Page 24 of Playing Hard to Get

“Thought you could use a little something, darlin’.” He held out the hand that wasn’t clinging to my hip, the one with fingers not burning through my dress and into my skin. In it was a tumbler of amber liquid.

Scotch, neat. A double.

“Thanks,” I said, taking the glass from his hand. His fingers grazed mine, scorching my skin, and I worried I’d drop the drink before I could down it.

I worried, because I needed it.

It was the only way to keep my control.

“Anything for my girl.” I stiffened as Mitch pulled me tighter against him, pressing his nose against my jaw.

Kimber and Jillian’s eyes went wide, and I swore I could see jealousy dripping off their faces.

Though every cell in my body wanted me to give in, I tried to shrug away. “Mitch, have you met Kimber and Jillian?” I knocked his body away from mine, put a hand on his shoulder to force his attention off me. I gestured to the women in front of me with my glass.

Mitch smiled, a subtle yet smoldering look. He extended his hand toward Kimber and she lifted her hand to take his. But instead of a shake, Mitch did what he so often did. What he did to me the first time we met. He brought her hand to his face and kissed her knuckles.

And oh! A wave of rage hit me like a tsunami. I wanted to rip her hand out of his, wanted to take his face in my hands and search for that taste I’d been yearning for since I first tried it. But as quick as it was there, it was gone.

Control. I must keep control.

“Pleasure to meet you, darlin’,” Mitch drawled before he turned his attention to Jillian. The rage didn’t rear its angry head this time, but my stomach started to churn. I took a gulp of my drink as the three made their own introductions.

I could barely follow the conversation that took off between them. Mitch stood too close, and every brush of his skin against mine—his hip, his shoulder, his hand on my back—everything was too distracting. After the fifth time his hand slid down to my ass, after the twelfth time Kimber clutched his arm like it belonged to her, I’d had enough.

“If you’ll excuse me,” I told them. Told Jillian, really, because Mitch and Kimber seemed to be getting along just fine. I didn’t spare him a glance, but my body ached with the distance I put between us.

Frankie and Corey were in the middle of the room, and for a while I made small talk with them and their friends. But I couldn't stay there long either. I was sure guilt rode my face like it lived there. I wandered around the room, talking with some of the ball players, congratulating them on a game well played. It was my father’s ball club, so it was only right. I’d lived the life long enough to know what was expected out of me.

Gotta make Daddy proud.

Near the windows, I found a cooler filled with bottles of water and cans of pop. I sipped a sparkling water while staring down at the city lights. Few people came to talk to me, just idle chit chat as they stopped by the cooler for their own something to drink. I dreaded the thought of Mitch coming over. I kept my eye on him as I made my rounds, only too aware of how much space separated us at every second. I watched as he flirted with Kimber and Jillian. Watched as he turned his charm on every other girl in the place.

It killed me. Because he was the one thing I wanted, and exactly what I couldn't have.

I wondered how bad it would look if I took off, how much it would hurt Frankie if I didn’t stay. Coming tonight was a mistake. I should have known he’d be here. Mitch was important to her, the friend I could never be for her. She wouldn't throw a party without inviting him.

My eyes scanned the crowd, searching. Frankie was deep in conversation with a group of friends, with Corey’s arms wrapped tight around her shoulders. Kimber and Jillian had moved on to one of the ball players, and Mitch was nowhere to be seen.

The timing was right. No one would miss me. I slunk off to the back of the condo, needing to use the restroom before I left. My eyes were on the floor in front of me, watching the twinkling lights along the baseboards as they guided my way. I was nearly in front of him before my mind picked up what my body already knew.

“You come to find me, darlin’?”

I stopped dead in the center of the hall. Mitch was leaning against the wall, hands in his pockets, foot tucked up behind him. Relaxed. Like he didn’t have a care in the world. I chanced a glance behind me, saw that I was out of the line of sight of everyone at the party, then gauged my ability to run in my four-inch heels. But no. My body dragged me forward as my mind screamed to go the other way.

“Mitch.” I stopped in front of him and flinched when his fingers glided across my cheek. “Where are your new girlfriends?” I asked, summoning some of that rage with the thought of Kimber’s hands on him.

He grinned. Wicked. God, he was gorgeous. “You jealous?”

I shrugged. A lie. “You can do whatever you want.”

“Yeah?” His hands were on my hips before the word was out of his mouth. “Whatever I want?”

“Mitch.” I grabbed his hands, making a feeble effort to rid my body of his touch. But I couldn’t. The pull was too strong. My hands rode the storm up his arms to his shoulders.

“What if I want you?”

“I can’t.” A whimper escaped my throat when his lips touched my jaw. It urged him on. “Please, don’t. I can’t control this.”