Page 84 of With the Assist

She studies my face like she’s checking for cracks. “But if we’re already pretending, if we’re already fake dating, we might as well reap some of the benefits.” Her lips twitch.

My pulse kicks.

“Benefits,” I repeat.

Wesley Miller is standing in my kitchen after kissing me senseless and offering benefits. My mind flashes through a dozen inappropriate images of what those benefits will be.

“Strictly temporary. Until my team party. When we fake break up, this ends too.”

Every smart part of me knows I should be thrilled.

This having an expiration date means I can keep my focus on my game and saving my contract.

But there’s something in my chest that sinks. The idea that this is a fling, that she’d categorize what’s happening as a matter of convenience, stings more than I would expect it to. Every relationship I’ve had in recent years has been a matter of convenience, and yet, now, when that’s what I should want, it doesn’t feel like enough.

Still, I nod.

“Yeah,” I say. “I can do that.”

I mean it. I’ve never wanted more from anyone, and I’m not going to start now.

She smiles, biting her lower lip in the process.

“Good,” she says.

I kiss her again.

This one is different. It’s hungrier and less careful. My hands slide along her sides, holding her there like I’m afraid she’ll disappear if I let go. She kisses me back just as hard, her fingers threading into my hair, pulling me closer until there’s no space left between us.

Right now, with her mouth on mine and her body warm under my hands, I’ll take whatever she’s willing to give me, even if it is temporary. There’s not a person alive who would be able to resist giving Wesley exactly what she wants.

My mouth stays on hers until water spreads across the counter, seeping under my hands, from the glass we knocked over in our carelessness. She notices it at the same time I do, her body shifting as she breaks the kiss to glance down.

“I should probably get down before I end up soaked.”

“You’d look good wet.” I flash my cocky grin, the one that riles her up.

“I can’t believe you just said that.” Her cheeks flush, and she starts to slide off the counter, but I don’t let her.

“By now, you should know I’d say just about anything to throw you off balance.” My hands tighten, one at her waist, the other under her thigh. I lift her like she weighs nothing. She gasps and instinctively wraps her arms around my neck.

“Nathan,” she breathes, half laughing, half something else entirely.

“I’ve got you,” I murmur, kissing her again before she can argue.

Her mouth opens under mine as I carry her away from the counter. My focus is narrowed to the heat of her body and the way she clings to me. Her legs hook around my hips without thinking, and their grip sends a jolt straight through me.

The couch comes up behind my knees.

I lower us down, until I’m sitting and she’s straddling me. Her breath is uneven, and her eyes are dark with desire and her signature restraint. The restraint that I love finding ways to break.

Then, as if making another decision, her hands latch onto the bottom of her shirt, sliding it up her body before tossing it onto the floor. My eyes search hers, filled with the desperate desire to touch her, to explore her body the way I’ve longed to.

She kisses me first this time, hands sliding into my hair, her mouth demanding and unrestrained. I groan, my fingers digging into her hips, pulling her closer until there’s no question about how much I want her.

I can’t believe she wants me, too.

Her hands slide on top of my own as she moves them slowly up her body, her bare skin soft and tempting in my grasp. I let her leadmy hands up her stomach and across the outside of her bra. It’s a light blue, lacy bra that will forever be burned into my memory.