“Don’t tell me you’re freaking out over everything.” She offered him a tentative smile. “You’re always so calm under pressure. I know you can handle this. The press hasn’t been so bad since we’ve talked to them. Hopefully, soon, they’ll leave you alone.”
“Yeah, they’ve been all right. My dad is pissed, though.” He sounded downright hostile, though he didn’t mean to.
She nodded slowly, the smile disappearing from her face. “Your dad?”
He took a deep breath. “He’s not happy about any of this.”
“Oh.” She pressed her lips together, her eyes full of…sadness? “I’m sorry if I’ve come between you and your father, Flynn. I never meant for that to happen.”
“It’s okay. Really. He’s never happy.” Ever. And it sucked.
Should he tell her how he was feeling? Hell, why not. Being honest with her, being real with her, he needed that. No more hiding, no more keeping his true feelings inside. Since their night together, he couldn’t focus on anything else. All that kept popping into his brain were images of her. Naked. In his bed.
“You need to understand something about me, Aubrey. When I commit to something, I’m all in.” Going on pure instinct, he went to her, wrapping his hands around her waist and hauling her up, pinning her against the door, her legs going automatically around his waist. Her eyes widened as she stared down at him, and she curled her hands around his shoulders to brace herself. Or cling to him, he couldn’t quite tell yet.
“All in?” she asked as she tightened her fingers on him. Damn, her touch felt good. Too good.
“Yeah. And you need to know something else.”
“What
?” she asked warily, her legs loosening their grip around him.
Damn. He didn’t want her putting more distance between them. Not right now. He needed her close. As close as two people could get. “I’m referring to the fact that I can’t stop thinking about the kiss we shared earlier.”
She frowned. “What kiss?”
That she didn’t remember frustrated the hell out of him. “The one we performed for the cameras.”
“Oh.” Her brow furrowed. She looked damn cute all perplexed. “That was just a little kiss, Flynn.”
“A little kiss. Huh.” Leaning in, he brushed her mouth with his. Once. Twice. Soft, sweet kisses that sent a bolt of fiery lust straight through him, which settled in his twitching cock. “I like the way you taste, Aubrey. I want more of it.”
She audibly swallowed, releasing a shaky exhalation. “You say things like that, and I want to kiss you again,” she whispered.
Triumph surged through him. He needed to handle this significant moment unfolding between them just right. Yeah, they’d had sex. It had been a major moment, at least to him. But now he had an opportunity to make this real between them. Make it right.
And that’s what he wanted more than anything. More than football, he wanted Aubrey. Maybe he wouldn’t be able to have her for long, but he definitely wanted to see where this would go.
“I feel like a total jackass for how I treated you after our one night together,” he murmured against her soft lips. “Let me make it up to you.”
She parted her lips to say something, and he took advantage, kissing her hungrily before she could utter a word, his tongue sliding against hers. He clasped her head between his hands, his fingers buried in her silky hair, his body pressed firmly against hers. She tightened her legs around his waist, trying to draw him in as closely as possible, and he let her. Their hips collided, his erection rubbing against her belly, and she gasped against his mouth, a pleasurable little murmur escaping her. She grasped his shoulders so tight he could feel her fingernails cutting into his skin, even through his T-shirt.
Damn, he’d been hot before he’d even gotten into her apartment, which was why he hadn’t worn a jacket when he’d jumped into his new truck and sped over to Aubrey’s place. Now, having her in his arms, wiggling against him, her mouth fused with his, he felt as if he was burning up inside.
The only solution to find relief was getting naked. Together.
Chapter Eight
Aubrey was completely surrounded by a warm, big muscular man, and it felt so incredibly good to be in Flynn’s strong arms. He was kissing her as if his life depended on it, and she buried her fingers in his hair, holding him close.
This was the last thing she’d expected to happen. Finding Flynn on her doorstep, looking worried and irritated and hot as hell. Clad in jeans and a Hawks T-shirt like she wore, his hair still messy from his own hands. He’d stared at her as if he wanted to devour her.
And she’d never, ever seen him look at her so hungrily before. Not even the night they’d had sex, and he’d given her some pretty steamy looks then.
Holy hell, she liked it. The way he held her pinned against the door so she could feel every hard inch of him drove her crazy with wanting him. There was too much between them, though. She wanted to feel hot, bare skin, not clothes. Clothes ruined everything.
No. Clothes were good. They kept up that barrier she needed to stop her from going any further, because clearly she was weak. Weak and spineless and losing the fight to resist him. She needed to resist him because this could not happen between them. Not the sex thing, at least. If she fell into his arms, then she’d be right back where she started.