Page 50 of Playing for Possession
“Yes.”
“What would you have on yours?”
“I’ve already done a lot of the things I wanted to do when I was a kid. Playing for Madrid... playing at Wembley. I was voted Best Hair in the Premier League twice in a row byGirlzonemagazine. I’m most proud of that one.”
Playing for my country should be top of the list, but now I’d seen her in that dress. Who gave a fuck about England?
She smiled. “Best Hair, huh? Those are all football things. What do you want to do outside of football?”
I wanted to touch her again, but I didn’t dare. Would she ever trust me enough to tell me what was on the other side of the list? “I haven’t given it much thought. I’d like to ride a camel.”
She burst out laughing. A lovely, rich, tinkling sound.
“Why is that funny? Wouldn’t you like to ride a camel?” I kept my tone deadpan because that always seemed to make her laugh. “I can’t believe you’re laughing at me right now when I’m being vulnerable sharing that with you.”
She laughed harder. “I’m sorry. I appreciate your honesty, but of all the things in the world... It’s so random. What is it in particular about riding a camel that appeals to you?”
“It just looks fun, doesn’t it? So bumpy.”
I breathed in her floral perfume. Her eyes sparkled with laughter. “I’d like to see you riding a camel. I bet you’d be flopping about all over the place.”
I lifted my eyebrows. “Flopping? I’d be riding that camel like a boss, I can assure you.”
She folded her arms across her chest, and her cleavage looked so amazing I was about to fucking die if I couldn’t bury my face in it.
I bent to whisper in her ear. “I have a lot of things I’d add to my list now I’ve seen you in that dress.”
She lifted her gaze to peer up at me. “What kind of things?”
Joanie wanted to take it slow, and if I was smart, I shouldn’t be taking it anywhere at all. Still, like the fucking horny idiot this woman had turned me into, I couldn’t help myself. If she wanted a rebound, then I could be the guy. I didn’t care as long as I could be with her. “I probably shouldn’t say them out loud. Most of them involve taking off our clothes.”
She bit her lip, and it was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen. “I’d like to ride a camel too, now you’ve mentioned it. You’ve really sold it.”
“You’d probably need very strong thighs.”
She raised an eyebrow. “No problem. I had a pony growing up.”
“Of course you did.”
She laughed. “What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing. It’s a rich-girl thing, isn’t it? Nobody I knew had a pony growing up. There were a few horses chained up on the estate, but I don’t think they were meant to be there.”
She frowned. “A rich-girl thing? I can’t help it that I grew up—”
“Privileged?”
Her frown deepened. “I suppose it depends how you define privilege.”
“I’d define it as having a millionaire rock star dad and a pet pony.”
She stepped back, creating distance between us.Fuck. We’d gone from flirting to irritation in a heartbeat. Shaking her head, she walked away from me onto the balcony.
I followed her outside. Warm night air wrapped around me. “What’s wrong?”
She peered over the balcony railing onto the dark grounds. “I know I’m lucky in many ways, but my childhood wasn’t all sunshine and roses. I’ve never liked the attention, and I don’t need you judging me. You’re so blunt, Kieran. Sometimes you say stuff and it’s... not that nice.”
I peered up into the sky. The night was stuffed with stars, as if there were too many of them. As if there was more light than dark. There was so little light pollution that you could see every single bright-silver point. I couldn’t believe the sky could be so empty and indifferent but so full of beauty at the same time.
