“So,” she said, “people don’t usually get to see that.”
“Maybe it’s the cracks that show who you really are.”
That stopped her. Just for a breath. She didn’t respond right away — didn’t know how to, maybe.
Instead, she huffed out a low laugh, one with no real bite to it. “You always this good at saying the exact wrong thing at the exact right time?”
“Yeah,” I retorted, “but only for you.”
Her smile flickered, faint but real. That was the thing about her — you had to watch closely to catch it, like a star that disappeared if you looked straight at it.
She went quiet again, but it wasn’t the brittle silence I’d learned to expect. It was the kind that settled between two people learning how to be less afraid.
We reached her apartment building, and she stopped on the steps, not going in just yet. The light on the landing buzzed overhead. I started to turn away, giving her space to breathe, but her voice stopped me.
“Hey.”
I looked back.
Sierra didn’t meet my eyes, just toyed with the strap of her bag. “Thanks for waiting.”
I nodded. “Anytime.”
She thanked me as if I’d done her a favor. As if I hadn’t planned my entire day around this moment. As if I weren’t already bleeding for her, quietly smiling through it.
She had no idea I was past the point of waiting — I wasworshiping.
I could feel my control slipping. Like a beast clawing its way out, desperate to claim what’s already his. Maybe it was time to stop dancing around her walls and just smash through them.
Because if she didn’t finally admit it? I wasn’t sure how much longer I could hold back.
Thirty Nine
Dom/Sierra
Dom
The music pounding in the locker room was loud, the bass vibrating through the floor. I cracked my neck from side to side, trying to focus.
The guys had noticed that I was quieter than usual, but I think they just thought I was zoned in. I was, but not in the usual way. Something felt different.
Hunter, sitting on the bench across from me, glanced at me. His cold gray eyes were sharp and knowing. “Whatever you’re bottling up, don’t let it get us killed out there.” His voice was just loud enough to be heard over the noise.
I didn’t respond, just flattened him with a look of my own. Hunter was a special case, and no one on the team liked to fuck with him, but I wasn’t scared of him.
Maybe his crazy matched mine?
Grabbing my helmet like armor, like I was about to go to war — with more than just the other team — I joined the rest of the team at the exit to the tunnel.
***
Rage was pounding through my veins, vicious and hot, as I exploded off the line. The sounds of pads crashing into each other, strained grunts, and bodies hitting the turf surrounded me.
I recorded one of my most brutal tackles of my career within the first few minutes. It was clean, but I was pretty sure that guywouldn’tbe returning to the field today.
The adrenaline and satisfaction flooding my body were like adding fuel to the flames. The crowd was roaring around me, spurring me on.
Sitting on the bench, I scanned the stands, like I did every game, on the lookout for the only face that mattered.
