“What the fuck are you doing?” a deep, rough voice yells over the sound of the wind and rain.
My eyes fly open, and I turn to find the source.
Wilder’s standing a few feet away from me, his black hoodie pulled over his head to shield him from the rain, a futile effort, seeing as how it’s already drenched. The fabric of both the hoodie and sweatpants is plastered against his body, molded to the sharp curves and dips of his muscles.
I’m beginning to understand what the big deal is about a pair of gray sweats because of the man standing in front of me.
I grin. “I’m playing in the rain,Coach. What does it look like I’m doing?”
“Playing in the rain?” he echoes, his voice deadpan.
“Yep.”
He mutters a curse and stalks closer until he’s standing directly in front of me.
It hits me in the moment just how devastatingly beautiful a man he is. His eyes are as stormy as the one we’re standing in, swirls of onyx dancing in his dark brown irises as he stares at me hard. Raindrops cling to his long, black eyelashes. Rivulets run down his sharp, angular jawbones and onto the dip above his full, pillowy lips.
My heart crashes in my chest as I resist the urge to lean forward and lick away those droplets, vividly recalling the way he tasted as his tongue tangled with mine and he stole the air right from my lungs.
The night that plays on constant repeat in my mind, even when I’ve begged myself to stop it.
“It’s fucking storming,” he finally says with a frown.
“It is.”
Silence stretches between us while he cocks his head and studies me like he’s trying to figure me out.
“Why are you out here, Maisie? It’s almost dark.”
I know that he’s not asking about dancing in the rain, but about why I’m stillhere.
At the arena.
I lift my shoulder. “I locked my keys in the car, and I’m waiting on roadside, and… I just figured I should make the best of it.”
“You could’ve come back to the arena,” he barks before dragging a large palm down his face, trying to wipe the rain away. “Youshouldhave.”
I drag my tongue along my bottom lip, capturing the drops, and his gaze tracks the motion, his eyes flashing with heat.
“I didn’t know anyone else was still here to let me back inside. Honestly, I’m fine. I’m not going to melt from the rain. You can go back inside and do whatever it was that you weredoing.” Taking a step back, a step away fromhim, I lean back against the side of my car, watching as he stays rooted in place, those dark eyes trained on me so intensely that it feels like he’s physically caressing me with his gaze.
When he steps closer again, his head shaking as if he can’t decide whether to choke me or kiss me, I swallow hard, holding his stare.
“You’re driving me goddamn crazy. You realize that?” His voice dips low, the words rough as he speaks them, like he’s fighting something within himself to get them out. “And I can’t decide what’s worse. The fact that you probably know and do it anyway or that you don’t even realize you’re doing it at all.”
I lick my lips, peering up at him through my damp lashes. He’s standing so close that I could reach out and fist the front of his shirt between my fingers, pull him to me, taste the rain on his lips.
But I don’t.
I keep my hands tightened into fists by my side, my nails biting into my palms.
“Yeah, well, I could say the same about you,” I whisper, tugging my lip between my teeth and biting down before I can say anything else.
Rain continues to assault us both, the wind whipping, whistling loudly in the air all around us, the clouds covering the sun, blanketing everything in a shadow of darkness.
It’s started raining harder since we’ve been out here, but I’ve barely even felt it because I’ve been unable to focus on anything besides Wilder.
How could I when he’s standing this close?
