by Piper Rayne
“Hi,” I say to Frankie and sit down next to her with my Diet Coke and popcorn.
“This is so exciting,” she says.
The guys are all on the ice, warming up. I purposely delayed my arrival because Aiden normally doesn’t have his helmet on during warmups and it gets me way more turned on than it should.
Jolie and Jax are at the glass and Aiden winks at them every time he skates by. Even Maksim and Ford tap the ends of their sticks to the glass as they pass by.
“Do you know Maksim and Ford?” I ask Frankie.
“Yeah, the three of them came out when Jax and I were doing a tattoo pop-up in Vegas. Funny guys.”
“That’s for sure.”
I knew Jax and Frankie are both tattoo artists, but I forgot that Jax is well known in the circuit, according to Aiden. I guess Frankie has been gaining more traction since they’ve been together too.
I concentrate on eating my popcorn, trying not to pay attention to Aiden, but it’s like having a vulture circling and not double-checking where it is at all times.
“Aiden said you’re handling his social media now,” Frankie says.
I know she’s trying to be polite and make conversation. Any other day, I’d be up for it. But the way things were left with Aiden today, I can’t seem to pick myself up. I hate this distance between us.
“I do. I throw a drink in his face and he allows me to use him as an endorsement for my company. Works for us,” I say.
“That says a lot about you… that he’d trust you with that. After everything.”
I tilt my head, and when I say nothing else, she glances over, stopping and holding my gaze with wide eyes.
“You don’t know.” She blows out a breath. “Shit. Forget I said anything.”
The hairs on the back of my neck stand up. “Frankie…”
She’s got to be kidding me. Aiden is so closed off. I tried to find out why he cut himself off of social media, but I found nothing.
She shakes her head. “It’s not anything I’m at liberty to talk about. I’m sorry.”
I sit up straighter as the warmups end. Aiden says goodbye to Jolie with a wave of his glove, his gaze lingering on me briefly. He skids to a stop, staring at Frankie and me. The smile that glowed on his face a second ago fades.
I wave to him and give him a thumbs-up for luck. Eventually Ford slaps him on the back, and Aiden moves along.
“Please,” I beg her.
Frankie looks at her cousin, who’s with his teammates. “You didn’t hear it from me.”
“Okay.”
“Aiden has an older sister, Connie, and she has a daughter, Emma. She’s always been Aiden’s biggest fan. Aiden’s sister is ten years older than him, so she had Emma when he was only fifteen. When Aiden got drafted to the national league, Emma bragged about him to anyone who wanted to hear. Her parents let her get on social media to keep track of him and, let’s face it, to make Emma happy.”
I have no idea what this has to do with him going off social media, but I listen on.
“Emma joined some fan groups and let it out that she was Aiden’s niece. It took Aiden a while to find his footing and people told Emma what they thought about her uncle. None of it was good. Emma got defensive, but she was a twelve-year-old playing with grown adults and teens. They were so mean the way they bullied and belittled her… some of the things they would say.” Frankie shakes her head and looks at me, sadness coating her features. “You know how it is when the mob on social media attacks… in the end, she tried to take her life.”
My hand flies to my mouth with a gasp and my heart sinks to my stomach. I search out Aiden on the ice. He’s skating to the face-off.
“Is she okay?”
Frankie nods. “Yeah, but Aiden took himself off social media. The entire family went off. You can imagine how traumatic it was for them.”
I sink back into my seat. The fact that he allowed me to get him back on social media, to have him as my primary spokesperson with his name and image, after all his family went through… why would he agree to that?
She squeezes my knee. “That’s why I was saying he must really trust you, which I think is great.”
“Okay, you two, stop the talking. Aiden’s about to win this face-off,” Jax says, leaning over us.
Sure enough, Aiden wins and passes it to Ford. The two skate down the ice, and one of the players checks Aiden into the boards. Tweetie checks that guy and ties him up on the boards, so Aiden skates away. Ford passes Aiden the puck and he rushes toward the goal.
“Go, Aiden!” Jolie screams at the glass.
He does some fancy stick move and shoots it into the top corner of the net. All his teammates rush over and congratulate him. Aiden gets the puck, bouncing it on his stick, and tosses it over the partition to Jolie. Jax is able to grab it before the guy behind him gets his paws on it.
“Asshole,” Frankie murmurs.
I shake my head at the guy behind us who tried to take the puck from a little girl. Jolie hugs the puck as if it’s a stuffed animal. She really is the cutest girl I’ve ever seen.
Aiden’s on fire the rest of the game. When he’s on the ice, he’s never far away from the puck. I try to spend some time on my phone so I don’t seem too interested in the game. I’m sure Frankie senses something, and she would be bold enough to ask me what’s going on between Aiden and myself. The last person I need to divulge all my complicated feelings regarding Aiden to is his cousin. Hello, I’m Saige and I’m scared to date your cousin because I had this boyfriend in high school who fucked me up in the head and I can’t seem to get out of the wicked tornado of unpleasant thoughts he put me in.
The game ends with Aiden scoring the game-winning goal.
“I forgot what a great skater he is,” Frankie says to me.
“I heard he’s really good,” I lie because I know how great of a skater he is.
“You don’t watch all his games?” Frankie asks.
“I don’t usually go to the games. But since he paid for my plane ticket and got me here, well, here I am.” Again, I find myself lying just so she doesn’t ask any more questions. I’ve been to every single game since I met Aiden.
Jax and Jolie scream and stand.
“He scored. We won!” Jax yells and they bang on the glass again.
Aiden winks, skating toward them. The crowd aws when he presses his hand to Jolie’s through the glass.
“You two aren’t together?” Frankie asks out of the blue.
See? This is why I was vague, but she’s got those damn mom instincts.
I shake my head. “Nope. I’m just the girl who throws a drink in his face before a game.”
I glance at the ice as his teammates all congratulate him. Our eyes lock briefly before I divert mine back to my phone.
Jolie’s exhausted after the game, so Frankie and Jax say good night after Aiden comes out of the locker room.
When Aiden and I get into our taxi to head back to the hotel, I say, “They’re great people.”
“Yeah, I’m super happy for her.” His knee bounces beside me. Maybe he’s still in a mood from before, though he had an amazing game, so I’m not sure why.
“You had a great game,” I say to break the silence.
“Oh, you noticed?” There’s irritation in his tone that I don’t appreciate.
“What does that mean?”
“Every time I looked over, you were on your phone.”
“And? Did I miss the part in our agreement where I had to cheer you on?” Anger is laced in my own voice and I hate it. We’ve never been this way with each other.
“Oh, so what do you want, a contract?”
The taxi stops outside the hotel. Aiden hands the driver some cash and opens the door. This time he doesn’t hold out his hand for me. There are paps and crowds of women outside the hotel, and we’ve arrived at the same time as the bus of players. I don’t know why Aiden didn’t ride with his teammates if he was going to be this way with me.
Women are screaming and calling the names of all the players. Camera flashes go off and it’s all a little disorienting.
“Drake!” Ford calls. “Captain!”
The team obviously started celebrating in the bus. Aiden walks over and I can tell that the guys are on cloud nine after their win. Some of the players wander over to the women, and they welcome a few of them to join them inside the hotel.
I roll my eyes and walk into the lobby. Whatever, I don’t care what the hell he does.
I’m waiting for the elevator when Aiden comes up behind me. I know it’s him because he’s so close I can smell his cologne. A few other players I don’t know wait with us, but they’re too occupied with the giggling women who are all over them.
“We’re heading to the bar on the top floor. Interested?” one guy asks Aiden.
“Maybe in a bit.”
We all step into the elevator, but more players pile in, leaving me in the back corner with Aiden at my back. His hands steady me, holding my hips, and my back ends up pressed to his chest. It’s all too much. I feel overwhelmed, like I’m suffocating. His fingers flex on my hips and his mouth comes down close to my ear.
“I’m sorry,” he whispers, though he could probably talk normally and no one would hear him since these guys are so loud. “Forgive me for being a dick?”
His hot breath on my neck stirs all the sexual tension between us, stokes the glowing embers into a steady flame. My body feels wound tight and the space between my thighs tingles with anticipation and need.
I look over my shoulder and he’s right there, his light stubble on his cheek scraping mine. “Why were you acting like that?”
“Because I want you so bad I can’t see straight. I want you under me, over me, in the shower, bent over the bed. Any way I can get you. Do you really not see that?”
I say nothing, my breathing heavy, my gaze locked with his. His hands slide up under the hem of my Fury sweatshirt and he grabs the weight of my heavy breasts in each hand. My body gives in and I fall back against him, allowing him to do what he wants in this elevator filled with his teammates.
His mouth comes down on my neck and he licks his way up to my earlobe. “Tell me you want me too.”
I remain silent and he pinches my nipples as though he doesn’t accept that as an answer. My back arches, an invitation for him to continue, but the elevator stops. Aiden’s hands slowly slide down and off my body.
A few players get out, saying they’ll see everyone at the bar. That leaves us with the guys who picked up the puck bunnies.
“Maybe we’ll see you up there,” one guy says, his hand blatantly on the ass of the woman he just met.
“Yeah, maybe,” Aiden answers and adjusts himself behind me right before the elevator stops on my floor. “I have to get my bag and head down to Maksim’s room anyway. Maybe later.”
He nudges me to step out of the elevator. Once we’re both out, I start to walk down the hall, but he grabs my hand and tugs me back, caging me against the wall.
“Answer the question, Saige.”
I look at him, desperate to feel those hands on me again. So I finally do what I’ve wanted to since I met him. I give in.
“I do,” I answer.
“You do what?” He doesn’t lay one finger on me and my skin burns to feel his touch once more.
“I want you, Aiden. I want you so bad it aches.”
His mouth descends on mine and his tongue slides in. I lose all control, my hands rising and linking behind his neck. I’m ready to be his sex slave.
He strips his mouth off of mine. “Not here. I want you all to myself.” Then he’s dragging me down the hallway.
I put the key card on the lock and the green light is like a flashing go sign because Aiden opens the door, leads me inside, and slams it shut seconds before my back is against the wall again. His hands are on either side of my face while those eyes of his practically devour me.
God, I’m so screwed.
His mouth captures mine in a mix of passion and dominance. My hands fall behind me, trying to grip a wall with no edges.
“I’ve waited forever for this,” he mumbles. His mouth falls to my neck as he turns my head in the direction he wants. Lifting my sweatshirt, he pulls it up over my head with my help, then presses my hands to the wall above my head. “Stay there.”
His head nuzzles my tits in my cami. Once he feels I won’t betray him and move my hands, he inches my cami up and over my tits, leaving the fabric to lay just above them. Falling down my body, Aiden massages my tits, sucks my nipples, and buries his face between them.
“Please,” I beg, needing more.
Aiden finally lifts the cami completely off of me. “What do you want? Tell me.”
He falls to his knees in front of me, unbuttoning my jeans and tugging them down my legs. I kick off my shoes and he takes off one sock at a time before wrangling my jeans down and off my body. Leaving me naked. He stares at my center with hunger in his eyes.
Before I can blink, his hands grab my ass, pulling me off the wall a bit so he can bury his face between my legs. He inhales while I watch him with a pulsing need to feel his tongue on me. He doesn’t disappoint, sucking my clit into his mouth. He raises his hand and smacks my ass, spurring me to arch and offer myself to him.
He brings one leg over his shoulder and manipulates my pussy with his mouth before drawing back and inserting his middle finger inside me. He watches himself move in and out while my head falls to the wall. He’s a master at this. Throwing his suit coat off, he leaves it on the floor, burying his head in my pussy again while his finger continues to glide in and out of me.
“Right there. Don’t stop,” I pant, my breathing labored. Never did I think I’d be here with Aiden Drake right now. How did I ever deny myself him in the first place?
He takes me over the edge and my one hand strays, falling down to grip his hair as I shamelessly grind against his face. But his groans tell me he doesn’t care, he’s enjoying every bit of this, which only brings my orgasm to the brink faster.
“Oh god,” I murmur, coming with a jolt before a pulsing wave flows through my body.
Damn, he’s good. Better than good.
Climbing my body, his mouth covers mine and I taste myself on his tongue. My fingers manipulate his clothes, getting his tie and dress shirt off, then working on his pants. He toes out of his dress shoes and working as a team, we get him naked. He guides us to the bed, him sitting on the edge and me standing between his legs.
“You’re too beautiful of a man,” I say, my hands running down both his cheeks and staring down into his molten eyes.
His smoldering gaze doesn’t break from mine. “You’re the beautiful one.” His hands wind around my body and grab my ass, pushing me toward him. “Are you okay?”
I nod and my forehead falls to his. “I’m great.”
Which is true. We stand there like that, neither one saying a word, until the desire to have one another becomes too all-consuming.
His hands glide down my thighs, urging me to straddle him, and when I do, I’m rewarded with his length pressing into my folds. I grind along it and my arousal peaks again. He pulls me into his chest, and my nipples rub his hard pecs.
He says my name on a breath and I close my eyes. Hearing my name in such a different way from his lips feels almost overwhelming. As though I’m a fragile doll he’s protecting.
“Yeah?” I mumble, still grinding against his hard heat.
“Are you clean?”
I draw back.
He looks a little nervous. “I’m tested all the time and I’ve never not used a condom. But whatever makes you comfortable is cool.”
“I have an IUD and I don’t dare tell you the last time I had sex, but needless to say it was a long time ago.”
He smooths out my hair and tucks it behind my ear. “That makes me happy to hear.”
“Well, it might take a while for me to find my rhythm again.” I rise up on my knees.
My answer is to sink down on his length, letting him fill me.
“Damn,” he whispers. “You feel fucking fantastic.”
And so does he, but I can’t find the words. I wrap my arms around his head, my fingers threading through his hair to ground him to me, as I ease his girth in and out of me. The stretch and fill of him is the stuff wet dreams are made of, and I moan.
He pushes up inside me and we find the perfect rhythm. “Never enough.” His teeth scrape along the skin of my collarbone. “I’ll never get enough of you.”
I close my eyes and say a silent prayer that it’s the truth, that he’s not just feeding me a line, because I’ve never felt more connected to someone during sex than right now. It feels as though we were two lost puzzle pieces who found each other in a land of misfits. My arms tighten and his do the same, our lower halves doing the majority of the work. He grunts and I moan when he hits me so deep, it feels as though I might spontaneously orgasm.
“Aiden.”
“Say it again,” he orders.
“Aiden.” My voice is breathy from the vibrating desire coursing through my body.
“You’re amazing. I’m so fucking sorry for being a dick today,” he says against my skin.
“It’s fine.”
He stops moving and waits for me to look at him. “It’s never okay for me to be that way with you.”
I nod. “Fine. Just don’t stop again.”
He chuckles and we pick up where we were, but now our paces speed up. He’s pushing into me and I’m clenching around him. The overwhelming pleasure hits me fast, catapulting me over the edge Aiden had me teetering on.
“There you go,” he says, and he buries his head into my neck, driving into me. “Fucking hell.” He pumps into me once more before stilling inside me. His lips continue to kiss me as he fills me up. “So damn good.”
He tilts my head so I can stare at him and we both smile.