I couldn’t help the grin that spread across my face. Keeping my gaze fixed on her, I replied with a playful warmth, “That’s because it’s a Spanish wine, honey.”
33
Inés
Kitchen Light—Xana
The walk back to our hotel was excruciatingly long, even if it was only a few blocks.
I could still taste her on my tongue, a mix of wild berries and summer fruits. The secluded corner had offered privacy as we snuck tender kisses, my hand running up her thigh. The time at the wine bar had slipped by in a blissful haze of rich reds, small plates of tapas to keep us relatively sober, and her.
Always her.
I glanced over at Chloe, the setting sun leaving a peach-pink glow in the sky.
“What?” she asked, her head tilting towards mine, eyes glinting.
I smiled back. “What?” I repeated back, feigning innocence.
Her eyes narrowed, but the curve of her lips only increased. “What are you looking at?”
How could I tell her I wanted to reach over and kiss her again, pull her against a wall, feel the warmth of her body under mine? That I couldn’t believe somebody as beautiful as her wanted to be with me? I wanted to hold her hand, but in such a public setting I didn’t dare.
Instead, I swallowed my answer. “Nothing.”
She sighed, her head tilting upwards with a grin, the sunsetreflected from a window lighting up her face. “Did you have a good time?”
“It was fun watching you accidentally order a dessert wine.”
“Why is everything in another language? It’s anEnglishmenu.” A blush burned on her cheeks, a beautiful strawberry pink.
“Stop being so American,” I teased. “It was hot watching you try to speak French.”
“Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir?”
I laughed. “Do you evenknowwhat that means?”
“Depends.” She shrugged. “Was it still hot?”
Turning the corner towards the hotel, Chloe stopped beside me before I could answer, her attention dead ahead. I followed her gaze, spotting a crowd of fans waiting by the main entrance. It was hard to not want to avoid the scene.
Since we’d arrived in Cincinnati, things had been a little more intense. A busier post-match press room, none of them addressing a relationship with Chloe directly, but dancing around it, asking us about our “partnership,” how my performance had improved since we started “working” together. The speculation in the online comment sections was easy to find.
I grumbled my answers, Zackary practically having to fight for his life with the journalists. There had been this buzz around the court too, side glances from members of my team, from the other players. Maya commented how she could work with us at the same time since we were always togetheranyway.
Selene, on the other hand, had been delighted with the online buzz around a potential relationship, eagle-eyed fans who’d spotted our little friendship bracelet exchange, even going as far as to come up with a couple name for us.ChloNes, of all things.
Pulling me by the hand, Chloe led us through a side entrance, neither of us wanting to deal with the crowd, and took us along a passage that came out by the elevators. She pressed the button, the wait for the elevator excruciating. All I wanted was privacy, to be able to doall the things I needed privacy for. The heady rush I was already feeling doubled with the tension between us, her arm brushing against mine as we waited.
Footsteps echoed across the lobby, my heart racing at the possible intrusion. I didn’t need anyone else in the elevator with us, wanting Chloe all to myself. But as the doors opened before us, it washerhand that slipped into mine, pulling me into the carriage and pressing our floor number and the button to close the door.
I lost all self-control, closing the space between us. Pressing her body against the wall, my hand found her waist. My lips captured hers, hungry and demanding, and she matched my intensity, her hands sliding along my jaw.
My hand slid down to her thigh, gripping desperately. I wanted to strip her out of those clothes right now and feel her soft skin brush against mine.
The entire date had been a slow burn of heated glances and stolen looks, her hand on my leg, drawing delicate little circles that only served to tease me with a promise she refused to deliver. I couldn’t take it anymore.I needed her.
I pulled back enough to meet her eyes, her pupils blown wide. Something shifted in her gaze, an emotion I couldn’t quite put my finger on, but it made her look even more radiant, more intoxicating.
