Because everything that's happened in this room—that's still happening now—hits differently. Harder.
It all makes it real.
As if reading my mind, Liam looks up at me, his eyes dark, his mouth glistening, and that tension eases in my chest.
Mayberealis exactly what I need.
32
Liam
"Oh myGod, Liam." Tessa rolls her hips to meet my mouth. "There's no way you don't do this often."
I laugh, the vibration causing her legs to tremble. If only she knew how wrong she is.
"Right there," she whimpers as I flick my tongue across her clit.
I chuckle again. I don't need directions. Not because I'm any sort of expert, but because the second I settled between her legs, I knew what she likes. Maybe it's been luck, or maybe she's been really good at faking the way her back arches off the bed. But it's as if we've been at this forever, and my body already knows how to complement hers.
Or I'm just so tuned in.
Tessa tells you what she wants if you're listening. The way she breathes, the way her thighs tighten around my shoulders—it's all a map if I'm paying attention.
And I know all the reasons I'm not supposed to be, but my God…
Am I paying attention.
The timer on the cold water tub dings, but I keep my eyes closed, savoring one last moment in the memory of this morning.
I forgot what it felt like—sounded like, tasted like—to make a woman come undone. But maybe that's why. This wasn't any woman. It was Tessa. And there's no way I won't remember that forever.
With my eyes closed, thanking God for the cold water pounding into me from all angles, I replay the image of Tess falling apart above me over and over. We both knew it was a game changer—that it was sealing our fate, and nothing after this could return to anything even resembling professional. But somewhere along the way, that idea stopped paralyzing me.
It was still there—the over-analyzing, the worry for the aftermath. But being with someone, specifically her, didn't completely debilitate me like it used to. Instead, the crippling thought was that I might have to go the rest of my life not pleasing her again the way she deserves—not hearing my name float from her lips while she falls over the edge.
"You hittin' the red lights after this?"
I startle, a gravelly voice I know so well pulling me from the perfect place I was in my head. "What?" I ask, my voice dry.
Mack—who's wearing nothing but our warm-up shorts from three seasons ago and a facility towel tossed over his shoulder—smacks the timer still beeping every few seconds and nods toward the infrared sauna behind me. "You goin' full regimen?"
I glance behind me like I'm not sure what's there despite bouncing back and forth between the tub and sauna almost daily. It's the reason I'm here, even on my off day. I thought a ten-minute soak to lower my core temperature, then sitting under the red light to hit the deeper tissue might help me recover from, well… everything. But especially this morning.
"Yeah," I finally answer.
"Well, let's get to it then. The rook wants me to watch his at-bats with him later."
I stare at him blankly, this entire situation throwing me in so many ways.
"What? He asked me to… at least someone appreciates my help."
"That part I understand," I admit, forcing myself to stand. I move to the edge of the tub and swing my leg over it. "It's the joining me in the sauna that I'mnot so sure about."
Mack laughs as he strolls over to the machine and steps inside. I pull at the cling in my bathing suit, following him blindly, and nearly run into his half-naked body when he stops at the door.
"What the—"
"I thought maybe we'd chat," he says, his tone taunting. When I meet his gaze, his eyes are soft, a tinge of sadness to them. I pause, reading his expression, a lump forming in my throat that I didn't expect to build. I clear it away, slapping my arm to his shoulder.
