Page 16 of Playboy

My gut drops. So do the legs of my chair. Noah reads her books? Why?

And how the hell does he fit into her life? Yeah, I could ask, but I know her well enough to know she’d respond with a snarky quip. Something about how she collects hockey players or something. I don’t want to be lumped in with other guys. Especially my teammates. Especially Noah. So I leave it alone.

“Or something,” I reply. “Do you miss it?”

“Miss what?”

“Writing. Do you miss it during the season?”

She sighs, her eyes drifting up and to the side as if this is the first time she’s really considered it. “I don’t necessarily stop writing. I’m always working on something, but it’s hard to give the stories in my mind the attention they need while I’m busy dealing with one PR disaster after another. My brain can only do so much spinning, and unfortunately, I have to save my creativity for dressing up the bullshit Jasper pulls pretty regularly.”

I cough out a laugh. “The way you spun that nun thing.”

She lights up, blue eyes flashing with amusement. “It was good, right?”

“Hell yeah. I knew the truth, and even I almost fell for it. That he meant to send the picture to the team doctor because he pulled his groin during practice, and, unfortunately, it went to his ex-girlfriend who became a nun after they broke up? Genius.”

Hannah breaks into a wide smile that shows all her straight, white teeth. “I wrote fan fic about it that night.”

Elbows on the table, I angle forward. “Shut up. I need to read it.”

She coughs out a laugh. “Guess we’ll see how the date goes.”

This time I’m the one grinning, and damn, does it make my cheeks hurt.

Martini pick between her fingers, she stirs the murky liquid in her glass. “Made any plans for this summer?”

“You looking for a second date, dream girl?”

With an exasperated roll of her eyes, she shakes her head.

I take a small sip of my whiskey and set the glass down again. “No, I don’t think about what happens after the season. I typically keep my focus on the next game.”

“So you want to talk hockey? How are you feeling about the season?”

I lean in, sliding my glass a little closer to the center of the table. “Nah, I don’t want to waste time going over talking points we could hear in the media room.”

She rests her cheek in her cupped palm, eyes glittering in the low lights. “So what do you want to talk about?”

Angling even closer, I dip my head and keep my voice low. “I want to hear more about this orgasm you’re looking forward to tonight.”

Another eye roll and a bite of her lip have my cock jumping. “What do you think your sister would say if she heard you talking like that?”

“She’s already given me the all-clear so long as I don’t hurt you.”

Hannah lifts her drink to her lips and takes a long sip of her drink, her intense gaze never leaving my face. “You can’t hurt me, Baby Hall. I’m an ice queen.”

I’m not so sure about that. I’ve watched this woman for years. She may come across as tough, impenetrable, but I’ve witnessed enough of the softness she shows to her girlfriends to know it’s a front. She’s hiding behind a thick layer of armor.

Tonight, though, I won’t push too far. Tonight, I’ll let her control the narrative. I’ll even give her the rope to lead me with.

“Fine, dream girl. Then I just might need to thaw you out a bit.”

Hannah smiles again, the expression sending a bolt of satisfaction through me and strengthening my resolve. “Let’s see how dinner goes. Maybe I’ll let you warm me up in the hot tub.”

“Oh,looks like they put you in the den,” Hannah says far too loudly as we come banging into the rental house hours later. The lights are all off, and the house is silent, so it’s safe to say that no one waited up. Camden sent me a pissed-off text when he realized I’d left him alone with all the couples, but there was no way I was inviting him out with Hannah and me.

Sure enough, my duffel is sitting on the futon. “I’m not worried about where I’m sleeping, dream girl.”

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