Shut Out: Contemporary Sport Romance (Hockey Boyz Book 3)

by Angela Stevens

  I laughed and put my hand to his arm to keep him there. “Stalker?”

  “Well, I sent all those texts, and you never replied. Don’t worry, I got the message. I know you’re not interested.”

  Now it was me staring at the ground in embarrassment. I should have handled that better. Honestly, I needed my head examined, because I couldn’t find fault with anything about this guy—except he wasn’t his cousin. “I’m sorry, that was rude of me. I’ve been kind of busy, moving houses and college stuff. I…”

  When I looked up, he was staring at me but there didn’t seem to be any malice or sadness in his eyes. “You want a drink?”

  “Sure.” I lifted my cup while he scooped up the vodka bottle and poured me another.

  Meeting Raul proved to be just the distraction I needed. He was easy and fun to talk to, and, despite me feeling bad at the beginning, we soon forgot that awkwardness. As the dance floor got more crowded, he dragged me onto it. We’d only been dancing a few seconds, when the lights lowered and the tempo dropped to a slow dance. For a second, we both looked at each other, then his arm reached around my waist, and he tugged me closer. Surrendering to the music and the atmosphere, I put my hands around his neck and rested my head against his shoulder, Mmm, this was nice.

  My head was a little woozy from the vodka. While we’d been chatting, he’d topped up my drink three more times. My melancholic mood from earlier had dissipated, and I had to admit, I was having a pretty good time. Raul, despite holding me close, was a perfect gentleman. His hands stayed in the safe areas and he never tried to kiss me.

  It was nice. He was nice…

  “Excuse me.”

  Raul stepped back from me, letting me go, and another man took his place. “José?” I frowned up at him and looked around for Raul, but he was already disappearing across the dance floor.

  “Are you deliberately ignoring me?” José hissed through gritted teeth.

  “What? No.”

  “Well, it fucking looks like it.”

  “Sorry? I…” There were a lot of things I had been doing, but ignoring him wasn’t one of them. Mainly, I was protecting my heart and trying to keep my own jealousy under wraps.

  “Are you seeing my cousin?”

  “No, why would you think that?”

  “That’s the second time I’ve seen him with you in his arms.”

  I pulled away. Jeez, talk about a hypocrite! “What the hell is it to you? Even if I was seeing him, it’d be none of your business.”

  José’s eyes darkened even more, and the furious look on his face made me take another step back. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought José was struggling with a teensy bit of jealousy himself.

  Before I knew what was happening, he grabbed my wrist and tugged me through the crowd on the dance floor, out the front door, and down the steps onto the street. “J-José,” I stammered, but he didn’t even turn to look at me.

  For ten minutes, we marched on in silence, me stumbling in my heels as I tried to keep up, while he strode on ahead, his fist still clamped around my wrist. Outside our apartment, he finally let go of me while he found his keys and opened the door. He stepped aside to let me in, then followed me inside.

  By the time we walked in, I was pretty mad. He’d dragged me through the streets without a word of an explanation, so I put my hands on my hips and went for it. “What the fuck, José?”

  But I didn’t get anything else out, because his mouth came crashing down on mine. Possessive hands pulled me against him, and within a heartbeat, my anger was gone, and I was kissing him back.

  His mouth was hard, all-consuming, and he barely let me up for air before he backed me across the living room and into the hallway. My back hit the wall outside his room door, and his hands went to my jeans, unbuttoning them and sliding the denim down my thighs.

  God! José! I wasn’t sure how the hell I’d gotten myself into this position, but my body craved everything he did to me. Immediately, my panties were wet, and the heart I’d been so worried about breaking was hammering against my chest as strong as an ox’s and full of lust and excitement.

  “Don’t you ever fucking do that again,” José growled.

  Even though I was unsure of what it was that I was supposed to have done, I found myself whimpering out an apology. “I’m s-sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

  José reached for my top and pushed it up high, so he had access to my breasts. His mouth was hot as it suckled on one nipple and then the other. I squirmed beneath him but was unable to move far, as he still had me pinned against the wall. He dropped to his knees, tugging my jeans down to my ankles. Then his mouth was there, between my thighs, my panties bunched to the side, as he mercilessly lapped at my clit.

  Oh God! My legs were like jelly, and I grabbed hold of his face. For a few moments, I went through this strange tug of war with myself where I was alternately trying to push him away from me and then in a blink of an eye forcing him closer.

  Oh, God. There was no going back now. The shivers and tingles he created between my legs grew until I could bear them no more, and my orgasm detonated through me. I was vaguely aware of how loudly I screamed out, before he swept me into his arms, and we were on the move.

  Inside his bedroom, he tossed me on the bed, then stood back, his eyes raking over me as he slowly undressed. When he was naked, he reached out and removed my jeans from my ankles, and then finished taking off my top. He grinned at my black lacy underwear. “Fuck, you do have more.”

  Jesus, was I glad I’d had time to do some laundry earlier!

  I backed up along his bed, my wits still scattered as the last vestiges of my orgasm fluttered through me. An angry José was even more deadly than an amenable one, and to my shame, I didn’t give a damn. José was still a player, and this still wasn’t going anywhere, and I was still a fool… but I still didn’t care about any of that. I still welcomed him with open arms.

  He swept up a condom from his bedside cabinet, climbed onto the bed, rolled it on, and fisted his erection. “Don’t ever try to make me jealous again.”

  “José, I wasn’t, I…” I put my hands to his face, my thumbs sweeping across his cheekbones, as I wondered in what world he could have misconstrued what was going on. He took hold of my hands and raised them above my head, holding them against the wall as he maneuvered between my legs. With his free hand, he swept me up, lifting my bottom into his lap. His hard length pressed against my opening, and he paused. “You’re mine, Nora. You stay away from my cousin, or any other fucking man.”

  “I…” He pressed against me, the tip of him so close it was almost inside me.

  “Mine. What are you, Nora? Say it.”

  “I’m yours.”

  “Yes, you fucking are.” With one thrust, he filled me up, and I surrendered to him, willingly accepting whatever he gave me.

  I wasn’t that worldly when it came to sex, but seriously, this man knew what freaking buttons to press. I should have been outraged by his Neanderthal behavior, should have been incensed by his presumptive attitude and rough forcefulness, but to my disgrace I was none of those things. A thrill coursed through my veins, and the harder he pummeled into me, the more out of control my wild child became.

  An hour later, sore and satiated, I found myself nodding off against José’s chest. He was sprawled on his back in all his naked glory. Somehow, I’d retained my underwear throughout the whole thing, but one of my breasts was hanging out of my bra and my soaked panties were twisted around in a very unflattering way. My hair was knotted, and I didn’t even want to imagine what my mascara was doing.

  José, on the other hand, didn’t have a hair out of place, and even though his body was as sweaty and spent as mine, he looked relaxed and in control of all his faculties. How could he appear that delicious and sexy, looking so damn perfect, despite an hour of wild, hard sex?

  José adjusted his pillow behind his head and closed his eyes. I suddenly felt awkward and out of place next to this b
eautiful god of a man. Slowly, I sat up and tried to scoot away, but he caught my wrist, and with loving gentleness this time, he brought me back into his side and settled me beneath his arm, wrapping his body protectively around me.

  His ebony eyes opened, and he reached out to stroke my face with his finger. “Stay.”

  “Okay.” Honestly, I was powerless to say anything else.

  In his arms, I was more content than I had been my whole life. I was about to spend one more night with José Estrada, and even though that made me the biggest fool around, I was happy to own it.

  Eleven

  José

  An annoying sound wriggled its way into my consciousness, prodding me awake. I rolled over and reached for my phone. Damn alarm. Activating the screen, I silenced it, then rolled back into place next to Nora. She was out cold, taking up at least eighty percent of my queen-sized bed. Her hair was thrown over her face, and her underwear was scandalously disheveled. Slowly, a memory of last night’s sex came back to me, and I rubbed the stubble on my chin. Mmm, I wasn’t sure what had come over me last night, except that I’d had this overwhelming desire—no, need—to claim her.

  When I arrived at the party, I’d planned on playing things cool with the pint-sized blonde. She’d been a lot of fun, but I didn’t have time to cultivate whatever we had into something else. One of the puck bunnies distracted me for a little while. Trying to keep my attention, her hand stroked my thigh as she leaned in, listening to me intently. Ordinarily, I would have taken the bait. To be honest, I liked the puck bunnies, probably because they were almost as bad as me. They used me, and I used them, no strings, no drama. But for whatever reason, I wasn’t into the idea last night, and the chick eventually tired of my rebuffs and found a more willing player to hang out with.

  Time and time again, I found myself watching Nora from across the room, wondering whether she was thinking about our romp the night before. God, I was. I hadn’t been able to think of anything else all damn night. Then, when she disappeared, I thought she’d gone home, and I was sorely tempted to follow her to see if she was interested in a little repeat action.

  But I stayed strong for an hour or so. Eventually tiring of the party, I decided to leave, and that’s when I saw her with her arms around my fucking cousin. I had no beef with Raul; he’d never been a rival, but the way Raul held Nora close to him… fuck, no. That green-eyed monster rose inside me and I’d crossed the dance floor before I actually knew what I was going to do.

  God, she’d looked mad as hell, too, but it only served to turn me on more. Actually, I couldn’t understand why I’d got away without having my damn face slapped for the way I behaved last night.

  Back at the apartment, I was so out of control. It was a fucking good thing that she responded the way she did, because I’d have had a hard time stopping myself if she’d said no.

  But she didn’t say no. Far from it. Nora was turned the fuck on, and when we fell asleep in my bed, it was only after I’d had the best sex of my life.

  As I watched her sleeping next to me, my chest tightened. Her tiny frame looked so damn perfect draped over mine. She stirred and stretched out, then slid off my chest onto her back. God damn it, she had a seriously sexy body. Her tits were sumptuous handfuls and they’d parted company with most of her black lace bra. Mmm, and that was another thing. I liked her underwear… rather too much, I feared. Lace had been invented for this girl and I couldn’t help imagining what she might look like wearing some more extravagant lingerie.

  I slid my hand further up her torso, unable to resist cupping her breast. Nora sighed in her sleep, and then that breathy sigh turned into a moan as I caressed her. Her breast pushed back against my hand, and she mewled for me to do it again. Her eyes flickered open, and I lower my lips to hers. There was something about this woman that made me want to dominate her, so I squeezed my arm underneath her and crushed her to me while I devoured her neck, and then moved on to ravishing her lips.

  When I finally released her, she was panting, and her eyes were sparkling. Mmm, I’m pretty sure she gets off on that roughness, too, and that just turns me on even more. “Get your pretty little pussy up here.”

  I rolled onto my back and pointed to my mouth. Where this thug attitude came from, I didn’t know. I was seriously never as crass as this. But she giggled at my order and shimmied up my body until her pussy was in front of my chin. I blew softly against her skewed panties, and she groaned.

  When I cupped her behind, pushing her hips closer, she let me take control. I flicked out my tongue, tasting her, before greedily eating her out. Nora’s cries increased and even though I had every intention of just teasing her, I found I was impatient to see her come. Tugging her another couple of inches higher until she was sitting on my face and my fingers were pressing into the soft flesh of her thighs, she moaned and squirmed against my hold, but I was controlling the pace, not her.

  When Nora came, it was with full abandonment. She was noisy, and her body spasmed like a huge force was passing through her. It was too much seeing her like that, and I was eager to be inside her before she finished. I lifted her up, as she barely weighed anything, and I was easily able to position her in my lap. Knifing up, I held her waist with one hand, while I pressed my cock at her opening with the other.

  “Please.”

  Her pleading was an aphrodisiac, and I was only too glad to do what she asked. I clamped my hands on her thighs so I could plunge in deeper, but she pushed them away. “It’s my turn,” she laughed, and she linked her fingers through mine and raised them up over my head.

  Nora didn’t have the strength to hold them there, I could have taken back control at any time I wanted, but I didn’t. Keeping my hands on the pillow, I let her dictate the pace, and I endured the teasing undulations she made with her hips. She rose up on her knees, letting me almost slip from her body before she sat back down on me, forcing me deeper inside her.

  Damn, this woman seemed to know just how far to push and the exact moment to adjust the tempo. Sweat built on my forehead, and I found myself going over hockey statistics in my head so I could prolong the heady torturous experience. But finally, I couldn’t hold back any longer, and the moment her pussy constricted around me, I exploded inside of her.

  It was almost three hours later when I woke. Checking my phone’s clock, I groaned. For the first time ever, I’d slept through my early class, and I was in danger of missing the second class too. I rolled away from Nora and sat upright, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. Her arms snaked around my waist, and I had to fight against lying back down with her.

  I looked over my shoulder and kissed her on the cheek. “I have to go, I missed math.”

  She blinked back at me through smudged mascara. “Oh, lord, what time is it?”

  “Almost twelve. You are a bad influence on me.”

  She smiled shyly back at me. “I should, um, probably go, too. I have a class at one-thirty.”

  I watched her get out of bed and wander about my room, extracting her clothing from mine on the floor. It was then I realized I’d slept like a log, while a sea of discarded clothing had carpeted my floor. Well, that was a first.

  She went to the door, and I couldn’t help myself. “I meant what I said last night.” She frowned back at me, not understanding my meaning. “Keep away from my cousin.”

  “José, there is nothing between us. We just danced.”

  “I saw the way he looked at you. He wants you.”

  “You sound…”

  “Jealous? Maybe I am. You’re mine, Nora.”

  She blushed right to her roots. “Um, José, we need to talk.”

  I got up. I couldn’t have this conversation now, I was about to lose another attendance mark. “Later, I really do have to go.”

  I pulled my jeans on, commando style, and grabbed my shirt off the floor. I didn’t have time to find clean stuff. “Coach Peterson has been keeping a very close eye on our grades since Charlie almost failed his first year, and
he now benches anyone that gets more than one unauthorized attendance a week.”

  Nora’s eyes dropped to the floor, and she nodded, then disappeared out of the door.

  Twelve

  José

  I managed to save myself from a second non-attendance and turned it into a tardiness mark by turning up ten minutes late. It earned me a set of suicides in full gear for next practice, but as I sat through a boring set of slides on fitness theory, I reckoned the reason I’d been late was worth it. So worth it that I couldn’t keep the big fat grin off my fucking face.

  After class, Kai joined me in the cafeteria for a late lunch. “So, why are you looking so fucking pleased with yourself? You know Peterson is going to whoop your ass.”

  I shrugged. I wasn’t about to let Kai in on my little secret.

  “Does it have anything to do with the woman you were fucking this morning?”

  I raised my eyes to his and then looked back down at my sandwich. “What woman?”

  “The one that was screaming your name at the top of her lungs at seven a.m.”

  I swallowed before I chewed and ended up spluttering hoagie all over the table. “Huh, you heard that?”

  “Just about the whole fucking block heard that! So, who was the lucky lady?”

  “Just a girl.”

  Kai shook his head. “The same girl squeezing your thigh last night at the party?”

  For some reason, I didn’t want Kai believing it was that puck bunny. “No. And you can stop with the questions. Who she is, is none of your business.”

  Kai put up his hands in surrender. “Did I hit a nerve? Why so cagey about your girlfriends all of a sudden?”

  “She isn’t my girlfriend.” As soon as I said it, it didn’t sound right. Nora was already beginning to feel just like that. Three times in a row she’d slept in my bed, and if I got my way, she’d be there again tonight. That was sounding a lot like she was becoming my girlfriend. “I don’t date,” I muttered, more for my own benefit than Kai’s.