Page 66 of Offside Devil

He had a shirt on when he left this morning, right?

Definitely. He must’ve. If he’d walked out with no shirt on and an armband cinched around the swell of his bicep, I would have noticed.

Actually, I would have more than noticed. I would have frozen on the spot—kind of like I am now—and gawked with total, shameless abandon.

It takes way too many seconds for me to realize that Zane’s rippling abs are getting closer. Which means his face is probably getting closer, too. Since it’s attached to his body and all.

“Everything alright?” he asks, slightly breathless.

Do I imagine him saying those words in my ear while his weight presses me into a mattress? I’ll never tell.

I blink away from his body and meet his eyes. He’s watching me like he can see the preview of the dirty little fantasy playing in my mind.

“Me? Yes. Sure.” I swallow audibly. “I’m just tired. It was a late night.”

He pulls an earbud out of his ear and wow, the company should sponsor him. Seeing him like this, I want to own those earbuds. I want to be those earbuds.

“Thanks again for that.”

“For what?”

For staying up late to talk with him? He doesn’t need to thank me for that. It was nice.

Which, on top of the lust burning under my skin, is a very scary admission.

“Thanks for taking Aiden to the game. It was a bit outside of your usual hours. Then you made dinner. It was a lot.”

I wave away his thanks, accidentally swiping the tips of my fingers against his wrist when he lifts a hand to swipe back his sweaty hair.

Then I jerk my hand back like he electrocuted me. “It was my pleasure.”

Don’t talk about pleasure when he’s standing here shirtless, you skank!

“Still.” He shrugs, muscles I didn’t even know existed shifting under his golden skin. “I appreciate it. All I have to do today is watch some game film. Aiden can play with me while I do that, so I want you to take the day off.”

“Oh.” I don’t want to sound as disappointed as I weirdly feel, so I add, “Thanks.”

Just like that, the day stretches in front of me, long and empty. Is it shameful that Aiden might be my best friend? I have the day off, but I still want to spend the day with him.

And his sweaty, shirtless dad, if I’m being honest.

“I actually thought you could invite Taylor over for a girl’s day… Whatever that means. I’ve never had one, but I thought you might enjoy it.”

When the hell did this pretty boy become charming? That was not part of the deal.

Alarm bells ring in my head, but they’re drowned out by the dulcet tones of Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On also blaring on my mental radio station.

“But you said no parties.”

He also said no sex, I remind myself. It feels pertinent to reiterate that point right about now. I knew it had been a long time since I’ve had sex, but this is outrageous. One late-night conversation and I forget all of his faults and turn to putty in his large, strong, very-capable-of-bending-me-in-half hands.

“I trust you and Taylor not to go too wild.” His eyes simmer and I feel like my skin is on fire. “Aiden and I will stay out of your hair, but this is your house, too. I want you to feel comfortable here.”

“Then you should put a shirt on,” I blurt before I can stop myself.

Zane’s eyebrows rise and this conversation officially needs to end before I do something insane—like punch him in the dick or lick his collarbone.

“Anyway, that sounds super fun.” I back into the bathroom. “I’ll help Aiden finish his bath. Then you can shower—if you were going to shower, that is. If you want to shower. You don’t have to, but you can if?—”

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