Page 87 of Down & Dirty

“Whodon’tyou know?”

I handed her the beer we’d grabbed on the way in. “Plenty of people.”

We’d never talked about sports beyond motocross, but I wasn’t surprised to see Sky get into the game. Since it was an exhibition match between Portland’s feeder team, the Pinecrushers, and the Boston Brawlers, the crowd was mixed. But Sky was yelling and cheering for Portland like it was her hometown, and watching her slip into the energy of the crowd with ease, fitting seamlessly into a place I’d been dozens of times in my life, had me smiling so hard my cheeks got tired.

“Come on,” I said right before the final buzzer. The Pinecrushers put up a good fight, but the Brawlers were about to hand down a devastating win, and I wanted to beat the crowd.

Skylar eagerly took my hand, a flush to her cheeks from the excitement. “You don’t want to watch them finish?”

“I’ve got something better in mind.”

We descended a set of stairs that led down toward the locker rooms, the sound of the crowd going wild echoing around us as the game ended. The smell of sweaty men and dirty gear permeated the air, but she didn’t seem to notice. Her wide eyes darted around, taking it all in.

The security guard held up his hand and I pulled out the pass my friend had left me at the ticket window.

“Grady Holloway,” I said.

He gave it a quick glance and then nodded as he let us through. “Have fun.”

“You know Holloway?”

“Yeah, Grady is from Holden Cove. We grew up playing hockey on the lake every winter.”

I expected a snappy comeback, some witty retort about us professional sports guys all drinking from the same lake or something. But instead, she was looking up at me with a giant smile.

“What?” I was borderline uncomfortable without her taking the piss out of me.

“That sounds like so much fun. And now look at him. You helped make him a star.”

A laugh busted out of me. “I think Grady would take offense to that idea. But I appreciate it.” I took her hand in mine and brought it up to my lips. “You had fun?”

Her nod was quick and definitive. “This was great, thank you.”

Heat spread across the back of my neck in the light of her appreciation, and a sensation began to swell inside me; I wanted to give her this.And so much more.

“We’re just getting started,” I told her, leaning low so she could hear me.

And maybe it was the energy of the game, or the sound of the crowd pounding through the building as they streamed out of the arena still chanting and cheering. But Skylar’s eyes dropped to my mouth and then she was up on her toes, kissing me. Her tongue darted out to skim the seam of my lips and I opened to let her in, tugging her into my chest and stumbling back against the wall.

She took my face in her hands and pulled me closer, the kiss long and languid, and stoking a fire so deep in my gut that the rest of the world fell away. It was just me and her. It wasn’t frenzied like the kiss last night. It was sure and patient, like a confirmation. Like a promise.

When she stepped into the space between my legs, I knew she would feel me, growing hard and long in my slacks. And when she did, she let out the tiniest whimper, grinding into me and making my hands clench around her waist.

“Sky,” I hissed, noticing for the first time the players and coaches that had begun to stream past us in the hallway. I would have stripped her down right there and taken what we both wanted, but I wasn’t the type of man to share, and it took only a passing glance to see the hungry eyes and childish amusement on the faces of the men walking by.

“Ellis?” I heard my name from behind an approaching group, and recognized the voice. “Fucking hell, you actually came?”

Sky tilted back onto her heels, biting her lip like she was trying to stifle a laugh. I wiped my mouth before dropping a quick kiss to her head and wrapping my arm around her waist.

We turned just in time to see Grady shove one of his teammates out of the way with a smirk. He looked arrogant and proud in his Boston jersey as he ripped his glove off and held his hand out to me. I took a firm hold of it.

“Nice game, asshole. But you didn’t have to show off just ‘cause I was here. “

“I didn’t. I showed off ‘cause she was here,” he said, giving Sky a slick once over before peeking up at me to see my reaction.Jerk.

“This is Skylar,” I said, shifting beside her so I blocked Grady from getting too close.

He laughed outright, shoving his gloved hand into my shoulder. “Don’t block me, fucker. If she’s with you, she might need a white knight to save her.”

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