Balls: A Bad Boy Sports Romance (A Cruz Boys Novel Book 1) (13 page)

Did I just say that?

Confused from the orgasm. That was all.

He looked at me with a need that nearly demolished my resolve.

“I don’t know,” he said. “Maybe. Hey, you’d get to have the baby of The Lion of Spain. Plenty of ladies would kill for that honor.”

My eyes snapped shut and I pinched the flaring pain in the bridge of my nose.

“I can’t believe you said that. Will the egotistical prick formerly known as my fake date move aside so I can get on with my life?”

“Shit! That came out wrong. I’m sorry.”

Leo stepped aside.
 

First smart thing he’d done in a while. I felt like a cobra ready to strike. If he wasn’t careful, he was going to get a fang full of venom.

He opened the door and stood aside as I barreled by. I was hoping to get away clean but no, he couldn’t let it rest.

“Listen,” he shouted, “consider it. It would be great. Who’s more fun than us together? We could give a kid the best life in the world.”

I stumbled and nearly bit it. I regained my balance and kept on trucking. I had to get far away from him as fast as humanely possible.

How could he throw out an idea like that so cavalierly? Like it was no more important than what ethnic food he might order for delivery tomorrow night.

It was maddening.

He was maddening.

Before Robert turned out to be a lying snake, I had my life planned out to perfection. The first kid at twenty-three. The second at twenty-six and the last at twenty-nine. I loved the number three, obviously. Plus, being done at twenty-nine still let me hit thirty back in shape.
 

But now that whole schedule was screwed.

I was already twenty-four!

And had no baby, no husband. No real prospect for a long-term relationship whatsoever.

Leo?

Please. I may have been as gullible as the next broad in his expansive harem, but I wasn’t a total idiot. Guys like Leo didn’t settle down. Even if they wanted to, they couldn’t. It wasn’t in their blood. They were physically incapable of sustaining passion and commitment to one woman.
 

You almost couldn’t blame them. That’s the way they were made.

You almost couldn’t blame them except, that is, when they weren’t banging your bridesmaid on your wedding day. I totally blamed that one!
 

But Leo?

In a crazy way, he probably really believed it could work. That it would be awesome for us.

But he didn’t know. He had no idea. Parenting wasn’t a day at the spa. You didn’t make an appointment and then choose the best treatments and later go home to bask in relaxation.

It was 24/7, 365 days a year. I was ready. I was a year past schedule even.

But would he ever be ready?

* * *

I didn’t get more than two minutes of sleep the last two nights. And that two minutes was a brief stretch of time when my mind numbly searched for answers that weren’t forthcoming. It didn’t help that my mobile went off every few hours with a text from Leo.

I stared at the ceiling and couldn’t find the answer there. Sleep was coming so I got out of bed before the alarm went off.
 

This was crazy.

I was crazy.

A baby together?

I’d never be sane again if I didn’t talk to Leo. After the longest shower in the history of wasting water to clarify thinking, I decided to go to the stadium to find him at morning practice.

I emerged from the underground tunnel and walked over to the sideline section of seats designated for the womenfolk. The doting dames that did as they were told.

Screw that.

I wanted answers, and a good night’s sleep.

Before getting halfway there, I saw that this was no ordinary practice.

Oh yeah, the national team was doing an event for children from low-income families. A chance for the kids to meet their favorite players.

I whipped out my phone and texted Ed.
 

Alex>
Ed. Alex. Where are you?

Ed>
Coffee shop. Why?

Alex>
Grab your gear and get to the Nou, now!

Ed>
Why?

Alex>
Because this is the perfect opportunity to scrub some of the rust off Leo’s tarnished image.

Ed>
Be there in less than five.

Alex>
Start rolling as soon as you arrive. We’ll sort out the edit later.

Ed>
Will do.

 
All the players were on the field, a few interacting with a child or two. But it couldn’t have been clearer who the overwhelming favorite was.

Leonardo Cruz.

I watched for several minutes while he dribbled a ball around the field with a gaggle of tottering children racing behind. Their cackling glee echoed through the stadium.

The interaction was so natural. It got me thinking.

We were missing some great footage. And also, Leo was such a surprise.
 

“Hey, Alex,” Ed jogged up behind me, his camera already slung over his shoulder. The red flashing light blinked on and he started capturing the event.

“Morning, Ed. You getting this?”

“Yep.”

Leo sprinted and broke away from the pack of pursuers.

“You’ll never catch me,” Leo yelled. “I’m the gingerbread man!”

The kids roared with laughter and kept after him.

Ed rolled footage while the endless game of chase zig-zagged around the field. It was seriously too cute for words.

Leo pretended to trip in an exaggerated, silly way and tumbled to the ground. The kids swarmed him and jumped on forming a large, wiggling pile.

Leo picked up an attacker in each hand and rolled them out onto the grass with a gentle touch. He struggled to his knees and crawled around.

One of the more adventurous boys climbed up on his back and rode him like a horse. The courageous cowboy waved his hand wildly, laughing as much as shrieking.

“I am the champion! I’ve beaten The Lion of Spain!”

All the other kids wailed their approval.
 

Leo lumbered off, carrying the little boy on his back. Stragglers from the pile clung to his legs as they slid forward. He headed to a soccer ball and grabbed it.
 

All the kids on the ground instantly went for it. The new game began in a heartbeat.

“Someone save me!” Leo shouted. “Save me!”

He turned and saw me.

Our eyes locked like dual tractor beams.

He smiled and waved uncertainly.

I nodded and waved back.

There he was. A natural. A kid among kids.
 

Why didn’t I realize it before? Who better to be a doting father than a man who wanted to play as badly as the child did?

And who was more likely to be committed to that family than a man who knew the pain of abandonment?

Leo said something to the kids and kicked the ball down the field. They all took off at top speed, giggling and crowing at each other as they went.

What other surprises did he have in store? What else was destined to happen that I had no idea was coming? And yet, it somehow felt so certain and clear when the moment arrived.

He sauntered over with an easy smile. He glowed with pleasure. He really loved spending time with kids. It wasn’t an act to safeguard his occupational future.

And I wanted babies.
 

Especially with him. My body blossomed for him like we were mated. Fated to be partners and parents.
 

Oh my God.

I wanted to have his baby.
 

My stomach squirmed as the depth of the truth sunk in. I truly did.

“Hey, Ed,” he said. “Mind turning that thing off?”

I nodded at Ed.

“Sure, no problem,” Ed said. “And…sorry about what happened.”

Leo laughed. “No worries. You captured my best angle.”

I turned to Ed. “Let’s get that to Editorial and patch together a promo spot. People are going to eat it up.”

“Will do,” Ed replied as he started packing up his gear.

Leo took my hand and dragged me away. About ten feet away, he whirled me around and swooped in for a kiss. I intercepted him with a hand to his lips.

“We have business to discuss,” I said.

“I thought you just took care of that,” Leo said.

“Not that business,” I said. “Personal business.”

“Okay.”

“What you said the other day. Did you mean it?” I asked.

“Yes. Absolutely.”

“How would that work? There’d be a million details to consider.”

He took my hand from his lips and laced his fingers through mine.

“Don’t sweat the small stuff, Alex.”

Sweating the small stuff? I was merely curious about all the myriad details that for sure would have to be figured out. There’d be what kind of diaper cream to use. Something non-toxic and that was gentle on a baby’s skin. There’d be what kind of mattress to get. You didn’t want to go too soft or too firm.

Oh, wait.

Okay.

“Sorry,” I said.
 

He pulled me into his arms, his strength, his protective embrace.
 

I felt safe, perfectly nurtured.

I stared up into his eyes. The blue-gray orbs sparkled in the morning sun. His gorgeous lips moved. “Do you have an answer?”

My heart jumped in my chest. My belly joined the party.

“I do.”

He waited for a minute while I basked in the glory of his attention.

“Mind sharing it?”

“Not at all,” I said. “But first I want you to tell me what you want.”

He looked at me in confusion.

“You know what I want.”

“I do,” I said. “But I want to hear you say it.”

A grin swept across his face. “You are a dirty bird. I like it.”

“Say it, Leo. Tell me what you want.”

He squeezed me tight. His hardness a prominent heat on my belly. His eyes vibrated lust into mine.

“I want to fuck a baby into you. I want to come inside you until it spills down your thighs. I want to seed you. Mate you. Pump you full until you accept my future into your core.”

A hot flood blossomed between my legs. A spot deep inside me sparked. A new spark. One that had only one meaning.

“Tell me what you want me to do, Leo.”

His eyes burned into mine.

“I want you to have my baby.”

My knees turned to jello.

“Will you be the mother of my children?” he asked.

Children? As in multiple?

There was only one answer.

“Yes.”

Leonardo

I had seriously dragged ass the rest of practice. Coach thought screaming in my face would do the trick but he may as well have been a million miles away.

I couldn’t keep my mind off Alex.

Her sparkling eyes. Her easy smile. Her banging butt. Her tits. Oh my God, yes! Her tits. Those suckable nipples.
 

And her lips. Those luscious, full, kissable lips. She was gonna wrap those lips around the base of my shaft or I wasn’t The Lion of Spain.

And that sweetness below. I’d never tasted a more delicious morsel. And yes, I noticed that tight puckered starfish, too. That one might take some finesse, but I’d conquer that land before all was said and done.

She was a good girl, though. I respected that. Loved it even.

I burned to net a hat trick with her. That was scoring in all three spots in one game. Something about her. Something about us. I wanted to
own
her. Take her in places she’d never been taken before.

Fill her like no man had done before.

I shifted in my tight pants and adjusted my throbbing hard-on.
 

I’d never been so jerked around in my life.

I glanced around the Marina Harbor, waiting for my date to show up. People strolled along the boardwalk. Once in a while, one would stop to watch me, the guy with the helicopter at his back. Then, not seeing anything more happen, they’d amble off.

The reason nothing more was happening was because I was waiting for Alex.

Me.

Waiting.

It was all kinds of backwards.

I didn’t do the waiting since conquering the world of soccer over a decade ago. My watch showed 7:38 in the evening. She was eight minutes late.

It was like she always had to do it her way. Maybe most guys wouldn’t have had a second thought about that considering what she brought to the table, but I wasn’t most guys.

I was the one used to getting my way.

Anything I wanted.

Anytime I wanted.

But so far with Alex, I had yet to get the thing I wanted most.
 

Get it every which way until we both died of exhaustion.
 

But she had me waiting for it, just like she had me waiting now.

A warm wind blew off the Balearic Sea at my back. The salty tang in the air tickled my nose. I verified my suit coat was buttoned and shrugged off the mess that was the knot in my tie.

I was never good at it. Did it matter?

If the crispness of my knot threw her off, then Alex wasn’t the girl I knew her to be. Still, my hands itched to straighten it out.
 

A yellow and black taxi pulled into the parking lot and stopped by the curb. The longest, most beautiful set of legs imaginable stepped out.

Whoa. She was gorgeous.
 

I’d wait hours to get a glimpse of those wonders of nature.

She wore a tight, sky blue dress and white, strappy sandals. Her long black hair was gathered up in a bun perched on top of her head.

And her curves.

From top to bottom.

Those were curves that could keep a man on the straight and narrow.

She stepped out carrying a brown briefcase.
 

What was up with that? Did she turn into an attorney since our discussion yesterday morning?

I ran a hand through my hair and attempted to get the wind-blown chaos roughly into place. A blast of jet wash from the chopper fifty feet behind me whipped it back into disarray.

I waved and tried to shout above the whine of the turbo engine.