Page 35 of The Penalty

Can’t say I’ve seen her blush this much since we met.

I liked it.

I liked knowing I was the one who affected her this way. The only one.

Moving with calculated steps, I approached her until we were inches apart. Instead of touching her, I caressed her with my eyes. Bold and rough, dragging my gaze from her plush lips to her full breasts, down to the soft curves of her hips.

“What you want is far too easy for me to give.”

“When has that ever stopped you?”

“This Ivy League mouth is just begging for trouble, isn’t it?”

“Maybe.”

The roughest part of me took over.

I fisted my hand in her hair, pulling hard. She moaned in surprise.

“You make such sexy little noises, Tori,” I growled in her ear. “Maybe everyone should hear what you sound like tonight. Do you think Noah wants to hear the noises you make when I’m buried deep inside you? At least he’ll finally get the hint that you belong to me. Should I remove all doubt that you’re mine and let him hear you scream my name?”

The defiance glittering in her eyes deepened to arousal when she wet her lips.

“Naughty girl. You want them to hear you.” I kept my hand in her hair but didn’t touch her anywhere else. “How surprised would all those players be if they found out their proper, well-spoken media relations director got this turned on being my little toy? Mine to play with and use as I please, wherever I please.”

Her body pressed into mine on a sigh.

This woman will be the death of me. I’d known it the moment I saw her pacing in circles on the side of the road. The death of my self-control, my self-imposed restrictions, my denial of who and what I am.

Let it die. All of it. None of it mattered. Not when her body felt this perfect against mine. Like she was tailor-made for me and no one else.

A burst of music filled the night air, pulling my attention away from Victoria. I loosened my grip on her hair.

“There you are,” Noah exclaimed from the open door. Fucking Noah. “Come back inside.”

Victoria smiled at my obvious annoyance and responded, “Be there in a few.”

I didn’t move or breathe until the door shut.

“His timing is impeccable,” I grumbled.

“There’s a reason he’s been named league MVP four times,” she deadpanned. “Do you want to finish what you were saying?”

She stared up at me with longing and something else shining in those beautiful eyes.

Whatever it was, it made my heart stutter. Part of me wanted to ravage her, tear off this dress, ruin her perfectly glossed lips, and mark her everywhere.

But I also wanted to savor her.

I slid my fingers through her hair, gentler this time. No more pulling for now. Then I trailed the pad of my thumb on her cheek, along her jaw, and over her mouth.

Victoria Chase deserves the world.

She deserves so much more than the reckless way I’ve behaved.

I refuse to repeat the mistakes of my past.

Victoria

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