. “I rent this place and stay here in the off season,” he explains.
    My heart skips a beat. Jace Richards had been this close the whole time and I had no idea. I’m still looking up at the building when I feel his hands slide around my waist and down my derriere as he draws me in for another passionate kiss. Aware of the reporters, I hold back and pull away quickly.
    The questions about our relationship fly around us as we walk toward the building. A few reporters even ask if I cheated on Grant with Jace. My heart races and I realize I need to speak to Grant as soon as I can.
    On the stairs and within reach of the door, Jace spins us around. He nods to a blonde female reporter. “I’ll give you the exclusive. Nicole Adger is mine, all mine. She’s the woman I’ve been waiting for all my life.”
    I stare at Jace in shock as he laughs and kisses me again. More questions come from the crowd but he drags us inside. Once in the “privacy” of the glass elevator where it’s just the two of us, I finally speak. “What the hell was that, Jace?”
    I’m gripping the rail in the elevator car, trying to steady my trembling hands. He reaches out to touch me, but I put my hands up stopping him.
    “Come on, Nik, relax,” Jace says, rubbing my arms.
    I turn away from him and face the outer wall of the elevator overlooking New York. Wow, the view is amazing. I quickly spin around to face him. “I’m yours? Waiting for your whole life? Jace, where the hell did all that come from? I’m not looking for a relationship right now. I’m trying to get promoted to an assistant trainer and I have a lot to prove. I don’t know what you think—”
    He cuts me off with a kiss. Mmm, why are his lips so soft and delicious? The elevator doors open and he leads us into his loft. Looking around quickly, I see the loft is decorated in all dark wood colors with a rooftop terrace and a glass staircase in the middle of the room.
    Jace’s voice snaps me back to the conversation we’re having.“So you’re saying you just used me for sex last night?”
    My body is on fire, partially because of the kiss, but mainly because of the embarrassment. “No! I… didn’t… I…”
    Jace laughs and squeezes my hip. “We’re starting off as friends and seeing where things go, right?”
    I bite my lip. Well, I did say that, although I don’t normally sleep with friends.
    He takes my hand and guides me to the terrace where a hot tub sits. He pulls off his shirt and turns to me. Nodding toward his shorts, he asks, “Should I do the honors or would you like to?”
    Sighing, I look into his face. His dimples are more than distracting but I do my best to focus. “Jace, I’m serious. We can be friends but nothing more right now.”
    He gives me a slight frown but doesn’t say anything. Instead, he drops his shorts and boxer briefs, his manhood springing to attention. He climbs into the hot tub and asks, “You getting in?”
    “Dammit, Jace,” I say with a laugh as I pull off my clothes and walk toward the tub. The air is still cold at the end of March in New York and in the brief moment that I climb the steps into the hot tub, my nipples go erect.
    Stepping into the warm water, he grabs my hand and pulls me between his legs, my back to him. His strong hands massaging my shoulders as we listen to the street sounds below us. Ah, I missed New York and the sleepless nights here.
    His mouth moves over