Page 84 of In It to Win It

“Sorry?” My eyes pop. “Why?”

“That was rough. I got carried away. I don’t want to hurt you.” His hand trails down my back.

I twist to look at him. “You didn’t hurt me. I loved it.”

Our eyes meet, the impact nearly physical, a link of mutual understanding. “Good,” he says gruffly. “Be right back.”

He slides out of me, the disconnection unsettling. I let my weak body flop down and roll to my side, knees drawn up. My breath is still uneven, my nerves still overstimulated. Wow. Just . . . wow.

JP is back in seconds, lifting me into his arms while he somehow yanks down the covers. He deposits me back onto the bed and climbs in with me, pulling the sheet and duvet up over us and tucking me against him. I sigh with pleasure, every nerve ending in my body suffused with contentment. I give my butt a little wriggle against his groin and he lets out a low rumbling noise. “Careful there, sexy. You could be getting fucked again any minute.”

“Ha,” I scoff. “As if you could get it up again that fast.”

“Are you kidding me?” He tilts his pelvis against me, and damn, his cock is half hard. Still? Or again? “I’m good for more than just a one-timer.”

I burst into giggles. “Good one.”

“Thanks.” He rubs his face against my hair. “Damn, baby. You’re so hot.”

His arms are big and strong around me. I feel safe and secure. I feel like I’m where I belong.

“I never had sex with Anthony,” I blurt out.Fuck.I close my eyes.

He goes immobile momentarily, his hand stilling where it’s caressing my stomach. Then he relaxes and lets out a soft laugh. “Good to know.”

“Not that it’s any of your business,” I add hastily.

“True.” He kisses my shoulder. “Still . . . good to know.”

He said he’d wanted me for so long . . . but he thought I was dating Manny . . . and then Iwasdating Anthony. Deep inside me, it’s not a surprise. I feel that tug every time we’re around each other . . . I can’t stop looking at him, and I catch him looking at me. I feel the heat. It’s probably why things never worked with Anthony. Instead of fantasizing about him and wanting to bone him, I was thinking about JP, remembering how hot it was being with him. Even though I thought he was a jerk who stole his brother’s girlfriend.

“How was your family dinner?”

“The usual. Lots of squabbling. Grandpa’s not happy Everly’s dating an older guy. We debated feminism. They took every opportunity to remind me I’m a shithead for stealing my brother’s girlfriend.”

“But you didn’t!”

“It was still a stupid thing to do.” His voice is low and rough. “I didn’t steal her. Or intend to steal her. But I should have stayed far away from her. She was my brother’s ex.” He blows out a gusty breath that stirs my hair. “To be honest . . . it kinda stroked my ego that she was interested in me and not Théo. When we were kids, everyone liked Théo. He was smart and hardworking . . . well behaved. I . . . wasn’t.”

“Shock.” I smile and rub his arm. I feel a pinch at the back of my throat, thinking of young JP trying to live up to his big brother’s image. I agree that he shouldn’t have dated his brother’s ex, but I understand this.

“I tend to act on my feelings. Sometimes I don’t think things through.”

I let that process. “Like when you’re playing hockey?”

He huffs a laugh. “Yeah. I’ve made some mistakes on the ice too. I’m . . . trying to do better.”

I shift and turn to face him. He adjusts his arms around me but doesn’t let go. Our heads on the pillows, our eyes meet. “How are you trying?”

“That’s why I’ve been coming to yoga class. A way to deal with stress and pressure.”

I nod. “That’s good.”

“I’m trying really hard to think before I act.” He pauses. “Which is why I stayed away from you.”

I suck briefly on my bottom lip. “I get it.” The whole time I’d been with Anthony, trying to forget about JP, he was exercising his self-control to stay away from me. I swallow down a wave of sadness that we wasted time.

“I should probablystillbe staying away from you,” he adds.

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