One cup bit my hand with cold while the other one stung from the heat as I stood outside Connor’s front door.

Pretty much the definition of our…whatever we are to each other.

It was ten at night, probably way too late for a house call, but after they’d lost 1-4 in the first game of the second round, I figured he could use it. Or maybe I could. Either way.

When he didn’t answer, I juggled the cups in my arms and used the key he’d given me, hoping like hell I wasn’t overstepping a line.

A week ago I wouldn’t have been worried, but after the kiss, and what happened a couple of nights ago at Club Thirty-Five…

It only took me a few seconds to realize why he hadn’t answered the door.

He was in the pool, cutting through the water like a proper Shark.

His toned muscles rippling with each smooth stroke. The concentration on his face so intense he didn’t even notice that I’d slipped off my shoes and padded barefoot to the edge of the pool.

When he turned his head to make another lap, I noted his black-eye and cringed.

“That looks like it hurts,” I said as he finished the lap. And the fight on Tuesday—over me—was likely the reason why they’d lost the game tonight, or at least a contributing factor. Connor rarely missed shots, he was that powerful, and yet, tonight…

“You’re a regular Sherlock.” The bite in his tone made me feel like we’d taken ten steps backward, all the way to the place where he despised me.

I hated how it gnawed at the center of my chest.

I gently shook the two cups in my hands, looking down at him while he slowed to the edge of the pool. “Milkshake for Hannah,” I said, indicating one. “And a latte with a shot of vanilla for you.” I extended the coffee, and something softened in his hard eyes. “I kind of figured this was our thing when it came to apologizing.”

Though, when he’d apologized he really hadn’t had grounds, and while I hadn’t started the fight between him and Crosby, I was certainly the topic that led to it.

After an agony of seconds, Connor took the coffee, sipped it, and set it on the edge of the pool where he now leaned against. Beads of water trailed down his sculpted test, and I couldn’t stop myself from imagining following their trail with my tongue.

“Lettie had a sleepover,” Connor said before he took another drink.

“Okay?” I asked, setting Hannah’s shake down on the wrought iron table near the pool.

“Hannah was invited,” he said, eyeing the ice cream.

“Oh,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m sorry. I should’ve called first.”

He took another sip from his coffee.

“I was afraid you’d tell me not to come.”

Silence as he continued to drink that coffee.

I wrung my hands. Damn him. Why couldn’t I be the confident Ivy when around him? Why did he have to make me feel…

Vulnerable.

Exposed.

Wanted.

“Look,” I said, mustering up any sense of confidence I may have possessed. I took a seat near him at the edge of the pool and allowed my bare feet and legs to dangle in the water. “I’m sorry about the other night.”

He furrowed his brow.

“The fight? With…him.” I legit couldn’t say his name, I was that pissed. “I never meant for that to happen. The last thing I’d ever want to do is mess with your game. Or for you to get hurt.”

He chuckled, shaking his head as he set the coffee down. The move brought him close enough for me to get a really good look at the purple and dark blues circling his eye. I reached without thinking, lightly tracing my fingers over his slightly swollen skin.

A small hiss escaped his lips, and I drew my hand back.

“You didn’t do this,” he finally said.

“I did.” I pressed my lips together. “I ruin everything I touch.”

Connor shifted in the water, standing almost between my legs as he cupped my cheek, his fingers wet and warm against my skin. “That’s bull shit.”

I arched a brow at him. “I have decades of proof if you need it.”

He rolled his eyes.

“Or,” I continued. “You could just take the other night as evidence.”

“That only proves what an asshole Crosby is, not that it was ever a mystery.”

A dark laugh forced itself from my lips.

“Today’s game wasn’t your fault either,” he said. “It was mine.”

“Because of the fight. Because of me.”

A muscle in his jaw flexed and he dropped his hand, taking a few steps away from me, the water rippling around him. “God, you are the most infuriating woman I’ve ever met.”

I nodded, totally accepting it. I deserved far worse. The only thing I’d done for Connor since entering his life was fuck with it. Sure, I may be great with Hannah, but when it came to him all I’d done was irritate and upheave his already chaotic life.

“This. Wasn’t. Your. Fault.” He accentuated every word, but I refused to agree with him.

He growled, the sound making me jolt against the cool concrete surrounding the pool.

“You know what?” He snapped, raking his fingers through his wet hair. “Fine. Yeah. You want to be punished?”

My eyes widened.

“Then yes, you are at fault.”

“Good,” I said. “Now that you admit it, we can see if we can find a common ground again.” Because God, I wanted a common ground. Watching him at the game today—when I was certain Connor would never speak to me again—made me realize just how much I wanted him in my life.

Wanted his sharp tongue.

His challenges.

His laugh.

That wild look in his eyes that matched mine.

“No,” he said, and my heart plummeted into my stomach. “The only thing you’re at fault for is ever dating a douchebag like Crosby in the first place.”

What the hell?

I sat up straighter, my spine turning to steel. “Excuse me?”

“Yeah,” he said, raising his arms to the side. “I said it. You want to be blamed for something, that’s it.”

I shook my head. “No. I’ll own up to what happened at 35, but you can’t come at me with this!”

“The hell I can’t, Ivy,” he snapped, and I gaped at him. “You’re this incredibly smart, wild woman and yet you fell for him. You call me on my bullshit but you never once saw his.”

I glared at him. “You have no idea what happened.”

“Oh, I have a fucking clue,” he said, his eyes narrowing like he knew all my dirty secrets. Thing was, I didn’t have any. Not ones he didn’t already know. “Crosby loves to talk.”

I huffed, smacking my hand against my thigh. “And he’s just so credible, right?”

“Whatever,” Connor said. “You wanted blame. I’m giving it.”

“Fuck that,” I said, and he cocked a brow at my tone. “You have no clue what he said to me. How he acted. He was a completely different person. And once he showed his true colors, I ended it.”

“Damage had been done though,” he mumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.

The words felt like a physical blow. “That’s what this is about, isn’t it?” I asked, breathless. “You’ve hated me since day one.” I wrapped my arms around myself like the action could make me ten times smaller. “You tolerate me because I’m convenient for Hannah.” Tears bit the backs of my eyes but I didn’t dare let them fall.

“That’s bullshit, too, and you know it.”

“Is it, Connor?” I tilted my head. “You have fought me tooth and nail since the beginning. And now you attack me because of my past?” I snorted. “Would you like me to bring up every mistake you’ve ever made? Because I’m pretty sure the day Hannah was given to you, you had to sneak a girl out of your apartment, and who knows if you even remembered her name!”

The insult hit home from the pain that flashed across his face which instantly turned to anger. “At least I didn’t sleep with the biggest asshole on the team!” He clamped his mouth shut the second the words left his lips, the sadness and regret in his eyes showing me how much he wanted to take it back.

But he couldn’t.

I resisted the urge to fling my legs and splash water all over his face. I settled for a glare instead. “I. Didn’t. Sleep. With. Him.”

He looked like I’d slapped him.

I kind of wanted to.

“But—”

“But what?” I cut him off. “He told you we did? He told you I was some easy piece of ass? The slutty-twin?”

“Ivy—”

I held up my hand to stop him. “It’s fine. I didn’t. We kissed. And talked. And went on dates. It was normal. Until it wasn’t.” I shrugged. “The thing that gets me?” I sighed. “I can understand why you hated me because of what I did to Eric and Pepper. Yes, I outed them to my father, I put Eric’s career and their relationship at risk, but I was terrified that the same thing would happen to Pepper that happened to me. That he’d leave her high and dry, and she was so much deeper in it than I had been with Crosby. She was in love with Eric. But they forgave me. I made amends in any way I could. But you? You still hate me. And for what? Because you thought I slept with Crosby and fucked up your precious Sharks?” I rolled my eyes. “I thought you were better than that.”

I lifted my legs from the water, ready to head toward the main house, grab my purse, and get the hell out of there.

Connor gently clutched my wrist, settling me back down on the edge of the pool. “I don’t hate you,” he said, his eyes pleading.

“Then what is it?” I jerked out of his searing touch, and he held his hands up.

“I…”

“What?” I snapped, exhausted and wrung the hell out. The man was a whirlwind of emotions I didn’t have a capacity for. “What did I ever do to you?”

“You chose him!”

“What?” I asked, flabbergasted.

He flung his arms in the air. “I wanted you! I’ve always wanted you. And you chose that piece of shit…” he shook his head, stepping closer to me. “Despite the rules or the risk, I wanted you. But before I even had a shot, it was gone. Then everything happened, and I still wanted you.”

Heat flared in my core, my heart racing, but my mind couldn’t compute it.

“Why?” I asked. “I’m nothing compared to you…you’re so good and wonderful and—”

“Ivy,” he said, the plea in my name silencing me. “You are everything.” He wetted his lips. “You’re a pain in the ass,” he continued. “But you’re perfect. Wild and free and so much yourself. Your confidence is the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. The way you never back down from me, you never cower or cringe with each layer of my soul you peel back. You’ve never once looked disgusted when my past comes up. You see me for me. And if that wasn’t enough, the way you’re always there when I need you…I’ve never had that before. And it scares the shit out of me.”

My breath came in short, rough bursts, the tears slowly sliding down my cheeks.

No one had ever said anything like that to me before. It was always about the way I looked or the clothes I wore or who my father was.

No one had ever said they wanted me for me.

“Connor…” My tongue failed me, my mind losing all the words I wanted to say. I’d never, not once, thought I was good enough for the man before me. Maybe that is why I kept fighting him, teasing him, because it was as close as I’d ever get.

And now…

“Connor,” I said again.

“Ivy,” he answered, leaning a hand on either side of the pool’s edge, his cut body caging me in without touching me. The heat swirling between us combined with his seductive scent made my head spin.

I’ll wait for you to ask me, next time.

His past words hit my mind like a bolt of lightning.

“Touch me,” I said. “Please.”

The request was his unleashing.

He gripped my hips and tugged me to the edge until his wet body filled the space between my legs. Then he swiped the tears on my cheeks with his thumbs, slowly trailing a hand down my back until he found the base of my spine and pushed me closer to him.

His body aligned with mine, heat and muscles and him.

I arched my neck, my lips grazing his chin as he held me in sheer, pulse-pounding agony.

A deep breath, like he was memorizing my scent, and he slowly kissed my cheek, then the other one, each lingering, feather-light touch twisting my core with need. Finally, he found the corner of my mouth. He flashed me a last, questioning glance.

“Please, Connor.” I sighed, locking my ankles around his hips, not caring for a second that my shorts and shirt were getting soaked.

He crushed his lips on mine, parting them with his tongue. He flicked and rubbed and filled every space, taking all I had and giving everything back. Over and over, I gasped between his lips, the damn kiss setting all my nerves on fire. Every piece of me ached and begged for this man.

He was all consuming.

A powerful wave of wild I could wait to ride.

I raked my fingers through his hair and gripped the wet strands like I might very well fall.