Page 38 of Play to Win

She tilts her head and considers that.“Okay.I can live with that.”

“And I want to be clear: I don’t expect sex as payment for the favor.But I wanted to know if, you know, if we both wanted it ...if it would be okay to act on that.”

She purses her lips, lifts her chin, and rubs her fingertips to her throat.“Well, I already said I’m not opposed to sleeping with you.But thank you for clarifying expectations.”

Why do I feel like she’s laughing at me?

9

LACEY

Théo frowns.“I like having clear expectations.”

“Always a good thing,” I murmur solemnly.

He’s so damn cute.

He should be annoying me, because wow, we’re so different in some ways.He analyzeseverything.He loves to plan.There’ve been moments where I worried he didn’t have a sense of humor, but then he shows me he does.And he doesn’t fake anything—he’s honest.I like that.

So we do have some things in common—honesty.Humor.Shitty brothers.

I suspect Théo is way smarter than me, though.I may not be an intellectual, but I’m not stupid.I already know how to push his buttons.

I smile smugly to myself as I snuggle down into the super-comfortable seat of his Audi.Getting him to stop at that ghost town had been so much fun.Playing those crazy games too.

I’m also a teensy bit smug because he wants to have sex with me.

Whew.Because damn, I’m hot for this man.

There’s something about him that justgetsto me.The way he took charge when Ed and Lincoln were chasing us.The way he’s so strong and controlled, yet there are hints of vulnerability when he talks about his brother and ex-girlfriend.The way he stops to analyze everything.Most of the time, ha.The way he’s so freakin’ smart.The way his lips curve when he’s smiling against his will.

The fact that he wants to have sex with me makes me melt even more.I was only half joking about pulling over at the next rest stop.

For a while I’m quiet, my eyes closed, thinking about sex with Théo.I imagine getting my hands on his body, all those muscles.I imagine how strong he is and the things we could do ...

My eyes pop open.“Hey.Why did you quit playing hockey?You’re not old enough to retire.”

His fingers flex on the steering wheel.“I had to.I got injured.”

“Oh.That sucks.You’re okay, though?”

“Sort of.I can’t see well out of my right eye.”

I blink.“Oh no.That’s why you wear glasses?”

“Yeah.I had perfect vision before the accident.”

I sink my teeth into my bottom lip.“What happened?Or is that too nosy?”

He lifts one shoulder.“It’s fine.It was years ago.Puck bounced up under my visor and hit me in the eye.”

“Oh my God.”I cover my mouth with my hands.

“It was pretty scary.When it happened, everyone was freaking out.They rushed me to the hospital for surgery.At first, I couldn’t see anything, then I could tell when lights were off or on, and everybody freaked out because that was good.So there was hope I’d get my vision back.Of course, I kept hoping I’d getallmy vision back and I’d be playing again in no time.But it took over a year and a half, and I’d been out of the game all that time, and I never got enough vision back to play professionally.”

My heart contracts hearing his story, a pit in my stomach thinking about what he must have gone through.“I’m sorry,” I say quietly.“That must have been awful.”

“Yeah.”A muscle in his jaw tics.This is still hard for him to talk about, obviously.“I’d just started my career in the NHL.Got drafted, got to follow in my dad’s footsteps and my grandpa’s footsteps—they played in the NHL.So did my uncle.And then it was over.”

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