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Cat bent over to retie her shoestring as they prepared for championship game. She and Dylan had beat the rest of the teams handily and were now

“honored” by going up against true professional volleyball players. Neither of them harbored a dream of actually beating them, but since this was for

charity, they were going to give the crowd a damn good show.

Glancing up in time to see Dylan bend over to pick up a towel, Cat found herself perversely pleased that she now knew exactly what was under the tight

fitting black shorts.

Hell, I’ve fantasized about them often enough. And ooh baby isn’t reality better than any fantasy I could have conjured up!

She had to work hard to stifle an evil chuckle.

Now that they had taken the ‘big’ step in their relationship, she knew it was more important than ever to make sure no one else made the connection.

Being out herself was one thing, but unintentionally outing her deeply closeted lover was another thing entirely, and something she prayed fervently she

would never trip over.

Dear God, Cat! What in the hell have you gotten yourself into here? Were you thinking at all?

No, thinking at that point had been the last thing on her mind.

Jesus.

Well, the best thing she could do for now was to take each day as it came. Spending every waking moment looking for potential landmines would have her

an emotional wreck in no time and ruin whatever shot she and Dylan had at making this work. And having had a taste of Dylan’s passion convinced her that

she wanted to make this work very dearly indeed.

The ref called the four players forward and they exchanged handshakes and grins.

“Hey, Big D, it’s good to see you up and playing again. We missed ya.” Jeri Jorgensen was a six foot Swede with a mop of bone white hair and a buff,

tanned body. Cat looked on, a bit stunned, as Dylan grabbed the young woman in a tight hug before releasing her and turning to Jeri’s companion.

“Hortensia.”

The woman in question, a drop-dead gorgeous green-eyed Spaniard, gave a smile that could only be described as predatory. “Dylan,” she all but purred.

“How wonderful to see you again.”

One of those landmines had just buried itself at Cat’s feet, and she was finding it hard to resist the impulse to up and bitch-slap the woman into next

month for staring at Dylan the way she was. Dylan, to her credit, ignored the unsubtle advances, deferred the hug Hortensia was seemingly desperate to

make, and forced the woman to settle for a firm handshake instead.

Cat congratulated herself on keeping a pleasant expression on her face, and keeping herself from crushing the woman’s hand in her own when it was

extended for her to clasp. Nodding to both players, she turned and trotted to her side of the court to begin her warm-ups.

As she stretched in the warm sun, she watched as both Dylan and her opponents removed their shoes to play barefoot. She knew logically it was the best

thing to do, but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. There was something about sand between her toes that made her shiver.

Taking the bottle of sunscreen offered by Dylan, she applied it to her face, forehead and shoulders. Tossing the bottle back to Dylan, she caught a small

hand towel, wiped her greasy mitts and tucked it into the waistband of her shorts.

The coin was tossed and Dylan took the serving line to start the game. She waited for Cat to get into position and, after a brief second of looking at her

partner’s butt, she sent the ball over the net and the game was on.

Dylan and Cat found an easy rhythm in the game, working together to try and beat their opponents. Cat, of course, had special motivation, wanting to wipe

the coy little grin from Hortensia’s beestung lips, and when the much taller woman went up for a spike, she saw her opportunity. Using every millimeter of

her jumping ability, she timed her block perfectly and gave her opponent a facial courtesy of the volleyball. She turned quickly before Hortensia could see

her expression, though Dylan caught it and gave her that cute little raised eyebrow of hers before retrieving the ball as it rolled under the net.

At that time, they had been, surprisingly, leading by three points, but Cat’s little maneuver was all it took to make the professionals step it up into

overdrive, showing one and all why they were the World Champs for three years running.

In the end, while it wasn’t a rout, Cat and Dylan took their drubbing in stride. There was nothing but good cheer as they congratulated each other and took

the time to go to the sidelines and sign autographs for the clamoring fans. Dylan looked to Cat, smiled and winked, giving the younger woman a very silly,

happy feeling all over.

They cleaned up from the game, showering and changing from beach volleyball clothes into relaxed dress for a charity auction party that was being hosted

in honor of the guests of the event.

As they entered into the hotel where the party was being held, they could hear the loud music from the ballroom before they even got close. There was no