The euphoria of his win followed James out to the bleachers where he greeted me on the sidelines after his game.

The mid-December, icy chill had me in a sweatshirt and still shivering, my face no doubt as red as the school banner across the top of the bleachers to my back.

"Hey!" James called as he approached, throwing his jersey over his shoulder on top of the duffel bag strap.

I rubbed my hands together to warm them as he slowed to a stop in front of me. "Hey! Great game! Congratulations!"

He didn't dance around the impulsive thoughts as he usually did-an after effect of the win, I'd excuse- and wrapped me in his warm embrace. I could feel his heart racing against me, and after a second of hesitation I gave into my own desire and burrowed my face against the warmth of his sweater.

"Thanks." he eventually whispers, keeping his fingers intertwined with mine as we headed for the lot. "Did you enjoy yourself?"

I made a gesture toward my cold face with my free hand, "Outside of freezing, it was great. Reminded me of my childhood, watching the high school football games with my dad."

He chuckled, "Feeling a bit nostalgic tonight then, I take it?"

"Definitely." I flashed a quick smile, then asked, "Where's Chris?"

I hadn't seen him on the field, but in his defense, I hadn't been watching much outside of James, if I were being honest.

"He's actually heading to your apartment." James said it with a laugh. "He has plans that may or may not involve you needing to be stolen for the night."

"Ugh." I groaned, slapping a hand against my face to rid the image of my best friend and Chris from my mind." "I could have lived the rest of my life without that mental image."

James grinned, "You're welcome. I had to live with it, so now you do too."

I nudged him with my elbow, shaking my head in amusement. It wasn't until we'd reached his Camero that he leaned over the trunk and raised a brow, "You free to go to dinner tonight?"

Surprised, it took me a few minutes to process the question, "Are you asking me out on a date?"

"Depends on your answer."

"My parents have Danni for the night." I reassured. "I told them the game may run a little late. They didn't have an issue. Though, my mom is still waiting to meet you, James."

He grimaced at the thought of meeting my parents, "It's not personal. I just. . I've got some trauma with parental figures."

"I know. She gets that."

He diverted the subject back to the original question, "So, is that a yes?"

"Yes, James. I'll go to dinner with you."

It's not until I'm secured in the car and he shuts the door and walks around the car to open his door that he starts speaking again.

"It's a good thing you said yes, because I have a reservation for Mariano's at nine and we have about forty-five minutes to hit my apartment, get ready, then head over there."

I gawked at him the entire ride back to his apartment, but he didn't give me any time to respond. He helped me from the passenger side and we hurried up to his apartment.

"I don't even have clothes here, James. How—"

The words quickly died on the tip of my tongue when I found a white bag draped over the back of the recliner with my name in Lindsey's messy handwriting on a sticky note.

"You forget who my sister is." James said as he pulled his sweater over his head. "She had it dry cleaned too, hence the bag."

Half joking, I eyed the hall and asked, "Any chance there's suddenly makeup in your bathroom?"

*

I wiped at the slight smudge of my lipstick, eying my reflection on the phone screen. Before I could fix it entirely, James snagged my phone from me with a quick smile and started speaking with the hostess so she could lead us to our table.

With how expensive the restaurant was, I shouldn't have been surprised to find our own little booth in the back of the building, lights dimmed, the table illuminated by candles. A bottle of wine sat center of the table beside a bouquet of roses in a beautiful crystal vase. It was as the hostess left us that I accepted this hadn't been a spear of the moment decision and I had never felt so unworthy of something in my life.

"You planned this." I stated the obvious once we'd both sat down. "What if you hadn't won?"

He chuckled as he smoothed a wrinkle on his tux. "We'd still be here. Only difference is that I'd probably wallowing in self-pity instead of admiring how beautiful you look tonight."

As if he could feel all of my anxiousness and self-loathing, he extended his arm across the table and unfurled my fist, taking my hand in his own. "Relax. It's okay."

"It isn't." I eventually managed to force out. "I don't deserve this, James. You should—"

"You're right, you don't deserve this." He retorted, squeezing my hand. "You deserve the world, not some overpriced dinner. But this is all I can offer you right now."

My breath caught in my throat, and he took the opportunity to go on, "I know that he made you feel you were nothing, that you weren't worthy of love. But Harley you're one of the most beautiful women I've ever met. Not just in your looks but how you are as a person too. You didn't let the trauma or that bastard break you."

I lifted my head slowly and shook it, "You deserve the world too."

He is quiet for a bit, then finally after sipping at his water for what felt like an eternity, he asked, "But what if I want you to be my world?"

*

To my immediate relief, Ash and Chris weren't at the apartment when James slowed his car to a stop outside. Not wanting the night to end, I invited him in, but there was a caution in James I'd never seen before as he followed me inside. It was once I pressed the door shut behind me that I finally asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." he mumbled, watching as I stepped into the kitchen to stock it with water. Once I finished, I stood and shut the door, and spun to find James was inches behind me.

There'd been moments in the last four months where I'd seen an intensity burning in his eyes, but there was something more in them as he stared down at me. Slowly, he cornered me until my back was pressed into my kitchen table, his arms on either side of me, lips so close they brushed mine as he spoke.

"I've always had a lot of self-control. I've tried harder with your history too. But the second you put that dress on I wanted to take you back to my bedroom. All I could think about was how sexy you look in it, but that it'd look even better on my floor."

It'd been so long since I'd had consensual sex that the feelings that started to warm every inch of my body were foreign. The minute his thumb brushed across my bottom lip, I clenched my legs together and forced a moan down.

"Tell me to walk out of here right now and I will, Harley. Just say something."

I didn't say a word. Instead I pushed off the table and tangled my arms behind his neck, burying my hands in his dark hair, and pulled him into me. Within the second it took for a moan to break free, he had both hands under my ass and was setting me on the counter so I was level with him.

"Eat." I said breathlessly, "Food is set here. We need to go to my room."

James didn't wait to have the words repeated, he picked me up again without any sign of struggle and carried me down the hall, slamming my bedroom door shut behind him.

"Harley." he stopped once he'd set me on my bed, my hands frozen on the buckle of his belt. "Do you want to do this?"

If I hadn't already been sure I was falling in love with the man prior to that moment, I was positive then, as he stared down at me with lust, desire, and most importantly-concern.

"Yes." I continued undoing his belt. "Yes, James. I want you. All of you."

The words unleashed a feral side of James I hadn't seen, and the minute he pressed his lips against my own, I realized that I was giving him all of me.