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“Let me take you home.”
Panic erupts inside me.We can’t go to my place.I can’t risk him finding out that Leeza and Lisa are one in the same.My heart thumps.I hate betraying him like this, but I guess at the end of the day, I’m glad Samantha put me on the case, because I’m not going to fabricate a story for shock value.That’s not why I want to be a journalist.
“If your friend’s place is still empty, maybe we can go there.”His brow furrows in confusion, and I jerk my thumb out.“It’s closer and maybe the faster I lie down the better.”
“Good plan.”
His brother comes to a halt beside us.“Leeza, are you okay?”
I nod and Rhys explains that he’s taking me back to Ryan’s and that he’ll check in with him and Jesse later.
“Yeah, we’re good,” Dane assures Rhys.He zeroes in on me.“I’m sorry you’re hurt, Leeza.If you need anything—”
“She’s got me,” Rhys says, his voice so possessive and commanding, his brother backs up an inch, a grin on his face.
“Yeah, she does,” Dane adds with a nod, and then the two exchange a look I don’t understand.Before I can ask what’s going on, Rhys pulls me to my feet and scoops me up.I glance around a little embarrassed as a crowd stares on.
“I can walk,” I say quietly.
“And I can carry you.”He takes me to a bench, keeping a close eye on me as he unties my skates and then his.Since I rented mine, he drops them off and takes me to his car, setting me inside.
“We could have walked, it’s not far.”
“You banged your head pretty hard.Maybe we should go to the hospital.”
I touch the back of my head.“Not even a bump,” I tell him.“Good thing I was wearing a thick hat.”I take his hand and put it on the back of my head and he feels around, the rough pads of his thumbs lightly feeling their way around and the sensations rocket through my body and settle between my legs.I swallow and his hand goes still.I turn his way and I’m pretty damn sure he knows what his touch is doing to me.
Five minutes later, he’s carrying me inside his friend’s place.We take off our boots and coats at the front door, and he’s taking me up to his bed, which I neatly made after sleeping in it last night.My phone pings, and I’m sure it’s Samantha, so I ignore it.
“Do you need to get that?”I shake my head no, as he pulls his phone out and frowns as he checks it.Is he waiting for a message from Lisa?My throat clogs with guilt, and a part of me is tempted to just blurt out the truth.I just…don’t want to hurt him or for him to hate me.
I glance at my phone and read the message from Samantha.
Samantha: You’re supposed to be the one playing the player, not the other way around.Don’t fall for it, you’re just another notch, you’ll see and if you don’t get me my article you can forget about becoming editor-in-chief.
I get it, she thinks he’s the one playing me, but as he pulls the covers down, I don’t think either of us are playing any kind of game here and I can’t even seem to think about the job, not when my body is burning from the inside out.
I turn my phone over on the nightstand so he can’t see it, and slide between the sheets.As he tucks me in, something comes over me and before I can stop myself, I slide my hands around his neck, my pulse pounding so hard in my throat, I can barely breathe.Am I really doing this?
“I…don’t think I’m supposed to be left alone.You know, possible concussion.”
His eyes narrow in on mine, a careful assessment that sets my blood on fire.“I thought—”
Sexual tension arcs between us and his chest rises and falls a bit faster.“It doesn’t hurt to be careful.”
Which makes me wonder why I’m not being careful—I should be making decisions with my head, not my body and heart.I shouldn’t be doing this, I shouldn’t be pulling his lips to mine, but I can’t seem to stop.The only thing I can do is blame my behavior on a brain injury.Maybe I hit my head harder than I thought, or maybe I simply, just once, want to be coveted and touched by this sweet man hovering over me in his bed—a sweet man he keeps hidden but has exposed to me numerous times.
Seconds before his lips touch mine, he stiffens, like he’s having second thoughts, and I go completely still.“Cheddar?”I say about to scramble away.Oh God, maybe I’ve read this all wrong.
“Leeza,” he says quickly and puts his hand on my arm to stop me.“You banged your head.I just want to make sure this is what you want.That you’re making decisions you’d make if you hadn’t fallen.”
As he stares down at me, checking in on me and looking for consent, I fall a little more for him.Sam is so wrong about him.“I want you,” I say quietly, and put my hands around his head again.
“I want you too.”He glances at the nightstand where we set our phones.“I just…I should probably take care of—”
“Me,” I say, and lift until his lips are on mine, and the second I feel the softness of his mouth, a moan catches in my throat and whatever it was he wanted to do is long gone from his brain, because he’s kissing me with heat and hunger, a growl rumbling in the depths of his throat.
I inch up, lift my arms and he peels my sweater off, his gaze turning feral as he takes in my lacy bra.With deft hands, he unhooks my bra and I don’t want to spend too much time thinking how easy that was for him.A second later, he’s standing, and I can’t tear my gaze away as he peels off his sweater, unzips his jeans, and kicks them away.
