Page 75 of Forbidden Forward

Colby glances at me over his shoulder. Other than my open fly, which my blouse covers, I’m decent, and I nod, so he inches away from me. “We’ll clean up any messes. We, uh, …”

“Yeah, dude. I know a thing or two about ‘We, uh.’ Christ! Mauling each other in my fucking office! Why didn’t you have the decency to use the bathroom?”

Helpless, I shrug. “Someone was in there.” I lamely add, “We didn’t … you know.” I look down at the desk, and really, it’s not that bad. We were too busy clinging to each other like a pair of Siamese monkeys to disturb much. But none of that matters because we’ve been caught. By the team captain. In his personal office.

Eep!

He jabs a thumb over his shoulder. “Your brother’s been looking for you.”

My chest constricts. This is bad. What if Donny bursts in next? And now Cam knows—and he has a lot of sway with management. This could have a negative impact on Colby’s chances of sticking with the team.

I wriggle off the desk and elbow past Colby. “This is my fault,” I tell the captain.

Colby’s brows knot. To Cam he says, “Don’t listen to her. This is all on me.”

Cam’s eyebrow lifts as he lasers in on me. “You realize this isn’t going to help the relationship between your brother and your … tonsil-checker, right?”

I swear Cam snickers. In fact, he covers his mouth with the back of his hand, which makes me crack up. Then Cam loses it, busting out in hearty guffaws that make his big shoulders shake. Colby’s incredulous gaze volleys between the two of us. Obviously, he’s decided we’re both nuts. It’s also obvious he sees zero humor in the situation.

Getting myself under control, I wipe my wet cheeks with the heels of my hand. “I’d appreciate it if you’d keep this to yourself.”

Cam shakes his head. “Oh, don’t you worry, sister. Ever heard the expression about killing the messenger? I don’t want to take the punch your brother’s going to throw when he gets wind of this.” He jerks his chin at Colby. “Pretty sure his fist will have your name on it.”

“No doubt,” Colby grumbles.

Cam goes back to his crossed-arms posture. “How serious is this between you two?”

“Not at all,” Colby spews.

Cam’s gaze bolts to me in time to see my mouth swing open on a silent cry. I immediately snap it shut, and it takes him a few assessing seconds to say, “Right. You were just …”

“Checking each other’s tonsils. Examination’s over. Won’t happen again.” Colby slips his hands into his pockets and rocks on the balls of his feet, looking as casual as his words sound.

I should be grateful he’s making it sound like no big deal, but his nonchalance is a dart that strikes the bull’s-eye of my heart.

A few awkward beats pass before Cam excuses himself with a warning for us to clear out of his office in five minutes.

I offer Colby my back as I tuck in my shirt, pull up my zipper, and fasten the button of my jeans.

He places a warm hand on my shoulder. “Jackie, I didn’t mean … I just didn’t want him thinking—”

“Yeah, sure. No problem.” I shrug out of his hold.

He gently grabs my upper arms and turns me to face him, crouching so he looks at me straight on. “Hey, I’m sorry I didn’t listen when you asked me to stop. If I had, he wouldn’t have caught us. But he did, and I was just trying to protect you by saying what I did.”

I glare at him while I try to think of something to say, but I can’t. I’m hurt, even though I understand his logic. I hate this sneaking around.

My mind is a tilt-a-whirl, which is why what I say next is as thoughtless as it is careless. “This thing between us will probably be done by the end of the season anyway.” Even as the words leave my mouth, I realize I’m simultaneously lashing out, raising my defensive shields, and fishing for him to tell me I’m wrong—that we won’t be over. But he doesn’t.

Chapter 35

Marshmallow Truths

Colby

Cap keeps his word. At least I’m pretty sure he does. It’s been three days, and I haven’t heard a single comment that leads me to believe any of my teammates got wind of Jackie’s and my attempt at polishing Blue’s desk. Of all the boneheaded things I could have done, that puts the topper on the cake. I need to control my need to put my hands on that woman every time she’s within a hundred feet.

I convinced her to stop by my place last night so we could talk. Instead, we spent our time indulging in a quickie, after which she promptly left. She had to run, she said, because Donny was home. Is she using her brother as an excuse to keep her distance? I’m talking about emotional distance because the physical attraction constantly simmers just below the surface, breaching with the smallest of looks or touches. It occurs to me she’s using me for sex, which I probably would have been a fan of a few months ago, but not now. Not since I’ve become addicted to everything Jackie.