“How was your date? Sorry I interrupted.”
“Oh, come on, Wilder. Youknowthere’s nothing happening with Bennett,” I say, shaking my head.
His eyes darken as he leans back against the sink, jaw flexing as he grits his teeth together.
I have no doubt that Bennett annoys him.
Butthis?
The broody, intense energy rolling off him in staggering waves isn’t just about Bennett.
It’s something else entirely.
“You can do whatever you want, Maisie. You don’t need to explain shit to me,” Wilder clips coldly.
The words land like they’re a physical blow, and I suck in a breath when my stomach twists.
His sharp expression flickers, a moment of regret shining through, and I swallow hard.
This is what he does.
He pushes me away or shuts down the moment that I get too close. He’s allergic to feelings.
I may be inexperienced when it comes to… relationships. Situationships. Hooking up. All of it.
But by now, I doknowWilder.
More than I think either of us realized was possible. Because Iseehim. I see the defenses he’s throwing up, his words like bricks holding up an already crumbling wall.
“Yeah, you’re right. I don’t need your permission, nor do I need to explain my life to you,” I start, watching the muscle in his jaw flex. “Yet, here I am, doing it anyway. Bennett and I arejustfriends, and that’s it.” I take a step forward and square my shoulders, not shrinking beneath his gaze. “You just stormed away in the middle of a conversation, which is rude, by the way, because you’rejealous?”
Wilder prowls forward, and the provocation dies on my tongue as he crowds me back against the door, his palms flat, bracketing my head. “Yes, Maisie, I’m fucking jealous.” Every syllable sounds like it’s been dragged against the pavement, full of gravel and heat. “I’m burning the fuck up with jealousy. It feels like it’s going to pull me under. That what you wanna hear?”
My breath hitches when he pauses, throat bobbing with a rough swallow, nostrils flaring as he breathes heavily.
Like he’s trying to keep himself together.
Like he’s barely hanging on.
I wonder if he knows how beautiful he is when he’s skating the line of no return.
His eyes blaze. “Yeah, I fucking can’t stand that little asshole. That he’s constantly flirting with you, that he feels comfortable enough to touch you. Like you’rehisto touch.”
“I’mnot. “
“I know you’re not. Because you’re fuckingmine, Maisie.” He keeps his voice low, but I feel every single word. Every syllable.
It’s the first time he’s ever said anything like this.
Even alluded to the fact that this might be more than physical between us.
This version of Wilder… it’sdangerous.
Not only for my body, but also for my heart.
“Then show me,” I whisper, lifting until my mouth brushes his as I speak. “If I’m yours, then show me,Coach.”
His threadbare control splinters in a single breath, and he’s slamming his mouth against mine, calloused palms traveling the curve of my jaw until his fingers tangle into the hair at my nape.
