Page 60 of Offsides

“Whatever,” Cowboy sassed back, his arm draping over Theo’s shoulder, leading her toward the exit.

“I guess we’d better hurry. Like Felicity said, I need to clean up if we’re going out.”

“And if I had a different plan?”

“A different plan?”

“Yeah,” he said, a smirk taking over his expression. “I was thinking I could spend some time getting you even dirtier first.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Theo stood directly under the rain showerhead, enjoying the sensation of the hot water cascading down her body. The large, luxury shower felt like it was the size of her entire bathroom back home. The long white subway tile, accented with sparkly blue stones, gave her the feeling of being on the beach, the small wooden bench off to her side only adding to that ambiance. Mostly though, she loved this showerhead and the way it made her feel like she was standing under a waterfall, letting the world melt away. She might just have to invest in one of these for her own shower.

The sound of the shower door shifting startled her out of her trance, and the sight of a naked Cowboy stepping in made her heart leap. Every inch of his glorious muscular body called to her. Fuck, was he sexy. A half second later, his hands were on her hips, his mouth against hers, kissing her like his life depended on it. It was the kind of kiss dreams were made of. Only Theo knew she wasn’t dreaming. This was somehow her real life.

“What are you doing?” Theo asked, trying to catch her breath as they broke apart.

“Kissing my girl.”

His girl.

The butterflies in her tummy sprang to life again—no, these weren’t butterflies. They were bigger than that. These were more like hummingbirds, frantically flapping those wings of theirs a million miles an hour. Even under the hot water, she could feel her skin start to flush, a warmth taking over her from the inside out. His girl. Never in her life did she ever think she’d hear Cowboy call her that, and she was over the moon about it.

“Your girl, huh?”

“Woman,” he corrected, kissing her again.

Theo laughed into the kiss. That hadn’t been what she had meant with her teasing, but it made her heart so happy knowing that was the place his mind went. That she would be questioning the choice of words rather than the sentiment.

“I need to finish showering, or we’re gonna be late.”

“Then let us be late.” He pulled her in close, his mouth finding that sensitive spot where her neck met her shoulder, sucking on it lightly. He’d perfected the move and knew just how to kiss and nibble there, driving her wild, while also not leaving a mark. The coolness of his nipple piercings felt good against her warm skin, sending pulses of desire straight to her core. “The only thing I care about right now is being here with you.”

“The only thing?”

“Yes, the only thing. The rest of the world can wait.”

“Being late makes me twitchy.”

“Shocker.”

Theo playfully jabbed at Cowboy’s stomach, his solid form barely moving from her efforts. Instead, he yanked her into him, their bodies flush together. Theo could feel his hard length against her, making her want to wiggle her hips, just to drive him as crazy as he was her. Cowboy held on to her too tightly though. Not that she could complain about anything while in this man’s arms.

“Can I ask you something personal?”

“Always."

Theo lifted her hands to his chest, running her finger along the words written along his collarbone. The simple capital letters had always intrigued her. She’d followed his career long enough that she’d watched many of his tattoos make their first appearance or be added to over the years. But this one had been there from the very beginning.

“Wrapped up in you,” she read. “Can I ask who the ‘you’ is?”

Cowboy caught her hand, holding it against his chest. Running his thumb along the inside of her wrist, Theo was sure he could feel her pulse racing.

“Dulcie. When every other kid was singing ‘wrapped up like a douche’ instead of the actual lyrics to ‘Blinded By the Light,’ Dulcie sang ‘wrapped up in you.’ It was the song she was singing the day she disappeared.”

Theo sputtered out a laugh, her heart squeezing at the same time over the mention of Dulcie. From all the stories Cowboy had told about her, she seemed like she was such a fun person, and even Theo couldn’t help wondering what she would have been like today.

“It was my first tat. Got it on what would have been her eighteenth birthday.”