Shay was too stunned to speak. Politeness apparently took over because she didn't realize she'd said thank you until Penny responded.

"Oh no, Shay, thank you. A happy Brody Janik is a productive Brody Janik and Blaze fans everywhere are grateful to you."

Somehow Shay made it out to her car with the shopping bag dangling off her finger. The blood was roaring through her ears. Brody's lackl.u.s.ter performance on the field-and in the bedroom-was not her fault. Revving her car's engine, she decided it was time he face the music.

Nineteen.

The rain was coming down at a steady clip again. Brody had swung by Shannon's apartment, but she was still AWOL. Even Maddox and Jackie were out. The whole situation was getting ridiculous. She'd been in the practice facility earlier, but she'd dashed out before he could talk to her. His next step was to track her down at Bridgett's hotel, but first he needed to change out of his practice clothes and eat his prepared dinner on schedule.

Pulling his Range Rover around back of his house and into the garage, he spied a car on the parking pad. Unfortunately, it wasn't the one he was hoping for: It was Connelly's. Brody wasn't in the mood for another lecture on his performance tonight. He'd had enough from his coaches to last a lifetime.

Stomping through the mudroom, he looked around for Will, who was likely lying in ambush. A Kenny Chesney tune played on the sound system in the great room and Brody walked around the high-back recliner to see his teammate stretched out in the chair, his eyes closed.

"Comfortable?" Brody rifled through his mail.

"I'd be more comfortable at home in my own bed, but Owen is teething and no one's getting any sleep at my loft."

"I'd ask how you got in, but Julianne must have given you her key."

One of the slumbering giant's eyelids lifted to half-staff. "Remind me again why my wife has a key to your house and I haven't kicked your a.s.s for it?"

"It's only a matter of time before she gets tired of you," Brody called from the kitchen, where he checked to see if his dinner was in the fridge.

"h.e.l.l, maybe I'll just kick your a.s.s right now."

But Connelly remained where he was, his eyes shut in repose and his body relaxed in the chair. Brody walked over to the stone hearth, his hands tucked in his pockets. He didn't have time to deal with Will Connelly right now. He needed to find Shannon.

"What do you want, Will?"

"Besides a good night's sleep?" He finally opened both eyes. "I came here to find out if you're really okay."

"Perfectly fine. Now get out."

Connelly didn't budge. "Brody, do you have a substance abuse problem? Something that needs professional attention?"

"h.e.l.l, no!"

Connelly heaved a sigh. "So is it just what the guys are saying, that you need to get laid?"

Brody flipped him off.

"Because they wanted me to pick up some pink fuzzy handcuffs for you. I'm not stepping a foot in one of those stores, but I'm sure Julianne would. For you, anyway. That would require another a.s.s-kicking on my part, though."

"Everybody just needs to mind their own freakin' business."

"That's just it, Brody, you're part of a team. When you're hurting, we all feel it."

Brody blew out a breath in disbelief. "I'm not hurting!"

Connelly grunted. "Says you. It's not like you to get so messed up about a woman. Maybe this one means a little more to you than the others?"

"Sorry to disappoint, Dr. Phil, but my love life has nothing to do with my game. Football is my number one priority in life."

"That's what I used to say until my whole worldview was knocked off its axis six months ago. I used to think that I could do this alone-football, my charity work, life, everything. I'll admit I was a bit slow to realize it, but it's nice to have someone to share this ride with. Thanks to a little push from you, I saw the big picture before it was too late."

Brody was getting anxious for Will to leave. He didn't want to hear his teammate's declarations of love for his wife. Connelly was way off base anyway. Brody wasn't looking for someone to share his life with. Not yet anyway. Right now, he was looking for one sa.s.sy Texan to share the night with. Once he'd done that, he could get back to the bigger issue of playing football and his contract extension.

"Well consider the favor returned. You've said your piece, now get your a.s.s out of my chair."

The big lug remained where he was. "Come on, Brody. Something's really bugging you. Jeez, even Roscoe is worried and he's got a heart of stone."

Brody opened his mouth to tell his teammate where both he and their agent could go, but the sound of the door slamming at the front of the house distracted him. Like an angry bull charging a matador, Shannon burst into the great room, shedding her jacket as she went. Her whiskey eyes were mere slits in her face as she stormed across the room toward him.

"I am so done with this, Brody!"

"Shannon-"

She swatted him with a white shopping bag she had clutched in her hand. "Don't you dare try to use your stupid charm on me. I swear, Brody, I've had it with people thinking it's my fault that you can't . . . perform!" She put extra emphasis on the last word making it clear that she was talking about more than just football.

"Whoa," Brody said uneasily, holding up his hands. He really didn't want to have this conversation with Connelly ten feet away. "No one's blaming you, sweetheart."

She smacked his hands with the bag again. "Of course they are! Do you know what I've had to endure today? Do you?"

He started to tell her he didn't, but she wouldn't let him get a word in.

"I spent part of my day scanning the s.e.x toys catalog with your teammates looking for anything that might turn you on! Do you have any idea how embarra.s.sing that was?"

His gut clenched at the pain in her voice. Anger coursed through him at his teammates-and at himself-for putting her through this. Stepping closer, he tried to pull her into his arms, but she batted him away again.

"No! I'm not finished." Her voice was on the verge of hysteria and Brody figured it was best to listen quietly. If he had to kill Connelly to keep him from repeating any of this, so be it.

"This afternoon I got to take relationship advice from a fifteen-year-old who just wants me to let you have your way."

Brody cringed at the look of anguish on Shannon's face.

"Then," she waved the bag in front of his face. "This! Do you know what's in here, Brody?"

Sheepishly, he shook his head.

Pulling a sc.r.a.p of red lace out, she flung the empty bag across the room. "These, Brody!"

She waved the lacy thong in front of his face and Brody was momentarily distracted, thinking about how d.a.m.n good those panties would look at the apex of Shannon's long legs. He sucked in a breath.

"That's right, Brody. According to the coach's housekeeper, I need to wear these to add a little spice to our relationship. That way, you'll play better and Blaze fans everywhere will rejoice." She gulped to cover what might have been a sob, making Brody feel like s.h.i.t.

He ran his palm down the back of his neck in an attempt to ease the squeezing back there. "Shannon, I'm sorry. I don't know how to make this all stop."

"Well I do," she said as she toed off her sneakers.

The squeezing ratcheted up a notch as she yanked her sweater over her head revealing a lacy pink bra.

"Whoa, Shannon!" Clearly she was oblivious to Connelly's presence in the recliner behind her. Brody frantically looked from Shannon to his idiot teammate who had the nerve to smile smugly, clearly enjoying both Brody's dilemma and Shannon's striptease. If she knew the big oaf was sitting there leering at her, she'd be mortified.

"Shannon, stop!"

"No way, Brody. I'm taking one for the team. Right here. Right now. So you'd better be getting naked." She shoved her jeans down her long legs revealing a black lace thong with the Blaze logo emblazoned on the crotch. The breath caught in his lungs at the sight of Shannon standing proudly like an Amazon before him, her legs spread slightly and her chin belligerent. Every part of his body was alert and at attention. He forgot about Connelly and football and everything else, knowing only that he wanted her taste on his tongue and her long legs wrapped around him as he came.

"So do the panties do it for you, Brody?"

Her anger had faded to shyness and his heart ached for her. Reaching forward, he gripped the warm skin of her waist with his long fingers, pulling her in contact with his very obvious arousal.

"Oh, yeah, Shannon," he whispered hoa.r.s.ely, brushing a kiss over her shoulder. "Connelly, get out of my house. And if you breathe a word of this to anyone, I swear I'll kill you."

Shannon stilled in his arms, her face going from deathly white to bright red in a matter of seconds before she shrieked. Brody quickly turned her, shielding her body with his as she gulped giant sobs that seemed to come from deep within her shuddering body.

"Shh," Brody said as he held her tightly, one hand rubbing up and down her back while the other stroked her hair. "It's all right. He's gone. His eyes were closed the whole time. I promise," he lied.

He nuzzled her neck, letting his lips trail along the pulse point there, the sweet taste of her skin exciting him painfully. One hand moved lower on her back to caress the smooth cheek of her a.s.s as the quaking in her body slowly relaxed.

"That's a girl, just relax," he said as his other hand brushed over her pebbled nipple.

"I think I hate you, Brody," she moaned as one of his fingers crept in between the crease in her thighs.

He didn't blame her. But he didn't want her changing her mind and locking herself in his bathroom, either.

"Give me a few hours to convince you to like me again, Shannon," he breathed beneath her ear. Her body had become pliant against his as his fingers worked on her. "Please," he whispered, hoping like h.e.l.l Connelly was long gone and couldn't hear him begging. "I need you, Shannon. Please don't change your mind."

She pulled away to look at him, those whiskey eyes damp and so trusting, they made his chest ache. Her lips parted on a sigh and he nearly came right there. Then she was kissing him, her hands ripping at his clothes as her tongue plundered his mouth. Brody wanted nothing better than to take her there on the floor or in the recliner, but she wasn't ready for that yet.

"Upstairs," he murmured as he reluctantly pulled her hands out of his sweatpants.

"No, here. Now."

"Unh-uh. Connelly isn't the only one with a key to this place."

That seemed to get her attention.

"Wrap your legs around me," he demanded, gripping her bare a.s.s and lifting her. When her body made contact with his, he nearly expired on the spot.

Shannon seemed to revel in his torture, grinding her pelvis against him.

"Unless you want to do this in full view of anyone who might walk in, I suggest you stop that," he groaned.

Smiling shyly, she leaned in to nip at his ear. "Then hurry up."

Brody hadn't run the stairs that quickly since training camp his rookie year.

Shay was lying in the middle of Brody's ma.s.sive bed coc.o.o.ned between the fluffy comforter he'd been too hurried to turn down and the hard warmth of his naked body. The bedside lamp served as the room's only light, illuminating their silhouettes on the wall. Almost as if she were having an out-of-body experience, she watched as his shadow crawled over hers, exploring every inch of her skin with his lips. Her body was tight as a bow and she squirmed beneath his tender kisses.

"Brody," she moaned, becoming agitated with need.

She felt his smile against her skin. "This is the fun part. You don't want me to leave anything out."

Her head thrashed against the pillows as he took her nipple in his mouth and sucked gently.

"Brody," she moaned again, her body arching into his. "Please, I want you to be able to finish."

He muttered a few choice words as he leveled his body above hers, coming up on his elbows so that his face was directly over hers. "It was one time," he said, his blue eyes like granite. "And those were extenuating circ.u.mstances." Balancing his weight on one forearm, he pulled her hand between them and wrapped her fingers around his erection. "I'm still locked and loaded here."

Oh my. He was hard beneath the soft velvet skin. And big. So very big. Their gazes connected as she slowly stroked her palm down the length of him. Sweat broke out on his forehead. His own hand closed more tightly over hers and her grip became firmer as she worked her hand up and down.

Brody's eyelids slid shut as she pleasured him. "G.o.d, Shannon," he breathed, his enthusiasm spurring on her confidence. Her breathing became rapid as excitement built within her own body. Without warning, Brody pulled her hand away and flipped them so he was on his back and she lay sprawled on top of him. He was breathing heavy and his face looked strained. Her hand reached between them, but he grabbed her wrist.

"Don't," he groaned. "Unless you do want it to be over before we even get started."

Then he pulled her face down for a savage kiss, her body slithering over his to gain purpose. He sucked on her tongue and kneaded her bottom and Shay felt as if she might splinter into a million pieces.

"Okay," he said as he broke the kiss. "We do it your way. But next time we get to go slow, you hear me?"

Shay wasn't sure what she was agreeing to, but she nodded anyway knowing that her body needed release soon.

"Hold on to the headboard," Brody commanded as he shifted her farther up his torso. "Now get up on your knees."

The position left her feeling exposed and a little unnerved with Brody having an excellent view of her intimate parts from his position below her.

"Brody-" she stammered.

"Hush," he ordered and then he pulled her down until she was on top of him, his mouth meeting up with the cleft between her legs. The shock was overridden by the exquisite pleasure as his tongue sucked the part of her that needed the most attention. Shay jerked up and down on her knees, matching the rhythm of his mouth. Her breath labored in her chest as she chased after what she didn't know. It snuck up on her suddenly; a crest surging through her body, seemingly controlled by the pull of his mouth.

Shay's arms and legs went limp and Brody rolled her over onto her back. Ripping open a condom, he stretched it over himself. Shay tried to reach her arms up to do it with him, but they were heavy and numb. His erection brushed up against her entrance and her whole body quivered as if it hadn't just experienced the perfect release moments before.

"I'll try to be as gentle as I can," he whispered as he pushed in slowly. It felt as if her whole body stretched to fit him. Brody swore as he slid in more deeply. "Christ, Shannon, you feel so unbelievably good, I don't think I can take this slow."

Her body was on tenterhooks again and she didn't want it slow, either. Thrusting her hips, she took him in fully. Shay didn't remember any pain or unpleasantness, just heat and deep need. Brody's body was providing the perfect sensual haze as his mouth ate at hers in another hungry kiss. The tension built as he moved inside her and Shay's hands clung to the muscles in his back.

Seeming to sense her urgency, Brody reached between them, fingering the tender nub his mouth had given such pleasure to earlier. And just like that, she shattered as a brilliant cl.u.s.ter of lights gathered behind her eyelids. Shay wasn't certain how long she lay there, but when her breathing returned to normal, she dragged her eyes open. Brody watched her closely, holding himself still as he lay propped up on his forearms. The cords in his neck bulged and a sheen of perspiration glistened on his body. It was costing him to keep himself in check, but still he worried about her.

"Are you good," he asked, his voice gravely.