Page 65 of Thunderstruck
My voice breaks the spell, and Carissa takes a step back. “I am,” she says and brushes her tongue along her bottom lip.
Disappointment surges through me. “Oh.”
But she smiles. “Only because now I want you to do it again.” Though I step forward, she presses a hand to my chest to keep me at a distance. “This is why I said we should make rules, Cole. I’m starting to think my interest in you isn’t going away anytime soon.”
This might be the strangest situation I’ve ever been in. “You’re interested in me?” I ask, feeling a smile creep onto my mouth.
Carissa laughs. “Has that not been clear before now?”
“Just curious.” I fold my arms to keep myself from reaching out and pulling her closer. Her hand still rests against my chest, and I’ll let it stay there as long as she wants it to. She can probably feel the rapid beat of my heart, and I don’t care. “For the record, I am extremely interested in you too.”
A beautiful blush splashes across her cheeks. “But we shouldn’t act on our interest.”
I nod and lean closer. Not a lot, but enough for her to notice. “No, we shouldn’t.”
Oh, that blush. The way she colors so easily might be the death of me. “You’re giving me mixed signals here, Cole. I mean it!”
“So do I.” I chuckle and bite the inside of my lips as she shakes her head at me in clear frustration. “But that doesn’t mean I like it.”
We both have good reasons for sticking to a strictly platonic relationship, but I don’t know if I’ve ever encountered anything that will be harder. Not now that I’ve gotten a taste of her and know without a doubt that she mirrors my attraction. I can’t call what I did a kiss—not one worth remembering—and everything in me wants to show her how I really kiss.
“Maybe we should make our rulesbeforelunch,” she says, biting her bottom lip.
“None of that,” I say immediately, pointing to her mouth. I take a large step back and swallow hard. “And no licking your lips either.”
She grins. “Like this?” Running her tongue in a full, exaggerated circle around her mouth, she laughs when she catches sight of the pained look on my face. “Okay, I will avoid anything lip related as long as you stop flexing.”
I glance down at my still-folded arms. “I’m not flexing.”
An agonizing moan ekes out of her. “Seriously?”
Well now Iwantto flex. And I do, if only to get that sound out of her again.
Carissa shuts her eyes as she groans. “This is going to be harder than I thought. You rugby men are something else.”
“Are you telling me you’re going to be drooling over the whole team every day?” I ask in a growl.
She sighs. “A little, but mostly just you.”
“That’s what I thought.”
“Cole, this is ridiculous.”
“I agree. Let’s throw out the whole concept of rules.”
When she looks at me again, something has shifted inside her. The amusement and attraction are gone, replaced by sadness and worry that instantly turn my blood to ice. “It’s a bad idea, Cole. You and me. You know it is. I only just started with the team, and if we give thatHollywood Hot Scoopwebsite a reason to poke around with a sharper stick, it’s going to hurt us both.”
I don’t care what happens to me, but I hate the idea of anyone getting close enough to Carissa to hurt her. Stomach clenching, I drop my arms and nod. “Okay. You’re right. You don’t deserve to be dragged through the mud. And I need to figure out how I’m going to keep the team from falling apart while Moxie’s in recovery, which is going to take all my concentration. Can’t have you distracting me.”
Carissa tucks her arms around herself, and I ache to hold her like I did last night. “Does this mean we’re doomed to only ever be friends?”
“Ugh, I hope not.” I shake my head, marveling at how quickly my whole life view has changed. A week ago, I was miserable because I thought I had lost the love of my life when Sage left me. Now…now I’m worried I’ll never even get a chance with the woman who outshines Sage in every way. “I will treasure your friendship, Carissa. But I will always hope for more.”
She smiles. “Me too.”
“But you’re right, and the timing is…not great.”
That gets a laugh out of her. “It’s terrible.”
