Page 41 of Tempting the Player
When he comes at me the next time, he’s no longer holding back. I don’t either. Damn, it feels good. Slick with sweat and pulse racing, some of the weight of everything fucked up in my life lifts. Not all of it, but enough that it pushes me to keep going until minutes turn into fuck knows how long.
We’re in a zone, exchanging punches and kicks in quick succession, when the door leading into the house opens. I look up to see Jane in the doorway.
“Hey,” I say in a half-pant because I’m out of breath.
Knox takes the opportunity to sweep my foot out from under me and I land with a thud on the rubber flooring.
Motherfucker.
15
JANE
As I stepout into the garage, a seriously cut guy with tattoos covering his chest and right arm steps toward me. “You must be Jane.”
I nod and lift a hand to wave at him because he’s kind of got me speechless. Wow. That’s a lot of muscle and a lot of ink. And is that a nipple piercing?
He plucks my hand out of the air and brings it to his lips, dropping a kiss onto the top of my knuckles. His smile is cocky and playful as he continues to hold my hand but stands straighter.
“You must be one of the brothers,” I say, finally finding my voice.
“The best Holland brother, or so I’ve been told.” Then he freaking winks. I’m ninety-percent sure he’s fucking around to piss off Hendrick, but I don’t get the dynamic here at all or what role I’m playing in it.
Hendrick gets to his feet. “Ignore Knox. The rest of us do.”
Knox drops my hand and steps back. He leans down, showing me more ink on his back, to grab a T-shirt off the floor. Pulling it over his head, he covers himself and then runs a hand through his hair. It’s lighter than Hendrick’s and Archer’s, a sort of dark blond, almost. It’s cut short on the sides and back, but thick and wavy on top. He looks like trouble. I think he is trouble. In fact, I think he thrives on it.
“Thanks for the workout, Henny.” He winks at me again. “Later, Hollywood.”
He disappears inside, leaving me and Hendrick alone, but the air is still thick with sweat and testosterone.
“Sorry about him,” he says, and suddenly I’m all too aware that more than one of the two brothers was out here shirtless.
Where Knox was lean and cut, Hendrick is broader. He still has a whole lot of defined muscle, but he’s bigger, more filled out. I watch a trickle of sweat disappear down his pecs along the faint line of light brown hair that continues down and soaks into the band of his shorts.
I snap my gaze up before I do something really stupid like lick him.
“It’s okay.” My voice is too high and too strained. I clear my throat and try again. “I’m sorry I passed out in your bed. I think I drooled on your pillow.”
One side of his mouth lifts in a smile. “It’s fine. I imagine rest is the best thing after something traumatic like that.”
At his words, all the fear and anxiety from today resurfaces. “Did Archer and Brogan find out anything about the guy that was following me?”
“Let’s talk inside.”
I follow him back into the house. The main living area is vacant, but music from opposite sides of the house competes, indicating at least two of his brothers are home.
He opens the door to his room and lets me go ahead of him. “Give me just a minute.”
He closes me in alone. While I wait, I pull out my phone. I texted the girls when we got here earlier to let them know I wouldn’t be home for a while. I wasn’t ready to tell them what happened because I knew they’d want to rush over, and they’d have lots of questions. They have sent a series of texts back since then. Dahlia says Felix is staying over at the house, but my pillow fort is available, Jordan and Daisy are having a movie night, and Vi is sleeping over at Gavin’s.
Hendrick returns wearing jeans and a black T-shirt, hair wet, and smelling like soap.
“So...” I start. “What’d you find out?”
His expression is guarded, but he clearly has something to tell me, and I can’t figure out why he’d possibly be holding back now. How much worse could it get?
“Your silence is freaking me out. Just tell me.”
