17. Holden

17

HOLDEN

I woke up this morning with a new determination about me. Yeah, I’m going to kick my injury’s ass, but it’s more than that. I have a whole new purpose. I’m going to put the work in and make it back to the playoffs. I need to prove to myself that I can do this and prove that I’m worthy of Cat and Cole. It was one kiss, but it’s all I needed to know that Cat is the one for me.

When I walk into the therapy room, Cat is already in here. She is adjusting and cleaning equipment and won’t look at me. I can’t help but wonder if she thought about us at all last night, but I don’t want to pounce on her first thing. I sit down on the chair and wait for her to come to me. Our eyes meet in the mirror in front of me, and I smile at her. Hell, how can I not? She’s fuckin’ beautiful, especially when she’s blushing like she is right now. “Did you sleep okay?”

She nods. “Yeah, I slept good. Cole was still ramped up this morning when I took him to school.” She taps me on the shoulder. “Take off your shirt.”

I pull my shirt off and toss it to the chair in the corner. I try to ready myself for her touch. She warms the ointment in her hands and massages my shoulder.

I look at her in the mirror, taking her all in. She’s in leggings and a tank top. Her blond hair is piled on top of her head. Her cheeks flush when she touches me, and I give her a few minutes of silence before I ask her the question I’ve wanted to ask her all night.

“Have you thought about us?”

She’s staring hard at my shoulder, avoiding my gaze in the mirror. “You were serious about that?”

“Yes, of course I was serious about it. I’ve thought about that kiss all night long, Cat. We’re good together, you can’t deny it.”

She blows out a breath. “It’s a huge conflict of interest.”

I’m grasping at straws because there’s no way I’m going to take no for an answer. “When we’re working, we’re working. This, between us, will be separate.”

She finally looks at me, and it’s then that I see the tiredness in her eyes. Maybe she didn’t sleep as well as she said she did. I know it took me forever to go to sleep because I couldn’t get the feel of her out of my head. “There’s more to it than that, Holden.”

“Like what?”

She’s silent for so long that I’m sure I’m going to have to convince her. She surprises me when she lays her hands on my shoulders and seeks me out in the mirror. “If you want to do this, we need to be upfront and honest about the whole thing.”

I’m nodding, wanting to get up and take her in my arms, but I stay seated. “Of course.”

“I know what this is—” she continues, and I hold my hand up to stop her.

“What does that mean? You know what this is?”

She pecks me on the shoulder. “We spend time together and well, you know, but no one can know. And when we’re working, we’re working. Only when the therapy is done do we… ya know.”

I turn in my seat and look up at her. I feel like this is too important of a conversation to be talking to each other in the mirror. “I’m not going to secretly date you, Cat. And what do you mean, you know what this is? What do you think this is?”

She doesn’t even hesitate, and she’s so confident with her response. “I know exactly what this is, Holden Gray, and I’m not going to let you act like it’s anything more. It’s a fling. We’ll have some fun, and then when you go back to your career, this is over.” She holds up her hand when I start to talk. “That’s all I can offer you. I have my son to think about, and I won’t get his hopes up just to tear him down. So that’s it. If you’re okay with those terms, then we can do this as long as it doesn’t interfere with your therapy. If you have a problem with it, then we act like that kiss last night never happened.”

I stand up and tower over her, pressing my chest to hers. She doesn’t back down and leans her head back to look at me. Fuck, I have to kiss her, and I will but in due time. “You think we could just forget last night—forget that kiss ever happened?”

Before she can answer me, I wrap my hand around her neck. “Because I know I can’t. Kissing you is all I’ve thought about, Cat. I went to sleep with my cock hard last night thinking about how perfect your lips… your body felt against mine. You wa nt to keep this between the two of us for now, that’s fine, but eventually, once I’m back and the job is done, I’m going to tell any and everyone that you’re mine.”

Her mouth drops, and she starts to talk, but I seal my lips to hers. I swallow her gasp, and thankfully, she doesn’t resist me. She seems as lost in the kiss as I am. I want to take her right here right now, but I don’t want to rush her.

Her curvy body rubbing against mine is enough to put me over the edge, but I pull back so I can look at her. “Fuck, I’m trying to abide by the rules here, honey, but I’m going to have trouble keeping my hands off you.”

She’s breathless. “We need to run, Holden. We need to do your workout.”

Her mouth is saying one thing, but her body is telling me something else. Her nipples are hard, pressed against her shirt. Her eyes are a dark blue and filled with desire. She wants me, and I would do anything to be able to take her upstairs to bed with me, but I’m not going to spook her. I release my hold on her and take a step back. My cock is hard, tenting my shorts, and I’m not shy as I grab it and adjust myself. “You’re right. Give me five minutes and I’ll be ready. We’ll get our workout in, eat lunch and do whatever other torture you have planned for me, and then you’re mine, Cat.”

She’s walking backwards, putting more distance between us. I get it, though, because being this close to her is a temptation I can barely control. “And we keep this between us,” she reminds me.

I shrug. “Between us,” I agree, even though I silently add, for now .