His gloved hands were on her hips and they were holding her firmly in place, his mouth so close to hers, like maybe he—
“Great show, guys!” Helen and Sebastian shot apart like feral cats. Gary Grice stood at the edge of the arena, a camera dangling on a wide strap around his neck. “You had me hooked to the bitter end.”
“Asshole,” Sebastian muttered, his features composed, his breathing steady. How did he remain so calm while she sat burning with lust and desire? He yanked off his boxing gloves. “Let’s go see what he wants.”
Helen tugged at her own gloves but she really didn’t want to speak to Grice—or anyone else—right now. She wanted to crawl somewhere quiet until her racing heart steadied.
Had she really been split seconds away from kissing Sebastian?
Oh, lord.
And had she really sensed he’d wanted to kiss her back?
No way.
Sebastian was far too regimented and disciplined to mix business with pleasure, and to prove it, he called out now to Grice, all affable and professional, one hundred percent back in sports ambassador mode.
“Hey, Gary, what’s up? Did you get any good shots of us sparring?”
“A few.” Grice held up his camera. The tiny screen showed an image of Helen on her knees, her arm reared back to deliver the low-body strike that had taken Sebastian by surprise. “Nothing quite saysI love youlike a punch in the groin.”
“But I was aiming for his hip!” Helen gasped.
Grice chuckled. “That’s what makes it so brilliant.”
“What makes what so brilliant?” Brenda appeared out of nowhere, and Grice tilted his camera toward her. Her eyes widened. “I see.”
“I’ve got this footage too.” Grice pressed buttons and—oh, god—Helen saw herself on-screen toppling Sebastian with that first surprise attack. Grice sniggered. “Man down.”
Oh, fuck. What had she done this time?
A sports ambassador shouldn’t be seen brought to his knees like this. He was meant to be impressing and motivating the public. “Brenda, I tricked him. It’s all my—”
“This is amazing!” Brenda beamed.
What?
“This is exactly what we need.”
Seriously?Helen shot a look at Sebastian, who was now studying Brenda.
His eyes narrowed as he rubbed his chin. “Are you thinking what I think you’re thinking?”
“Yes! If we get this clip on social media, I bet it’ll go viral within an hour.”
“Well, now, Brenda, I … we’ll need to discuss this first”—Sebastian glanced at Grice, who, like Helen, was eagerly following the exchange—“in private.”
“Of course.” Brenda told Grice to meet her backstage in five minutes and waited until he was out of earshot before speaking again. “You have to admit, Sebastian, a fun clip like this would really help advertise the campaign, and we need all the help we can get.”
“I know—this is the PR gimmick you’ve been waiting for and it’s awesome, but …” Sebastian rubbed the back of his neck, his gaze flicking to Helen. “It’s … I’m not sure if the spotlight on Helen is a good idea.”
“If you’re concerned that journalists will find out about Helen’s community service,” Brenda said, “I’ve prepared a lot of counter-articles, and the reform angle will be beneficial to the campaign anyway.”
“Yeah, I know.”
But not beneficial to his reputation.
Sebastian looked torn—torn between doing the best for the campaign and the best for his career. Helen winced. He wouldn’t have this much difficulty deciding to use the clip if he’d been sparring with Nadine Charming, or Cassie Phillips.
