Playing for Keeps - Book 1

Chapter 9

As Cash flags down a cab, amid the horns and the pedestrians, I can only truly focus on the beating of my heart. Once a cab pulls up, we slide onto the squishy leather seats with Sarah in the middle, separating us.

"Where you headed?" the cabbie asks, glancing back at us through the rearview mirror.

"What's your address?" Cash asks a wobbly Sarah. 

She takes a deep breath, slurs a street name and closes her eyes.

"Is there anyone at your place to take care of you?" he leans over, his tone patient, his soft blue eyes so unexpectedly concerned it warms my cold heart.

"Yeah, my roommate's at home," she slurs again, curling up against his side.

Once we pull up to her building, Cash unlocks his door and looks at me. His sharp features are shadowed by the dark of the night, but his blue eyes sparkle in my direction. He helped Sarah out of the cab, and I asked the cab driver to wait for us. I walk around the back of the cab and over to Cash, holding up a wobbly Sarah on the sidewalk. When his eyes meet mine, they flash with curiosity before slowly cooling to gratitude. I slip my arm around her to help stabilize her other side.

"Thanks," he whispers.

In the moonlight, I can see the sharp line of his jaw and the smooth expanse of his neck. His white tee shirt is caught on Sarah's chunky necklace, which tugs it down enough that I can see his tattooed chest. My mind involuntarily starts undressing him until his grunt distracts me, and his grip on Sarah tightens. She is a dead weight as we lug her up the steps of her apartment building.

I reach forward and pull open the door to the lobby.

He gives Sarah a gentle shake. "What's your apartment number?"

She mumbles out a number, and Cash presses the corresponding button. A buzzer rings, and a female voice comes through the line. Cash tells her that we have a drunk Sarah waiting in the lobby. Within seconds, a young girl with dark black hair and thick-rimmed glasses steps out of the elevator and rushes to Sarah. She thanked us for getting her home safely, and Cash helped guide her in the elevator.

He exhales slowly through his nose as we step out onto the sidewalk. His expression is unreadable, but it isn't so dark outside that I can't see how his shoulders seem too heavy for his frame. He opens the cab door and looks back at me. I'm unsure what he's doing at first, but then understanding dawns as he nods to the open door.

"Ladies first," he says.

My chest is light as I step forward and slide onto the leather seat. A distinct jump in pulse catches me off guard when I feel Cash slide in beside me.

I have to remind myself to breathe as we drive in silence.

"I'm sorry for what happened back there, Quinn." His soft voice murmurs from my right

I turn to face him. "I appreciate what you did, but this isn't the ice. You can't go around punching people out."

I stare into his blue eyes, heated and tense. He leans forward, and I watch his chest slowly rising and falling with every breath he takes. God, he smells so good.

"I gave Kirkland fair warning," he says, draping his arm along the seat. "I should have clocked him the first time he lay a finger on you."

"I am more than capable of taking care of myself. I'm not someone who needs to be saved. I've always been the girl who takes care of others. I don't understand why you constantly feel the need to protect me." I tell him, wishing he would stop wafting his delicious scent my way. "And when you have every single puck bunny at your disposal, I'm not sure why you want me."