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Was Skylar Marshall flirting with me? Unlikely. She’d never even known I was alive at school, and she’d been dating a man that was so good looking he was splashed all over billboards throughout the country. Even if there was a possibility that she was, I’d have to put a stop to it. Skylar might have believed love wasn’t complicated, but I couldn’t think of anything more problematic than my infatuation with this woman. No matter how I tried to get rid of these feelings, I couldn’t. It had always made me feel out of control.
The silence thickened until Skylar craned her neck. “This is my house. Just by this lamppost.”
Skylar and Sean’s house loomed enormous and imposing in front of us. It shouldn’t have surprised me that they lived in such a huge place. They were football royalty. I kept my gaze on the house, fighting not to stare at her face. Something about the little wrinkle she got between her eyebrows when she was thinking mesmerized me. Her purple ankle boots matched her wavy purple hair, and colorful ink graced the milky skin of her shoulders and arms. Skylar had always had a kooky off-beat style. At school her art folder had been covered with song lyrics and intricate doodles. I’d spent hours during lessons studying them, wondering what they all meant.
She swept her hair over her inked shoulder. Her tongue traced out to lick her candy-pink lips and my mind filled with dirty thoughts. What would it be like to kiss her? To hike that dress above her hips and drive into her? To taste her?
Stop. Absolutely not. Get a grip.
What was wrong with me? This woman wasn’t an option. Maybe my siblings were right. I’d gone too long without sex. I had needs. There was no shame in admitting that. Still, not with this woman.
“Thanks for the lift.”
“No problem.”
She smoothed her dress over her powerful, toned thighs and it made my heart beat too hard. This was basic psychology. I wanted what I couldn’t have. I’d wanted this woman for so long, but now I was a grown man. This wasn’t a big deal. Attraction was just a feeling, and I could put it to one side and work with her. Of course I could. I wasn’t a lizard or a silverback driven only by the urge to fuck. I didn’t have to lose my head over this.
I am in control.
She cleared her throat and slid me a tentative glance. “Would you like to come inside?”
Yes. More than anything.
No. No. Definitely no. Oh fuck.
The silence thickened. She was so beautiful. She’d always been so beautiful. A dizzying current of desire raced through me, and my mind filled with more unwelcome thoughts. My hands sliding her dress off her shoulders, down her strong, inked arms. Pulling her onto my lap. Exploring the milky skin of her toned thighs with my lips. The soft close of that pretty, warm mouth around my…
“Just for a coffee or…”
The rough edge to her voice made my heart pound. My teenage dreams had been full of this scenario. A shot with Skylar Marshall. My fourteen-year-old self would have killed me in this moment. I’d already narrowly avoided swearing my undying love to her in that library. The way she’d looked on that window seat had nearly been my undoing. The moonlight had flashed silver streaks in her lilac hair and the sadness around her beautiful eyes had bewitched me. How could she not know that she was so easy to long for?
She chewed her lip and raised a questioning eyebrow.
I hesitated, choosing my words. It would be a terrible idea. I couldn’t go there with a colleague and certainly not one I’d been counseling. Skylar was going through a bad breakup. She needed space to clear her head, not a rebound guy.
I took a breath and turned my face to the window. “No. Thank you.”
“Are you sure?”
Nope.
“Yes. I’m sure.”
She chewed her lip. “Right. No problem.”
Her voice sounded breezy, but from the corner of my eye I caught the hurt and disappointment that darkened her beautiful face. My chest ached. The last thing I wanted to do was make her feel bad. Still, this was better in the long run. She hurried out of the car. I watched her go into her house before I pressed my forehead to the cold steering wheel and took deep breaths.
I am in control.
Definitely. Completely. Without question. I am in control.
Chapter 8
Skylar
Every muscle sang with pain. My nerves crackled with electricity. Eighty-nine minutes of charging around a pitch, and now everything depended on one goal. If I scored, we’d win the match. One step closer to promotion to the Women’s Super League. If I missed…
Don’t think like that.
