They were sitting on the same side of a booth, looking out toward the restaurant. He turned to her. “I don’t want to talk about Cole and Savannah. Tell me how you liked the game.”
She half turned to face him. “It was fascinating, actually. Having never been to a football game, I realized there was so much to learn. And of course, Leo and Anya felt it their duty to educate me.”
He picked up a lock of her hair, rubbing it between his fingers. “Of course.”
She was squirming, but she didn’t pull away. A good sign.
“So you learned a lot about football today?”
“Yes. A lot more than I knew before. It was quite an education.”
“And you like learning new things, I take it.”
Her gaze was glued to his. “Yes, I do.”
“Any questions you want to ask me?” He paused for effect. “About football, that is. I’m a good teacher.”
He’d lowered his voice.
She hesitated, swallowed. He watched her throat work, then moved his attention to her mouth. He really wanted to kiss her right now, but the restaurant wasn’t that empty, and he didn’t want to break the spell. He liked the silky feel of her hair between his fingers, even though he wanted to cup the back of her head and draw her closer.
“You don’t play the entire game.”
“Not yet. I will soon. The coaches like to put in the rookies and the free agents who haven’t played for the team yet, see how they fit.”
His fingers brushed the top of her breast. She drew in a deep breath. Was that so his knuckles would linger on her skin? Either way, he sure as hell enjoyed the sensation. Katrina didn’t seem to mind it, either, because she leaned in a little.
“Do you evaluate them, too? When you’re on the sidelines?”
He felt her heart pumping faster against his hand as he continued to play with her hair. But outwardly she maintained such calm.
“Yeah. Especially any of the new offensive linemen and the receivers that weren’t in when I was playing. I want to see how fast the receivers run their routes, how accurate they are, and whether they’re where they’re supposed to be. With the linemen, how tough are they? Can they beat the defensive linemen off the mark, or are they getting pushed off the line? If they can’t protect me when I’m in the pocket, then I’m going to end up on my ass and they’re of no use to me.”
There was fire in her eyes, a desire he read and knew well. His dick was getting hard, and so far all he had in his hands was a lock of her hair. What would it be like if he held her body against his, if they were naked? If he could run his hands down her back, cup her breasts, feel her breathing against him?
“Katrina.”
She pulled back when Claudio arrived with the meal.
“I brought baguettes as well. Hot and fresh from the oven,” Claudio said.
Their waiter looked at them both and wished them bon appétit, exclaiming that their dinner should be excellent.
The spell was broken, and Katrina spent a minute or so talking over their meal with Claudio. Then, hunger took over and Grant dove into his food, which, true to Claudio’s word, was damn good.
“Do you like it?” she asked, motioning to his steak.
“It’s perfect. How’s your salad?”
“Amazing.”
“Would you like a bite?” He sliced off a piece of steak and held it up for her.
“I would, actually.”
He fed it to her, and liked that she didn’t mind eating off his fork. He slid it between her lips and she chewed, her eyes closing.
“Mmm, so tender. You’re right. It is very good.”
When she licked her lips after, his cock tightened.
And that was just food she liked. There was something about her mouth that mesmerized him. Of course he had kissed her before, and remembering that made him want more. But there was an innocence about her, a hesitance in their interactions that intrigued him. She was twenty-seven. Surely she’d been with guys before, even if she did say she didn’t date. She just meant she didn’t date a lot, right?
He was going to have to ask her about that, and that wasn’t a subject easily brought up. A guy didn’t just ask a woman how many men she’d fucked, especially a woman he wasn’t really dating.
He’d like to be dating her, though, but she always seemed so reluctant. And it wasn’t because she didn’t like him. He was good at reading signals, both on and off the field. And Katrina’s signals said she was interested. But they also said back off, which confused the hell out of him.
Maybe she’d gotten burned badly by her last boyfriend, and she was gun-shy. He understood that. He just needed to know how to approach her. He could take things slow, but he needed to know the score, and the only way to do that was to ask. He preferred to take an upfront approach with women, and appreciated women who did the same. He didn’t mind being shot down as long as they were honest with him about why.
They finished their meal. Katrina declined dessert, and so did he, so when Claudio brought the check, he took out his credit card and paid. He flagged down a taxi and they climbed in.
“Thank you again for inviting us to the game. We had a great time.”