Page 27 of The Pucking Wrong Rookie

SLOANE

Being in the hotel room with Tyler felt all wrong. He was currently pacing the length of the room like a caged animal, his face twisted into an ugly scowl, the veins on his neck bulging with every angry word that burst from his lips. His dark hair, usually perfectly gelled when he wasn’t playing, was starting to fall out of place, strands sticking to his slightly sweaty forehead. His tie was loosened, and his suit jacket hung open, the crisp white shirt underneath wrinkled from all the movement.

Tyler’s jaw was clenched so tight I could see the muscles ticcing under his skin, and his eyes were wild with frustration. The tension rolled off him in waves, and I jumped when he picked up one of the hotel’s fancy wooden brocade armchairs and broke it on the floor, pieces of wood flying everywhere.

“Motherfucker!”

He’d been ranting for thirty minutes now, and I watched as he picked up a tumbler of whiskey, sloshing the drink in his glass as he raged. The amber liquid dripped out onto the carpet.

Glancing down at my nails, I idly picked at a fraying cuticle that my manicurist had missed while watching Tyler out of the corner of my eye…just in case he decided to take some of that anger out on me.

It had happened before with other clients.

I was feeling fairly safe, though; he hadn’t even looked at me since we walked in the door.

“Can you believe that asshole?” Tyler spat, his face twisted in frustration. “Logan Fucking York. That last hit could have ended my career.”

Logan. Logan York. I hadn’t known his name before tonight.

But I sure knew it now.

I’d overheard people talking about him at the game—how he’d had a record-breaking rookie year, how they were shocked about him gunning for Tyler.

Then after the game, despite the Tampa win, all anyone could talk about was thekiss.

The kiss.

I could stillfeelhis phantom touch, how his strong hands had gripped my waist, the way his lips pressed against mine, firm but almost…sweet in the middle of all that chaos.

It had thrown me completely off balance. Everything else—the noise, the crowd, the tension of the game—had faded away.

But the kiss wasn’t even the crazy part. The crazy part was that I’d kissed him back. Instinctively, without even thinking, I had let myself fall into that moment. It was reckless. Stupid.

Dangerous.

I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Tyler slammed his glass down on the dresser, making me flinch. “York thinks he’s hot shit,” he muttered, pacing again. “But I’ll show him. Next game, I’m going to take his fucking head off.”

I nodded, not really listening. I was still thinking about that kiss and how I’d felt turned on for the first time since…well, ever.

He ranted for a few more minutes, but then he threw his hands up, heading toward the door. “I’m getting drunk. Screw it. I’m not wasting my energy on that asshole tonight.”

I didn’t point out that he’d already wasted a whole bunch of energy on “that asshole.” Instead, I just watched, relieved as he opened the door. I was suddenly feeling pretty lucky about my odds that I wasn’t going to have to fuck him tonight. I’d learned in our past…interactions…that he had a limp dick when he decided to drink.

Thank fuck.

“Do whatever you want,” he mumbled over his shoulder as he stormed out. “I don’t care.”

I didn’t need to be told twice. As soon as the door had slammed behind him, I slipped off the bed and headed for the bathroom, closing the door softly behind me and clicking the lock. Leaning against the door, I let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding as I glanced around the bathroom.

Tyler had sprung for a suite, and the hotel bathroom was luxurious, with a huge tub that looked like something out of a spa.

If Tyler was going to be drunk and ranting all night, I was going to take a bath.

I started filling the tub, the sound of water echoing softly in the marble room. Slowly peeling off my clothes, I took a few deep breaths, trying to let out some of the tension from the eventful evening. I sank into the warm water, letting it envelop me all the way for a second.

But that was a mistake. Because as soon as I closed my eyes…I sawhisface.

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