“Did you catch any of the game?”
Her eyes spark. She nods. “I did. I have to say, I’m impressed.”
Impressed?
“Oh, really?”
She leans down and presses her lips to mine briefly before pulling away slightly. “Oh, yes. In fact, it was sexy as hell watching you play. I wish I could join you in the locker room right now.”
Holy shit.
Never in a million years did I contemplate that her watching me play a simple game of basketball would affect her like this, but her body language matches her words. She wants it. Me. Badly.
“Well, as wonderful as that sounds, and fuck, you have no idea how much I want to take you up on that, we would have an audience.” I tip my head toward the rest of the guys who are slowly making their way toward us, and the locker room, and then take a swig of my water.
“I don’t see that as a problem.”
I choke on the liquid in my throat and cough uncontrollably at her words.
Christ. Public sex? And here I didn’t think she could get hotter.
She has the audacity to laugh at my reaction, and she doesn’t apologize. The guys reach us and I have to take a deep breath to steady myself before introducing them.
“Guys, this is Dani. Dani, these are the guys.” She smiles at them and gives them a little wave and they all do the same before she moves out of the way and they disappear down the hall.
When they’re gone, she moves closer to me and leans in. “So, it seems we are alone.”
“For now, but I’m sweaty and disgusting and you are here to work out.” I grin at her and she does the same, stepping back from me. She knows I know she’s full of shit about her reason for being here. She came to see me, whether she wants to admit it or not, and that is the biggest fucking ego boost she’s ever given me. “Give me twenty minutes and I’ll be ready to go.”
“That will be a pretty short workout.”
“Better make it count, then,” I call over my shoulder as I pass her on my way through the door.
The moment I enter the locker room, they descend on me.
“What the fuck, Savage? How come you never mentioned her?”
They all watch me expectantly. I realize I have no answer to their questions.
Why didn’t I tell any of my friends about Dani?
Other than Gabe and my family, I haven’t spoken to anyone about her and that suddenly seems very odd. I’m sure it’s a product of the lingering fear that she’ll change her mind and run. It’s a lot easier to deal with something like that happening when no one knows about her in the first place.
After Becca ended our engagement and I returned home, the friends who checked in with me always wanted to talk about it, anything to avoid talking about the accident or my injury. How discussing my torpedoed engagement was any better is beyond me, but it was painfully obvious the only way to avoid discussing it was to avoid talking to anyone who knew about it. So my old friends fell pretty much to the wayside and I concentrated on what I could control—my work, the business.
Now, the thought of going through that again, of having to explain to my friends why my relationship failed, seems too painful to comprehend.
“Because it’s still pretty new, guys. We’ve only been together a couple weeks.”
“Yeah, but, dude, she’s fucking gorgeous!”
No shit.
She’s fucking gorgeous, funny, sexy as hell, and willing, and yet, I can’t get it together enough to actually have sex with her. I should just turn in my man card and be done with it.
“She is amazing. Hopefully it will work out.” I don’t know how else to respond to them. These guys get it. They know the kind of problems paralysis can cause and I’m sure at least half of them aren’t even able to get it up, so I should feel lucky.
But, instead, I feel like an asshole.
I have a sort-of working cock and can’t use it. I need a long, cold shower to get my head together before I see Dani again. If I go home with her like this, it will surely be a repeat performance.
Her showing up here was a huge step forward. I can’t risk anything setting us back.
My stomach churns and bile rises in my throat as we pull into the driveway of Savage’s mother’s house.
Sunday dinner with the Hawkes…somehow it didn’t seem so intimidating when he asked me to come a few nights ago, but now, staring at the place he grew up, every potential disaster waiting for me inside is running through my head at Olympic sprinter speeds. Even after being together for months, I don’t feel ready to meet the Hawkes.
Savage squeezes my hand from next to me in the back seat.
“You okay? Why do you look like you’re about to be sick?”
“Probably because I might blow chunks right here in the back of Gabe’s car.”
Gabe shifts the car into park and looks at me over his shoulder with a frown. “You better be joking. There will be no chunk blowing in the Mercedes, please.”