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A small smile graced her lips. She scooped up the ball, stashed it in the crook of her elbow, and gazed around the stadium.
“I used to come here with my dad. He was the biggest Calverdale fan.” Her eyes shone and she turned her face away. “We lost him ten years ago. Sometimes it hits me. Being back here … it’s strange …”
“I get it. Of all the things Dad owned, this club was the most meaningful to him.”
She toed the grass. Silence fell between us. I’d dated models and Hollywood stars who wouldn’t leave the house until a team had spent hours getting them ready, yet Miri Forster had mud on her face and a cocky smirk and I couldn’t keep my eyes off her. She was so natural and unselfconscious. I had to stop this nonsense. If she was signing with us, then it needed to be a professional relationship.
“What more can I do to convince you?”
She chewed her lip. “It’s not an easy decision. It’s a big move. I’ll need to speak to my family. I have … commitments. My mum isn’t well. She’s coming out of hospital soon. I need to make sure this doesn’t interfere with my responsibilities at home …”
“It won’t. We’ll make sure it doesn’t. Whatever you need, you ask me and you can have it.”
A sensuous energy wound between us. Did she feel that too? A tinge of pink flushed her cheeks. She drew a breath and took a step away from me.
“The team is having a get-together tomorrow tonight. Everyone is buzzing about the new facilities. Come along and meet the other girls and the coaching staff. You have no obligations. Come and have fun.”
She spun on the spot, gazing around the stadium in awe. I couldn’t help but study her delicate profile. Her eyes locked with mine. “You really think you can move this team up to the WSL?”
“I know I can.”
She blew out a breath and smoothed her ponytail. “Fine. I’ll come to your party.” She toed the ball toward me and a wicked grin lit her face. “But only if you can score a goal past me.”
Her goading smile made my heart beat harder. What was more attractive than a woman this confident? I’d almost got her to sign. A couple more little nudges and we’d get this deal over the lines. Frustration made a muscle quiver in my jaw. I couldn’t have Miri Forster, but after all this sexual chemistry, I needed to get laid. I never had to work for it. I couldn’t call one of my regular fucks, since I didn’t trust anyone to be discreet anymore. Ironically, the last time I’d had this much fun talking to a woman like this was in a strip club. Maybe I could go back again tonight. Not for sex. I couldn’t risk being front page news tomorrow. But we could talk. Violet Delights had been a good listener.
Miri rolled the ball under her football boot and cocked her head. “Ready, Rivers?”
“If you think you can handle me, Forster.”
Chapter 13
Miri
Thespeakersblastedout“Milkshake” by Kelis. The loud bass vibrated in a pulse like fingers stroking over my bare skin. I took a breath and wrapped my hand around the pole above my head. The chill against my bare back sent shivers racing across my shoulder blades. With my eyes closed, I tuned into the music and invited it under my skin. Even if I had no rhythm, I had strength and flexibility on my side. A rush of nerves set my blood alight, but I imagined myself in front of the net, about to take a penalty. Everything depending on one moment. I had to rise above the noise inside my head and focus.
Then I sawhim.
Gabe Rivers leaned casually against the bar with his eyes locked on me. My heart almost exploded with panic, but I still had the mask and the wig. He wasn’t watching Miri Forster. He was watching Violet Delights. An expensive-looking charcoal suit hugged his muscular frame. His commanding presence couldn’t be contained in one room. No matter the environment, he looked masterful and commanding, as if he owned the place. Probably because, more often than not, hedidown the place.
He was so handsome, but in an unusual way, with his dark hair and face full of sharp angles. His tantalizing eyes locked with mine and my body flooded with warmth. And somehow it was easier to dance for him in this room full of people than it had been when it was just the two of us. Maybe it was the adrenaline or the vodka kicking in, but the voice that had whispered in my head before about how silly I looked had vanished. In its place, a powerful confidence and sensuality thrummed through me. The dance had been for me, but I wanted to invite him into it. From behind my mask, I kept my eyes fixed on him as though nobody mattered but us. Everything faded and sharpened at the same time. The music dimmed to a faint buzz and my skin tingled with heat. His intense gaze locked with mine as I ran my hands over myself, imagining all the places I’d want him to touch me if things were different between us.
The beat vibrated in the soles of my feet, in my eyelids, pounding with my heartbeat, in my inner thighs. My lips tingled with vodka. In the mirror, I caught a glimpse of skin and twirling white silk under the flash of the disco ball. The club transformed into a velvety night full of silver stars. And it was beautiful. I was beautiful under his intense gaze. People could watch if they wanted, but this dance was about me and Gabe Rivers. My soft lilac bob caressed my shoulders, and I savored the strength in my muscles honed through endless hours of football training. The music guided my limbs. I surrendered to it. A euphoric rush washed over me.
Gabe had chipped at all my reasons not to join his team. He’d shown me his commitment to fair play, he’d offered me more money than I could refuse, he’d shown me what I could achieve and that they understood I had commitments outside of work. Still, something held me back. He thought I could go all the way to the top, but what if I couldn’t? What if I wasn’t good enough?
I twisted the other way around the pole, but when I spun back round Gabe Rivers was gone. My heart sank. After I’d had his undivided attention, it was hard to let it go. But it was for the best if I did. Gabe Rivers was bad news. A playboy, and not just any playboy—one of England’s most notorious playboys. He’d spent a lifetime getting what he wanted, and I’d be an idiot to fall for his charms. If I wanted to join his team, then I had to do it because it was right for me, not just because it was what he wanted. I couldn’t trust him not to manipulate me; but then, that wasn’t the Gabe I’d met in this club. He’d been open and kind. What if that was the real Gabe Rivers? I blew out a breath and moved swiftly to the dressing room.
Deano grabbed hold of my wrist. “Let’s go. Gabe Rivers wants you.”
Chapter 14
Miri
Afaintsmileplayedon Gabe’s lips. “Miss Delights. I see you’ve overcome your nerves. You were incredible.”
The back of my neck heated. Deano disappeared behind the curtain. Silence fell. Did Gabe want to talk again? A little spark of warmth flared in my chest, but it was quickly followed by a twisting knot of guilt. It was wrong to pretend to be someone different when I’d been speaking to him only this afternoon. What the hell was I doing? This was a fantasy. I spent my life covered in mud. No man had ever looked at me in the lustful, hungry way Gabe was looking at me now. It was intoxicating.
His gaze roved over me and he tapped his forefinger to his lips. Music pulsed into the tiny mirrored room. Had he brought me here to talk or to dance? Was it weird that this time I wanted to dance? The nerves that had frozen me to the spot and made my legs shake last time had disappeared. I’d got to know him, and I understood now that he wasn’t a man to fear. He’d treated Violet Delights with respect and kindness. Underneath his arrogant playboy exterior, Gabe Rivers was quite … nice. If anything, he seemed a little lonely. Could a man that had everything in the world be lonely?
