Some of her annoyance faded at the praise and the pink in her cheeks darkened. Picking up his own plate, he switched chairs so he was sitting in the one just to her right. “Put your hands under your bottom and press your shoulders back against the chair.”
She opened her mouth, probably to ask her favorite question, but she shut it again without voicing it. Her bottom lip pushed out in a bit of a pout, but he overlooked it since she’d done as he’d asked without argument.
“Thank you. Chicken or asparagus?” he asked, picking up her fork.
“Ah. Chicken?”
He cut off a small piece and held it up to her mouth. The blush he loved so much spread from her cheeks down her neck as she accepted the bite and chewed.
“Anything else you’d like to know about Black Light?”
“Um.” She took the bite of asparagus he offered, chewing carefully before answering. “I don’t even know what to ask, really. I’m worried I’ll do something wrong and embarrass you, so just tell me what to do.”
“You won’t embarrass me, kitten. We’ll go over some protocol before we go, but even if you get something wrong, I won’t be upset. Nobody will judge you.” He felt his lips twitch as he fought back a laugh. “Well, if you’re intentionally being a brat, they might. But mostly they’ll just enjoy watching you get your bottom paddled if that happens.”
“You’d spank me there? In front of other people?”
“If I think you need it. But you’re such a good girl, I can’t see you earning a public punishment like that.”
Something strangely close to disappointment flitted in her eyes before she smiled. “Thank goodness.”
Hmmm. Maybe his kitten had more of an exhibitionist streak than she was letting on. It would fit nicely with his own needs if she did, but he didn’t want to read too much into it at this stage.
“Well, if you think of any more questions, you can ask me any time. But now it’s my turn to ask you something.”
“What?”
“Would you and your dad like to come to the game on Saturday? I have some tickets, right behind home plate.”
“Seriously?” Her entire face lit up, and in that instant, he knew he was sunk. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do to see that expression of pure joy as often as he possibly could.
“Yeah. I already have the tickets, so somebody needs to use them.”
“Thank you! Dad is going to lose his mind!” She threw her arms around his neck, technically without permission, but he didn’t have the heart to correct her. Besides, she’d finished her dinner and apparently forgotten all about being naked in front of him, which had been his end goal anyway.
“Any time, kitten. I, ah, also invited Tony and his wife over for dinner after the game, if you guys wanna come hang out.”
“Tony Torres?” Pulling away, she frowned. “Your replacement? Won’t that be a little awkward?”
“I prefer to think of him as my understudy.” He’d tried for a light, joking tone, but going by the way her face crumpled, he’d missed the mark. “Shit,” he mumbled, blowing out a breath. How much of an asshole could he be? “I’m not mad at you, baby. I’m just… this is all I’ve ever done, you know? Other than washing cars when I was a teenager and I’d really prefer not to go back to that. The idea of retiring is just, I dunno. It’s weird.”
“I understand. Well, as much as I can, not being in your shoes. But I know how much my business means to me and I’d be devastated to lose it. Starting over is hard, but you have options.”
“So they say. Pretty sure I’d make a shit coach, though.”
“I don’t know.” She tilted her head to the side, and he was suddenly keenly aware of how much intelligence those shrewd brown eyes held. “You’ve been coaching me through all of this,” she waved her hands at her naked form. “And there’s not just coaching. There’s sports TV, radio, podcasts. Or you could do something completely different. Surely baseball isn’t the only thing you enjoy.”
“Hmm.” Leaning in, he captured a bare nipple between his teeth and tugged, drinking in her gasp of surprise. “There’s plenty I enjoy that’s not baseball. But I’m not sure I can make a living eating you out every night.”
“Don’t be so sure about that. I’d be willing to pay good money for those orgasms you’ve been giving away for free.”
“Is that so?” Delighted by her, and relieved to be talking about anything other than his pending retirement, he pulled her to her feet and into his arms. “Guess I should get as much practice in as I can before I go pro, then, right?”
“It’s the smart thing to do.”
Chapter 12
Katherine