Page 93 of Unrivaled

She does all of those things, though, without saying a word. She barely even spares me a glance. Then she takes my hand and leads me to my couch. I follow her directions and sit, but what really catches me off guard is when she cups my jaw in her hands, bends at the waist, and kisses me.

My fingers tighten on her wrists, as though that can hold her in place. Bind her to me. Make her say yes.

Wait, is she going to say yes?

When she pulls away, I let her without protest, though I don’t let go of her wrists.

She slides onto the couch next to me, pulling her hands back so that they rest in mine. “I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said yesterday.”

“Which part?” I sound like I haven’t had a drink of water in days, my throat parched and my voice hoarse.

“All of it.” She takes a deep breath and meets my eyes, her mouth open like she’s about to speak, but no words come for a long moment. Finally she gives me a crooked smile. “Sorry. This is harder than I expected.”

“It’s okay,” I tell her, wanting to reassure her. “Whatever it is, just tell me so I know. I think the waiting is harder than knowing at this point.”

Her smile turns sardonic. “You’re the one who told me to think about it.”

I huff a half laugh. “I guess you’re right. So what did you think about?”

She shakes her head. “Everything. All the possibilities. And on my own, I couldn’t come up with an answer. All I could see were the downsides.”

“But?” I prompt when her pause drags on for way too long. Of course way too long might’ve only been like two seconds. But I’m dying here.

She smiles again, this time all amusement at my impatience. “But Autumn pulled me aside earlier and asked me a very important question that I wasn’t really considering.”

“What question was that?” My voice is still full of gravel, and no amount of throat clearing appears to make any difference.

“What do I want?”

I blink, waiting.

Her blue eyes examine my face, and her smile breaks free again. “And the answer is that I want you. I kept thinking it was crazy, moving in together and moving halfway across the country when we really haven’t known each other very long. But I know that you’re a good dad. I know that you care about me and you care about Ben, and ever since you showed up again, you’ve done everything possible to take care of us, even when I was determined not to let you. Maybe itiscrazy, and maybe itisearly, but …”

She pauses, her eyes meeting mine, her fingers digging into my palms. “I love you, Gray. So yes, we’ll move with you when you go. There are a lot of logistics we’ll have to figure out, and I want to finish my degree regardless—”

“Of course,” I break in, mind reeling. Did she really just say she loves me? She did. She really did. “Of course. I would never ask you to drop out. I know that’s important to you, and I don’t want to take anything away from you. I want to give you everything.”

Pulling my hands from hers, I guide her into my lap, relief swamping me as everything she just said takes root in my brain. I kiss her, hard and fast. “I love you too. You and Ben. I missed you so much while I was gone, and when you wouldn’t talk to me, I thought I might go crazy.”

She lets out a burbly laugh, tears filling her eyes. “I’m sorry. I was trying not to be a distraction, and it sounds like you’re telling me I was a big one.”

Cupping her cheeks, I bring her lips to mine for a brief kiss. “You’re my favorite distraction,” I tell her before kissing her again.

She wraps her arms around my neck, opening for me and sliding her tongue against mine. I don’t know if it’s because she just agreed to move with me and our relationship suddenly became less ambiguous or what, but somehow she tastes sweeter. Better. Having her in my arms feels right in a way that nothing else ever has. Not even football, and that’s the place I’ve always felt most myself.

Clamping my hands on her ass, I scoot to the edge of the couch. Startled, Tiffany ends the kiss and looks down at me. I give her a quick smile. “Hold on, baby. We’re gonna do this right this time. I’m taking you to my bedroom.”

With a laugh, she wraps her legs around my waist, her arms holding tighter to my neck as I stand. Holding her like this pulls her tight against my already hard cock, and from the way she sucks in her breath, I know she feels it too. She squeezes my hips with her thighs, rubbing herself on me in tiny movements.

“Fuck, baby,” I mutter as I carry her to my bed, “you’re determined to kill me, aren’t you?”

“That would be self-defeating,” she whispers, then sinks her teeth into my earlobe. And holy shit. I’ve never had a girl do that to me before. It’s erotic in a way I never would’ve expected, sending heat and goosebumps racing down my spine. All I can do is groan my response and help her rub herself against me.

I can’t decide whether to lay her on the bed, or sit on it myself. But when she realizes we’ve reached the bedroom, she makes the decision for me, unwrapping her legs from my hips and reaching for the floor.

Almost regretfully, I set her on her feet. She drags her hands over my shoulders and down my chest, then slides them back up under my T-shirt. “Arms up,” she whispers. Obediently, I raise my arms and let her drag the fabric up, bending to help her pull my shirt off. She rubs her hands over my bare skin, lightly scratching with her nails, admiration and lust stamped on her face.

So many of our encounters have been quiet and quick, the possibility of Ben waking up always hanging over us. We haven’t had as much time to explore each other as either of us would like, it seems. As difficult as it is not to just rip off our clothes and sink inside her, I keep my hands at my sides and let her survey my chest at her leisure.

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