Already arching into him.
Sliding my heels up so they lock behind his back.
I want more.
“You ready?” he asks, slowly rocking his hips into me.
“Yesss. So ready.”
“Then hold on.”
Chapter 12
Cammy
“So you saw him yesterday and it was totally normal. Like just friends friends?” Julia asks two days later, clutching her beer to her chest as fans filter around us finding their seats in the arena.
“Yeah. But we agreed Matty wouldn’t see anything change between us. So even if my heart starts to skip when Rux walks in, there’s no kissing or flirty fooling around in front of impressionable children who might get the wrong idea.”
“Yeah but Matty is always darting off for something. Rux didn’t do one of those accidentally-on-purpose stunts where he drags his knuckles along the outside of your boob when you get thirty seconds alone?”
My face scrunches up. “Is that one of his signature moves or something?”
“No. But... I mean, if you guys are going for the full benefits package, it seems like maybe you ought to be getting more benefits, is all.”
I shake my head trying not to get too caught up in thoughts of how many benefits I’ve enjoyed already.
So many.
So good.
I take a steadying breath. “I’m pretty confident I’ll be getting more of Rux’s package. But the stuff with Matty is pretty important to me. And it actually means a lot to me that it’s important to Rux too. He gets it. We’re going to be friends no matter what. And while what we’re doing is really, really fun for us... it’s not really fair to put something in front of Matty that isn’t going to be there permanently.”
She nods and takes a sip of her beer. Then another.
“But not even one little kiss when Matty is in the other room?”
“Just the same little peck on the top of my head I’ve been getting since about the second night we met.”
Another nod. Another swallow.
“So does that mean you guys aren’t going to be all over each other after the game?”
I don’t really know what to expect after the game. “Honestly, I kind of think it’s going to be business as usual while we’re out. I mean, we didn’t nail down a schedule or ink out a contract. I think it’s just... on the table. So maybe once in a while... but who knows.”
“But Matty’s at Jeremy’s tonight. So after?”
“Yeah, after.”
Her smile stretches wide and I shake my head. “Julia, seriously, don’t get any ideas. This thing with us is just about having some fun.”
“Um, this thing with Greg and I was just about some fun too.”
That’s how it started for them. A decade-old IOU for a single kiss. Just some fun between old friends. But there was one significant difference. “You might have just been having some fun, but I’m pretty sure Greg was in it for real from the start.” She gets that dreamy smile on her face that makes me believe in happily ever afters. “Thing is, it’s not like that with Rux. And it’s not like that with me either.”
Her shoulders droop and she looks over at me. “Why not? He’s such a good guy.”
“Julia, I know what a good guy he is. I love him like crazy and he’s one of my best friends. But Rux isn’t looking to settle down. He’s really upfront about it. And while I want this with Rux right now, the guy has told me flat-out he’s not good at being in a relationship. He doesn’t want kids. He’s a loyal friend and a solid teammate, but I don’t want to mess things up between us by trying to make this into something it can’t be.”
She slumps in her seat, but she doesn’t say anything more. Because she knows I’m right.
It’s like the very first thing you learn about him. And usually he’s told you himself.
The music in the arena is pumping, the seats around us filling up. I look over at my sister as the Slayers come onto the ice to warm up.
I wait for Rux to hit the ice and cheer as he skates by giving us a grin as he raps the glass and leaves me just a little breathless.
The game is fast paced and intense. Rux ends up in the box in the second and finishes the game with two assists. Julia and I end up on the big screen a few times, which I’ve gotten used to since her career took off. When the final buzzer sounds, we’ve won and I’m a little hoarse from all the cheering and laughing with my sister.
Julia checks her phone and looks up toward the owners’ box where Greg gives her a wave.
“Okay, he’s going to hang back with the guys and meet us over at the Five Hole later.”
I give him a wave too and then shoot Rux a quick text congratulating him on the game while a couple kids wearing Baxter jerseys come up to say hi to Julia and give her a note to pass to her husband.
After, we make our way over to the bar with what feels like half the arena. Everyone’s pumped from the win, talking about the game, but I’m quiet, my thoughts revolving around a certain player and what my chances are of scoring with him tonight.
I’m sure we said more than once. But I don’t want to make any assumptions.
I mean, we might not be in the same place. Rux hasn’t suffered any shortage of available and willing gorgeous women… Cripes, I suddenly don’t want to think about that at all.
Julia and I find Nat and George in back and join them at their table.
“I’m just saying, a big wedding isn’t really my thing,” Nat hedges. “Not that I don’t want one at all.”
George nods, then looks to Julia. “You went through this a couple years back. Think small is even possible with this team?”
I snicker, remembering Julia sweating over the plans, and tease, “Have you gotten enough distance from the trauma of that guest list to be able to talk about this, sis, or do you need another year or so?”
Julia snorts over her beer and shoots me an evil glare before answering. “I think you can do anything you want. You just have to have a really clear idea of what that is. If you’re not entirely firm, you’re going to end up with a list a million people long and… it can get overwhelming. That said, once the planning was done, my wedding kicked ass.”
Nat and I agree. And then we’re going through pictures on our phones to show George. Brainstorming about wedding favors and catching up on Quinn O’Brian’s latest unsuccessful effort to secure George’s Dad’s approval to marry his daughter.
“You can never, ever, tell Greg this,” Julia says, waving us all in over the table to hear whatever dirty secret she’s about to reveal, though I’m pretty sure I know what it is.
“Spill,” Nat says, eyes gleaming. Nothing makes her day more than having something over her brother.
Julia takes a dramatic breath and then confesses in a rush, “My childhood dream wedding happened on the fifty-yard line at Soldier Field.”
Yep, that’s the one.
Natalie actually blanches, while George’s head spins back and forth, like she’s terrified someone might have overheard. But anyone who knows Julia knows the only thing that could make her love Greg more was if he’d played football instead of hockey.
Nat reaches for Julia’s hand and swears, “l’ll never breathe a word.”
Recovering over a slug of her beer, George elbows her buddy. “Tell yours.”
“I wanted a wedding on a yacht,” Nat says, her cheeks turning pink. “With the wedding party on Jet Skis at either side.”
Julia’s nodding, her grin wide. “Nice. Bikinis or formal wear?”
“Formal all the way,” George chimes in with delight. “She confessed it after too many Jell-O shots junior year. Spilled every detail.”
And those details keep piling up, until we’re all cracking up so hard we don’t even notice when the guys arrive until George looks up and leaps out of her chair, with Natalie quick to follow. Quinn and Vaughn catch them up in their arms, while Greg catches Julia’s offered hand and leans down for a kiss. Rux is bringing up the
rear and despite what I told my sister earlier, I have no idea what to expect seeing him tonight. He slants that epically sexy grin at me, grabbing a chair from the other end of the table and circling around to park it beside mine.
We always sit together, but this time watching him move into the space beside me has my belly going into freefall and a million questions about what happens once we’re alone taking flight.
“Hey,” I say, smiling at him like a total goof.
“Hey, yourself, Sunshine,” he answers, sliding his hand around the back of my neck and drawing me forward in a move so smooth, I don’t even realize what’s happening until his mouth meets mine for a kiss. A kiss that lasts. And lasts.
When he draws back, he’s sitting beside me and my hand is on his chest. Our eyes are locked, his crinkling a little at the edges. “Been waiting all day for that,” he says with a wink. “Guessing you didn’t tell them we’ve joined the cutest couple competition?”
I blink and turn back toward the table, where six sets of eyes are locked on us, mouths hanging open to varying degrees.
My breath leaks out on a shaky laugh. And I’m as struck dumb as the rest of my friends.
Couple?
Rux doesn’t have the same problem. “Christ, pull it together, girls,” he says, pointing around the table, stopping at Quinn for a short slap followed by another direct point.
Leaning back, he drags my chair right up against his and pulls me into his side. “If you’ve got questions, bring ’em.”
I definitely have questions. “Rux.”
But he just leans in and presses a quick kiss against my lips. Then another. Before nodding to Vaughn. “Go.”
“Uhhh…” Vaughn eyes dart between us. “Since when?”
“Day before yesterday. It’s new.” Then flashing me a saucy smile, he adds, “Mostly.”
George presses both hands flat on the table, gaping at me. “You’re dating Rux and you sat here with us for over an hour without mentioning it?”
“She wanted to fire up the phone tree,” Rux lies easily, giving my shoulder a squeeze, “but we decided to wait until we were all together to share the big news.”
Julia snorts and Greg just looks at the ceiling.
Quinn is shaking his head, eyes narrowed. “Bullshit. This is still about The Blip, right?”
God, I’d completely forgotten the guy who inadvertently set this ball in motion. But yeah, that makes the most sense.
“Nope.”
I look to Rux. “Nope?”
He shakes his head and comes in for another kiss. This one sort of stealing my breath.
When he answers, it’s me he’s talking to. “I can be good around Matty. But no way will I be able to keep my hands off you when he isn’t around. And since you haven’t hauled off and slugged me, I’m guessing you don’t totally mind. But I figure if we’re going to have some fun together, we should make the most of it. Go big or go home. It doesn’t change what’s actually happening between us or how far it’s going to go. Yeah?”
I bite my lip, thinking about what he’s saying. It makes sense. At least enough sense that I nod. “So I get to feel you up as much as I like?”
He grins, brushing my lip with his thumb. “Knock yourself out.”
“And then we don’t have to worry about dancing around lines that we can’t really see. There’s when we’re with Matty. And when we’re not.”
All or nothing. I smile because it’s so Rux, I don’t know how I didn’t see it coming.
“Okay.”
“Okay.” His eyes twinkle as he smiles down at me. “And FYI, you’ve got about another five minutes before I throw you over my shoulder and haul your fine ass out of here.”
“Yeah?”
“I’ve been accumulating a list of the dirty things I want to do to you since I walked out of your place two days ago. Actually from before I even left.”
My breath catches and heat starts to build low in my center. “Two days’ worth? Sounds like quite a list.”
“I’ve got it in Google Keep.”
I blink. He’s not— This is Rux. Of course, he’s serious.
Chapter 13
Rux
“I’m the master of restraint. The king,” I say against Cammy’s neck, backing her into her apartment and kicking the door closed behind us.
My coat hits the floor and then hers.
“You have the patience of a toddler,” she gasps as I undo her jeans with one hand and push them down her hips. She toes off her sneakers and steps out of the denim.
I lose my tie and start on the buttons of my shirt.
“I waited days.” And I’d intended to wait until we got back here before letting myself off the leash, but one look at Cammy wrapped up in my number, cheeks pink, lips bare as she laughed with our friends, and I was done. “You’re lucky I didn’t rip your clothes off and do you on the table right there in front of the whole bar.”
Her hands smooth up my abs and pecs, skimming over my shoulders. “So lucky.”
That touch.
I reach for her and she hooks one smooth leg around my waist and then the other, holding on as I cup her perfect ass and carry her back to her room. “Mm-hmm. Like a champ, I settled for a few tame kisses, a pointed and timely conversation about the state of our union—”
“You didn’t even give me three of the five minutes you promised with our friends.”
True. But I have an excuse. “I needed to hear you moan.”
Like, on a critical, next-breath level.
It’s never like this for me. Never this driving, irrepressible need to get closer, to have more. But with Cammy, I can’t get enough. I can’t get her out of my head and not just in that friendly, fun, Cammy would love this way I think about her most of the time. But in the I’m going to fucking lose my mind if I don’t get my hands on her way.
It’s not just that I know this thing between us is short term. I’m not a relationship kind of guy so they’re all short term.
No, the difference is her. It’s that I love this girl—not in a put-a-ring-on-it, let-me-ruin-your-life way—but in the way that only the best friends can care about each other. Every little whimper, gasp, and broken cry I wring from her means something to me on a level that surpasses some stroke to my ego for getting her off.
It’s the caring between us, the friendship, the love that has me pulling her into my lap and stealing kisses left and right.
Her legs tighten around my waist, bringing the hot, sweet spread of her into closer contact with my cock.
“We were in the bar, stud.” She sighs softly and, yeah, that sound has me rocking into her as I lay her back on the bed.
“Which is why I didn’t take you upstairs and fuck you right there.” Christ, I wanted to so bad. That VIP party room is always empty. Filled with potential dark corners just begging to be used. So yeah, master of restraint.
“No, you just kissed me into next week.”
“Next week, huh?” My hands smooth over the dip of her waist. “Sounds like it wasn’t totally terrible.” I know it wasn’t. Her moans were so hot, I’m in danger of blowing my load right now just thinking about them.
“Terrible?” Her eyes go wide and then her head tips back as she gives me that gorgeous full-bodied laugh that hits me in all the best places. “When are you going to get over that? It was a fake kiss that I didn’t see coming and I didn’t even say it was terrible. You weren’t even trying.”
Lowering my mouth to hers, I tease her with the barest brush of contact. “No, you didn’t.” Another whisper of a touch. “You told Julia it was meh.”
Her lips part beneath mine, and I give her my tongue. One wet stroke. Two.
She shivers, her hands fisting in my open shirt. “But you’ve more than made up for it.”
I’m aware, but I’m not ready to stop playing. “That so?”
A nod. “Your kiss, when you put a little effort into it—”
I cut her off with another slick stroke
of my tongue and a nip of her sweet bottom lip.
“—is earth-shattering. Life-affirming.” Her voice drops to a whisper. “Nearly enough to make me come on its own merit.”
“Nearly? Think we’re gonna have to give that kiss another test drive… On a different road.”
The confusion that flashes through her eyes is gone a heartbeat later when I start crawling back down her body so I can drop a kiss at the very tiny, very sexy bow on the front of her pale yellow panties. Hooking my fingers into the sides, I ease them down her curvy hips. “Lift.”
I should’ve done this before. I’d wanted to, maybe even made a move in that direction, but we were so desperate, I can still feel the tug of her fingers in my hair, pulling me up as she demanded what she wanted.
So hot.
But now I know what I want. And it’s the taste of her coming on my tongue. Her cries echoing around this apartment, my name on her lips as I prove the value of my kiss in the best possible way.
Damn.
“Rux, I see where you’re going here.”
“I should hope so.”
Hell, I’ve already got one of her legs free. Christ, she’s so sexy. Her pussy’s bare, soft, and so wet my mouth’s watering for her already. I toss her panties aside and lean in—only to have her legs shift closed as she sort of catches my face and tries to pull me up.
“Not tonight, Sunshine.” I duck and weave. “It’s on my list.”
“I… um… Rux, you don’t have to.”
That’s crazy talk. “Baby, my mouth is watering for a taste of you.” Only then, the tension in her voice registers, sucking some blood back into my bigger head for an emergency consult. Disentangling from her gorgeous legs, I straighten my arms to look at her face. “You don’t like it?”
She bites the corner of her lip and looks away. Which bothers me on a level I’m not expecting. Cammy’s supposed to be able to tell me anything.
“Hey, Cammy, look at me?”
She lets out a hesitant breath. “I’ve never actually—I mean, I don’t—” She shakes her head, giving me a pitiful look.
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