Page 57 of Sealing the Deal

The kiss is unhurried and intentional. Like we’re both acutely aware of everything that brought us here. His mouth is warm and sure against mine, his lips coaxing rather than taking, giving me time to pull away if I want to.

I don’t. I lean into him instead, fingers digging into the fabric of his sweater, my body pressing against him, craving more. He deepens the kiss, slow and exploratory, feeling every bit the beginning of something we’ve both been fighting for too long.

When we finally pull apart, my pulse is racing, and all I can think about is how much more I want. Grayson’s forehead rests against mine, his breath warm, his lips still close.

“I’ve wanted to kiss you since the first moment I saw you at the bar,” he murmurs. His voice is rough and stripped bare. “Then especially after you told me to get the hell out that second time.”

I exhale a laugh.

But then he pulls back, and I see his walls sliding back into place, his expression shifting from heat to control. “Thank you,” he adds quietly. “For staying last night. And today.”

He moves to take another step back, like that’s it for us.

I shake my head, shoving his chest. He looks up in surprise, staggering half a step. “Oh, no,” I say. “You do not get to kiss me like that, say thank you, slam down your walls, and decide we’re done.”

“Flic.” His brow furrows. “My family. My father. My work. I can’t ask you to be part of that. I won’t risk you getting hurt. You deserve someone who can give you more than I can.”

I roll my eyes. “First of all, I work damn hard, too. I know exactly what it means to give something everything you’ve got. So don’t act like you’re the only one who sacrifices.”

I step closer, jabbing a finger at him.

He winces. “Ow.”

I ignore him and continue. “And second, don’t I get a choice? It’s my life. I get to choose what risks I take. I don’t need you protecting me.”

He opens his mouth.

“No,” I cut in. “I’m not asking you to change. And you’re not asking me to change either, because I won’t. Your life is split between New York and Denver. You’ve got more money than anyone could spend in ten lifetimes, and my bank balance looks like I’m still collecting spare change from couch cushions. Everything about our lives is different.” I lift my chin. “But I want you.”

“I want you, too. But how can this ever work?”

“Maybe it can’t.” I shrug. “But for once, don’t you want to stop overthinking? Stop worrying about all the reasons it’s too complicated, and just enjoy it for what it is, just this once.”

Silence stretches between us. I brace myself for another list of reasons we shouldn’t. Instead, he exhales slowly. “Just this once?” he repeats. “Are you saying…” He trails off, stepping closer again, his presence filling every inch of space around me.

“One time,” I confirm, not just for Grayson, but for me. Because I want this so bad it hurts, but even I can see how difficult a future would look between us. He still hasn’t said how much time, if any, he’ll spend in Denver when the playoffs are over. And Denver is where my life is. One time feels dangerous and safe, all at once.

He starts to smile, eyes dark with desire, but then he grimaces. “It’s been five years, and you’re ridiculously hot, Flic. The first time might not last very long.”

I laugh. “One night,” I correct.

He tugs me back against him, hands firm and sure, and his mouth finds mine. And all it feels is right. It feels inevitable. Tomorrow, we’ll go back to reality. To Denver and New York and everything that makes this impossible. But tonight, we choose this.

TWENTY-FIVE

GRAYSON

The elevator doors barely have time to slide shut before I’m moving Flic back against the wall. I cup her face in my hands, catching the spark in her eyes, that challenge, like she’s daring me to talk myself out of this. After the kiss we shared in the old community center, the heat, the want—the promise of just this once—restraint is no longer an option. I’m already lost.

A few wisps of hair have slipped loose from her braid, framing her face. I tuck one behind her ear, my touch lingering, and then our mouths collide. The kiss is hungry and reckless, carrying the heat and urgency of all the times I’ve held myself back around her.

Flic makes a soft sound against my mouth that goes straight through me. I groan, dick twitching against the seam of my jeans, swelling harder by the second. “Once those doors open, I’m never letting you out of my apartment again. This night is gonna be never-ending.”

Her laugh is low and wicked. She nips my lower lip hard enough to make me hiss. “You planning to lock me up, Ashborne?”

“No,” I murmur, hands sliding down her sides, memorizing every curve. “Just fuck you against every surface I own.”

She fists my collar and drags me closer, her mouth trailing along my jaw, down my neck, leaving heat in its wake. “That’s a lot of surfaces for one night.”