Once Upon A Half-Time: A Sports Romance - Sosie Frost Page 0,160

hear her groan my name or sleep with her cuddled against my chest. Mandy kept her distance from me because she knew how dangerous it was to let me close.

And she had no reason to worry.

In that simple touch of her hand, I was changed. I hated that she was hurt, and I hated even more that I wasn’t there to help her.

It wasn’t often that I wanted to be with a woman when we were both clothed, but for this goddess? In this moment?

I didn’t want to be anywhere else.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“No.” She held my gaze. “But I will be. At some point. I hope.”

We weren’t talking about the cut. I didn’t like her hesitance. A surge of adrenaline raged through me.

God, this woman.

What made me so possessive of her? Why did I want to protect her? She had no reason to feel anxious or uncertain if I was there.

I’d never pretended to be a good man, but that just meant I got shit done that others couldn’t. If she was worried, if the wedding was stressing her, if this latest complication was going to make her sick again, I wasn’t putting up with it.

The problems with her family could wait until after she had a decent night’s sleep.

And after I tucked her in.

Twice.

I set my jaw. “How can I help?”

“Why do you want to help me?”

“Because you need it.”

“And you’re the one to give it?” She giggled, reaching into the cabinet for the coffee cups. “Thanks, Nate. But you’ll understand if I refuse.”

“No, I won’t.”

“Come on.” She tried to pull attitude with a hand on her hip. It only accentuated the gentle swell of her thigh. “You’re gonna joke about something cute. I’m going to get flustered. Then you’ll get all deep and sexy and say things that make me…receptive. And we’ll just end up where we left off.”

“And where’s that?” I shrugged. “Bed? What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing, if this was simple.”

“And it’s not anymore.”

“I think you know it’s become way complicated.”

“So?”

“I don’t want either of us to get hurt,” she said. “I really, really don’t.”

“I’m not going to hurt you.”

She bit her lip. “I wish I could say the same.”

“You’re worried about me now?” I grinned. “What happened to all your fears about the future and plans and fairy tales?”

She let the coffee brew and leaned against the counter. For some reason, she seemed honest, genuine, and sincere.

And that made her even more secretive.

“I don’t think you’ll ever realize how much those nights meant to me,” she said. “I know they’re just your normal, run-of- the-mill one-night stands—”

“They weren’t.” I said it too harshly but didn’t apologize. “You gotta stop assuming I’m only after another night. I told you weeks ago…I don’t chase girls. I don’t do second nights. But with you? I never want the night to fucking end.”

“Nate—”

“I wanna wake up with you, take you again, and spend the day with you so you don’t run away and leave my bed empty.”

“We...really should get the coffee out to them. Lindsey’s upset.”

I blocked her path with an outstretched arm and edged her into the corner of the counters. She trapped herself willingly, but she didn’t look at me.

“You don’t believe me?” I asked.

She shook her head. “No, I believe you.”

“Then why do you shut down when I say our nights together were special? That I want more. That I’m chasing you because I’m goddamned crazy about you?”

“Are you?”

“I can’t get you out of my head. All I think about every minute of every day is the next time I’ll get to see you, hold you. And don’t pretend you aren’t thinking of me either.”

Her voice softened. “I am. A lot.”

“You know where I live. You have my number. You say the word, and I’m there.”

“It’s more than sex, Nate.”

“Yeah. It’s you.” I leaned close, surprised when she immediately kissed me. “I’ve never wanted someone as bad as I want you. You gotta tell me why.”

Her eyes timidly met mine, so dark and expressive. They went wide with surprise and…fear?

“Why what?” she asked.

“Why the only thing I can think about is kissing these lips. Or taking you under the stars. Or talking with you, no secrets, nothing hidden. I want you to trust me.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you.” She rested her hands over my arms, tightening her fingers in my shirt. “I asked you once to give me space until the wedding.”

“Do you still want space?”

“No. But I need it.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m falling for