Page 42 of My Brother's Teammates

I stare right back at hers for a long moment. Those pillowy, perfect, Cupid’s bow lips are taunting me, almost daring me to kiss her.

I can’t. I shouldn’t. But fuck, I want to.

When I lift my eyes, hers are waiting for me. The corner of her lips pull into a smirk as her eyes dance with mirth, and… a challenge.

My heart thrashes in my rapidly rising and falling chest. This could be the only time I get the chance to kiss her. After dinner last night, when Harrison was back in his place and hopefully well out of earshot, Jace said she mentioned going to live with her parents, and while he talked her down…

Fuck.

The way my heart drops at the thought of her leaving us acts like a starting pistol at a horse race.

Time slows as I sweep my fingertips across her dewy cheek, enjoying her eyelids flickering closed as she sighs my name.

Tiny bolts of lightning dance over my skin where it meets hers, and the need for more consumes me like wildfire.

As I cup her face with both hands, she tips her head back, inviting me to kiss her with the motion.

So I do.

Our mouths crash together in a haze of lust, and days of frustration spill from my body as her lips part, granting me access to her mouth.

If this is my one-and-done chance to kiss her, I’m going to make her panties so fucking wet she doesn’t forget it. It’s not lost on me that I’ve gone from poet to potty mouth in the span of minutes. That’s all Charlie.

I tip her head back, deepening the kiss as she gurgles a moan in the back of her throat. A loud click registers on the edges of my awareness, like the sliding door being opened, but I ignore it as my hungry teeth capture Charlotte’s lip before our tongues thrash against each other all over again.

She’s clawing at my chest, pulling me against her. It takes everything I have not to pull her off her chair, drop her onto my lap, and spear her on my cock. But she deserves more than a quick fuck on the balcony. Plus, exhibitionism isn’t really my jam.

“Roman.” My name’s a plea on her lips as her body arches into me, her skin soft as my fingers explore.

I hum as I kiss her, afraid if I pull my mouth from hers the spell will break and the kiss will be over.

If I don’t let the kiss end, we can just stay here forever. Lost in each other. Hiding from the real world.

When someone clears their throat, her eyes snap open, flexing wide as her gorgeous blues meet mine, confusion lingering in their depths. She pulls back, her plump lips swollen from my teeth, her tits heaving with weighted breaths.

She cups my cheek so tenderly I want to rip my heart from my chest and give it to her here and now in the spring sunlight on the balcony.

Mateo’s leaning against the open door, his gray sweats hanging low on his hips, leaving exactly zero to the imagination. He’s hard as fuck.

There’s no question that he just witnessed me kissing Charlotte. He probably came out on the balcony for a closer vantage point. That tracks. Mateo always did like to watch, but knowing he was watching me sends a little shiver down my spine, and my dick throbs.

I can clearly imagine Charlie taking turns, kissing the both of us. We’d be touching her, exploring her curves. Mateo’s hand would brush my fingers and then his lips would switch from hers to mine and—shit.

What the hell was that? It felt so intimate… so real… and I’m not sure if I actually want to kiss one of my best friends or if I was caught up in the moment. The moment where I definitely broke the rules and Mateo saw the entire thing. Fuck. Will he tell Jace? Harrison? Will he set the rules on fire himself?

I care, but not enough to regret kissing Charlotte.

He arches an eyebrow, his intense brown eyes burning as they land on me. “You breaking rules without me, goaltender?”

SEVENTEEN

Mateo

Jace and Roman are hurtling over the rules we agreed on like Olympic athletes.

I’m not sure if I should be pissed or impressed.

Of course, Jace denied touching Charlie during their private rendezvous, but there’s no way he didn’t. She sat next to me through dinner after they talked and Harrison interrupted them. Her posture was rigid, her words clipped, and while she tried to avoid making eye contact with everyone, she sent several furtive glances Jace’s way.

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