Page 39 of Face Off
The thought undoes me.
I gasp into the pillow, body shuddering as release crashes over me, sharp and overwhelming.
For a long moment, I lie there trembling, catching my breath. The room is silent, my skin damp, my body spent.
But my mind? My mind is anything but quiet.
Because even as the aftershocks fade, one truth remains, stubborn and dangerous and undeniable.
I want him.
Not just his kiss. Not just his body. Him.
And I don’t know how much longer I can pretend otherwise.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
OLLIE
I’m still smiling when I make it back to my flat, still tasting her on my lips.
Christ, I kissed her. Ifinallykissed her.
I drop my jacket on the back of the sofa and fall face-first into the cushions, groaning into the fabric like a teenager. My chest feels like it’s about to burst, like I swallowed a lit sparkler and forgot to blow it out.
I didn’t mean to do it. Not really. I told myself I’d walk her home, keep things casual, be a gentleman. But then she looked up at me on the pavement with those wide, uncertain eyes, and everything in me just tipped over the edge.
And she kissed me back. That’s the part I can’t get past. She didn’t pull away. She leaned into it, soft at first, then fierce, like she’d been waiting too.
I roll onto my back, arms spread wide. I should be exhausted, training today was brutal, and I’ve got an early skate tomorrow, but my body is wired, jittery. My hip throbs dully, but even that pain feels muted against the rush of kissing her.
Of course, the sensible part of me knows this is a bloody nightmare waiting to happen. Murphy would kill me. Sophiewould kill me harder. And Coach? Christ, I don’t even want to imagine Coach’s face if he knew I was making eyes at the one journalist he’s tolerated on sufferance.
But when Chloe laughed nervously against my mouth all I could think was, there’ll be anext time.
And that thought? That’s what’s keeping me awake.
By the time I drag myself to training the next morning, the high’s dulled slightly, replaced by a deep ache in my hip that makes me limp more than usual. I keep my strides long, hoping no one notices, but Mia’s eagle eyes catch me before I even make it to the changing room.
“Ollie.” Her voice is sharp enough to cut through steel. “Why are you walking like you’ve got a nail in your hip?”
I plaster on my grin. “Morning to you too, sunshine.”
She folds her arms. Not impressed. “Don’t ‘sunshine’ me. You’re off.”
“Off? Nah. Just,” I twist a little, wincing despite myself. “Bit stiff.”
Her brow arches. “You’re lying.”
I shrug. “You wound me.”
She points at the physio room. “Now.”
I groan theatrically, earning a snort from Murphy as he strolls past. “Busted already? Day’s not looking good for you, mate.”
“Pipe down,” I shoot back, but the banter feels thin, hollow. Murphy doesn’t notice, thank God. He just claps me on the back and saunters into the dressing room.
Mia, on the other hand, doesn’t let up until I’m stretched out on the physio table, her hands digging into my hip flexor with zero mercy.
