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CHAPTER ELEVEN-KOA

“The bus sucks!” Tank grumbled from his seat, arms crossed like a moody teenager despite being built like a damn freight train.

“Shut up,” I muttered automatically, my voice low and flat.

Couldn’t disagree with him, though. The bus did suck.

Smelled like sweat and protein powder.

Seats too cramped.

Air too warm.

Tank’s snoring in the middle of the night could probably be weaponized.

But my mind wasn’t on the miles left to New Orleans.

Not on the hours.

Not on the cramped muscles or the chattering from the newer lads.

My thoughts were still stuck, looping, replaying last night in filthy, maddening detail.

Her.

Finley, panting against my hand, her soft whimpers in my ear, her slick heat wrapped around my fingers like she was made for me.

Fuck, I was hard just thinking about it.

“Heads!” someone shouted.

Luca Warden, one of the loud-mouthed American rookies, lobbed a ball toward the older guys in the back, totally ignoring the unspoken rule about keeping things chill during travel hours.

It bounced off a seat and went wide, missing Ogre by an inch.

Lucky bastard.

Ogre once dislocated a guy’s shoulder in a pub for bumping into him too hard during a post-match pint. They called it an accident. It wasn’t.

The ball hit the aisle and ricocheted toward me.

I snatched it out of the air, quick and hard, and fixed Luca with a death glare that could curdle milk.

I didn’t snarl, technically. But close enough.

The kid blanched and turned the hell around.

Smart choice.

Tank leaned over from the seat beside me, smirking like he had a secret.

“Damn, Brother. What’s got your knickers in a twist?”

“Nothing.”

“Really?” He gave me a look. “Figured you'd be in a better mood after last night.”

I freeze.

Completely, utterly still.

My pulse is slamming into my ears.

He couldn’t mean what I think he means.

No one saw us.

I was careful. I made sure.

But if someone had?

If one of them saw me with her, touched her with their fucking eyes while I had her pressed to the wall, panting my name into the night?

I’d rip their fucking eyes out.

Beat them to a bloody pulp.

Zero hesitation.

Why? Because she’s mine.

And no one else got to see her like that.

No one else got to get their kicks seeing how I’d made her feel, how her pussy had clenched around my fingers while she whimpered and moaned for me.

I turned to Tank slowly, my hand already fisted in the front of his shirt.

“The fuck are you on about?” My voice was low. Dangerous. “What did you see?”

Tank’s eyes went wide as saucers. “Nothing! Jesus! Take it easy, Bro!”

It was only then I realized I had him pinned back against the seat.

My fingers tightened for a brief second.

My chest rising and falling like I was seconds away from violence.

Fuck.

Mum would be pissed if she saw this.

I let go and shoved his shoulder.

Not hard.

Just enough to say back off.

Tank straightened his clothes, still blinking. “I didn’t see anything, Koa. Swear. But you came back in late, and for once you didn’t look like you were gonna bite someone’s head off.”

He gave me a slow, smug grin. “Figured you and the ginger had a go.”

My jaw clenched.

He said it like it was nothing.

Like what happened last night was some casual quickie. Just heat and release.

He didn’t know.

He couldn’t know.

That wasn’t a go .

That was a fucking claim .

I didn’t answer.

Because what the fuck could I say?

Yes, I got lucky last night. I touched Finley Adamo. Finally got my dirty hands on her.

Why? Because she belongs to me.

Yes, I made her come, moaning and clenching all around me. And fuck yeah, I came too. All over her gorgeous tits like I’d waited a lifetime for the privilege.

I still had the taste of her moans on my tongue and my fingers curling every time I thought of the way her body opened up for me.

And yes—I can’t fucking wait to do it all again.

Tonight, if she’ll let me.

Right now, if I didn’t have a shit ton of eyes waiting to see if I so much as glanced in the direction of the RV where she sat with her best friend Carolina and our coach, I’d be staring at the damn thing just to sneak a peak of her.

As it was, just thinking about Red would have to suffice.

My cock stirred.

I sucked in a deep breath.

I must be crazy cause I could still smell her on my skin despite the shower I had last night.

My jaw was clenched so tight it ached.

My dick was half hard.

Again .

And my brain? My brain was a goddamn mess. Equal parts territorial rage and desperate want.

Tank didn’t say anything for a beat. He just studied me.

He might be younger, and clueless when it came to some things.

But he wasn’t dumb. Far from it. And he knew me well.

The man saw through me like glass when he wanted to.

Finally, he let out a breath and rubbed the back of his neck.

“You know what you’re doing?”

That landed like a punch.

Because no. No, I didn’t. Not really.

Finley wasn’t a woman you messed around with. She wasn’t a quick shag and forget.

She wasn’t someone who fit into my life as it was.

She was loud and fierce and fucking brilliant.

She was a storm in lipstick with a camera in her hand and a laugh that made my chest feel too small.

And I had no idea how to hold on to someone like that without breaking everything around me.

Still, I said, “Yeah.”

Tank raised a brow. “That wasn’t very convincing.”

“I know what I want,” I clarified. “And I know I’m not going to walk away from her.”

He studied me a second longer. Then he nodded— slow and quiet.

“Okay,” he said finally. “Okay, Brother. If I trust anyone to know what the hell they’re doing in this messed up world, it’s you.”

My throat tightened.

Because that wasn’t just some casual comment. Not from him.

It meant even I fucked this up he would be there.

It meant I’ve got your back .

If this blows up, he’d be the one helping me pick up the pieces. Despite the sibling rivalry that haunted us all our lives.

Plus the fact he’d given up his promising career to follow me to the states.

Fuck. It meant a lot.

“Thanks,” I muttered, but it was inadequate for what I was feeling.

“Shut up. Pussy.”

I snorted.

Tank settled back in his seat, like the moment hadn’t happened at all, already pulling up something on his phone with his usual chaos energy.

But I didn’t move.

I just sat there, watching the road pass, and thought about how badly I wanted to reach through the window of this shitty bus, defying all laws of physics just so I could grab Finley, and remind her exactly what last night meant.

Everything.

Because even if I didn’t have all the answers yet.

I knew this one thing sure as I knew my name.

Finley Adamo was mine now.

And I was just getting started.