Page 102 of Their Greatest Strength

My pulse doubles in speed. “What’s the first one?”

He reaches into his pocket and pulls his keys free. With a grin, he unlinks our fingers and drops the keys into my palm.

“Unlock the doors and slide into the driver’s seat.”

“Shouldn’t I do a walkaround of the vehicle? I saw that online once.”

He huffs a laugh. “I stand corrected. A real teacher would make you do one of those, so have at it.”

Maybe it’s a stalling tactic.Maybe.

The sooner I get into the vehicle, the faster I’ll want to scream at being trapped in such a close space with him. Usually, I can put up a wall between us to keep from pouncing into his lap and kissing him, but today? After everything?

I fear even my iron will isn’t strong enough to withstand the draw.

Turning my attention to the SUV, I slowly make my way to the back. The entire vehicle is in pristine condition, not a dent or scratch to be seen. I drag a finger along the glossy black paint, picturing him doing this same check every night to make sure he doesn’t have anything to buff out or fix before bed.

“Are you Blakely?”

I jump at the female voice, jamming my elbow into the side of the SUV.

“Fuck,” I groan, rubbing at the bone and where it aches.

“I’m so sorry!” the stranger squeaks while Jamie comes barrelling into view.

“Blakely? What happened? Are you hurt?”

I shake my head, continuing to rub at the sore bone as he tries to take over for me. “I hit my elbow. It’s fine.”

“Who are you? Do I need to get security?” he barks, completely focused on the young woman gaping into her palm a few feet away.

His arm is rock-solid with strain when I place my hand over it and slide my body in front of him, chest to chest. I’ve never seen him angry before, but this move is almost more for me than it is him.

The protectiveness that’s vibrating off his skin right now is an aphrodisiac. I’m struggling to catch my breath because I’m turned on by him, not because I’m scared he’s going to unleash hell on this innocent woman. He’d never do that.

What I would like him to do, though, is spread me out on the hood of his SUV and grind the hard dick pressing against my belly between my legs.

“I hurt myself, Jamie. She surprised me, and I fell back into the SUV,” I murmur, running a finger up and down his chest.

Slowly, the blue in his eyes lightens. He clears his throat, cheeks paling when he glances at the woman, embarrassed.

“I’m sorry,” he tells her as I spin, resting my back against his chest.

She blinks quickly and lowers her hand. “Oh! Don’t be. I get it. I can only imagine the kind of people that come up and try to talk to you. I’m the one who should be sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. You knew my name, so I assume you’re a football fan?” I ask.

“I am. But I didn’t come here to see Jamieson. No offense or anything!”

My husband chuckles. “Call me Jamie. And no offense taken. Blakely is the real star between us, anyway. I just catch the balls.”

“Well, in that case, I wanted to come and see if you were still here so I could say thank you,” the woman says, her words coming out so quickly I can hardly keep up with them.

“Thank me for what?”

Surprise loosens the woman’s features, yet that doesn’t stop her from explaining.

“The interview from earlier. There’s a video online, and when I saw it, I just knew that I had to say thank you for standing up for women. I’ve never dated a pro athlete, but I do work with them, and I think your message was important. Women are judged on every single thing they do, and no matter how badly we try to prove ourselves, it hardly seems to make a difference. The world has become programmed against us in too many aspects of everyday life. So, thank you for being brave enough to speak up about it. I’m sure that wasn’t easy.”

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