âTo the pool shark,â Mace toasted
He clinked his beer bottle with Beckaâs. âYouâre definitely a better player than I am, but I usually donât stink as badly as this. I think I need a goal.â He glanced at the table. âI think we ought to bet on the next game.â
âI donât play for money, Duvall.â
âNo money. Something better.â He set his bottle down and traced a finger along her jawbone. âYou win, the eveningâs over and I never bother you againâ¦. I win, we go to bed.â
She opened her mouth with the intention of telling him to go to hell, but stopped before the words got out. It was the perfect setup, she realized. He was offering her a chance to reel him in, to get him turned on and, thinking he had her, then take the game from him and show him who was really in control. âI think thatâs a bet I can live with.â
Mace walked behind her, sliding a slow hand down her hip, and she jolted. He leaned over the table with his pool cue, looking sexy and a little bit dangerous, yet more than capable of taking this game, of taking her.
Uh-oh. âWait,â she blurted, just as the cue ball cracked into the colored balls, scattering them around the table.
Damn. Too late.
Dear Reader,
The minute Becka Landon swaggered onto the scene in My Sexiest Mistake, I knew she deserved a book of her own. Fortunately, my editor agreed, and the result is Scoring, the first book in my UNDER THE COVERS miniseries. Iâve always been fascinated by spin-off characters, enjoying the way they unfold as they move from their initial introduction through to a story that focuses just on them. The UNDER THE COVERS miniseries isnât anything as obvious as a family saga. As you read Scoring, As Bad As Can Be (May) and Slippery When Wet (July), your challenge is going to be figuring out which secondary character in each book will become the hero or heroine of the next.
For now, though, just sit back and enjoy as Becka strikes sparks with hunky Mace Duvall, ex-baseball heartthrob. Be sure to drop me a line at [email protected] and tell me what you think. Or drop by my Web site at www.kristinhardy.com for contests, e-mail threads between characters in my books, recipes and updates on my latest book.
Have fun,
Kristin Hardy
To Shannon Short for a great critique,
to Teresa Brown for being generally wonderful, and to Stephen, luz de mi vida, for everything.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
âGOD, I LOVE IT when you have your hands on me.â The husky words broke the stillness of the room.
Becka Landon slid her fingers over the muscled back of the half-naked man lying in front of her, the warm oil slick under her palms. Skin slipped against skin as her breath came faster, a faint dew of moisture forming on her flushed face. The scent of the oil wove its way into her senses, the warmth of his body heated hers. She caught her lower lip between her teeth in concentration.
âI donât want to share you,â he groaned. âLetâs just run away, you and me.â
Beckaâs mouth curved. âSammy, you try running away with anyone and your wife will track you down and brain you with a frying pan.â She slapped him smartly on the shoulder. âOff the table, coach. Time to go teach these kids to play baseball.â
Sammy Albonado, manager for the Lowell Weavers minor league baseball team, sat up and ran his fingers through his grizzled hair. Years of crouching behind the plate as a major league catcher had given him dickey knees and chronic bursitis in his shoulder. Only Beckaâs skilled hands could banish the aches on those days when the arthritis gnawed at him. âYou got yourself a great touch, kid. Iâm gonna have you teach my wife.â
âI donât know.â Becka put her hands on her hips and gave him a sassy look from under the bangs of her red hair. âIf I were you, Iâd be a little nervous about bringing Essie in. I might have to tell her youâre threatening to run off on her unless you make it worth my while.â
âAw, you know I was just joking.â When she only looked at him, he slumped his shoulders in defeat. âWhat do you want?â
âNew hoses for the whirlpool.â
âThatâs a hundred bucks. Iâll have to fill out a req.â
âYouâre the one asking me to keep a secret, Sammy,â she reminded him, fighting a smile. âIâm only here as long as Ronâs out with his carpal tunnel problem, and who knows how long that will be. Iâve got to do what I can to get this place in shape before I leave.â
âYouâre not goinâ anywhere,â he insisted. âWhether Ron comes back this season or not, Iâm gonna find a way to keep you on. Even if you do push me around.â
Hope ballooned up inside her before she could hold it down. âI donât push you around, Sammy, I justâ¦encourage you. But itâs all for the sake of the team.â She gave him an impudent grin and shoved her hands into the pockets of her khaki walking shorts, trying to ignore the leap of excitement. She knew that keeping her spot as team trainer was a long shot. It didnât do to count on things that might not happen.