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I recaptured her lips in a searing kiss, knowing our time was limited and precious. She was precious to me. And I intended to prove that to her, no matter how long it took.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Carson cupped my cheek, his other hand on my waist, his lips fused to mine.

Holy shit. We’re doing this.

And holy shit, it feels so good.

Fire surged through my veins, every touch and kiss from him liquid heat. His hard-on dug into my stomach, and I was surprised he hadn’t already tossed me over his shoulder and carried me to the bedroom.

Carson’s phone chimed, and I nipped his lip before sucking it into my mouth. He slid his hand to my nape, his touch warm and comforting. We continued kissing, tasting, exploring, but a minute later, his phone started up again, several more dings in quick succession.

“Should you check that?” I broke our kiss, resenting the interruption.

“I have more important things to attend to.” His attention didn’t leave me, and I didn’t want it to.

We resumed kissing, discovering each other’s bodies as we made our way to his bedroom in a clumsy dance. He untied my dress, his eyes on mine as he peeled it from my shoulders before letting it pool on the floor.

“Damn.” He drank me in, and I felt like a goddess beneath his gaze. “I knew you were beautiful, but…wow.”

My skin heated beneath his perusal and from his words. I grabbed his shirt, tugging him closer. Desperate to feel his skin, I started unbuttoning his shirt, pulling it from his slacks as if I couldn’t undress him fast enough.

Carson’s phone chimed again, and he continued to ignore it. Whoever was messaging him seemed pretty insistent. What if it was an emergency?

And then another thought hit me. What if it was another woman?

My annoyance spiked, and I was ready to throw his damn phone out the window. I had no right to be jealous, no claim on him. Hell, I was the one who’d insisted on no drama and no strings, and here I was already struggling with my own rules.

“It’s probably just Boone.” Carson kissed down the side of my neck, and his phone buzzed again as if to punctuate his statement. “Teasing me about my imaginary girlfriend again.”

I frowned. “Imaginary girlfriend?”

Carson sighed. “He saw me texting KT one night, and now he won’t stop harassing me about her. You. Not that he knows it’s you.” The tips of his ears pinkened, and I kissed the underside of his jaw.

“And he thinks you made me up?” I couldn’t help but laugh when Carson nodded. “Where’d he get that idea?”

“I think he’s trying to goad me into bringing you to something to prove that you actually exist.”

Proof, huh? An idea formed in my mind, and my lips curled into a smile.

“Uh-oh,” Carson said, a teasing tone to his voice. “What’s that look for?”

“Give me your phone.” I held out my hand. When he hesitated, I said, “Do you trust me?”

He nodded, handing it over almost instantly. “What are you going to do?”

“You’ll see.” I smirked down at the screen, which he’d already unlocked.

I scanned the apps, noting the notifications on Snapchat. When I went into the app, almost all of the messages were from Boone. Huh.

I recognized nearly every other profile handle that Carson had interacted with. Most of them were teammates, former teammates, or our mutual friends. Not…hordes of random women like I’d feared.

Boone: After party at my place.

Boone: Feel free to bring a date, preferably someone who’s not imaginary.

What an ass.