Page 53 of Risking the Pucking Defense

She quirks a brow.

“What? There’s something seriously hot about a woman who knows her worth and isn’t afraid to put a man in his place.”

A smile twitches at her lips. “My favorite thing to do.”

“Can’t say that surprises me.”

She smiles, but it falls faster than I’d like it to. “You should probably leave,” she says, making my heart sink.

But I know she’s right. I never should have come here or sweet-talked her concierge in the first place. She told me to take her suitcase to the arena, and I completely disregarded her.

“Yeah,” I muse, making no attempt to move. “I probably should. Do you know what, though?”

“What?” she asks, exasperated, as if she already knows what’s coming next.

“I can be a bit of a brat when I want to be, and those orders you make…it’s fun to ignore them every now and then.”

“Christ,” she mutters, putting her half-empty glass on the table beside her, along with her half-eaten sandwich.

“Are you going to eat that?” I ask, nodding to the rewrapped sandwich.

“Uh…probably not. I’m full.”

I let my eyes roam down the length of her body. She’s tiny, so I guess it makes sense that she can’t devour an entire sub.

“You mind?” I ask, jerking my chin in its direction.

“Eat your heart out.”

I lean over and swipe it from the table. “Is that right?” I mutter, wiggling my brows.

She groans, and the sound hits me right in the dick.

I need to stop, I know that. But I can’t help myself. She brings out a side to me that I don’t experience very often.

I’m halfway through her sandwich, her eyes on the view of the ocean, when I demand, “Take your cover-up off.”

Her entire body locks up, her jaw popping as her teeth clench.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—” My words die when she looks at me, and the sudden tension drains from her.

She shakes her head. “Excuse me,” she says before getting up and walking into her apartment, leaving me with nothing but the sight of her ass swaying beneath that sheer cover-up. Goddamn, it’s a sight I want to remember forever.

But the second she disappears, anxiety twists up my insides.

I didn’t mean to make her run; I just wanted her to enjoy the sun like she was before I got here. I need her to know that she doesn’t have to hide. Sure, I’m gonna check her the fuck out, but I won’t do anything other than tease her. I get that she wants to keep the line between us despite what happened last weekend, and the fact that I’ve seen her ass today.

Fuck, such a fucking fine ass.

Absently, I pull my cell from my pocket, and without thinking, I open my chat with my sister. But the second it opens, pain rolls through me, my chest tightening, making it hard to breathe.

“Fuck,” I hiss, dropping my cell to my lap and resting my head back.

Whenever anything happened in my life, Rylee was always the one I told. If I needed advice, or just to talk things through, I went to her. And just now, all I wanted to do was message her with where I am and what I’m doing. She knew about my crush on Hailee. She’s the only one I ever told, the only one I ever talked about my forbidden PR Director with. Rylee used to make it seem like something could happen, that it wasn’t completely impossible that a woman almost ten years older than me would be interested.

Of course, she was just trying to make me feel better, and I appreciated the fuck out of her for it. But I know the truth.

With Hailee still gone, I get to my feet and begin tidying up. I’m at the sink washing our glasses out when she emerges.