Rather than answering, I gestured for him to follow me as I led him to a location more private than the hallway. I took advantage of an empty break room, locking the door behind us. Other than a couch, a chair, and a small table off to the side, it was free of any other furnishings.
“Do you want to talk or make out with me?”
I slammed Kingston against the wall, pinning him into place under me with my larger form. We were so close I could almost taste his breath as I pressed closer to inspire fear in him. But just like always, it failed to get a rise out of him, even though I was significantly larger than him.
My actions seemed to excite him. “Great, I’m thrilled you decided to choose the making-out option.”
Ignoring his stupid joke, I focused on the bigger issue. “What trick did you use to win?”
He was never one to back down from a challenge. “Is it really so unbelievable that the amazing Knightley Nielson could come in second again?” With an arrogant tilt of his head, he stared me down. “What bothers you more? That you lost, or that you lost tome?”
“I should have won!”
“Then you should have played a better game.” He laughed as I struggled not to lose my composure in the face of his taunts.
A feral growl escaped from me without my permission. “How did you do it?”
“Fairly, and with more skill.” He smirked up at me. “Did it ever occur to you that maybe I’m just better at tennis than you?”
“Impossible!” He may have beaten me time and time again, but I had confidence in my abilities despite my recent stinging loss.
“Is it?” He hummed with interest, shifting under me but making no attempt to free himself. “If that’s the case, then why haven’t you defeated me once?”
Was he really going to play innocent? I wasn’t about to allow that. I refused to believe he was better than me at the thing I had dedicated my life to, which left only one possible conclusion. “Because you’re cheating somehow!”
“Do you really think I could get away with that when the whole world watches us compete?” His valid point irritated me even more. “If you’re as good as you claim, you should be able to beat me, even if I was cheating.” His brash grin was the same one he had every time he served a lightning-fast ace at me.
I laughed triumphantly. “Oh, so you’re finally admitting that you’re cheating?”
“It appears that I’m also better at language than you.” His airy nature ruffled my feathers like few other things did. “I saidifI was cheating—not that Iwascheating.”
“You have to be!” I refused to accept my failure to my competitor. “There’s no other way for you to keep coming out on top.”
He started pushing all my buttons. “Face it. I’m better than you at playing tennis, at winning matches, and apparently at grammar, too.”
“You’llneverbe better than me atanything!”
Even though the room was dim with the lights off, Kingston’s green eyes seemed to glow with an unnatural light. “I believe I just proved in front of averylarge international audience that I’m better ateverythingthan you.” He shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal. “At least you did a better job of pretending to be a gracious loser today at the press conference.”
The reminder of my previous failure at the US Open made me clench my hand in a tight fist at my side. My storming out in a rage had caused an ugly backlash against me in the press about my poor sportsmanship. My publicist leaked the news that my girlfriend and I had split up before my match, which hadn’t been a lie. But I knew the anger that had fueled me had everything to do with the man I currently had pinned against the wall.
“I willneveradmit defeat toyou.”
He laughed, which grated on my nerves. “I don’t need you to, since I have all the evidence on my side to prove that I’ve defeated you.Repeatedly. Do it. Admit that you’ll never be able to beat me.”
“No!” I’d never stop trying to defeat Kingston until I succeeded; my pride would accept nothing less.
I was unprepared for Kingston’s smirk to turn sensuous. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you’re a masochist who gets off on losing to me.”
The claim was preposterous, but it outraged me with the presumptuousness of it. I vibrated with the force of my rage, resenting that everything in my life had become tied up in one infuriating individual who refused to submit to me. “I fuckinghateyou.”
Kingston arched against me with a sensuous moan. “Yeah? Then hate me harder.”
Confusing as it was, I couldn’t ignore that my body reacted to his gratuitous display. “What?”
“Harder,” he gasped like he was begging me to fuck him. He rocked his hips against mine with another breathy, pleading noise.
My eyes widened when I felt Kingston’s hard length pressing against me. Part of my brain was shocked that maybe Kingston was gay, since I had never heard rumors about him being with a partner of either gender. But the realization of what I had done to him sent a jolt of adrenaline rocketing through my system. Having the power to arouse him opened up new avenues to get even with him. I may have been straight, but the prospect of dominating Kingston fired me up like nothing else ever had.
