Page 41 of Not A Chance

I’d seen Emery do that a time or two when she was a teenager, so I recognized the move. Emery had complained often enough about feeling pressured to wear makeup to events and then rubbing it in her eyes before regretting it because it apparently stung like a bitch. It must have been frustrating as hell.

Knowing she couldn’t act on her frustration, her hands dropped to her side in temporary defeat, slapping against the side of her thighs.

“So if your curiosity is now satisfied, I’ve got to get ready for the game. I’m sure you have some weird pre-game ritual to do too.” She waved her hand in the air like I was going to be practicing black magic and sacrificing the village goat.

My elaborate ritual included green socks for a Thursday game and my ever-present rainbow stick tape.

Without thinking, I put my hands on her upper arms to halt her movement.

“No, Indie. I’m not satisfied at all. In fact, I haven’t been satisfiedin weeks,” I rasped.

I closed the distance between our bodies until they were flush together, my groin pressing into the firm plane of her stomach.

I slid one hand into her hair and guided her head back gently so I could see her eyes. I struggled not to be distracted by the strands of silk I’d gathered between my fingers. Jesus. Her hair was softer than I’d ever imagined.

I wanted to spend hours just gently running my fingers through it. Then, several more hours making sure it ended up in knots. But now, I need to focus on the one thing on my mind.

“The only thing I want right now is to kiss you. I sure as fuck don’t think of you like a sister.” I brought my other hand to the side of her face so I could brush her cheek with the pad of my thumb, keen to get as much of myself pressed against her as possible. “Are you going to let me kiss you, Indie?”

Her eyes were wide with shock and the tiniest hint of uncertainty. Could she really not see how focused I had been on her every time we were in the same space?

Pressing her lips together before taking a small, shaky breath, she whispered, “Yes.”

I was on her before she could tell me all the reasons this was a bad idea.

Wrapping my other arm behind her back, I pulled her more tightly against me and took her lips with mine.

As much as I wanted to savor this second “first” kiss between us, I was out of control after weeks of hiding my jealousy while I thought she was dating my teammate.

I sucked her bottom lip into my mouth and made love to it with my tongue before I gave it a sharp nip. The twinge from my teeth had her sucking in a shocked breath and her mouth opening under mine.

I thrust my tongue into her mouth, fucking into it like I wanted to own her whole body. I consumed every plush inch of her lips and tongue as it wrestled with mine.

Holy hell. I’d never been harder in my life. My cock was pressing painfully against the zipper of my jeans.

Her hands were back on my chest, fingers digging into the meat of my pecs. I hoped she squeezed hard enough to leave fingerprints. It would be sexy as fuck to feel her marks on me while I was on the ice. I wanted to be reminded of the heady feeling of her desire every time my pads shifted while I was in goal.

It could have been minutes or an hour before I let my mouth move to her chin and neck, brushing light kisses over her skin, making her flushed skin more red with the combination of my attention and several days of scruff.

She hissed out a low sound when I latched onto her clavicle just beneath the fabric of her blouse. I nipped her skin harder than any of the previous bites, wanting her to remember this moment was real and what I wanted from her when she looked in the mirror at home tonight.

She squeezed my shoulder weakly. “Theo, we need to stop. Dr. Kaya’s probably going to come back any minute.”

I lifted my head to take stock of the wonderfully disheveled woman before me.

Her silky hair now slightly tangled from where my hands had been, she’d never looked more beautiful to me.

“Let me come to your place after the game tonight,” I begged. For Indie Layne, I would say anything to get her to give me a chance.

I wasn’t hesitating anymore now that I knew there wasn’t anyone else in the picture. I was going to shoot my shot with Indie because this skyrocketing desire between us could turn into so much more.

She looked to the side as if she didn’t want to see the emotions in my eyes or was hiding her true feelings in hers.

“This isn’t a good idea, Theo. We can’t.” She kept her gaze averted.

“I want to. You want to. Please, Indie.” I let the immense need coursing through me bleed into my tone.

“It would be just a physical thing.” She looked up at me from under her lashes, perhaps gauging my reaction to her words.

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