Kickin' It (Red Card) - Rachel Van Dyken Page 0,54

throughout the league, and I had always liked him. “Are you ready for Sunday?”

I took a deep breath. “As ready as I’ll ever be. I just wanted to thank you for taking a chance on me, I know you didn’t have to.”

Matt stiffened next to me while Paul’s smile softened. “We would have been missing out, and that’s the truth.”

I nodded. “I’ll do my best.”

“I know you will,” he agreed. “Alright, I should go find the wife, she said something about a slow dance.”

Matt laughed. “Good luck.”

Paul chuckled and left us alone, in that dark corner near the dance floor.

“You look nice.” I gulped.

His eyebrows rose in dark humor. “I look like shit, but thanks.”

“Do you feel like shit too?”

He bit down on his lip and then looked away. “Aren’t you having fun?”

“A blast, I totally got hit on by the cutest guy.” Matt’s head whipped in my direction so fast it almost came off his body. “Gotcha.”

He clenched his jaw, I could see the vein. And for some reason it made me happy. I smiled and held out my hand. “Want to dance?”

“Not really, no.” He stared me down with a scowl.

“Please? As friends?”

I knew I was winning when he sighed again, set down his drink, and then led me onto the dark dance floor as Liam Payne’s song came on. “Familiar” was a mix of hip hop and salsa, I loved it. Matt looked ready to crawl away screaming. I wondered if he was ready to call it a night or just uncomfortable. Sometimes I couldn’t get a read on him, and it killed me to wonder if the distance was because he truly didn’t want me or because he was afraid of the consequences of wanting me.

I tugged him close just as Willow, Jagger, Slade, and Mack joined us on the floor dancing.

The rest of the Sounders must have been drunk enough to think dancing was a good idea because soon the dance floor was so crowded we were almost pushed toward the wall, surrounded by dancing bodies and blanketed in darkness.

I grabbed Matt’s hands, put them on my hips, and swiveled with the music; he closed his eyes and moved with me. The surprising part was that he could move. Then again most athletes I knew were good dancers, but he was great.

I circled him and then turned and thrust my ass against him as I lifted my hands above my head. All I could hear was cursing from his mouth. I considered it a win as he ran his hands down my arms and across my stomach, pulling me against him as I bent over and shimmied with the rhythm, rocking into his hips. Feeling him press against me almost made me trip. The guy was packing.

I turned around, his face was stone-cold sober like he refused to give anything away as we danced together. He put distance between us, and then I took that distance right back.

We danced like we argued.

And I refused to lose.

When I looked over my shoulder it was to see Slade jerk his head toward me. What? He wanted me to seduce my agent on the dance floor? In front of everyone?

I had a better idea.

Wine cellar.

Jagger wasn’t there.

Did that mean it was empty?

A tortured look crossed Matt’s face when I wrapped my arms around his neck, and yet he kept a respectable space between us. I smirked, which just made him scowl even more.

I’d never taken control of anything with Erik.

He never gave me that option.

He just took.

Spread his poison.

And took some more.

At least with Matt, I was going to go down swinging.

I fell against him and winced.

“What’s wrong?” He gripped my body with both hands, while I lied into his ear.

“I think it’s my ankle.”

“Fuck!” He wrapped an arm around me. “Can you walk?”

“Yeah, just need to go somewhere, not here.” I was a horrible liar, but he must have believed the pain on my face as we slowly walked out of the private banquet hall.

I immediately saw a sign for the wine cellar and turned to my right. I was walking just fine.

In fact, I was almost sprinting.

He chased after me.

When we stopped in front of the wine cellar, I nearly choked. There were private little rooms everywhere, maybe tasting rooms? But each one had a crazy-looking fur blanket, couches, tables, and candles lit everywhere. No wonder Jagger wanted to end up in here; it was like your own private castle.

I tugged Matt into the first room