Page 74 of Wild Blades

“Yes, that.”

“I’m only going to look at it. No one said I was buying it.”

Okay, that makes sense.

“Although, from the photos, it looks perfect,” he adds.

“Oh, gawd.”

“Kali, stop freaking out.”

“But what if people think we’re together,together? People are already speculating.” It could risk my contract with the Eagles. Marcus will fire me. That girl, Britney, was fired after Wade slept with her... although she didn’t just sleep with Wade, it was about a quarter of the team.

“Who cares? You know what happened earlier will be kept between us, right?” He runs his hands through his short hair. He looks and sounds regretful, maybe embarrassed, about what we did earlier. I don’t know.

“Yes.” My voice sounds shaky and uncertain. “Never to be repeated,” I lie.

He flinches for a moment. It’s fleeting, but I catch it.

Hell, I do need a session with my therapist. Stat.

“I have a mountain to climb, Kali. I wasn’t lying when I said my head is a mess. I have nightmares. I have demons and I need help before I can ever consider letting anyone into my life. I’m not being selfish; I’m protecting you from me.”

Completely deflated, my mood plummets into the pit of my stomach.

Wade adds, “People, the press, the fans, they make shit up about me all the time. Hell knows where they get it from. Let them think what they want, Kali. We have nothing to hide. Well, from this point moving forward, we don’t, because we are professionals. Which we keep forgetting and need to start remembering. You keep telling me you’re worried about your job and that Marcus might fire you, and I don’t want that for you either, so I’m stepping back.”

His words are like a nail through my heart. He’s right. That’s what I have said, several times. I can only assume this means he doesn’t want things to go any further between us. Which is good, because neither do I.

Well, that’s a lie, Little Miss. Pants on Fire.

I stop pacing.

“Fine,” I snap. “Let’s go look at the house.” I grab my purse, sweeping it up off the floor as I stomp out of the living space of the swanky apartment Wade could easily turn into a fuck pad.

That thought makes me want to puke.

“I might not like the house.” He says from behind me.

I hope he doesn’t. Although there is a high chance he will love it. It’s all new and shiny. Only finished a few weeks ago, no expense spared. They had a team of interior design professionals in decking the place out.

There are also no trees in front of that house or mine, giving me a direct view.

I pull open the front door of the apartment in a huff.

I’m calling the landscaper to plant twenty trees in front of my house tomorrow.

Call me Pinocchio; my nose is growing by the minute. Of course, I’m not going to do that.

“Are you mad at me?” Wade asks.

“Nope.” I storm across the small space between the apartment and the elevator and hit the call button.

“You are.” The door slams shut behind Wade.

“No, I just…”Need him to kiss me… or rip off my clothes… or something… he’s completely derailed me…

He creeps up behind me and says against the shell of my ear, “You’re sexy when you’re angry.”

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