Page 51 of Forever Offsides

“Is he going to play for the team?”

“Your father and I have a video meeting tomorrow morning to discuss all of this.”

Her eyes narrow. “That’s a non-answer.”

I sigh. “It’s the best I’ve got for you, Quinn.”

“I told them I don’t care if he does.”

That hits me in a not-so-great way, and my eyes narrow. “Why is that?”

“Because he dropped out of my life four years ago. Whether he’s on the team or not is inconsequential.”

“You’d have to see him on the days you’re here.”

She drops her weight onto her other foot. “Not really. I don’t interact with the players beyond my family unless they’re hurt, and I can promise you that Russel Jones doesn’t want me as his doctor if that happens.”

“He said you weren’t the type of woman who gave out second chances. Or something like that.”

“I’m not.”

My hands meet my hips, and I lower my head so she can’t see my ridiculous disappointment. I almost scoff. Disappointment over what? Yet she completely misreads my expression.

“You want me to get back together with him?”

A current of jealousy zings through me, tightening my jaw. “No. I don’t.” Not ever. The thought makes me crazy, and I don’t like it. If he loves her and wants a second chance and she’s willing to give it to him, he should have it. I want his happiness above my own, but fuck my life, I’d never be okay with him having her when I can’t.

“Then what do you want?”

I laugh. It can’t be helped. “Baby girl, I’ve spent the last four months telling you exactly what I want. Unfortunately, the choice is no longer mine.”

She steps into me until her chest is practically against mine. All I see are her green eyes. Those blazing emeralds and her perfect upturned nose dotted with adorable freckles.

“What about what I want?”

My heart picks up too many beats. I’m more than a little winded.

I can’t ask. I know I can’t. But… “What do you want?” My voice is rough and crackly.

She rises onto the balls of her feet and places her hands on my shoulders so she can whisper in my ear. “To not have all my decisions dictated to me by men.”

My eyes close at the feel of her. Her tits against my chest, her hands on my skin, her warm breath by my ear, her sass and fire making me smile despite everything. “It’s not that simple, and you know it.”

“Is that why your heart is beating so fast?”

Without conscious thought, my hand scoops the back of her head, and I shift her mouth two inches straight onto mine. I kiss her like I’ve never kissed a woman before. With heat and impatience and guilt and a delicious swirl of tongues and forbidden. Pleasure spreads through me like a toxin, reminding me just how long I’ve been waiting for this moment. Waiting to feel her again.

I want her with a desperation I hardly recognize in myself.

My hand winds into her hair, and I make a fist before I give it a gentle tug. She moans, the sound hitting every cell in my body and making my cock beg for mercy. It’s rubbing against her hip, and I don’t know how to stop it. This towel is on life support. One small move and it’s gone for good along with what’s left of my integrity.

Inherently, I know this only ends one way. Tragically. Someone will get hurt, and that hurt will span beyond boundaries. It’ll impact everything. This kiss will impact everything.

It’s why I force myself to rip away from her, my breathing hard and fast, my head spinning. My forehead falls to hers as I work to catch my breath. “Quinn.”

It’s all I can manage. Her name.

I capture her bottom lip between my teeth and scrape it. Hard. More than a little riled with everything. I want to kiss her. I want to taste her. I want to watch her as she comes for me. Then I want her in my bed with her naked, sleepy body beside mine. I want to trail my fingers up and down her spine and watch as she falls asleep in my arms.