Page 123 of On His Team

I laugh once. “No.”

“Yes, you do.”

“Doesn’t sound familiar.”

“You’re such a liar.”

“I genuinely don’t remember.”

“You absolutely remember.”

She steps backward.

I let her go.

Her eyes move over me in a way that feels different now that we’re alone. Gianna has seen me shirtless plenty of times. Everybody who spends time around hockey players eventually sees more male skin than they asked for.

This is not that.

She is looking because she wants to.

I know that now.

“Take your shirt off,” she says.

I stare at her.

Her mouth twitches. “Oh. That made you nervous.”

“No.”

She shrugs. “You hesitated.”

“Because you ordered me to get undressed in my kitchen.”

“And?”

I pull the shirt over my head and toss it onto the counter.

Her smile disappears. Her eyes drop. They move slowly across my chest and stomach before coming back up. I know exactly what she’s seeing because I’ve watched women look at me before. It has never mattered this much.

Gianna clears her throat. “Okay.”

I step toward her. She backs up one step. She puts both hands flat against my chest and kisses me. I kiss her back, and her hands move lower. This time I’m the one who stops. I catch her wrist just above my waistband.

Gianna pulls back an inch. “What?”

I look at her hand in mine. Then at her.

“Do you know what you’re doing?”

The smile that breaks across her face is immediate. “Okay. There it is.”

I shake my head.

“I found it. What makes you nervous.”

I let go of her wrist.