First and Ten Read online

  “Sure…been a long time, hasn’t it?” He smiled and signed an autograph for the excited blonde woman, then turned his attention back to the heavy crowd, searching for the only one person he was interested in seeing tonight. He couldn’t even taste the low ball glass of ice tea he held. He opted for tea because it looked like he held a glass of bourbon on the rocks, and folks didn’t keep plying him with booze all night. He forced himself to take a sip, and swung his gaze toward the entry again. And he almost lost hold of the glass.

  The vision that stood in the doorway looking nervously around seemed almost ready to bolt for safety…and he had no intention of allowing that to happen.

  The place was a total crush! She almost didn’t release her fox jacket when the young woman at the coat check tried to take it from her, which resulted in a comical tug of war for a moment, until Fran realized she was making a spectacle of herself. She flushed and thanked the bewildered looking woman, tucking the coat check into her miniscule handbag. She covered her nervousness by re-checking the bag’s contents…two tissues…check. Lipstick…check. ID…check. Small roll of twenties…check. Small roll of tens for tips…check. Keys…check. Condoms…check.

  She drew a shaking breath and snapped the bag closed, looping it negligently over her shoulder by its slender sparkly chain. She nervously touched the brand new platinum and champagne diamond choker she’d purchased earlier that afternoon, and her fingers moved to reassure herself that the matching earrings remained firmly attached. Her feet ached already in the four-inch strappy Manolo Blahniks she’d bought in Chicago before flying out here. But she would rather walk on daggers than wear low heels with this delicious Bliss Harper creation. And it certainly felt like that was what she was walking on. Damn! It had been years since she’d abused her feet so!

  The fact that she stood a strapping 6’3” in her glittery, gemstone studded shoes didn’t help her sudden rush of self-consciousness. She practically towered over most of the men who eyed her with lascivious intent. A gurgle of panicky laughter almost emerged, and she forced herself to stand erect and puff out her chest with false bravado. Doing so nearly caused two men who were walking past her to fall over their own feet, bringing another hysterical giggle to the surface.

  And then she felt a hand on her elbow, and she jerked her head to stare into the leering face of Faris Devlin. “Well, well, well…if is isn’t Franny Jamison.” His hand on her bare arm made her want to wipe her skin off with one of her tissues, but she managed to keep from cringing away from him.

  “Devlin…I heard you got married.” Her voice was credibly calm. She extricated her elbow gently from his grasp, and noted where his eyes were roving.

  His dark eyes lifted to her face once again, and he whistled softly. “Shit, Franny, you sure clean up nice…”

  She swallowed her gag reflex carefully. Devlin had always been one of her most vocal detractors, and despite that handsome face and hot body, she couldn’t stand the sight of him. She was about to excuse herself and walk away, when Kellie Anne stepped possessively up beside the man and slid her arm through his loosely crooked elbow. She breathed a sigh of relief, and smiled pleasantly at the woman.

  “Hello, Kelli Anne. Congratulations on your recent marriage.” She realized with an inner laugh that the woman didn’t even recognize her.

  Kellie Anne preened a bit and leaned in to plant a light kiss on Devlin’s cheek. “Yes…we were just married last month. Do I know you?”

  “Not really. But everyone knows who you are. You look stunning.” The woman smiled beatifically and snuggled against Devlin’s side, forcing him to wrap an arm around her. Fran realized that the woman actually believed she was so special she didn’t have to acknowledge a compliment.

  Devlin lifted one dark brow calculatingly, and asked, “Are you here alone?”

  Fran opened her mouth to change the subject, and nearly jumped out of her skin when a strong arm wrapped possessively around her waist. Jack Gerrard’s deep voice replied, “No.”

  Kellie Anne stared at Jack thoughtfully then her gaze slid back to Fran. After a moment, those catlike blue eyes widened in recognition, and slid from her hair to her feet and back. With twitch of her lips, she said in a droll tone, “Well…you’ve sure come up in the world, Franny. Or should I say Fat Fanny?”

  The arm at her waist tightened, and she smiled down at the diminutive blonde. “My friends just call me Fran.” She spoke without rancor, and was astonished that she didn’t feel any of the animosity she had expected to feel seeing the woman who had coined that phrase back in high school.

  “Well, then…I’ll just call you…Fanny.” Kelli Anne’s smile was little more than a sneer.

  Smiling down at the woman, Fran shrugged. “Whatever…”

  Devlin glanced at Jack where he stood slightly behind her right shoulder, and he laughed loud enough to be heard by everyone within twenty feet. “Hell, Jack…if I’d known Fanny cleaned up that well, I’d have given her a go, myself. Tell me…is she anywhere near as good in bed as Kelli Anne?”

  Kelli Anne shrieked, and Fran nearly swallowed her tongue as Jack moved so fast, he was a blur. One second she was standing beside him, and suddenly she was behind him, as a powerful right fist snapped out and caught Devlin solidly in the face, flinging him backward across a table filled with drinks and food. Shocked people scrambled to safety as the bleeding man floundered to right himself.

  “I’d suggest you stay right there, Devlin, unless you want me to put you on your ass again.” Jack’s voice was low and menacing. Fran quivered with pride and shock. Another first! A man fighting for her honor! Reputation. Whatever. It just felt so damned good.

  Without a backward glance, her hero turned and surrounded her in arms that made her feel dainty and protected. Even in heels, she had to look up to meet those angry blue eyes.

  “You okay, Fran?” His fingertips gently brushed a flyaway strand of hair back from her cheek. She could feel every eye in the place on her as she chewed her bottom lip.

  “I’m better than Devlin.” She smiled weakly, and closed her eyes as Jack’s warm mouth cut off her words and the crowd began clapping. Her senses whirled.

  O.M.G. He was kissing her like he meant it…in front of the entire class of ’99! When he drew back and leaned his forehead against hers, she whispered huskily, “You know, Jack, I’ve never seen your restaurant.”

  He smiled slowly. “It’s just down the block. It’s closed because everyone’s over here…”

  “Much nicer than eating in a crowd.”

  “Well then I’ll see if I can wrangle up a dinner for two.”

  Chapter Seven

  It was a beautiful night, and normally the walk would have been pleasant, but those damn shoes were nearly killing her with every painful step. Jack must have noticed her wincing and limping, because he stopped and looked down at her feet, glittering like Christmas trees in her expensive designer shoes. “Those things make your feet look almost edible, baby, but they weren’t built for long walks on city sidewalks.” His low growl barely registered before he pulled her close and swung her off her aching feet and into those corded arms once again.

  Sighing with a mixture of relief and shivery anticipation, she wrapped her arms around his wide shoulders and buried her lips in the warm skin of his throat. “You smell delicious, Jack Gerrard.”

  “So do you.” His voice was a rumble.

  “I’m not wearing perfume.” She frowned, lifting her head to glance at his face in the light of the streetlamp they passed beneath.

  “I know.” His lips curved wickedly.

  “Then how…”

  “I love the scent of you, Fran. That hot, delicious fragrance of jasmine shower gel and woman. I could pick you out of a crowd with my eyes closed.”

  Too shocked to make any sort of response, she shivered as he closed his eyes and drew a deep breath through his nostrils as if inhaling her essence. He drew her tighter against his chest, and buried his lips in her hair as he
walked that last few yards to the darkened façade of the restaurant.

  He didn’t seem to want to set her on her feet long enough to unlock the door, as he said quietly, “My keys are in my right pants pocket. Get them out and unlock the door.”

  Obeying with trembling fingers, she managed to get the key into the lock, and it flicked open. And as he stepped into the cool, dark interior of the spacious restaurant, he shoved it shut and relocked the door. He carried her into the main dining area, and gently lowered her feet to the lush green carpet. His hands remained on her waist as she turned to stare at the area, lit by emergency lights only, giving it a soft, romantic feeling.

  “My God, Jack…this is beautiful!” she whispered. She had expected to see a flashy sports-oriented fast-food place with vinyl booths and maybe even a cheesy looking set of fake goal posts, but the muted golds and greens of the lush leather booths and hardwood tables and plush carpeting reflected WIU’s colors, rather than the brash reds and whites of the Kansas City Chiefs’ logos that she had expected. The only thing that even smacked of his football career was the team photo from WIU’s championship year, and the retired jersey hanging over the entry to the darkened lounge. “It’s gorgeous!”

  She felt his fingers gently squeeze her waist, and as he drew her back against his body, she could feel his growing arousal against the crease of her ass cheeks. A shiver traveled along every nerve in her body as his lean hands slid from her waist up to cup and gently squeeze her breasts. His voice was a rasp of desire. “No bra? I wonder…will there be no panties, either?”

  Her wicked thoughts when dressing had left her wearing the deliciously soft dress…and nothing beneath it but a lace and satin thong. And said thong was wet with her warm cream as she leaned back into him and whimpered softly.

  Her heart pounded erratically in her chest as his hands slipped to the side tie of the wrap-around dress, and as he loosened it, allowing it to fall away from her bare breasts, she let out a little gasp of need. “Sweet mother of God…” he rasped as his hands covered her full breasts, and his thumbs stroked the aching, puffy nipples. He slipped the fox jacket off her, and a moment later, she was standing in nothing but her wet thong, thigh high nylons, her brand new jewelry, and those damn sexy high heels..

  His hands captured her wrists to keep her from covering her breasts with her hands, and he turned her to face him. Sapphire eyes gleamed in the low light, and his expression was shadowed.

  He slid slowly to his knees on the thick carpet before her, and his lips trailed over her ribs and down over her navel as his fingers slipped under the elastic at her generous hips and it snapped under the pressure of his tug. She gave a gasp of shock as he pressed open-mouthed, licking kisses down her belly to the neatly trimmed tiny triangle of hair that didn’t extend over her nether lips. His inhaled hiss of pleasure told her he liked her bare pussy.

  Her fingers threaded desperately into his golden hair to keep her from falling over and losing control of her legs as he gently spread the folds of her labia apart and ran his searching tongue along her cleft, pausing to give her throbbing little knot of nerves a delicious tug as he sucked it into his lips.

  “Oh, God, Jack!” she cried as an orgasm exploded through her, and her fingers clutched his hair as she nearly sank to the floor. He didn’t seem to care that she’d just had an amazing orgasm, as he continued to tease her clit with his strong tongue, and to dip his tongue into her folds, his hands shifting to clamp her where she stood, as he seemed to realize she was barely able to stand on her feet. Unable to speak because her breaths came in short, gasping pants, she closed her eyes and prayed that she would simply collapse onto the carpet.

  After what seemed like an eternity, but was more than likely just a few seconds, his voice vibrated her clit as he said roughly, “Sit down, honey.”

  Easy enough. Her legs refused to hold her upright for even a second longer, and she sank to her knees with a little yelp of surprise to find that his legs were between her thighs, and he had somewhere along the line unzipped his own dress slacks, freeing his amazingly erect cock. It was propped against her belly, and she met his dark blue gaze with a little whimper of fear as she realized that it was far too big to fit inside her.

  “Um…Jack…” she began, her voice tight, “That is way too big to fit.

  “I won’t hurt you, Fran.”

  “I…I’ve never…I mean…oh, God, this is so embarrassing.” She buried her face in her hands and shook her head.

  Jack almost shouted with joy as he realized that his hot little seductress was nowhere near as experienced as she pretended to be. In fact, she had absolutely no experience, if she thought his cock wouldn’t fit. He calmed his rush of lust, and placed his hands on each side of her face, tipping her head up to gaze into her eyes. Her blush made him want to eat her alive. “Nothing to be embarrassed over, love. Just let me love you, and if you want to try, I promise you it will fit.”

  He tipped her lips up and gently kissed her, doing his best to control the white hot shot of lust that almost made him forget she was, amazingly, still untouched. He deepened the kiss gently, soothing her fears. He slid his hands slowly down her throat to her shoulders, and then trailed his fingertips down over her deliciously swollen breasts, tweaking the nipples with his fingers and enjoying the shudder of desire that went through her. He felt the hot cream wetting his thighs, and knew that she was as eager for him as he was for her, despite her fears, and his hands continued their gentle exploration.

  Sweet Lord, but she was so beautiful…so delicious beneath his hands. He skimmed his palms over her lush ass, and back up her back to caress her shoulders. He was just thinking that her timidity was easing, when he realized with a jolt that his shirt was open, and she was tugging it off over his head. His cock stiffened against her soft belly, and she gave a little laugh as she realized that his French cuffs were holding his shirt on his wrists like manacles. Bemused by her amusement, he lifted his head and smiled at her as she worked on getting the cufflinks out of the holes.

  “Hell, Jack. At least you could have worn something that was easier to get off you!” she whispered huskily, and he couldn’t suppress his laughter. He tugged the sleeves off, and allowed her to finish removing his tuxedo pants and the silk boxers he wore beneath them, and when she’d flung the pants back over her shoulder and stared down at his enticingly erect cock with wide brown eyes, he could almost feel her gaze touching him. Then she looked down at his feet…one gleaming shoe on, with the other shoe missing, probably stuck inside the pant leg of his Tux, she burst into gales of laughter.

  He took instant advantage of her merriment, sitting up and pulling her hard to his chest, crushing her ample breasts against the hard muscles. The feel of her wet pussy cradling his rigid cock was almost enough to make him come without even being touched. He groaned as he took her lips hungrily, his tongue sweeping into her hot, sweet mouth as she opened to his heated exploration. When he felt her hands on his cock, he almost lost it.

  He levered up onto his knees and laid her back on the lush, soft nap of the carpet, right in the middle of the dining area of Jack Gerrard’s First and Ten, and he lowered his body to press hers back gently until he stretched out over her lush curves, his cock nudging the cleft that hid her clit. Her little cry of delight was almost enough to set him afire. When he lifted his mouth from hers, she gasped, “Jack…God, I want to feel you inside me!”

  He kissed her again, hot and hard, and then he rose to his knees and reached for his pants. He found the little silver packets, and turned back to find her fishing three similar packets from her little gold bag. They stared at each other for a moment before they both burst into laughter.

  “How many did you think would we need?” he whispered as he grinned down into her red face.

  “I have no idea. But I think six will probably do for now.”

  He watched her tear open one of her packets, and his mouth went dry as he watched her eying the rolled up condom, and his swol
len shaft. “Want some help?” he grated, as she put the condom over the wide, flat tip of his cock, and glanced up into his eyes.

  “I’ve got it…” she frowned, as she slowly, excruciatingly rolled the damn thing down his trembling length, her hands driving him wild.

  “I don’t think I’ll last long enough to deflower you, sweetheart, if you keep touching me like that.”

  She chewed her lower lip and smiled as he caught her wrists and drew her hands up to kiss her palms. Then she whispered huskily, “Please, Jack? Make love to me?”

  “You know this will hurt for a minute?” His voice was rough as he slowly lowered her to the carpet, and gently settled her thighs wide apart over his own. She wet her lips and nodded jerkily, and he swallowed hard.

  He wanted to give her something special her first time. He slowly caressed her silk clad thighs and ran his fingertips over her clit, finding the wet, creamy entrance to her pussy, and sank one long finger inside. She almost came up off his lap with her hips, her eyes fluttering closed.

  He slowly thrust his finger in and out for a few moments, his thumb circling her clit, his mouth closing over her nipple to tug as he added another finger, then a third, feeling the tight, slightly stretchy membrane that would have to give way if he meant to make love to her. She arched into each slow, gently stretching thrust, and he watched, mesmerized, as she cupped her delicious breasts in her palms and held them up for his mouth, her eyes still closed. Her cream filled his hand as he worked her so gently to a fever pitch, and then he adjusted his cock to fit into the entry to her body, using her own cream to lubricate the condom.

  She was panting, and he said softly, “Grab my neck, and when I say, I want you to sit up…okay?”

  She nodded, her body throbbing toward another scintillating climax with each slow, pleasure/pain thrust of his hand. And then he said, “Now!” and he pulled her upright, her body surging down over his rigid shaft as he buried it in her body…her own weight opening the way as he held her tight against his chest, his face covered with perspiration.