Changing the Game Read online

Page 9

  Author: Jaci Burton “Figured you wouldn’t mind if we met up with a couple of my friends and their wives, and shared dinner with them. ”

  She managed a tight smile. “Not at all. ”

  She did mind, mainly that he hadn’t told her. And okay, she’d thought they were having a night alone.

  She shook hands with Dedrick Coleman and his wife, Shawnelle, and Tommy Maloney and his wife, Haley.

  Shawnelle was gorgeous, just like her husband. She had beautiful dark skin, the most unusual whiskey-colored eyes Elizabeth had ever seen, a sexy modern Afro, and a curvy body with breasts that would no doubt make Gavin’s eyes bug out of his head all night long. Then again, Dedrick was six foot three of delicious eye candy himself. So maybe if Gavin was going to ogle, Liz would, too.

  Haley was a petite little blue-eyed blonde who looked about sixteen. Elizabeth could only hope she was of legal age. Tommy was one of the Rivers youngest players, so that explained why Haley looked like jailbait. She probably was that young.

  Delightful.

  This meant the guys would talk baseball all night, and she’d be expected to make—ugh—girl talk with the women.

  They got their table and ordered drinks, and just as she suspected, the men put their heads together and launched into a discussion about today’s game and the upcoming season. Elizabeth waited to be engaged by the ladies. It didn’t take long.

  “Elizabeth, how long have you and Gavin been dating?” Shawnelle asked.

  Oh, we’re not dating. We’re just fucking each other brainless until one of us gets tired of the other.

  Probably not a good icebreaker.

  She forced her sweetest smile. “Oh, we’re not dating. I’m Gavin’s agent and happen to be in town for some business, so he invited me along to dinner. ”

  Gavin pulled himself out of his guy conversation. “She lies. She’s hanging out with me at my place during the preseason. ”

  “Interesting,” Shawnelle said, her amber eyes studying the two of them.

  If looks could kill, the one Elizabeth shot at Gavin would have left him instantly dead where he sat.

  Gavin lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles.

  “Okay, I’m confused. So are you two dating or aren’t you?” Haley asked.

  “Dating? Oh, hell no. We’re just having sex, honey,” Elizabeth said, profoundly grateful when her martini arrived.

  “Oh,” Haley said in a tiny little voice.

  Shawnelle just laughed, took a long swallow of her cocktail, and said, “Get it while it’s good, girl. ”

  Elizabeth leaned back in her chair, deciding to tune out Gavin and have some fun. “It’s definitely good. ”

  Shawnelle’s gaze raked over Gavin as she stirred her drink. “Mmmmhmmmm, I imagine it is with him. ” She turned her gaze back to Elizabeth. “What is it with these guys and their sex drive. I swear to God Dedrick damn near wears me out every night. ”

  Haley looked dumbfounded, like she couldn’t believe they were talking sex in the middle of a restaurant.

  The girl needed some educating. Much too naïve. This could be entertaining.

  “No idea. One would think they’d be worn out after all the workouts and the games. But no. They could go all night long. All afternoon long. ”

  “And the mornings, too,” Shawnelle added.

  “Yes. They wake up hard and they stay that way. ”

  Shawnelle laughed and patted Elizabeth’s hand. “And we like them that way. ”

  Elizabeth chanced a glance at Haley.

  Yup. Deer in the headlights look. Probably appalled. The poor kid.

  Gavin leaned over and brushed his shoulder against hers. “What are you three talking about?”

  “Sex. We’re horrifying Haley. ”

  Gavin shook his head. “Tommy, you’d better rescue your bride. I think Elizabeth and Shawnelle are corrupting her. ”

  Tommy laughed and rubbed Haley’s shoulders. “They corruptin’ you, darlin’?”

  She shook her head. “No. I’m learnin’ a few things though. ” She waved her hand at Tommy. “Y’all go back to talking to each other and leave us ladies alone. There are some things I need to learn. ”

  Elizabeth sipped her martini. So, maybe Haley wasn’t as revolted as she thought. Or as naïve.

  It turned out that talking with women wasn’t as bad as Elizabeth thought it would be. Throughout dinner Elizabeth learned that Shawnelle was an absolute riot with a bawdy sense of humor. She and Dedrick had been married seven years. Shawnelle was a lawyer, worked for the district attorney in Saint Louis. And Haley, though barely twenty-one, wasn’t naïve at all. She had a natural curiosity, was open and honest, and wanted to learn . . . everything. Including everything about sex. She and Tommy had only been married six months, but young Miss Haley loved sex. She’d lived a sheltered life in Mississippi, and she loved Tommy with every breath she took. Marrying Tommy had been her ticket out of her repressive small town, and she never wanted to go back there.

  But Tommy, Elizabeth found out, was a little unpracticed in the sex department, so Haley wanted to soak up some knowledge about the art of seduction and getting her man to open up a little bit.

  Shawnelle and Elizabeth looked at each other, nodded, and decided they could definitely help Haley out.

  The dance club was away from the beach and private. Gavin had snagged them an invitation since the owner was a fan of the Rivers. The ambiance was dark, moody, and low-key, unlike the loud beachtype laser bars that blasted your ear drums out. Elizabeth was profoundly grateful.

  She loved dancing and hot, up-tempo music, but she also wanted to be able to have a conversation without screaming herself hoarse. She was way too old for that nonsense.

  They were shown to a VIP table against the wall. Private, with an attentive waitress. Just the way Elizabeth liked it. They ordered drinks and settled in against the cushioned booth.

  “You enjoy dinner?” Gavin asked.

  “I did. ”

  “Sorry I was occupied with Dedrick and Tommy. I really didn’t bring you out to dump you on Shawnelle and Haley. ”

  “I’m a big girl, Gavin. This may come as a shock to you, but I can take care of myself. ”

  “I’m sure you can. You were probably born not needing anyone. ”

  Their drinks arrived before she could shoot a retort to his smart-ass comment. As soon as the music started, Shawnelle was ready to dance. Dedrick wasn’t, so Shawnelle stood, smoothed down her dress, and looked at Elizabeth and Haley.

  “Come on, girls. Let’s go rock the dance floor. ”

  “Oh, I don’t think so. ” Elizabeth shook her head.

  Haley grinned. “Sure. I’m game. ”

  Shawnelle put her hands on her hips and stared down at Elizabeth. “You. Up. Dance floor. Now. No excuses. ”

  Elizabeth was about to object, but the steely look in Shawnelle’s eyes and the fact that the music was pretty damn good made her shrug. “Okay, fine. We’ll dance. ”

  “Yay!” Shawnelle took her hand and dragged Elizabeth out of the chair and toward the dance floor.

  It didn’t take long for the music to get her moving. Plus, Shawnelle and Haley were—she had to admit—a whole lot of infectious fun. It was obvious Shawnelle was comfortable with her body and didn’t mind shaking it. Haley was simply in love with her life and enjoyed the freedom she had now, so the two of them danced around Elizabeth while she moved her hips from side to side.

  When she twirled around, she found three sets of male eyes staring at them with rapt interest.

  Which gave her an idea.

  She flipped around and moved toward Shawnelle. “I think we can help Haley with her sex life while we’re out here on the dance floor. ”

  “Oh, yeah? How’s that?”

  Elizabeth motioned toward the VIP table, and it didn’t take but a few seconds for Shawnelle to make th
e connection.

  “I see your point. Haley, honey, sandwich yourself in between Elizabeth and me, and let’s do a little dirty dancing. ”

  Haley’s eyes went wide. “Huh?”

  Elizabeth moved in closer to Haley. “You want your man to want you, right?”

  “Yes. ”

  “Then you gotta turn him on,” Shawnelle said.

  “Men love to see women together,” Elizabeth explained.

  Haley looked up at her. “They do? Why?”

  Elizabeth shrugged and bumped her hip against Haley’s. “No clue. Something about the fantasy of girl-on-girl action gets their motors running. ”

  “Which means that you and me and Elizabeth are going to give your husband something to fantasize about. And when you get him in bed with you tonight, you’re going to ask him just how hot he thought it was. ”

  Shawnelle slipped her arm around Haley’s waist, and Elizabeth did the same.

  “What do I do?” Haley asked.

  “Look at us like you want to eat us for breakfast,” Elizabeth said.

  “And move your body like you do when you’re in bed,” Shawnelle added. “Tommy’s imagination will do the rest. ”

  “Oh, okay. I can do that. ”

  Haley was a quick study. Though petite, she could move her hips. She tilted her head back, turned on her charm, and gazed at Elizabeth and Shawnelle like they were goddesses and she wanted whatever they were offering.

  The three of them undulated against each other to the slow, sexy beat of the song; snaked their hands up and down rib cages, waists, and hips; rocked crotches against asses; and put on quite a show for the guys. By the time the song finished and Elizabeth headed back to the table, it was patently obvious that Tommy wasn’t the only man at the VIP table turned on. Gavin’s dark gaze latched on to hers. He stood and held out his hand for her. She caught the telltale ridge of his erection. She took a couple sips of her drink and started to sit.

  “Not yet. Let’s dance. ”

  “Okay. ”

  He led her out onto the dance floor and pulled her into his arms. As she suspected, he was a very capable dancer.

  “We’ve never danced together before,” she said as he moved her into the center of the floor.

  “We haven’t?”

  “No. ” She’d been to parties with him before, events where there had been dancing. He’d either had a companion already, or she avoided getting that close to him.

  “I guess I just never noticed that before. ”

  She shrugged. “No reason for you and I to dance together, was there?”

  He scrutinized her with a look. “Guess not. ”

  Shawnelle and Haley were both dancing with their husbands. It gave Elizabeth a great deal of pride to see Tommy’s hands on Haley’s ass. Haley looked like she’d just reached nirvana. Her eyes were closed, and she laid her head against Tommy’s chest. Elizabeth wouldn’t be at all surprised if Haley ended up having dynamite sex tonight.

  “Enjoy that show you put on?” Gavin asked.

  She turned her attention back to Gavin. “Immensely. Did you?”

  He snaked his hand down her lower back to the top of her butt and pressed in, making sure she could feel his erection. “A lot. I take it you’ve bonded with Shawnelle and Haley. ”

  She grinned. “You could say that. ”

  “I had no idea you were into women. ”

  She tilted her head back and laughed. “I’m not. That was for Haley. ”

  He frowned. “I don’t get it. ”

  She pressed against him to whisper in his ear. “She’s trying to sex up her husband a little more. Things in the bedroom haven’t been exactly great for the two of them. We were helping out. ”

  Gavin leaned back. “Oh. Well, after your performance on the dance floor, that should do it. ”

  She slid her fingers over his goatee. “Worked for you, didn’t it?”