Page 40 of Double Play

“Why are you such a turn on?” I lower my voice as I brush back the hairs along her forehead, knowing the answer. There is something extra special about India. Something magical about her. Her confidence. Her boldness. Her tenderness.

Her father and her ex have missed the mark, underestimating her strength and perseverance. Dismissing the beauty of her talents.

The corner of her mouth hooks upward. “Because you want to get your head between my thighs.”

There is no question in her voice. It’s an invitation. And I do want to be between those lush thighs, but I have other intentions first.

Humming, I lower my mouth to her neck, nibbling along her throat before sucking on her collar bone. She tips back her head as I move down her sternum, where I skip her breasts and continue to her belly. At the same time, my hand skims up her outer thigh pushing the blanket higher over her lap.

The shortness of her breath suggests she’s excited by where this is headed. She wants me. At least like this. And it gives me pause.

“You know what?” Without fully revealing her center to me, I cup my mouth over the blanket and exhale a hot breath against where I’m certain she’s wet. “I think I’ll hold out on getting my head between those fine thighs.”

“Why?” she chokes out.

“Dare,” I whisper, while I eye the dusty peak of her nipples, erect and tight, and begging for the twirl of my tongue around them.

“Dare,” she exhales, encouraging me to continue.

“You smile at me tomorrow during the game. And I’ll consider making you my feast afterward.” It isn’t really about the smile. It’s about acknowledgement. And being genuine. I want more of her. The real her.

While she’d told me why she ignored me upon first taking the job with The Den, and I respect her reasons, it doesn’t mean we can’t be friendly, cordial even toward one another.

The intention of my dare was to be playful, domineering, edgy even.

But instantly, I sense I’ve made a mistake.

India presses me back by the shoulder and reaches for the blanket, tugging it upward and tucking it beneath her chin, clutching the material with both hands.

The vulnerability that was only a flash earlier is on high beams now.

“Hey.” My throat thickens at the possibility I’ve offended her and the fact she’s shutting down on me.

She turns her head, eyelids blinking as she looks away from me.

Placing my fingers beneath her chin, I turn her head to face me. “Truth,” I whisper. “Talk to me.”

Averting her eyes once more while keeping her head still, she remains silent. Maybe she feels exposed, being naked underneath me, but I’m thinking this is more about laying herself bare. I’ve hit a nerve.

“You know why I can’t,” she says.

“You can’t smile at me?” I reiterate.

“It’s more than a smile.”

I puzzle over her words a moment. “It’s not a proposal. It’s not even a contract. It’s a smile.” Something that suggests I’m not in this alone. That this situation, while sudden and new, isn’t one-sided.

“I was trying to seduce you tonight.” Her voice is rough and hushed.

“I’m seduced,” I remind her. My dick is ready for takeoff but on standby because there’s something I’m missing here.

“But you want a smile?”

I stare down at her confused expression and wild eyes. “And that’s too much to ask?”

“Maybe some days I don’t want to fucking smile.”

I’m stunned silent by her words. The pain lancing through them, highlighted by anger.