Page 12 of Lawson

“She’s Monroe’s best friend,” Pax adds. “A friend of the team too. And that's all she can be now that she's a coach.” He says the last part with a bit of emphasis, and I furrow my brow at him.

“Why are you throwing that at me?”

“Maybe because you're acting all butt-hurt over the idea that maybe one of us knew her in a way you didn't like,” Nash fires.

I scoff and shake my head. “I was just curious. Do I look like some lovestruck teenager?”

Nash and Pax stare at me with the same incredulous look, and I roll my eyes.

“I'm not. Last night was nothing. I didn't know she would be our skate coach. If I did, I would’ve kept a respectful distance.”

But would I? It's really hard to say with certainty, especially now that I know what her lips feel like against mine, what her supple body feels like beneath my hands. Fuck, just the thought of it has me half-hard, and I'm standing in the fucking locker room with some naked and some half-naked teammates. I need to get my shit together.

“You two assholes could’ve given me a heads-up, by the way,” I fire at the two.

“Hey man, we didn't know she was going to be our coach,” Pax says. “I know her through Monroe and neither one of them said a word. I had no idea McClaren hired her.”

Nash nods in agreement, digging through his locker for something. He pulls out his phone, extends it just slightly, and takes a selfie before sending it off to someone and re-stowing it in his locker.

I cock a brow at him. “Sending a dick pic to one of the chicks you picked up last night?” I tease.

“Who says I picked up just one?” he fires back, then chuckles. “And no, I don't make a habit of taking pictures of my dick. Not only is that a douchebag thing to do without a specific request, it could turn into a PR nightmare that I don't need. I'm already in the headlines enough for my nightlife, and the last thing I need is to have my cock flashed around the social pages.”

“Interesting, I would have pegged you for someone who already had that out there on purpose.”

“Gotta leave something to the imagination,” he says walking past me and heading to the showers.

Pax is decent enough to keep his towel on when he leans closer, lowering his voice. “Seriously though,” he says. “We all saw you making out with Blakely last night. You're fine with it being off limits now?”

“Of course I am,” I answer quickly.

Did it make it true?

Not really.

But Ineedit to be true.

I may still be a little sour about being drafted to Bangor, but this is my team now. And there’s nothing in this world I want more than a chance at the Cup. That meant dedicating myself one hundred percent to my team and my skills, not to mentionnotgetting mixed up in any messy workplace relationships, even if they would be no-strings.

And fuck me if I haven't thought about pulling Blakely’s strings.

She certainly didn’t pull any punches during practice today, and I may be imagining it, but I swore she singled me out and worked me harder than any of the other guys.

The thought alone made me smile.

Kiplin decides to walk by at that very moment, scowling at the grin on my face. “Does the sight of yourself make youthathappy?” he asks in that gruff annoyed tone of his.

I shrug, smiling wider. “You'd grin all the time too if you looked like me,” I say, winking at him before heading to the showers.

I turn the water to cold, not because I'm sweating from the practice, but because I can't get my very off-limits skating coach out of my head and the last thing I need is for the guys to see me rocking a hard on as a result.

I haul my gear bag over my shoulder, feeling fresh and focused after my shower as I head out of the locker room. I make my way out of the practice arena, heading to my car in the parking lot. Half the other guys have already left, leaving me to take my sweet-ass time in the shower as I try to screw my head on straight.

It was just a kiss, and she was just a girl. Nothing I haven’t experienced before.

Except I haven’t. Not a kiss likethat.

And definitely not with a girl like her, with her tongue sharp, her soft curves, and looks to kill.

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