Page 42 of Tame the Player

I cover her hand with my own. “We agreed thatyou want to keep this between us, and that’s fine for now, but eventually—”

She cuts me off, stretching her body and then climbing over me. Her body glides across mine, and even though I’m exhausted, my cock twitches. She smiles, knowing exactly what she’s doing to me. “Let’s not talk about ‘eventually.’ Come on, Holden, if we’re going to get to round three, then we better shower.”

I watch her ass shake side to side as she walks to the bathroom. I give her a few seconds to herself and then follow her just in time to see her walking into the shower and standing under the hot water.

I stand at the open door and watch her. Her eyes are closed, head tilted back, and she’s letting the spray hit her in the face and trail down her body. She’s beautiful, and I love seeing this unguarded version of her. When she lifts her head and sees me watching her, she smiles and holds her hand out to me. “You coming in?”

I grab on to her hand like it’s a lifeline and walk up to her, wrapping my arms around her. A need I’ve never felt before comes over me, and I hug her to me, resting my cheek on the top of her head. My arms are around her shoulders, and she lifts hers to go around my waist. But my favorite part is the wayshe melts into me, accepting the hug that I need from her. We stand here for so long that I worry the hot water may give out. It’s been a long time since I’ve hugged someone, and I let all the emotions roll through me.

“You okay, Holden?” she murmurs.

I sniff. “Yeah, I’m good… the best.”

She leans her head back, resting her chin on my chest, and I loosen my hold on her so I can look her in the face. “Are you okay?”

She smiles. “Yeah, I’m just surprised. I never would have thought you would be a cuddler after sex.”

Hell, I’m not. I’m usually looking for ways to put some distance between me and the woman, and that’s just another reason why I know what’s happening between Cat and me is more than just sex. I lock my hands at her back. “I’m usually not… It’s different with you.”

She tenses in my arms, but I don’t let her go. It’s like she doesn’t want to believe that this is more than it is. She has to realize this is more than just some fling. She pulls from my arms and grabs the soap off the ledge and squirts it into her hands. “Come on, Mr. Gray. Let’s get you clean.”

She puts her hands to my chest and starts towash me. I want to insist we have a real conversation, but it’s clear she wants to keep this light. I’ll let her have her way, for now. I cover her hands with my own. “If you’re going to be running your hands over my body to get me clean, then round two is going to happen sooner rather than later.”

She rolls her eyes with a big smile on her face. “Promises, promises.”

And because I can’t hold back any longer, I cup her face in my hands and kiss her like there’s no tomorrow.

24

CATHERINE

“Got it!” Cole hollers before hitting the ball. It goes over the net, straight to Chrissy.

I stand on my side of the court, knees bent, paddle ready for the ball that comes careening back at me. I hit it, and it lands in the square on the other side before bouncing out of play. “Yes!” Cole hollers, jumping up and down. “We did it, Mom!”

I’m still not sure what the rules are for pickleball, but somehow we just won a game against Chrissy and Gabe. Cole hugs me, and I soak it all in. With his arm around my waist, we walk over to the side and meet the rest of Holden’s family. I’m not sure how this happened, but this morning when I finally dragged myself out of bed and said I hadto shower and go get Cole, Holden convinced me to come to his family’s game of pickleball.

“Having fun?” Holden asks.

Cole and Gabe are talking smack, and my cheeks are hurting from smiling so much. “I’m having a blast.”

“Yeah, we always have a good time when we come.”

I point around at his family. “How did you all get started playing this?”

“Well, I think Gabe and his buddies at the fire department started playing, and then Gabe started enforcing family game day once a month, so here we are.”

I try not to let my jealousy show. Man, I would do anything to have this for Cole. As I look at my son and see how truly in his element he is, I know he would flourish with a big family like this. “Well, it’s fun.”

Holden gives me a look, and he doesn’t have to say a word for me to know what he’s thinking. It’s probably the same thing I’ve thought about all morning. Last night was perfect. The sex was out of this world, but it’s more than that. We laughed, we talked, we held each other. It didn’t feel like a fling. But just as soon as my mind starts to go to thatthought, I know I need to quit thinking that way. Holden is a professional baseball player, and as soon as he’s back to playing, this will be nothing but a distant memory for him.

I’m drawn from my thoughts when King holds up his paddle. “All right, me and Haven against Dom and Cole.”

Haven calls out, rubbing her round belly. “Take it easy on me, I’m carrying an extra person here.”

“I’m going to run to the ladies room,” I tell Holden.

“I’ll go with you.”

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