Page 92 of 4th Degree

Finally, I’ve had enough. I step close to her and grab both of her arms, anchoring her in place and forcing her eyes on mine.

“Skylar,” I say gently, but firmly. “I don’t know what triggered this, but let’s get rid of these doubts right now. I get everything from being with you. I get your heart, and your brain, and your humor, and your passion. I love watching how excited you get about the things that you love. You have no idea how much lightness you’ve brought into my life. You do that. Not anyone else. You. So don’t tell me I get nothing out of being with you.”

Skylar looks down, but not before I catch the smile on her lips or the pink on her cheeks.

“Don’t forget the mind-blowing orgasms,” she murmurs.

I huff a laugh. “I did not forget the mind-blowing orgasms. But if I added those, I’d be here all day listing the things I like about you in bed.” My voice softens. “And I think the other things were more important for you to hear.”

That has her smile shining up at me. And I hate that I didn’t make it more obvious to her that she makes me happier. I vow to tell her more often.

“So, I’m not too much of a risk for you?” she asks.

I frown. “Of course not.” With a sigh, I add, “I mean, eventually, we’ll have to talk about…what this is, but Skylar… You’re worth way more than any of the risks.”

She bites down on her lip. “Yeah?”

I sink a hand into her hair that’s still down for once and tilt her face up. “Yeah,” I whisper as I kiss her.

“Okay,” she whispers back, her grin too big to tamp down on anymore.

Reluctantly, I untangle my hand from her hair and step back. “No more doubts. Not about that. If you’re worried, we talk about it. Okay?”

“Yes, Coach.”

I force myself toward the door, grumbling, “Little tease.” Opening the door, I peek out and see that no one’s here yet. But before I nudge Skylar out, I press a hungry kiss to her lips. “Now get out of here before I cash in on my mind-blowing orgasms.”

Her sensual purr floats back to me as she walks toward the changing rooms.

“Yes, Coach.”

I have to keep my eyes off of Skylar while I’m teaching the rest of the night. I have this unquenchable urge to smile, which would definitely draw unwanted attention from my students who know me better than that. Even when I’m not looking at Skylar, I still want to smile.

I meant everything I said to her earlier today. The difference she’s made in the past few weeks has been like going from colorblind, to suddenly walking into an amusement park and seeing the whole spectrum lit up and all around you. She’s breathed life into days that I had no idea were dull.

Which is why it’s insanely hard not to spend every second that she’s near me staring at her.

Somehow, I make it through my classes. By the time she starts cleaning and I retreat into my office to do some paperwork, I’ve managed to keep my distance for almost three hours.

I finally lose the battle to stay away from her and stride from the office, fully prepared to rip the mop from her hands and carry her back to the couch in the welcome area. But right as I step out into the gym, she’s coming out of the storage closet in the back corner, no cleaning supplies in hand.

“Done?” I ask.

She nods and quickly washes her hands at the sink. “I can’t stay too long tonight. I promised Maria I’d relieve her early. Joey’s at his last basketball game.”

The reminder of her brother is enough to make my need for Skylar recede to the background for a moment. I don’t know if Joey wanted to be the one to tell her what happened, but I also don’t want to spend even a single second lying to Skylar about something I’ve done that will affect her carefully constructed life. So once she’s done drying her hands, I take them in mine.

“I saw your brother today,” I start.

Skylar’s eyebrow quirks. “What? Where?”

“He came in here. He asked me for a job.”

That makes her eyes widen in alarm. “He did what? I told him he doesn’t need a job. Why would he be looking for one? And why would he think it’s okay to come to you?”

“Skylar, he’s trying to help,” I say, as softly as I can manage. “You should be proud of the kid you’ve helped to raise because he sees his sister struggling and wants to take some of the burden off.”

Skylar’s lower lip wobbles, and it takes everything in me not to sweep her into my arms and soothe her. Especially when she presses her lips tightly together to try to stop the trembling.

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