Playing Hard to Get(34)

Connecting again.

He is so incredibly big and strong. And the man smells better than any other person on this planet, I swear to God.

He’s got his hands buried in my hair, fingers tangled in the tresses, his tongue doing a deep dive. I press my chest against his, needing the closeness, needing something more, but unable to ask for it because after all…

This is just kissing. That’s it.

It’s some of the best kissing I’ve ever experienced.

We go at it for what feels like hours. Just nonstop making out, like we’re teenagers in the back of his dad’s car, unleashing all of that pent-up passion we’ve been holding in, knowing this is the only chance we’re going to get. There’s a desperation to his kisses too. As if he’s worried this might be his only shot and he’s going to take as much as he can.

Finally, we break apart, our breathing hard and erratic, my head a jumble of chaotic thoughts, every one of them having to do with Knox. My mouth and jaw ache from all the kissing and when I finally dare to look up at him, I find he’s already watching me.

“I didn’t mean to do that,” he admits, his voice rough. He hesitates, and my heart drops. “But I don’t regret it happened.”

My heart soars once again, though I mentally tell it to calm down. I should tell him I do regret it. That this should never happen again. What we’ve done is extremely unprofessional and I could lose my job. I’ve gone against just about every moral code I have when it comes to my tutoring position. I’m a complete disgrace.

“I don’t regret it either,” I whisper instead.

His smile is small. Devastating. He leans in, his mouth brushing mine, setting off a fresh set of tingles all over my body and then he grabs hold of my waist, pulling me off him.

The disappointment is palpable, but when I check the time, I see we have less than five minutes left of our tutoring session. I go straight into business mode, gathering my things with shaky hands and placing them in my bag. I keep my head bent, unable to look at him, afraid I might break the spell.

This was probably a one-shot deal. No way can we do that again. He might even want to switch tutors, replacing me with someone who’s less distracting to his celibacy plan.

“I know you don’t care about football but…you want tickets to this Saturday’s game?”

I glance up at his question, frowning at him. “You’re offering me tickets?”

“Well, yeah.” He shrugs, shoves his hands in his front pockets, and waits for my answer.

“How many?” An idea begins to form.

“How many you want?”

“Two.” My smile is faint. “For me and Natalie.”

The relief on his face is evident. Did he think I’d bring a guy to the game? The only one I’d ever do that for is Leon, who sort of likes football. I think. Nat, on the other hand? She loves it. “Yeah. Sure. I can leave your name at the ticket booth. All you need to do is go to the will-call window, say your name, and they’ll give them to you.”

“Okay.” I nod, smiling. “Thank you.”

“You’re really coming to my game?” He actually sounds excited, which is…

Cute.

“You’re really not going to fire me as your tutor?” I toss back at him.

His smile fades, replaced with a deep, downright confused frown. “Why would I do that?”

“Because…” I wave a hand between us, “we didn’t get much work done.”

His smile turns wicked, and I swear there’s even a naughty gleam in his eye. “I’d beg to differ, Jo Jo. We got plenty of work done.”

I’m blushing. Even though I don’t know exactly what he’s referring to. “Okay.”

“Yeah. Okay.” He approaches me, his fingers slipping beneath my chin to tilt my head up. I’m trembling from his nearness, the way his fingers seem to caress my skin, and I part my lips, ready to say something…

But no words come out.

The look on his face tells me he knows I’m awkward AF, but he doesn’t mind. Instead, he dips his head, kisses the tip of my nose and steps back before I can do anything.

“See you Saturday?”

“Sure.” My voice is garbled. I don’t even know if he can understand me.

And how is he going to see me Saturday when he’ll be out on the field, playing football? He’ll be swarmed by loads of people after the game too. There’s no chance in hell I’ll get to see him Saturday.

Before I can remind him of all of this, though, he’s gone.





FOURTEEN





KNOX





“What the hell is your problem? You’ve been grinning nonstop since Thursday afternoon.”

This comes from Cam as we’re changing into our uniforms in the locker room. It’s Saturday. Game day, and I’m ready to fucking crush our opponent.

“So?” I try to muster up a scowl, but it’s like I can’t. He’s right.

All I can do is grin.

“Something happen? You get some news you can’t share with any of us yet?” Cam asks, his curiosity obvious. I’m surprised it took him this long to ask.

“No, no news.” But something definitely happened, and I can’t stop thinking about it.