"No! That's so terrible, Kinsley. You should stop before someone calls an ambulance," Becca laughed, putting her hands on my shoulder and forcing me to stand still. We were standing like that when I spotted Liam moving through the crowd. His dark eyes were locked on me as he slid through the dancers. His presence threw my balance out of whack, like I needed to hold onto someone or I might fall into him. Good thing I had Becca.
"Kinsley," Liam murmured when he stepped up to us. He was forcing me to acknowledge the situation and his pull over me. I wet my lips and shifted my gaze toward him. He wasn't alone. His teammate, Penn, stood alongside him. I hadn't seen him at any of the previous parties, but he was Liam's best friend. They'd played together on the LA Stars for five years and they were often interviewed together on various talk shows.
If there was anyone on the LA Stars team that could give Liam a run for his money in the looks department, it was Penn. He was just as tall as Liam, with dark brown hair and a Crest commercial smile. That smile was currently aimed directly at Becca.
I peered from him to her and almost jumped for joy. She was staring at him too, visibly caught in his trap with her mouth slightly open.
Complete goner in 3…2…1.
"This is Penn," Liam said, more so to Becca than to me.
Penn nodded and took a small step closer to Becca. If I'd ever experienced instant attraction, these two had it in spades. Becca usually had a funny comment on hand, but in that moment she was completely quiet, just nodding gently and staring up into Penn's brown eyes.
"You guys should dance," I offered, and Penn shot me a confident smile before raising a brow in question.
"Becca?" he asked, stepping toward her.
Becca peered at me for a quick second and I knew she was a melting at the very thought of getting to dance with him. Her hazel eyes were practically clouded over in lust for this guy.
Penn offered his hand to Becca and tugged her through the crowd. I watched their bodies disappear behind dancers until I couldn’t see them anymore. That's when I realized how awkward it was that everyone around us was dancing, but we were standing still. Silent, brooding, and with so much hanging in the air between us I could have reached my tongue out and tasted it. What would buried attraction taste like? Rich dark chocolate.
We were both being immature, waiting for the other to speak first. I couldn’t meet his eye; I wasn’t sure I’d keep it together if I did. I wanted to ask him who the girl was. I wanted to ask him what he wanted from me that day.
We were in dangerous territory, in a crowd of people that shouldn’t know Liam and I had any sort of relationship beyond coach and player. Both of our reputations depended on it.
"I just came out here so that Penn could meet Becca. He was interested in her," Liam explained, finally breaking the silence between us with a harsh tone.
I glanced up to see his brows were furrowed, and I knew he was in his standard brooding mood.
"Oh good, you can leave then." I narrowed my eyes on him, challenging him to say something.
Instead he took a step toward me and wrapped his hand around my waist, gripping it in his palm. His fingers dug gently into my skin and I bit down hard on my bottom lip.
He pulled me toward him as he bent lower. Our faces inches from one another.
"You look good dancing with those guys, Kinsley. You should keep letting them touch you," he said with a harsh tone. He was pissed. Beyond pissed.
"At least they’re not afraid of what they want, Liam," I murmured, trying to step out of his grip. He tightened it and then twisted me around so that my back was pressed against his chest. His arm wrapped around my waist, and suddenly I was a victim to my body. I wasn't going anywhere, even if I wanted to fight him.
"They don't want you. They think you're sexy, but they don't know you," he clarified, pressing his lips to my ear. I closed my eyes and turned my hips in a slow circle. If someone had glanced over they would have thought we were dancing. Our bodies were moving slowly against one another, but in reality we were waging war. When I pressed my hips back against him harder, he groaned angrily in my ear.
"And what about the girl you were talking to earlier? Does she know you or does she just think you're sexy?"
"You don't get to be jealous, Kinsley. We aren't together," he bit back, gripping my waist in his hand and pulling me harder against him. I leaned my head back against his chest and he tilted his head down so that I could see his eyes. Our lips were so close he could have bent down just a few inches and kissed me. It would have been so easy.
"Then same goes for you, Liam. Why don’t you let me go? Besides, you aren’t allowed to touch me, or have you forgotten that I’m off-limits?”
That’s the first time I thought about our situation from his perspective. If I was being tortured, he was right there with me, except he had it worse. He was in the position of power. If he took advantage of me— the young, na?ve student— he’d take the fall for it.