Page 40 of Puck You Very Much

“I didn’t…” But she didn’t finish her sentence.

Because he leaned slightly forward, slid his fingers to the hem of her skirt, and let the tips slide over where the material met her thighs.

He heard her frantic breath, saw her pupils dilate and her lips part slightly.

And just like that, he was no longer the only one turned on. He was simply the only one willing to admit it, because Lucy James would never willingly admit that he had power over her. No matter how primitive that power.

“You didn’t what?” he asked, leaning down to her. Casually, he stroked her temple with his scratchy chin, slid his fingers to the inside of her thighs, and drew tight circles with them. “Act like a maniac? Maybe you should look that word up in the dictionary again.”

He knew he was heading into dangerous territory, but he didn’t care. She had to understand that it wasn’t her who had the power, but him—only him.

He let his other hand wander. He touched Lucy’s neck and ran his thumb over her rapid pulse.

The ends of her hair tickled his skin. Lucy opened her lips slightly so that he could feel her warm breath on his cheek. Her black pupils almost consumed her eyes…

And then she shuddered. It was a breathless, shaky shudder that made her breasts brush against his torso, and a blush rose to her cheeks as she licked her lips.

He groaned internally at the sight. His cock was so damn hard that his jeans had become uncomfortable. His breathing grew shallower as his eyes rested on her lips. He couldn’t tear himself away from the sight.

Fuck, he wanted her.

He had wanted to pushherto the limits, not himself.

Now, however, he no longer knew what his plan had been, just as he didn’t know what he was angrier about: Her, or his own body, which wanted Lucy with an intensity that scared him? Was he insane?

Abruptly, he let go of her and stepped backward—at the exact moment that Lucy put her hands on his chest and pushed him away.

“Stop it,” she snapped before straightening the hem of her skirt. Her fingers lingered a tad too long where his had just been. “You’re provoking me!”

He could see in her eyes how much she hated that he had succeeded, even if he didn’t feel like it was a success.

Rather, it felt like he had discovered his inner masochist. Really, all he had to do was think about today’s hockey game to torture himself. Turning himself on with no hope of release was just plain stupid.

“Isn’t that how we operate?” he said, his voice decidedly calm, his words composed and calculated. Maybe he shouldn’t have been a hockey player but an actor, because, man, he was putting on one hell of a performance!

“No. We… No,” Lucy replied firmly, shaking her head again and again as if she was trying to convince herself. “You know, I understand that you’re angry, but you’re not angry with me, you’re mad at yourself for playing like shit.”

He laughed—loudly. He hadn’t thought about the disastrous game once in the last half hour. “Oh, I’m a little angry with myself, but just now, I was mad at you!” he replied softly. Hehadcome out from under the game’s shadow a bit. That might have been because there wasn’t quite as much blood available for his mind as there had been fifteen minutes ago.

“Okay,” she replied firmly. “It’s true I could have dealt with this differently, but…you’ve already made so many bad decisions tonight, I just couldn’t handle any more.”

That actually stopped him in his tracks. “Excuse me?” he asked, confused. He stuffed his hands in his pockets because there was a button on her blouse that had popped free from its hole and his fingers were itching to fix it—or to lose another one. “What bad decisions are you talking about?”

She lifted her chin. “Your decision to intentionally lose tonight.”

And then the old anger returned. Man, Lucy had a talent for rousing that in him. “What are you talking about?” he asked tersely.

“You heard me,” she replied frankly. “You lost your will to win, Dax. That is your greatest strength. Your will to win and be better. Today, however, you didn’t want to because it would have meant Jack would win, too. You can’t keep that attitude. You have to clear the air with him. Even if it’s just on the ice!”

His jaw clicked as he shifted it from side to side. “Didn’t you just say we’re not provoking each other anymore?” he asked hotly. “Because, shit, Lucy, if so, you’re making a liar of yourself right now.”

“It’s not provocation, it’s the truth,” she said matter-of-factly. “You know that as well as I do. Unless you start getting along with Jack and accepting that he’s part of the team now, you’ll continue to play badly.” She inhaled deeply. “Dax, I know you had a shitty childhood and Jack did something that justifies your anger, but…” She trailed off.

She realized again that she had said something wrong; she saw how Dax’s eyes turned icy before he broke apart and the lava poured out. Even she couldn’t help but notice how tightly he gritted his teeth and how his knuckles cracked as he balled up his hands tightly. “What did you just say?” he spat.

Lucy blinked and glanced away before looking back at him. Her head was now so red with heat a solar system of its own was definitely forming around it. “Nothing,” she murmured.

But that was just a lie. It wasn’t nothing.

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