Settling the Score (The Summer Games #1)(35)

“So is it a game to you?” she asked. “Getting a reaction out of me?”

I shook my head.

“Because I meant every word I texted you earlier. Last night was a mistake.”

I watched the rise and fall of her chest. Every time she inhaled, her breasts pushed against the tight bodice of her dress.

“This isn’t a game,” I said in reply to her earlier question. “I’ve been honest about what I want. And now, what I don’t.”

She crossed her arms around her waist.

“I came to Rio to play soccer and have fun,” she said, working up to an argument I didn’t care to listen to.

“You don’t think last night was fun?” I asked, taking a step closer to her.

Her eyes widened.

“I had fun,” I continued.

She blinked, and blinked again. I could see the logic trying to work its way around her brain.

I took another step closer and fingered the strap falling off her shoulder. “You wanted me last night.”

She shook her head.

“I could feel your heart beating.” I pressed my hand to her chest, to the bare skin above her dress. “Just as wildly as it’s beating right now.”

Her gaze was on my lips when I leaned in and kissed her, cutting off her protests. My hips caged her against the vanity and my hands wound up through her hair, tilting her head so it was easier to slide my tongue past her lips. She moaned softly, a seductive sound that made me step closer and pull her taut against me. I could have kept her there forever, but I wouldn’t force her. When I pulled back, I gave her an out.

“Leave if you want to.”

I stepped back and gave us space, staring down at her against the vanity. Her chest was heaving and her fists were clenched by her sides. Her mouth was red and swollen.

“I don’t want to be dragged into this,” she protested with a fierce warning. “You think the rules don’t apply to you, but this is my life too. A reporter harassed me today. About you!”

“Then you should go,” I said again. “The reporters will never stop. I wish I could say they will, but they seem intent on capturing every moment of my life from here on out.”

She inhaled another breath.

“Go,” I said again.

“No.”

One word spoken with bated breath.

I stepped closer and she swayed. I let my hands slide up her arms, slowly, giving her time to rethink her answer. By the time my hands had found her shoulders, she looked drunk with lust.

She leaned in and kissed me then. She was hot and demanding as I dragged my lips down her neck and shoulder, kissing a line to the thin strap of her dress. I stilled there as I brushed my hand up beneath her dress. She was velvet and the higher I drew my hand, the quicker her breaths came.

I slid my hand across the center of her thighs, feeling the lace she’d slipped on beneath her dress. I slid my finger back and forth, testing her patience. Her teeth on my bottom lip proved how little she cared for teasing. Her hips arched to meet mine just before I gently pushed the material aside, laying her bare.

“Ahhh…” she moaned, letting her head tilt back and her eyes flutter closed.

I stroked her back and forth. Slowly. So f*cking slowly she nearly begged for it by the time I slid a finger inside of her.

“I can feel how much you want this.”

I leaned forward and stole a kiss. She wound her fingers through my hair with a punishing grip. She was mine in that bathroom and I could feel her starting to unwind. I could push her up onto the counter and spread her thighs as wide as I wanted. The protests from earlier had died on her lips, replaced with the sexiest moans I’d ever heard.

I was in control.

And then suddenly, no one was in control. I couldn’t stop and I needed to stop. There were voices in the hallway and any minute there’d be a knock on the door.

I ripped my mouth away and pointed to the door.

“You were right. I shouldn’t drag you into this. Leave.”

She reared back, eyes wide in surprise. “What?”

She sounded wounded.

“Go back to the party.”

Her nostrils flared. “You pulled me in here and now—”

“Go back…to the party.”

My voice was strained and raspy, but she didn’t hesitate.

“Fuck you, Freddie.”

She shoved past me and pulled the door open so hard it slammed against the wall. As soon as she was gone, I reached back and locked the door.

Fuck.

I gripped the edge of the sink and leaned over, trying to gather my wits. I hadn’t expected to come to my senses at the exact moment she was giving herself to me, but that’s when it’d hit me. We couldn’t sneak off during a cocktail party and f*ck in the bathroom. I didn’t care what it would do to my reputation, but it would ruin hers. It didn’t matter that Caroline didn’t have a ring on her finger—Andie would still be labeled a home wrecker, while I would probably be forgiven for being seduced by her presumed wickedness. And if she was already being questioned by reporters, that meant we had been careless in the club. Understanding that, I needed to get her out of the bathroom before someone saw us leave together.

By the time I’d collected myself and straightened my suit, I had a text waiting for me on my mobile. I read it as I stepped back into the party.