Chapter 10 #2
“Don’t make me say it like I’m in an interview,” I said, my tone borderline pleading.
She leaned forward, clearly enjoying herself. “Have you gotten laid in the last decade, Hunter?”
“I’m a professional hockey player,” I said, which was both a defense and, apparently, the worst possible sentence to say out loud. “There are women throwing themselves at me when I want.”
Catherine’s smile faded a little. Shit.
“Sorry, that was too much. I just obviously have needs. I didn’t want to bring anyone close to Isla. So usually when I’m on the road…” I didn’t finish and let her make her own conclusions.
“Makes sense. You’re single and hot, so why not,” she said.
“You think I’m hot?” I asked.
She laughed. “Obviously. I don’t usually get attracted to guys I don’t think are hot.”
“I’m nine years older than you,” I said again, feeling like I was on repeat. I wanted her like I wanted air, but I had to remind her of another reason why this was a bad idea.
“I don’t need reminding. I’ve always felt like I was mature for my age, so I don’t see that as a deterrent,” she countered.
“You’re gorgeous, Catherine. I’m sure you can have your pick of guys your age,” I said.
“My ex-Julian was a couple years older than me. That didn’t work out so well,” she explained and took a sip of her sparkling water. “The food is delicious. I didn’t realize how hungry I was.”
“I’m glad you’re enjoying it,” I said, taking a bite of pasta. Things felt laid-back with her. Comfortable. Easy. “Was Julian your first?” I asked her.
She burst into laughter. “No, he wasn’t. But I thought we were serious. I had fooled around with my share of guys in high school, but I never had sex. My mom kind of scared me off sex because she became a mom so young. I focused on hands and fingers,” she said.
I choked on my sparkling water.
Catherine laughed at my expense once again. “What’s with the weird reactions? Can you not talk about sexual things?”
I took a deep breath. “I’m out of my element with you. Thinking about hands and fingers in the context you just described has made me hard as a rock.”
“I thought you hooked up a lot,” she said.
“Sometimes on the road, but it’s been months, and I never tried to know those women. Getting to know you now…” I couldn’t even finish my sentence.
Her breathing picked up. “I feel it too, Hunter. This pull toward you.”
“It doesn’t make sense,” I countered. I put down my fork. We were both staring into each other’s eyes. I knew that look. The one where we were seconds from ripping each other’s clothes off.
“It makes perfect sense,” she corrected, shifting in her seat. I knew that move too. She was horny. She needed me to release all that pent-up sexual energy she must be feeling.
I swallowed and pinched my eyes closed. “I’m trying to be a gentleman.”
“Maybe that isn’t what I need right now,” she replied.
I was squeezing and releasing my fist under the table to calm myself down. “I like you, Catherine. You’re different from other women I’ve known. I feel comfortable around you. I’m crazy attracted to you. I love when you smile. Do you see the problem here?”
I was met with her warm smile again. “No.”
“We’re a disaster waiting to happen,” I said.
“That’s blunt,” she snickered.
“One of us needs to be thinking straight. You’re just starting out with the team. Being seen with me in an unprofessional way could reflect badly on you with management.”
“I thought you were more worried about what my parents would think,” she countered.
“I’m worried about that too, but…”
“But what?” she asked. “We’re laying things out. Don’t hold back on me now.”
“I think that if your parents knew I was serious about you, maybe they wouldn’t care,” I stated. Clearly, I had given this some thought. Late at night in bed when all I did was think of her.
“I’m not so sure. My dad is really against me being with a player. He wasn’t around a lot when I was younger, and he hates that part of his job.”
“I had the same guilt about Isla. I hated leaving her. It helped that she was with my mom and sister most of the time, but it was still hard. I still have feelings of guilt for leaving her during the season,” I explained.
“You’re a lot more like my dad than I realized,” she said softly.
“I want what’s best for Isla, just like your dad wants what’s best for you. I can’t afford a fling with you,” I said because we were laying it all out, and she needed to understand where I stood. She had to see I was a single dad first.
“That makes me like you more, and it isn’t a fling I’m after. I’ll be done medical school after this year, then I start my residency. Life will be busy, but I want something serious with someone I can trust,” she admitted.
“And you feel like you can trust me?” I asked.
The words felt lodged in my chest. It was hard for me to trust, and I knew Catherine had a similar experience, which meant the world to me.
She was tearing down my walls. Saying all the right things.
She was trouble wrapped in a yellow lounge set that I wanted to peel off her for dessert.
She nodded. “I haven’t felt anything at all for months until my parents’ pool party on the Fourth of July.
I can’t explain it, but my attraction to you was instant.
I thought I was broken. When I tried getting myself off, I couldn’t come, and then in one afternoon, I was so hot for you I had to go to that shower to relieve all that pent-up sexual tension. ”
“Catherine,” I said, her name like a warning. I was one breath away from snapping and taking her to bed.
“Why is it so hot when you say my name like that, Hunter?” she asked.
“You’re saying all the right things. I’m hard as a rock. I need inside you, but…”
“Take me.”
I blinked. “I didn’t hear you right.”
“Take me to bed, Hunter.”
I groaned.
“Maybe this could be something real. No one has to know,” she encouraged. My willpower was snapping like fire to a string.
“I won’t be the one to ruin your reputation with the team,” I said, dropping my head in defeat. “Because I care about you, Catherine. I can’t be the one to ruin everything you’ve worked for. I’m at the end of my career, but you’re just starting out.”
“It’s good one of us has self-control,” she countered.
“Barely,” I chortled. I stood and took her plate.
“Let me help you.” Her hand landed on mine, and that chemistry, that fire inside me roared to life from her touch. I had never wanted anyone like I wanted her.
Our gazes locked for a millisecond. Then she looked at her hand on mine and pulled it back. “Maybe it’s the wrong time for us.”
“I don’t want to believe that’s true. Not with how fast my heart is racing now,” I confessed.
I moved to put the dishes in the sink. She followed me to the kitchen. “Thank you for the friendly dinner.” I laughed.
“There was nothing friendly about dinner. If you could only read my thoughts.”
She moaned. “You can’t say stuff like that and not expect me to react.”
“Do you play cards?” I asked. Cards were safe, and I didn’t want our night to end. I also needed to refocus because her moan hit me right in the dick.
She blinked. “Like strip poker?”
My cock twitched. Then I laughed because if I didn’t, I was going to picture it. Too late. “Don’t tempt me.”
Her smile went slow. “Would that tempt you?”
I braced both hands on the counter and looked at her. “Catherine.”
“What?” she asked with doe-green eyes and innocent seduction.
“Let’s just say my shower was extra long earlier because I had to deal with my situation over and over again.”
Her lips parted. Then her cheeks went pink. I liked watching her reaction to me a little too much.
“Same,” she said.
I stared at her.
“Same?” My voice came out rough.
She looked down at her hands, but the corner of her mouth lifted. “You heard me.”
I was going to die in my own kitchen of sexual frustration.
“Cards,” I said quickly.
She laughed. “Coward.”
“Survivor.”
I grabbed a deck from the drawer where Isla kept board games and brought it to the coffee table. “War.”
Catherine followed me to the living room and sat cross-legged on the rug like she belonged there.
“We’re playing War?” she asked.
“Yes, it’s safe. Strip poker will lead to me eating your pussy on the couch over there,” I warned.
“That doesn’t sound so bad.”
It really didn’t, but we would be setting our lives on fire too.
I started shuffling the cards. “War is safe. We’re playing it safe.”
“Playing it safe has never worked for me,” she admitted.
“Playing it safe has left me lonely, but I’ll take it over hurting everyone around us,” I said.
She frowned, and I hated it.
“You’re right, old man.”
I groaned. “You want me to punish you.”
She smiled like she liked the idea, and I dealt the cards between us on the coffee table.
“New rule,” I said. “When there’s a battle, whoever loses has to answer a question.”
“What kind of question?”
“Any kind.”
“That sounds dangerous,” she quipped.
We played for a few rounds, and it was stupidly fun. Easy in a way I didn’t know I needed. Then we hit our first battle. Three cards down. Flip. She won.
“Question,” she said, looking way too pleased.
I groaned. “Go.”
“What’s something Isla does that makes you laugh every time?” she asked. It was an easy, unintrusive question, which was a relief.
“She gives dramatic reviews of food,” I said. “Like she’s on a cooking show. I made her grilled cheese last month, and she told me the presentation was basic.”
Catherine laughed. “She did not.”
“She did. Then she gave me an eight because the cheese wasn’t fully melted.”
“That’s amazing,” she giggled.
“She’s hard to please, but I do my best,” I admitted.
“She’s perfect,” she said with hearts in her eyes. She was falling for me like I was falling for her, and it was more than just attraction.
“She is.”
We played another few rounds and hit another battle that I won.
Catherine groaned. “Fine. Ask.”
“What’s something people get wrong about you?” I asked.
Her smile faded, but not in a bad way. She thought about it.
“That I’m confident,” she said.
I leaned back. “You seem confident.”