He felt Dave right behind him. One trip, one fumble, and it would be all over.
Dave muscled his way beside him, but he shoved him with his left shoulder. They battled for the lead, and by some miracle, Dave tripped trying to take him down. Cole charged ahead, reaching Harold with his flag securely pinned to his shirt. He flung his arms in the air.
His exhilaration was cut short when Penn launched herself into his arms and wrapped her legs around his waist, squeezing him with a strength he’d never guess she was capable of.
He took care to hold her, despite the overwhelming urge to lower his hands and cup her tight, round ass. Instead, he brought one hand up to cradle the back of her head.
He heard her short breaths in his ear, felt the pounding of her heart against his own chest, smelled her citrus-y shampoo, and groaned when he registered the warmth of her flesh against his stomach.
He felt it all, every nuance of her body language, and in two seconds, she was going to feel his pressed against her ass.
He grabbed her under the arms and pried her away from his body. This was not the time to discover there might be a new layer to their relationship—one that pushed the boundaries he’d been so intent on keeping in line. And it definitely wasn’t the place, since they were in public.
As if recognizing they’d crossed a line, she stepped back once she’d steadied herself on the sand. Instead of looking at her, he locked his gaze on the sand below.
“Fair is fair.” Penn’s father approached and clapped him on the shoulder. “Your appearance this year might very well have changed the dynamic of the games, Mr. Murphy.”
Not just of the games. But of Cole’s relationship with Penn. By the end of the week, they were either going to be best friends—closer than ever—or he’d lose the only friend he might one day trust with the truth.
Chapter Three
Penn stared at her reflection in her hotel room mirror, trying her best to swipe a gloss applicator across her lips. But it was a lost cause. Her hundred-watt smile made it virtually impossible to put it on smoothly.
She didn’t look any different. But inside, she felt vindicated.
Suck on that, Foster clan.
She shook her head. No reason to get cocky. She hadn’t won anything yet. Today was just a friendly challenge. A challenge where Cole had handed her brothers their asses. And the look on Beth’s face when Dave lost—oh my God. Penn sighed with contentedness. Oh, man, she was never going to get that pissed-off expression out of her head.
But if today was a foreshadowing of events to come, she was totally going to win. She felt it in her bones. And it was all because of the hulking man who now stood in the doorway to her bathroom.
She’d felt his presence even before his reflection appeared in the mirror. He just had that effect on her. As if they were connected on a level more intimate and all-consuming, more potent, than any star-crossed lovers.
Not that they were in love or anything.
“Now, that is the smile of someone who’s gloating.”
She ran the tip of her finger under her left eye, wiping away a few lines of black mascara that had transferred from her eyelashes, then turned. “And I have you to thank for it.”
The moment her eyes landed on him, her stomach tightened in excitement.
He had rested his forearm on the doorjamb and leaned in, the white linen of his button-down shirt lifting on one side, exposing his tanned skin and the line of hair that ran down his chest and disappeared into his shorts. And as she was checking him out, he was doing the same. His gaze roamed over her body, taking in the curves she’d squeezed into a red sundress.
The look in his eyes was disarming. She’d also seen it when she’d launched herself at him after his win today.
Desire.
It flickered in his gaze, and it took everything she had not to pull him down on top of her right then and there. She’d been there, done that, and suffered the effects of her bad decisions.
So, she did what she did best when it came to Cole Murphy. It was time for a little tease.
“It’s a little hot in here, right?” She slipped off the tiny sweater she’d put over her sundress, exposing the body part she knew he couldn’t take his eyes off. The minidress had a built-in bra so her breasts were pushed together high, giving her perfect cleavage. And when she bent over, the hem of her dress lifted, giving him an excellent view of where thigh met ass cheek.
She looked in the mirror and caught his eyes. Oh, yeah. He liked it. That jawbone was twitching a mile a minute, and she saw his hand make a fist and his forearm clench where it rested on the doorframe.
She turned, rested her bum on the bathroom vanity, and asked, “Did you have a good time with Dave and Ian?”
It took him a minute to gather himself and to stop staring at her body, but eventually, he jerked a nod. “They’re good guys.”