Page 58 of Hard to Hold

“I’m sensing some hostility, Lennox.”

“And I’m sensing an agent who’s a little fearful that his plan to oust me from a project failed and now he’s worried that I just might steal his prized client away.”

“I don’t have any prized clients.”

“Ouch.” I twist my lips and stare at him. I know this game. Downplay your athlete as not important to make the temptation to steal him that much less. “I wouldn’t let Rush hear you say that.”

“Talking about me to him, I presume?”

“I have better things to waste my time on than talking about you.” I give him a killer smile. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a job to do.”

“I guess the question I should ask is if you’ve slept with Rush yet?” His words stop me in my tracks just as I move past him.

What the hell?

I’m shocked at how brazen he is but when I turn to face him, my expression shows nothing of the sort. “Excuse me?”

“Well, you sleep with clients before you steal them—maybe as a way to steal them because that’s all you have to offer them? So if you haven’t fucked Rush yet, then I have nothing to be worried about.” The look he levels me with is pure condescension and it takes everything I have not to haul off and punch him.

“When did you become such an asshole?” I narrow my eyes as I try to comprehend.

He shrugs. “Can’t blame an agent for coming to see for himself whether you’re up to your usual.”

“I mean, I used to actually like you. Did all that money and power you’ve gained over the years not compensate enough for how small your dick is?”

He chuckles loudly as I take another step toward the door, and I know his lack of a snappy comeback means he’s secretly freaking out that my sister, Chase, said something to me about him—or lack thereof.

Perfect.

Serves him right.

But it doesn’t do anything to quiet my scattered thoughts as I walk down the hallway toward the restroom. Did he really just say that? Did he—

I yelp as someone grabs my arm from behind and pulls me into a small room off the main hall. But my fear doesn’t last long when Rush’s lips smother the sound as he pushes me against the door he just closed.

My hands pound against his chest in reaction to being scared to death, while my lips react and take the kiss he’s owning my lips with. The kiss I’ve craved and thought about over and over despite telling myself I can’t have.

There’s hungry desperation in it. Carnal desire. When his tongue touches mine, I feel it all the way from my fingers to my toes.

And his hands. I missed the feel of them. How they touch me with equal parts reverence and urgency.

As much as I want to beg him not to stop, I inhale a shaky breath when he does. We’re standing inches apart, the need and want and lust we feel for each other more than apparent in the ragged sounds of our breaths filling up this small, darkened room.

“Rush.” Get your thoughts about you, Lennox. “We can’t—I can’t do this.” Finn could be outside this door.

“We just did. And we still can.” He laughs as confusion blankets his face.

“No, we can’t. Argh!” I step around him and take a few steps to gain some distance and hopefully my senses.

“Why can’t we?”

“Because of Cannon. And Finn. And . . . We just can’t.”

“What the fuck do Cannon and Finn have to do with who either of us sleep with?” Then almost as if something hits him all at once he staggers a step back. “It’s Cannon, isn’t it? You want Cannon instead of me.”

“Oh my God. No.” I laugh, completely taken aback by his assumption. “It’s not because I want Cannon. It’s . . . it’s complicated, and I have to go right now because of course, I have to stand out there with Cannon and introduce you to the guests. To top it off, I don’t want Finn to see us leave here and—”

“Finn’s here?” he asks, clearly surprised when I nod. “Then I guess you better start talking fast.”