“I want you, Dean.”
There’s no hesitation this time. He hooks his arm around my back and leads me through the crowded living room. We ascend two flights of stairs and sneak into his bedroom without any of his teammates noticing. Once inside, he locks the door behind us. He leans against the door and stares at me.
“I can’t lose you, Kitten.”
“I know. And you won’t.”
He pulls me into his hard chest, and his soft lips graze mine.
“I have to know if there’s something more between us. I need you, Dean. I want you. I’ve never wanted anything more.”
He cups the side of my face with his hand and runs his calloused thumb along my jaw. I lean into him, parting his lips with my tongue. His body is sculpted to perfection, every hard ridge of him pressed against me. Slipping my hands beneath his shirt, I run my fingers over his abs, slowly making my way down. When I flip open the button of his jeans and slip my hand inside his boxers, he moans into my mouth.
“Bad Kitten,” he whispers.
Gripping my hips, he lifts me up and then lowers me onto his mattress. He crashes on top of me, his lips brushing mine, as he tugs at my clothes. With each kiss, our friendship rips to shreds. It was already teetering on the edge of normal, but now, we will never be the same.
As he slides his hands up my thighs, heat rushes over my body in waves, further intensifying when he strips me of my jeans and shirt. Dean stares down at me for a few seconds before he reaches behind me to unhook my bra. Slowly, he slides the straps down my shoulders, exposing my breasts.
He sucks my nipple into his mouth, gently tugging it with his teeth as the tiny bud grows harder with each flick of his tongue. Despite the hunger in his eyes, he expertly navigates my body, giving every part of me equal love. After a while, Dean hops off the bed to kick off his jeans and slides his boxers over his hips. I gasp at the sight of him, long and hard, and so ready for me. His body is a masterpiece. It’s as if someone had sculpted him by hand, taking their time to create every single part of him.
Dean crawls between my thighs, spreading my legs apart with his big hands. He gives me a wicked look as he leans forward, taking my lace panties between his teeth.
“Be careful,” I warn him. “I need those for later.”
He shakes his head with a devious look on his handsome face. “No, you don’t. I plan to keep you like this for the rest of the night.” His breath against my pussy, even through the thin fabric, is driving me insane. He sticks out his tongue and pushes it inside me.
“Dean,” I moan. “Just take them off already.”
He licks me again, a smirk on his lips when he peeks up from between my legs. “What do you say, Kitten?”
“Please,” I whimper.
“Please what?”
“Don’t taunt me, Dean. Take off my panties and make me come already.”
He gives me an evil grin and then rips my panties off me. When I gave him the nickname Dirty Dean, I had no idea. I saw him with other girls over the years, acting like a typical guy. But I never expected this.
Electricity skates along my skin everywhere he touches. My heart is pounding so hard against my ribcage my pulse races. He drapes my right leg over his shoulder, his greedy eyes fixed on mine, and shoves two fingers inside me. My eyes slam shut from the intense sensation that rocks throughout my body.
“I did this to you, Kitten.” Gripping my thigh, he bends forward. His hot breath on my wet, swollen skin sends a shiver down my spine. “Remember that when you come for me.” And then his mouth is on me, licking my aching clit.
By the time Dean slides his tongue between my slick folds, my brain stops working. Turning my head to the side, I moan into the pillow that smells of his citrus shampoo. My entire body trembles when Dean sucks my clit into his mouth, slamming his fingers into me so hard I wish it was his cock that’s about to make me explode. And as I’m about to come, I fist his hair between my fingers, tugging at the ends as my body trembles with an orgasm that tears me to pieces. He peeks up at me from between my legs and licks my juices from his lips and fingers.
Then, he takes my hand, covering his with mine as he helps me stroke his shaft. “This is what you do to me, Kitten.”
I sit up, staring into his eyes as I jerk him off.
“Give me your mouth,” he says with fire behind his words. “Wrap your lips around my cock. Let me feel you.”
He knows I’ve never done this before. I haven’t done much of anything with how sheltered I have lived because of my family.
Dean must know what I’m thinking because he says, “C’mere. I’ll teach you.” He slips his fingers through my hair and gives it a light tug. “Roll your tongue along the tip,” he orders.
I peek up at him and stick out my tongue, making contact with his sensitive skin.
He hisses and tilts his head back as I suck the head of his cock into my mouth. “That’s it, Kitten. You’re a natural. Keep going.”
I do as he commands, but he’s so long and thick I can’t take all of him. Dean moves my hand to his shaft, showing me how he likes it as I take more of him into my mouth. Once I get a good rhythm going, his hand falls to his side. He stares down at me, with his lips parted, his chest rising and falling with each heavy breath he takes.
Dean pushes my hair off my forehead to watch me. “Fuck,” he groans. “Your mouth feels so damn good, baby.”
As my fingers graze his balls, he grabs my other hand and helps me massage them, both of my hands and mouth now completely full.
“Yeah, keep doing that,” he chokes out, reaching between us to pinch my nipples between his fingers. “I love your tits. I want to come on them so fucking bad.”
While it’s not a question, I know Dean is asking for my permission. I bob my head to say okay, and then he tightens his grip on my hair, his eyes illuminating in acknowledgment. “I’m so close, Kitten.”
Less than a minute later, Dean removes his cock from my mouth. He pushes me flat on my back and leans over me, jerking his shaft as he grunts my name.
He takes one hard look at me, and a smile crosses his lips. “My God, woman. I fucking love you.”
He’s drunk. Dean has no idea what he’s saying right now, still high from his orgasm. I smile back, and he slides off the bed to grab a clean towel to wipe my chest. After he’s finished, he pulls me into his arms and kisses me with so much passion he sucks the air from my lungs.
“I need to take a shower,” I say once our lips separate. “You should get in with me.”
He winks, and then leads me by the hand toward the bathroom.
Chapter Eleven
Kat
I wake up with the sun in my eyes and my head pounding like a jackhammer. Every bone and muscle in my body aches. My throat burns from the shots I did last night, each breath stirring a fire inside my stomach. I blink a few times to clear the sleep from my eyes. The white walls in front of me are barren except for a few hockey awards and posters. I’m in Dean’s room. So, it wasn’t a dream.
I lift Dean’s arm from my stomach and set it on the mattress between us. I have to pee… and get dressed. Now that the sun is shining on his face and perfectly toned body, I feel self-conscious about being naked next to him. He’s gorgeous, not a single hair out of place, not even in sleep.
I’m still a virgin. We were so tired after our shower that we ended up crawling into bed naked and drifted off to sleep in each other’s arms. Nervous energy shoots through my body at the thought of Theo and Travis sleeping on the other side of this wall. My brothers love Dean. They think of him as another member of the Baldwin clan. How will they react if they see us together, and in such a compromising position?
Fuck.
“Get back in bed, Kitten.” Dean’s voice sounds more gruff than normal. He pats the space on the mattress where I slept with one eye open and most of his face buried in the pillow.
When I don’t move, he rolls onto his back, flashing a set of chiseled abs and his perf
ect smile that distracts me. So does his morning wood that’s tenting the covers.
He rubs my thigh with a seductive look in his eyes. “C’mon. Get back in here with me. I need my snuggle buddy.”
I smile, still in the same spot at the edge of the mattress. He takes my stubbornness as his cue to wrap his arms around me, leaning back against the wooden headboard as he makes room for me between his legs.
I lean my head back on his shoulder. “Well, good morning to you, too.”
He pushes my hair away from my face, tucks it behind my ear, and then presses a light kiss to my forehead. “Morning, beautiful. Do you want to get breakfast? We could go down to Broad Street Beans.”
“Yeah, that sounds good. I could use some greasy food to soak up all the alcohol.”
“You have such a weak stomach,” he jokes.
“I can’t help it. I guess I’m not built for pounding shots like you.”
His hand travels down my stomach and between my legs, but before he can touch me, someone knocks on the door.
“Hey, asshole, are you in there?”
“It’s Theo,” I whisper.
My fear shakes through me, and I have no idea what to do other than panic. He can’t see us like this. Theo would kill Dean.
I wrap the sheet around me and slide off the mattress, looking to Dean for help as adrenaline rushes through my body. “What should I do?”
He scans the floor and lifts my clothes and shoes in a hurry, handing them over to me along with my purse. “Hang out in the bathroom for a few,” he says under his breath.
I walk over to the bathroom, with my hands full and my body on fire from the fear, only to find the door locked. “Someone is in there,” I mouth to Dean.
He tilts his head to the side and scratches his jaw as if thinking about our next move. Another bang on the door causes both of us to jump.
“I know you’re in there, Dean,” Theo says. “Open up.”
Unsure of what to do, Dean points toward the closet. My mouth opens in horror. As if this situation isn’t awkward enough, I have to hide in a fucking closet that probably smells like ball sweat. Well, knowing Dean it’s not too bad since he’s a clean freak. But still, this is bullshit.
Theo slams his fist into the wood again. Fuck, this is not happening. Out of options, I hurry across the room and open the door to the closet. What choice do I have?
I have enough room to duck under Dean’s clothes and sit on the floor. Sharing a space with a Brauer hockey bag that smells like a locker room wasn’t what I had in mind when I threw myself at Dean last night. I was hoping for something a little more romantic. The breakfast he promised me would have been a nice start.
“About fucking time,” Theo says, barging into Dean’s room. “You’re alone?” He sounds confused. “What happened to the puck bunny you were banging? She was giving my girl a run for her money last night.”
Oh. My. God. I could die in this closet from shame.
“I kicked her to the curb hours ago,” Dean says in his usual cocky tone.
At this moment, I’m no different than a puck bunny, balled up on the floor with his hockey bag. Another ten minutes pass, where Dean and Theo discuss my porn star moans and what their girls did with them in bed. My stomach turns from their conversation. While I know Dean is playing it off as if I were some random hockey hooker, I want to puke in his sneakers just for talking about me like that. What a dick.
After the door slams behind Theo, Dean opens the closet door and lifts me into his arms. I hadn’t realized I was crying until Dean wipes the tears from my cheeks with his thumbs.
“I’m sorry, Kitten. Please don’t cry. I had to lie and act like you were some girl I met at the party.”
“This is why we never did this, Dean,” I choke out between sobs. “We can’t even be together in the traditional sense. Am I supposed to sneak around with you for the rest of my life? I had to hide in a goddamn closet while you and Theo talked about me like I was a porn star you were auditioning last night.”
“I’m sorry, Kitten,” he whispers. “I didn’t know what else to do.”
Starting with my forehead, he plants kisses on my skin, making his way down to my cheeks. He kisses away my tears along with my anger. I melt into him as he inches his way along my jaw. When his tongue invades my mouth, I get lost in him, almost forgetting about the rage that had bubbled inside me only a few minutes before. But between those kisses, reality sets in for me. I still have to make my walk of shame out of this house.
How the fuck am I getting out of here without Theo and Travis seeing me? They will never believe that I stayed in the same room as Dean and a puck bunny.
“I have to get out of here,” I say when our lips separate.
“What about breakfast?”
“You honestly think we can walk out of here and say hi to Theo and Travis after the things you said about me?”
“I didn’t say them about you. I would never talk about you like a puck bunny.”
“Well, you did. But that’s not the point, Dean.”
He runs his calloused thumb along my bottom lip, causing my breath to hitch. “I’m sorry.”
“Help me find a way out of here without my brothers seeing me.”
Dean sighs, his eyes downcast, and then he nods. This feels like the end when I had hoped it would be the beginning.
Chapter Twelve
Dean
The dirt crunches beneath the weight of my shovel. I slam the metal into the wet ground that’s soft from all of the rain we’ve had in Florida over the last week. Sweat slides down my forehead and into my eyes, the sun blaring down on my back. Fuck, I forgot how hot it gets here. After living in Florida all of my life, you would think I would be used to the hundred degree days and the summers filled with nothing but rain and bugs. Lots of motherfucking bugs. I swat a wasp away from my face, irritated.
“Hey, Dean,” my foreman says from behind me.
I glance over my shoulder at Tony, a tall, middle-aged man with sandy blond hair.
“Can you work another ten hour shift tomorrow? We got a big job and can use all the hands we can get.”
“Yeah, sure. I could use the money.”
Not like I have anything else to do. With Kat MIA for most of the summer, all I have done is work and practice.
Tony taps me on the shoulder. “Right answer, kid. Glad to have you back.”
Thank God he takes me back every summer. My mom barely had enough money to pay the electric bill when I got home. She was hurting worse than she had let on. Much like Kat, she’s too proud. My mother hates admitting she needs help.
He scribbles something on the clipboard in his hand and then walks away, whistling a tune under his breath. My cell phone buzzes in my pocket. Soaked in sweat, my hands are too slick to grip the phone. Slamming the shovel into the dirt, I blow out a deep breath as I look at the work site around me. Ten men dressed in coveralls, long sleeve shirts, and hats dig around me. This is hard work for only ten dollars an hour, but money is money when you have bills to pay.
After I wipe the sweat down the front of my pants, I reach into my pocket. A text message from Kat pops up on my screen. It only took her an entire day to answer a message that would’ve had an instant response when we were at Strickland University.
Kat: Sounds good. xx
Seriously? That’s her fucking response to the long message I sent her yesterday about our plans for when I come to Chicago. Unbelievable. And it took a fucking day to get it? If I could jump into a time machine and erase the last month we spent together, I would do it. Our friendship means too much to me. That was the reason I avoided telling her how I felt for years.
Now, I feel lost and alone. Kat was my anchor. She grounded me. If not for Theo and Travis, who text every day, I don’t know what I would do. I’ve lost touch with most of my old friends from Tampa. Some people moved on, others got married or left the state entirely. The twins have no idea I’m having issues with Kat. They don’t know
she hasn’t spoken much to me over the past two months.
We’ve texted back and forth, both of us writing words without actually saying anything. She almost never wants to get on the phone with me. Kat has an excuse every time. With the NHL Draft around the corner, I’m wondering if I should book a hotel in Chicago instead of staying with her family. She doesn’t act like she wants me to stay at her house. She doesn’t act like she wants me in her life at all for that matter.
Dean: Should I find somewhere else to stay when I come next week?
Kat: No. Stay with us. Theo and Travis will have a stroke if you don’t.
Wow, so this gets an instant response from her? Not any of the plans I wanted to make where she would have to spend time alone with me. Go figure. I can’t believe close to four years of friendship is rewarded with her harsh treatment. I feel like I don’t even know her anymore. Like she doesn’t want to know me.
Dean: But that’s not what you want.
Kat: That’s not true. I want you to come.
Dean: Stop ghosting me. It’s getting fucking old.
Kat: I’m not ghosting you.
Dean: Yes, you are. It’s getting to the point where I’m gonna start calling you Casper.
Kat: Sorry. I’ve been busy since I got home. I have to go. Talk to you soon. xx
This shit again? Okay, Kat. Let’s keep playing these stupid fucking games. This is my fault. I told her to get into my closet because I was too much of a pussy to tell Theo about us. But she didn’t look like she wanted to tell him either. So, what was I supposed to do? I had no choice. And now, she fucking hates me.
Chapter Thirteen
Dean
On the day before the NHL Draft, a black Range Rover pulls up in front of the baggage claim exit at the airport. My heart slams into my chest so hard I can’t breathe. I’ve waited months for this moment. Months to see Kat again.
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