by Cindi Madsen
Dane slid his hands up my thighs, fanning the flame of need pooling low in my stomach and making me so grateful I’d worn a skirt. He dragged a knuckle over my panties, right up the center, and I shuddered against him.
He pushed aside the silky material, the next drag skin against skin, and my vision blurred around the edges, my thoughts turning just as hazy. As he circled my clit with his thumb, he swirled his tongue over mine, driving me crazy with want.
He increased the pressure and tempo and my knees buckled, but he had me pinned tightly enough to the door that I didn’t fall. “Dane…”
“That’s right. Say my name.” He slid a finger inside and pleasure rippled through me. Time stopped yet sped up, and I arched my hips, wanting more.
Dane kissed my neck, a soft press of lips followed by the intoxicating drag of his whiskers. He pumped his finger in again as he moved his mouth over my ear. He gently bit my earlobe, nearly sending me over the edge. “Tell me you won’t go home with that guy.”
“I…” My chest rose and fell against his as I tried to catch my breath.
Dane withdrew his finger, the tip lightly pressing my entrance, and I whimpered—I couldn’t help it. I’d never experienced anything as amazing as the magic he was working with his fingers, and I needed more.
“Tell me,” he said.
I swallowed past my dry throat and licked my lips. “I won’t go home with him.”
He plunged his finger back inside, and I bit my lip to quiet my cry. Another thrust and I tumbled over the edge, tingly ripples traveling through my entire body.
I sagged against him, and once the room stopped spinning, I reached for the bulge in his pants.
His large fingers encircled my wrist, stopping me. “I just wanted you to know what it feels like when someone takes care of you and doesn’t expect anything in return.”
He kissed me again, long and hard, and then he tugged down my skirt, and charged out of the room, leaving me to wonder what the hell just happened.
And how I could get it to happen again.
…
By the time I made it back from the hookup rooms I hadn’t even realized existed, I figured Trevor would be long gone.
Instead he was flirting with another girl. But when he saw me, he perked up. “Ready to go, sexy?”
I couldn’t stop smoothing down my skirt, even though I’d checked everything was in place several times—I was sure my lips were swollen and red, because I could feel the residual heat of the scorching kisses placed there, and I fought the urge to reach up and run my finger over the still-tingling skin. “Change of plans. I have to find my friend. It was nice chatting with you.”
He didn’t exactly appear thrilled about the brush-off, but he also looked like he’d move on pretty quickly. Perhaps with the brunette he was suddenly eyeing.
So maybe Dane was right about the guy, but it wasn’t like it was news, and I was too mixed up to think about that. Or Dane. Or what had just happened. Those kisses, his fingers, the way he’d demanded I say his name…it was definitely the most passionate, sexual experience I’d ever had, but a frustrated haze hung around it, because how could he just leave like that?
Not that I really wanted to hook up in rooms where dozens of other people had—and that would just account for tonight. But if he would’ve stayed, I would’ve, because I’d wanted to.
Wanted him.
I sent a SOS text to Vanessa and asked her to meet me at the door.
“Why do you look all flushed?” Vanessa asked, narrowing her eyes. “And like someone kissed the hell out of you? Girl, did you kiss that hottie? Your lip gloss is smeared, and you’ve got sex hair.”
I smoothed a hand down my flat-ironed strands, noticing that my hair was sort of bumped up in the back. “It’s…I…let’s just go. I’ll fill you in once we get back to our room.”
Maybe by then I’d know what exactly had happened so that I could try to put it into words.
But even by the time we got back to our place, I still didn’t know what to say about my Dane run-in, or if I should even confess all the lines that’d been crossed during it.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Dane
“What’s up with you?” Ox asked when I walked into the kitchen Saturday morning. “You look like you didn’t sleep at all.”
I rubbed at my gritty eyes and then covered a yawn with my hand. “I’m not avoiding drama, that’s what.”
Confusion creased his forehead. “I have no idea what that means.”
“Bro, me neither obviously. But it definitely means I didn’t get any sleep.” I sat on one of the stools and ran my hands through my hair. Last night I’d lost my self-control, and I’d done something so, so stupid. With my teammate’s little sister.
Or maybe I should focus on how I left the friendship line in the rearview mirror, right after I promised her I’d be a better friend.
How could I have done that? I mean, it was awesome, and I could still taste Megan on my lips; feel the way she shuddered against me; hear the way she said my name.
I wanted to hear her say it in that breathless way again and again. The noises she’d made and the way she’d looked, all flushed, eyelids half-closed was going to follow me around for a long time.
Probably for longer than the nearly five months I’d gone without sex—which was partly to blame for me losing my mind, I was sure. But with how Megan looked last night and the overpowering need to claim her as mine, I doubted anything could’ve stopped me from touching her once I got her alone. I barely managed to leave before taking it even further.
Last night’s icy cold shower hardly took the edge off, and I knew nothing would fix the desire for her that’d built up inside of me. Just like I knew there was no chance of it ending well.
Bright light flooded the apartment, along with a gust of cool air, and then Hudson stepped inside. He was the polar opposite of my mood, grinning, and happy as shit, which happened pretty much anytime he and Whitney spent the night together. He tossed aside his bag and reached into the freezer for some waffles. He popped them in the toaster and spun, leaning against the counter to wait.
“What’s up with you?” he asked, jerking his chin at me.
“Apparently he’s not avoiding drama,” Ryder said.
Hudson’s face dropped. “Don’t tell me you’re with Jazmine again. Dude, you know that’s going to end badly—it does every time.”
“It doesn’t have anything to do with Jazmine.” At least not directly.
“Thank God.”
At my look, Hudson shrugged. “Sorry. I just think you deserve better.”
I didn’t know about that—I wanted better, though, and I’d found her. But I was terrified I might’ve ruined everything now.
The toaster popped, and I stared at the waffles. I vaguely realized Hudson had pulled them out. After a minute or so, he waved a hand in front of my face. Food seemed like a good idea—maybe it would help the unease churning through my gut—so I made myself breakfast.
When I turned, Hudson was pinning me with his analytical look. “Did something else happen at home?”
“No, not really. I’m fine. Just tired.”
“If you need anything, man, you know I’m here. I owe you more than I could repay. Need a kidney?” He grabbed a steak knife and extended it to me. “Take it.”
I laughed and took the knife, circling his abdomen. “Where’s the kidney again?”
“Just make sure you don’t get the family jewels. Those I can’t live without.”
We both laughed, and while the knife was a joke, I knew he was serious about doing anything for me.
“I’m gonna keep all my organs, thanks,” Ox said, looking at us like we had mental issues.
I set down the knife and turned my attention back to my food.
“So what drama did you step in now? If it’s not anything at home?”
Before I could decide whether or not to tell him about Megan, a loud knock sounded on the door. As
nice as it might be to get it all out—everything from meeting Megan at the beginning of the semester to realizing she was Beck’s sister and that I couldn’t give her what she wanted to the mess at home and even the line I’d crossed last night—and see what Hudson thought, the actual telling was going to be about as fun as a body check to the boards. So I decided maybe whoever was at the door had saved me.
But when Ryder answered and Megan stormed in, an angry, determined look on her face, I thought I’d rather play Truth or Dare with a side of hair braiding with Hudson.
Megan’s fiery blue eyes lit on me. “Dane, we need to talk.”
“You didn’t,” Hudson said, and I glanced over my shoulder at him, unable to hide the wince. He scooted away from the table. “I’m still here for you if you need a kidney, but when it comes to a girl—especially that particular one—and the need to talk…?” He clapped me on the back. “You’re on your own.”
Even though Hudson had just walked through the door and had to be tired, he grabbed his car keys. “Ox, let’s go grab breakfast somewhere.”
He opened his mouth, and I was sure he was going to say that we’d all just eaten, but then he glanced from Megan to me to Hudson and shrugged on his coat.
Then they were out the door, and it was just me and Megan and that pissed-off look on her face.
Well, shit.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Megan
All night I tossed and turned, reliving what happened with Dane at the Quad. Somewhere around three a.m., anger set in, and it’d been growing ever since.
How dare he toy with my emotions like that—use the way I felt about him to make sure that I didn’t leave with anyone else, only to leave me.
With him standing a few feet away, confusion mixed in, cooling the anger a couple of degrees.
The speech I prepared slipped from my mind, but I supposed it boiled down to one question. “Why?”
Tension filled every inch of his posture, like he was preparing for an attack. “Why what?”
Apparently, I’d reduced it too much, but I didn’t know which other variable to throw in.
“Last night… You can’t just demand I stay away from other guys, and then…” A flush of heat swirled through me as I thought of being pressed against the door, his finger inside me. God, I’d never felt anything like that in my life, and even as angry as I was at him, I could hardly think straight, wanting him to grab me and do it again.
“I know,” he said, taking another step closer, his hands up in a surrender type stance. “I was way out of line.”
Completely true, but the words didn’t make me feel better. A hollow ache opened up in my chest. “Why did you do that?”
The muscles along his jaw flexed and tightened. “Because I saw you with that guy, and I’ve never felt jealousy like that, Megan. I wanted to rip his arms off. And I thought I should be the one touching you…kissing you… And that was pretty much as far as I got when it came to thinking.”
“Then you left. Why did you just leave me?” My brain had taken a while to find the most important part of the why question, but that was where the anger came from last night, and it reignited now. I shoved him in the chest, and he could’ve at least humored me and rocked a little bit. “That was a jackass move.”
When he just stood there, I shoved him again. “You made me feel so much, only to leave me to crash.”
“Want to get a slap in there?” he asked, turning his cheek toward me. “Take out an eye?”
My throat tightened. “Yes. But no. It’s not fair, Dane. You can’t tell me you don’t want me and then as soon as you see me with another guy, you…you…” I swallowed back the urge to cry, because I promised myself I wouldn’t. “You can’t jerk me around like that.”
“I…” He reached out and gripped my shoulders. “Again, you’re right, and I’m sorry. I handled it all wrong, but the truth is, I can’t think straight around you. You’re smart and you’re sexy, and you make me laugh, and I love being your friend. Of course it’s hard for me to not want more, but I don’t want to hurt you. I want to kick my own ass at just the thought of hurting you.”
He cupped my cheek. “Your friendship means a lot to me, so I’ve tried hard not to screw everything up. But last night, I didn’t think, I just reacted. I saw you, I wanted you, and I ignored everything else. I knew I was crossing a line I shouldn’t, but crossing it felt so damn good.” He locked eyes with me and a shock of awareness jolted through my body. “You felt so damn good, and watching you come apart…”
His voice grew huskier and his eyes darkened. “The last string on my self-control was about to snap, and I knew if I stayed a second longer, I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from throwing you on the nearest surface and screwing you until you screamed my name, and…”
He withdrew his hands, pulling them away like he didn’t trust himself, and cleared his throat. “I never said I don’t want you. That would be a lie. I’ve wanted you since the night you threw that dart at my head. And now that I know you better, I want you so fucking bad I can hardly think about anything else.”
My heart beat so hard I worried it might bruise my rib cage, and yet I welcomed each pounding thump, each rush of blood it sent crashing through me. My thoughts spun with everything he’d said, including the image of him throwing me down and covering my body with his, and the temperature in the room shot to about a billion degrees.
Judging from his ragged breaths, I wasn’t alone in experiencing that sensation.
“But,” he said, the word strained, and I hated that stupid but, because I knew it was about to crush me. “You made it clear you want a relationship, and like I’ve told you before, I can’t be that guy. Not with how much I’ve got riding on school and hockey, and with everything else going on in my life right now.”
I licked my lips. “What if I didn’t need that guy? What if I just needed you?” I dared a step forward, which brought our bodies flush together, and keeping my eyes on his, I slid my arms around his waist, silently begging him not to pull away.
His erection pressed against me and an insistent ache formed between my thighs. Sure, this wasn’t in my original plan, but I’d already decided to change the rules—that was the benefit of making them. I could change them as needed.
Because if they meant walking away from what I felt with Dane, they were shitty rules anyway.
This was seizing the moment.
“I’m not asking for labels, or for a big complicated relationship, or having to know where you are at all times.” Man it was hard to think now that I could feel him throbbing against me—the fact that I did that to him made me want him even more. “I’m talking about when we have time to spend together, we do, and we understand space and busy schedules. We’re friends still, but we add those other benefits. Then we get the best of both worlds.”
Dane put his hands on the sides of my waist and his fingers dug into my skin. “It sounds good in theory,” he said, the deep, gravelly timbre of his voice echoing through me and sending my hormones into overdrive. “But I’m not sure if—”
I tipped onto my toes and pressed my mouth to his. I dragged my tongue across his bottom lip and he groaned, his grip on my hips tightening. He grew even harder, which only turned my desire to raging need.
“That is a rather compelling argument,” he muttered against my lips, and I smiled.
“Just let me in a little,” I whispered. If in time, we found ourselves in a different place, then I couldn’t deny I’d jump all-in, no question. But if not, I’d simply enjoy the part of Dane I could get, especially if it meant more of this. “We’ll hang out, we’ll study—sometimes math, sometimes each other’s lips…” I kissed him again and ran my finger down his chest. “Each other’s bodies…” At the waistband of his jeans, I swiped my finger back and forth and his muscles twitched under my touch. “And we’ve got the long nights. It’s not like we’re sleeping as it is. So we’ll just have fun. No pressure.”
“When
you put it like that, it’d be downright stupid to refuse.” Dane wound his arm around my waist, molded me to him, and then parted my lips with his and stroked his tongue over mine.
Heat and desire flooded my system, nearly short-circuiting it, and I wasn’t sure I was breathing anymore—but I didn’t care about silly things like breathing right now. I wrapped my arms around his neck and threw myself even more into the kiss, welcoming whatever else he wanted to do to my body.
Dane grabbed the back of my thigh, lifting it so that it hooked on his waist, and my center pressed tighter to his hard length. At my gasp, he grinned, a deliciously wicked grin, and backed me up against the nearest wall.
“Say my name,” he said as he moved his lips next to my ear. “Like you did last night.” He bit at my earlobe, and I moaned and curled my fingers into his shirt, sure I’d melt right to the floor if I didn’t grab onto him and hold on for dear life.
“Dane,” I said, and was rewarded with a sucking kiss on my neck as he ground against me. Goose bumps swept across my skin and the room spun.
Dane’s lips returned to mine, and as he captured them in a kiss, he lifted me, leaving me little choice but to wrap my other leg around his waist, too—not that I would’ve chosen differently. He carried me toward his bedroom and I drove my fingers through his hair, tugging his head to the side so I could kiss his neck the way he’d kissed mine.
He kicked his door closed and spun me so that my back was against it. He grabbed the hem of my shirt and peeled it off me. I made quick work of his, and while I knew he was ripped, knowing and seeing were two very different things. I ran my hands over his pecs and down his abdomen, relishing the dips and curves of all those drool-worthy muscles before wrapping my hands around his back to explore the hard planes there.
When Dane moved to kiss me again, I sighed at the delicious skin-on-skin sensation.
Slowly, he lowered me to my feet, groaning as I slid down his body. He reached up and flicked my earring, a crooked smile tugging at his lips. His eyes came back to mine, another emotion I couldn’t name mixing in with the desire.