New Game in Town by Cora Lee Gill

hold. “Get your hands off me!”
    Making connection with one of his shins only had Connor tightening his hold further, growling angrily, “Enough! You’re going to hurt yourself more than me.”
    The absurdity of the situation suddenly stole the fight out of her, leaving her limp and drained.
    She could only image the picture she made, hanging like a rag doll two feet off the ground in this bear of a man’s arms. If anyone came along them right now, they would be sure to call the cops.
    That thought had her laughing out loud humorlessly. How in the world would they be able to explain this and keep it out of the gossip headlines?
    “You think this is funny? Taking off like that, hell…” he trailed off, squeezing her tighter against his powerful chest. Not giving her a chance to respond, he turned and, still carrying her, made his way back to his car.
    Instead of seating her in the passenger seat, Connor opened his door with one hand while keeping the other firmly locked around her waist. With what seemed like practiced movements, he had them both sitting face-to-face in the driver’s side, the seat pushed all the way back and Gina straddling his waist, facing his anger head-on.
    Pulling back was impossible. She was effectively trapped between his firm chest and the steering wheel at her back.
    Gripping her chin, he wiped a surprisingly gentle hand along her forehead, moving her wet hair off her face.
    “You look like the day we first met.” Connor chuckled softly. “Remember? The day you almost took me out for the rest of the season.”
    And so the other shoe drops…
    The moment she had been dreading all along was finally here. She had been afraid that Connor would be able to see past her new look and realize that the real Gina wasn’t all that different from that tear-streaked frumpy woman he had first met last year in the boardroom.
    Sure, she had put together a rather racy sexual wish list, but that didn’t mean she could maintain a heightened level of sexual enticement to keep a man like Connor coming back for more. Her new look portrayed a confident, trendy, professional woman who went after what she wanted.
    But what would happen when Connor lost interest? Because there was no question in her mind that he would—she couldn’t hold on to the attention of a professional athlete who travelled the world meeting sexy, sophisticated women who made a game of throwing themselves at him. After all, isn’t that what he had accused her of?
    As if reading her mind, he bit out, “Stop running from me. Stop running from yourself and take what you know you want. You’re so damn busy reinventing yourself that you don’t realize that there was nothing wrong with you to begin with. A bloody haircut and new clothes don’t change what you fundamentally are on the inside. Why the hell can’t you see that?” Anger and disappointment marked his voice in equal measure.
    “The question is,” he continued, “are you woman enough to know that you have what you want right in front of you. Do you have the courage to take what you want? Because, baby, make no mistake, we both know you want this as much as I do.”
    Stunned by his piercing words, Gina battled within herself. Was she woman enough? That was the question that she had been grappling with since he had confronted her in office about the email she had sent by mistake. Did she have enough courage to have a relationship with someone like Connor?
    Connor placed both of his hands on either side of her face, tilting her head back. “I can see those wheels turning.” He shook his head. “And with you, I know that’s not a good thing.”
    Wicked intent danced in his eyes. “Nope, with you, Gina, I have to keep you distracted. Not give you too much time to weave excuses in that pretty little head of yours.” With that, he dropped his head to hers, capturing her lips in a kiss.
    When she saw his head lowering to hers, she had braced herself for a hard, demanding kiss.