Chapter Six #2
"Yes. No." I glare at him. "Undecided."
"Would you let me off the hook if I told you that I took full responsibility in there?" he asks, nodding toward the arena.
"You did?" I blink, suspicious. "Why?"
"I started it, didn't I?" He shrugs like it's not a big deal. "I shouldn't have said what I did."
"No, you shouldn't have," I agree, glaring at him. "You're a jackass for that."
"I'm aware."
It's hard to be pissed at a man taking full responsibility for being a jerk. But I am still pissed. "I'm not sleeping with you, Corey."
"I think we've established that already."
"If you were serious back there…"
"About which part?"
"Any of it," I say firmly. "It's not happening."
"Noted," he says, his green eyes flicking over me. "Want to hear a secret?"
"On or off the record?"
"Obviously off the record."
"Fine."
"I was engaged once," he mutters, looking at the ground. "She was the love of my life."
"Seriously?" I gape at him. "What happened?"
"My best friend happened. While I was focused on my career during my rookie year, he was convincing her that I was fucking around on her. I got home from a game one day to find all of her shit gone, with a note saying that she'd moved in with him."
"Corey," I gasp, stunned. "That's…"
"Fucked up? Yeah, I know." He laughs ruefully, nudging at my tire with his foot.
"I decided relationships weren't for me after that.
Fun is as far as I go now, and that's not you.
" He peeks over at me, grinning. "But maybe I'm a little fucking jealous.
And maybe giving Phoenix a hard time makes it suck a little less. "
I have no idea what to say to any of that.
In a way, I feel bad for him. He got dealt a shit hand, and he's clearly not over it.
But pushing Phoenix's buttons isn't going to make him feel any better, not really.
It's just going to lead to more of what happened today, and I don't want any part of that.
So I sigh instead, glancing back at the arena. "Is he okay?"
"You'll have to ask him."
"Fine." I hesitate for a minute, eyeing Corey. "One more question."
"Shoot."
"You didn't start that rumor about him, did you?"
"Nope." He meets my gaze. "But you already knew that, didn't you?"
"I…" I trail off and then nod.
Corey just winks like he's proud of me for figuring that one out. "See you later."
"Yeah, later," I mumble, my eyes still locked on the arena. I'm not sure how long I stand there, but Phoenix never comes out. Eventually, I give up waiting and climb into my car, my mind spinning through everything that happened today. It's…a lot.
Oddly, the fact that Corey used to be engaged isn't even the big mindfuck of the day. It's everything that happened before that revelation, like the look on Phoenix's face when he launched at Corey. And the defeated look on his face when he walked away.
I don't go back to my office when I leave the arena. I don't go home, either. Instead, I drive around for a while, lost in my own thoughts, trying to make sense of what the hell happened.
Part of me wants to just write Phoenix off as a violent, crazy person…but I know better. That isn't him. He doesn't just lash out like that, even when provoked.
The other part shies away from the implications of what's left. It feels too big. And yet…it feels just right, too.
Eventually, I find myself in his neighborhood, and I hate that I know where he lives. I hate that I know exactly which house is his. I hate that neither of those truths keeps me from pulling into his driveway, too.
"You're losing it," I mutter to my reflection in the rearview. The woman staring back looks a little wild. She's wide-eyed, with pink cheeks, and this glow I've never seen before now. Is she the version of myself brave enough to reach for what I want?
I don't know.
I climb from the car, smoothing my hands down my dress. My heart is a wild thing in my chest. My whole damn body vibrates with nerves as I make my way up the sidewalk on shaking legs, not entirely sure why I'm here.
The answer crystallizes as soon as he throws the front door open, his wild eyes locking with mine. The red spot on his cheek has turned into a nasty bruise, and there's a small cut above his right eyebrow. His hair is a mess, his expression fierce.
"What are you doing here, Cara?" he asks.
"I…" I open my mouth to lie, to make this less significant than it is, and then snap it closed again.
We both know it'd be a lie anyway, so why bother?
I'm here because he's here. I'm here because he got into a fight over me today, and I want to know why.
I'm here because…well, because it's the only place I can imagine being right now.
"I'm not interested in Corey," I say instead.
"He's into you," he grunts, jealousy flickering in his gaze.
"Not really." I cross my arms. "He just likes pushing your buttons. You make it easy, you know."
"Can you blame me?" he asks, his expression raw as it climbs up and down my body. "Christ, Cara. I'm…"
"Are you going to hit everyone who flirts with me, Phoenix?" I ask before he can finish whatever he's going to say. "Because I'm not sure I can deal with that."
"Depends."
"On what?"
"On if they put their hands on you," he mutters.
"You have any idea how fucking insane that made me?
" He scrubs a hand through his hair, his gaze dead serious.
"You melt for me, Cara. Every time I touch you, you melt.
But you aren't mine yet. It's driving me nuts.
Seeing him with his hand on you…" He expels a heavy breath. "I hated that shit."
"I didn't love it either," I mutter. "I…" I swallow hard, my heart in my throat. "I was preparing to tell him that you're the only one allowed to touch me, Phoenix. But you didn't give me a cha—"
He doesn't give me a chance to finish speaking this time, either. Instead, he moves like lightning. In two seconds, I'm pressed against the brick wall, his hard body caging me in. His lips are inches from mine, his breath a harsh rasp in his throat.
"Why are you here, gorgeous?" he asks, his hand curving around my jaw to tip my head back.
"I…"
"Why?"
"Because you're here," I whisper. "Because I was worried about you.
Because I've tried like hell to pretend that you aren't driving me crazy, but I can't do it.
Because…because…because…" I don't know how to make sense of the cacophony in my head.
I don't know how to put it into words, either.
So I stop trying and lift up on my toes, letting my body say what my tongue is too tangled to express.
"Fuck," he grunts against my lips, his big body trembling against mine. For a split second, he's completely still, like he's afraid to move. And then he groans like a broken man, his arms closing around me.
I sob against his lips as he hauls me up, practically dragging me through the door into his house. His mouth moves with mine, a frantic edge to his kiss that I love a little too much. I love the way he grips me like he's afraid I'll turn to smoke and disappear, too.
I'm not sure if he closes the door or if we fall against it, but I end up pressed against it with my legs around his waist. His erection nestles against my core, his hands on my ass. He doesn't stop kissing me, coming back again and again like he can't stop himself.
"Phoenix," I groan, my fingers clenching around his broad shoulders. Every muscle in his body is locked tight, and every one feels like heaven against me.
"I know, baby," he croons before kissing me again. "I know. You need me, don't you?"
"Yes, yes." It's not a lie. He asked me the other day how wet I was for him. I was soaked then. It's even worse now, as if everything I feel has shrunk to an aching pinpoint right between my legs. "Please."
His hand slips beneath my dress, his calloused palm gliding up my thigh. "I'll take care of you, gorgeous. Promise," he breathes before nipping my bottom lip.
My head thumps against the door, my teeth sinking into my bottom lip. I dig my fingers into the brawn of his shoulders, hanging on tight as he inches closer to where I need him.
His knuckles ghost across my sex, pulling a whimper from my lips. I don't mean to make the sound, but I can't help it, either. I've been dreaming about this man every damn night for weeks, and trying to tell myself those dreams meant nothing. I'm a liar. They meant everything.
"Oh!" I cry out, my mouth falling open when his fingers slip beneath the band of my panties, already searching for my clit.
"Fuck, baby," he groans, his forehead dropping to mine. "You're so fucking wet for me."
"I know!" I writhe against the door, already so damn close.
And then his eyes flick to mine, his pupils dilated, his expression fierce. "Can I taste it? Tell me I can taste you."
"Yes. God, yes, Phoenix."
He grins at me like I just gave him the world, his lips brushing mine in a sweet kiss before he's sliding down my body, balancing me on his arms. "Just stay right there…" he breathes before disappearing beneath the bottom of my dress.
I grasp at his head…at the doorknob…at the last vestiges of my dignity. But it's a lost cause. He's already sliding my panties to the side, his breath blowing across my clit.
"Goddamn, Cara," he groans, his voice full of awe. "You're already clenching for me, baby. It's so fucking pretty."
"Phoenix, please!"
The evil bastard chuckles as if he knows precisely what he's doing to me, as if he loves what he's doing to me. And then I feel him nuzzling his face against my inner thigh.
I cry out, gripping a handful of his hair when he sucks hard at the sensitive skin as if he intends to leave a mark behind. My thighs shake dangerously, but he just tightens his grip on me.