“Because of stupid unwritten rules,” he says.
I look at him. Aiden reaches for my hand and entwines his fingers with mine again. “I used to be the same way. Until I met you. I was the alternate captain. I did everything right. Lead by example. Deceiving Coach was never on my bingo card, and if any other player had approached me and asked my advice if they were in my shoes, I would have told them no. Absolutely do not get involved with the coach’s daughter; that’s a hard pass.
“But then I met you.” Aiden lifts our joined hands and presses a soft kiss across the top of my knuckles. “And you told me how you felt, and it hit me that you were a real person, not just Coach’s daughter. You wereScarlett. You had feelings and ideas of your own. I knew it didn’t matter what your last name was. I had to get to know you, because agreeing to stay away from you was going to kill me.”
“You’re risking everything for me,” I whisper, my voice growing thick.
“No. I was risking everything that mattered by staying away from you. Because if I had stayed back, you would have found someone else. And that, I couldn’t handle.”
I swallow down the lump in my throat. I’m soaking up everything Aiden is willing to give me, taking it and holding it to my heart.
Taking it and further falling for him.
I suddenly move, taking him by surprise, and straddle his lap. His brows raise as I link my hands around the nape of his neck.
“Whoa, I thought we were just hanging out tonight,” Aiden says. “You took quite a hit on the head.”
“I’m feeling just fine.”
His hands shift to my hips, his thumbs moving across my shiny black leggings.
“Are you sure?”
I lower my mouth to his, drawing his lower lip between my teeth and gently sucking it. Aiden’s breath hitches, and I can feel him grow hard against me.
“I am so sure,” I murmur against his warm mouth. “I couldn’t handle it if you were with anyone else, either, Aiden. You’re the only man I want to do this with.”
Then I kiss him, sinking my hands into his hair, my tongue drinking deeply from his. A groan escapes his throat, and his hand slides up under my shirt. I shiver as his fingertips deliciously explore my body.
“This is all yours,” I whisper to him.
That elicits another primal groan, and I revel in the sound.
“I want you,” he says. He kisses me hard on the mouth, a searing, hot, yearning kiss that leaves me breathless. I feel one of his hands go up, lightly moving my head back so I can stare down at him.
“I want you in so many ways,” he says, his eyes growing soft. “More than physical, Scarlett. More than sex. Do you understand?”
I nod, because I don’t trust myself to answer.
Then he reclaims my mouth again, this time, kissing me slowly and reverently.
Tears prick my eyes. My heart is soaring, and I move one hand to his face to gently stroke his cheek.
Because in his own way, Aiden just told me he’s falling in love with me, too.
Chapter Twenty-One
“Looking for a free meal like I am?”
“Ethan!” I say, throwing my arms around my brother as he answers the front door at my parents’ house. It’s Tuesday night—the evening before the Las Vegas versus Miami game, and we’re all having dinner together, which is something I haven’t been able to do during the season since I started college.
And I realize just how much I missed him the second I see him standing before me.
“Hey, little sister,” he says, embracing me. “How are you?”
I move back from him. Ethan towers over me with his six-six frame. His brown hair is wavy and unruly in that messy-cool way, and his T-shirt reveals full tattoo sleeves on each arm. A lazy smile is on his face, but I see nothing but affection shining for me in his blue eyes.
“I’m great,” I say, smiling up at him. Ethan moves aside, and I step into my parents’ luxurious house. It’s bright and airy, nearly all glass, with lots of windows, white marble floors, and sleek modern furniture. It’s completely decked out for Christmas, with white lights twinkling in greenery, LED candles lit, and at the end of the hallway, in the den, I see the big Christmas tree, decorated in silver and gold. Mom has her favorite Christmas music on, the sounds from “The Nutcracker” playing in the distance.
