“Maybe that’s why it can’t happen again.” I shudder at the chill in his voice.
“Can’t or won’t?”
“Both.”
I step closer, and his jaw tightens. “You keep saying that. Can’t, won’t, shouldn’t. But you never say you don’t want to.”
“What I want doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me.”
“It shouldn’t.”
“Too late for that.”
We’re standing close now, close enough that I can see the pulse beating against his throat. Close enough that if I reached out, I could touch him.
I don’t. But fuck, I want to.
“This is killing me,” he murmurs.
“Then do something about it.”
“I can’t.”
“There’s that word again. The one I knew I’d hear, even if I hadn’t walked out last night.”
“Tate... ”
“No. Don’t you dare say my name like that. Don’t look at me like you want me if you’re not planning to do anything about it.”
“Someone could come in.”
“Let them.”
“You don’t mean that.”
“The fuck I don’t.”
For the longest minute of my life, we just stare at each other. The air is thick with want and frustration.
Then the door opens, and Carter walks in. We jump apart, both of us suddenly very interested in the paper towel dispenser.
“Sorry,” Carter says, but there’s something in his voice that suggests he’s not sorry at all. “Didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“You didn’t interrupt anything,” I say quickly. “We were just talking about tomorrow’s game plan.”
“Right. Game plan.” Carter walks over to the row of sinks, his curious gaze on us in the mirror. “Good to see you two working so well together.”
Zane clears his throat. “We should get back to the table.”
I don’t respond.
I stalk out of the bathroom, my heart pounding. That was close. Too close. And Carter’s not stupid. He knows something’s going on, even if he doesn’t know exactly what.
The rest of dinner passes without questions, but I know Carter’s watching. Not just me, either. He’s putting pieces together, and that’s dangerous.
Once we’re finished and head back to the hotel, I make a beeline for my room. The guys hang by the bar and surprisingly, so does Zane. I breathe a sigh of relief when I see him with the coaching staff because the last thing I need is another run-in. I need to clear my head and finally get some sleep. Back at the hotel, I try to ignore the fact that Zane’s sleeping twenty feet away with only a wall between us.
