“Fuck that,” I mumble, holding the ball tight beneath me.
“It’s the rules,” he says, leaning over me so his lips are near my ear. I can’t be sure but I’m almost certain he has an erection and its pressing against the top of my ass. He said he wasn’t wearing a cup so it has to be all him.
Please let it be all him.
“Fuck your rules,” I manage to say.
He pauses. “No rules, then? All right.”
I feel him lean back, easing off me slightly.
Then his hands are down at my shoulders and underneath my arms and his fingers are going crazy.
I yelp in surprise. My fucking god, is he tickling me?
“What?” I cry out before bursting into nervous giggles. “You can’t tickle!”
“No rules,” he says, and I can hear the enjoyment in his voice.
“Stop!” I yell, laughing again. “Please, this is torture!”
“Release the ball.”
But I can’t. I’m laughing too hard, my body attempting to curl up into a ball even though I’m between him like a vise.
“I’m going to bite your leg,” I warn him, trying to twist around and see if I can get a nip of his grass-stained knee. I’m flexible but I’m not that flexible.
“Release the ball.”
“Fine!” I shout, but since I can’t move I can’t even get it out from under me. “Fine, you win, you can have the ball.”
Suddenly he gets up and I’m free. I roll over onto my back and stare at him, holding up the ball. If he was one step closer to my face and his shorts weren’t so tight, I could try and see up them.
He looks down at me, not smiling, but there is a hint of triumph in those expressive eyes.
I shake the ball at him. “Aren’t you going to take it?”
He continues to stare. I can’t tell what the hell he is thinking. I feel like he’s trying to memorize me.
After a few beats and as the rain falls down on us, he takes the ball with one hand then grabs my hand with the other.
“Come on,” he says. “I think we’ve had enough for today.”
I’m hauled effortlessly to my feet, my body mere inches from his. We’re both breathing hard, like we just had epic sex. I can only imagine.
“Hope that gave your article some insight,” he tells me, voice low and eyes focused on mine. I watch the streams of water run down his face. I barely feel the cold that’s slowly seeping into my bones, the feeling in my muscles that warns me I’ll be sore tomorrow.
I nod, licking my lips, tasting water and salt. “I think it will.”
He glances at my car in the distance, brows furrowed. “We should probably go clean up and get dry.”
“Sure,” I say, hoping that this might turn into the two of us cleaning up and getting dry…together. “Do you need a ride home? How did you get here?”
“I took a cab,” he says, taking a step away from me and tucking the ball underneath his arm.
I look at his outfit briefly, not wanting for my eyes to get trapped in the tractor beam that is his body. I could literally stare at it all day, every single muscle and ripped line that his wet shorts and t-shirt display. “You took a cab in that?”
“I was dry at the time. And anything goes in San Francisco, doesn’t it?”
I grin at him. “It sure does. How about in Edinburgh?”
He looks away and shrugs. “Just about.” He jerks his chin at my car. “How about we get moving? You don’t want to catch a cold standing around here.”
He starts walking to the car and I wait just a moment to watch his ass go before I catch up with him.
CHAPTER SIX
Lachlan
I didn’t really know what to expect when I told Kayla to meet me at the rugby match. I just figured if she could see the game being played, maybe it would help her with her writing. It would give her more than what I gave her before, which was nothing.