Page 74 of Keep Me Never
“Um…” He trails off, and it’s so cute, but as he steps back a little, his eyes travel over me, and that adorable, playful bashfulness I thought I saw vanishes. Chase glares, his eyes snapping up to meet mine.
“Paige.”
Unease coils in my gut, and I wiggle my toes in my socks, waiting to learn what happened in the last two seconds. “Yeah?”
“I know you’ve never really dated an athlete before.”
“I’ve never really dated anyone before,” I add, a little unsure of what’s happening here.
His eyes snap up to mine, the green disappearing as his pupils grow, but then he shakes his head. “Right.” He clears his throat. “Let me give you a crash course in being mine, okay?”
I nod.
“You’re wearing another man’s number on your chest, over your body, and close to your heart. Love Brady, but… No, actually, sorry, butfuckno.” He pulls something from his hoodie pocket and holds it up. “I was bringing you this.” He holds out his home jersey, the blue one with the mustard-yellow letters. “Now I realize you’ll need this too.” In one swift swoop, he tugs his hoodie over his head, and now he’s staring at me with two pieces of clothing in his hand, his naked chest right in my line of sight.
My eyes fall to the wide spread of his pecs, to the soft golden skin I’ve seen a hundred times at the beach over the last few years but never like this. Never when it was mine.
Because that’s what he said, right? That’s what he is?
Mine.
My eyes move back to his as he speaks again. “I was going to ask you to wear it today, but now I need you to. I need all these Vegas fans who consider walking up to you to think better of it when they see my number on your chest and my name on your back.” He steps closer, pressing both against my chest. “Wear my number, Angel?”
“You know I will.”
He grins, leaning in and nipping at my lips. “Good answer.”
I lean in to him, chasing his mouth, but he pulls back, setting the clothing in my hands.
“I’ll wait.” He presses himself against the opposite wall.
“Wait…right now? I thought you only had two minutes?”
His eyes fall back to my chest, narrowing slightly. “I’ll wait.”
I open my mouth, confused and prepared to urge him to go before he gets in trouble, but then the door opens at my back, and Cam reaches out, wrapping her hand around my arm.
“OMG, Paigey. Let me help you out. The hoodie you grabbed from my bag is Brady’s and Chase is having a moment. I kind of want to torture him a little longer, but I want you to take my man’s number off a little more, so…” She laughs, tugging me in and closing the door.
She beams, literally pulling it up over my head and then slipping Chase’s on and yanking the door open before I can even put my hands through or pull my hair free.
Chase’s eyes instantly fall on my chest, where his number is printed on a little helmet, the wordsAvix Universitycurving around it. His smirk is slow. Naughty. And I swear he kicks off the wall in slow motion, each step measured and in sync with a thump of my pulse against my ribs.
He comes right for me, grabs my face, and I wait for him to eat me alive, as always, but he doesn’t do that. His kiss is feather soft, and I melt against him, my eyes closing as my limbs liquefy. But they’re gone too soon, creating a trail of warmth on their way to my ear. “Very good, baby.”
My breath hitches, palms pressing to his naked chest, fingers spreading wide.
“Will you do one more thing for me?”Another little bite.
“Of course.” My voice is embarrassingly husky.
“Make sure my name or number can be seen. No obstructions, just total confirmation.” His fingers brush along my hair, still tucked in the hoodie. “Just like this?”
I nod, the heat of his lips sending chills down my spine.
“Thank you, Angel.” He hums his approval, pressing one last kiss to the underside of my ear, making my body twitch. I feel his mouth curve into a smile against me.
And then he’s gone, without another look back. I’m left utterly turned on and desperate for five more minutes with him. Alone, preferably in a room with the door locked.
