Page 411 of Power Play

She went still.

My thumbs rested beneath her wet eyes. Her breath caught as I leaned closer, and for one last second, I let myself see all of her. I saw the woman who fell asleep with poetry books open across my chest, the woman who learned Spanish to tell me she missed me and ask me to come back, and the woman who wore my jersey to the biggest game of my life but hid where I couldn’t find her because I told everyone to keep her away.

She had been my girl, and she would never be mine again.

I kissed her.

There was no rage in it this time, no punishment, teeth, or desperate attempt to force our bodies to finish a fight our hearts wouldn’t stop having. I held her face and kissed her with everything I would never be able to say without begging her to stay.

Charm couldn’t kiss me back. Her mouth trembled beneath mine while she cried, and when I pulled away, her eyes remained closed.

“Say goodbye, Charm.”

Her eyes flew open. “No.”

“Please.”

“No. Fuck you!” She tore her face from my hands. “I will not make this easier for you.”

A shattered laugh slipped out of me as my eyes moved toward the counter where I’d tried to destroy every feeling I had for her.

“I did fuck you, mami.” My voice cracked around the cold name. “It made this inevitable.”

She made a broken sound and covered her mouth.

“The only way this stops killing us both is goodbye.”

“I can’t.”

“You have to.”

“I hate you.”

“I know.”

“I hate you so fucking much.”

“I know.”

Her chest heaved as she stared at me, waiting for me to take it back. She waited for the love still written across my face to save us from what I’d already decided.

I stepped away, and that was the moment she understood.

Charm turned so quickly that she nearly slipped on the tile. She grabbed whatever clothes she could reach and clutched them against her chest as she ran for the door. Her coat dragged from one hand, her boots tangled inside it, and she didn’t stop to put on anything over my jersey.

She yanked the door open.

Bliss and Aura stood on the other side with Easton, Cade, Rider, and Briggs crowding the porch behind them.

Everyone saw her bare feet, tear-streaked face, and the clothes crushed against her chest. My name and number covered her body, the jersey hanging low enough to hide everything except the truth.

The silence lasted less than a second before Bliss said her name. Charm shoved past her with a sob and ran into the snow.

Aura turned on me. “What the fuck did you—”

“Out.” Easton grabbed her around the waist before she could come through the door.

“Get off me! Ryan, what the fuck did you do?”