“Wow,” I say, a little unsure of how to respond. “That’s kind of amazing and tragic at the same time. I guess hockey was your dad’s last gift to you.”
He’s thoughtful for a moment. “I’ve never thought of it that way,” he says. “I like it.”
“Do you miss him?” I ask.
“Yeah. I mean, I was seven, so I only have a handful of memories and a few photos, but I wish he was around.” I give him a sad smile, not knowing how he does it, how anybody does it. I couldn’t imagine losing a parent. I haven’t seen mom and dad since Christmas and I’m already going crazy.
“I bet,” I say as we head down the small path leading to my front door. “This is me,” I tell him, indicating to my house.
He grabs me and pushes me up against the wall and I gasp in shock. “What happened to being a gentleman?” I ask him.
“Even a gentleman hopes for a goodnight kiss,” he says, slowly dropping his face to mine, giving me the chance to pull away.
I know I shouldn’t but the invitation is quite literally staring me in the face. I reach up and press my lips to his. He moves against me, kissing me back with passion and lust, enough to drive a woman wild. He slips his tongue into my mouth and I moan against him. God, this is good. My hand slides up his hard chest and over his broad shoulders to tangle in his hair as my other slips around his waist holding him tight.
His own hands begin exploring my body and come to a stop on my ass. He lifts me and my legs automatically lock around his waist as he holds me against the wall. I pull back gasping for breath and his lips instantly find the soft skin of my neck. “Fuck,” I moan.
I know deep down I need to stop this before it gets too far, but it feels too good. He slams his lips back against mine and we continue our assault on each other.
No, no, no. I’ve got to stop.
I pull back from him and rest my forehead against his. “Stop, we can’t,” I tell him as I try to catch my breath.
“Stopping would be considered criminal,” he informs me as he attempts to pull me in again.
“No,” I say more firmly. “You’re going to start something that you can’t finish.”
A wicked grin rips across his handsome face. “Oh baby, you’ve got me wrong. I can definitely finish this and in fact, I’ll probably finish it a few times,” he winks.
I smirk at him. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”
“I know,” he sighs, allowing me to untangle my legs. He gently places me back on the ground but keeps me right up against the wall.
“I’m a relationship kind of girl. I can’t do one-night stands. It’s not me,” I tell him.
“What if I want more than just one night?” he questions.
I reach up and gently kiss the side of his mouth. “Then I’d say you better be damn sure before you come and promise me something like that.”
He studies my face searching for something in my eyes, then nods. “Ok,” he says, taking a step back and giving me room to think.
“Thanks for walking me home,” I tell him. “And for the clothes,” I add, tugging on my shirt.
“Am I ever going to get those back?” he asks smugly.
“Miller, you should know you never offer your clothes to a woman and expect to get them back,” I smirk, innocently.
He shakes his head in exasperation then steps forward, pushing me up against the wall again. “I bet you're going to sleep in it, imagining it’s me curled around you instead,” he says with hooded eyes.
I don’t respond because that’s exactly what I was planning on doing, and he knows it. He takes my silence as a big fat whopping ‘yes’ and smirks at me with the sexiest smile I have ever seen, a smile that I’d love to see again, maybe looking up at me from between my legs. Shit.
I put my hand on his chest and gently push him away. “Good night, Miller,” I say softly.
“Good night, Dani,” he answers in the same hushed tone. I reach up and give him one last kiss on the cheek before slipping through my door and practically running to my room. I let out a sigh, which could probably double as more of a moan.
Once reality has finally come back to me, I slip off his gym shorts and find some underwear. I send a quick text off to Sophie, letting her know I’m ok and slide in under my covers. His shirt wraps around me and just as he had expected, I fall asleep imagining that it is him holding me.
That night, I have sweet, sweet dreams.
Chapter 6
Miller
I pinch the bridge of my nose as my head begins to pound. “Shut the fuck up,” I groan into my pillow. Music blasts downstairs and I swear I can feel the bass blasting right through my skull.
A loud knocking sounds at my door followed by Tank calling out. “Get up, man, clean crew is here,” he tells me, referring to the few freshman kids on the team who offered to help clean up for a few brownie points.
I glance over at the clock. 10am. Shit, Tank and I had only gone to bed a few hours ago after staying up all night, drinking beer and talking about our big plans and dreams for the future. How we were going to the NHL and going to live it up big, yet somehow, Dani kept popping into my head and I’d put money down that Tank was thinking the same thing. Maybe he was right yesterday when he said things were changing.
Her words last night pulled something within me. The moment she said she was a relationship girl, I had known immediately that’s what I want with her, but what if she’s right? I’m not ready for that. I’ve done the relationship thing once and it came back to bite me in the ass, big time. Which is why I only use girls for sex now, earning myself the reputation I deserve.
But Dani, there’s something about that girl and I wasn’t lying when I said I needed to figure her out.
She told me to be damn sure before I go searching for something with her and that’s exactly what I’m going to do because the last thing I want is to hurt her. She deserves more than that. She has already been hurt by some jackass and I swear, I will find out what he did to hurt her and I will hunt the mother fucker down.
I groan as I climb out of bed and head into the bathroom. I walk up to the vanity and take myself in. I look like shit. I reach into the shower to turn on the hot water and begin stripping off my clothes. The realization that Dani was the last one in this shower, standing in this very spot naked has my dick twitching to life.
I pull my boxers down when I catch sight of something black and lacy sitting on the floor by the vanity. I stride over and pick up the material. Fuck yeah. Dani left her lacy thong in my bathroom. My dick hardens as I hold the flimsy material between my fingers, thinking about the last place this material touched.
I get in the shower and immediately get to work, desperate for a release. Stroke after stroke, thinking about sinking my cock deep into her. I know nothing will ever come close to how amazing the real thing would be, but damn, if this is the next best thing, I’d fucking take it.
I picture her eyes looking up at me as she wraps her lips around me, teasing the tip with her tongue as she takes me deep into her mouth. She smirks at me and that’s enough to throw me over the edge. I find my release and groan her name as I come hard.
Fuck. I’ve got to have her.
I finish up in the shower and pull on a pair of jeans, jamming her thong into my pocket like some kind of weirdo stalker, but hey, it gives me another excuse to see her again. I grab a shirt and head out into the hallway, dreading the clean-up that awaits me.
I shrug my shirt on as I walk into the kitchen and find the place immaculate.
What the fuck?
I look around, to find my house clean of beer bottles, no unconscious bodies sprawled throughout the living room, nothing sticky marking the floor, all the furniture in place and a few of my teammates hanging out by the pool. What the hell? How long was I in the shower? I glance up at the clock to find the time, 10.23am. Hmm.
I head over to the back door and slide open the glass door. “Hey,” I call out to the guys. “What happe
ned to the mess?”
Tank looks up at me with a knowing smirk. “I’ll give you one guess,” he says.
No. Fucking. Way. I narrow my eyes at him but all he does is smirk again.
“Good morning,” I hear from the sexiest voice behind me.
I grab her and throw her up against the wall, briefly noticing she still wears my shirt. “You’re too fucking good,” I tell her, leaning in and breathing in her scent. My morning activities doing nothing to stop the monster that hardens in my pants.
“I figured I owed you after you looked out for me last night,” she explains, sliding her hands up my shirt and resting them against my chest.
“You know, there are other ways you could have paid me back,” I say with a wicked grin.
“Oh, I know, but I figured I’d save that for when you really deserve it,” she explains without missing a beat. Fuck, this woman is driving me crazy in the best possible way.
“Go out with me?” I ask.
“No,” she grins.
“Just one date,” I demand. She shakes her head no. “You’re going to break one day and when you do, it’s going to be amazing.” Her smile lightens up the room and I lean in to give her a light kiss on the lips, knowing there’s no way I’d get away with anything more this morning.
I step back from her and head into the kitchen. She remains right on the wall as she watches my movements. “Oh hey,” I say, making sure I have her full attention. She watches me and raises an eyebrow in question. I pull her thong out of my pocket and swirl it around my finger like a lasso. “I think you left something in my bathroom,” I tease.
Her face drops as her eyes widen in shock. I give her one simple smirk which has her diving for me. I shoot out of her reach and up the stairs with her following closely on my heels.
“Give it back,” she demands.
“No way. Finders keepers,” I sing, bolting down the hallway with her thong high above my head.
“What are you, twelve?” she laughs.
I push through the door at the end of the hallway and dive into my spare bedroom before coming to a screeching halt. Dani slams into my back as she dives in after me. She looks around taking in the room and gasps at the three naked bodies in the bed.
“What the fuck, man?” I ask Jaxon who’s lying butt naked in the middle of two brunettes, with his dick flopping out for the world to see.
The girls startle at their sudden audience and immediately sit up. “Whoa,” Dani says, wide-eyed. “See the rack on that one?” she whispers, indicating to the girl on the right.
“Yep. I see it,” I tell her.
“You need to burn this bed,” she says, still in shock.
“You got that right, baby.”
The girls go about getting dressed as Jaxon lays fast asleep, with his dick still on full display. I turn and leave, heading into my room with Dani hot on my heels. I grab my glass off my bedside table and walk into my bathroom to fill it up with cold water. I walk back down to the spare bedroom and go to pour it over Jaxon when Dani stops me. “Can I do it?” she asks with excitement in her eyes.
God, how do I say no to that? I hold out the glass for her and step back to give her room. I place my hands on her waist and watch as she takes absolute pleasure in tipping the water over Jaxon’s face. He gasps and shoots up out of bed with his dick practically windmilling around.
Dani looks away but can’t help laughing. “What the hell?” he grunts.
“Get some clothes on and get out of here,” I tell him.
He looks down to realize he is naked, in front of Dani of all people, and does his best to cover himself up. But it’s too late, the damage has been done. We leave him to it and head back down the hallway. “So… can I have my underwear back now?” she asks as innocently as ever.
I scoff at her question. “Nope. They’re mine.”
“Damn,” she says. “They were my favorite.”
“Yeah, they’re my favorite now,” I tell her.
------------
“Hey, Coach,” I say, stepping into his office on Monday afternoon, before training.
“Cain,” he says. “Take a seat.”
I sit down awkwardly, unsure why he’s calling me into his office, though it could only be good. I mean, I haven’t fucked up yet. Well, at least, I don’t think I have.
“What’s up?” I ask, getting straight to business.
“Just checking in, Cain. We’re kicking off the season next week and I need to know you’re ready. You’ve got a lot riding on this season,” he says.
“Yeah, boss. I’m good,” I tell him with confidence.
“Good, that’s what I want to hear,” he says, leaning back in his chair. “I want you putting more hours in the gym, specifically on your fitness. I don’t want anything holding you back. I know you’re already putting extra hours in on the ice, but I want you to push yourself harder, give me more. You’ve got a real shot at the NHL if you keep your head in the game,” he explains.
“No problem,” I say, mentally working out how on earth I’m going to squeeze in another few gym sessions on top of my current training schedule. But hell, I’ll make it happen.
“I’ve already heard your name whispered as one to look out for in the up and comers,” he says fixing me with a stare that tells me to keep my shit together.
“Fuck. Really?” I ask.
He nods his head as confirmation. “I don’t want any distractions. I’ve seen the way you’ve been staring at that PR girl. Don’t let that mess with your head, you need to keep focused.”
“I’m focused, Coach,” I tell him. If anything, Dani is going to push me harder, just so I can show off and impress her.
“Good,” he says, rising out of his chair to indicate the meeting is over. “Listen, add Tank to those extra gym sessions. His name was whispered right alongside yours. Apparently, you guys are some kind of ‘dream team’,” he scoffs with an eye roll.
I get up from the chair and smirk at Coach Harris. “You bet your ass, we are,” I say.
He laughs and shakes his head in exasperation. “Go suit up, training starts in twenty minutes,” he orders.
“On it, boss,” I say with a salute. I make my way out, closing his door behind me and heading down to the locker room.
I find Tank changing into his training gear and make my way over to my locker beside his.
“Where ya been?” he asks, taking a seat to start tying his skates.
“Had a meeting with Coach, he wants us to step it up a bit, add a few more gym sessions to help secure a contract.”
“Shit,” he groans. “This season is going to kill us.”
“Yeah, but it will be worth it when you sign on that dotted line,” I tell him.
“Isn’t that the truth?” he grunts.
I pull my jersey over my head and take a seat beside him. “You know, they’re calling us the ‘dream team’?” I tell him as I grab my skates from my bag.
He smirks. “Fuck, yeah. You think with that reputation we’d end up being drafted by the same team?”
“Fucked if I know,” I grunt. “But it would be pretty fucking awesome.”
Ten minutes later, I lead the Dragons out onto the ice and to say I kicked their asses would be an understatement.
Chapter 7
Danielle
I sit with Sophie, sprawled out on our living room floor as we work out the final details of our first Dragons article. I lay out three different photos, two from their on-ice practice and the last being my personal favorite; the locker room shot.
“Which one do you think?” I ask, studying the pictures.
“Well, the article is going to be a little controversial, so I think we should go with the locker room one,” she tells me as she grabs a few chips, dips them in gravy and devours them.
“How controversial are we talking?” I ask, suspiciously.
She lets out a small laugh. “The title is ‘Pucker Up! The Dragons are back!”
“You’
re not serious?”
“I’m dead serious. Their reputation sucks. We want to draw people in and get them loving the team again, so why not have a little fun while we’re at it?”
“Ok, but do it in a nice way, we still want to make out like they are the kings of campus,” I tell her.
“Oh, so mentioning Jaxon’s threesome with the Titty Twins wouldn’t be good?” she laughs.
“You’re such an idiot,” I laugh. “Put something in there about the upcoming calendar.”
“Already on it, babe,” she smiles.
Twenty minutes later, we put the finishing touches on our article and email it off to Professor Whitaker. I hop up and make my way into the kitchen. I rifle through the fridge until my eyes land on the pretty bottle that promises me a relaxing night. I pour us both a very full, well deserved glass of wine and make my way back into the living room.
“Oh, for me?” Sophie asks as her big blue eyes widen in excitement.
“Mmhmm,” I smile, passing the glass.
“Alright, spill… you only get me wine when you’re fishing for information,” she laughs as she packs away her laptop.
“You know me so well,” I laugh. “But you’ve got to tell me what the hell is going on between you and Tank. You’ve broken your one rule. No. Repeat. Performances.”
“I know,” she groans, draining her glass and hoping up off the ground. She heads into the kitchen and brings the whole bottle back out, sits down and refills her glass. She lets out a breath and focuses her attention on me. “I have no fucking idea what’s going on.”
“I think you like him,” I tell her.
“No, it’s just sex. Really good sex. Sex so great, I couldn’t help but go back for seconds,” she says, lifting her glass to her lips.
“Right. So, if he was to jump in bed with someone else, it wouldn’t bother you?” I ask.
“Nope, not at all,” she says, avoiding eye contact. “You interested? You want to get your hands on that monster?”
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