“I thought she was special, but I overheard a couple of the guys talking about her in the locker room before a game. Apparently, she made her rounds through the team, hoping to hook into someone who’d keep her. I was just the next target.”
“The witch,” Rachel said with feeling.
He smiled without any humor. “It was an education. I realized there was an agreed-upon transaction and knowing the parameters made it easier to navigate.”
She gaped at him. “That’s just awful. No wonder you wanted to be anonymous.”
“I want to keep it that way,” he said. “Not just for myself, but for Didier and Erik. It’s been wonderful to go out and not be bothered by anyone or followed by paparazzi.”
Her eyes widened. “That happens to you?”
“In Europe, all the time.”
“I can’t even imagine.” She moved closer to him, as if offering herself as comfort.
Relief flooded through him, freeing, making him feel like he could soar. But it was the compassion in her eyes that undid him. He leaned in and kissed her. He’d meant it to be a quick kiss, one of gratitude and liberation, but the moment his lips touched hers, it ignited into so much more.
She softened under his mouth, opening herself to him.
It was the most natural thing for him to dive in.
She sighed into him, melting against his chest. He heard his mobile drop onto the porch as her arms wound around his neck and her fingers speared into his hair.
The feel of her hands on him elicited a moan from deep in his soul. He pulled her closer, a hand behind her head and another on her back as he lowered her to the porch and lay on top of her.
“Where’s Lottie?” he murmured against her lips, thinking he should ease up and slow things down. He knew enough about Rachel to know that she’d be embarrassed to be caught like this in front of her house.
“Inside. The windows are open, so don’t be loud.” Her leg hooked around his hip, holding him tighter to her as if she read his mind and didn’t want him to stop.
He could taste her desire, and it only ratcheted his own. Kissing her was a revelation. It was a heaven he’d never thought he’d gain entry to.
She broke their kiss first. Breathing heavily, her eyes half-mast, she whispered, “Oh my gosh, is thatyou?”
His lips quirked at the wonder in her expression. “Did you forget who I was already?”
“As if.” She snorted. “This.”
He hissed as she pressed her hips up against his very hard cock. He swore he saw stars. The urge to tear her clothing off her was so startlingly strong that he had to close his eyes to keep himself in line.
Rachel tugged on his hair, pulling him back down. “Don’t stop,” she ordered right before she began kissing him again.
He groaned into her mouth. She was trusting him too, and that realization was as heady as touching her. This time, the kiss tasted like urgency and need and spice—something elusive that he’d never experienced before.
But because she trusted him, he kept them there, just on the edge, not going too far. She moaned her protest, trying to wriggle closer to him, trying to incite him.
She didn’t need to try. Every brush of her body against his, every puff of breath against his skin, every whimper of desire drove him higher. He had to tangle his fingers in her hair to keep from slipping them beneath her clothing to really touch her—to see how wet she was for him.
He bet she’d be perfectly soaked.
Somewhere a door creaked open, and then an amused voice said, “Do I need to throw cold water on you kids?”
Practically vibrating with need, Jamie looked up to find Lottie framed in the front door, her brows arched. Rachel began to move from under him, but he held her in place. Pressed against her, she hid his obvious interest in her, such as it were.
To his surprise, Rachel stopped and held him.
That eased something in his chest. He looked down at her. How did she do that, with a simple surrender? It was both humbling and scary, and it was definitely foreign. Swallowing the emotion to process later, without an audience, he looked up at Lottie. “Rachel and I were discussing my career as a football player.”
Lottie’s eyebrows raised. “I take it the conversation is going well.”