It was a mess, but entertaining as hell.
When the final whistle blew, I looked down at Tally. Her eyelashes fanned over her cheeks, her lips were slightly parted, and her chest rose and fell gently. I chuckled. Somehow, she’d managed to fall asleep.
I maneuvered her off me and gazed at her for a long moment. Damn, she was stunning. Pink cheeks, plump lips, generous curves.
My cock filled as I imagined how it would feel to slide it between those lips. I shook my head, trying to dispel the misplaced surge of attraction, but it was too late. I was already hard.
Shit.
I looked around the room. I could roll over and ignore it, the way I had last night, but I was even more pent up now than I had been then, and I needed to get some sleep. If I was overtired, my training would suffer. I wasn’t exactly a veteran of the sport, but I wasn’t one of the younger players on the team either. I needed every advantage I could get.
I’d just have to take care of it.
Decision made, I slid slowly off the bed so as not to wake Tally and padded softly to the bathroom. I locked the door, lowered my shorts and underwear, and took myself in hand.
I pumped briskly, eager to get this over with. If I took my time, I might be tempted to fantasize or to draw out my pleasure. I needed this to be mechanical. Simply fulfilling my body’s needs without any fanfare.
My breathing grew ragged and my balls drew up. I pressed my lips together and forced myself to breathe through my nose, so the noise wouldn’t be loud enough to disturb Tally.
My cock pulsed in my palm, hot and heavy, so close to the edge. A few more strokes, a twist of the wrist, and I came, an image of Tally’s glossy pink lips flashing through my mind.
Fuck.
THIRTEEN
TALLY
The sky overhead was gray as I picked my way along the sand in bare feet, listening to the footsteps behind me coming nearer. I hadn’t looked to see who it was. Hopefully just a resort guest, although knowing my luck, that was unlikely.
I gazed over the water. It was farther out at the moment, lines in the sand showing where the tide had been earlier. While the clouds had gathered and the breeze was enough that I’d had to wear a sweater, the sea itself was flat. It hardly moved except for the rhythmic hiss of water over sand as waves lapped at the beach.
The footsteps behind me slapped against the wet ground. Whoever was coming made no effort to preserve the peacefulness of the morning.
“Tally.”
I stiffened, recognizing the voice immediately. Seriously, couldn’t he leave me alone for just half a day?
I considered ignoring him but knew he wouldn’t give up until he’d achieved whatever it was he wanted.
“What?” I asked, turning to face Thad.
My ex looked exhausted, with dark circles beneath his eyes and brackets around his mouth that made him seem older than he was.
Perhaps he wasn’t sleeping well. Or maybe Coral had had a crisis of conscience and kicked him out, although that seemed like too much to hope for.
“What’s going on with you?” he demanded, his flip flops slapping as he crossed the final distance between us and stopped a few feet away. “I thought you’d be upset about me and Coral, but you’re acting like you never cared about me.”
I stared at him, my jaw slack. “Did you…wantme to care?”
For a moment, he flushed as though embarrassed, but then his upper lip curled in a sneer. “I just want to know if I never mattered to you because you’re sure as hell making it seem that way.”
“What do you want me to say?” I demanded, picking my jaw up, stunned by his audacity. “Did you come here hoping to see me crying in a corner about my broken heart while you parade around with my cousin?”
His lips moved but no sound came out.
I took a step forward. “Did you wantme to be hurting? Is that what this is? You feel robbed because I’m not as devastated as you’d like me to be?”
“O-of course not,” he stammered, looking taken aback. “I’m not the bad guy here. You always said that you and Alec were just friends, but apparently, you’re screwing him now. What the hell is going on?”
