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Chapter twenty-eight

Kai

“Let’s go, lazy bones,” I call up to Isabelle with a grin and a tap on her ass.

“I’d like to reach the peak today, you know.

” I’m teasing. We’re actually making good time on the trail up to Crooked Falls, an hour or so north of Vancouver.

We’re nearing the end of All-Star week, and as much as I want to go back to playing ball, I’ve been enjoying all the extra time with Isabelle.

The trip to the cabin was great, but being back here is just as good.

Isabelle’s legs are strong, and she’s easily kept up with me the entire hike. But this stretch of the trail is narrow, so I made her go in front to set the pace. The view of her ass enclosed in tight Lycra shorts swaying in front of me is a definite perk.

“Swear to God, you smack my butt one more time and I’m gonna push you down the cliff,” she grumbles, but she can’t fool me. I know she secretly loves it when I smack her ass.

Aaaand now I’m getting hard. For fuck’s sake, this woman has way too much control over my body and she doesn’t even realize it.

We pass an older couple on their descent. We exchange a smile and a nod, but nothing more. That’s one thing I love about getting out of the city and going for a hike. Nobody cares who you are, they’re all just out enjoying nature.

I chose this trail specifically because it’s not one of the more popular, touristy ones in the area. Which means that even now, in the middle of summer, we’ve only passed a handful of other people.

Isabelle comes to a stop at a bend in the trail, where the trees have thinned enough to give a tantalizing peek at the view.

“Are you teaming up with my mom to show me the best parts of this city in hopes that I decide to stay?” she huffs, her hands on her hips as she takes it in.

“If I thought that would work, I absolutely would.” Maybe it’s not fair of me, but I don't bother disguising the longing in my voice.

When she doesn’t reply, it only adds to the knot in my stomach.

I turn away and take a long drink from my water bottle.

Things are getting confusing between us.

I feel it, and I’m pretty damn sure she feels it, too.

We’re meant to be keeping things strictly in the realm of friends with benefits.

A casual agreement, temporary, with clear boundaries.

But the more time I spend with her, the more time I want to spend with her. And the harder I have to work to remember that she’s not mine. She’s leaving in five weeks.

“Okay, let’s finish this thing. But it’s your turn to go in front.”

I glance over to see she’s turned away from the view and is taking her own drink of water.

“No, you lead so you can set the pace.”

“Nope. It’s my turn to ogle your butt.”

I don’t hold back my burst of laughter, a welcome change from the down-in-the-dumps vibes I was having, as she saunters past and squeezes my ass cheek. I jog to get in front of her, then bend over slightly and wiggle my hips. “Oooh, do it again.”

She snorts, shaking her head. “As if you need more encouragement to be ridiculous.”

Pretending to be wounded, I bring my hand to my chest, slowly walking backward. It’s risky on the uneven ground, but oh well. “That hurts, Isabelle.”

Her eyes dance with amusement. “Poor baby.”

Bringing my finger to my exaggerated pout, I tap my lips. “Kiss it better.”

Light hands come to my shoulders, and she leans in slowly. But at the last second, instead of the kiss on the lips I’m expecting, she lands one on my nose before dancing back with a giggle.

“C’mon, Yamaki, let’s go!”

Hours later, we make it back to my apartment.

“So where do your Mom and Coach think you are today?” I ask as I close the door behind her.

“Tony surprised her with a last-minute getaway to the island for the last couple of days of All-Star week so they don’t have a clue.” She toes off her shoes, then puts them in the hall closet beside mine. “Ugh, I need a shower. I stink.”

I wrap my arms around her from behind and rub my nose along her neck. “You smell great.”

She tries to push me away, but I hold fast. “You’re disgusting, and you stink, too!”

“That just means we should shower together.”

I spin her around and heft her over my shoulder in one move.

“Put me down right now!” she shrieks, her hands smacking my back. “You’re going to hurt your shoulder, for Christ’s sake, Kai, you’re being stupid.”

I just shake my head and continue on down the hall. “Settle down, woman. You’re on my nondominant shoulder, so it’s fine. And stop insulting my strength.”

We reach my bathroom, but I still don’t set her down, instead reaching in with my free hand and turning the water on. I don’t wait for it to heat up, nor do I give us a chance to get undressed. Oh no, I step right into the shower, straight under the spray of barely warm water.

“Fuck!” she yelps, and resumes battering my back. But I feel her shaking with laughter. “Oh my God, I’m going to kill you.”

Finally, I slide her down my body, waiting until she’s standing before I let go. I flash an unrepentant smirk. “But if I’m dead, then I can’t do that thing with my dick that made your eyes roll into the back of your head the other night.”

“Oh, well, we can’t have that.” She flutters her eyelashes at me as she starts to lift her wet shirt up and over her head.

“Nope. You wouldn’t survive without it,” I reply casually.

Her shirt lands on the shower floor, and when her gaze meets mine, I could swear she’s fighting the same battle I am — against giving in and admitting that whatever this is between us has already become so much more than casual.

But that means admitting that we’re fucked. Because she’s still leaving.

Neither one of us is ready to face that right now.

“Need some help with that?” I ask, watching her fight to get her sports bra off. I don’t wait for a response, replacing her hands with mine and managing to peel it off. She’s down to just a pair of see-through panties now, and my cock strains against my shorts at the sight.

It’s much easier to get my own clothes off, and soon we’re coming together under the spray of water.

There’s a desperation to our actions. An edge to the kiss she plants on my chest as she drops to her knees.

And when I lift her up from the floor, grabbing her leg and wrapping it around my hip so I can drive into her, she clings to me.

Her nails dig into my back as she presses her face into my shoulder.

We don’t say a word, not even when we both hit orgasm within seconds of each other.

After all, the words I want to say right now are words I swore I’d never say again. Words I’ll deny even thinking, much less wanting.

Stay with me.

Let me in.

Love me.