Chapter 29
Twenty-Nine
MALAKI
“If you see him, you tell me, yeah?”
Reese peers at me from her shorter frame, that glossy lip tucked in beneath her teeth. She nods before scanning the crowd.
When I came to find her, after talking to Coach Jacobs about the potential to sit me out for the next game to lower the risk of injuries for the playoffs, I was ready to ask her if she wanted to leave, but now here I am, letting my protectiveness take charge.
Don’t you mean possessiveness?
I give my subconscious the middle finger and wrap my arm around Reese’s waist for all to see.
At least this gives me an excuse to touch her more—something I’ve been trying to reel in since seeing her in this dress. The slit in the fabric plays with my emotions, and the only thing I want to do is take her back to that hallway we were just in and have my way with her.
I reach up and loosen my tie.
Most of my teammates have made the rounds and left, though there are plenty of donors still lingering with full glasses of liquor.
“I don’t see him,” Reese says quietly.
I turn my head and brush my nose against her delicate cheek. She tenses at first but turns and gives me more access to her neck. My lips hover over her ear. “Of course you don’t.”
“Why do you say that?” she asks.
A man as vindictive as Benedict isn’t stupid. He isn’t going to put himself in a position that could come across as stalking.
“Because he’s smart,” I admit. “He won’t show his face.”
Reese’s pulse picks up pace the longer we stand at a cocktail table and scan the crowd.
I stare at the little flicker against her neck for several minutes, and I can’t stand it any longer.
I pull her in front of me, grip her hips, and press her back against my chest. “You’ve gotta calm down, Dimples. ”
She inhales, her lungs tight with trapped air. “I know. I just can’t.”
“Take a deep breath with me.” I inhale and hold my breath until she follows suit. Her chest expands, and I get an eyeful of her perfect cleavage.
I blow the air out slowly and watch her chest deflate the same as mine.
“There you go.” I swallow. “Let’s do it again.”
I inhale, she does the same, and then we both exhale at the same time. My warm breath falls to the crook of her neck, and I stare with fascination at the goosebumps that appear on her flesh.
We inhale and exhale again, and this time, I make sure my lips graze the side of her ear. “Good girl.”
Reese trembles in my grip, and my dick immediately hardens at the thought of her liking my praise.
Fuck me.
I have to be sensible.
I can’t drag her out of this event with hopes of doing something filthy to her in one of the closets. It’s not like that between us, as much as my body craves it.
A hot swallow forces itself down my throat when I exhale again, only to be knocked on my ass by Reese’s sweet scent.
Quick, think of something that’ll douse this fucking fire.
She shifts in front of me, and I grip her hips again. Her ass grazes my dick, and I can’t stop myself from grunting.
She glances over her shoulder. “Are you okay? Did I step on your foot?”
I clench my eyes shut. “No.”
“No?”
I make a mistake by opening my eyes, my gaze immediately dropping to her lips.
My mouth waters.
We should probably leave so I can put myself in the fucking corner.
“Are you less nervous?" I ask.
She glances at my mouth and then turns away. “Yes.”
People are starting to head out, the event closer to ending. I give a tight-lipped smile to a few people I recognize before giving Reese all my attention again.
“You lyin’ to me, Dimples?”
I hear her mouth open and then close again. It takes her a few seconds to answer me.
“I’m…distracted,” she admits.
Heat rushes my veins, and a raspy hum vibrates my throat. “Are you calling me a distraction?”
She scoffs. “You know you are.”
I shrug from behind her, doing my best to keep a little bit of space between her ass and my dick. “That wasn’t my plan. But I have to admit it’s a good one.”
Reese shifts, and we’re flush again.
“We should go.” The three words slip out from in between my teeth on their own.
I don’t want to go, but I’m antsy. My fingers beg to graze more of her body, and all I want to do is grind against her so she can feel how hard I am.
The thought of driving her ex mad gets me off too.
Before she has a chance to move away, I do something impulsive. As if my hand has a mind of its own, it sweeps against the satin fabric of her dress, brushes against the curve of her breast and ends at her chin. With my index finger, I angle her face toward her shoulder where my mouth is waiting.
A surprised noise slips from her, but instead of pulling away, she sweeps her tongue against mine to deepen the kiss.
My knees nearly give out.
Fuck.
I dig my fingers into her hip, and she quickly snaps out of it.
Our kiss ends, and her cheeks burst with heat.
My nostrils flare. “You ready?”
One sharp nod and we’re heading outside.
The fresh air sweeps against my heated skin, and I quickly shrug my jacket off to roll my sleeves. I’m hot and bothered, and she knows it.
“Sorry.” She nervously pulls on a stray hair that fell into her face. “I got a little carried away with the storyline.”
The valet pulls up with my car, but instead of acknowledging him, I reach out and grab onto Reese’s wrist. She stops mid-step toward the passenger door.
“Never apologize for kissing me,” I say.
Her attention moves below my waist where she felt an obvious bulge a second ago.
Instead of being ashamed and acting guilt-stricken, I chuckle. I erase the space between us and wrap my arm around her waist while opening the passenger door with my other hand. “Don’t worry about me,” I whisper into her ear. “I know how to take care of myself.”
She shifts, and we make eye contact.
The remorse in her eye is gone, and in its place is something so enticing I’m half-tempted to spin her around, press her against the side of my car, and grab that delicious thigh of hers that’s been playing peek-a-boo all night and wrap it around my waist.
Jesus.
I am acting insane.
“Do me a favor and stop looking at me like that.” I press on her waist and guide her into the car.
When she’s tucked inside, I pull the seatbelt and drape it across her body just to get close to her again. For once, she doesn’t put up a fight about me doing something for her. She lets me buckle her in without so much as a huff.
Before I shut the door, she stops it with her hand. I drape my forearm on top of the car and raise a brow.
“How am I looking at you?” she asks, fluttering those long eyelashes at me.
I don’t sugarcoat it. “Like the idea of me stroking myself gets you hot.”
Reese snaps forward and stares out the windshield.
But she doesn’t deny it.
Which does nothing but feed my suspicion–my fake fiancée might just want me as much as I want her.