Breathe, Evie. Lock those knees, girl.

I needed the reminder as I stared at Drew Maddox staring at me. He looked scary good in a crisp white button down with his hair still kind of wet. Did wet hair make me picture him in the shower? Sure did. Did I need that image in my head when I was already breathless from just the way he looked at me?

Nope.

But I’d asked for this.

Admittedly, I got dolled the fuck up for this impromptu hang, but who wouldn’t? In all likelihood, I was going to be photographed by strangers and paparazzi all night. I’d already seen the way it happened yesterday morning, and I could only assume the cameras came out faster at clubs and bars where it was darker, and people were drunker, more brazen.

Also, today’s tabloid pieces on yesterday’s date had quickly piqued an interest in me, which meant tonight, some gossip hounds might actually recognize my face. And that meant I was going to be watched and scrutinized way more than I’d been just yesterday.

So why not dress up like crazy?

I don’t know. Maybe to avoid moments where he looks at you like this and you wonder why not just fuck him for fun since the world already thinks you are?

Also a valid point.

Because while I’d been dealing with male attention for about fifteen years, nothing – and I mean nothing – in the world could prepare me for the way Drew was looking at me now.

He stood so still but that wolfish stare drank me in. His enormous body was completely unmoving as those green eyes traveled shamelessly up my legs then to my hips before getting caught on my breasts. I couldn’t help but feel a thrill for the fact that I’d fully captivated something so big and powerful. It made me feel objectively sexy, which was far different than feeling normal sexy – and for all the confidence I had, it was definitely something I’d never felt before in my life.

“Hi,” I said once I couldn’t take the heat of his stare any longer. Drew looked up at me.

“Hi.”

“So… are you going to take me inside or what?” I asked. I cocked my head when he just blinked, seeming to have forgotten that that was why I was here. When he finally shook his head and offered no further detail, I frowned. “What? Why not?”

“Because there’s no way in hell I’m letting the guys go near you right now.”

I bit my lip because I was sure there was a compliment in there. Somewhere.

“Well excuse me, but I didn’t get this dressed up for nothing,” I said.

“I know you didn’t,” Drew muttered, returning his eyes to my cleavage as I crossed my arms. I uncrossed them.

“And I definitely didn’t get dressed up solely for your viewing pleasure, Mr. Maddox.”

He groaned with irritation, finally sounding awake.

“Yes, thank you. I know that.”

“So?”

He kept his stare fixed on me for two hard seconds. Then he nodded behind him.

“Just get in the car.”

* * *

Whatever sexpot impression I’d made on Drew outside the club before was swiftly annihilated once we arrived at our next location. But I didn’t mind and I apologized for nothing.

We wound up going to The Roof on 5^th, which was, unsurprisingly, a rooftop bar on Fifth Ave. I’d heard of it before and I was already excited to go, but when we actually rode the elevator all the way to the top, and the doors opened, I almost burst into tears.

“Omigod,” I gasped because it was so unreal. Presented before me was the closest, most breathtaking view of the very top of the Empire State Building. It was like being an arm’s reach from the moon. It was right next to this roof, and it glowed so magnificently close that I swore I could walk across the balcony, hold out my hand and actually touch it.

“What’s going on? You alright?” Drew turned around.

“Yes. No. I don’t know. I’m having a moment.”

He stared for a second.

“Jesus,” he said when he realized he wasn’t going to get me to move.

But come on – this was surreal. I’d grown up looking at pictures of the New York skyline, obviously, and I still had a beloved, framed Polaroid I took of this building when I first came to see it in person.

I was fourteen years old. I’d just had the worst fight of my life with Kaylie, and Mom told me to sleep somewhere else for the night. When I arrived a sniveling mess at Mike’s house, he announced that he was going to turn my worst day ever into the best, and took me on my first trip to Manhattan.

Our first stop had been the Empire State.

“Alright, enough.” Drew got my attention when he took my hand in his. “If you’re my girlfriend you need to act like I’ve taken you on a date before, because right now it looks like I kept you locked up for the past six months and just let you out for the first time tonight.”

I laughed instead of retorting because I knew it was a hundred percent true.

“Geez. Sorry, okay? I just never thought I’d see the Empire State Building this up close and personal.”

“Tourists and middle school field trips do it every day, so dream bigger.”

“Eff you, dickhead.”

“Also, cursing me off loses its edge when you say ‘eff’ instead of fuck.”

“Fine. In that case fuck. You,” I enunciated. Drew eyed me.

“Yeah. I wish.”

The remark made my lashes flutter, but it was said in such passing that I really didn’t have time to react before a hand shot out on our away to the table, viciously smacking Drew’s side to get his attention. I startled for all of a second before I looked at who the arm belonged to and recognized that thick, dark hair and big, mischievous smile.

“Emmett!” I shrieked, bursting out of Drew’s grasp to throw my arms around Emmett’s neck. “Oh my God, dude, tell me Aly’s here with you,” I whispered desperately, though I could see he was sitting with a bunch of men in suits. Definitely clients. Who were all staring at me.

“She’s not, I’m sorry,” Emmett whispered back with a laugh. “How you holding up with the asshole though?”

“Um.” I blinked, unsure if Emmett knew about the false nature of Drew and my romance. “He’s… tolerable?”

“Alright.” Drew cut in with two hands on my hips. Pulling me back against his chest, he whispered in my ear. “For fuck’s sake, don’t bend over like that. Your tits are falling out and those assholes are staring down your dress.”

“Oh, and you’ve decided that you’re the controlling type who dictates what I wear and how I act?” I hissed.

“Trust me, I’m pretty fucking pleased with what you’re wearing, but there’s a difference between showing you off and letting guys eye-bang you right in front of me,” Drew muttered hotly. My eyes narrowed at him.

“Fair,” I bit out.

“Thank you,” he grumbled.

“Alright, you two,” Emmett chuckled, still turned around in his chair. He cocked an eyebrow at Drew. “So you been dodging my calls or what, Maddox? If we’re fighting, you never gave me official word.”

“I don’t have time to fight with you, Emmett, I’m just a busier man than even you are.”

“Clearly. Ty just texted that you were at Godsend with him ten minutes ago then disappeared. Should I tell him that you’re here?”

“Only if you want me to throw you off this roof.”

“I don’t think you should risk straining the pitching arm. I noticed your velocity was down your last start.”

“Good to know you were watching so closely. Should we let Aly know about your creepy obsession with me?”

“Fuck off,” Emmett grinned. “I’ll meet up with you two after I wrap up with these guys.”

“Please don’t,” Drew said before sliding a hand onto my back and whisking me off. I stared up at him.

“Jesus, what’s up with dude friends? Why do you guys love talking to each other like you hate each other?”

“Maybe we do.”

“What? Are you mad at my best friend’s boyfriend?” I asked defensively. “Because on behalf of my best friend, I take offense to that.”

“I’m not mad at him. Aly’s one of your best friends. Emmett’s one of mine,” Drew said without a hint of emotion, giving the canned answer like I was some reporter he didn’t want to do an interview with.

I kept my eyes narrowed on him as we followed a hostess across the roof and up a small flight of steps to a VIP area. Ivy-covered partitions provided us a decent amount of privacy, but that didn’t stop people from passing by our section with their phones stealthily positioned to snap quick photos. I noticed two people do that before we even sat down next to each other.

“So you and Emmett are cool?” I asked once the hostess left – though obviously not without a last lip-biting peek at Drew. Couldn’t blame her. He looked sexy as sin tonight and as screwed up as it was, he was particularly hot when he was angry.

“Emmett and I are cool,” Drew said, measuring his words. “He knew I was at risk of being traded as far back as last year and told just Iain instead of me, but aside from that, we’re cool.”

“Oh. So what, now you don’t trust him either?”

“I never trusted him or anyone in the first place, so nothing has changed. We’re good.”

Jesus. I blinked with surprise as I watched Drew’s hard eyes study the menu.

“Well… his brother owns the team you play for so I’m sure he wanted to tell you, but there was just a conflict of interest,” I offered.

“Of course. Family first,” Drew said in a sardonic tone that reminded me of the fact that ‘family first’ didn’t ring true with him. After all, he’d mentioned that his family treated him like an ATM.

Damn. I chewed my lip through the silence that followed, hoping that Drew had at least someone in this world that he trusted fully. I mean I didn’t trust my own family, and I obviously didn’t trust Mike anymore, but at least I had Aly. She would stick by me through anything. I knew that, and I quietly cherished her as I studied Drew.

“Oh, wait, this is the food menu,” I finally said to break the silence.

“Perfect. Let’s exchange.”

“Didn’t you just eat dinner?” I laughed as he eagerly swapped menus with me.

“Yeah, but that was over an hour ago.”

“Oh my God. You and your food.”

“Yeah, me and my need to nourish my body to stay alive. So crazy,” he muttered though he peered up with amusement when I giggled. “What?”

“Nothing. I’m more so laughing at myself.”

“Why?”

“Just remembering something from when I was a kid.”

“What is it?”

I looked up from my menu to find Drew’s undivided attention on me.

“You really want to hear a story from my childhood?” I asked dubiously.

“I thought that was implied when I said ‘what is it.’”

“Okay, relax, smart ass, and it’s not a good story, it’s just that when I was younger…” I trailed off, chewing my lip when I realized I didn’t actually want to say this aloud. It was probably only funny in my head. “Actually, I forget what I was saying. I’m all drunk.”

“You didn’t drink yet.”

“Maybe I drank at home.”

Drew caught my jaw and pulled my face to his. My heart stopped in my chest as he tilted my mouth up, holding my lips an inch from his.

“No.” His thumb stroked my jaw as he breathed me in. “You didn’t.” He lifted his gaze from my lips to my eyes and held it there for one painfully hot second. But in a flash, he released me and returned to being blunt. “Now tell me the story.”

Just like that, his attention returned to the menu – as if he hadn’t just done something ridiculously freakin’ intimate that required time for me to catch my breath.

Or maybe that wasn’t super intimate and you’re just overthinking things? I thought before promptly catching myself. Okay, stop. It’s way too early in the night to get this deep in your head.

“Um… yeah, anyway. Where was I again?” I mumbled to myself, pretending to casually scan my menu though I was honestly too flustered to read shit. “Oh right. Long story short, when my sister Kaylie and I were kids, we thought that once you were an adult and you stopped growing, that meant you didn’t have to eat anymore. We literally thought that eating just ceased to be a necessity once you turned like, twenty-five.”

Drew looked up again, eyeing me with feigned seriousness.

“So you guys were held back a few grades, huh.”

“Shut up!” He grinned big when I burst out laughing. “Asshole. If you must know, we were like four and eight when we thought this and it was only because my mom would make us grilled cheeses every day and just wait around to eat our crusts. And when we asked why she didn’t make one for herself, she said she only wanted a snack and adults don’t need to eat like little kids do,” I said, my smile slowly faltering as I finished the story. Okay, yeah. Definitely less funny said aloud, I nodded awkwardly as I peered up at Drew. I could see the humor in his eye flickering away as he looked at me and put two and two together.

Yep.

I grew up dirt poor and my mom was definitely hungry. She just couldn’t afford to eat and feed her kids too.

Well, hello, buzzkill, I scolded myself as I blurted, “Anyway,” and tried to think of a topic change. Come on, come on, hurry up, I desperately begged myself while coming up painfully empty.

Drew surprised me with a reassuring hand on my knee.

“So tell me about the Empire State Building. What’s up with your weird little obsession?” he said, returning his casual gaze back to the menu.

I blinked for a second of confusion, but then a little smile wiggled onto my lips. I knew Drew couldn’t care less about this story – he was just giving me an out from the last subject we’d touched on, since it clearly had me so flushed and embarrassed. It was a tiny gesture, but still a lot more than I’d ever expected from him.

“It’s also a boring story,” I warned.

“Tell me.”

“Well, this was just the number one stop on our first ever visit to New York. We got off an Amtrak at Penn Station, walked to the Empire State and took about a dozen Polaroids from different angles – which was a huge deal because Polaroid film was not cheap.”

“And by ‘we’ you mean you and Matt.”

“Mike.”

“Sure. Where are you from originally?”

“Belfield, Massachusetts. Don’t Google it.”

“Why not?” Drew snorted.

“Because it sucks. We called it Hellfield.”

“That’s just how every kid feels about their hometown.”

“No, trust me. My hometown is depressing enough to be featured in like, two different documentaries on Netflix.”

Drew looked up with genuine interest. “Really. About what?”

“Uhh.” My voice was higher pitched than usual as I paused and realized I’d wound up on another topic I liked to avoid. “Opioids,” I finally said.

Drew’s eyebrows went up and stayed there.

“Oh.”

Another silence. God. I let it stay quiet for all of two-and-a-half seconds before clapping my hands together.

“Anyway! My turn to ask a question,” I declared, grinning at the instant wariness on Drew’s face. “I want to know why the heck the Empires are even looking to trade the best pitcher in baseball.”

“It’s complicated.”

“That’s not a real answer.”

“Well, it’s the only answer you’re getting.”

“Fine. I’ll just Google you.”

Drew looked up with surprise. “You haven’t done that yet?”

“No. I said yes to this whole thing so quickly that I didn’t get a chance to, and after, I was kind of too scared to do it and see exactly what the heck I’d gotten myself into,” I admitted, making Drew’s eyes crinkle as he laughed. Ugh. So cute.

“Good choice. There are things that are true, but there’s also a ton of bullshit out there,” he said just as the waitress came to take our orders.

I ordered a cocktail before I realized Drew was ordering an entire bottle of champagne, but oh well. Not the worst problem to have. If anything, the bigger dilemma was how to deal with the fact that as he started ordering and chatting with the waitress, his hand began unconsciously rubbing my knee.

And considering I had no panties on under this dress, I was pretty much dying.

Thank God my skirt, albeit tight as hell, stretched down to just above my knee. Also, once the drinks arrived, I was able to calm my nerves. Conversation flowed for a good twenty minutes after but then we reached a point where Drew’s eyes drifted off as I was talking about something, and suddenly he said, “Hey. No Googling me. Alright?”

I blinked. “Why?”

“Because it’s not fair. I can’t Google you back. It’s not a level playing field.”

“I wouldn’t care if you Googled me.”

“Because none of your personal information is out there. It’s all work-related.”

“Fine. Then you can ask me three personal questions right now and I promise that I’ll Google you as seldom as possible,” I said. Drew smirked.

“Five questions and you Google me once while I’m present.”

I thought about it for a second.

“Okay. Deal.” I knocked back the rest of my cocktail. “And there’s your insurance that I’ll be completely truthful.”

“Great, then I’ll start with a hardball. How the hell did Mike end up with a girl who looks like you?”

I blinked, surprised by the question and actually, kind of insulted.

“I realize you’re somewhat complimenting me here, and I promise I feel no need to defend Mike right now, but considering I was dating him for nine years, digs at him are also digs at my taste and life choices,” I pointed out.

“Yes. I’m aware of that.”

Dick.

“Of course you are,” I snorted as I gave myself a tall pour of champagne. “Okay, well now that we’ve established how comfortable you are with insulting me, here’s my answer: I’m from a place that’s listed as one of the most white trash towns in Massachusetts. Every woman in my family had a baby by the time she was eighteen, and when my eighteenth birthday came and went, my mom and grandma literally threw me a ‘no baby shower’ with decorations from the Dollar General. If you’re thirty years old from Belfield and you have a job at the 7-11 a few towns over, you’re considered a pretty huge success. And I’m pretty sure I would’ve been that hugely successful 7-11 clerk if it weren’t for the fact that Mike told me we were allowed to dream bigger.”

I took a break from my ramble to take a gulp of the champagne I would’ve never dreamed of even holding in my hands when I was younger.

“So he got you out of there is what you’re saying,” Drew said as he watched me knock back most of my champagne in one big slug. “Easy,” he said, taking my glass and holding it away from me. “We don’t have to talk about this if it upsets you.”

“It doesn’t. I’m over it,” I said, and with all this bubbly in my system, I actually believed it. “I’m fine talking about it. Maybe in that sense, I’m bigger and badder than you are.”

“I think you’re just drunker than I am.”

“Yeah, well. You probably don’t even get drunk. You’re like… ten feet tall and three hundred pounds of muscle,” I mumbled as Drew smirked.

“Six-three, two-twenty, but yeah. Ninety-eight percent muscle as of the last physical.”

“Jesus, really?”

“Yes.”

Ugh, of course, I thought, letting my eyes dip down his front as he leaned back in his seat. God, those huge shoulders. Those abs. What did they look like under there? I was dying to know.

“Stop.”

“What?”

I didn’t even realize I was biting my nail till Drew removed my hand from my mouth and placed it in my lap.

“You look like you want to get fucked when you do that and I’m entirely too willing, so you need to stop while I still have enough blood in my brain to think straight.”

Oh… kay.

Wow.

His words shot straight between my legs and I wound up staring speechlessly as his eyes devoured everything from my squirming thighs to the stunned look on my face. I felt enough like his prey without even hearing his next question.

“When was the last time Mike even fucked you?”

Shit.

My cheeks burned at both the question and the answer, which was four months ago. And before that one time, it had been six. He caved to my crying over his lack of affection, humped me for about ten minutes and then rolled over without either of us coming. The worst part was that he faked his orgasm and when I asked if he really came, he said, “No. Can’t we just go to sleep though?”

Oh God.

I covered my face. “Skip,” I said.

“What?”

“That question.”

“That’s not allowed.”

“Four months ago. Next.”

I avoided his stare of pure disbelief. But just because I wasn’t looking at it didn’t mean I couldn’t feel its heat on my skin.

“When was the last time you came more than once in a night?”

“Are you really asking me that right now?”

“Yes.”

“You’re an asshole.”

“We’ve established this.”

I glared for several seconds.

“If you must know, I literally can’t even think of my answer.”

“Too long ago to recall?”

“Yes! Maybe! Who cares? Why do you need to know?” I demanded.

“Because the idea of you not being properly fucked is driving me crazy right now.”

His answer had me speechless again but this time, the intensity of his stare also had me breathless like I’d just run a five-minute mile.

He’s a player, an asshole and you’ll regret it, I answered myself before I could ask why I shouldn’t just fuck him. But even knowing that, it was hard to ignore the tension heating up the air between us, making it feel almost too thick to breathe in.

“It’s been awhile,” I finally said, trying to sound unaffected as he dragged his heavy stare up my legs. “And you have two questions left.”

“I know.”

“I think you should save them for another night.”

“No thanks. Hottest unfulfilled fantasy?”

I rolled my eyes at him.

“Getting a five-figure tax return.”

He returned my eye-roll.

“Sexual,” he clarified.

“Pass, because I know what happens when I answer this,” I said, pinning my stare on him. “Whatever I say I want, you’re just going to imply that you could do that for me right here, right now because you love making me nervous, so let’s just bypass that whole self-indulgent process and say yes, I’ve been sexually frustrated before and yes, you could probably make me come very, very hard. Much harder than Mike ever did,” I said hotly, wondering when the hell Drew’s lips had made it so close to mine. His arm was draped over the back of my seat as he hovered over my body, heat smoldering in his green eyes as he stared at me.

I didn’t even know what I was feeling.

Kiss me. Or don’t. Fuck you, I thought, my brain a mess of confusion as I heard a stampede of footsteps come clamoring our way. I frowned, watching the heat in Drew’s stare become fire as he slid his eyes over my shoulder. Suddenly, he was shaking his head at something.

“The fuck, Ty,” he growled just as a voice boomed behind me.

“Found ya! Hope we didn’t interrupt anything.”

You did, but thank God for that, I thought.

And when I turned around, it was his whole damned team.