Page 24 of The Offside Rule
“Still.” I bit into my lower lip, and his gaze dropped to my mouth.
My mouth curved, but my chest felt tight now. “You don’t seem like someone who gets nervous around women,” I said.
“I’m getting nervous because I’m having some strange reaction to…” He blinked, and his face stiffened. “I’m friends with your father, for fuck’s sake. He’s, my coach.”
“That small detail,” I said, trying to brush off the comment. I didn’t like that he had said it. I hadn’t felt anything sexual toward a guy in months. Hunter had my body heating up just by looking at me, and that was the sick twist because he was right. My dad would never approve of us. He didn’t want me dating a hockey player. He didn’t want me facing the same challenges he and Mom faced when they were younger. Dad was on the road. Mom and I were on our own a lot.
“It isn’t small. Our families are connected. Your dad is one of my best friends. Isla is best friends with Mila. There’s a lot at stake here. We need to take a step back and take a breath,” he said, which told me he was feeling just as worked up as I was.
“You’re right,” I conceded. Because he was right. I didn’t want to disappoint my dad. I didn’t want to cause trouble for Mila or Isla.
He nodded. Then he squeezed his eyes shut. “This can’t happen.” He said it like he was speaking to himself. Like he was fighting an internal battle.
“So we pretend it didn’t happen. We pretend I wasn’t getting myself off to thoughts of how you looked with your shirt off in the pool,” I said.
The gold in his eyes swirled with liquid heat. I felt like I had to press my thighs together at the thought. I needed relief from being so close to him. I needed his hands on me. What was wrong with me? His gaze raked over my body like he could read my need. Now he was assessing the situation. He was controlled. He had discipline, and I could read the fight on his face, like he had heard the danger in my words and knew exactly where the conversation could go if he let it.
“Catherine,” he said carefully. My name in his voice still did something to me, even with the warning wrapped around it.
I tightened my grip on the towel. “I’m not asking you to say something you don’t want to say.”
His jaw flexed. “That’s the problem.”
I went still. The air between us shifted again, but this time it was sharper. Hunter looked away first, dragging a hand over the back of his neck as he exhaled.
My pulse kicked hard.
“I’m also not going to stand here and pretend this is simple.” His eyes came back to mine. “Holland has been good to me and Isla for years. Your family has been good to us. Cole trusts me. He lets my kid into his home. He looks out for me on and off the ice. That matters to me.”
My throat tightened.
“I know it does,” I said softly.
Hunter nodded once, but he didn’t look relieved. His eyes darkened.
“I get what you’re saying, and I don’t want to cause trouble. I love my parents. I care what they think about me. But I watched you with Isla since I was a teenager. I’ve seen the kind of man you are and…” I couldn’t finish the sentence. He’d already be able to figure out that my attraction to him didn’t start a week ago. Heat rushed through me. Hunter seemed to realize what I had admitted. He gripped the strands of his hair.
“Fuck me,” he murmured.
I really wanted to, but I wasn’t going to say it out loud now. Then his eyes locked on mine.
“You’ve turned into a beautiful woman, Catherine, but you’re coming to work for the team. We need boundaries,” he said. I knew he was right, but it still felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured on me. My fingers curled around the towel. “That’s why it’s better if we forget the shower happened,” he said, hisvoice rougher now. “Not because I’m pretending I didn’t react. Not because I think you’re a kid. I don’t.”
My breath caught.
“I know exactly what I saw,” he continued, each word careful. “And I know exactly how I reacted. That’s the problem.”
The gym went silent around us. I could hear my own heartbeat. Hunter held my gaze for another second before forcing himself to look away. “You’ve worked hard to get the position with the team. I’m not going to be the guy who complicates it before you even walk through the doors. And I’m not going to betray Cole’s trust or Holland’s trust because I couldn’t keep my head straight.”
I hated how much I respected him for saying it. I hated more that it made me want him even worse. Because this was Hunter. This was the man I had admired when I was seventeen without fully understanding why. He didn’t take the easy road just because he wanted something. He thought about Isla. About my parents. About the team. About consequences. Even now, when his face was flushed and his breathing was uneven and every look between us felt like a match dragged over dry wood, he was trying to protect everyone from the fire. Including me.
“So we forget it happened,” I said.
His mouth tightened. “We try.”
The honesty of that almost undid me.
I looked down, fighting a smile that had no business being there. “Try?”
