Page 127 of Vegas Heat

I grab her bag from her shoulder and set it on the ground beside her, and then I pull her into my arms. I drop my lips to hers for a slow and sensual kiss, and her eyes are clouded with lust when she pulls back.

“You keep doing that and we’re going to miss the game,” she murmurs.

“Worth it,” I say, and I kiss her again. I back her up until her ass hits the wall, and this kiss is different. It’s urgent and it’s hot and it’s intense.

It’s overwhelming.

I grab her wrists in one of my hands and hold them above her head, dropping my lips to her neck, tasting her with my tongue, and moving my mouth back to hers as I hold her in place, my hips pinning her to the wall and my hands still tight around her wrists. She thrusts against me, not scared that I have the strength to do whatever I want to her as I have her literally within my grasp. Instead she relishes it. Shewantsit, and I want to give it to her. Again and again and again.

Heat fires through my body, but I know we don’t have time. I also know we both need to recover. We’re both exhausted, our bodies wrung out but never fully sated unless we’re in the midst of an orgasm together, always wanting more, needing more, craving more.

Eventually I let her go.

Not because I want to, but because I know I need to. I need to check out. I need to call Kaylee to let her know I’m bringing a guest. I need to stop back at Troy’s place to change. Maybe I even need to warn Troy that I invited his daughter to shadow me at the Aces game.

I rest my forehead against hers for a beat as I drop her wrists and lace my arm around her, hauling her into me. The emotions racing through me are unfamiliar and terrifying, yet I know that I’m safe with her. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she says. Her palm finds my cheek, and she cradles me there for a beat, her eyes tender on mine when I pull back. She presses one final soft kiss to my lips, and then I release my hips from hers.

She doesn’t move for a beat, instead drawing in a deep breath like she has to compose herself before she can force one foot in front of the other to walk out the door.

The time in this room is over—for now, at least.

But what happened last night, well…it was the start of the rest of forever.

CHAPTER 6: GABBY

We walk into the Vegas Aces stadium, and I can’t help when a thrill of excitement races through me. I follow Cooper up to the owner’s suite, which is apparently where a lot of the family members of players sit, and while we’re not family, Kaylee is and she’s the one who invited Cooper.

It’s strange walking through the concourse not holding his hand, but we agreed we’re attending as friends—if that, even.

It’s strange pretending to be friends with someone who made love to me this morning the way Cooper did to me. I can’t stop thinking about how good it felt when he slid into me with nothing between us.

I’m still not on birth control—I didn’t see much point when he ended things and I wasn’t jumping in the sack with someone new—but I’m far enough away from my period that I’m not worried. Besides, he pulled out.

But I do need to get on something as soon as possible. Sex with Cooper is incredible, but sex with Cooper without a condom is about ten levels above incredible. It’s the kind of sex I didn’t know actually existed outside of romance novels and porn where you’re not sure if they’re acting or legitimately that enthralled with what’s happening.

I shake sex with Cooper Noah, Captain Orgasm, out of my head as we walk into the owner’s suite. Buffets are set up on either side of the room with large televisions hanging on the walls showing pregame coverage, and there are rows of seats for anyone who wants to watch the game live on the far side of the suite. Kaylee spots us when we walk in, and she beelines forCooper in her Olson jersey. She tackle-hugs him, and he laughs as anoofspills out of him.

She glances at me over his shoulder and narrows her eyes as she smiles. “I see your shadow is here,” she says loud enough for me to hear, and I get the sense Cooper already filled her in on what happened last night. And again this morning. “Happy birthday, Coopster,” she says, and she presses a kiss to his cheek.

“Thanks, Kayster,” he says, and he mock-punches her in the shoulder.

She giggles, and then she pushes him aside to give me a hug, too. “I’m so glad you’re here,” she says warmly. “He’s smiling again, so that’s something.”

“He wasn’t smiling?” I ask.

She pulls back and shakes her head as she wraps her hands around my biceps for a beat, studying me. “He was lost without his shadow.”

I twist my lips as the burn of tears threatens behind my eyes, and she offers a smile before she drops her hands and takes a step back to include both Cooper and me in the conversation.

“Is this your first Aces game?” she asks.

We both nod.

“Help yourself to food and drinks. It’s all on the house…or, rather, it’s all on the owner, and he’s got plenty of cash to throw around.” She lowers her voice for the last part as she glances around to make sure nobody’s in hearing distance, and both Cooper and I laugh.

She skips down toward the seats, where she’s sitting with a few other women. One wears a Dalton jersey with the number five on it, and I’m pretty sure that’s the quarterback. The other wears a black Aces t-shirt, and by the end of our time, I learn that the woman in the t-shirt is Ellie Dalton, wife of former Aces Wide Receiver Luke Dalton, who has recently taken on an assisting role with the coaching staff, and the Daltonjersey woman is Kate, wife of Jack Dalton, the legendary Aces’ quarterback.

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