Page 56 of Scoring His Obsession

The Uber drops me off outside Micah’s house, which—let’s be real—should be dubbed an estate. Tension creeps up my spine while I walk toward the gate. People arrive at houses like this in fancy cars, yet here I am arriving in a Prius someone else owns…and without Athena. I was going to bring her, but Tab wouldn’t have it. She talked about getting outside my comfort zone, but I could tell by the gleam in her eye that she was less interested in that and more interested in what she thinks is going to happen tonight.

Nerves skitter through me like lightning strikes when the gate opens without me having to do anything. It’s as if he’s always watching, waiting. The tension building since I saw him the last time climaxes. The sex toys, the flirty pictures. Even from states away when he was supposed to be prepping for his game against the Studs, he sent us another employee—Katya—and hell if I didn’t take that as another form of flirting. He’s systematically removing the barriers preventing us from being together, and all of those thoughts swirl inside me while I roundthe back of the garage, my gaze out toward the water. The sun is low in the sky, but the rays still ricochet off the water, making it a twinkling portrait in front of me.

Tennessee is beautiful, but I’m always stuck seeing the inside of Nashville now. Concrete and traffic lights. Which can also be pretty, in a way, but my heart longs for scenery like this. Grass and water, the smell of rain. Nature, basically.

I input the door code Micah gave me, and the door swings open freely to his voice, “If you’re Raeann, you better get your sweet ass into the kitchen. If you’re some crazy fan, go away. I have plans.”

I walk fast, rounding the kitchen to find Micah standing at the counter with an apron tied around his waist. I stare for a moment, a smile tugging at my lips.It’s official, he can make anything sexy.

“What if I’m Raeannanda crazy fan?”

“Even better.” Those determined brown eyes lock onto mine. He strips his apron off, setting it on a stool, never once losing the hold he has on my gaze. “I missed you, Raeann Gorman.”

My heart starts to beat triple time. He opens his arms, and I immediately go into them, walking into his chest like he has a tether around his heart that’s connected to mine and the line keeps reeling in, closer and closer.

“God, I missed this,” he whispers, his hands roaming up my back, into my hair, and down over the curve of my ass.

“We talked on the phone,” I remind him.

“Mmm, a tease for the real thing. I want you to go everywhere with me.”

“I doubt other players’…girls follow their guys around.”

“You’re not them, and I’m certainly not other players either.”

That’s for sure. Micah’s incognito social media account praised me day after day. New and old posts, they just kept coming. “I got all your comments.”

“A poor substitute for actual conversation, but I like knowing what you’re up to.”

“Did anyone tell you that might come off a tad stalker-ish?”

“I may have thought about it a time or two, but you can’t stalk someone who’s willing.”

He kisses my neck, a light brush of his lips, and my lids flutter closed.

“Mmm, I thought so.”

“Unfair,” I breathe. “You’re using your good looks and talented tongue to your advantage.”

He pulls away and stares at me. “What’s unfair is how long you were in this world before I knew about you.” He slides his hands down to the curve of my hips, bringing me even closer. I inhale sharply before he says, “I made dinner.”

Not exactly where I thought he was going with this, but when I close my eyes, the surrounding aromas light my senses. “Is that the yummy scent I smell?”

“Barbecued steak, steamed broccoli, a little bit of rice.”

I peer over at the island to find two full plates. He pats my ass, steps out of my grip, and then grabs the plates, taking them to the outside table. There’s already a small blanket out there draped over a chair, and he sits in the one next to it. Two glasses of wine wait next to cutlery and a bouquet of flowers—all things I totally missed when I walked in.

My heart nearly explodes.

We eat, and Micah tells me stories of his teammates’ antics while they were away and game time ruminations. He likes Reid Parker a lot, along with a few other players he mentions regularly. Names I’m familiar with on a spectator level. The way he talks about them, though, it’s apparent they’re more like family to him. Brothers.

“Your eyes light up when you talk about them.”

“Funny, they said the same thing about you.”

I feel myself blush, cheeks heating. “It must be nice to have so many people in your corner. Like a big family. I always wanted more siblings, but when Mom left, it was apparent that wasn’t going to happen.”

“Your dad never thought about remarrying?”

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