Passing by the boys, I offer a curt nod. Even though it’s killing me, I’m not going to beg Eddie to forgive me for following my own dreams. Even if they do cross paths with his. Finding our waitress, I sign the cheque for my share of the bill. Staring eyes penetrate my spine, I’m not sure if it’s desire or daggers, but either way, someone’s staring at me long enough to feel the heat of it. I don’t look back as I leave the dining room.
Half an hour later, wrapped in the hotel dressing gown, I’m sprawled across the humongous queen-sized bed, flicking through the latest edition ofMen’s Healthmagazine. A sharp rapping on my door interrupts me, before I can finish the article I’m reading. A small smile twists at my lips. After days of the silent treatment, Eddie must finally be ready to forgive me. I knew he’d come around eventually.
Flinging the door wide open, the smile freezes on my face as Stuart launches through it, pressing his skinny torso against mine, his wet slimy tongue poking my closed lips in a desperate, drunken attempt to find an opening.
Horror rips through my core as I struggle to push him off me. For a lean guy, he’s strong. Déjà vu overwhelms me. Panic presses at my chest before the adrenaline kick starts my fight or flight reaction. I choose to fight. Shoving him hard, I take four steps backwards almost landing on the bed. ‘Get out now, before I call security.’
Closing the distance between us, he towers above me. ‘I saw the way you’ve been watching me. You want it. You really want it.’ His menacing tone dares me to challenge him. Vivid, multicoloured flashbacks tear through my mind leaving me nauseous. My breath is ragged as he lunges towards me again.
Before I can scream, a huge tan boot emerges from the not-quite-closed doorway. The white wooden door flies open again and crashes against the interior wall with a deafening bang. Ollie bursts in, eyebrows knitted together in a ferocious looking frown. Those deep swirling pools stare thunderously at Stuart.
‘I’m pretty sure shedoesn’twant it.’ His voice is deep, calm, but unquestionably final. Stuart stammers a few incoherent words. He glances from me to Ollie, then back again, his jaw practically hanging on the floor in front of him.
‘Just be grateful Eddie sent me to check on his little sister, instead of coming up here himself. In future, when a lady tells you to get out, go immediately. If I ever find you up here again, you won’t get another chance to go anywhere. Do you hear me?’ Ollie’s voice is barely more than a whisper but his threat is more weighted than any raised tone I’ve ever heard.
Stuart leaves, slamming the door behind him, leaving me and my furiously pumping heart alone with the only man who’s ever made it race like that.
‘Are you ok?’ He crosses the room, cupping my chin, tilting my face towards him to inspect. It’s the first time all week that he’s looked at me properly, that our eyes have met for longer than three seconds. The attraction pulls acutely in my chest as his bright eyes lock into mine, drowning me in a sea of lust. Breaking the trance, I yank my tingling face from the very fingers causing that delicious sensation.
‘Thank you.’ With the danger averted, I’m suddenly shy. Readjusting my dressing gown, I blurt, ‘I didn’t think you cared.’ I turn my back to him – the only way I can form words – because I already established Ollie Quinn’s direct gaze halts my ability to say anything remotely coherent.
‘Of course I care. Eddie didn’t send me up here. I saw that twat leaving the restaurant licking his smarmy lips like he was looking for dessert, so I made my excuses and followed him.’
‘Seriously?’ I don’t know whether to be touched that he cared, or pissed off that Eddie didn’t. Either way, I’m grateful. More than Ollie would ever understand.
‘I meant what I said when we met in the players’ lounge.’ His eyes spark with something like longing and my stomach somersaults. The elusive Ollie Quinn, the man who has never been photographed with any woman in his entire rugby career, is looking at me with longing! How can it be? My mouth is dry and I stand mute once again.
My eyes follow his hands with envy as they run over his skinhead. ‘The connection between us was so intense. I’ve never experienced anything like it before. I’m mysteriously drawn to you.’
I eventually find my tongue at that statement. ‘Ha! It’s a mystery to me as well.’
‘I didn’t mean it like that. Obviously you’re beautiful, anyone can see that.’ Sharp, bright eyes penetrate mine with an intensity that has me practically swooning. ‘But this is different. I feel like I know you. Or that I’m meant to know you. Does that even make sense?’ A sigh exits his chest like a deflating balloon.
Swallowing hard, it takes all my concentration to form a coherent sentence. ‘When I started this week, you never even said hello to me. I thought you were disgusted with me for not telling you who I was.’ Relief fills my chest that he doesn’t hate me. Though him liking me is possibly even more problematic because we both know there’s nothing we can do about it.
‘You have a certain effect on me that your brother definitely wouldn’t approve of. Revealing it is the only thing I’ve been trying to avoid.’
‘Huh.’ I perch on the edge of the bed, taking the weight from my feet, but not from my heart. Trust me to want the one man I can’t have. Ironic, he even wears the number six jersey, but he can never be my number six.
‘I’m sorry you’ve had a tough start here. I’ll make more of an effort, I promise. And Eddie will calm down eventually. Once he gets used to having you around. Remember, this was his space first. It’ll take time to adjust.’
He drops to sit next to me on the bed, only inches between us. I’m aware of every twitch of his luscious lips, every subtle movement of his biceps as he folds his arms across his chest. Wedging my own hands face down on the bed, I secure them under my bum cheeks because they’re simply itching to touch the man next to me. The man I’ve been dreaming about since the first time I properly laid eyes on him.
He stands to leave, lingering in the doorway, a hint of regret misting in those stormy eyes. ‘Lock the door behind me, just in case. I’m in room 502 if you need me. I’ll see you in the morning.’
Closing the door, I turn the lock, peeping through the eyehole. Ollie hovers, running his hand over his skinhead in a way that I can only dream of doing. He paces three feet up the corridor, then back down again. Only when the sound of scraping metal assures him I’ve fastened the chain, does he actually leave.
He lingered longer than he should and it still wasn’t nearly as long as I’d have liked. His presence ignites a fire within my chest, a fire I’m worried I won’t be able to extinguish, even if we aren’t allowed to act on it.
ChapterEight
OLLIE
A week has passed since slimy Stuart followed Amy back to her room, since I had to force myself to leave her there, alone. I’d like to think she’s having an easier time of it since, but from the daggers Stuart shoots her across the training pitch I can’t imagine so. At least Eddie’s talking to her again.
‘What’s everyone’s plans for the weekend?’ Eddie asks as we round up training for the week.
Marcus pipes up first, ‘Shelly’s dragging me toDisney on Icewith the girls.’ He shakes his head with mock disgust. ‘I can feel my tits getting bigger by the minute, seriously, any day now I’m sure I’ll get my period. What I wouldn’t do for a son.’ His eyes roll skywards, but we all know he’s joking. Marcus adores those girls. God help any boy that comes knocking at his door. He’ll make Eddie Harrington look like a positively tame pussy cat.
