“And then we’ll see.” I inhaled sharply when he pressed his mouth over my pulse.
“Hm.” He dropped my hand and kissed me again, biting my bottom lip into his mouth as he pulled away. My heart skipped every time he did that.
“Come closer,” he said quietly, bringing me closer to him under the sheets. He reached out to turn off the lights and pulled me so my back was against his chest. He pressed his lips to the back of my neck. “You know we have the same middle name?”
I laughed. “No freaking way.”
“Hm.” He nuzzled against my neck. “I was going to tell you the second time I saw you, but I thought you might knee me in the balls.”
I bit back my smile, even though it was dark and he couldn’t see me. I wouldn’t have kneed him, but I could see why he’d think that.
“Hey, Lach.” I smiled in the darkness.
“Hm?”
“I remembered what I was going to tell you.”
“What is it?” He asked as I turned in his arms to face him.
“I’m always numb unless you’re around. You make me feel.” I couldn’t see his face, but I heard his sharp intake of breath.
“Fuck, Lyla James.” He pulled me closer and pressed his lips to mine in a slow kiss.
CHAPTER14
LYLA
I was walkinginto the tunnel and fell into a fit of laughter when I saw Lachlan. I had noticed him in the stands. Even if I hadn’t, his resonating shouts every time I ran on and off the field would have made him hard to miss. The football stadium was at capacity, but somehow I could hear his, Prescott’s, and Marissa’s shouts everywhere. I’d kicked twice for an extra point and nailed it both times. I had to admit that I would miss the heck out of this. I was hesitant when Banks asked me to do it after speaking to his coach and the team. The first time I ran out there, everyone was confused. The second time, they acted like I was Elvis performing his last concert. The energy in the stadium was palpable every time I ran out there. I knew it was because I was a girl and kicked ass, but it still reminded me of my glory days in soccer, so I loved it.
And because the football coach was such a stickler, no one was allowed near the stadium outside game hours. That included parents and faculty. It was the only reason I did it. Otherwise, I would have passed up on the offer. I couldn’t riskhimlurking around here. I shivered at the thought of that psychopath watching me as I walked over to where Lach was standing at the end of the hall. He was near the locker rooms. I didn’t even want to ask how he gained access to this area. As sneaky as he was, he probably had someone hack into the system to add him to the football roster for this. I wouldn’t put anything past him. I smiled wide when I finally reached him and lifted me in a tight hug. I was sweaty and cross and still had the helmet in my hand, but he didn’t care. And right now, in his arms, I didn’t either.
“You fucking killed it,” he said, grinning with pride. I thought my heart might explode.
“Good work out there, Marichal,” one of the guys said behind me.
“Thank you, Jacobs.” I turned to face him. “Youdid good work out there running in that last touchdown.”
“You did, man. That last one was insane,” Lach said.
“Thanks, bro. I appreciate that.” He put out his fist for us to bump and started walking away backward. “See you tonight, Marichal?”
“You just might,” I said with a shrug as he walked away.
“What’s tonight?” Lach grabbed me by the shoulder pads and crouched a little to meet my eyes. “Is he talking about Pres’ party?”
“Yup.”
“We’re going?” he asked, frowning slightly. I loved how he saidweabout everything.
“You’regoing,” I said. “Imight pass by.”
“Seriously, Lyla?” He shot me a look. “If you pass by, I pass by.”
“Fine. We’re going, but we’re arriving at separate times,” I said.
“How much time are we talking?” he asked as we started walking down the hall.
“I don’t know, twenty minutes?” I stopped at the door of the bathroom and unlocked it.
