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“Hey, I want you to know I’ve hired a couple guards to watch things here. Just until shit dies down. I don’t like these reporters and other strangers camping out when I’m not here to keep an eye on things.”
She crosses her arms and nods slowly. “Thank you. That should keep them away from Twisted Hearts too. I was afraid Tina was going to ask me to leave today, there were so many of them camped out in front of the store.”
“They’ll be up here soon, the security guys,” I say, glancing at my watch. “They’re good guys. They’ve watched over the families of some of the other team members when needed.”
“I heard what you said out there, what you told the reporters.”
“Yeah,” I laugh. “I guess you hear everything in a little house like this.”
“I specifically heard you tell them you care about me.”
Her gaze is boring into mine, like she’s trying to figure out if I was lying or not. Don’t blame her.
“I did say that. I did.”
“Do you mean it?”
“Petal, I know everything about the two of us has been based on lies, but I do care for you. That’s the absolute truth.”
Slowly, slowly, her face softens, and relief floods me. It’s no guarantee anything in particular is going to happen. I’m just happy to see some of the sadness in her face disappear.
“Thank you. I appreciate that. I feel... cared for. I know you wouldn’t be up here trying to make things right if you didn’t give a damn. So… what do we do now?”
Fuck, how I want to smooth her tangled hair back from her face and wipe away the black smudges under her eyes. I want to pull her to me and promise no one will ever hurt her again.
But I don’t. You can’t guarantee shit like that.
I can only do my best.
I jump out of my chair and slide onto the sofa next to her. “This media storm is crazy, but it will die down in time. It always does. There’ll be some other boneheaded athlete who does something stupid and you and I will be yesterday’s news.”
She nods, and I could swear hope seeps back into her beautiful eyes. I’d do anything I could to make sure that never leaves her again.
I look around. “This place is cute. How private is it?”
She frowns. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, if I take you back to the bedroom, will anyone be able to look in a window and see us?”
She laughs and takes my hand. “Let’s go find out.
33
PETAL
God help me.
I have no idea what I’m doing with this guy, this star athlete, this muscled hunk of man with curly red hair and dark blue eyes, who’s standing here, studying me, taking me in like I’m some sort of mystery. I shouldn’t want him, and I doubt it will go anywhere that doesn’t lead to a whole bucket of pain, and yet I do. It’s astarve to death without him, kind of want. A dangerous kind of want. The sort that gets a woman in trouble. Chases away common sense and leaves her making stupid decisions.
Yeah, this shit is dangerous.
And yet when he backs me up against the wall in my bedroom, I gasp. I swallow hard and my skin prickles, like someone’s running a feather over my heated flesh, just lightly enough to drive me crazy, but not hard enough to give me any satisfaction.
He runs one finger down the front of my blouse, stopping when he gets to my nipple, and makes little circles. When I arch my back and lean into him, he does the same to my other breast,and pretty soon he’s driving me crazy playing with my tits on the outside of my blouse, leaving me shaking with anticipation.
With his gaze glued to mine, he reaches for the waistband of my jeans, sliding his fingertips into them just enough to tickle the sensitive flesh of my tummy. Like a little beggar, I suck my stomach in to make more room, hoping he’ll reach all the way in and land in the hungry spot between my legs. He doesn’t take the hint—or maybe he does, and ignoring my need is part of his plan. Instead, he continues to drag his fingertips across my skin, back and forth until I explode in goosebumps, and my breath comes in gasps so short I can’t control them and I need to hold onto his shoulders to fight the dizziness.
“Are you teasing me?” I murmur.
