Beta's Destiny (Rocky Mountain Shifters Book 2) Read online

  She was wearing a fairly tight red dress showing off her massive cleavage, but in a tasteful way. Her skirt came down just long enough to wrap around her wide, curvaceous hips and display her thick, sexy thighs. She had a soft belly pushing against the dress creating a devastatingly curvy figure. Rob felt himself getting hard instantly and the rage he’d been trying to suppress was totally gone.

  It was getting late and he knew he should get back home and get some sleep. He had to get up early in the morning and workout. Just because his team was almost champions did not mean it was time to slack off; if anything it was crunch time and he wanted to step up his game even more.

  But he could not turn away from this beautiful creature.

  He inhaled deeply, smelling her sweet scent from where he was standing several feet away. It was like inhaling some kind of drug that made his whole head feel like he was floating somewhere beautiful. But it wasn’t just the intoxicating scent of her perfume; no, he was sensing something else beyond that, something in her natural scent that spoke to him in a way that nothing ever really had.

  He felt his body being pulled towards her without any conscience thought of his own and he let it happen. By the time he was standing right in front of her he was feeling something that bordered on total bliss. This was something new…

  “Well, hello there,” the woman said. Her voice was confident, sexy, and so smooth. It was like velvet in voice form. He felt his main appendage dancing around in his pants trying to make the necessary adjustments to allow for his thickening girth.

  “Hey yourself,” Rob said.

  The woman did not say anything else; she kept his eye contact hard and relaxed. He tried to keep his gaze on hers, his peripheral picking up the voluptuous folds of her smooth skin and her luscious chest jutting out towards him. He wanted to look at them dead on so badly, but somehow, he pulled out some superhuman will power and kept his eyes right on hers.

  “You are here all alone?” Rob asked. “Now, that has to be a crime somewhere.”

  “Wow, how long have you been using that line?”

  Rob smiled. He knew it was a cheesy line, but that was part of the way he liked to initiate conversation with a beautiful woman. If he could get her laughing then he was off to a good start. If she hadn’t mentioned how cheesy the line was then he would have and probably thrown a few more at her.

  “Since fourth grade,” Rob said.

  The woman smiled. “Has it ever worked?”

  “It did in fourth grade,” Rob said.

  “But you keep trying it out? Well, you know the definition of insanity?”

  “Not talking to you; that would have been insane,” Rob said.

  The woman blushed for a moment. “Ok, that was good. You are learning!”

  “I guess you are a good teacher,” Rob said.

  “Would you like to buy me a drink?” The lady asked.

  “I don’t even know your name yet, but you want me to buy you a drink?”

  “I’m Doria,” she said.

  “Well, Doria, I’m Rob.”

  “I know who you are,” she said.

  “Oh, do you now? What do you know?” Rob asked.

  “I know who you are because I’m paid to know.”

  “Well, now I’m intrigued.”

  “I’m Doria Rawlings. I’m a reporter for Triple Play magazine.”

  “Now that’s interesting; I read that from time to time.”

  “So, you’ve probably read my stuff then.”

  “Probably. I don’t really pay too much attention to who writes the articles; I just read it if it has a snappy title and informative writing.”

  “All of my writing is informative,” Doria said.

  “So would you say you are the best at what you do, then?”

  She smiled. Oh, what a smile.

  “I am.”

  “Well, then that is something we have in common.”

  “I think so; I really enjoyed that play tonight.”

  “I was having a good night,” Rob said.

  “So how about it?” Doria asked.

  “How about what?”

  “That drink?”

  “Well, I’d love to buy you a drink,” Rob said. “Tomorrow night.”

  Doria smiled. “Hmmm, I might not be thirsty then.”

  Rob laughed. “Then you can watch me drink while you interview me.”

  Doria seemed surprised. “What makes you think I’m interviewing you?”

  “I don’t think you are here by accident.”

  “Wow, perceptive,” Doria said.

  “I didn’t get this gig just because of my devilishly handsome looks,” Rob said.

  “It’s never attractive when a man dotes on his own looks.”

  “I agree, unless he looks like me; then you just have to say he has good taste.”

  Doria laughed out loud that time. Rob loved it when his cocky swagger started pushing a lady’s attraction buttons.

  “I’m going to bounce,” Rob said. “I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

  “Where? Here?”

  Rob thought a moment. “No, let’s meet at Maurice’s. It’s a bit quieter and we can really talk. Eight o’clock.”

  “Ok, that—“

  Rob heard Doria start to reply but he was already letting the door close behind him. He was slightly less interested in her now that he found out she was just a reporter who was doing a secret agent stalking move by pretending to be just another customer at the bar. They went there because most of the reporters would not be there; the owner had a strict no media policy. It was a place the players could relax a bit without being hounded by cameras and microphones being thrusted into their faces.

  But Doria was foxy. She was the hottest thing he’d seen in longer than he could remember. There was something else about her though that frightened him a bit; the simple sight of a beautiful woman had never been enough to tame the beast when it was welling within him. He had been making a beeline to the door hoping to get away from Dan and his stupid mouth that was riling him up. He could feel the wolf ready to unleash and break free from its imprisonment.

  But then the second he laid eyes on the girl all of that went away. Why? What did she have?

  He was still thinking about it when he lay down to sleep that night. And his dreams were filled with her.

  Chapter Two

  Rob Thompson.

  The man was something else. Doria had not been able to get him out of her mind since their brief encounter the night before. Now she was on her way to meet him at Maurice’s bar. She’d briefly researched the place. It was a bit of a quiet, more upscale bar/restaurant. It was the sort of place where you would not blink to pay twenty dollars for a shot of whiskey or fifty dollars for a steak. It was good quality steak, but it was no better than you would get at a family chain restaurant for a third of the price. Still the elegance of the place was interesting. She was excited to go there and check it out.

  She knew that going to the bar last night had been risky. From what she’d read about Rob Thompson he was a bit of an enigma. He was perhaps the most naturally gifted baseball player of the past fifty years. It was like poetry to watch him on the field; the way he moved, the way he threw, hit, and ran. For a girl who loved the game of baseball he was the perfect man.

  And it did not hurt that he was so easy on the eyes. He was six foot three, broad shouldered, toned muscles without too much bulk. He moved like a gazelle across the field. She loved to watch his tight butt as it propelled his legs across the field when he was running the bases or when he was running to make an insane diving catch.

  She had been following Rob Thompson for quite some time. So, when her editor had given her the assignment to write about him and how he was leading the team to the playoffs and possibly the World Series, she was thrilled. He was her favorite player and he was one of the most gorgeous men she’d ever laid eyes on.

  But she knew who he was. That was where her attraction tended to waver. He wa
s called “Baseball’s Bad Boy” for a reason. The only reason he got away with a lot of the things he did was because he was so good and so valuable. He put asses in the seats; he sold tickets, merchandising, etc. His face was everywhere these days. People loved to watch him on the field and they loved to watch the crazy things he did off the field.

  He had been in four separate bar fights in the past three months that she knew of. He had also been in two fights on the field and ejected from games before, only to be brought back when the crowd started going insane and people started to leave the park. That had never been done before that she’d ever heard of.

  And yet at the same time Rob was a very private guy. He shunned a lot of interviews and had walked out of televised interviews when he did not like the line of questioning or someone was trying to get him to open up and talk about something he did not want to.

  And there was the time he had stood up and almost punched a reporter in the face on live television. If his manager had not rushed the stage and thrown himself in the middle to take the punch instead Rob would have been sued for millions.

  And, there were his dealings with women. Being the most sought after sports hero in the world brought with it scores of women who wanted him. That was nothing new, except she had heard the rumors that he turned down a lot of women. His standards were very high. But he had been photographed with more women than she could count, so she wasn’t sure how high his standards were or what he was really looking for. Rob seemed to go from woman to woman, never showing any interest in settling down with anyone.

  Doria tried to tell herself how much these things turned her off about Rob, but a part of her deep down inside felt intrigued. What was he looking for in a woman? What type of woman would finally be the one to tame him? Would anyone ever be able to do that? If she did, then that woman would be simultaneously worshipped and hated by every straight woman in the world. But to be the target of that level of envy…

  Doria had spent most of the day preparing for the interview hoping that it would come off as easy and unrehearsed with her line of questioning. This was a big opportunity for her career to be given this article. Triple Play had become one of the biggest sports magazines out there, and not a day went by that she didn’t thank her lucky stars that the editor Pedro Gomez had given a young twenty-two-year-old college student the chance of a lifetime. She’d worked hard to get where she was and she was determined to not screw it up.

  She arrived about five minutes early to the bar, grabbed a seat in a corner booth, and ordered herself a rum and coke (her favorite). She figured that she might even be running a little bit later than Rob, but when she got to the bar he was not there yet. No worries; it was still a few minutes before they were supposed to meet up.

  One thing she’d learned with celebrities; they all thought the world revolved around their time schedules. They were always late, but you never wanted to try to be late too just so you would not be early, because the one time you did they would be way early and they would just walk out of the interview—or at the very least be in a whiny mood through the whole thing.

  Rob finally arrived about fifteen minutes after their scheduled meeting time. She pretended to not be annoyed as he ordered a beer from the bar and sat down across from her at the booth. She did not expect an apology and she didn’t get one.

  “Wow, you look amazing,” Rob said. Doria smiled but did not acknowledge the compliment, even though she had dressed to turn him on a bit. Well, partially to turn him on and partially because she had always enjoyed dressing sexily. She was a bigger woman who loved to flaunt her curves. It made skinny women feel uncomfortable, especially when their men started checking out her womanly curves and large chest. Yeah, some men realized their mistakes far too late.

  She wanted to tell him how amazing he looked, but she forced herself to bite her tongue and fought the overwhelming urge to leer at his chiseled chest which was bulging beneath his tight black t-shirt. His tight biceps were also on full display as if they were ready to burst through the short sleeves any moment. He was wearing a pair of tight black jeans with boots, always a killer combination, especially when a man had a butt as tight as Rob did. She could feel herself getting warmer… wetter…

  Calm down, girl. Don’t forget why you are really here.

  “I’m glad to see you are running on leaded tonight,” Rob said.

  Doria was confused. “What?”

  “I assume you are drinking alcohol, am I right?” Rob added.

  “Oh, yeah. Good guess; how did you know it wasn’t just soda?”

  “I can smell--- um, I just assumed. I want this to be as laid back as possible.”

  Doria smiled. “I can understand that. From what I’ve read about you that is how you like to do things, and you don’t do very many interviews like this.”

  “You’re right.”

  “How come? You picked the wrong business if you don’t want to be famous.”

  “I enjoy being recognized for my achievements and for the game I love, but I hate it when that fame goes beyond that. People want to find out everything else about me that has nothing to do with the game of Baseball. I’m a baseball player; I’m not a socialite. I’m not famous for being a personality. I play ball.”

  “So, you hate being recognized everywhere you go?”

  “I enjoy being recognized by fans who love what I do, and I always go out of my way to be good to them. I do autographs and pictures all the time, as many as I can. But when someone wants to find out deep personal details about my personal life, I get annoyed.”

  “I see,” Doria said. “So, I’m not sure what to ask you now.”

  Rob smiled. Oh, that winning smile, those dimples, those dark eyes—it was enough to make any man melt. Doria took a deep breath and tried to look away.

  “Aww, did I burst your bubble? Were you interested in finding out what makes me tick?”

  “Yeah, a little bit. When people see a celebrity like you it often makes them appreciate what you do and who you are more if they feel like they can relate to you. Most people can’t relate to your skills on the ball field because they could never in their wildest dreams do that. They can admire it, but they will always feel that you are above them somehow, that you were blessed in ways they weren’t. It isn’t because people just want to attack you.”

  “That hasn’t been my experience,” Rob said.

  “I would never paint you in an unflattering light. I give you my word; if you don’t want something told then I won’t tell it. But I think you are wasting both our time here if you just want to stick to answering how many home runs you typically hit at batting practice or what is the best way to play with an injury.”

  Rob looked at her, his eyes turning to stone. For a second she thought he might just up and walk away. He finished his beer and motioned for the waitress to come over. He quickly ordered another beer and a steak with fries.

  When the waitress left he sat there for a few moments sipping his beer, looking at her. She did the same, not wanting to push any of his buttons and hoping that this interview was not over before it started and she ended up wasting a great opportunity. But she knew that a guy like Rob was not someone to try to corner. He had to be in control. He had to feel that no matter what, he was free to do what he wanted. No one could possess him or control him in any way.

  Doria hated his arrogance. It was almost childish; the typical bad boy who had to remain the top dog in every encounter. But there was something different about Rob. He did not seem to be playing any of it up. With a lot of guys who acted the way he did if you really looked beneath the surface you could tell they were really scared and using this behavior as a defense mechanism. But with Rob, she could see it in his eyes—he just didn’t give a damn.

  “Tell me about yourself,” Rob said.

  Doria was a bit put off by this, but she tried to keep her cool. “Ok. What would you like to know?”

  “Where did you grow up? Are you an only child? Are y
ou close with your folks? Just whatever.”

  “Ok. I grew up about thirty miles from here. I am an only child. And my parents both died when I was ten.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” Rob said. “My parents died when I was twelve in a car crash.”

  “I’m sorry,” Doria said. “Mine died the same way.”

  Rob’s eyebrows flashed with surprise. “Wow; what are the odds of that happening?”

  “Yeah. I was raised by my aunt on my mom’s side.”

  “I was raised by my aunt and uncle as well. Looks like we have more in common than I thought,” Rob said.

  Doria felt the tension between them slowly calming down a bit. The fact that they were both orphans seemed to help break the ice and, after that, the conversation flowed nicely with Rob telling her things about himself growing up on the farm, how he started in baseball (his uncle had played minor league ball at one point and got him started), and how he ended up making it to the major leagues.

  She felt bad not confiding more with him, but she hardly knew him and this was just an interview. There was more to tell him about what really happened to her parents… but some secrets were better off staying secrets. That was what she’d learned.

  “What do you want to do after baseball?”

  Rob thought for a moment. “To be honest I’ve spent my whole life so focused on baseball and being the best that I can be with that, I couldn’t tell you what I might end up doing next. I could go into traditional paths of broadcasting or management, but I’m the type of guy that needs to stay active. I don’t see myself sitting on a bench or behind a desk somewhere. I may play ball until I’m fifty.”

  “Fifty? Wow, that’s rare,” Doria said.

  “Yeah, I guess. But everything I do is pretty rare,” Rob said.

  Doria smirked as she tried not to melt under the irresistible cocky charm he emitted. There was something so cute and ornery about Rob that she could not help but feel turned on by. He, at times, reminded her of someone who needed to be punished and maybe she would be the one to do it…