Page 63 of Rule Breaker

When I returned to his bedroom, I found him sitting in the same position, elbows on his thighs, head in his hands. I crouched down in front of him and offered the glass, but he shook his head. He was breathing in and out so fast and I was mirroring him, my chest tight as hell.

“Take a sip. Slowly,” I encouraged. “And you’re not going to lose your scholarship. Or hockey. I’m going to help you. Okay?”

“Why are you being nice?” he choked out. “And why are you still here? Shouldn’t you be leaving? Isn’t that what you want? To get away from me?”

“Stay calm, Kay. Take a long, deep breath. In through your nose, out through your?—”

“I’m not that stupid, Mad! I know how to fucking breathe!” he snapped.

I jolted, lost my balance, and fell on my ass. Thankfully, I didn’t have far to go. The glass of water, on the other hand, spilled everywhere. At least I had the towel to mop it up.

I sat there, drenched, and started wiping up. Kayden bit his lower lip, then laughter filled the room.

“I’m sorry,” he chuckled as he stared at me. “I shouldn’t laugh. But between falling on your ass like that, and your expression, it’s too freaking funny.”

I gave him my best finger and was tempted to throw the wet towel at him. “I was going to suggest you put the towel over your mouth to calm your breathing, but since it’s wet and you already know how to breathe, I’ll shut up.”

“Thanks,” Kayden whispered, smiling at me.

I was so goddamn relieved. Thank fuck sweet Kay was back.

There was only room for one snarky asshole on our team, and I was not relinquishing my title.

CHAPTER 23

KAYDEN

Iwanted to stay mad.AtMad. He’d ghosted me for weeks. Well, I ghosted him too. Still, he was the one who didn’t want to talk about what happened that night. He couldn’t even look me in the eye, in class, or on the ice.

I left his room that night, and I’d been walking around in a fog ever since. Thank fuck for the routine of workouts and practice. But even that wasn’t enough to get my concentration back. And barely passing those midterms pushed my self-doubt to the brink. Turns out, I sucked at everything that mattered at my age; school and sex.

Maddox sat on the floor of my room, his T-shirt wet and clinging to his abs. Instead of acting like a jerk, I offered my hand.

I waited. And waited.

Finally, he grabbed hold of it. His palm met mine and the shockwave that rocked my body brought me right back to the night of the party. That kiss we shared was not a fluke. Not the kiss, not the hand job, none of it.

I hauled him up off the floor. Only now he was standing, and with me sitting, his denim-covered dick was right in front of myface.Fuck, don’t think about his cock.How could I not? It’s all I’d been thinking about for weeks.

Then he threw off his wet T-shirt, and his abs were front and center. The ones I’d come all over. My cum, his. My dirty mind started racing, my earlier panic all but forgotten.

“Uh, what are you?—”

“Care to share?” he asked.

“Huh?”

All the blood rushed south so fast I couldn’t hardly think. Or hear.

“A shirt? Can you spare one? You know, since it’s your fault I’m wet,” he sniped.

“Yeah, uh, dresser. Second drawer.”

Maddox stalked across the room, and I tracked every movement like I was watching my opponent on the ice, readying myself, planning my next move. Only, he wasn’t my opponent. He was the guy I wanted to fuck.

I let out a loud groan and fell back on my bed, covering my eyes.

“Are you okay?” He asked. “Are you still having problems breathing?”

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