The Cleanup_a Washington Rampage Sports Romance Read online

  Copyright © 2018 by Megan Green

  All rights reserved.

  Visit my website at: www.authormegangreen.com

  Cover Designer: Megan Gunter at Mischievous Designs

  Editor: Jovana Shirley, Unforeseen Editing

  Formatting: Alexandria Bishop at AB Formatting

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Contents

  Prologue

  1. Liv

  2. Brandon

  3. Liv

  4. Brandon

  5. Liv

  6. Brandon

  7. Liv

  8. Brandon

  9. Liv

  10. Brandon

  11. Liv

  12. Brandon

  13. Liv

  14. Brandon

  15. Liv

  16. Brandon

  17. Liv

  18. Brandon

  19. Liv

  20. Brandon

  21. Liv

  22. Brandon

  23. Liv

  24. Brandon

  25. Liv

  26. Brandon

  27. Liv

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  Also by Megan Green

  About the Author

  Preview of The Off-Season

  Preview of Slam by Andee Michelle

  Prologue

  Liv

  I shouldn’t be doing this.

  The words echo over and over in my head, even as I allow him to lower me onto the bed.

  His shaggy hair falls forward, the strands hiding the gorgeous chocolate eyes that have been boring into me since the moment I walked into the room earlier this evening. With a gentle jerk of his chin, he clears his vision, giving me a heart-stopping smile.

  My eyes roll back in my head as he buries his face in my neck. His soft lips caress the sensitive flesh there, causing a wave of electricity to rush throughout my entire body. I feel his smile against my skin, and I know he likes the reaction he’s getting from me.

  I shouldn’t be doing this, my conscience repeats, yet still I roll my body against his, desperate for the friction, craving the contact of his hard body against my own.

  Get up, Liv. Get up, fix your damn clothes, and get the hell out of here while you still can. I hear the words. I know, deep down, that they’re right. I know I’m going to regret this in the morning.

  But right now? Right now, I just can’t bring myself to care.

  Brandon reaches behind his head, sliding his shirt off in one swift movement. The heat radiating off his skin as he presses himself back into me is almost unbearable.

  I need more.

  And I need it now.

  I squirm beneath him, frantically trying to remove my own shirt so that I can feel him bare against me. Luckily, it doesn’t take long for him to realize my intention. He pulls back for just a moment, his hands running down my body to where the hem of my shirt hits the top of my jeans. In no time at all, the thin fabric is gone, and I’m rewarded with the delicious heat of his naked chest pressed against my own.

  His mouth finds mine, his tongue delving deep past my lips, as one of his hands comes up to cup my breast. I moan into his mouth, the sound vibrating low in my throat, and I feel his hard length twitch against my thigh at the noise. A quick brush of his thumb against my nipple causes my breath to catch in my throat, my thighs rubbing together fiercely in a futile attempt to relieve the ache building between them.

  “God, you’re beautiful,” Brandon murmurs against my lips. “And so fucking sweet. All night long, I’ve wondered what these lips would taste like.”

  “And? Do they meet your expectations?” I breathe out, loving the way his husky voice makes me feel.

  Beautiful.

  Sexy.

  Downright fucking dirty.

  “No,” he says, trailing his tongue down my neck, stopping just before he reaches my breast. I mewl in protest. “No, you fucking blew anything I imagined right out of the water. And, now, I need to know how the rest of you measures up.”

  As soon as the words leave his lips, his fingers slide the fabric of my bra aside, and his tongue begins its assault on my nipple. And assault is really the only word that can describe what he’s doing. He moves so fast, his lips sucking, his tongue lashing, that there’s no other term. He’s not gentle. He’s not careful. It’s as if his lust has completely taken over any semblance of thought in his brain, leaving behind only a frenzied man in need of release.

  And I freaking love that it’s me who’s making him feel this way.

  So, despite the fact that I know this is wrong, despite the fact that I know I’m going to hate myself tomorrow, I throw my head back in ecstasy and let my pleasure take over.

  It’s just one night. I’m never going to see him again.

  And, no matter how much I might try to deny it, I’m a grown-ass woman. I have needs. Needs that have been ignored for far too long.

  Brandon is the perfect way to scratch this infernal itch. No strings, no commitment.

  No worries that I somehow might turn into my mother.

  Tonight’s just about sex. Nothing my mother did was ever just about sex.

  Tonight, I’m going to get what I need.

  I’ll worry about tomorrow later.

  Brandon must sense the tension coursing through my veins because he stills, his face lifting from my chest as he warily eyes me. “We don’t have to do this. You just say the word, and I’m gone. I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to.”

  Ugh. Does he have to be such a fucking gentleman right now?

  I reach down to palm the bulge in his jeans, causing his eyes to flutter closed. “Believe me, I want this. Now, shut the hell up and fuck me.”

  I don’t have to ask twice.

  Chapter 1

  Liv

  Three Months Later

  “So, when’s the big day?” I ask with a sly smile, carefully sliding a book into its new home on the shelves of Turn the Page bookstore. The question is directed at Lexi—my best friend and sometimes coworker—who is currently holding the ladder steady below me. I feel her eyes burning into me as I shuffle the stack in my arms, my main concern being the well-being of the precious cargo I’m holding rather than my own safety.

  “I swear to God, Liv, I’m going to buy you a harness. One of these days, you’re going to fall off this damn thing. And I won’t be around to help you.”

  I force out a laugh. “More like, you won’t be around to laugh at me. And it’s, like, five feet off the floor. Not exactly life-threatening.”

  “Well, that, too,” she responds with a smirk.

  I giggle as I turn back to the task at hand. Turn the Page isn’t exactly the biggest bookstore in the world. Honestly, the ladder might be a bit superfluous. I’m sure I could reach the top shelves if I just stretched on a step stool. But I won’t lie; I sort of love the feeling of being among the stacks, the ladder sliding up and down the shelves as I do my best impersonation of Belle from Beauty and the Beast.

  Not that Lexi knows anything about that. I keep my Disney musings strictly to after-hours. Not even Charlie Price —my adoptive father for all intents and purposes—knows about
my princess time. I have an image to uphold after all.

  “You didn’t answer my question,” I say, shooting a look down at Lexi. “When are y’all getting hitched?”

  She gives me a bemused grin, throwing in one of her patented eye rolls for added effect. But she can’t hide the happiness dancing behind her eyes. “Shut up. We still have a long way to go before that happens. And that’s if I don’t scare him away first.”

  Now, it’s my turn to roll my eyes. Ian Taggart, Lexi’s boyfriend and one of the best guys I’ve ever met, plays for the Washington Rampage. Like, as in the Washington Rampage—the hottest baseball team in the major leagues. And Ian is by far their best player. Now that the season has started up again, Lexi has been traveling back and forth between Seattle and our quiet town of Maple Lake, Colorado, quite a bit. This week the Rampage are on the road—hence the reason Lexi is currently helping me at the store.

  “Oh, please. That man is head over heels in love with you. It’d be sad if it wasn’t so damn sweet. Pretty sure you could kick him in the balls for no reason whatsoever, and he’d drop to his knees and beg you to do it again, just so that you were touching him.”

  She giggles. “You have such a twisted mind, Liv. Like, who even thinks of shit like that? And, besides, why would I ever want to kick him in the balls? That would ruin my plans of having a few little Ians running around. Don’t you think Ian would be the best dad?” she adds on with a dreamy sigh.

  I fake a retch. “God, you two are so cute, it’s disgusting. I think I liked you better when you hated men. At least that, I could understand.”

  Lexi smiles. “Speaking of men…have you heard from Brandon?”

  I groan at the mention of Ian’s teammate and best friend—aka the biggest mistake I’ve made in the past year.

  “He’s texted a few times,” I say nonchalantly, turning my head back to survey the books before me. I send up a silent plea to whoever might be listening that Lexi drops it.

  Ha. Like that’s ever happened.

  “And? What did you say?” she prompts.

  I blow out an exasperated breath. “I don’t know, Lexi. I’ve been busy. I can’t exactly just drop everything when some guy tries to make a booty call.”

  “So, in other words, you’ve been avoiding him.”

  Yes.

  “No. You know how hard I’ve been working to get this place in order before Charlie retires. I know he keeps saying it’s a few years out, but I beg to differ. If I have it my way, he’ll be resting at home, enjoying his books, before peak tourist season even begins.”

  “That’s only a few months away, Liv. How do you plan on talking him into that?”

  “I have my ways,” I say with a sly grin.

  She laughs, knowing that means I plan to extort Charlie’s fatherly love for me and get him to do exactly as I wish. He has a hard time saying no to me when I truly set my mind to something.

  But, really, it’s for his own good. Charlie has been working his ass off, building this store. And, after nearly fifty years, it’s high time he got a break. I can handle this place.

  Hell, I can make this place flourish. By the time I’m done, Turn the Page is going to be a household name in the western US.

  As if reading my mind, Lexi launches into my plans to franchise the store, her questions coming rapidly now that the topic has been broached. I breathe a sigh of relief that talk of Brandon has been abandoned. I have enough on my mind without adding him to the mix.

  As I’d predicted, the morning after my night with Brandon, I woke, full of regret. I hadn’t meant to spend the night with him. But, after about the fifth orgasm, I’d just sort of passed out. What can I say? It’d been a while. My body wasn’t used to so much…excitement.

  I expected him to kick my ass to the curb the moment he realized I was still in his room at the cute little B&B in town. Wanting to avoid the uncomfortable situation that was sure to follow, I slipped out from under his arm, trying my damnedest not to jostle him as I slithered out of bed.

  It didn’t work.

  “Morning,” a gruff voice, still laced with sleep, said from behind me.

  My hand paused its efforts in seeking out my jeans, my spine stiffening as I’d been caught.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to stay the night,” I mumbled dumbly, my cheeks flaming from embarrassment.

  I couldn’t even bring myself to turn and look at him. Surely, he felt just as awkward as I did.

  The springs of the mattress squeaked as Brandon moved on the bed. A content groan and the sound of the sheets rustling made me think that he was stretching. And, despite my embarrassment, that was a sight I just couldn’t miss.

  Looking back over my shoulder, I wasn’t disappointed by what I found. Muscled arms reached up above his head, his broad chest on full display, dark ink covering every square inch of exposed skin. I hadn’t gotten nearly enough time to explore those lines last night, and my fingers twitched in anticipation of finishing their quest.

  A soft chuckle pulled my eyes from his gorgeous body to the sideways grin adorning his face. “You like what you see, Tink?”

  His snarky comment made me all too aware that my bottom lip was pulled between my teeth, and I could practically feel the saliva building in my mouth as I stared at him.

  Pull yourself together, Olivia. It’s just a fucking body.

  A ridiculously beautiful body that’s practically begging to be touched. But that is beside the point.

  “Don’t call me Tink,” I bit out.

  It’d taken all of three minutes after I met him for the nickname to make an appearance. I was used to it. Coming in at barely five feet with stupid-high cheekbones and an upturned nose, I’d heard it all over the years. Pixie, fairy, elfin queen. Tinker Bell was just one of the many things I’d been called growing up. But there was something different about the way Brandon called me Tink. It made me feel…different.

  And different wasn’t good.

  He held his hands up, as if in apology. “Sorry. You didn’t seem to have a problem with it last night.” His grin returned, spreading across those full lips, reminding me of all the places they’d been mere hours ago.

  My face.

  My neck.

  My breasts.

  My—

  “I need to go,” I blurted, stuffing my legs into my pants and yanking them up as fast as I could.

  Luckily, I’d pulled my shirt back on last night after our last tryst. I wouldn’t have been able to stand and talk to him as long as I had if I’d been topless.

  “What’s the rush?” he asked, giving me pause.

  I turned and gave him a wary look, finding him lying back on the pillow with his hands linked behind his head, biceps on full display.

  I mean, really, whose arms looked like that in real life? It just wasn’t fair.

  He looked down at the empty spot on the bed. “It’s rather lonely over here, all by myself. What do you say, you climb back in here and keep me warm?”

  I pulled my lip back in between my teeth, his offer sounding way too good to pass up. But, no matter how amazing it seemed, I knew I had to leave. Last night was a mistake. The fact that I’d even momentarily considered jumping back into bed with him was all the proof I needed.

  “I wish I could, but I’ve got to get to work. Not all of us are bazillionaire baseball players.”

  He shot me another grin. “Believe me, baby, I work. Where do you think I got these?” he asked, flexing his hands behind his head, causing the muscles in his arms to tighten.

  “Right. Well, I should be going,” I said again, turning toward the door. The sooner I got out of there, the better.

  “Can I stop by later?” he asked, stopping me dead in my tracks.

  Looking back over my shoulder, I gave him a puzzled look. “What do you mean?”

  He shrugged. “You said you worked at the bookstore, right? Can I come see you in a bit?”

  “Why?” I asked stupidly, my mouth hanging open in confusion. His
question didn’t make any sense.

  “To say good-bye before I leave?” It came out as more of a question than an answer.

  Nothing that was happening was right. I was supposed to spend the night with him, have mind-blowing sex, and then go about my merry way. He wasn’t supposed to be asking me if he could come visit me at work. That wasn’t how any of this worked.

  But he was also Ian’s best friend, and with what was developing between Ian and Lexi, I didn’t want to be the cause of any discord between them. Her best friend being a mega-bitch to his best friend could potentially be an issue.

  “Sure,” I heard myself saying, telling myself it was strictly because of Lexi.

  Hell, I’d probably already fucked things up for her. I normally didn’t get involved with friends. Or friends of friends. It made things…sticky. But Brandon was leaving. I’d never see him again. A guy like him had girls lining up to be with him. So, if I could just get through the next few hours until he left without causing any major fallout, I’d be in the clear.

  I ignored the tiny part deep inside me that fluttered at the idea of him wanting to see me again before he left.

  Brandon smiled at me as I turned back toward the door.

  “See you in a bit, Tink.”

  Like hell he would. As soon as I got home, I was calling in sick.

  “Earth to Liv.”

  Lexi’s voice brings me back to the present.

  “Did you hear anything I just said?”