Page 42 of Make Your Shot
Mia turns her body to face me, her head no longer tilted up to the sky. “Why?”
I swallow roughly, my eyelids lifting as I move to her, my chin dipping down to meet her gaze. “Are youseeing him?” I chew on the inside of my cheek. “The guy that was with you at the game.”
Mia’s eyebrows pinch together. “What? No.”
“You kissed him.”
She cocks her head to the side, confusion pulling her eyebrows together. “Because of the kiss cam...”
I lift my hand, dragging it through my hair, pausing to grab the back of my neck as my eyes search hers. “I thought you were on a date...”
She stares back at me, her eyes round with her eyebrows still furrowed. “No, Steven is just a friend. It’s never been like that between us.”
I draw in a deep breath, my eyes falling shut again as I feel my chest expand. I hold it for a second, rolling my lips between my teeth before I open my eyes once more. My lungs began to expel the air, soft and slow as my gaze crashes into hers. “I saw you kiss him...” I pause, a ragged breath slipping from my lips as my hand falls away from the back of my neck. I take a step closer, closing the distance between us. “And all I could see was red.”
Coach Landry is going to fucking kill me.
Mia closes the last two inches, stepping into my space. Her eyes slowly move between mine as she lifts her hand. She drags her fingertips just above the cut on my eyebrow. My gaze doesn’t leave hers and I don’t dare blink as she inspects my face.
She trails her fingers down the side of my cheek, drifting along the corner of my mouth before grazing my swollen bottom lip. “Is that why you got into a fight?” she whispers, lifting her eyes back to mine.
I swallow hard over the lump in my throat, bobbing my head up and down. Mia moves her fingers back to the side of my face, flattening her palm along my jawbone. My eyelids flutter shut, a deep sigh leaving me as I relax into her touch. “It was the only thing I could do.”
“Caleb,” she murmurs, her voice soft and tender. I lift my hand to cover hers, feeling the warmth of her skin beneath my palm “But why?” she asks. “Why would it matter if someone else kissed me?”
I drop my hand from hers, sliding it up her arm and along the base of her neck, curling my fingers around her spine. “Because it should have been me.”
Mia’s lips part, a soft breath escaping her as her eyes widen slightly, the moonlight catching the shimmering hues of her irises.
My face drops down to hers, my nose brushing the tip of hers. “Tell me to stop and I will.”
She’s my coach’s daughter. I need to stop this somehow.
She drags her top teeth across her bottom lip as she shakes her head. “What if I don’t want you to stop?”
Goddamn.
Any logical thought slips from my mind as my lips graze hers. I pause and the world around us slows down. Time is suspended between us and I feel the gentle exhale of her breath as it warms my lips. My heart beats faster, my left hand snaking around her hip as I pull her body flush against mine.
Mia circles her arms around my back, her fingers fisting the material of my shirt as my mouth sweeps across hers again. A groan rumbles in my chest as I sighagainst her. Her lips move with mine, hesitant at first, but as the flames between us crackle, it’s like her reservations disappear into the air around us, like smoke from a fire.
Mia’s body melts into mine, the warmth of her slender frame pressing against me. My tongue slides along the seam of her lips, requesting permission, needing more. She parts them without hesitation, granting me the access I desire. My tongue moves against hers, touching and tasting her.
She tastes like red cherries and a bad decision.
My grip tightens on the back of her neck as she kisses me back with a tenderness that seeps into my soul. I can’t stop the groan that I hum against her lips. She has been the most unexpected force to enter my life.
I breathe her in, the faint smell of lavender and vanilla infiltrating my senses, while I kiss her with a growing need. A warmth washes over me, blood rushing between my legs, the ache intensifying as I resist the urge to press my pelvis against her.
A breeze drifts through the air, shifting around us. One of the umbrellas by the pool creaks from the air as it puts pressure against the material splayed outward. It’s an unwelcome distraction, however, it’s the pull back to reality that I desperately need.
What am I doing?
I’m kissing Mia Landry.
My new nanny.
My coach’s daughter.
