Page 50 of Reckless Kiss

But I was in it now and there was no point in holding back. I reached across and took her hand because I couldn’t stand not touching her. “I’ll tell you what I think. I think you wish we’d never met because being with me means having football back in your life.” I flipped her hand over and ran my index finger along her inner wrist. “And I think you’re glad you met me because you can trust me with your body.”

I waited for her to answer but she didn’t. She didn’t even breathe. Instead she stared at me with huge eyes.

So I kept going. “Esme, if you can trust me with your body you should be able to trust me with everything.”

“I do trust you,” she whispered, her breath coming hard and fast now as her pupils dilated. “I’mprotectingyou.”

Now I was the one breathing hard. Protecting me? “I don’t need protecting.”

“Leo.” She squeezed her eyes shut. Her dark lashes fanned against her skin. “Explaining any of it puts you in danger.Beingwith youputs you in danger but—”

I was two seconds from pulling her into my lap. Instead I wrapped her hands securely inside mine. It was a sad consolation prize but it was something. Something I hoped helped her understand. “But?”

“I can’t do this.” She started to stand up but I refused to let her go. “Leo.”

“Sit down, Esme.”

“You can’t force me to stay.”

My blood pressure skyrocketed. “Watch me.” I probably sounded angry. I was angry. But not at her. “Please sit and allow me to have a conversation about this before you dismiss me from your life.”

She dropped back into her chair with a thud. “I can’t dismiss you. I can’t leave you. Don’t you understand? All I want is to be with you.”

“So your only option is to run?”

“Yes!”

I drew her hand to my lips and kissed each of her knuckles one by one. By the time I finished she was trembling. “No. You won’t run. You won’t ever run. You promised me six months. And Esme? If you decide to end things you will look me in the eye when you do.”

“I thought I could keep this from you.”

“You can’t.”

She shook her head as if it would change my mind.

Our waiter cleared his throat beside us. Our dinner had arrived. It was possibly the most awkward moment of my adult life. The waiter clearly saw that he’d interrupted something important. His face was red and he wouldn’t meet our eyes. Esme retreated into her seat, hands in her lap, eyes on her plate. While I sat as still as a statue until the man disappeared.

Then I picked up my fork and knife and tucked into my food. “I took your advice. It seems some very good players have had a series of unfortunate mistakes recently.”

Her silver clattered to the table. I watched her clasp her trembling hands and then shove them back into her lap. “Keep your voice down.”

I glanced around the restaurant. It was packed. I recognized several other diners but most were strangers.

“Don’t look around,” she whispered.

“Why?” It was almost impossible to keep my eyes on her. I wanted to study every single person in the room. Every waiter, every customer.

“To my right is a couple. She’s in a blue dress; he’s wearing a white button-up. Don’t look.”

I closed my eyes and tried to rein in my frustration. “How am I supposed to not look when you’re telling me what to look at?”

She slid her hand across the table and interlocked our fingers, plastering on a sexy smile. Afakesexy smile.Iknew she was acting, but to anyone else who wasn’t part of our conversation we must look like a passionate couple oscillating between one high emotion after another. At the moment we were making sexy conversation.

Which begged the question. Who the fuck was the couple watching us?

Esme continued to smile but the grip on my fingers tightened. “When a natural moment comes along you’ll know where to look and why.” Her eyes flared, demanded I listen. “To my left and behind, where you can see easily, is a man in a black suit. He’s facing you. There’s also a man in a matching black suit with his back to you.”

With my free hand I picked up my wine and casually glanced their way. The suit facing me was staring right at me. When I made eye contact I glared. He quickly looked away.

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