When Erin’s hand returned to her back, gently tracing the bumps of her spine, Lia jumped. Such a simple touch, but it burned through the cotton of her shirt, made her breath surge from her chest as a quiet gasp, as her heartbeat thrummed loud in her ears.
Flicking her eyes open, she found Erin’s gaze on her, her eyes dark and focused on Lia’s mouth.
“What are we doing?” Lia was afraid to whisper the words aloud, terrified to shatter whatever moment they hung inside. But she couldn’t handle the uncertainty, the push and pull, the back-and-forth.
Ignoring Erin hadn’t made things any easier. A fresh start hadn’t done anything to lessen the ache whenever Erin stepped close in training. Pretending nothing had ever happened wasn’t working, and Lia didn’t know how much longer she could act like it was.
“I don’t know.” Erin’s voice was breathless. “But I do know that I can’t stop thinking about you.”
Lia’s own breath caught.
“I keep telling myself to ignore it. To push it away. That it’s not a good idea—that it wasn’t a good idea in the first place. You know I have rules, and that they’re there for a reason. I don’t want distractions; I don’t want anything to take my focus away from anything but the game. But it’s even more distracting not being able to touch you. Do you have any idea how hard it is to concentrate in Ayla’s meetings when all I can think about is kissing you?”
A buzzing filled Lia’s ears; she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. All those weeks, had Erin really been feeling the same way? “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying…” Erin’s hand dropped to Lia’s hip, fingers curling around the denim of Lia’s jeans.
Lia remembered the strength of those hands guiding the movement of her hips against Erin’s mouth, and her throat went dry. The way Erin’s fingers tensed, digging in, made Lia wonder if she was thinking of the same thing.
“Maybe it shouldn’t be a one-time thing. Maybe it should be a regular thing. If you can trust me again,” Erin suggested.
Finding words was so difficult with Erin’s hand on her. After so many weeks without it, even the simplest of touches made her ache. “I think the real question is if you can trust me.”
“I can. I do. I’m sorry for how I acted—you seem to have the rather unique ability to get under my skin.”
Lia laughed, turning to face Erin fully. “Well, if it’s any consolation, the feeling’s mutual.” She opened her mouth to ask what happened now, where they went from here, but footsteps sounded nearby.
They sprang apart, Erin knocking on the tap to pretend to be washing her hands, and Lia desperately tried to catch her breath as she turned back to the mirror.
Behind her, the door opened to admit Adrianna, who raised an eyebrow as she glanced between them.
Worst timing ever.
“Thought you’d gotten lost, Ashcroft.” Adrianna batted her eyelashes, reaching out to brush a hand across Lia’s bicep. “Birthday girls aren’t supposed to hide in the bathroom. I’ve missed you out there.”
Beneath her touch, Lia struggled not to flinch away. Though at least it doused the flames Erin’s hands had ignited.
“I’ll be right out.”
“Better be.” With a wink, Adrianna strode into one of the stalls, and Lia tried to control the frantic beating of her heart.
Once the stall door was shut behind Adrianna, Erin leaned close, whispering into Lia’s ear. “What are your plans for tonight?”
“Nothing.” Cerys would try to persuade her to go out, but Lia hadn’t wanted to earlier in the evening—she sure didn’t feel like it now.
“Come over to my place when we’re done here, if you like. We can talk some more.”
Lia caught Erin’s eye. “What if talking’s not what I want?”
“That can be arranged, too.” After a quick glance over her shoulder, Erin leaned in, pressing a fleeting open-mouthed kiss to the skin just beneath Lia’s ear.
She shuddered, her knees shaking, reduced to a quivering mess by the simple brush of Erin’s lips. Erin walked away, a self-satisfied smirk on her mouth, and Lia was quick to follow her out before Adrianna emerged, hoping her flaming cheeks wouldn’t be noticeable by the time she made it back to the table.
Chapter 16
Erin glanced at the clock for the hundredth time.
Time seemed to have slowed since she’d left the restaurant, and with every second that ticked past, she wondered if Lia had changed her mind and wasn’t coming after all.
