Claire looked away, crossing her arms before shrugging her shoulders.

“It’s not a big deal.”

“It is too,” she said, before turning from her. “Have you thought about what you want to be when you grow up?”

Like she had the last three times Reese asked, Claire let out a breath as she said, “Nope.”

“Okay, well, keep thinking,” she said, sitting back down. “Let’s go through the dance again.”

Claire nodded as she went to the middle of the floor but, before Reese could hit play, a knock came at the door. Reese looked over, ready to yell at whoever was at the door, but that didn’t happen. Instead, her heart kicked into speed and her ni**les hardened as one hell of a gorgeous man came through the door with a careless grin on his face. She had no clue who the guy was, but she wanted to know him naked.

“I told you I wouldn’t be done until four,” Claire said, her hands on her hips.

“I know, I came to watch you,” he said. His voice was the kind that could talk a woman out her panties, and Reese was pretty sure he had done that more times than she could count. His body was a wonderland, standing tall in fitted blue jeans and a tee, with his strong, muscular arms on display. His skin was bare of tattoos and usually that would turn her off, but his face still had her burning with desire. Strong bone structure, blond hair dusting his chin, lush lips, and blue eyes to die for. His hair fell into his eyes, the same eyes that were currently locked on her as he asked, “If that is okay?”

She could only blink as Claire said, “No way, I don’t want you watching.”

Finding her voice as she begged her body to behave, she asked, “I’m sorry, you are?”

He pointed towards Claire and said, “The uncle, the guy paying you.”

“Phillip?” she asked, confused. She didn’t remember him being this hot at Fallon’s wedding. He was cute, but not to die for hot if she remembered correctly, but this man was f**king gorgeous.

“The one and only,” he said, sending her a grin that made her kitten clench. She mentally smacked sense into herself as her brows came together, pinning him with an annoyed look. Like he pointed out, he was the guy that was paying her, also the guardian of her student, and her brother-in-law’s best friend. That meant there was no f**king way in hell she was touching him. Not even with a ten-foot pole, no matter how much her kitten was purring for him.

“Phillip, get out, you’re wasting my time with her,” Claire said, thankfully causing him to look at her.

“All right, I’m going, jeez,” he complained as he left the room. Reaching the door, he looked back at Reese and flashed a panty-dropping grin. “See you around, Reese.”

Fuck, even the way he said her name felt like he was f**king her. Ack! What the hell was this? She wasn’t attracted to him before, so why the hell was she one second from humping his leg? What had changed? She racked her brain, trying to figure out what was different now from two years earlier. She couldn’t find anything, but then it all came to her—she was still convinced that Kevin was going to come back for her. He never did, obviously, which accounted for her current sleep-with-any-man-athon. Well, that sucked. She should have slept with him when she had the chance.

Phillip was pissed. He had been excited about watching Claire dance since she said she was going to start training with Reese. He had even skipped going home to shower after a long plane ride home from California, just to come up to the studio to catch a glimpse. But, of course, Claire was in a mood and kicked him out. When was the girl not in a mood? Things had been tense but at the same time, she was adjusting. At least, he hoped she was. He would know for sure in the next week. He had a streak of home games, which meant they’d be together for the next week. This was good, because he had missed her and was excited about spending some time with her.

Falling into the chair outside the studio she was in, Phillip hoped by the end of the week that she would let him watch her dance. Leaning his head against the wall, he tried to watch her through the window and mirror in the studio, but he only caught little pieces of her. However, he saw a whole lot of Ms. Reese Allen. His groin tightened at the sight of her, but now that he could just stare at her, he was completely stiff. Standing in a black sports bra and matching tight shorts, her body sang to his. Her thighs were thick, her ass juicy, and her stomach was tone. She had beautiful shiny brown hair that went to her waist; her face round, with pouty lips and a sweet, button nose. Her light brown eyes shined, and he wanted nothing more than to get lost in them after getting her naked.

It was wrong of him to think naughty thoughts of his niece’s dance teacher, but it was hard not to when she was that gorgeous. He had always thought that she was edible, but she never gave him the time of day. She always walked and talked like no one was good enough for her. Complete ballbuster. Figuring that he’d never get in with her, he usually stayed clear. Seeing her in basically her underwear was going to give him a great visual later that night when he was in the shower, his c**k in his hand. Fuck, he ached to release right then. It would be better to come in her, but he would imagine it later.

Closing his eyes to help him think of something else, he let out a long breath. His body was sore, his shoulder aching from taking a hard hit into the boards after playing the Ducks. The Assassins had won, but he would be feeling the aches and pain from that game for weeks to come. The only good thing was that he had a sweet, game-winning goal. When that happened, aches and pains were worth it. Opening his eyes, he got an eyeful of Reese with her leg stretched up by her head, holding her ankle with both hands. He blinked as his breath caught. He couldn’t believe the urge to run in there and pin her against the wall, leg still in the air. His hands shook but he gripped the seat, keeping himself in the chair.