Page 77 of The Baller

A memory flitted across my brain, and I found him smiling with the same expression. “Don Quixote was the book I took from the shelf in Brown’s.”

“I know. And look where we are now,” he replied softly.

We were so far away from that day.

It might have only been seven weeks ago, but it could have been a lifetime for all that had happened, for all that had changed. I knew I was no longer the person he’d met in that bookstore. I could feel it down to my marrow.

The shift had been gradual at first, barely noticeable, but I realized it had simply been gathering speed. My demons were still there somewhere, but for now they were quiet.

I dropped the book down and leaned forward, capturing his perfect mouth before he could do the same to me. I wanted this, I wanted to leadthis kisswiththis manwho’d scooped me up and brought me into his home; who wanted nothing in return except my company.

I simply wanted him.

My lips and tongue swiped against him, hungry and wet, and meltingly delicious. The taste of strawberries had never been so hot, and I would forever associate them with this kiss.

My body took over before my brain short circuited at the feel of this man under my fingertips, ghosting over the muscles he worked so hard for, and up to the soft stubble coating his jaw. This man who’d been under my skin since the second I’d spun around on the stool, and he’d stopped me from falling… in more ways than one.

Warm hands pushed under my tank top, causing a moan to rumble up my throat so quickly he had to swallow it. It was only when he slowed us down and drew back that I realized I was straddling him.

When he said my name – raw, strangled, and gravelly – it sounded almost like he was in pain.

“Radley.” The fire in his eyes almost scalded me, while his fingers sliding down my bare skin were hot enough to leave marks. “Radley, baby, we’re not in a rush.”

“I know.” I ran my fingers through his soft, dark silky waves, only for him to catch them and brush them across his mouth

“I’m not going anywhere. I don’t want to push you.” I could see his lips moving, but all I could focus on was the way his thumb swiped against my ribs; a solid, steady metronome. “Are you hungry?”

I didn’t have to think about it, though it wasn’t food I was hungry for. “Yes.”

Swinging his legs off the bed, he held his hand out. “Come on then.”

I was still running on a two-minute pressure driven tidy up. “I’ll be right behind you.”

Smacking his lips to mine, he said, “Okay, don’t take too long.”

“I won’t.” I gave myself one last opportunity to look at his ass before he closed the door, and I sprinted to the bathroom for the second time.

He didn’t want to push me? That was fine.

It just meant I would have to put my big girl pants on and push him enough that he’d hopefully take them off for me.

“Holiday! We’re not going to a dumb Halloween party. We’re definitely not going to one dressed as Power Rangers. Will you drop it?”

“Oh, come on,” Holiday pressed, clearly with no intention of dropping it. “Where’s your fun?”

“It’s right here in this apartment with me.”

I took a stool at the kitchen island to see Holiday roll her eyes, and look at Parker. “What about you?”

He shook his head, and I swear a hint of guilt flashed through his eyes. “They’re boycotting for me. We made a pact not to go.”

“Why?”

Tanner shoved a forkful of pancakes into his mouth and mumbled something that sounded like “Scout.”

“What does that mean?” I whispered into Lux, who’d wrapped his arms around me the second he’d turned to find me sitting at the island, and placed fresh coffee in front of me, along with my own stack of pancakes.

It was alarming how quickly I’d gotten used to this treatment.

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