RUNNING GAME (A SECOND CHANCE SPORTS ROMANCE) by Nikki Wild Page A

He was everything I wanted in a man, if I allowed myself to actually want one in the first place. All he had to do was flash those clear blue eyes at me and I was breathless. If he was anyone else, I’d have given into him in a heartbeat.
    But he wasn’t just anyone.
    He was Jesse.
    And going there with him threatened everything I’d worked so hard to build. I couldn’t take the chance for just one night with him. Jesse was off-limits.
    Jesse was the biggest danger to the thing I loved the most and nothing in the world meant more than that.
    Nothing.

15

JESSE
    M y cheek still stung from Maisey’s slap, and my cock was still hard as rock. I’d hobbled over to the window after she left, watching from the window as she scurried across the parking lot to her car like a scared rabbit. Her car drove off in a cloud of black smoke that drifted off into the air long after she’d disappeared around the corner. Kissing her had only peaked my thirst for her. I wasn’t going to stop until I had her just where I wanted her.
    Obviously, she was determined to make me work for it.
    That’s fine, I thought, that’s just fine.
    I was up for a little challenge, ready to engage in the chase a little bit. It would be a nice change of pace.
    This girl was a tough nut to crack, and I knew damn well I wasn’t going to win her over until I figured out what was going on inside her head. Obviously, she enjoyed that kiss just as much as I did. Her body didn’t lie. But right before she’d slapped me, something else flashed in her eyes. Fear.
    So why the hell is she afraid of me?
    I couldn’t figure it out. There had to be something holding her back, and I was going to figure out exactly what that something was…
    After her car disappeared from view, I called Stan, my attorney. He answered on the first ring just like he always did.
    “Colorado, how’s it hanging?” he asked. I could hear the sounds of partying in the background, and I smiled. He was the hardest working attorney in Denver, and yet he always seemed to be having a better time than me.
    “I’m good, Stan. How’s your Mom?” Stan’s mom had been in and out of the hospital lately, and we’d almost lost her.
    “Her BP has been steady the last few weeks. Looks like she’s going to pull through for now.”
    “I’m happy to hear that. Give her a kiss for me, okay?”
    “Of course. And thanks for those flowers you sent,” he said.
    “My pleasure. Hey Stan, you know that private investigator you used last year, in that insurance case you told me about?”
    “Sure, Maria Gold. Best damn investigator in the state. What about her?”
    “I have a job for her. Can I get her number?”
    “Sure thing, Jesse. I’ll text it to you right away. Anything I can help with? Everything okay?”
    “Oh, yeah, for sure. Nothing serious at all. Just a private matter I want to look into…”
    I hung up the phone, my thoughts drifting off as I replayed kissing Maisey a million times in my head. The sight of her hurrying away from me in fear wouldn’t leave me all night long. I didn’t like it at all, the last thing in the world I wanted was for her to be afraid of me.
    I’d never wanted to make someone feel safe before, but there it was. A need to protect someone other than myself. A need to keep her close, to comfort her, to make her hands stop trembling when she touched me. Whatever had gone wrong in Maisey’s life, I wanted to make it right.
    Don’t get me wrong, I also wanted to make her quiver and squirm on the end of my cock, but I wanted her to be smiling at the same time.
    Because she deserved it.
    She might be stubborn, but so am I… Especially when I really wanted something.
    And there was nothing in the world that I wanted more than Maisey Jayne.

16

MAISEY
    I t happened suddenly . That’s how it always happened. And I hated it. I wished there was some warning, even a small one, just a quick moment to prepare before panic set in and chaos ensued.
    But it just