Page 60 of Behind the Net

She gives me a look. “Stop stabbing me with that skyscraper.”

I choke out a laugh. Only Pippa could make me laugh in this moment. Maybe I’m lightheaded because all my blood is straining in my dick right now.

“What about you?” Pippa looks at me. “Everyone says you don’t date.”

“I don’t.”

“Never?”

Erin’s face flashes into my memory—happy, smiling, and I’m flooded with guilt all over again as I remember reading about her pulling out of all of those fashion shows.

“I had a girlfriend when I was nineteen.”

Pippa’s head tilts as she listens.

“Erin.” It feels weird to say her name out loud. “She was nice but…” I shake my head, unsure of what to say. “My schedule is intense, even in the offseason, and my mom needs a lot of attention.”

Pippa nods, and her eyes are full of warm compassion. She’s the only person who knows the full extent of things, I realize as I study her face.

“I can only handle those two things.”

She nods again. “Right.”

I meet her eyes, and something shifts in my chest. Playing pretend like this feels too easy. It’s different from dating Erin, who always felt more like a friend, and that realization is a sharp kernel in my chest. My hands stroke up and down Pippa’s sides, and her eyelids fall halfway, like it’s either relaxing her or turning her on, or maybe both.

My attention is pulled to my cock. Again.

Hard. Again.

I’m letting myself act the way I want to with Pippa, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop once we leave. Touching her is fucking magic.

Behind Pippa’s back, Zach stares at her while his friend talks.

My cock throbs, and I get an idea. I’m an evil asshole, and I’m taking advantage of Pippa when I’m supposed to be helping her. There are a million reasons why I shouldn’t do what I’m about to, but I don’t care. The second we walk out the door, everything goes back to normal. We both know this isn’t real.

“You really want to drive the stake into his chest?” I murmur, leaning in and letting my mouth brush her ear. She shudders against me.

I wait until she meets my eyes. Christ, her eyes are pretty.

“Kiss me,” I tell her.

CHAPTER29

JAMIE

Pippa blinks.

“He’s watching.” I arch a brow, and my gaze falls to her lips. I know how soft her mouth is. I’ve replayed it a hundred times. “Only if you want to.”

“Yeah,” she breathes, nodding, and when I lift my gaze to hers, she’s looking at my mouth. “If he’s watching, we should.”

“Mhm.”

“Okay. I’m going to kiss you now.”

My hand comes to the back of her head and I gently pull her forward.

Our kiss is different this time. Less urgent, less frantic, although I feel all those things beating against the front wall of my chest, urging me to take her mouth, but no. I want to savor this one, because just like her sitting in my lap, we’ll never get another shot. After tonight, she’ll never see that loser again, and my opportunities to touch her will drop to zero.

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