Playing By Her Rules (Sydney Smoke Rugby Series) Read Online Free PDF Page B

seriously. And that just wouldn’t do.
    Time to remind him.
    “Let’s get down to it,” she said briskly, straightening her shoulders as she reached into her small black clutch purse. She was conscious of him eyeing her, the smooth lines of his forehead furrowing a little as she pulled out her recording device.
    “What’s the rush, Tilly? I prefer a little foreplay before getting down to it . I seem to remember you used to as well.”
    Matilda almost dropped her recorder, shooting him a sharp glance. A retort came to her lips, but she could see the amusement dancing in his blue eyes. He was teasing her, testing her, maybe. Or maybe he was still pissed about being press-ganged into these interviews, and this was some kind of passive-aggressive bullshit.
    For sure he was trying to rattle her.
    Fine, two could play at that game.
    “I’m more the wham, bam type now.”
    The slight widening of his eyes and his sudden swallow brought her a measure of satisfaction. She placed the tape recorder in the centre of the table. “Do you mind if I record…”
    “Us getting down to it?” He smiled, recovering quickly. “Sex tapes are expressly forbidden, but the rugby bigwigs did say I had to accommodate you in every way possible, so…” He shrugged. “I’m willing to break some rules.”
    Matilda gritted her teeth. She would not rise to his bait. “The interview,” she clarified.
    “You know…you’re not as much fun as you used to be.”
    That was neither fair nor true. She might be more guarded now, but she knew how to have fun. Just not with Tanner. There was too much history, too much muscle memory, to drop her guard around him.
    She shrugged. “You’re not as funny as you used to be.”
    He grabbed his chest as if she’d wounded him, but chuckled nonetheless. “Touché.”
    More French.
    Thankfully the maître d’ arrived with their drinks, providing a circuit breaker for the puzzling swirl of tension that crackled and pulsed around them. She vaguely listened to Tanner chatting with him about the Smoke’s chances for the top eight as she tried to figure it out.
    Why was he pretending to flirt and pushing her like this? It wasn’t helpful. In fact, it was downright annoying. And what was with her heightened awareness of him as a man, which was completely contradictory to her feelings?
    Objectively it made sense, of course. Tanner was a sexy, confident guy. But there was a terrible familiarity to the jitter in her belly and the skip in her pulse.
    Too familiar.
    Oh, crap.
    It was a shitty time to realise this physical response wasn’t just about Tanner’s sexual appeal to women generally but his appeal to her personally .
    As a woman who knew him intimately.
    Fuckity fuck. How could her body betray her like this?
    She didn’t want it. She sure as shit didn’t need it. And it was utterly pointless. She could never be with Tanner again, a guy who’d treated her so badly. No matter how much her traitorous hormones were curled up and purring in her belly.
    Maybe one day she could forgive him, but she’d never forget that night. Her sense of betrayal ran too deep.
    It wasn’t just that he— her boyfriend —had been all over another girl. It was the identity of the girl.
    Jessica Duffy.
    Popular girl. Cool chick. Hot babe.
    Queen bee of the in crowd, and she knew it. The one that all the guys had their tongues out for. Who’d flirted outrageously with Tanner at every opportunity. But she’d also been a mean girl, snobby and merciless in her disdain for those she considered beneath her.
    As a somewhat bookish teenager from a poor family, Matilda had been one of many in Jessica’s crosshairs. Reasonably resilient, Matilda had shrugged it off. She had friends and was generally well liked. The odd “nerd-girl” barb from Jessica was relatively easily ignored. Even her desperate attempts to snag Tanner hadn’t worried Matilda. Secure in his fidelity, they’d just seemed funny.
    Boy, had that been