Chapter 6
SIX
What the fuck was wrong with me? My car sped along the empty city streets, passing through the streets of Dallas.
The established city made me miss home. Erie City wasn’t the biggest city in New York, but it was growing constantly.
What had started as a small port city near the border was becoming a modern metropolis, and I loved getting to see it grow.
I’d lived there for only three years, and my neighborhood had already shifted before my eyes.
As we turned off the main strip toward the hotel we’d called home for the past week, I snuck a peek at Brianna in the passenger seat.
As much as I wanted to ignore her presence at my side, it was impossible, not with the way her subtle floral perfume filled my car.
How did this woman pull me in so easily?
Was it because she’d been off-limits before we met, or was it something about her?
Brianna stared out the window, almost consciously trying to keep a wall up between us.
Even after drinking for most of the night, she sat straight up in the chair, as if someone had placed a taut spring along her spine.
She needed to relax, to breathe, but I wasn’t close enough to her to say anything.
Hell, this was the first time we’d been alone together, and I practically had to force her into my car. Which was surprising to me. I’d tried not to make assumptions, but experience had taught me that if I offered a woman a ride home, she’d usually make a move on me.
As I hit the turn signal, I turned my head to check for oncoming traffic, but got caught up, staring at Brianna. The streetlights highlighted her sad smile. There was an extra edge to her, one I hadn’t noticed when we first met. Jaded—like life had done a number over the past few months.
She sighed and shifted toward me, her short brown hair spreading out over the headrest. “I’m guessing this isn’t how you wanted your night to turn out.”
No, it was not, but for the first time in a long time, I was okay with leaving the bar early.
Celebrating with a new woman in my bed would have been fun, but lately, I’d woken up too many times with an emptiness inside my chest. No matter how many beautiful women traipsed into my life, it never seemed to fill, and each one-night stand only made it burrow deeper.
I cleared my throat, burying those emotions before smirking at Brianna. “Hanging out with a beautiful girl like you? I’ve had worse endings.”
Brianna shook her head, hiding a slight smile under a lock of hair.
I’d seen that look before—doubt and a little self-loathing.
My jaw tensed, and I hated the darkness that wafted off her.
“Once, when I was a rookie, a bunch of the guys pulled a prank on me. Took my clothes when I was in the shower and removed all the towels from the clubhouse. Had to run through the stadium naked, covering my goods with part of the mascot’s costume. ”
“And you drove back to the hotel like that?”
“Yup.” I grinned. “Walked right on the team bus and plopped down next to the coach. He almost had a heart attack right then and there.”
Brianna let out a soft laugh, covering her mouth as her giggles dissolved in hiccups.
I reached behind her and grabbed a spare water bottle from my bag in the backseat, twisting off the cap before handing it over to her.
She gave a grateful smile before taking a sip, holding the bottle in her hands afterwards.
“So,” I said as I stole a glance over at her. “Gonna tell me what happened to the ring?”
“What ring?”
I smirked. “You know which one, Bri.”
Brianna’s head snapped toward me. Her pouty lips dropped open as she covered her bare finger. “I’m surprised you noticed.”
“I’m getting a little insulted here. We spent a day together, and you think I didn’t pay attention to you?”
“Not really.” There was no resentment in her voice, just cold fact. “It was just one day, Damien.”
“You’ve also been to some of my games.”
“True.” She shook her head. “But it’s not like we’re friends or anything. I didn’t think you remembered my name.”
“Proved you wrong on that one.” I winked at her, relishing the subtle color that filled her cheeks. “But we have a lot of friends in common, so maybe this is a good chance to change that.”
Brianna’s face furrowed as she glanced over at me, as if trying to read my intentions. When I kept the amiable smile on my face, she sighed. “What do you want to know?”
“When you lost the ring.”
She laughed. “You have a one-track mind.”
You have no idea.
There was no reason for me to be so curious. Besides my rule about not messing around with married women, there was no reason for me to be so curious about the end of Brianna’s marriage. I should have let it go, but curiosity got the best of me, and I needed to know more about what happened.
Brianna sighed and turned toward the window, speaking more to the darkness than to me. “If you must know, I got divorced. We finalized it three months ago. In fact, I changed my name back to Sideris, so Mrs. Collier is no more.”
Fuck. That was recent. I tried to read her tone, but she gave nothing away. “How are you holding up?”
“As good as I can, I guess.”
“Can I ask what happened?”
“Lots of little things,” she answered. “We’d been drifting apart for years, but the nail in the coffin was when I walked in on him jerking off on a video chat with his assistant.
I told him I was done, and he just nodded, told me his lawyer would contact mine, and moved in with the same woman.
Turns out, they’d been having an affair for almost a year, and now that we’re officially divorced, they’re getting married.
” Brianna laughed, but it held no warmth. “Aren’t you glad you asked?”
“It’s not me I’m worried about,” I bit out.
Who the hell acted like that? I’d never met her ex, but I already hated him.
Cheating was the ultimate betrayal, hurting someone you loved for purely selfish reasons.
Even before my ex ran off with someone else, it had been a major trigger for me, watching it too often with my parents growing up.
They were both gone now, but the image of my mother weeping over my father’s infidelity was permanently marked on my soul.
“It’s his fucking loss.” My words took on a harsh tone, one I rarely used.
“You deserve better than a cheating man-child.”
Brianna nodded, not bothering to turn in my direction. Her jaw tensed, not trusting my words. It wasn’t my problem. Brianna wasn’t my problem. There was no reason for my pulse to quicken, wanting to find out everything about her ex so I could track him down and make him eat his words.
I pulled out into the hotel parking lot, staring out over the steering wheel. “Do you see any open spots?”
“Nope,” Brianna said. “You can drop me off if you want, then head back out to meet the team. I don’t want to disrupt your night any more than I have.”
Searching the lot, I found no open spots.
As much as I hated the idea of parking out on the side streets—I hated the idea of her walking alone more.
I pulled my car out of the garage and into one of the empty spots on the side of the street then turned off the engine.
When I stepped out and moved to the passenger-side door, Brianna stared up at me. “What are you doing?”
“Walking you inside.”
Her eyes flared to life, but it seemed more like fear than fight. “If you think—”
“I’m not presuming anything, Bri. Like I said, I just want to make sure you get inside safely.” I reached over and held my hand out to hers. “If you’re worried about me trying anything, don’t. I’m a little terrified of Ollie and what she would do to me if I’m not on my best behavior.”
That made Brianna smile. She took my hand and climbed out of the car.
It took everything in me to act like the gentleman I promised, but I couldn’t help staring at her long legs as they peeked out from the bottom of her slinky black dress.
For a moment, the image of her thighs wrapped around my ears flashed in my mind. Shit, I really needed to get laid.
I expected Brianna to scurry off down the street, considering that, all evening, she had seemed nervous in my presence.
I didn’t take it personally—between my stature and my reputation, many people had the wrong idea.
But the idea of making Brianna nervous didn’t sit right, especially with the limited information she shared about her ex-husband.
Instead, she stood in front of me, waffling on her heels like she was holding her words back. I shifted a little closer to her and pushed the door closed. Her hazel eyes tracked my movements, scanning my body when she thought I wasn’t paying attention.
When I leaned back, her lips quirked into a slight smile. “And if I didn’t want you to behave?”
Fuck. The words shot straight to my dick, unable to stop it from thickening at her tone.
Brianna’s innocent eyes flared to life, and for a moment, I considered what it would be like to cross that line, what it would be like to worship her.
If she were anyone else, I wouldn’t have hesitated, but Brianna wasn’t a random woman I met at the bar.
My team connected us, and our paths would cross, at least for the rest of the season.
And I also wasn’t joking about being terrified of Ollie.
I’d watched her step up to grown men triple her size because they insulted Parker. No way did I want to face her wrath.
“You’ve been drinking, Brianna,” I said, my words tight in my throat.
Her eyes darted down to her toes, and her sudden burst of confidence drained by my rejection.
Fuck, now I was the biggest asshole in the world.
All common sense fled me as she bit her lower lip, a dejected look crossing her features.
My body acted on impulse, and I moved closer to her, reaching down to trace her jaw with the back of my fingers.
She sucked in a sharp breath as her eyes darted up to meet mine.
“If you were anyone else, I’d already have you upstairs, naked and begging for my cock.
But you’re Ollie’s friend, Cam’s friend.
I don’t do strings, Bri, and you’re covered in them. ”
The corner of Brianna’s lip quirked up. “And if I wanted something with none?”