Page 35 of Filthy Ruck

I leaned in closer, making sure my breath brushed the stubble on his cheeks. “Am I the right person?” I whispered.

He shivered. “I don't know. Maybe.”

“Hmmm, maybe isn't a no.” I breathed in the scent of him, soap and a touch of arousal.

His lips moved, but no words came out. He looked back at me, blue eyes wide.

He was so close, I could have grazed my mouth over his, slid my tongue between his lips. I could have claimed him the way I claimed Chelsea.

Instead, I stepped back. “We should get to training.”

He blinked a couple of times, like he was reminding himself where we were and why we were here. “Training. Right. We don't want to be late for that.”

“No, we don't,” I said. I turned my back on him and stepped out of the storage room.

I barely made it a metre when Dallas caught up to me.

“What the hell was that?” he insisted.

“Just Frosty and I having a conversation,” I said lightly. What did he think? We weren't in the storage room for long enough to get off.

“I meant last night,” he said in a harsh whisper. “She was right there and you took her away.”

I stopped and turned to look at him. “As opposed to what? Leave her there? She was vulnerable.”

“To people like us,” he said.

It took me a moment to realise what he was implying. “I didn't take her back to my place and rape her, if that's what you're trying to suggest. I took her to my place and let her sleep it off.”

He rubbed a hand over the back of his head. “And that's it? You didn't touch her? What about Frost?” He gestured in the direction the prop had gone, toward the locker room to get ready for training.

“What about him?” I asked. “He had her permission. She told me herself.”

“She let him do that to her?” He sounded awed, then shook his head. “I can't stop thinking about her. I can't fucking sleep. All I can think about is her mouth, her body. I could have had her last night.”

“Not in the condition she was in,” I snapped. “She couldn't have given you her consent.”

He looked as though he didn't care either way, he would have taken her.

I was tempted to rearrange his face.

“You don't understand,” he said, his voice shaky. “I need her.”

“You need to get your asses out there on the paddock,” Coach Stanley called out from the doorway.

“Coming, Coach,” I said over my shoulder. To Dallas I said, “You need to get a grip. Let's get out there and work off some excess frustration.”

I'd seen men obsessed with a woman before, but he looked like an addict in need of a fix. I wasn't sure if I should find a time for him to fuck Chelsea as soon as possible, or if I should keep him as far away from her as I could.

“Come with me to Flirts tonight.” I checked the laces on my boots before stepping out onto the field. The autumn weather was perfect for a good, hard training session.

“She'll be there?” he asked eagerly.

“Probably.” I started a slow warmup trot around the perimeter of the field. If she wasn't, I'd set him up with someone else so he could burn off some steam. Maybe he could get obsessed with one of the other dancers.

He grinned. “I'm so there.” He nodded and jogged faster, leaving me a few paces behind.

“Is he sure?” Frost asked as he caught up to me. “If I had to guess, I'd say he's not all there.”

---