With stealth and determination, Erin got through the rest of the party without bumping into Jared or Will. Kelly gave her a few looks a couple of times that asked if Erin was okay. She always smiled and kept it moving. Lord knew there was enough going on at the party to keep her busy and distracted from the fact that she’d been played for a fool. Again. And to make the realization even more mortifying, Will had witnessed her embarrassment.
She was mad at Jared. Mad at him for being just another jerk, but when she took half a second to stop and think, she realized she wasn’t hurt. She’d never considered Jared to be the one but shouldn’t she feel a little more disappointed he’d gotten another woman’s number at her party?
By the time the party wound down after 2:00 a.m., Erin had kicked off her shoes as she went over the follow-up details with the club owners. Despite Jared’s being a total douchebag, and the told-you-so look in Will’s eyes after ratting Jared out, she was happy with the results of the party. That was all that mattered. She was here to do a job, and she’d done the job successfully.
After finishing up her conversation with the owner, Erin walked through the now mostly empty club to the side door. She waved at the bartenders and other workers cleaning things up and thanked them for their hard work when movement at one of the tables caught her attention. She turned and gasped as Will stood and strolled toward her. He was dressed in a trendy suit. The coat slung over his shoulder with one hand. He’d rolled the sleeves of the white shirt up to his elbows and unbuttoned the top buttons.
“What are you still doing here?”
“I’d think the answer to that question would be obvious,” he said. He moved closer until only a few inches separated them. “I’m waiting on you.”
Her shoes were still off. In her hands. Which made him tower over her. She yearned for the height. To be on a more even playing field. Will unnerved her enough already without her being reminded of his height. The way his body surrounded her in a cocoon of pleasure. How solid and firm every part of him was.
Erin slid back a step, then pushed her hair behind one ear. “Why are you waiting on me?”
“Because we need to talk.”
“No, we don’t. I’ve said everything I need to say.” She turned to walk away.
Will’s long stride put him right beside her. “Well, then you can listen to what I have to say.”
He followed her down the hall to the side door leading to the back parking lot, where her car was parked. Erin stopped at the door to put her shoes back on. Will used the opportunity to stand in front of the door. Blocking her exit.
Erin got her shoes on, then crossed her arms. “Haven’t you done enough tonight?”
“You can’t be mad at me for what that fool did.”
“You should have stayed out of things.”
“No, I shouldn’t have. If I’d stayed out of things you’d still be dating a cheater. You deserve better than that.”
“Yeah, I deserve a guy who lies to get me in bed.”
She moved to push him out of the way. Will held his hands in front of his chest and widened his stance. “I didn’t lie to you.” He sounded frustrated. “Why won’t you believe me?”
“Because I know you, Will. I grew up watching you go from girl to girl then woman to woman. Why should I believe I’m different?”
Lightning-fast hands grasped her waist and he pulled her close. Dark eyes burned into hers. Hot and serious but also pleading. “You are different. You know me. Not the professional athlete people see on television, or the fun guy the media portrays. You’ve seen my struggles. You told me to keep trying when I struggled to keep my grades passing in college and Dad told me not to worry because I was going to play ball professionally. You had the audacity to correct my free-throw shot after I’d been drafted.” His eyes softened along with his grip on her waist. “You wrapped your arms around my shoulders the day my mom died in the hospital and let me cry.”
Her heart broke again at the memory. Kelly consoling their father, who’d been devastated. Will, trying not to break down. His body shaking with suppressed grief. She’d sat and pulled him against her. He’d crumbled instantly. Her heart had twisted with the agony of the family’s pain.
Will pressed his forehead to hers. His voice lowered. “You’ve seen parts of me no one else has ever seen. Just because I’ve been blind in the past doesn’t mean I am now. I see you. The smart, determined, take-no-prisoners woman you are. That’s the woman I want.”
Erin shook her head. Her heart wanted to believe him. Her head fought back. The guy she’d secretly had a crush on for years couldn’t possibly mean what he was saying.
“Will, I don’t want to be a fling,” she said softly but firmly. “You can’t just walk away when things get tough.”
He lifted his head and met her eyes unflinchingly. “I was wrong for not waking you before I left, but the only reason I walked away last time was because of the team meeting. We’re on lockdown. I should be back at the hotel now, but I had to see you. I had to know you were okay. I had to be sure that asshole didn’t break your heart.”
She looked into his dark eyes. “He isn’t the one capable of hurting me.”
The same determination she’d seen in his face before an important game filled his eyes. The look she knew meant he was ready to bring his A game. “I promise I won’t break your heart.”
She pressed her hands against his chest. She should push him away. This was Will. Just as she knew parts of him hidden from the world, he knew parts of her. He could hurt her so much more than anyone like Jared ever could. Walking away right now would be the smartest thing.
Her fingers curled into the material of his shirt. “I want to believe you,” she whispered.
His heart pounded beneath the muscle of his chest. Tension seeped out of his body, as if he’d been waiting anxiously for what she would say next. “Then let me show you that you can believe me. Let me try to be the man you deserve.”
Her head jerked up. Hope and fear swirled inside her. He kissed her before she could say anything else.
His kiss thoroughly sucked the air from her lungs. Her hands clung first to his shirt before flying up to wrap around his neck. Her heart sprinted with each sexy sweep of his tongue. Will’s hand plunged into her hair; the other played along the taut muscles of her back. Time meant nothing. Getting caught by the workers at the club meant nothing. The only things she was aware of were the heat of his body, the yearning in her veins and the possessive way his hands held her.
The hand on her back gripped a handful of her dress. Cool air brushed the back of her legs as the hemline rose. Erin wanted the dress off. Wanted to feel his naked body hot against hers. Wrap her hands around the hard length of him and relive all of the pleasure he’d given her that one brief night. The press of his erection against her belly proved he felt the same. The urgency of his kiss was just as hot and desperate as hers.
His hold on her hair tightened just enough to send a rush of excitement through her. He slowly pulled her head back, then ran light kisses across her jaw. “Come back to my hotel.”
The low rumble of his voice made her body tremble. Her chin lifted and lowered automatically. The need to be back in his bed drowned out every other thought in her head. Her breasts ached. Her sex throbbed. She wanted to drag him to the floor and get the edge off right now.
Reality hit right then like a fifty-mile-an-hour car collision. She was ready, after just a few minutes, to jump in bed with him again. If she went to his room she’d be right back where she was a month ago. Did she want that? Yes. Did she believe him? Kinda. Was she ready to trust him?
She shook her head. “No.”
Will’s kisses stilled. He raised his head and met her eye. “Why not?” No accusation or anger. Curiosity and the same sexual frustration she fought colored his tone instead.
“I need time to think. Time to process. This wasn’t supposed to happen.”
“Stop thinking about what’s supposed to happen and think about what you want to happen.”
Another image of him dragging her to the floor. Or pressing her against the wall. Then there was the back seat of the car.
Erin shook her head and scrambled out of his arms. Will’s hands slowly released her. “I want to believe you,” she said. “I want to think you’re really ready for a relationship because, Will, I’m a relationship type of woman. I’m not asking you for marriage or forever, but I am asking you for a commitment, monogamy, honesty.” He opened his mouth and she covered whatever he was about to say with her hand. “You need to think about this, too. You might think you’re ready, but you need to be sure this is what you want. Even if we’re only together for a short time. For that time, I’ve got to be the only one. You can’t lie to me. Make sure that’s what you want, too.”
His body relaxed. She dropped her hand. His brows drew together. She saw the battle in his eyes: automatically say what she wanted to hear against the realization that this time there would be more of a commitment than the “no turning back” they’d stated before. She’d made him really think about what she was asking him to do, which meant she was right to have stopped him.
Tell that to her body, still buzzing with the need to say yes and follow him to his hotel room.
“If you really mean what you say, then call me tomorrow.” Erin slipped around him and pushed open the door. “Otherwise, let’s just pretend none of this ever happened.”