Shoot Out (The Baltimore Banners Book 7) (21 page)

Mat raised his hand, ready to scratch at his chest. But his gaze caught Nicole's and he lowered it. She watched him, a smile on her face, her eyebrows raised, letting him know she knew exactly what he'd been ready to do. He grinned then rolled his shoulders, trying to convince himself that might help with the itching even though he knew it wouldn't.

Lotion would help. Nicole rubbing the lotion on his chest, her fingers so light and soft against his skin, would help even better. He'd have her do just that, as soon as he went in to change out of his tux. JP had a few extra rooms. Mat could take her into one, let her rub that lotion on him, finally feel her hands on his bare skin. Maybe convince her he needed lotion on places other than his chest—

He swallowed back a groan and shoved all thoughts of getting Nicole naked from his mind. Not an easy thing to do, not when that's all he could think about every time she looked at him, when he saw his own hunger reflected in the depths of her amber eyes.

But there was something else he needed to do first, something more important. He pulled his gaze away from Nicole and looked around, searching. His eyes came to rest on Alec's wife, AJ, standing off to the side, talking with Bridget and Kayli and Emily. Mat made his way over to them, his eye catching AJ's.

"Did you want to take a look now?"

"I can look, Mat. But no guarantees. I don't have much say in that, you know that."

"I know, but it wouldn't hurt, right? And then if something comes open, or if you need a quick fill-in or something." Mat stopped rambling and shrugged, trying not to get his hopes up. AJ was a sports reporter for the local paper. He was hoping that maybe she could put a word in, see if the paper needed a photographer for anything.

And yeah, he knew it was pretty far-fetched, knew that nothing would come of it, but it didn't hurt to try. "She's good, AJ. Really."

"Are you talking about Nicole?"

Mat turned to Bridget, nodding. "Yeah. I want AJ to look at some of her stuff, see what she thinks."

"Mat's right, AJ. I've seen the work Nicole does for the patients. She has a real talent, a real knack for capturing things you wouldn't think you could see."

"I'm sure she does. I just don't know if I can help." AJ smiled, softening the sting of disappointment Mat felt at her words.

He turned and headed over to where Nicole was sitting, her gaze focused on her camera as she placed a new memory card in it and studied the small screen. He saw her start, saw her body jerk just the tiniest bit before she straightened and looked around. Her eyes widened when they settled on him, a small flush coloring her cheeks. He couldn't help his answering grin, thinking maybe she had been having the same thoughts he'd been having, that maybe convincing her to follow him into one of the spare rooms wouldn't be as hard as he'd first thought.

But first he wanted her to show AJ the pictures she'd taken. She'd probably argue, would probably be too bashful to show them off, but Mat was prepared for that. He glanced behind him and saw that Bridget and Kayli and Emily had followed him as well. This was even better. How could Nicole refuse to show the pictures to the bride? She couldn't.

Mat grinned, coming to a stop in front of Nicole. She looked up, her body tensing, vibrating with wariness. She stood up, her eyes meeting his before darting to the women behind him. And already she was lowering the camera, trying to hide it behind her back. Almost like she knew what he was going to do before he even did it.

He grabbed her free hand and tugged her closer, his arm sliding behind her. "Nicole, this is AJ. Alec's wife. She's a reporter."

Nicole's eyes darted to his, curiosity clear in their depths. She turned to AJ, smiling in greeting.

"You should show her your pictures. She might be able to help get you some work or something."

"Oh. Uh—" Nicole tensed, shooting him a panicked look as she pulled the camera further behind her.

"Like I told Mat, no guarantees. But I can look. There might be some freelance opportunities available, I'll have to check with my editor. And the team's blog always needs pictures. They don't pay, of course, but it's a way to get some photo credits."

"Wow. Thank you. That would be—" Nicole shot him another look, some of the panic leaving her eyes, then turned back to AJ. "That would be great, thanks. I can send some over—"

"No, show her the ones you took today."

She turned, still trying to hide the camera. "I don't think—"

But Mat had been expecting that. He snatched the camera from her hand, grinning at the shocked expression on her face when he handed it to AJ.

"Mat, no!" Nicole reached for it with a surprised gasp but it was too late, AJ already had it, raising it up so the other girls could see, too.

"Oh my."

"Wow."

"Um, yeah. Wow."

Mat watched them, studying their reactions, waiting to hear how impressed they were with what Nicole had done. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close, feeling the tension and anxiety running through her. Of course she was anxious but that would change, as soon as she heard how impressed everyone was.

"What do you think? I told you they were good."

"Yeah, they're uh—" AJ cleared her throat, a slow smile spreading across her face. Bridget placed her hands over AJ's, moving the camera closer so she could see better.

"No, wait. Flip back, I want to see that one again." She smiled, her eyes darting to Mat's before moving back to the camera. "Oh yeah. These are definitely better than what I was expecting."

He tightened his arm around Nicole, giving her a reassuring squeeze. "Relax, baby. They like them. I knew they would."

"Mat, I don't think—"

"What are you guys looking at it? Are those the pictures from today?" Derek moved behind Bridget, leaning over her shoulder to get a better look.

"Yeah. I thought—"

"No, they're not." Nicole's strangled words cut him off. He looked down at her, confused, not understanding why her face had gone from pink to an alarming red.

"What's not what?"

"The, uh, the pictures." Nicole inched closer, her face practically buried in his chest now, her voice muffled. "They're not from today."

"Oh." He shrugged. "Well, that doesn't matter. They can still see—"

"Holy shit. What the fuck? Give me that." Derek grabbed the camera from the women, his hands fumbling with the buttons before he finally just shoved it at Mat. "What the hell are you trying to do, Herron? Christ, you don't just…and then…and you…really? You? Of all people? What the fuck?"

"Dude, what's your problem? They're just pictures."

"I don't give a fuck. You don't go showing your shit around like that. What the hell's wrong with you?"

Mat narrowed his eyes at Derek, wondering why he was cussing like that in front of the women. That wasn't like him, not at all. "Dude, seriously, you need to watch your language."

"You're going to jump on me about my language after that—that—" Derek swallowed, glanced around at the women, then looked back at Mat. "That
stuff
I just saw? I need bleach for my eyes now."

"I don't know, I liked them." Kayli's clear voice was tinged with laughter and appreciation. Her eyes met his, raked down his body, looked away.

"Oh yeah, definitely." Emily looked straight at him, her eyes bright.

Bridget laughed, ignoring the outraged look on Derek's face as she gave Mat a sly playful smile. "Definitely a side of you I've never before."

"A side we never expected to see," AJ added. The four women looked at each other, wide smiles on their faces, then started laughing.

Discomfort settled over Mat, coupled with a niggling feeling that something wasn't quite right. He glanced down at the camera in his hand, suddenly afraid to look at it. It didn't help that Nicole was glued against his side, her eyes squeezed shut, her face a bright red.

"Uh—" He swallowed and looked down at the camera again. Against his better judgment, he brought it up to his face and thumbed the power button on, then groaned when he saw the screen.

No, the pictures definitely weren't from today. They were from the other night, picture after picture. Of him. Posing. Playing. Full body shots and close-ups. Close-ups of everything, from his eyes—all the way down to his hands, wrapped around his cock.

Mat powered the camera off, his face burning when he realized what the four women had been looking at. He shifted and looked around, not quite able to meet anyone's eyes as embarrassment surged through him.

Well hell. What should he do now?

Because it wasn't embarrassment surging through him. Embarrassment had never caused his cock to harden and throb with need.

And there was no doubt Nicole felt it. How could she not, pressed against him as tightly as she was? He felt a shiver go through her, felt her body soften and warm in response. He eased away, just enough so he could claim her mouth in a searing kiss that left them both breathless.

"Really, Herron?" Derek repeated, his voice a little strangled. "You need a new nickname, because you sure as hell aren't a saint."

He looked over at Derek, a slow smile spreading across his face. "You're right, I'm not." Mat wrapped his hand around Nicole's and turned, heading back to the house.

"Where are you going?" Derek's voice could barely be heard above the feminine whistles and catcalls that followed them.

Mat didn't bother looking back when he answered, didn't even break stride. "Inside. For another photo shoot."

Nicole sat back in the chair, studying the picture, her mind's eye choosing and rejecting different edits. It was an action shot, a close-up of Kenny Haskell boarding a player from Colorado in the Banners' last pre-season game. His face was twisted in fierce concentration, the camera capturing the stark lines of his cheeks and jaws, the sharp curves of his mouth above his opponent's shoulder, shoved up against the glass.

Nicole shook her head. The picture didn't need any edits. It was perfect just as it was. She saved it in her game picture file then opened her email program, surprised to see she had so many new emails. They could wait, at least until she got this one sent out first.

She composed a quick email, adding a few lines of text to accompany the picture, then hit send. Accomplishment filled her and she smiled, still not quite able to believe all the changes that had happened so quickly.

AJ had given her the name of the team's blog, Banners Bytes, an unofficial online blog that covered the team's practices and games and everything else in between. She had sent them a few pictures and quickly received an invitation to submit whatever photos she had relating to the team. Mat had arranged for her to attend the open sessions of training camp, where she received a quick and brutal lesson on the game itself, on the physical demands made of the players.

And she had captured it on camera, focusing on what the other photographers there seemed to miss. It had been enough to secure her a spot as a permanent contributor to the blog.

No, it didn't pay. But she was doing what she loved and getting credit for it. She couldn't ask for more.

Her laptop beeped, signaling another email. They'd been coming more frequently as people wrote to her, commenting on her photos. Some of them were a bit disturbing, like the ones from some women asking for pictures they had no right to be asking for, as if Nicole somehow had full behind-the-scenes access to the showers and locker rooms. Mat had just laughed and told her to ignore them, explaining that all the players received requests like that—or worse.

So that's what she did. Ignored and deleted.

She opened the latest email, wondering if it was going to be more of the same. Her eyes skimmed it but the words didn't make sense. Not at first.

She squeezed her eyes, thinking maybe she'd been at the computer too long, that she was seeing things. She read the email again, then read it a third time, her heart thundering in her chest.

The door downstairs opened and she heard Mat call her name. Nicole jumped from the chair and raced downstairs, almost slipping on the last one. Mat caught her just before she would have fallen, his arms strong around her waist as he swung her against him.

"I got it. I got it!" She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her mouth to his for a quick kiss.

"Got what?"

"A chance at freelancing. I just got the email. They saw my pictures on the blog, want to see what else I have."

"That's fantastic! I told you that you could do it." Mat pressed his mouth to hers, the kiss a little longer, a little deeper this time.

"Yes, you did." She kissed the corner of his mouth, down along his jaw, the stubble tickling her lips. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For believing in me. For telling me I could do it." She pressed herself even closer, feeling his body respond against hers as she dragged her mouth along his neck, nipping at the corded muscle.

"I love you, Nicole. Of course I believe in you." His voice had lowered, becoming a little thicker, a little hoarser as she dragged her hands down his chest and grabbed the hem of his shirt, lifting it up so she could place a kiss on his chest, over the exquisite dragon tattooed there. Over his heart.

"I love you, too. So much."

Mat leaned forward, his mouth claiming hers, hot, spicy, full of need and desire. But then he pulled away, his small groan echoing hers, and grabbed her hands, tugging her into the living room. "This calls for a celebration."

"Oh yeah? What do you have in mind?"

"Close your eyes."

She raised her brows, silently asking why. But he shook his head, a grin on his face, so she did as he asked. She heard him move, heard paper rustling and what sounded like plastic or metal clicking. Curiosity pulsed through her and she squeezed her eyes tighter, not wanting to spoil whatever surprise he had planned.

Especially not when his surprises generally left her gasping for air and screaming his name as pleasure ripped through her.

"You ready?"

"Hmm, yeah." God, was that her voice, so husky, filled with need? Yes, it was. Only Mat did this to her, made her feel this way. Needy. Alive, special. Cherished. Loved.

"Good." He stepped closer, the heat from his body reaching out, caressing her skin. "Go ahead, open your eyes."

She did, expecting…she wasn't sure what. She blinked, her eyes trying to focus on the object Mat was holding out to her. Recognition slowly dawned and she looked up at him, her mouth parted in surprise. He couldn't be serious.

Could he?

"Since you're becoming a hotshot photographer now, I thought maybe you should expand your horizons, learn how to work with video." A shy grin spread across his face, along with the barest hint of a blush. "What do you think?"

Nicole answered his grin with one of her own then reached for the video camera he was holding. His eyes darkened, the green becoming even deeper, fluid and enchanting, cloaking her in sorcery. In desire.

Then he stepped back, waiting as she brought the camera to her eye, learning the controls, adjusting the focus.

Zooming in on his hands, closer as he reached for the button of his jeans, as he tugged at the zipper, each movement slow, deliberate. Enticing. Promising.

And Nicole wondered, not for the first time, how anyone could have ever confused her dragon for a saint.

*****