Prologue
MILLER
“Our secret, right?” Her worried gaze was not setting me at ease, not in the least. Already my body rejected the idea of keeping secrets, especially from her brother, my best friend, the first-string quarterback for the Bucks, the guy I was supposed to block for and catch balls from—the same one who, years ago, had locked his sister in their house so she missed prom. That dude.
“Right.” She licked her lips, shuffled out of the bedroom, and snuck back onto the couch. My body felt her absence.
I shouldn’t have kissed her.
She shouldn’t have kissed me back.
And she sure as hell shouldn’t have crawled onto me.
Damn it, I sure as hell shouldn’t have let her!
Maybe it was me. My fault. Maybe I was still torn up over the fact that my childhood best friend—the girl I thought I was still in love with—was currently engaged to Sanchez, our wide receiver and basically the only guy in the universe who was hard to hate despite being a cocky shit.
I slammed the pillow with both hands and then shoved it to the floor.
Kinsey crept back into the bedroom. “Sorry, I forgot my um . . .” She pointed to the floor, blushing, and then smacked herself on the forehead. “Underwear. I had underwear. I can’t find them. We need to find my underwear, Miller!” A sheet flew into the air, followed by a throw pillow.
I dodged. “Stop panicking.” Why, why did she have to be so gorgeous?
I tossed the remainder of the sheets while she looked under the bed. Jax had texted that he was coming by to talk to me, and if he found her in my bedroom, there would be bloodshed and absolutely no words shared between us. The guy literally told me that he would poison any guy from the team who dated her, and when I called his bluff, he showed me the search history on his phone for graphic ways to get away with murder. The guy was either psychotic or just really took his sister’s sex life way too seriously—or both.
Well done, Miller, get traded to the Bucks, and after the first championship season you decide to fuck Jax’s sister! Stellar plan!
“Found them!” she shouted triumphantly, thrusting a lacy pair of panties into the air like a trophy while my body went rock hard over the graphic images those panties conjured up. Images of my hands on her body, my mouth sucking her dry. I gulped. Yeah, I was getting poisoned today. No doubt about it. Especially since the moment I stepped toward her, Jax’s voice filled the large penthouse.
“Miller, you in your room? Where’s Kins?”
She hid on the other side of the bed while I quickly met him at my bedroom door. “Kins? Hell if I know, maybe you should put a bell on her? Better yet, one of those tracking collars they give dogs?”
“Good plan.” He rolled his eyes. “Look, I know you were up late last night getting drunk off your ass.” It was my turn to roll my eyes. We won the championship. THE championship. Of course I’d gotten drunk off my ass. “But, I have a favor to ask.”
“Sure.” I shrugged, mouth dry. I’d do anything to get him out of my room. “Whatever you want, man, it’s yours.”
“Great.” He sighed in relief. “It’s just, one of Kinsey’s exes moved back and the guy’s bad news—so I need your help.”
“Want me to kill him?” I offered, completely on board with the idea but pissed at myself for thinking I had some sort of stake or claim on a girl that days ago I wasn’t even pining over or thinking about.
God, she smelled good.
“Miller?”
“Huh? Yes?” I blinked. Shit, what else had he said?
“Anyway, I think if we just pack her shit, things will go faster.”
“Faster,” I repeated slowly.
Jax leaned in. “You still drunk, man?”
On his sister? Hell yeah, I was. “Nope, totally stone-cold sober.” And hard, still hard. That too.
“Our grandma’s been missing her anyways, so this is the perfect plan. I just don’t have time to pack up all her crap and try to convince her it’s a good idea.”
“Am I the packer or the talker?” I tried not to flinch when he stared me down like I was on medication.
“Dude, that’s the favor. Seriously, not drunk, not even a little bit? You guys are close. Convince my crazy sister to go to Europe for the summer so I don’t have to worry about that little shit getting into her head while we’re training for the preseason.”
I gulped. “What makes you think she’d listen to me?”
He stood taller, his dark brows furrowed together, before he gave me a light shrug that basically conveyed he had no fucking clue that his sister was half-naked, in my room, probably still burning from the memory of us clawing at one another the night before, and that I was contemplating murdering him to do it again. “Because you’re friends.”
Friends.
I’d never hated that word more than I did then, and not because of the meaning behind it, but because I was lying to Jax, my good friend, a guy I respected, one of our team captains, my quarterback, because the hand he was shaking had just run down his sister’s naked body—and craved it more than it freaking should.
“Okay,” I choked out, hating the fact that the damn word even existed in the English language. “You know, maybe I’m not feeling so well. I think I’ll lie down before I talk with her.”
“Thanks.” He nodded. “I’m out to get some breakfast.”
I watched him leave.
And waited for the inevitable.
“So, friends, huh?” came Kinsey’s voice, and then those damn panties were tossed at my face, followed by one pillow and another and another, until all the pillows were on my side of the room. What the hell was with that woman and pillows?
“Best of.” I turned and tried my best at a cocky grin.
She didn’t fall for it.
“I’m not going.” Hands on hips, she stared me down. “Besides, I hate my ex. Jax has nothing to worry about.”
“When Jax worries, the team worries, because the team needs him not to suck, ergo, why not go to Europe for the summer? You’ll be back in time to get your cheer squad in shape for the season and everyone will be happy.”
Everyone but me.
I left that part out.
“Everyone?” She licked her lips as insecurity flashed across her face.
“Shit, Kins, you know what I mean.”
“So I should go?” Her voice was thoughtful but her eyes did that flashing thing they did when she was seconds away from either smacking her brother in the face or going for someone’s dick by way of a kick. “Yeah, Miller?”
I wanted her to stay.
I wanted to find out what was between us before it slipped away.
I craved what we’d shared. Hungered for some sort of tangible emotional connection.
What I didn’t need? Another broken heart.
Lame.
Stupid.
Weak.
Whatever.
I was done with relationships.
Done with the pain that came with them and the helpless feeling that always happened after they were over.
“Yeah, Kins.” I swallowed the sudden dryness in my throat, the ache in my chest, and the hurt look in her bright eyes. “I think you should go.”