Page 30 of Puck Block

“You played a good game tonight,” she whispers while looping her arm up and over her head. She grips the ends of my hair, and I grin.

“I know.” I wink before stealing a glance at Taytum. Our eyes meet from across the party, and she’s nibbling on her bottom lip. I raise my eyebrows and mouth the word,See?

She doesn’t look convinced. But if I can stand here and touch another girl in front of her, then surely she can get out on this dance floor and grab some guy by the hand. I’ve stood back and watched her flirt endlessly until I’m fuming so much I can’t take it anymore, so what exactly is stopping her now?

My stomach twists the longer she stares at what my hands are doing. There’s a hitch in my pulse when I notice her breathing is a little more erratic than usual, and there’s something wickedly dangerous brewing in my blood at the thought of Taytum being turned on.

I act quickly and shift my attention. I gently push the puck bunny to the far wall, catty-corner from my little audience, and back up her against it. My knee wiggles in between her jean-clad legs, and I slowly run my hand up her thigh. The tingling in my fingertips draws attention to her curves, but I know it’s a desperate attempt to pull myself together instead of focusing on Taytum’s dazed expression.

Except, the moment I steal a glance, I burn.

The girl I grew up with, the only one I have ever confided in, the only one who has ever called me out on my bullshit and seen me at my very worst, is staring at me with fuck-me eyes and plump, parted lips, like she’s about to touch herself at the show I’m putting on for her.

It’s not true.

It can’t be.

But damn. Just the thought of it pushes me alittlebit further.

[ 13 ]

TAYTUM

Thump,thump, thump.

My pulse is flying. I feel it everywhere. My neck, my wrist, my thigh…in between my legs.

I’d rather relive the moment when I walked in on my brother getting a sexual favor from the captain of the cheer team my freshman year of high school than ever admit that Ford’s little lesson has me completely turned on.

My cheeks are flushed, and my legs are wobbly. The floor beneath me moves, and everyone else disappears the longer I stare.

He told me to take what I want, but after standing across the party, watching him touch some girl with hot seduction, I find myself fully entranced and wantinghimto touch me.

I press the back of my hand against my warm forehead. The wall holds me up as I continue to stare at Ford’s talented hand round the curve of a perfectly perky breast. I follow his movements like a magnet. His show has me in a chokehold, and I hate the warmth in between my legs, because Ford is the very last person I could ever toe the line with.

His hand quickly snaps to the blonde's chin, and he grips it with a bone-chilling possession. My eyes widen, and I’m at a standstill. Her attention is fully grasped, and suddenly, mine is too, because he flicks his hooded eyes to me for the briefest of seconds before kissing her so deeply I can’t breathe.

The kiss is hot. Ford’s mouth moves over hers so seductively that it belongs in a porno. I’m suddenly involved in a provocative espionage, yet I refuse to look away. Ford is taking what he wants, and when his plaything’s leg creeps up, and she traps him to her, I know she’s giving herself up willingly.

They make-out for what feels like an eternity, and I fumble to breathe when he finally breaks the kiss. My lips part with shallow breaths, and I’m sweating. I finally force myself to look away, because if Ford sees the look on my face, he’ll be able to read my thoughts and I’m not willing to admit what I’m thinking to him. In fact, I’m not even going to admit them to myself.

Instead, I frantically search the party for someone to push my dirty thoughts onto. I pass on the hockey players, because that’s a no-go, and linger on someone I’ve never seen before. His dark hair catches a shine from the light, and he sees me staring right away.

Ford’s voice is in my head, feeding me encouragement, but I wish I could block him out. He’s paying no attention to me. Instead, his face is buried in the puck bunny’s neck, and it annoys me so much that I find myself walking toward the unfamiliar guy with steel-blue eyes.

“Hey.” He flicks his chin at me when I make my way over.

Flirting is second nature to me, so I don’t overthink it. I do exactly what Ford told me to do, I act like myself. “Hi,” I greet him with a sugary voice and smile. His eyes drop right to my mouth. “I haven’t seen you here before.”

The guy shrugs and then tips back his beer. There’s a little bit of foam on his mouth, but he is quick to jolt his tongue out from behind his lips to lick it clean.

“You could say that I’m new.” His voice is hot too.

I bite my lip and eye him closely. “Let me guess. You play…” After leaning back and checking him out, I laugh lightly. “Football for sure.”

His mouth tips into a grin. “You’re right, but I’m curious as to how you know that.”

I shrug. “I grew up around athletes. I can spot them pretty easily.”

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