Page 58 of Hard Ruck

“Exotic…” He pulled back and stared at me, a frown creasing his brow. “As in…”

“I took my clothes off for money,” I said. “And had sex for money.”

The roar of the crowd had lessened compared to the roar of blood in my ears. I hadn’t expected to have this conversation with him like this. Not in the front row, waiting for a rock concert to start.

“I see,” he said simply. “You said ‘until recently.’ You don’t do it anymore?”

I shook my head. “It was only to put myself through university. A girl has to eat.”

My laugh was nervous. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. I wasn’t sure he knew yet either. He was still trying to process what I said.

“Right. I suppose she does.” He sat back in his chair. His body was rigid, jaw clenched tighter than Storm’s ever was. That was the only sign he was trying to contain himself. He was using his on-field discipline to keep from losing his shit.

“I would have said something sooner, but it’s an awkward topic to bring up,” I said.

My palms started to sweat. I shouldn’t have said anything to him here. I should have insisted we wait until we were alone, somewhere else. Would that have been better? He might haveresponded the same, but it wouldn’t have been so public. I felt as though everyone was watching me, even though I knew they weren’t. Their attention was all on the stage. Where ours should be.

“I’ll say,” he agreed. “Do the other guys know?”

“They do,” I said. I decided not to elaborate on that right now. If he was going to judge me for what I did, he’d likely judge them for frequenting Flirts.

“Okay,” he said slowly. That seemed to irritate him even more. It wasn’t just me keeping secrets from him, it was them as well. It must be annoying the hell out of him to realise Storm knew, and he didn’t.

“Only them, not the team as a whole,” I said quickly.

“Okay,” he said again. “Let’s just enjoy the concert.”

“Yeah.” That sounded final to me. Like he was disgusted to learn about my old life. Apparently it was okay for him to fuck footy fans, but not for me to fuck for money. “If the team finds out…”

He turned his face to regard me. His golden brown eyes were deep and dark, betraying nothing but simmering anger. Who was it aimed at? I couldn’t be certain. Me for my past? Him for not somehow knowing? The other guys for knowing already? Maybe all of those. Or maybe something else. Perhaps the understanding that being seen with me could be detrimental to his career.

“I’m sure it won’t be pretty,” he said finally.

“I’m sure it won’t,” I agreed. “I should leave.” If I was gone before people started taking photos of him, or asking for selfies, it might lessen the impact on his future. He could pretend the only dealings we ever had was professional, as his doctor. He could distance himself from me and any scandal that might arise.

Honestly, that was a sensible approach for him to take, although the idea of it stung.

That was selfish of me, I decided. There was a lot more at stake than my feelings, my ego. Not just his future, but the future of the team. I was insignificant in comparison. I blinked away the moisture that threatened to spill down my cheeks.

One hand on the arm of my chair, I started to push myself to my feet. Before I could take a step away, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me back down.

“I said, let’s enjoy the concert,” he said so quietly I almost missed hearing him over the crowd. “We can talk afterwards.” His gaze bore into mine, quiet determination that I should do what he said. Along with that, an underlying threat of what he might do to me if I disobeyed. It wasn’t the threat of being stripped and spanked, it was something far worse than that. I might be the next body in the cemetery beside Ivy.

His hands rested in his lap, but his fingers were curled like he was picturing wrapping them around my neck.

My tongue darted over my lips. I didn’t like being told what to do. I certainly didn’t like to be threatened, there was something about him that suggested it wasn’t a threat. He could get to me and destroy me long before anyone who cared about me could stop him. He wasn’t scared of the potential retaliation. If anything, he was facing it down.

I nodded and sank back into my seat. Enjoying myself might be a big ask, but I’d stay.

What choice did I have?

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chelsea

I would have enjoyedthe concert a lot more if I wasn’t watching Atlas out of the corner of my eye the entire time. He grooved, clapped and sang along with everyone else in the audience, as though he forgot our conversation already. He looked like nothing more than a rugby god, out to enjoy himself at a rock concert. He even knew every single word of every single song, even the new stuff.

Jasper only appeared on stage a handful of times, playing the saxophone and occasionally winking at me or another woman in the audience. The lead singer, Decker Bolden, was just as flirty, clasping hands with various women and taking their phones to take photos of himself. The crowd loved every minute of it.

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