Page 10 of Ice Bet

“Why don’t you beautiful girls join us, and it can be a party.”It was obvious Ford had been drinking by the sound of his flirty, Southern drawl.“Sutton can hold her own, but can you?”

If Sutton was here, that meant the other voice belonged to my little subordinate. Riley had been easy to keep track of. She hadn’t shown her innocent-looking face at any of our parties, and as far as I was aware, she stayed holed up in her apartment with her nose in a book.

Which was perfectly fine with me.

I followed Liv down the hallway, and my irritation kicked up a notch after seeing Coach’s daughter in my living room. Riley commanded the room with her presence, and whether she was aware of it or not, her choice of clothing was like holding a neon sign that saidfuck me.Was she baiting us—them? Her big, round, blue eyes were a slap to my face. The faint markings of freckles on the very tip of her small nose were the first things I saw when she swung her attention in my direction. Tendrils of dark hair framed her heart-shaped face, fallen from her high bun, and the little crop top she was wearing pissed me off because it did nothing but flaunt her medium-sized breasts and toned stomach. I hated that she was gorgeous.Damn it.Why couldn’t Coach’s daughter be ugly?

I briefly glanced at my roommates, and the loose hold of my composure quickly fell.Who the hell invited Sully over?I had the urge to stalk over and rip the video game controller out of his hand. He was already lusting over Riley. They all were. Sutton was nonexistent standing next to her roommate. The team had known her for years because she dated a former Bexley U hockey player. She was old news, and no one in the room had their eye set on her to win some stupid fucking bet.

“Where are your clothes?” My question was laced with disapproval, and everyone noticed. I ran my eyes down her body, cursing her smooth legs. I hadn’t planned to be an asshole, but by the faint gasp that came from her mouth, I absolutely came across as one.Oh well.If I had to be the bad guy, then so be it.

Riley’s soft, shy gaze hardened. Her nose wrinkled at my tone. I stood back against the bar and watched as she moved out of Liv’s way so she could get through the door.Shit, I forgot all about Liv.Once the door latched, Riley crossed her arms over herbralesschest and snapped back a response that I felt against my face. “You have the audacity to ask where my clothes are? Where wereherclothes?”

“Probably still on his floor,” Berkley said under his breath, snickering like the instigator he was. I shot him a glare because whose side was he on anyway?

Riley’s smug grin was victorious.I was totally going to hurt her feelings before the night was over.

“What happened to you being the sweet, quiet Coach’s daughter?” Efrain asked.

“I have never been described as sweet.” Riley rolled her eyes at me before looking at Efrain. “Unless that’s something you guys say about me the second you think you’re alone in the locker room?”

“Who says we’re talking about you in the locker room?” I pressed farther into the granite counter, forcing it to cut into my spine.

Sutton rolled her lips together before crossing her arms and glancing at her roommate. “They’redefinitelytalking about you in the locker room.”

I purposefully kept my attention on Riley instead of Sully because I knew my poker face wasn’t up to par. I was certain he didn’t know that I knew of the bet, and I had pretty good evidence that if he knew I disapproved, he’d try to score even harder.

A big part of me wanted to pull Riley aside and tell her what was going on, but there were obvious problems with that plan. Who knew how she would react? Would she run to her dad and throw the team under the bus and bring me down with them?

Sully’s smug tone pulled me back to the present. “Why do you care what she's wearing, Aasher? Gonna send a picture to her dad or something?” I kept my face even, but he had no idea how tempting that idea was.It would put her in her place real fast.“She looks fine.”

She looked more than fine, which was exactly what was bothering me.

Riley headed for the door.Yes, good girl. Go home.She called over her shoulder,“We just came to see if you guys could turn down the volume.”

“Or…if we could join the party.” Sutton’s smile was flirty, but we knew her well. She wasn’t the type of girl to find herself in another hockey player's bed after her breakup with Crew.

Ford popped up from the couch and began his usual antics. “Sure, Riley. We will turn down the volume, but why don’t you two stay and hang out with us?”

Riley choked out a laugh. She pulled the door open. “No thanks.”

She and Sutton shared a sideways look. What was up with chicks having silent conversations that anyone with the XY chromosome couldn’t decipher?

“You got other plans for the night?” Berkley asked.

“As a matter of fact, we do.” Riley spun around, and I automatically stared at her ass. I cursed under my breath at the peach. Perfectly rounded cheeks were peeking out from below her soft, pink shorts, and ifIthought she looked good, chances were my teammates did too.

“Do you now? Well, let’s see what you two got going on for tonight.” Sully wasted no time before standing up and moving through the apartment like the slithery snake he was, rounding Sutton like she wasn’t even in the same room.

“Leave them alone,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.And just like that, I showed my interest.

Sully stopped mid-step. He squinted as he tried to read me. There was a spark there—a challenge brewing. And I was instantly fucked.Great.

Riley and Sutton were already halfway through the door when Sully began following them out. If Sutton wasn’t with Riley, I would have followed after him.

“What’s the deal?” Efrain’s question was warranted, but that didn’t mean I wanted to answer it. There was no sense in all of us heeding caution when it came to Riley and wondering which teammates were trying to score with her. I had everything under control.

“Nothing.” My answer was sharp and a total lie. I kept my attention on our closed door, wishing I could see through it.Why did she have to wear those tiny shorts?

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