All Wound Up

The wicked look he gave her was filled with intent and promise. “Yes, Aubry.”

She shifted her gaze to everyone around her, realizing they were engaged in conversation and not paying attention to them, which was a good thing since at the moment she was very much hot and bothered. When her gaze met Tucker’s again, she realized he was still focused on her.

“We’ll continue this conversation later,” she said.

“Yeah. We will.”

Funny how very little had been said between them, but so much had been implied.

But it was good to know they were both on the same page.

AUBRY MADE HIM HARD. JUST HER TOUCHING HIM made him hard, not to mention her hands roaming over his body. Oh, sure, she made it look all innocent, but the looks she gave him, and just the goddamned way she breathed, turned him on.

And now she rested her hand on his thigh while she sipped her wine and talked to her friends like she didn’t know exactly what she was doing.

He finally had to think about something else until his erection subsided, then he slid off the bar stool to get away from Aubry and cool down.

He headed over to watch some of the guys play darts, figuring that would pull his attention from the hot woman who made him want to grab her by the hand, drag her out to the car and bury himself inside of her until the ache making his balls throb went away.

And thinking in those terms wasn’t helping, because now he had a visual of fucking her in the backseat of his car.

Darts. He needed to concentrate on the dart game.

“You should put your tongue back in your mouth, man. People are starting to notice.”

He shot a glare to Trevor Shay. “Fuck off.”

Trevor laughed. “It’s kind of obvious that you have it bad for Aubry.”

Tucker shrugged. “We just started seeing each other. No big deal.”

“It’s the beginning, when things are really hot and heavy. It is a big deal, when you can’t get enough of each other.”

“Is that how it was with you and Haven?”

Trevor’s gaze drifted over to where Haven stood in the middle of the crowd of women. As if she knew he was staring at her, she looked up and smiled. Trevor smiled back. “It’s still like that.”

Tucker shook his head. “She’s so got you hooked.”

“Yup.”

“And you don’t have a problem with that.”

“Not at all. Why would I? She’s gorgeous, smart, and we’ve known each other a long time—long enough to clear all the bullshit out of the way. She knows the worst parts of me, and for some reason she loves me anyway. So yeah—I’m man enough to admit I love her.”

“You make it sound so simple.”

Trevor pushed off the wall and looked at him. “Once you find someone you want to spend the rest of your life with, it really is that simple. Ask any of the guys who are married or with one woman long term. They’ll all tell you the same thing.”

“What thing?” Gavin asked as he and Garrett came over.

“We’re talking about our women,” Trevor said.

“What about them?” Garrett asked.

“How you know when the right one comes along.”

“Oh.” Gavin grabbed his beer from the table next to him and took a long swallow. “Yeah. You might fight it, kicking and screaming for a while. A lot of us don’t realize she’s staring us straight in the face because giving up our freedom is a hard thing to reckon with. But once we think about what it might be like to live without her, it doesn’t take long for common sense to kick in.”

“What if you’re not ready to settle down yet?” Tucker asked.

“That’s easy,” Gavin said, putting his beer down and grabbing his darts. “Then she’s not the right woman for you.”

Gavin walked away.

“So Aubry’s not the one?” Garrett asked.

“I have no idea. I like her, but it’s still early. I mean we just got together, you know?”

Garrett smiled. “Sometimes it hits you like a strike of lightning and it doesn’t take any time at all to realize she’s the one. And sometimes it doesn’t matter how much time you spend with a woman, because she’s never going to be the one for you, man.”

“Yeah. I see what you mean.”

Garrett patted him on the back. “Trust me, it’s all about instinct. You’ll figure it out.”

Garrett and Trevor went over to take their spots by the dartboard, leaving Tucker to think as he leaned against the wall and sipped his beer.

Was it really that simple? He hadn’t thought much about finding the right woman—or any woman—to settle down with. He liked his lifestyle the way it was, figuring he had plenty of time yet to find the woman of his dreams.

But he’d never really thought about how that might happen. Or when that might happen. Or how he’d know when the right woman came along, that she really was the right one.

Ah, hell. Why was he even thinking about it, anyway? He and Aubry were just going out, having sex and a good time.

He wandered over and played a few games of pool with the guys, drank a few beers, ate some amazing food, then ended up sitting upstairs and talking with the gang. It was a good group. He liked the guys, had meshed well with the team, and felt at home here—more at home than he’d ever felt before. His style of pitching worked well for this organization, and the sense of camaraderie he felt with this group of players was more like a brotherhood than he’d ever gotten with any other team.