CHAPTER 13
It could have been the dark, or the fact that she had been thinking about this for weeks, but all of Scarlett’s senses homed in as she reached up to graze her fingertips against Theo’s beard.
The smell of him was so much more than it had ever been, rich and masculine, and surprisingly sweet.
She wanted to dive in a pool of his body wash—or better yet, be in a shower with him, she found it that delicious.
The pressure of his mouth was also unexpected.
She had imagined that he might be a rough kisser, but he was gentle and doting, in a way that almost conveyed that he cared.
But that was preposterous. This wasn’t anything more than a physical reaction, a primitive sort of response that was likely to happen between any two attractive human beings.
But as his hand came up to gently cradle the back of her head as his tongue swept into her mouth, deeper and deeper in sensual rhythm, her own base desires edged toward the dangerous cliff of caring.
Mentally, she beat that idea off as she stroked the scruff of his beard, enjoying the sensation.
She then lifted her fingers to the top of his head and combed through his short curls, savoring every bit of the feel of him.
How long had she wanted to touch him? Since the very first time she’d seen him.
But the last thing she wanted to do was ruin a perfectly good kissing session by overthinking it.
Theo’s other hand was splayed across her ribs, with his thumb beneath her left breast, and Scarlett was desperate to have it move upward, but as the gravity of his kiss increased, his hand remained obstinately in place.
She could have sworn she felt a light tremble of his fingers, but her own need was too strong, and she closed her fingers over the edge of his palm and pulled it up herself.
A sound halfway between a groan and growl fell into her mouth from his. Scarlett’s right leg came up in between his as she rolled onto her back. She could sense him crawling over her, and she was briefly astounded by the length of him, pressed against her thigh.
Her breath hitched, and he broke off their kiss, cocking his head to the side. His hands dropped from her body to the floor beneath her as he raised himself above her.
“Damn it, Scarlett. We can’t do this here—”
“Yes we can,” she breathed, putting both of her hands on either side of his face to bring him back down toward her. “It’s fine—”
“It has to be morning by now. Someone will be here soon.”
“No.” She pressed a kiss to his mouth. “No. We have time.”
“Scarlett…”
“I’m an early riser, I swear,” she said, coaxing him back toward her as she strung a line of kisses down his throat. “Just a little longer.”
He growled again as his mouth returned to hers, and to her delight, his hands returned to her body.
Only this time, he inched beneath the edge of her shirt and bra.
Yes. The heat of his palm directly on her skin was the most electrifying thing she had ever experienced, and she bucked her hips upward, desperate for every bit of him.
It had been ages since she had done this with anyone, and whether it was the pent-up months of desire to be touched or because she was desperate for Theo, she didn’t know.
Her hands moved to his chest, and she explored the strong, solid ridges of his torso, as she remembered the sight of his stomach.
She wanted to feel his abdomen with her bare hands, and reaching for the edge of his shirt, she—
The tinkering with the handle at the door practically echoed through the dark space, and Scarlett was quick to disentangle her limbs from Theo’s as she scrambled away.
Thankfully, whoever was trying to open the door was apparently finding it difficult, as a mumbled curse sounded from the other side.
Scarlett quickly yanked down her shirt and sorted herself out as the door opened and the light from the hallway spilled in. She squinted at the brightness, and with her back facing the door, she heard the head kit manager’s startled voice.
“Cripes,” he shouted, grabbing his chest. “Ya almost gave me a heart attack! The bloody hell are you doing in— Er, Mr. Ross?”
“Hello, Elliot,” Theo roughly answered as she finally turned around.
He was still on the floor, his knees bent and his ankles crossed, looking as though he was often caught lounging on the floor of the gear room. His arms were resting on his knees, and had she not known what he had just been doing—what they had been doing—she might think he was perfectly relaxed.
Elliot glanced up at Scarlett, then back down at Theo, but before he could come to any sort of conclusion, Scarlett cleared her throat and spoke.
“These keypads need to be fixed ASAP. Theo, er, I mean, Ross,” she corrected herself in an effort not to sound overtly friendly with the man she had been kissing only moments ago, “and I were locked in here overnight without our phones, and quite frankly, it’s ridiculous that an organization like this can’t fix an issue like this in a timely manner. ”
“Right, yes, of course,” Elliot said as Theo stood. “I’ll mention it to maintenance, and they’ll get on it right away.”
“Good.”
“And get out the brown pinnies,” Theo said to the kit manager as he picked up his jacket and shook it out. “We’re doing suicides today.”
“Er, I don’t think you’re allowed to call them that anymore,” Scarlett said.
“Why not?”
He faced her, and suddenly he was Theo Ross again, head manager of the Bees who didn’t appreciate being questioned about anything pertaining to his sport.
“It’s considered insensitive.”
He cocked his head in a sort of sarcastic way. “And what exactly are we supposed to call them now?”
“Line drills, I believe.”
He stared at her, and whatever she had hoped to see before when they had been rolling around in the dark didn’t appear. Instead, he appeared angry and somewhat guarded.
“Right, well,” he said, facing Elliot, “get them out and set them up. I’m going home to change, but I want the entire team to know that this is what happens when they mess around and break equipment around here. Pranks are over. Full stop.”
“Yes, sir,” Elliot said as Theo stormed out of the room.
Scarlett blinked. What had just happened? One minute they were kissing, the next he was acting like nothing had happened. She hurried after him, trying to figure him out. He was halfway down the hallway when she reached him, puzzled as to why he was stalking off at a breakneck pace.
“Uh, hello?” she said before he rounded the corner that led to the stairs. “Theo?”
He stopped at the sound of his name and rounded on her. “What?” he practically barked, and her eyes went wide. She hadn’t expected that. Why was he copping an attitude with her? And why was he in such a rush to leave? “Well?”
Her hackles rose at his tone, but she tried to shrug it off.
“Don’t you think…” She paused as a handful of women players passed by them, each giving them curious stares.
That’s right. The women practiced this morning.
Scarlett’s voice dipped after they were out of earshot.
“Don’t you think we should talk about what happened? ”
“What’s there to talk about?”
“Uh, how about that we almost banged in the utility closet?”
Theo’s nostrils flared as he observed the hallway. Was he self-conscious or something, or was he simply one of those guys who never talked about how they were feeling? Like her ex.
God, she really could pick them.
“Listen, we can’t talk about this here.”
“Why not?”
“Because there’s a strict company policy about this sort of stuff.”
“Is there?” she asked, confused. “I didn’t know that.”
“Well, had you read your contract as thoroughly as you should have, you might.”
She glared at him. What was his problem?
“There’s always been a discouragement of allowing coworkers to, well, associate, as it can lead to trouble. There was an incident a few years ago with a member of the team and one of the athletic trainers. They started a relationship, and unfortunately it didn’t end well.”
Scarlett’s mind began to reel. “What happened?”
The strain of his expression was oddly discomforting, and he glanced down before answering.
“The athletic trainer was fired. The higher-ups implemented a strict no-personal-relationships ordinance. So, this”—he made a motion with his hand between them—“didn’t happen. Unless you want to lose your job.”
“No, of course I don’t,” she said.
“Neither do I.”
They were quiet for a moment, apparently both digesting the facts at hand.
“So that’s it? We don’t mention this? Don’t discuss it, ever?”
He gazed down at her with apologetic eyes. She could almost sense the yearning rolling off him, but then he shook his head.
“No.”
Such a deafening single word, that no. No, they couldn’t discuss it. No, he wouldn’t share his thoughts with her. No, Scarlett couldn’t figure out how to stick to liking nice, normal guys who weren’t emotionless, closed-off statues. What was wrong with her?
Humiliation mixed with irritation bubbled beneath the surface. Why was she always going for the guys who loved to touch her but not anything else?
Yes. That was it, she decided as the mortification and misery and anger swirled within her, combining like some cataclysmic cyclone.
To hell with him, and to hell with Eric.
To hell with every guy who had ever shown her any interest, only to snatch it back the moment she reciprocated those feelings.
“Fine,” she bit out, storming past him.
But now he wanted the last word.
“Listen, it’s not like this could even be a thing,” he said in her ear as she climbed the steps. “Not really.”
“Oh? Why not?”
“Because we’re too different. We come from different places, have different ideas about things.”
“Ah yes,” she replied sarcastically. “Fair point. Opposites never attract. They’ve never worked out.”
“Where do you think this could even lead, honestly? You’re not going to stay here indefinitely, so what would be the point?”