The Third Baseman (The New York Lions #1)

by Lulu Moore

I found him again, and couldn’t stop the moisture leaking from my eyes and down the sides of my face. His lips touched mine, so tenderly it nearly ripped my heart out. I held on, not blinking as he slowly, carefully, pushed inside me, and I thought I might lose my mind at the sensation of him stretching me out; the bite of pain, the tightness, the way he fitted perfectly… like we were made for each other.

“Yeah, in one of your books. Jupiter is the protector planet, so I guess my job is to always protect you.”

“I think I love you, Marnie Matthews. I’ve never felt like this about anyone before, like my heart could burst at any second. The only other time I feel this alive is when I’ve got a bat in my hand and I’m running bases.”

After a minute, he pointed up to the sky. “You know how people say stuff is written in the stars? Do you think we are?” I watched them twinkling above us, one shooting across the sky. “Written in the stars?” “Yeah,” he whispered as he dropped a kiss on my head. “That we belong to each other. I’m yours, and you’re mine.”

My shoulders dropped. “Marn, if you want to be friends then we can do it during office hours. I can deal with that. But you can’t come to my apartment at nine p.m. dressed like that, and expect me to keep my hands to myself.” I blinked in rapid succession, making sure I’d heard correctly and not just wishful thinking, but I swear she said, “What if I don’t want you to?”

I couldn’t believe she even had to ask; it was burned into my memory, branded onto my heart. It was still one of the top five nights of my life. But instead of telling her all that, I just nodded and said, “Yes.” “I thought I’d never felt anything better. You made me feel safe, secure, hot... I’d never felt anything like it. And every single other time you kissed me, I thought the same thing – that I’d never feel anything better.”

I shouldn’t have gone, but I was so mad at you! You’re in my head all the time, it’s like I can’t escape!” “Now you know how I feel,” I challenged her back.

Her pupils flared, her chest rising and falling quicker with each breath. My fingers pushed through her wet hair until her head was against the wall, neck craned to look at me. “Tell me.” “I realized that I had never gotten over you.” And there they were. The words I’d been waiting to hear my entire adult life from the girl who’d owned my heart for the duration. My thumb ran roughly along her plump bottom lip. I was captivated by the way her soft, wet skin reddened under my touch as I pulled it down. But the second she moaned, I snapped. “Starlight, star bright,” I breathed into her mouth before capturing her lips with my own. I sucked, tasting her like I’d wanted to earlier, like I’d been at sea for years and had finally reached dry land. Like she was the lifeline I never knew I needed. No, that’s bullshit. I’d always known she was my lifeline. Surrounding her mouth with mine, I kissed her hard, desperately. There was no savoring, because I had no intention of giving this up ever again. I didn’t need to make it last. It belonged to me, had always belonged to me, and I was finally taking it back. My tongue tangled with hers, hot and wet, and everything I missed. She reached up on her tip toes, her fingers combing through my hair, and the blanket fell to the floor. At the feel of her nipples grazing against me, my dick thickened instantly, and I pulled back. She was breathless; her cheeks were turning that unique shade of pink I loved as she looked up at me through thick la...

“I’ve fucking missed you, Marn, and I’m not just talking about the past three days.” “I know,” she whispered back, her breath hot on my skin, “now kiss me again.”

“Because I’m about to fuck you like I need to make up for the past fourteen years, and I have no plans to be gentle. Then I’m going to do it again.”

People could fucking watch. I wanted the whole world to know she was mine again.

Then I saw it, and my legs nearly gave way. “Star…” I hissed, not quite believing what I was seeing. A shiver flew down her side as my thumb brushed over the tiny hand-drawn thundercloud and lightning bolt, sitting to the right under her left boob; over her heart. I might be covered in her, but this was all me. “You’re not the only one with a tattoo,” she whispered. I dipped down, my cheek nestled against her tit and my tongue ran over the delicate lines, coating the tiny ridges with my saliva. My girl covered in me, painted in a permanent reminder of me.

“We’re not teenagers anymore, Marn. Spread your legs. I want to see what I’ve been missing.”

She was going to know how much I worshiped her; I planned to show her every fucking day.

My tongue tingled, my mouth pooled with saliva. I bent down, running my nose either side of her lips until I was coated in her. She shot up the bed with a groan as I took my tongue and dragged it up the length of her slit. “That noise, Marn. Fuck! I’ve only heard it in my dreams.” Another flash of lightning illuminated her, as I resumed my position. “Ohhhhh… God,” she cried.

I ate her like she was my obsession. The harder I sucked on her clit, the firmer my fingers dug into her ass, because the more she squirmed. And then came those telltale signs I remembered so clearly… her thighs trembling, her stomach convulsing, her delicate hands fisting the sheets.

In less than a second, I was home.

“Did you ever scream my name when your husband was fucking you? Did you ever think about me?” Her eyes flared, and I stopped moving. “I’m not letting you come until you tell me. Did you wish it was my dick sliding inside you… just… like… this.” Her head fell back with a groan which shook my bones. “Say it, Star,” I gritted out. “Yes. Yes, I did.”

“Tell me who your pussy belongs to. Who it’s always belonged to.” “You, Jupiter… always you.” “Mine is going to be the only name you ever scream again. Understand?”

Later, much later, I fell asleep listening to Marnie nestled into my chest breathing in and out for the first time since I was eighteen years old. And my world righted itself.

I didn’t need to look at the sky if I had him.

After weeks and weeks of resisting him, I couldn’t ignore it. He owned me, body and soul.

“That noise, Marn.” “My laugh?” “Yeah, I could listen to it on repeat and I’d never get enough.” He smiled back, but it wasn’t playful; it was kind of bashful, vulnerable.

“He’s better…”

and I didn’t add that if my heart was broken again, I wouldn’t recover this time.

“I’m serious.” I stopped at the light and turned to face her. “I want babies with you. I want you to have my kids, lots of them, so say the word...”

I’m falling so hard I didn’t even realize this kind of love existed. Like the whole world stops when we’re together.”

“Just as long as it doesn’t come back to bite you on the ass…”

“This house is mine… well, ours.” “Jupiter…” she gasped, her eyes widening. “Wha… what? You bought us a house?”

Fuck. I could feel my insides flip-flopping. It was still a sensation I was getting used to whenever Marnie was concerned. “I bought it when you agreed to come to New York. I haven’t touched it. In fact, I’ve only been here the one time because I didn’t want to jinx anything. I was hoping… well, waiting, I guess… until we got to the point where we could build a home together. I’m not saying that’s today; I know we’re still getting used to things, but I wanted to bring you anyway.”

“You can totally veto it, but hear me out…” I took hold of her hand and laced our fingers together for a tour around the outside. “I thought that we could replace the top half of this stone with glass – you know, for walls of glass. We can put in heated flooring and turn it into a cozy space, add a bed... then above us would be a retractable glass roof so we can watch the stars all year round. Even when

it’s freezing cold we can sleep under the stars, and it’ll feel like we’re camping back at your place. And the best bit,” I grinned, “as we’re in the middle of nowhere, we won’t get so much light pollution. It’s not Joshua Tree, but it’ll be closer than New York’s skies.”

“You deserve it. You deserve everything, and I want to be the one giving it to you.”

Jupiter Reeves, my first love. The man I knew for certain was my only real love; my true love. My love, who knew me better than I knew myself; knew what I needed, what I liked. How to make my body respond in a way it never had in anyone else’s hands. Or mine. There was no question I’d never find anyone or anything better than him.

Which was the problem. For every single night since our first night, over the past few weeks, I’d stay awake after he’d fallen asleep. I’d stay awake and watch him sleep, watch him dream; sometimes listen to his soft snoring, and other nights listen to the conversations he’d have with himself. But I would be awake. I would sync our breaths to rise and fall. I would trace the constellations over his shoulders, and watch the stars shoot across his chest. I would run my lips across his biceps, link our fingers together, and relish in his thick arms slung across my belly. But as the night darkened and shadows appeared, I would need to push away the terror slowly taking hold of my insides at how much I wanted him. Then I would ignore the unease creeping through my bones like a dense fog at the start of a horror movie. I would have to remember my breathing exercises; and if I was lucky, once the hours had past and the sun was getting ready to rise, I

would finally fal...

I’ll call you when I’m done. Love you.” He stopped. I stopped. Time might have also stopped. His hand was hovering halfway to the door handle. I’m not sure I blinked. His eyes widened, and a broad grin broke through his shock as he walked straight back to me. Warm hands cupped my face, and I could feel the calluses on his thumb as it brushed over my cheeks. “I should have been a bit cooler with that, but hey, you already knew. I love you, Marn. I love you so fucking much, and getting you back...” His tongue did the rest of the talking with more than a swipe across my lips. It sunk deep into my mouth, caressing mine, twisting together, hot and soft. Every swipe filled with emotion, and I returned it a hundred fold, especially when I could feel him smiling against my lips.

This man, this fucking man. He was going to be the death of me. Again.

was in love with Jupiter Reeves, again, for real. And he loved me back.

But it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why I didn’t feel good about it – or why I hadn’t been sleeping. Because when I’d broached the subject of our breakup again, he brushed it off just like he’d done before. Because what if I opened my eyes and he wasn’t there? Just like last time. Because when I closed my eyes I was sixteen again, my heart bleeding and beaten. And blindsided. I didn’t see it coming the first time, but the second… that I needed to prepare for.

“I’ll see you later”, because while I knew what I needed to do, that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to hold her in my arms one last time. Kiss her one last time. Sneak out of her window one last time.

My heart cracked.

Maybe if I was quiet enough, the voices would vanish. Maybe if I was quiet enough, I would vanish. Then the pain would stop. I would hit the bottom of the black hole I seemed to be tumbling down.

If I hit the bottom, perhaps the sensation would come back to my limbs; the emptiness I felt deep in my marrow would refill; the numbness would disappear; my body wouldn’t feel like it was being ripped in half. I would no longer be shrouded in the darkness I’d lived in for seven whole days. The never-ending tears would stop falling. My last thought as exhaustion took me; death must be easier than this.

And I couldn’t fucking wait to date the shit out of Marnie.

I was the hunter and she was my prey, and I wasn’t just going to eat her. Fuck dinner, I was about to devour her.

Her dress was a thousand shades of blue silk, all flowing over her body like a moonlit waterfall, the clearest waters cascading into the deepest, darkest pool. The pool which stopped mid-thigh, showing off the longest, leanest, curviest legs. I’d never seen them look like this, and all I could think about was having them wrapped around my head while I went to town on her; dragging my tongue over her clit, and spearing it into her tight, wet pussy.

“I’m glad I got to see you in it, but you will not be wearing it out of this apartment.”

“You’re soaked, Marnie. Fucking drenched. And that won’t do at all… it’s not just your dress you’ll need to change; you’ll need fresh panties too.” The groan she let out as I brushed her clit sounded almost painful; raw and animalistic, hitting deep in my balls; an arrow spiked with pure lust. This was going to be quick. One finger buried itself in her pussy. I added a second, then a third, curling them up as I pumped inside her until we were both vibrating with desperation. Desperate for release. Desperate for each other.

I might be a professional athlete, but she knocked the wind from my lungs every single time.