“What if I want to be shared?” she asks. She’s trying to get a rise out of me, and it’s working.
“Paisley,” I growl, and she slaps her hand over my mouth. I kiss her palm, and her eyes glass over with heat. With want. For me. Slowly, she takes her hand from my mouth. “You’re playing with fire,” I warn her.
“I do work for the Blaze,” she teases.
I don’t think about where we are or who may see us. I don’t think about the fact that our boss is sitting in the seat across from us and has a direct line to her dad. All I can think about is kissing her, so that’s what I do. It takes very little effort for me to lean in just a fraction of an inch and press my lips to hers. It’s chaste as far as kisses go, but it’s her lips against mine, and that’s the important part.
“You’re beautiful,” I blurt, resting my forehead against hers.
“You don’t need to waste your flattery on me,” she breathes.
“It’s not flattery; it’s facts. And nothing, no part of me would ever be wasted on you.” I kiss the tip of her nose and pull away, settling back against my seat.
“This is crazy, Cameron,” she says after a few minutes of silence.
“Tell me, Paisley. Do you think about that day? The game? The kiss? The connection?”
“All the time.”
“Then this isn’t crazy. I don’t care what the world thinks. I don’t care what your uncle Drew thinks, or hell, even your dad. All I care about is what we think, and all I can think about is you. We owe it to ourselves to see where this goes. We left it to fate, and beautiful, I believe fate has spoken.”
“Can we talk about this later?”
“Sure, baby.” I slide my hand underneath the cover and rest my hand on her thigh. “We will be talking about it, though.”
“Okay,” she agrees, resting her head back on my shoulder. Once she’s settled and her breathing evens out, I close my eyes, and I’m finally able to fall asleep.
Flopping back onto the bed, I stare up at the ceiling. It’s been a long day of travel, practice, dinner with the team, and I just finished a long-ass hot shower. Now, I need some Paisley time so I can fall asleep and get rested for the game. Reaching for my phone, I dial her number.
“Hello?” she answers after the first ring.
“Hey.”
“You sound exhausted.”
“It’s been a long day.”
“How was dinner with the team?”
“Good. I’m the new guy, but everyone has been nice and friendly. I missed you, though,” I tell her honestly.
“I was there.”
“What?” I ask. She’s got my attention. “What do you mean you were there? I didn’t see you.”
“I sat with Dr. Thomas and Uncle Drew.”
“You should have told me. I would have joined you.”
“That would defeat the point of a team dinner. You know, bonding and all that.”
“You could have sat with me.”
“It was better this way.” She tries to appease me, but it’s not working.
“Now I feel like I got ripped off. What did you have?”
“A grilled chicken salad.” She laughs. “Is it really necessary for you to know what I eat?”