Page 94 of Over the Line

Garrett nodded. “Yeah?”

I licked my lips. “The third one isn’t filled because I haven’t replaced the Porsche. The fourth…”

He studied me. “That’s where I’m parked now, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. And that’s… that’s why I keep it open.” I held his gaze. “Because even though my house is set back from the road, people snoop. They get nosy. They get desperate for gossip and stories. If a car’s parked out front overnight…”

He made a face. “They’ll make assumptions.”

“Sometimes right ones. Sometimes not. But not things I need fans or reporters talking about, you know?” Ugh. God help me if Jack Arlen ever caught wind of someone parked in front of my garage all night.

Garrett shifted a little, some uneasiness creeping into his expression. “That makes sense. You’re a public figure. Comes with the territory.”

“It does. But there are ways to mitigate it.” I pulled open a drawer and picked up one of the spare remotes for the garage door opener, which I offered to him. “Keep this in your car.”

His eyes widened. “You… want me to have it?”

I nodded. “I hate that I need all the secrecy and shit. The NDA. The…” I held up the remote again. As he tentatively took it from me, I added, “I hate that it’s necessary, but I also want you to come over enough that it makes sense for you to have this.”

Garrett’s lips parted. I couldn’t read his thoughts to save my life. Was this too much? Too weird?

“There’s a reason I still wanted you to come over even though we couldn’t fool around.” I held his gaze as my heart pounded with sudden nerves. “Wanting you here, talking to you constantly, this thing we’re—it’s not just because of the sex.”

He gulped. “It isn’t?”

I shook my head. “No. The first night I invited you over, if we’d just watched hockey and hung out—that would’ve been fine. The sex is awesome and all, but…” Those nerves threatened to get the best of me. Still, I somehow I managed to whisper, “I like you. Yes, I’m absolutely horny for you. I’ve jerked off thinking about you, and I will again, and I’m not ashamed to admit it.”

His breath hitched. It wasn’t news to him, but if he was anything like me, the thought turned him on. Just imagining him rubbing one out while he thought about me—fuck.

I pulled my thoughts together, though, and went on, “Yes, I want you…” I gestured up to indicate my bedroom above us. “But I also want you…” I motioned around the kitchen, the living room, and everywhere else I could encompass with a sweep of my hand.

Garrett gulped. “You don’t just want sex.”

I shook my head, my stomach roiling with fear that I was going to scare him away. “Sex is fun, but ever since we met…” I chewed my lip. “I don’t know. I like being with you. I like texting with you and FaceTiming and hanging out even when sex is off the table. That’s what keeps me coming back as much as everything else.” I paused, then softly added, “Like the part where we just spent like half the night on my couch doing nothing but watching TV and talking.”

He stared at me, and I had a few seconds to be absolutely sure he was about to hand back my garage door opener and bail.

Before I could try to do some kind of panicked damage control, though, he slid the controller into his pocket, wrapped his arms around me, and pressed his lips to mine.

When we finally came up for air, he met my eyes, and his were burning with need but also something much more intense. “I like you, too. And not just when we’re naked.”

The whole world seemed to tilt beneath me. We were on the same page? Holy shit, we were on the same page.

“When it’s just sex, I can walk away, especially if I think it’s a bad idea.” He kissed me again, letting it linger this time, and he only broke it enough to whisper, “I just can’t resist.”

Oh, fuck me. My spine liquefied as he kissed the breath out of me. It was way, way too soon to be thinking this was anything serious. That love or long-term or any of that was on the table.

But holy shit, the way this man touched me? The way he looked at me? The way he sounded almost reverent as he admitted he couldn’t resist? None of that added up to someone who was being led around by his dick.

When we broke the kiss this time, he touched his forehead to mine. “This is going to be complicated. With you and Chris being teammates. I… I still don’t even know if it is a bad idea, or if he’ll care, or…”

“I get it.” I touched his face. “Maybe it won’t be a big deal once it comes out, but it could be.”

“Exactly.” He drew back enough to meet my eyes. “We could be seriously overthinking this. Chris really likes his mom’s boyfriend, and I’m sure he expects me to date at some point.”

“We might be. But it could also bother him that you’re dating me in particular.” I trailed my fingertips along Garrett’s jaw. “I’m fine with erring on the side of caution and keeping it quiet for now. Especially because you’re trying to get back on solid ground with him.”

Garrett sighed, looking genuinely relieved. “And I don’t want to mess things up in your locker room.” He rolled his shoulders as if shaking off some lingering tension. “Let’s just keep doing what we’re doing. Take things one step at a time. See how things go. Let them develop. And if it looks like there’s something here, then we’ll talk to him. And, uh, the team.”