Page 33 of Tangled with the Tight End

I rub my hands on my jeans and stand. “Forget I said anything. It was…. Thoughtless.”

“What do you want? Honestly, what do you want?” She stands and stops a few inches from me. Her chest rises and falls as she breathes, and my entire focus shifts from everything weighing down on me to the only thing that feels right. Her.

I cup her face and run my thumb over her cheekbone. “I want you. I want to get to know you better. I want to kiss you until nothing else matters in the world. I want to sweep you off your feet and forget everything else.”

“That’s not how it works.”

“I know.” Darkness settles around me as I step back and drop my arm to my side. “I understand why you’re not interested, and I don’t blame you. My divorce isn’t final until January, I have a kid, I’m currently on injured reserve, and I repeatedly act like an ass when I’m around you.”

Her lips curve upwards as she walks to me and places her hands on my chest. Her fingers shake, so I clasp them to keep them steady. “I want you, too. But you must agree it’s only until you return to Kansas City.”

My stomach cramps. That’s not long enough. “I go back on Monday for a check-up.”

“When you go back for good….” Her eyes are serious. “This ends. Let’s not pretend we can make anything else out of this other than a couple of weeks of fun.”

Every instinct inside of me rebels at her words. Isn’t it the guy who’s supposed to say, ‘Hey, let’s hook-up while I’m on vacation?’ But instead, it’s Norah demanding that I promise something I don’t want to.

“We both know this isn’t going to work long-term. You have plans for your future, and I have plans for mine, and they don’t go together. So, to avoid any hard feelings or disappointment, we’ll get it out of the way now. This is a vacation fling between two adults who’re attracted to each other, and that’s it.”

No, that’s not it. I want…. I want what? She’s right. Despite my brother’s insistence that I retire, and we open a restaurant together, I don’t belong here. What’s he even thinking? He doesn’t know the first thing about running a business. I’m the one who went to college to study business management.

And it’s clear she’s not leaving. Hell, next year, she’ll probably marry Sawyer and have two kids before I retire from football. Uncontrolled rage settles in my chest as I envision them walking down the streets of Evergreen Lake together.

That’s complete and utter bullshit. She doesn’t love him. Dude, she doesn’t love you either. People in love make sacrifices for each other. They compromise. Fuck. They know each other. I don’t even know Norah’s middle name.

“What’s your middle name?” The words fly out of my mouth.

“What?” She blinks at me like I’m crazy.

“What’s your middle name?” The panic swelling inside of me is impossible to tamp down.

“Abigail.”

The tension eases as the word plays in my head and I lean down until our foreheads touch. “Norah, will you let me kiss you?”

Her nod is barely perceptible. I cup her face and stare into her crystal blue eyes. Her eyes swirl with a mixture of emotions I can’t identify. Because I don’t know her. And never will.

Fuck. Anger licks at me, spurring me forward.

When my lips land on hers, she whimpers, but rather than baulking at my vicious attack, her arms go around my neck, and she plasters her body to mine until our chests heave in unison and my dick presses into her belly. She feels perfect against me. Soft curves against my hard body.

I suck her bottom lip into my mouth and flick my tongue over the plump flesh. I want to devour her. I want her to eat her words and beg me to never leave. My heart drops to my feet. Where did that thought come from? Is that what I want? I shove the thought back into the recesses of my brain as her nails dig into my skull, and every inch of my restraint dissolves.

After I let go of her bottom lip, I dive inside her mouth, loving the feel of her tongue thrusting against mine. She arches against me and moans, sending a quake throughout my body. Her desperation seems to match mine as I shift her stance until her thighs are squeezing my leg.

She rocks against me as I caress her body, exploring her back, her waist, and finally grabbing her ass. She gasps, and I suck down her pleasure with raw determination. I’ve never wanted anyone like this. Hell, I’ve never wanted to want anyone like this. It’s dangerous. It’s reckless. It’s pure magic. I trail my mouth and tongue along her jaw and down the slender column of her neck.

“Please, don’t stop.” She arches her neck toward me and grinds on my thigh.

I flick my tongue over the sensitive hollow and growl as her eager movements make my balls ache. “Slow down, baby. It’s been a long time for me.”

She shivers but doesn’t stop. Rather than stopping, she slips her hands under my T-shirt and scrapes her nails down my back. “I don’t want to stop. It feels this good. You feel this good.”

I suck down her essence and seal my fate. She’s going to destroy me, and I’m going to let her. I’m afraid I’d gladly walk with the devil to please this woman.

sixteen

NORAH

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