“Come on.” She continues her attack, and between her heavy pants and beads of sweat trickling down her chest, I’m falling under her spell. Throw her Lycra-clad thighs into the mix, and my brain conjures up images of her legs wrapped around me, and—
Wham.
Punch straight to my gut. Literally. I buckle, the air knocked out of my lungs. I lose my balance and bump into her, knocking us both off our feet. As we fall, she makes a desperate swing with her arms, which earns me an elbow to the side of my head. Fucking hell, it hurts. I barrel on top of her, no grace, no softening the impact. Then we dissolve into laughter.
“That’s what you get for handling me like a damsel. Next time, go hard on me so we don’t go down like fools.”
Caroline wipes her tears of laughter. I could move off her to the side, but this is too good. Feeling her breasts pressed against my chest, one of her legs cradled between mine, the other bent by my side.
Sustaining myself on one forearm, I run my hand up and down the thigh that’s by my side.
“Oh, love, you know I like going hard on you, but not on the fighting mat. Remember last time? I went so hard on you, your thighs gave out.”
Her hips give a slight jerk under me. Her thigh quivers under my hand. Oh yeah, she remembers. Turning her head to the side, she breaks eye contact, giving me a full view of her sweaty neck, the vein pulsing in it. I barely hold back from leaning in, licking her, tasting her.
“Caroline, I want the right to be jealous back. The right to call you mine.”
She snaps her head right back to me, her eyes wide, a mix of emotions staring back at me. She moves a hand to my cheek and I lean into her touch, wanting more. Needing more. Tension gathers between my shoulders as I wait for her answer.
“Dan...,” she whispers softly. Some of the tension bleeds away because she’s not saying no. She’s not saying yes either, but that twinkle in her eyes? It’s hope. Uncertainty too, but I’ll focus on the hope. “How’s your head? I hit you with my elbow.”
The second she mentions it, I become aware of the thumping in the right side of my head. Pushing myself off her at last and sitting on the mattress, I touch the sore spot.
“Just needs some ice and it’ll be fine. You hurt?”
She shakes her head, and we push ourselves up to our feet. “My ankle’s a bit sore, so walking back will be fun.”
“Walking?”
“My building’s just three blocks away, so I walked.”
“I’m here with my car.”
“Thank God. Let’s go, then. We did enough damage tonight, and I have a bottle of wine in the fridge for us. Do you want to shower here? Or you can use the one in my apartment. If you want.”
“Oh, I want to.”
A strand of hair dislodges from her bun, dangling over her eye and cheek. Leaning in, I blow it away.
She laughs nervously. “Okay, let’s go. I’ll take care of your head, ice it for you.”
“I’ll return the favor and ice your ankle.”
Placing my hand on the small of her back, I guide her out of the room, keeping my hand there while she locks up and leaves the key in Theo’s mailbox.
Tonight, I’m going for broke.
Chapter Sixteen
Caroline
It’s official. I’m a magnet for accidents when I’m around Daniel. Though this time, he was the one causing the mishap. At least there’s that. He wasn’t only being chivalrous, that wasn’t why he didn’t block the last punch. He was also distracted, his eyes glued to certain parts of my anatomy. Men.
Still, I can’t be a hypocrite. I was distracted myself. Couldn’t help it with all the contours of those fine muscles showing through his shirt. The stubble on his cheeks wasn’t any less distracting. I kept wondering how it would feel against my skin. Well, h
aven’t I gotten myself on a slippery slope?
“I’ve got ice in the freezer,” I tell him as soon as we enter the kitchen. “Could you get it while I pour us wine?”