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I sit out the back surrounded by my teammates as the party rages around me. Bodies fill every spare corner of my place, inside and out. Girls dance up on each other as the guys kick back with a beer, watching the show. Empty red cups litter table tops and benches as the music vibrates through the walls and into the ground.
I head into the kitchen to grab another beer when a hand shoots out to my chest. “Hey baby, come and dance,” the soft voice says, I look up into the pleading eyes of Natasha, the beautiful leggy blonde that I may or may not have used over the past few months, though, I think it’s fair to say, that so has every guy in the room.
I shake her hand off and smirk as she pouts for my attention. “Sorry babe, not tonight,” I tell her as I slide away.
I grab a few beers and make my way outside, taking my seat beside Tank who’s trying to shoo away some chick from taking possession of his lap. I reach out and hand him a beer which he greedily accepts as he pretends to listen in on the guy’s conversation.
I sit across from Jaxon, a Junior and most likely the guy who will take over as captain next year… if he can get his shit together. He has a promising future ahead of himself but needs to pull the reigns in a little. His eyes light up as he looks over mine and Tank’s shoulders. “Ah, there’s our girls,” he smiles, then rises out of his chair. “Fuck, Dani is hot. I’m going to tap that tonight.” Rage instantly fills me and my fists clench beside me. This little prick better watch his next words.
“Sit your ass down,” Tank murmurs as he notices my fists.
Jaxon stops in his tracks and looks at Tank in confusion. “What’s the big deal? Those girls are too hot to pass up,” he smirks.
Tank stands up and gets in his face. “I told you to sit the fuck down,” he scowls as Jaxon’s face turns white at the monster of a man before him. “There are hundreds of chicks around here willing to suck your dick. Sophie and Dani are off limits,” he explains then looks around at our rowdy group. “That goes for all of you.”
They all nod their understanding, not one of them willing to go up against Tank.
Jaxon though, still has a bit to learn. “Don’t be greedy, man. Aren’t you already messing around with Sophie? Share her around,” he smirks as he casually falls back into his chair.
“I don’t share. The girls are spoken for,” he says finishing the conversation.
Tank turns back to me with a knowing smirk on his lips. Yep, he just staked our claim. Well, sort of. But damn, it feels good to know none of these idiots are going to try and mess things up for me. Dani is mine.
A few of the guys send me curious glances as they try to work out who has claimed Dani, but they’re not stupid, they all saw me get naked for her in the locker room. Hell, I coped it for that, but it was worth it to see that look on her face.
Tank and I hang back for a while, letting them get themselves a drink and look around. She can come to me tonight.
Twenty minutes later, Sophie makes her way into our circle. “Well, hello boys,” she smiles and it’s clear she’s a few drinks in already. A smirk comes over Tanks face as she flops herself down onto his lap. His arm immediately circles her waist and she relaxes into him.
“Sorry about her,” Dani says from above Tanks shoulder. My eyes immediately take in her sexy body, covered in nothing but a little black dress. “She gets a little too relaxed when she’s drinking,” her eyes go around the circle and stop when they land on me.
“No problem at all,” Tank murmurs as Sophie readjusts herself on his lap so she’s straddling him.
Dani scoffs at her friend's performance. “So much for that,” she grumbles to herself.
“So much for what?” I ask forcing her eyes in my direction once again.
She begins to fidget as she feels the force of my gaze on her but she remains strong. “Sophie here, made a big declaration about no repeat performances,” she says indicating to her friend who currently has Tank’s tongue down her throat while she grinds into him.
“Yeah, I’m not sure she meant it,” I say getting up and offering my chair. “Why don’t you sit down and meet the boys properly,” I tell her.
She moves across our circle and takes a seat. “Thank you,” she smiles as I notice her drink is nearly empty. I swipe the beer from Bobby that he’s struggling to open and offer it to Dani.
She twists the cap off instantly with a smirk at Bobby as I go around the circle introducing a few guys “This is Bobby,” I start indicating to my left and making my way around. “Shorty, Jaxon, Johnny who you already know, Aaron and of course Tank. The rest of the guys are scattered around, though I’m sure you’ll probably meet them at some point tonight.”
“Right, ok, I’m not going to remember any of your names tomorrow, but hi,” she smiles sweetly, instantly getting the approval of the guys. I steal a chair and sit opposite her so I can keep my eyes on her. We fall into an easy conversation, mostly with Dani asking us questions about Hockey and classes, which the boys practically fall at her feet with answers. She’s just that kind of girl.
I watch as she talks with the guys and notice her eyes keep coming and landing on mine. “Tell me more about this calendar thing?” I ask to selfishly keep her attention.
“Oh,” she says, her cheeks flushing pink. “I don’t really know too many details yet, but pretty much you’ll be butt naked and getting cheeky for the camera.”
“And who will be the photographer?” I ask.
Jaxon cuts her off answer. “Yeah? I’m not getting naked for a dude.”
She lets out a laugh that wraps around me. “Don’t stress. I’m studying photography so I’ll be doing it… If that’s ok with you guys?” she adds as an afterthought.
They all nod and give enthusiastic agreements which have her cheeks turning red all over again.
“God, you guys are boring. Let’s go dance,” Sophie says, jumping up off Tanks lap and grabbing a few of the guys by the hands and dragging them inside, Tank gets up and follows behind, shooting death glares at the guys, who look back at him nervously.
“Guess we’re all dancing,” I say, getting up. I grab Dani’s hand and pull her to her feet before she has the chance to decline. I walk inside with her trailing behind me and find the rest of the hockey team. Tank dances behind Sophie as she grinds her ass into him. Match made in porn star heaven.
Dani comes up beside me and I throw her into the middle of our group, the guys immediately begin chanting her name. She is completely embarrassed but has just enough liquid courage to keep moving.
Chapter 5
Danielle
The makeshift dance floor is packed and I’m surprised to find I’m actually having a great time. Who would have known these hockey boys would know how to throw a good party?
The boys crowd me and I absolutely love it. Jaxon reaches out and attempts to pull me into him, but I squirm out of his grasp and back up. Another set of arms circle my waist and pull me in tight and I stiffen in his hold. “Relax,” Miller says. “It’s me.” My body instantly folds into his and I continue dancing with his hard body pressed to mine.
He turns me in his arms as we continue dancing and things suddenly become hot. He pushes his knee between my legs and before you know I’m grinding myself against him. He lowers his face to mine and I watch as his gaze dips to my lips. God, I desperately want to feel his lips against mine, but I can’t let that happen. “Don’t even think about it, hotshot,” I tell him, bringing my finger up and pressing it against his lips, gently pushing his face away.
He nips at my finger and an excited gasp slips out of my mouth, which of course, he heard. He smirks down at me and I see the hunger in his eyes. Damn, I have to put a stop to this. I turn back around in his arms and feel him pull me even closer into his body. His excitement extremely evident as he moves his hips against my ass, but god, it feels good.
We dance for what feels like forever when he takes me by the hand and pulls me off the dance floor. “Want a drink?”
he asks as he heads into the kitchen. My eyes study his firm ass through his dark jeans and the urge to grab it rocks through my body. Miller turns and smirks at me. “Were you looking at my ass?” he questions.
Crap. Sprung. “No,” I lie.
He pulls me into him once again and catches me around the waist. “You’re a terrible liar,” he says, his eyes sparkling as he watches me.
I smirk up at him. Oh well, I may as well own it. “Yep, ok. I was looking at your ass.”
He laughs as he lets me go and continues dragging me into the kitchen. “Good, what did you think?”
“It’s a nice ass,” I smile, he looks back at me over his shoulder and smirks once again, doing things to me that I’m really not ready for.
He grabs a beer out of the fridge. “You want one?” he asks.
“Sure,” I tell him. He grabs another and twists the cap before handing me the bottle. He flips the cap onto the counter and leads us outside. I glance around at the state of the house seeing nothing but littered bottles, knocked over cups and tables, and realize I would hate to be the guy responsible for cleaning up this mess.
“Whose place is this?” I ask as we step out into the breeze.
He glances across at me with a guilty expression. “Mine,” he says.
“Really?” I ask taking another look around. “It’s going to suck being you in the morning,” I tell him.
He laughs and grabs my hand, leading me around the side of the pool just as some drunken idiot bumps into me, sending me flying right into the freezing cold water. I swim up to the surface in shock as shivers rattle through my body. I resurface to find the drunken idiot knocked out on the ground and a concerned Miller looking down on me.
“Fuck, babe. You ok?” he asks.
I nod as my teeth begin to chatter and make my way over to the side. Miller bends down and easily scoops me up out of the water. He pulls his shirt off, putting his impressive torso on display for me once again, but right now, I just don’t care. A violent shiver takes over me as Miller uses his shirt to mop up as much of the freezing water from my body.
“Come on,” he says, wrapping a hand around me. “Let’s get you dried up.”
He leads me back inside and takes me upstairs to his bedroom. He begins rummaging through his wardrobe and pulls out a pair of gym shorts and a shirt. “These are going to be huge on you,” he says handing them over.
“Do you mind if I have a shower. I don’t think I’ll stop shivering until I do,” I explain.
“Sure,” he says then points across the room. “Just through that door.”
“Thanks,” I murmur, taking myself across the room and into the bathroom. I close the door behind me and peel off my black dress. God, what possessed me to wear that? Oh, that’s right. Sophie did.
I reach into his shower to turn on the water and am surprised when I don’t have to wait too long for it to warm. I hop in straight away, letting the warm water soothe my cold body. I take a deep breath and smell him all around me. He’s getting too deep inside my head.
I rinse my hair and attempt to get all the chlorine out of it when I give up and grab his shampoo, next his body wash. I lather up and am hit with a million dirty thoughts, all to do with Miller’s hands roaming all over my body as he washes me. Crap.
I climb out of the shower and wrap his towel around me while I figure out what the hell I’m going to do with the whole clothes situation. I grab my underwear and realize they are way too cold and wet to put back on. Damn, looks like I’m going commando.
I slip on his gym pants and am thrilled to find it has a drawstring. I pull it as tight as it will go, which is still a little big and tie it off. Now for the shirt. I pull it over my head and find myself swimming in it. I bunch it up and knot it at my waist, then roll up the sleeves a few times. Yep, pretty cute, but you can definitely tell I’ve got no bra on.
I look at myself in the mirror. Hmm, not bad. I fix up my makeup which has smudged under my eyes and go in search of a hair dryer. Which, of course, he does not have.
I brush my fingers through my hair and throw it up into a bun before collecting my wet things from the ground.
I come out of his bathroom to find him still in his bedroom, sitting on the edge of his bed with his intense eyes on me. “You didn’t have to wait,” I say.
“I wanted to,” he tells me as he gets up and makes his way over to me. His eyes run greedily up and down my body. “You look good,” he says with hooded eyes.
I make my way to the door before this goes somewhere I don’t need it to go. “Thanks for the shower. I feel much better.”
“Anytime,” he says following right behind me.
I glance over my shoulder to give him a smile when I find his eyes locked securely on my ass. “You looking at my ass?” I joke.
“Fuck yeah,” he grunts, then looks up to find my eyes. “Are you going commando?”
I can’t help but laugh as his dark eyes dance with mirth. I ignore his question, knowing it must be driving him crazy and hold up my wet clothes. “Do you have a bag I could throw these in till I get home?”
“Yeah,” he says, stepping closer and placing his hand on my lower back as he leads me down the stairs. My skin burns from his touch and I wish that things could be different. That maybe I could be ready for someone like him. That maybe he wasn’t such a playboy and that maybe he isn’t going to break my heart.
He takes me back into the kitchen and pulls a plastic bag out from under the sink. “Here you go,” he says, opening up the bag so I can dump the clothes in. “Do you want another drink?” he asks with a hopeful smile.
“No, thanks,” I say, taking the bag from him. “I think I’ll find Sophie and get home, I’m not really dressed for a party,” I explain.
“Ok, but you’re not going to find Sophie anytime soon,” he tells me.
“What do you mean?”
He smirks. “I saw her sneak upstairs with Tank not long ago. She’s most likely giving him the ride of his life right about now.”
“God, I can’t trust that girl to keep her legs closed,” I laugh as I make my way to the door.
“Hey, where are you going?” he asks, stepping out the door with me.
“I’m calling a cab.”
“You can stay here,” he suggests.
“Nice try, but no thanks,” I laugh as I pull out my phone and begin searching for the number.
He pinches my phone from my fingers. “Let me walk you home.”
“I don’t know,” I say watching him, looking for any clue that this is just another trick to get in my pants.
He holds up both hands showing innocence. “I swear, I’ll be the perfect gentleman,” he says.
I narrow my eyes at him in suspicion. “Promise?”
“Promise.”
“Ok,” I tell him.
We start down the path and I notice him looking down at my phone. “What are you doing?” I ask.
“Putting my number in your phone so you can’t pretend you lost it,” he says. “And I’m sending myself a message so I’ve got your number too, you know, just in case you accidentally delete your contact list.”
I laugh as he passes my phone back to me. “I swear you’ve got to be the most confident guy I know,” I tell him.
He looks down at me. “Is that a good thing?”
I study him for a moment. “Yeah, I think it is,” I tell him and watch as the corners of his mouth rise into a small yet satisfied smile.
“Tell me about yourself,” he says, placing his fingers on my elbow and slowly sliding his hand down, sending goose bumps all over my skin. He laces his fingers through mine and continues walking as if he hasn’t just made a move on me. Real smooth, Miller Cain.
“There’s really not much to know,” I say, skipping right over the hand holding thing because let’s face it, it feels too damn good.
“Bullshit, I’ve known you less than a week and you’re already the most interesting chick I’ve met.”
“No really, I’m an only child. I grew up in a super small town that I’m sure you’ve never heard of. I came here, fell in love with the wrong guy and here I am. The story of my life.”
“Tell me more about the guy. What happened to him?”
I cringe away from his question and go quiet, suddenly not sure what to say.
“Sorry,” he says. “I didn’t mean to pry. It’s none of my business.”
“No, it’s not that,” I explain. “It’s still just a bit fresh, you know, I don’t really like talking about it.”
“Ahh… just answer me one question,” he says. I give him a smile and a small nod, encouraging him to continue. “Is this guy the reason you’re not giving me a chance?”
I study him for a moment, a million different cheeky comments come to mind, but I settle for the truth. “Honestly. Yes and no,” I say. “I’m just not ready for anything, not so soon after what my ex put me through, and no offense, but you have the worst reputation as a player and I’m the kind of girl who falls hard and fast. I can’t let myself do that because you’ll most likely break my heart and I’m not sure I can take another beating like that.”
He nods as he takes it all in and I know he’s considering every last word. “There’s something about you Dani,” he says. “I don’t know what it is. But I need to figure it out.”
I glance over at him to find him studying me. Wow. Shit just got real.
“Can we put the spotlight back on you now?” I ask feeling a little shy.
“Alright,” he laughs. “What do you want to know?”
“Um… why hockey?”
“Geez, go straight for the kill,” he comments.
“Sorry,” I cringe.
He squeezes my hand and tugs me closer to him. “It’s ok. I haven’t told anyone this for a long time,” he says, then takes a breath. “My Dad died when I was seven and I went through this phase of hating the world and everyone in it. I was angry and didn’t know how to deal with it. Dad was a huge hockey fan, so Mom put me in lessons as a way of being closer to him and I guess, a way to use up all my energy. I pretty much fell in love with it. I’d stay at the rink for hours practicing, come home and do it all again the next day.”
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