by Amanda Cowen
“I’m already getting close,” he rasps.
Cash grabs my arms and flips me on top of him, his lips and tongue dancing with mine. I’m straddling him on his bed, riding his cock, feeling his hands twist and bunch in my hair. “Look at me,” he says, now gripping me by the roots of my hair, bringing my eyes in line with his. I can’t escape his hot stare, as I ride him, driving his cock deeper and deeper inside me. “This isn’t a onetime deal, Mittens. I can’t stay away from you.”
As scary and real as it sounds, I know deep down that after this, I won’t be able to stay away from him either. He’s undone me, broken down my walls and I’ve lost all control, betrayed trust and succumbed to my fiercest desires.
He lets out a throaty growl, before he flips me over and starts moving in and out of me. Licking a trail down my neck, he bites my breast, before his tongue flicks my nipple several times. He pulls it into his mouth, teasing and sucking.
“Fuck Quinn, you’re so beautiful.” He lets out a ragged moan, shaking over top of me. “This is too much.”
His continuous pumps and deep thrusts cause another rush to shiver over my trembling body. I claw at his backside, toes curling in bliss.
“Ahh fuck…I’m coming.” Cash tenses, his face hard, as with a final thrust I feel his release.
I grip his arms as he slows down, resting his forehead in the nook of my shoulder. Our breathing is heavy, our chests rising and falling together.
Silence descends and a few heart-thudding moments pass as we stare at each other, both hot and wild-eyed. While he is still in me, Cash strokes my hair and shoulders, gently placing a soft kiss on my breasts. When he lifts his head, I look back into his eyes and find them heated, searching mine.
“Stay here tonight.”
“Here? In your bed?”
Cash rolls off of me, lets out a sigh and wraps his arms around me. “Yes, Quinn. In my bed. Unless you’d prefer to sleep on the floor.”
I snuggle deeper into his arms. “No, your bed’s fine. I’m sure most women find it a much better alternative than the cold hardwood.”
“Women don’t sleep in my bed.”
I turn around to face him, and narrow my eyes conspicuously at him. “What? You actually expect me to believe that out of all of the women you’ve been with, that I’m the first to sleep in your bed?”
He nods and grips my chin in his fingers. “You’re not just some woman, Quinn.” He tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear and pulls me close, planting a kiss on my forehead. “For any other woman it’s a cab ride home.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“You should,” he says into my hair. “You’re breaking me, Mittens.”
Suddenly everything feels too real and too intense. This was supposed to be the closure I needed to end our dysfunctional dance. Not the beginning of another twisted disaster between me and the hockey Adonis.
“I can’t stay.” I roll away from his powerful stare and mumble. “I need to go.”
Cash’s hand wraps around my waist and tugs me backward, rolling me back onto his bed. Once I’m facing him, he runs a soft hand through my hair. “I wasn’t asking you. I was telling you.”
I open my mouth to protest, but he places an index finger on my lips. “You’re staying.”
I wake up the next morning to the sound of pipes whining out the pressure of a shower, naked and tangled in Cash Brooks’ sheets. I’d been so blinded by lust last night that I never even took a moment to look around his bedroom. Sitting up, I survey his impressive quarters with a curious eye. His king size bed takes up most of the space, bookended by two nightstands. A fireplace fills up the far wall, and a flat screen television hangs above it. To my right, a full length mirror stares back at me and reflects my tangled hair and smeared mascara.
His things are beautiful, and it’s obvious from the quality that he’s no stranger to money. But even though his room is well put together, I can’t help but shake the feeling that this neatly defined space doesn’t reflect the real Cash.
“Good morning, Mittens.”
I gasp at his deep voice, gathering his satin sheets up to cover my bare breasts. Cash stands in the morning sun filtering through the window in nothing but a towel and bare feet. Droplets of water drip down his taut chest and ripples. I swallow hard, tempted by the pure piece of brawn standing in front of me. I swallow the nervous lodge in my throat. I need to go home, before Lyndsey or Theo send out a search party looking for me.
Without meeting his eyes, I mumble, “You scared me.”
I grab at the sheets, twisting them around my body as the mattress sinks in. I shriek when his strong powerful arm pulls me backward onto the fluffy pillows. Cash pulls me close to him, his nose touching mine. “Sleep well?”
He plants a quick kiss on my lips, smiling back at me.
I gasp, when his hands move between my thighs, teasing and caressing them gently, causing me to become a trembling, panting mess. “You look so beautiful all twisted up in my sheets.”
Swallowing hard, I feel his hand working its way down slowly, as he unravels me from the sheets, stroking and kissing along my shoulders and breasts. I suck in air, squirming away from the delicious torment of Cash’s skilled fingers.
The moment he moves to slide over me, I pant out. “I have to go.”
He yanks me down and I moan, so wet from his touch. And as badly as I want to feel him inside me again, sweaty and breathless, I know this has to stop, for both of our sakes and our careers.
He bunches my hair in his fingers and kisses along my neck. “I’ve been dying to have you in my bed since the very first time I saw you.” He moans squeezing my breasts gently. “And now that I’ve got you here, I don’t want you to leave.” Wrapping his lips around one of my nipples, he flicks his tongue around the hardened peak before slipping it into his mouth.
I press the palms of my hands on his chest, and push him away, gently. “Cash—”
He slides a finger over my mouth, shushing me. “Will you ever stop resisting me?” He gently laughs as I watch him, struggling to catch my breath. “Come on, one more time.”
“Cash, we’re a conflict of interest…my internship—”
“You’re smart. Find another one,” he whispers, running his tongue along the lobe of my ear.
Hearing those five simple words roll of his tongue, makes quitting my internship tempting. Oh, so tempting. “It’s complicated,” I reply instead of telling him it will never happen. We could never be together. First, my father would never approve. Second, I’m leaving for Harvard the instant I get my acceptance letter. And third, I need this internship. I will not jeopardize my future for this bad-boy hockey player who is all wrong for me.
“No, it’s simple.” He runs his hands up my thighs. My body reacts before my mind can, by running my hands all over his hard muscles and warm smooth skin. My heart slams against my ribs and I take a deep breath, feeling him slide a finger along my wet slit as I try my hardest not to want more and harder. Cash moves his body back, slips his hands into my hair and again whispers, “Tell me you’ll find another internship.”
My chest tightens and I let out a sigh. I will cave and drop everything I have worked so hard for if he keeps suggesting things like that. Where has my backbone gone? I used to be more focused and controlled than this.
“Tell me what I want to hear, Mittens.”
“I can’t afford to lose control because of this, because of you,” I whisper into his mouth. “I meant what I said. Last night was a one-time deal. We both got what we wanted. But we can never happen again.”
Cash lets out a throaty growl before he grips me by the waist and pulls me onto his lap. My long brown curls cascade around my face, creating a shield from his hard stare. His hands snake up my sides, until one finger possessively brushes my lips, causing my eyes to crash into his. “Look,” he orders, turning my head by the base of my chin, to show me our entwined naked reflection in the mirror. “Do you see how perfectly we fit t
ogether?”
I stutter out a yes when he cups my breasts and squeezes them hard, running kisses down my shoulder.
He flips me beneath him. “If that’s what you want for us, to never happen again…then what I want is for you to remember this—this perfect fucking sight.” He nudges my legs apart, pressing his thick hard cock against my sex. “And when you close your eyes at night, alone in your bed because you’re too goddamn stubborn to let me into your perfectly constructed life, then I want you to ache when you remember how my cock makes you feel.” He thrusts himself inside me, and I whimper into the skin on his neck. “Because if that’s what you think… that this, that I’m not good for you…you’re wrong Quinn, because everything about the way it feels when I’m inside you feels right.”
Cash slides his hand down my side, placing it behind my knee and hitching it up to rest on his shoulder. He drives deeper and deeper inside of me, gripping my hair and moaning louder with every thrust. My hands crawl up his chest, my eyes memorizing every tattooed ripple.
“Look in the mirror.” He slides in from behind me, my hands forced against his headboard. “Now look and see how fucking perfect you look with me inside you.”
I turn my face toward the mirror, stunned at the way my back arches as I take his cock. He fits like a perfect puzzle piece against my ass.
He tugs at my hair and gropes one of my bouncing breasts. “Is your fucking desk job worth losing this?” He pounds inside me.
Unable to answer, I’m gasping with every hard thrust, loving and hating the twisted part of me that craves the way he manhandles me between the sheets. When I’m achingly close, he slows down and leans over, his chest against my back as he whispers softly in my ear, “Do you really believe you’ll be able to stay away from something that feels this good?”
“I don’t want to, but I have to,” I moan, unable to believe I’ve said so much. “You’re bad news, Brooks.”
He pulls my hair back and presses his lips to my cheek. “Do you feel that?” he asks, sliding his fingers between my legs, stroking and teasing my sensitive skin.
All I can muster is a stifled moan in response, feeling him touch me.
“Good,” he growls, and picks up the tempo of his thrusts.
My body tenses and tightens, the sensation from his movements almost too overwhelming. His words, demanding and arousing, send a thrill through me. I know I am getting close. He rolls his thumb against me one final time, and my climax ripples through me, overtaking my body and sending me into a satisfied tremble.
Cash feels my release and flips me onto my back, pinning my hands over my head onto his soft pillows. Our kisses become rough and urgent. He pounds in and out of me until he climaxes, letting out a deep moan.
Our breathing is rapid and heavy as his forehead falls to my shoulder and the weight of his body presses against me. We stare at each other in heart-thudding silence, our chests rising and falling together.
“Call yourself a cab,” he growls, pulling away slowly, before he climbs out of the bed and slides on his underwear. He looks back at me one last time, before walking out of his bedroom and slamming the door behind him.
I suddenly feel dirty and cheap. Why on earth did I let myself become lost to Cash—again! —a typical hockey player looking for a quick fuck. I knew his smooth talk between the sheets was a ploy to get another quick bang in before he sent me on my way.
When my breathing settles, I sit up to see my dress crumbled up on the floor. I am about to get out of his bed, when a low buzzing from my right causes me to follow the sound. Turning, I see his phone on the night stand beside me. The screen is lit up with a text message, staring back at me. My eyes run over it before I can stop them.
Best limo ride of my life. Call me when you’re ready for another late night cruise. xoxo
I can’t even stop myself, when I click the photo that is attached. A pretty brunette with perky breasts and wearing a tight pink t-shirt fills the screen. She is holding a dildo up to her mouth, suggestively and tugging down on the hem of her t-shirt. Nausea twists in my stomach and jealously runs through my veins. Unable to control myself, I click through the rest of his text messages, immediately wishing I hadn’t. One after another is from woman after woman after woman begging for another night with him.
Oh. My. God. Another sense of foolishness washes over me as I drop the phone between my thighs.
I’ve ruined everything…is the only thought running through my mind when I drop my head into my hands. I’m on the brink of ruining my career over this hot shot and my integrity in the process. I’m not sure if I’m more upset at myself for putting myself in this situation or the realization that he is the only one with nothing to lose.
Grabbing the rest of my things, I leave him and his immaculate home behind, making a mad dash to the elevator, out into the fresh morning air.
A quick cab ride later, and I’m still trembling, walking through my front door and into the living room.
“It’s six in the morning! You have got some explaining to do,” Lyndsey says with a slight bit of humor to her voice. She is standing in the kitchen in her flimsy silk pajamas. I look over at her, gloating, and I immediately frown. “Where the hell were you?” she asks.
“Out,” I mumble, tossing my purse on the couch.
“Well, well, well.” She says, following behind me. I roll my eyes and make a beeline for the bathroom. I need to wash the intoxicating scent of Cash from my body. But Lyndsey cuts me off and blocks the door. “You were at Cash’s, weren’t you?”
I press my lips together. “Seriously, Lynds, what does it matter?”
“Oh, it matters. I heard you two caused quite the scene last night before you took off together through the backdoor. Thanks a lot for leaving me to deal with Theo and the aftermath. He went a little crazy when he heard what happened. He even threatened to call Dad, but I assured him I saw you hop in a cab by yourself. Could you imagine how pissed Dad would be if he knew you left with Cash?”
I can hear my dad’s voice in my head. Hockey players leave, they play out of town and there are a million and one temptations. Like me you don’t trust easily, and it will never last. I promise you that. Stay away from them.
“Shit,” I mumble.
“I knew it. You totally slept with him. I knew something was going on. I can’t believe you weren’t even going to tell me.”
Her smugness only irritates me more. “This isn’t about you, Lynds. I’ve created a big fucking mess.”
“Admit it. You like him.” She grins like a gloating idiot. “Now, spill. I am so jealous. He’s a fucking alpha from the heavens. Was the sex with him great? Like multiple-orgasm great?”
“Move.” I say, annoyed at her nosiness.
“Was he huge? Those skates and hands look big.”
“Seriously, Lynds. Move.”
She doesn’t budge, so I study the floor, worried my eyes will tell her everything she needs to know. The last thing I need is for my sister to witness my perfectly constructed walls crumbling all around me. I’m supposed to be her role model, not her slutty partner in crime. After our mother died—and even before— I was all she had to look up to, and I’ve taken that role seriously throughout the years.
She finally steps away from the doorway, crinkling her nose. “You smell like sex. I won’t hold you up any longer from your shower of shame.” She turns her back to me and says over her shoulder, “By the way, I should probably warn you. Louis texted me around five this morning. He told me to warn you that Theo was going ballistic. There’s a video of Cash knocking out Kirkland. It’s spreading like wildfire in the Twitter-sphere. Apparently, there will need to be some serious damage control on the Bruisers end.” Yawning, she shrugs. “Anyway, you might want to call Theo. Shits about to go south fast for the team if Cash’s bad rap gets smeared all over the media.”
Chapter 10
Theo frowns when I click off the video from my computer screen.
“What am I supposed
to do about this, Quinn? I’ve got our affiliate team from the National Hockey League questioning me on why the President’s daughter and newest employee of the AHL is the cause of a brawl between Cash Brooks and Peter Kirkland. Do you understand the type of damage control I’m going to have to do here to protect your father and stop the media from having a field day with this?”
“I’m sorry. I was only trying to help.”
He shakes his head and runs his fingers through his hair. “Why didn’t you come and get me?”
“It all happened so fast—”
“Fucking Brooks knows how to ruin everything.” He paces back and forth, his hands shoved in his pockets.
“Cash didn’t do anything wrong. Kirkland was being a complete ass.”
“Listen Quinn, when Brooks was sent down to the Bruisers, our job was to clean him up. Fighting on the ice is one thing, but attacking another player and having it caught on video and publicized on the web is another. The affiliates are questioning whether or not he’s abusing substances again and I don’t fucking appreciate heat under my ass from your father who thinks I’ve put his little girl in danger. This isn’t good, Quinn.”
“What do you mean abusing substances?” I feel an overwhelming trickle of forgotten emotion, as I suck a sharp breath.
He turns his head towards me, letting out a sigh. “After Brooks’ brother died in the crash, he lost it. How do you think a guy with his talent ended up playing for the Bruisers?”
My heart twists at Cash’s loss, and an aching pain spreads throughout my chest. “What kind of crash?”
Theo tucks his cell into his pocket and sits at the edge of my desk. “After Brooks was drafted, the story is that he and his brother went out celebrating with a bunch of their buddies. They started racing down a dirt road, driving real fast against a pick-up truck. A deer jumped out in front of Brooks, he swerved out of the way and he lost control of the vehicle. He flipped off the road and into the bush. The vehicle was totaled and his brother died instantly. Brooks is lucky to be alive.”
