by Amanda Cowen
“He is? I didn’t see his name on the donors list,” I reply.
“That’s because he donates under his mother’s name. Take a second look for, Marie Tremblay."
"I recognize that name, she's our biggest donor." I pause, not believing for a second Viktor is telling the truth. I tilt my head to the side eyeing him skeptically. "How do you know this?"
Viktor shrugs, "Last year, Theo let it slip that Cash donated a hefty amount in memory of his mother. Cash was livid that Theo broke their confidentiality. I’m still not sure whether Brooks is modest or hiding something…He’s impossible to read.” Viktor slides his helmet onto his head then gives me a wink. “But hey, when you get bored of gawking over Brooks … you know where to find me.” He yanks open the gate and his skates hit the ice, striding alongside the kids.
My cheeks burn and I sneak another glance at Cash on the ice, my heart racing. When he catches me staring, he stops mid-skate and smirks at me. He gives me butterflies, looking at me like that, surrounded by all those kids, playfully enjoying every moment of making them happy. I can’t help but notice how sweet he is with them on the ice. Something about his modesty and generosity begins to melt my cold heart for him. Maybe there is more to Cash Brooks than seducing hot chicks into long limo rides for a quick fuck. Or maybe there isn’t, but now I’m curious to find out.
The following Friday around five o’clock, Theo walks into my office, wearing his jacket. “I’m heading out. I have a dinner meeting with a few of the sponsors for Military Appreciation Night.” He scans the paperwork cluttering my desk. “Are you staying late?”
I blow the bangs out of my face. “Yeah, I’ll probably be a couple more hours. There’s still a ton of follow up from the charity skate. I really want to finish sending out the thank you letters to our sponsors tonight. Once that’s done, I can focus on Military Appreciation Night.”
Theo looks pleased as he nods and straightens. “Make sure you don’t stay too late. Tomorrow’s a busy day for us.”
For the next thirty minutes, I make decent progress, until I hear blades slicing against the ice and Bartley’s whistle. Spinning around in my chair, I glance out the window overlooking the arena. I immediately wish I had stuck to my computer screen. The team is skating laps around the rink, warming up for practice. With conference finals coming up next month the team has been putting in extra time on the ice.
Like a magnet, my eyes find Cash, his overbearing build explosive and distinct among the rest of the team. I take a deep breath and return my focus to my work. I’m not ready for another round of Cash. I don’t trust myself against those big baby blues.
An hour later, my phone rings, but I don’t recognize the number. When I answer, I hear loud music and a guy’s voice. “Hey, Quinn. It’s Aiden. Did you still want to meet us at Tonic tonight?”
“Umm, sure…I guess so.” I glance over my shoulder into the arena, relieved to see the empty ice.
“Quinny!” a girl screams from the phone. The phones muffles and then Vaughn in on the line. “Are you coming or what, baby doll? I want to see you! It’s like a high school reunion over here! Come and meet us! Please!” Her voice sounds high pitched and hyper. I can tell Vaughn has already had one too many drinks.
I power down my computer and fling my purse over my shoulder.
I chew my lip and contemplate my response. The thought of Vaughn already being so drunk doesn’t sound like something I’d want to be around, even though I’d love to see Aiden my old friends. I take a deep breath and ask, “Is Lyndsey with you?”
“No, she’s with Louis,” Vaughn slurs.
Part of me is relieved Lyndsey is with Louis. He’s a good influence on her. He’s given her something to do other than get drunk with Vaughn on the weekend. Although I don’t ever bail on plans with friends – or anyone for that matter – right now, I’m just not feeling it. I’d rather go home, have a hot shower, and watch some Netflix before bed.
“Tell Aiden I won’t be able to make it. Maybe next time.” I click off the call.
Heading down the hallway, I see a freshly showered Cash leaning against the wall and watching me intently from outside of the team’s locker room. He runs a hand through his thick, wet hair. “I was waiting for you.”
“Yeah, right.” I cross my arms in front of my chest. “Practice is over. You can go home now.”
“Want to come with me?” His eyes flicker with amusement.
I roll my eyes. “I don’t have time for this.” I take a step to my right, which he blocks with his athletic build, so I take another step to my left.
“Are you sure about that?” He grins down at me. “From what I just heard, it sounded like you ditched on plans. Poor Aiden, his heart must be broken.”
My heart rate kicks up, and I feel another rush of heat blossoming on my cheeks.
“Offer is still on the table,” he says with a laugh. “Limo’s already on its way.”
“Not a chance.”
“Why not?”
“Because you make me feel like I’m out of control. You make me feel like somebody I hardly recognize. I shouldn’t have cancelled on Aiden. He’s a good friend. And now I feel bad for ditching him.”
“But here you are.” His blue eyes burn into mine as he leans closer, his chest almost brushing mine. “Don’t leave.”
My breathing quickens, but I force a laugh. “I’m not interested, Brooks.”
“I’ll make you interested.” His cocksure smile widens, causing his dimples to deepen. When his lips brush against my hair, I shiver. The husky tone of his voice intensifies my urge to have his lips on mine.
My lips part to tell him to back off, but the words die as he blows soft, teasing breaths against my heated face. He strokes his hand down my neck and along the side of my breast, tracing my ribcage. His other hand slides under the hem of my dress, finding the lace top of my thigh-high stocking. Flustered and frozen in place, I know I should knee him in the balls, but his touch ignites a smoldering craving in my belly.
I’m frightened that he’s able to make me lose focus so easily. I want him. Badly.
Cash presses his mouth against my temple. “Time to make up your mind, Mittens. What do you want?”
I let out a soft moan when pins me against the locker room door. I am so turned on, feeling his erection press into me, that my insides bubble all these little heated hiccups of lust. I am helpless, fighting the urge to give into my fierce desires.
“I–I don’t know what I want…” I say.
“I know what I want.” His hot blue eyes stare down at me. “I want another taste… from these.” He drags his thumb slowly along my bottom lip. “God, Mittens, I can’t stop thinking about you.”
My heart pounds, and neither of us says anything as his hands slowly massage up my sides. He cocks an eyebrow, waiting, but I am so lightheaded from his touch I can barely breathe, let alone formulate words. It’s like he’s daring me to push him away or slap his hands off my body, but I can’t. When he touches me, I’m vulnerable, lost in reckless abandon. No man has ever made me feel this way. When I’m around him, I lose all sense of reality.
“You’re not good for me.” I shake my head. “None of this is good for me—”
Cash cuts me off, his lips covering mine in a deep and possessive kiss. His tongue probes and swirls in my mouth. He dips and moves and sucks. God, I have never been with a man who kisses like this. He’s connecting in all the right places.
I feel his finger running along the silk crotch of my panties, and instead of trying to stop him, I arch into him. I moan into his mouth, feeling an orgasm approaching—and fast.
“Cash…”
The top of my dress is torn aside, and buttons bounce down the concrete floor of the dimly lit hallway. Cash’s hand slips around to the back, and he expertly snaps open my bra. He slides it off my shoulders and down my arms, and grips it in his fingers.
I run my hands through his hair, feeling his mouth suck and tease my shoulders an
d neck. As he massages my breast in the palm of his hand, I groan, “Please…”
He tilts his head slightly with his gaze on me, “Locker room. Now.”
I stumble into the dimly lit interior. He slams the door behind us, his body nudging me backward while our hands fight with the clothing between us. I pull off his shirt, my hands running along the taut ripples beneath it. The back of my knees hit the back of a bench and I collapse down onto it.
Cash swings my legs up and kneels beside me, forcing my skirt up to my thighs. “Tell me you want me,” he demands, running his hands down my stockings, until he gets to the ankle straps of my shoes. “Say it now, or I swear I won’t make you come.”
“Do you want a taste of me or not?” I pant, furious that I want him so much.
“Say it,” he commands.
Who the hell does Cash think he is? And why the hell am I so turned on by his arrogance?
He tugs me forward so I’m flat on my back, resting my heels on his shoulders. His breathing gets heavier as his hands glide slowly from my ankles to my thighs. I moan when I feel him slide a finger along the wet silk of my panties. I make the mistake of finding his eyes—burning blue and heated, searching mine.
“Say it.” His finger pauses.
I writhe, thrusting toward him.
“Say it,” he demands.
“I want you,” I pant out, unable to stop myself.
“That's what I thought.” He pushes my thighs apart. “Is this what you want?” he says in my ear as he slips a finger inside me, his thumb circling.
“Yes,” I breathe, my hands on his bare chest, my palms flattened against his pecks. I can feel his heartbeat.
Cash cups my head, his thumb still circling as he kisses my neck. “Fuck, Mittens. You’re so wet for me.”
“Stop calling me that,” I moan. “Now, shut your mouth and make me feel good.”
His gaze snaps to mine, his baby blues projecting hot lust. “Oh, don’t worry. I promise I’ll make you come until you can’t breathe…” He pauses. “Mittens.”
He thrusts his fingers deep inside me as he nips at my collarbone.
“Do you like that?” He slides his fingers further into my sex, his thumb moving faster and faster.
“Yes.” I’ll admit anything if he just doesn’t stop. I swallow a cry of pleasure when I feel him pinch my nipple between his long thick fingers. I’m so close, building and tensing, unable to stop myself from clawing at his shoulders.
“This is too fucking much,” he says, before he places another deep and possessive kiss on my mouth.
I can’t control myself. A quake gathers within me, spreading around my hips, up my spine, then back into my sex. When I’m almost there, he slips his fingers out of me, teasing me, refusing to give me what I want.
“Damn you, Brooks.”
“Not like this, Mittens. I need to taste you.”
I buck uncontrollably when his mouth covers my sex, sucking and teasing my wet and swollen lips. His hands fasten tightly around my hips, pulling me hard against his mouth. I moan out his name as his licks deepen. “Cash…”
The oxygen drains from my lungs as he thrusts his fingers back inside me. My sex throbs. His tongue swirls against the perfect spot, and just like that, I am done for, quivering beneath him, letting him give me the most intense orgasm of my life.
“Fuck, Mittens,” he moans with one final lick. His eyes move up my body, darkening as they travel. “That felt good, didn’t it? I bet no man has ever made you come that hard before.”
I hate that he’s right. I could count the number of orgasms I’ve had on one hand, and not one of them has ever rocked my world like the one he just gave me.
I shrug. “I’ve had better. It was mediocre at best,”
He slowly pulls away, sliding his finger into his mouth, staring back at me with a cocky grin. “You feisty little liar.”
I open my mouth to quip a smart response back at him when I hear a female voice shouting his name and a fist pounding on the other side of the locker room door. Both our heads jerk in the direction of the door.
“I know you’re in there! We had plans, asshole!” she shouts.
“Don’t worry. I locked it,” Cash says.
Locked it? So he knew someone was going to come looking for him?
“What the fuck, Brooks?” I grab my bra and quickly hook it back together.
“Give me a minute. I’ll get rid of her.” Panic spreads across his face as he guides me into the shower room.
“You were meeting a girl. You fucking—” I raise my hand to slap him, but he grabs my wrist and pins it down at my side.
“It’s not like that,” he says. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”
I’m trembling with rage as I watch him stalk toward her angry voice. I pull down my dress and then peer around the wall to see him crack the heavy metal door. He has it opened wide enough for me to spot her strawberry blonde hair and high leather boots. It’s the same woman he was with last weekend at the charity skate.
What the hell?
She steps back a fraction. Cash blocks her body, but her voice, sharp as a knife, pierces my ears. “You better not be bailing. My friend Katie and I have been waiting outside in the limo for at least a half an hour. You know it’s my last night in California. You promised us both a good time.”
His jaw tightens, and he digs around in his back pocket and pulls out his wallet. He whips out a bunch of bills and shoves the money at her. “Here. Five hundred should cover the night. Please, go.”
My heart is beating so loudly I swear they must be able to hear it.
“You have a fucking girl in there, don’t you?” she shouts.
“You need to go, Dee.” He scrunches his fist by his side.
“Hey, whore!” she calls from the other side of the door. “Come out and show your slutty face. Congratulations on becoming another number to him—”
“Stop it,” Cash orders.
“I can’t believe you,” she shouts back. “You owe me.”
“Have a safe flight back to New York in the morning.” Cash pushes the door shut and turns the lock.
I brace myself against the wall. Nausea washes over me and I feel like I might throw up. I take deep breaths and listen to her heels click down the hallway. Another metal door slams shut.
Without meeting his eyes, I push past him, and head for the locker room door.
Cash catches my wrist. “It’s not what it looks like.”
I want to believe him, but my head tells me differently. I yank my hand free. “I can’t believe I was such an idiot. You’ve got not one but two girls waiting for you outside in your sex limousine.”
He stares back at me. He looks like he is struggling to speak, but after a few painful seconds, nothing comes out. His silence makes me even angrier. I feel my cheeks heat and my chest tighten. I’m intelligent enough to know that I’ve just become another one of his challenges accomplished. On what planet was I thinking I would be any different to him?
“Admit it,” I say, “you weren’t waiting outside the locker room for me. You were waiting for them.” I glare at him, but he still doesn’t say a word. Disgusted with both him and myself, I turn the lock and yank open the door.
“So you’re leaving? That’s it?” He follows me into the hall.
He can’t be serious. There is no way I’m going to be the next girl sucking off Cash Brooks.
“Oh, believe me, I’m out of here,” I say, “You win. You wanted your one night with me, and you got it.”
“Mittens—” He takes a step towards me, and I hold up my hand to halt him. He stares at me, struggling with some unseen emotion.
“I get this is what you’re used to, having multiple partners in one evening. But I’m not the kind of girl who hooks up with a guy for fun. Go score with those other two girls. Maybe you’ll get a hat-trick.”
“Mittens. Please. Don’t be like that. Don’t go.” He reaches out to touch my hair, but I slap his hand
away.
“I’m done with you and your games,” I spit, using anger to ward off the hurt I feel. I’m not sure what’s worse—the fact that I’ve just added myself to his list of conquests or that I was his second choice. I’m ashamed because I know better but still couldn’t resist the temptation to be with him.
“Please, let me take you home.”
“Hell, no.” I head for the elevator and this time he doesn’t follow.
Chapter 8
The sound of my alarm makes me to groan out loud and grab my pillow from under my head, pulling it down over my eyes. My head pounds with exhaustion. My sleep was restless in scattered thoughts, my body still stinging from Cash’s touch. The memory of how he dominated me in the locker room causes a throbbing ache to build between my thighs. I slap my legs shut when I’m hit with the painful memory of that strawberry blonde barging through the door. Nauseated with humiliation, I push away any temptation to feel his touch.
I reach my hand out and blindly fish for the cell phone on my nightstand, knocking over a picture of my mother and me. I sit up and brush my curls out of my face letting out a sigh. I reach over the side of my bed and pick up the framed photo, placing it back on my nightstand. Her once loving arms are wrapped around me, while I stare up at her, smiling. My long brown curls are pulled into a high ponytail and I have on my favorite pink knit sweater. I’m only twelve years old and have braces on my teeth.
I smile to myself at how much we looked alike. I’ve always loved this picture because… she looks happy...and healthy—even though she wasn’t.
I let out a sigh and place the picture back on my nightstand, and then look down at my phone to catch a glimpse of the time on my screen. I have about thirty minutes to pull myself together and get down to the arena. Today is one of the biggest marketing events of the year; Military Appreciation Night. The league raises money for military families to celebrate armed forces. Fans look forward to it all year. Following a charity game played by the Bexley Bruisers against the Providence Jaguars, three vehicles will be given away to three deserving veterans and their families.
