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“I’m not going to make you talk about it,” she promises.

In a couple of short steps, she closes the distance between us, her hand reaching up to cup the back of my neck. After a few shaky breaths, I’m able to meet her gaze. Her eyes search my face, worry evident in them, but she doesn’t push.

“I want to make sure you’re okay, that’s all,” she whispers, her voice low, and her breath fanning across my face.

I want to assure her I’m okay. That I’m here and I’m not going anywhere. That I will not shut her out or pretend what happened didn’t take a lot of energy out of me. I refuse to pretend around her. Open, honest communication is the goal I’m striving for, even if I can’t produce it in words.

I hum, hoping she’ll take it as confirmation I’m okay, before lowering my head so I can capture her lips in a light, lingering kiss.

She lets me get away with it for a few glorious moments. Lips gliding together, hands pulling each other closer, but all too soon, it’s over. She’s back to staring up at me with a slight frown, but her cheeks are flushed and her breathing just slightly erratic.

She places a hand on my chest, firmly keeping the distance between us when I try to pull her in again.

“Kat,” I whine, not even caring how ridiculously desperate I sound.

“You’re avoiding the question, Carter,” she scolds, but she’s giving me a playful look.

“I’m not avoiding the question.” I grip her hips in my hands, stepping backward until I feel the bed at the back of my knees. I drop down onto it, pulling her between my legs. I lean my head back until I can gaze up at her. “I’m choosing to answer it with actions instead of words.”

She rolls her eyes, but still her fingers find my hair to comb through it. I let out a groan as her short nails scratch against my scalp, my head dropping forward to rest against her chest. Any other time, I could just stay in this moment for hours, being close to her, and slowly relaxing, but it’s not enough right now. Right now, I want her in whatever way she’s willing to give me.

Lifting my head, I crane my neck to look at her, but she’s already leaning down for a kiss. This one is deeper than the previous ones. One hand tangles in her loose blonde waves, the other draws her in closer until she’s straddling my lap, her thighs on either side of mine. I can’t help but groan as she settles in my lap.

She sighs against my lips, briefly parting just to change the angle before she dives back in. I let her take control this time, following where she leads. My hand moves to the small of her back, fingers dipping beneath the hem of her shirt, which is a loose-fitting coral top that highlights her tan and brings her eyes to life. She had my attention from the moment I spotted her in the stands today. When the tips of my fingers ghost along her spine, she shivers in my lap. Fighting back a grin, as I’d rather not end the kiss, I trace the pattern once more.

“Carter.” She squirms, laughing softly as she catches her breath. Her lips are still brushing against mine. “Stop it!”

“Why?” I tease, tracing her spine one more time. It has her arching against me in an enticing way. “Are you ticklish?”

“Yes!” She squirms against me and, this time, I relent.

Flattening my hand against the small of her back, I use the hand in her hair to pull her back down for a kiss. Instantly, her mouth opens, granting me entrance to deepen it further. Everything moves syrupy slow from there. We stay in that position for God only knows how long, just making out before I pull her in closer and move us until she’s laying beneath me, more fully on the bed.

She blinks up at me, eyes hazy, and a little breathless. “That was very smooth.”

Chuckling, I capture her bottom lip between mine for just a moment. “You sound surprised.”

“Not surprised.” Her leg hooks around my hip and she just as fluidly flips us, settling against me. Now it’s my turn to stare up at her, stunned, her hands flat against my pecs. “But I was rather enjoying being on top.”

Groaning, I push myself up until I can kiss her again, my hands already pushing her T-shirt up. When we part, I pull it off the rest of the way, my fingers dipping down to toy with the front-clasp of her bra. “I rather like you being on top of me too, love.”

Her hips grind down against my rapidly hardening dick, her gasp mingling with a grunt of my own. As we strip one another and ourselves, we only part when we absolutely must. I move my kisses down her neck as my fingers dip into the front of her panties. She tips her head back, letting out a gasp before squirming in my lap in a completely different way.

This woman is going to be the death of me. She’s so responsive to every touch, every breath against her skin, and everything feels so much stronger because I know I’m falling in love with her. I know she’s the one I want by my side as this all comes to an end. She’s the one I want to start the next chapter with, and, hopefully, who I’ll have with me for the rest of this life.

I’m lost in every small feeling as we move together. Every time we do this, it gets better and better, but this might go down as some of the best sex of my life. Even the logistical side of safe, comfortable sex with a partner you care about and trust feels exhilarating in a way I’ve never felt before. When she slowly sinks down on me, I throw my head back and I swear I’m seeing stars.

Her moan echoes through the otherwise still and empty room. Her fingers squeeze against my pecs, and I want this moment to last. Every urge in my body is telling me to roll us over and take control, but it’s not what I want. Not really, I’m fine letting her lead this and as her hips start on a slow grind, those urges are silenced. Hands gripping her hips, I help guide her, but don’t take an ounce of control, allowing myself to be fully at her mercy.

The curtain of her blonde hair falls against the side of my head as she bends down to kiss me. The kiss turns from sweet and languid, to one that’s just as dirty as the grind of her hips. When both our orgasms have ripped through us and we’ve started to come down from the high, she lays down beside me, hand resting against her stomach.

We both stare up at the ceiling, our labored breaths trying to catch up with what we just did, but I feel my body melting against the plush mattress. Turning my head, I take in Kat’s profile and the small, content smile she has on her lips. Unable to resist the gorgeous woman beside me, I roll onto my side and lean over to kiss her.

I love you. It’s on the tip of my tongue, but I don’t let myself say it. I’m worried it’s too soon, and it’s definitely too cliché to say it right after intense sex, but it’s there. I can feel it hanging above us like the sun behind a cloud, just waiting for the barrier to move so we can both bask in the light.

Eventually, we get up to shower and change into clothes more comfortable for sleeping in before we climb back into bed. The meet is over, and tomorrow I’ll head to one last training camp in Colorado Springs while they go back to Columbia. This is the last time we’ll see one another before we’re getting ready to head to Omaha. If there was any moment to tell her, it’d be now.

Still, I can’t bring myself to say the words.