Rookies Hit It Better

by Heather C. Myers

  He was.

  He just had no idea what the fuck was happening to him right now.

  When his line was up, Coach clapped him on the shoulder. “Sit this one out, Knox. Maybe fucking watch and get your head out of your ass, huh?”

  Knox sat back down, grunting as he did. He took the shaft of his stick and hit the edge of the bench, muttering a curse word. Someone else skated in his place.

  He knew he deserved it.

  He knew it.

  He wasn’t playing well. He should be sat. But that didn’t mean he had to fucking like it.

  He glanced back at Beth. This time, she was looking at him. His heart skipped at the sight of it. He should look away, should focus his attention on the game and try to get himself under control.

  But he couldn’t look away from her.

  And that was a problem.

  A problem he needed to do something about, or this wasn’t going to get any better.

  16

  Beth

  Beth didn’t even know why she was waiting for Knox. She should leave. She should get the fuck out of here, especially considering Kent had come out with a bloody lip she knew for a fact he hadn’t gotten during the game. When he saw her, he was kind, even wanted to call her later, even invited to walk him out. But the second he mentioned that Knox was responsible for his face and might have a couple of marks on his face as a result, Beth stayed.

  Not because she cared about Knox.

  She didn’t.

  She didn’t.

  Well, maybe. But she didn’t have to admit that to herself just yet. In fact, she wanted to push that caring to the back of her head while she figured out what to do with herself. She wasn’t an idiot. There only seemed to be one reason Knox and Kent would go at it, and that was her.

  But Beth didn’t want to be that girl.

  She refused to be that girl that tore apart friendships, teams, bands, whatever, especially since she and Knox...They weren’t supposed to be anything but friends. It didn’t matter that they had kissed twice. It didn’t matter that they were the best kisses of her life. Maybe she was just hyping them up because it was Knox and everything he did was just better than anyone else ever.

  When the coach came out, she knew that he was still in the locker room alone. She shifted her weight, trying to figure out if it was a good idea to go in or if she should continue to wait outside. After a few minutes passed and there was still no hint of his arrival, she let out an exasperated grunt and headed for the doors.

  She shouldn’t be retrieving him, like she was some kind of pathetically loyal dog who was trotting off to find her master. She was better than this. And yet, she had no idea what else to do. She didn’t want to wait anymore but she knew they had to talk. They had to figure this out. If his play had been any indication tonight, he was either still feeling the after-effects of his hangover. Or maybe it was her, everything that had happened between them.

  But no.

  She didn’t think she could affect him that much.

  When she reached the doors to the locker room, Beth gently chewed on her bottom lip, shifting from her left to her right foot. What did she do? Knock? Listen?

  Maybe she should listen. What if he had a girl -

  She almost laughed at herself.

  Knox would never. He respected his team, the sport, too much to fuck anyone in the locker room, even if maybe some of the girls wanted it. Hell, if Beth was being honest, she always thought of it. Though, if she was being honest, she knew what these places smelled like, so it wasn’t as appeasing as it seemed.

  This is ridiculous.

  She curled her fingers through the cool, smooth handle and pulled it open. There, sitting on the bench, was Knox. He was dressed in his street clothes - track pants and a white t-shirt that molded to his lean torso - head hanging down. He looked...sad. He didn’t look up, even though she knew he knew someone had stepped into the room.

  “Knox?” she asked tentatively, coming further into the locker room.

  Upon hearing her voice, Knox snapped his head and caught her eyes. Something in the dark orbs pinned her to place, and she wasn’t sure what to make of the way her heart leapt into her throat. It was difficult to catch her breath, to not be...scared wasn’t the right word, but there was something intimidating about the way he was looking at her - like he was ready to devour her whole.

  Maybe she should leave.

  But she couldn’t move away.

  She took a breath, then another.

  “What are you doing here, Beth?” he asked in a low voice.

  The way he said her name sent shockwaves to her pelvis, and she swallowed, trying to ignore the effect his voice had on her body. She stepped forward, exactly the opposite direction of where she should be heading towards. She should leave. Knox needed space. He needed time to figure out what the hell happened.

  But she kept walking forward. Kept moving to him. Until she reached him. Until she slid down to her knees and looked up at him.

  Beth’s heart thundered in her ears but she didn’t break eye contact. Not even as she stretched to her full height on her knees, not even as she placed her hands on his knees, not even as she leaned towards him so she could place a lingering kiss on his throat, just over his pulse.

  She heard Knox suck in his breath. He didn’t push her away, though. That was a good thing. She had no idea what the hell she was doing, but she didn’t want to stop.

  Beth pulled back just slightly. She managed to catch Knox’s eyes again. There was no shame staining her face pink, and she could hold his gaze without looking away shyly. She had no idea where this sudden bout of confidence came from, but she was trying to trust her instincts. And honestly, she liked this feeling. She wanted to chase it for as long as she could.

  Knox looked at her, his dark gaze searing into hers. His eyes went everywhere but they lingered on her mouth.

  He wanted to kiss her.

  That much she knew.

  But kissing her would mean three kisses, and that would mean their friendship had taken a new shape, had stepped into this unknown territory, and there was no way it could go back to what it was. She wasn’t sure she was ready for it. She wasn’t sure he was either. But she also wasn’t ready to pull away just yet.

  And then, Knox reached out and grabbed the back of her head, pulling it to his, so their lips could crash together. Beth reached up to clutch at his shoulders, still on the ground. Knox curved forward, trying to meet her halfway. It was uncomfortable for them both, but they didn’t care. He pulled away, waited for something, some kind of sign that this wasn’t wrong. She could see it in his eyes. He needed something.

  She didn’t think it was possible, but his eyes darkened even further. Somehow, some deep, dark part of her knew what that look meant, and it scared her and inspired her at the same time. She leaned towards him, and without a word, began to kiss him. Slowly. Tentatively. She expected at any moment that he would push her away, tell her to back off. Maybe he would invite her back to his place so they could finish this. Maybe they would continue to pretend that this didn’t happen. It was so easy to do. She could do what she wanted, and tomorrow, they would go back to being just Beth and just Knox and that was it.

  But you don’t want that.

  Beth didn’t care. This might be the only time she could take what she wanted. If she had to go back to pretending, if they had to just be friends, she wanted to take this for herself before finally moving on.

  His tongue slid against her bottom lip, demanding entrance as his arms reached down and pulled her up until she was straddling his lap. He leaned back to accommodate her, his back pressed against the smooth wood of the lockers. Her hands touched his face, almost afraid to hold it for herself, afraid that would undo the spell they were both under.

  But when he felt his hand slide under her shirt and press against the small of her back, she straightened, clung to him even more desperately. She opened her mouth for him, letting him deepen the kiss so
he could taste all of her - every last part. She didn’t understand until right now, but he needed this just as much as she did. And she wanted to give it to him.

  His fingers tightened in her hair, giving her just a hint of pain as they pulled against the roots. She sucked in a breath, though, and found her pelvis flooding with desire. And judging by the hardness pressing against her inner thigh, she knew he wanted her as well.

  Her heart skipped a beat at the thought of Knox and her together in that way. Granted, just because they both wanted it didn’t mean anything was going to happen. It probably wouldn’t. But she wasn’t going to stop. Not unless he did. And then, she’d respect it. Then, she’d move.

  I promise.

  She rolled her hips just to see what he would do. Just to tell him that she knew what she wanted. And he could pretend not to notice. He could push her off of him and they could go back to pretending that nothing was going to happen between them. They could go back to being friends, and that was it.

  He sucked in a breath and bit her bottom lip. Heat pooled between her thighs and she tried to pull back, to look in his eyes just to see the way he was looking at her right now. But he wouldn’t let her. Instead, his arms wrapped around her, crushing her to him tightly, pressing her against his body and tilting his hips up so she could feel the length of him against her pelvis.

  She moaned and pushed down harder.

  God, she wanted this more than she expected.

  His fingers pushed the shirt up even further until they had to break the kiss so he could lift it over her head and toss it to the floor. She didn’t even look at it as it hit the floor. Knox reclaimed her lips like he owned them, like he possessed them in a way no one else could.

  But now, Beth wanted to explore his skin with her fingers, wanted to feel him react as she ran her hands over his body, as she pushed her chest against his.

  Maybe she was getting ahead of herself. Maybe she didn’t care.

  Her hands dropped his face so she could tug on the shirt once, twice. Knox didn’t want to let her go, didn’t want to release her at all. But she insisted.

  He grunted, lifting his hands up so she could remove the shirt and drop it somewhere behind him. Immediately, his skin broke out into goosebumps that littered his flesh. She leaned forward and kissed his neck, trailing downward until she reached his shoulders. It was as though she couldn’t get enough of him. She didn’t want to.

  His hands continued to run up and down her back, leaving trails of flames in their wake. How he managed to set her body on fire in an ice rink, she had no idea. She picked her head up, tilted it back slightly, just so she could look into his eyes. They were darker - darker than they usually were - and filled with desire for her.

  She swallowed when she realized that he did want her.

  But was it enough?

  “Knox,” she murmured, her voice raw.

  He seemed to know what she was thinking because he shook his head. “It’s not just this,” he said, his voice raspy. “Fuck, Beth, I want you, but I want you more than just...this.”

  Beth’s eyes widened in surprise. His hand cupped her cheek, brought her mouth close to his without touching just yet.

  “You’re mine,” he murmured. “Mine. I can’t...I don’t want you with anyone else. I want you all to myself.”

  He began to trail kisses down her throat, wet and sloppy and entirely out of his control. He nibbled at her skin, he ran his tongue along the length of her, sucking just enough where her skin wouldn’t have any marks but she would certainly feel it. It did all sorts of things to her body, and she couldn’t help but clamor for more, more, more.

  Beth found herself nodding, pressing against him. “I’m yours,” she said against his lips. “Let me show you. Let me show you that I’m yours.”

  17

  Knox

  Knox didn’t know how things had changed so quickly, but he wasn’t willing to stop it. This was exactly what he wanted for so long, and now that he was getting it, there was no way he was going to give it up.

  There was a chance that this could ruin everything between them. That much was sure - a possibility he was willing to face when the occasion called for it. As it was, he didn’t want to lose Beth. And maybe things would be awkward after everything. Maybe it would take some time, but he intended to fix anything this messed up - if it messed anything up.

  There was also the possibility that he would get exactly what he wanted from this.

  Everyone had been asking him what he wanted when it came to Beth. In truth, he just wanted her in any way he could get her. Never did he imagine that this would be one of the ways. And maybe he was only thinking with his dick, maybe he was being selfish and completely sex-crazed, but this was Beth, and he had wanted Beth for so long that he genuinely didn’t care anymore.

  Knox reached behind her back so he could unclasp her bra. It took him a moment or two before he finally got it, and it floated to the floor, leaving her completely bare on top.

  He couldn’t help but take her in, stare at her, see her and all that she offered him.

  “You’re beautiful, Beth,” he murmured, picking his eyes up so he could lock eyes with her.

  He didn’t know why his voice had gotten low, why it was so quiet, why it was so damn serious. But he didn’t care. He wasn’t going to start questioning every damn thing right now. Not when the moment was too pure, too perfect, for anything else.

  He leaned forward, lips ghosting over her collarbone. She shivered underneath his touch, causing his cock to throb even more. Something about knowing he had all this power over her, could cause her to react in such a way. He didn’t think he had felt this way about anyone else. No one else mattered to him the way Beth did.

  One hand released her waist so he could cup her breast in his hand. She hissed, keeping her gaze steady on his face, but he knew she was nervous, unsure about where things were going. What they meant.

  Hell, he didn’t have the answers, but he didn’t need them right now. All he needed was Beth, this moment.

  His lips slowly made their way down until they reached her nipple before he brought it into his mouth. The mew that came out of her mouth, the way she arched her back and gripped the back of his head, just the way she was reacting to everything he was doing to her, was enough to make him even harder. Her nipple pebbled in his mouth at the contact, and he reveled in the fact that he had this sort of power over her, that her body wanted him the way he wanted her.

  His other hand traced the outline of her curves until it settled on her hip, bringing her even closer than she already was.

  She rolled her hips on top of his again, causing him to release her nipple so he could grunt in pleasure. He wanted to bury his cock so deep inside of her that she forgot everything except his name, and he wasn’t sure where he could do that.

  Of course, he could always fuck her against the wall of the locker room, but he had hoped, wanted, their first time to be slow, romantic even. Not that he would tell anyone that. He couldn’t. His reputation would be absolute shit. But that didn’t mean he didn’t want that. And in the locker room, there was nowhere he could lay her down and take his time with her.

  Except the massage therapist tables in the adjacent room.

  His lips trailed across her chest so he could take her other nipple into his mouth, flicking his tongue against the bud, causing it to peak. She let out a low moan, her fingers tightening their grip in his hair.

  God, he wanted her. He didn’t think he had wanted someone so much, and he had had his fair experience with girls before. But Beth was different. Beth had always been different. He knew that. Even before they had tangled the web that bound them together, he knew this. And he was playing with fire by being with her now, in this way, but he didn’t care because he wanted her. God, he wanted her. It was like a song stuck in his head, a chant repeated over and over again like a curse or a spell or what the fuck ever.

  None of it mattered.

  The only th
ing that mattered was her.

  When he finished feasting on her breasts, he slowly lifted her up and began to make his way to the massage therapist room. She clung to his neck, breasts pushing against his chest, but she never questioned where they were going or why. She trusted him completely, blindly. He had no idea why, had no idea what he did to deserve that trust, but he vowed he wouldn’t do anything to fuck it up.

  He couldn’t.

  Once they stepped in the room, Knox nearly tripped over himself. The room was dark and shadowed, and he couldn’t seem to actually see in front of him. He started to chuckle, which caused Beth to laugh, and before he knew it, the two of them were laughing together.

  Sex wasn’t supposed to be like this. He had never had sex where it could be fun like this. He brought Beth close and kissed the top of her head, suddenly grateful she was here with him.

  “Beth,” he murmured, brushing her cheek with his knuckles. He stared at her for a long moment, just looking into her eyes. He hadn’t realized her eyes had the color blue in them. He thought they were just primarily green, but now, looking deep into them, he realized there was more to them than he assumed.

  She tilted her face up, locking eyes with him, searching for answers he didn’t know the questions to. He didn’t even care. He could look into her eyes for hours and still find something worth seeing.

  He gently placed a tender kiss on her lips. He wanted to tell her that he loved her, that he wanted to make this work more than he wanted anything else, but the words wouldn’t come out. He didn’t know how to say them the right way to make her understand. Hopefully, the kiss would say what he couldn’t. And maybe after they finished, he would be able to figure it out.