Her fingers tighten around the strap of the bag still on her shoulder, her thumb running up and down the leather. “I shouldn’t have — I’m…” Her voice cracks and she looks away. “I handled the situation at the Carrington Club wrong. I froze. I didn’t know how to fix things without making them worse.”
“I know you were in a shit situation. I get that.” I take a shaky breath, digging deep. “But what happened between us that night wrecked me.”
“Bennett—” She moves toward me, but my feet stay planted. She freezes, several feet still between us. Bright moonlight splashes across the floor and the hum of the AC is loud in the quiet space. “I never meant to hurt you.” She lifts her gaze to meet mine, tears glistening in her eyes.
“I’m sorry I let you down,” she whispers. A lone tear spills over, trailing down her cheek, and I break.
“Hey—” I step forward, sliding her bag off her shoulder and dropping it to the floor. Swiping the tearaway my thumb, I drop one hand down to her waist. “You’re here now.”
Her lip quivers and I’ve never seen her so vulnerable.
“I…” She tips her chin up, her fingers feathering over my chest. “I should have come to you. After the game. But I was afraid if I did — if I heard your voice, saw your face — I’d fold. And I couldn’t afford to fall apart.” Her voice wavers and I stroke her cheek, her skin warm and soft beneath my fingers.
“It’s not your job to babysit me, Tori. I don’t want you to. All I want is you. Just you.”
Her breath hitches as she blinks up at me. My nerves on fire, I keep going.
“But if the cost is too high — the fund, your father — and we can’t be together, walk away right now. Because I can’t handle losing you all over again.”
“Bennett—” Her fingers curl in my shirt and I step closer, heat shimmering between us.
“I want to be with you, Tori.” The admission tears from my throat and I’m laid bare.
“I do too, Bennett. I love you.”
My heart hammers beneath her palm and all the air’s sucked from my lungs.
Tori loves me.
And I love her back.
“I love you too.” The admission is quiet, my thumb tracing her jawline.
Leaning down, I press my lips to hers. Soft and gentle, savoring the moment. She kisses me back. Her tongue slips into my mouth and I pull her up against me, her body fitting perfectly with mine. My hands glide from her hips down to her ass and she rocks against me. Every muscle in my body tightens.
“Stay with me.” I whisper the words against her lips.
Raw.
Honest.
But I don’t care. I have nothing to hide anymore.
Stilling in my arms, she breaks away and peers up at me. “I have calls in the morning.”
“And I have practice.”
She licks her lower lip, finally nodding. “I’ll stay.”
Those words crack me wide open, my chest lighter than it’s been in two days. I trace my thumb down her cheek, her jaw, brush over her soft lips. Memorizing the lines of her face as her warm exhale feathers over my skin.
I tug my shirt over my head, pants hitting the floor. Her clothes join mine and then she’s in my arms, legs wrapped around my hips. I carry her across the floor toward the bedroom, our lips sealed together.
We don’t make it all the way.
Instead, I lean her up against the wall, desperate to be inside her. To feel her body joined with mine.
Her fingers twist in my hair as our tongues tangle, sliding over one another. Fast and deep, like we’ll never get enough of each other. She’s sweet and slightly salty from the tears and I inhale her scent, skin prickling with heat.
