Page 100 of Crossing Lines

“It’d be old news by next year. Your affair with Jonah won’t hold as much weight with him gone and us winning the championship. I’m sure there’d be some sort of reprimand, but it would be mild.” He lifted his chin. “And quite frankly, if the asshole wants to start a scandal, let him. The season’s over.”

“Won’t it affect your ability to recruit for next year?” I’d feel awful if players decided not to come to ASU because of me. I tensed my jaw.

“Really, Gibson? We just won the championship. Who the fuck is going to turn down a chance to play for us now?” Hesmirked and patted my shoulder. “Can I give you a few days to think about it?”

I took a calming breath. Staying in this organization, especially after this win, was appealing. But no. I wanted to be where Jonah was. And I was sure he’d be in Toronto. “Thanks, but I’m going to hand in my resignation as soon as we get back. The official reason being my mom’s cancer.”

“Sure.” He held out his hand. “It was great having you.”

“Thank you.” I shook his hand, then left. It was time to talk to Jonah. As I walked down the hallway, I texted him.

Ryan

Hey, we need to talk. Are you still relatively sober?

I hated to pull him from his party, but this couldn’t wait. I strolled to the elevator and pressed the call button.

Jonah jogged to me, his team sweats hugging his body in all the right places, his dark bangs falling around his stunning blue eyes. “You looking for me?” He cracked a wide smile.

“I am.” I hated to ruin his mood. But with this news, we might be able to plan a future together. “You did a great job out there tonight.” I leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. It didn’t matter now who knew.

As the elevator door dinged and slid open, his eyes rounded. “You kissing me in public now, Coach?” He grabbed my elbow and led me into the elevator. “I’m totally on board with this.” He hit the button for our floor, then pinned me against the stainless-steel wall, lifting my arms over my head. “Fuck, I want you. Now.” Rocking his swelling cock against mine, he devoured my mouth in harsh kisses, his teeth scraping on mine, our tongues tangling.

As desire tingled in my dick, it plumped in my slacks. I ground against him, pleasure sparking up my spine. It felt like it had been forever. He had a way with kissing in elevators. I savored every second of it.

The elevator stopped and the doors swung open.

We both twisted our heads.

Ace stood there with a bottle of champagne in his hand. “I guess we won’t be seeing you two the rest of the night.” He cackled and stepped into the elevator. “Go, get out of here and fuck yourselves silly.” He dipped his head toward the hallway.

“Hell yeah.” Jonah snatched my hand and hauled me into the hallway, then to my room, because of course he’d scoped out where I was staying.

As I slid my keycard out of my breast pocket, I said, “Jonah, before we start something, we really need to talk.” I flung my door open and stepped inside. I couldn’t wait to get out of this suit.

“Okay.” He shut the door behind him and followed me in, the swagger of the win in his step.

Shucking my coat off, I said, “Go ahead and take a seat.” This was a sit-down conversation, after all. I hung my jacket off the chair by the desk, then worked my tie off and draped it over the jacket.

“You’re undressing for me, but you’re saying we need to talk.” He tilted his head. “Do you have any idea what that’s doing to me right now?” He curled the edge of his mouth.

I faced him with a shake of my head. “It’s not what it looks like.”

“Uh-huh.” He tongued the corner of his lips. “So, let’s get this talk over with. You know how horny I get after a win. And this was the biggest win of all.” He patted the bed next to him.

If I sat next to him, would we fool around instead of talk? “No, I’m going to stand for a moment.” I crossed my arms over my chest and gazed at the floor for a second, thinking. How the hell did I start this conversation? My face went slack.

He bumped off the bed to squeeze my forearm. “Ryan? What’s going on? You don’t look so good.” He stood up fully. “Is it your mom? Is the cancer worse than you thought?” He stepped closer.

Gazing into his gorgeous eyes, I said, “No, it’s Owen. I’m turning in my resignation on Monday.” My heart tripped in my chest. How was he going to take this? “He got letters through to the whole coaching staff. They all know about us.”

He stared at me for a beat, his jaw dropping, then his gaze grew hard. “No fucking way, Ryan. You are not letting that asshole win.” With his lips thinning over his teeth, he paced across the room and raked his fingers through his long bangs. “You can’t do this. It’s not right.” He stopped and glared at me. “Is your mom really sick?”

“What?” I blinked a few times. Did he really think I’d lie to him about that? “Of course she is.”

“Fuck, I’m sorry.” With a choked huff, he strode to me, then wrapped me up in a tight hug. “Fuck, Ryan, I’m so sorry.” He nuzzled my neck. “This is all my fault.”

“No, it’s not. I did this to myself.” Hooking my arms around his waist, I inhaled the scent of him, the fresh hotel soap on his skin, the hint of beer and tequila on his breath. “I need to go home anyway and help my mom. She needs a serious round of chemo in about a month.”

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