Page 112 of Irresistibly Risky

She stares at me for a very long time as she processes what I’m telling her. “You were going to discuss a trade deal I knew nothing about.”

My hands hit my hips, my insides stirring uncomfortably. “I was going to tell you about it tonight. I was going to tell you everything because there’s a hell of a lot to this. More than just the trade bullshit.” My eyes cling to hers. “Wynter, I wasn’t going to take the trade, so there wasn’t anything to discuss with that.”

That’s not an answer she likes. “Explain to me how you’re not out of here. Because it sounds like whether that trade happens now or later, it’s going to happen.”

“Before this morning, that was likely going to happen, yes. Now that’s no longer the case. I promise you, I’m not going anywhere, and I will make sure of it once I speak to Randolph.”

She shakes her head, her lips twisting into a frown. “I don’t see how that’s possible if Joe wants you gone that badly and he’s the head coach.”

“Trust me—”

“I don’t,” she interjects, her tone sharper than a blade as it cuts over me. “I’m pissed. Like seriously, supercharged pissed that I had to hear about it from Fallon and fucking ESPN.”

I step back into the space between her legs. This time, she doesn’t try to stop me. “Understood. It’ll never happen again. From now on, you’ll hear everything from me without delay. I’ll never keep anything from you again.”

Her face pivots to the side, and her eyes narrow in warning. “Nice try, asshole, but you’re not forgiven. Not by a long shot. I could still leave you, and I’d be well within my rights to.”

I plant my hands on the counter on either side of her thighs, bracketing her in. “True, but you won’t,” I tell her with an assurance I haven’t earned.

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that, Asher. I’m serious. I don’t know how to trust you right now.”

“I know and I deserve that.”

“What you did was really shitty, and I’m hurt and angry. Now we’re stuck in a media storm, and I feel like I was the last to know everything. You tell me the deal isn’t happening, but ESPN sure as hell thinks it is. I don’t see how this ends in a favorable way for us.”

32

Wynter can say that. She might even believe it. But she’s wrong. Doesn’t she know that I’ll never give up? That I’ll never stop fighting for her? For us?

“It will,” I promise. “Please, I’m sorry about how you found everything out, and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you from the start. I swear, I’ll never do that again. From here on out, I will always communicate with you first. Which is what I need to do now because I have more things to tell you.”

Her hands fly. “Oh, now you want to tell me things.”

“I was going to tell you everything tonight.”

“Too late!” she yells. “Tell me right now, Asher, and I swear, if you ever withhold anything from me ever again, I will slice off your balls and feed them to a neighborhood dog. Don’t think I won’t. I have scalpels at my disposal.”

I lean in and kiss her, my hand diving into her hair and cupping the back of her neck. I stare at her, hoping she can see that she is my whole world. “I love you, and I’m sorry. Please forgive me. I promise, it’ll never happen again,” I repeat as I press our foreheads together and drag my nose along hers. “Tonight, I’ll rain orgasms on your body until you’re so exhausted you can’t help but love me again. But for now, I do have a lot to tell you, and none of it is easy.”

“Okay.” Her voice trembles. “Just tell me. I don’t like the build-up.”

“I had Lenox do some digging into your father.”

She rolls her eyes. “I know. Fallon told me.”

A wry grin hits my lips. “When did she tell you that?”

“Today,” she hisses, still fiery. “Since you didn’t.”

I hold up a consolatory hand. “That’s fair. What did she tell you?”

“She said the guys were all in another room talking, and that she knew it must be something like this. She didn’t know what specifically though.”

“Are you mad?”

“Not about that.” She quirks a you’re an asshole eyebrow at me. “That’s a drop in the freaking bucket compared to everything else. But I’d like to know what’s going on.”

I thread our fingers together. “Lenox found a lot of information Joe has been trying to hide. In fact, he had quite the system built up with a lot of cyber protection on it. He didn’t want anyone to discover his secrets. They’re going to be upsetting. Nearly all of them will be and for different reasons and in different ways.”

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