Page 32 of Once Upon A Player
There’s nothing I want more than to take her to bed, but if she’s not ready, I’m not rushing her. She’ll see not all players are the same.
“No strings.”
Her fingers twitch beneath mine, and she takes a deep breath. “No strings.”
I shift closer. “Does this mean I can kiss you?’
Some of the tension seeps from her. “Thought you’d never ask.”
“If I’d asked the day we met, you would’ve said yes?” I tug on her hand, and she inches toward me but doesn’t take the hint and lie next to me.
“I would’ve said no. I didn’t know you then.”
“Good answer.” I push myself onto my knees, so we’re facing each other, and gently pull her sunglasses off so I can see her eyes. It’s not even been a month yet since I first met her, but it’s the longest time I’ve ever waited to kiss a girl I wanted.Don’t fuck this up.
Her lips are soft and sexy, and raw need burns through me, diving straight to my dick. I want to slide my tongue inside her mouth and taste her.Don’t rush this.
Her fingers tangle in my hair, and I groan. The temptation is great to break my promise already, but instead I cradle her face with one hand and wind my other arm around her waist.
She sinks against me, soft and willing, her fingers exploring the back of my neck and shoulders.
We break for air, panting, and her satisfied grin makes me laugh. “That was worth waiting three weeks and five days for.”
“Well, I’msorelieved it wasn’t a disappointment.” She scores her nails across my shoulders, and I give a fake shudder.
“No chance of that.” I shift position so I’m no longer on my knees and tug her with me so we’re sitting next to each other.
“Is your knee okay?” She sounds concerned, and lightly traces the scars with the tip of her finger. “Does it hurt a lot?”
“No, it’s fine.” An odd glow heats my chest that she made the connection between my injury and why I moved. And if she noticed that, why don’t I tell her the truth? “Most of the time. Guess I’ve got used to favoring that knee, but it’s as back to normal now as it’ll ever be.”
“That’s good. I can’t imagine how you must feel, not being able to play. I’d hate it if I had to give up my designing.”
“It was brutal at the beginning of the year when we didn’t know if I’d screwed it up for good.” That’s a tactful way of saying, on the outside I wore my usualCarter the party animalface, while inside I was losing my mind.
“I bet you’re upset you had to miss the tour.”
“What, and miss this picnic with you?” I thread my fingers through hers and give her a mocking smile.
She scoffs, clearly not believing my bullshit. “Yeah, right.”
“If I’d been on tour, we could’ve done this yesterday.”
She shakes her head, but she’s smiling. “Okay, nowthatI believe.”
“And when I got back, I’d take you anywhere you wanted.”
“But since youdidn’tgo, that offer’s not on the table?”
“Try me.”
“Anywhere?” She sounds like she’s trying not to laugh.
“Hypothetically.”
“In that case, I’ve always wanted to do a grand tour of Europe. You know, visit Versailles and all the grand palaces. Oh, and I’ve always wanted to go to the Forbidden City. How amazing would that be?”
“It’s amazing,” I agree. “I went there as a kid with my family. Spent most of the time counting how many dragons I could find.”
