Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 124923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 416(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 416(@300wpm)
“Danny’s number,” she says knowingly. I nod in confirmation. Soft brown eyes meet mine again. “You’re not playing?” she asks.
“I am. Will be,” I correct. “Once the new semester starts.”
“You can do that?” she asks, sounding skeptical.
I shrug. “Long story. But the head coach presented me with a loophole, and I took it.”
“What does that even mean?”
That I spiraled after finding out Christian killed Danny and pissed my shot away senior year.
“It means I’m supposed to be using this time to get my shit together before officially joining the team.”
“And are you? Getting your shit together?”
Another shrug. “Haven’t decided yet. What about you? I haven’t seen you at any of the recent games.” I turn the focus on her, mostly because I don’t have answers to the questions she’s asking. I’m supposed to be training my ass off. I’m supposed to be thankful for the second chance I’ve been given with basketball, and I’m supposed to move on with my life. Everyone else has. So why the fuck do I feel so…stuck?
She arches a brow. “You’ve been keeping tabs on me?”
“Merely an observation.”
She looks down at her feet and extends her ankle. “Sprained it a while ago. Taking a break for a bit to figure out what I want to do.”
“And are you? Figuring it out?”
“Haven’t decided yet,” she quips, echoing my response.
“Guess we’re both a couple of losers then.”
“Guess so.” She’s quiet for a minute, contemplating her next words before she speaks. “You remember the night Liam came to your house?”
I cross my arms over my chest. How could I forget? That’s the night everything changed.
“I didn’t know what happened with Christian when we got into that argument. I didn’t find out until the next day.”
How could she have known? She wasn’t there when Christian staggered in and confessed to killing my brother.
“I felt like an asshole for coming to you with…petty bullshit when you were going through that. Anyway, I never said sorry. So. I’m sorry.” She scratches behind her ear, as if the act of apologizing is uncomfortable or foreign for her. “About what I said to you, about Liam, about Christian and Danny. All of it.”
“Who knew all it would take was a couple of orgasms for you to be sweet to me?” I tease, trying to lighten the mood.
“Fuck off,” she says, but her words lack any venom.
“While we’re apologizing, I’m sorry for calling you stuck-up.”
She snorts out a laugh. “A stuck-up little cheerleader with nice tits and an attitude problem,” she corrects. “I deserved it.”
“Two out of three are still true,” I say, walking over to where she stands. I brace my palms on the counter on either side of her then skim my nose down the side of her neck. When I kiss her there, she lets out something between a moan and a sigh as her head lolls to the side, allowing me better access. “But I want to make it up to you, anyway.” Her fingers white-knuckle the ledge of the counter as mine leave their position to drag the hem of her shirt—my shirt—up her smooth thighs. When I slide my fingers toward her pussy, she arches a brow.
“One-time thing,” she reminds me.
“Hmm. I could’ve sworn we said it would be one night only. And technically, the night isn’t over.” Bending slightly, I grab her behind the knees and lift her onto the countertop. She squeals when her bare cheeks hit the cold granite. “Besides,” I say, squeezing the soft flesh of her ass, “I want you to let me taste your pussy.”
She rolls her eyes. “I told you I’m not into that.”
“You’re not into it, or you haven’t tried it?”
She glares at me. “Both,” she answers reluctantly.
I arch a brow. “Never? Not even with Liam?”
“Not even with Liam. He tried once, I redirected him, and I guess he never cared to try again.” She shrugs. “And any other time, I’ve been the one to…take control.”
Redirected. She makes it sound like he was a toddler behaving badly, which might not be far from the truth. I’m starting to think that control is Valen’s shield. If she’s the one directing the show, she doesn’t have to be vulnerable. And I bet the fucking losers who’ve been lucky enough to be with her were clueless. Clueless and undeserving.
I want all of her. In every way. And if I only have one night, I’m going to make it count.
“He’s even more of a bitch than I thought. And that’s saying a lot.”
She laughs. “I don’t know why you’re so fixated on him. I think you think about him more than I ever did.”
“The only thing I’m thinking about is getting my tongue on your pussy.” Her grip on my shoulders tightens at my words. I slide my hands from her ass down to her knees and push them apart. She doesn’t resist when my fingers circle her ankle and bring one foot to rest on the edge of the counter, opening her for me completely.