Page 48 of Reckless Kiss
She shrugged. “Hope it’s not so bad we can’t recover?”
I slipped off to my office for a snack and some privacy. I wanted to call Esme but I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from asking questions. So instead I sent her a text.
Leo: I can’t wait for dinner.
I immediately got a response that made me smile.
Esme: And I’m looking forward to dessert.
Leo: You’re killing me. I’m hiding from my coworkers so they can’t see what you do to me.
Esme: Says the man who left me in his bed. Your sheets smell like you. Not fair.
I gritted my teeth at the image of Esme smelling my pillow while she touched herself. I now had a full-blown erection that was borderline painful.
Leo: I changed my mind. We’re having dessert before dinner tonight.
Esme: As long as I see you.
My breath caught. So many emotions thundered through me at that simple sentence. I knew her well enough to know that sentence meant a lot more than it seemed. There were hidden depths in those six words. Depths I felt too. I wanted toseeher. To listen to her talk about her day. To smell her and touch her skin because they made me feel more alive. I wanted to see her smile because of something I did. This thing between us was fragile and volatile for both of us, but especially her. To know she wanted to see me tonight and was brave enough to admit it meant this went both ways.
And thank god for that.
Leo: Seeing you is the only thing that matters.
I wanted to fuck her blind and kiss her senseless, but more than anything else I just needed to be in the same room with her.
Esme: Leo...you can’t say things like that when I can’t kiss you.
I was probably smiling like an idiot. I felt my face and yep, sure enough, my grin went from one ear to the other.
Leo: Anticipation is an aphrodisiac.
Esme: I don’t need an aphrodisiac. I just need you.
My heart pounded so hard I could hear it in my ears. I needed her too.
I needed her to be safe.
We spent the next three hours pouring over stats and looking for connections. Roman paced by the whiteboard as he scribbled down thoughts. “Lasko has been unstoppable this season. He’s caught no less than two touchdown passes every single game. Until last Sunday. Taylor hit him right in the numbers but somehow the ball slipped through his fingers.”
“Yeah, but they ran it in for a touchdown on fourth down anyway,” Gwen pointed out.
“True,” Roman said, turning to us like a college professor, “but remember three weeks ago when Chung tripped over his own two feet with an open field?”
“And Black ran the wrong route right after sacking Thompson two weeks ago.” Oscar murmured.
“So what you’re saying is,” Marie sat forward, “we have an usual rash of basic mistakes coming from veteran players.”
Why did that feel like the answer even though I still didn’t understand it? Could Lasko, Black, and Chung all have made simple mistakes? Sure. Everyone made mistakes.
“Roman, you said they got the TD after Lasko dropped the ball. What difference did it make?”
Roman got a glint in his eyes. “Well, if Lasko caught that pass it would have been business as usual. Instead they went for it on fourth down. It was the last play of the game and they won by exactly two points.”
“Oh my god,” Marie gasped sitting back with her hand over her mouth. “Check everyone else. Check every mistake and how it effected the game.”
I froze. Actually, I was pretty sure I lost all feeling in my body as the implications of what Roman said sank in.They were fixing games.These players...they all made key mistakes that steered results. The kind of results people bet on. Things people made thousands—or millions—from.
And somehow...Esme knew.
