He stood there shirtless, sweatpants hanging low, looking like every bad decision I'd ever wanted to make. His hair wasmessy from my fingers, and I could see my nail marks down his back in the hallway mirror.
"We need to talk," I said.
He offered me a small smile. "Agreed."
I held up a hand as if to stop whatever he thought this was about to turn into. "This can't happen again."
His smile faltered and his jaw tightened immediately. "It already happened. We're bonded," he stated.
Sucking in a breath, I stared up at him. "Bonds can be broken," I said.
"Harper..." he protested softly.
I wanted to be anywhere but under Knox's gaze. "The heat's over. We can be rational now," I insisted.
"Rational?" He laughed, dark and incredulous. "You think what happened last night had anything to do with rational?"
"It was biology. Nothing more," I said flatly.
"Bullshit," he shot back.
I pushed past him, needing space, but the second I did, my nostrils flared. The smell of us was all over the fucking suite. The air hung thick with the smell of pine and vanilla and I felt myself feeling horny as scenes of the previous night flashed in my head.
Glancing over my shoulder, I looked at him. "Knox, I'm the team doctor. You're the player I'm supposed to be treating."
"Treating?" He followed me into the living room. "Is that what we're calling it?"
"Don't be crude," I warned.
"Crude? You want to talk about crude?" he challenged. "Because last night when you begged me to eat your pussy..."
"Stop," I demanded.
"When you screamed my name so loud the walls were about to come down around us," he continued, his voice rising.
"Knox!" I shouted.
His face had become flushed and angry looking. "When you came so hard you nearly blacked out!" he finished.
I whirled on him. "Yes, fine! We fucked. We fucked all night. Happy?"
"Ecstatic," he replied dryly.
"This is my career!" I cried out.
He shrugged. "This is our lives!"
We stood there, breathing hard, the space between us electric. Even now, even with my body sore and exhausted, I wanted him. My scent betrayed me, sweetening with arousal.
His nostrils flared. "You want me. Right now. Even while you're pushing me away," he observed.
"That's the bond. It's not real," I protested.
"Felt pretty fucking real when you were clawing my back," he countered.
"Knox..." I started.
"Felt real when you begged me to claim you harder," he added.
