Page 13 of Ice Cold Rival

His breath tousled my hair, and my eyes drifted closed as image after image of our brief encounter crashed into my mind. I would not proposition him. I wouldnotproposition him. Jesus, how long did it take to undo one zipper?

“There you go,” he said in a rough voice.

I sucked in air and nodded like an idiot, not daring to turn around. “Thanks.”

The clothes I’d worn earlier sat in a heap by my feet, so I took the chance he’d returned to his previous position and shimmied out of the dress. When I bent to grab my sweats, a strangled noise came from behind me. I spun around with my pants clutched to my chest to find Reece staring at the ceiling.

He held up his hands. “Sorry. Couldn’t resist. Nice undies.”

“Planning to steal these too?”

“Not tonight,” he murmured. “Are you decent yet?”

My lips pressed together as I hurried into my clothes. “Have you considered you might have a panty fetish?”

He grinned. “Only for yours apparently.”

“Awesome,” I grumbled, fighting the slow warmth blooming in my chest. I wouldnotlet another hockey player fool me into thinking I was special. “I’m dressed.”

His chin lowered, and his green gaze caught mine, full of humor and heat. “So… what did you want to talk about?”

I broke the connection and slumped back onto the bed. “Have you ever had a massive failure of a day and reached a point where you snapped and did something crazy?”

Reece nudged me over so he could sit too. “Yes. I took a swing at a d-man my freshman year of college. Twice my size and three times as mean.”

I squinted at him, trying to imagine this laid-back guy with a response for everything losing his shit. “Nope. I can’t picture it. Did he flatten you?”

“Oh yeah, but it’s how I met Mase, so I don’t regret a thing. Bruises heal. Friendships last forever.”

“Who’s Mase?”

“My roommate slash goalie slash potential vampire bestie. We’re not one hundred percent on the last one, but hereallydoesn’t like daylight. What made you snap?”

“Amanda.”

He nodded sagely. “Understandable. Want to talk about it?”

With a dry laugh, I pulled my simple ponytail over my shoulder. “You really want to hang out in here and listen to me complain?”

“I was promised tea, and I plan to collect. In case that wasn’t clear, yes, I’d much rather sit in here and listen to you talk than fend off Amanda and her minions.”

I shook my head. “Fair enough. She said I was boring, and she didn’t know what Toby saw in me. Right before she sprung him on me. I’m not supposed to leave the party since we’re hosting, but man, I wanted to walk right over her smug face on my way out.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“You showed up and distracted her from torturing me. We ended up making a bet about whether or not I could get you to come to my room.”

Reece burst out laughing and held up his fist. “God, I’m so glad you picked me. I had my own shit day, and this could not have made it better.”

I tapped my fist to his. “She’ll definitely get worse now, but I’m enjoying my first taste of revenge. Why was your day shit?”

He shook his head and leaned back on his elbows. “I’m trying to convince my coach to consider me for captain, but I keep getting the same run around. Not captain material. Not serious enough. As if having fun and working hard are mutually exclusive.”

“They’re not?”

“I don’t think they are. My motto is work hard, play harder. Got it tattooed on my shoulder.”

I leaned over to look, but nothing peeked out from under his shirt. “Is that why Amanda was surprised to see you? Because you’re trying to show you’re serious captain material by not going to parties?”

---