Page 3 of Cross Check Hearts

We hit the showers to get cleaned up, and I’m getting dressed when Dunaway files in with the assistant coaches.

“Alright, listen up!” he shouts over the commotion, and everyone snaps to attention. “I know I already gave you a little motivational speech, but I want to make sure it sinks in. So here’s the plan,” he starts, but a knock on the locker room door behind him interrupts him.

He turns as the door cracks open and a young woman with a full head of dark hair peeks inside, probably to make sure everyone’s decent first. But Dunaway’s blocking most of the view so I can’t see anything other than the top of her head. He talks to her in hushed tones for a few seconds, then turns back to the room.

“Sorry for the interruption. This is my daughter, Hannah, for anyone who doesn’t already know,” he says and ushers her into the room with a hand on her lower back. “Hannah, you know most of the team, but this is our new rookie, Declan Murray.”

Smiling, the woman steps forward and waves uncomfortably, and my heart surges into my throat as I get a good look at her.

Those unmistakable heterochromatic eyes—one blue and the other green—lock with mine, and a jolt of recognition courses through me. This is the woman I had the most amazing night of my life with at a kink club six months ago.

And she’s also my new coach’s daughter.

Chapter2

Hannah

Six Months Ago

Between the stuffy, stale air in the cab and the mask that’s covering my nose, it’s hard to breathe. I should just get out of the car and go into the club that’s calling to me from the other side of the foggy window, but my heart is pounding.

I reach up to adjust the mask to make it a little easier to breathe and notice my hand trembling.

Damn it, Stevie.

If she hadn’t bailed on our spring break trip, I wouldn’t be sitting here alone like this right now. Maybe I should’ve just called the whole thing off when she flaked, but I needed to get away from law school for a while, needed a break from everything—including being myself.

That’s how I ended up at this club. It’s the ultimate chance to break out of the box I’ve been keeping myself in for as long as I can remember. But now that I’m here, what little courage I was feeling before seems to be leaking out of me with every breath and joining the fog on the windows.

“Look, lady, I’m happy to keep running up the meter while we’re sitting here admiring the stars but are you gonna go inside or am I gonna be the only one who gets to enjoy the beautiful view tonight?” the driver asks, his eyes locked on mine in the rearview. I see them dart to my cleavage, and it jolts me out of the stasis I’ve been in.

“Thanks for the lift,” I tell him and climb quickly out of the back seat. He puts the car in gear as soon as I close the door, but I don’t miss him checking me out on his way out of the parking lot.

With my heart fluttering in my chest, I walk to the door where two bouncers sit waiting on stools in plain black dress suits. I flash them the invite card I got, and one of them raises his eyebrows at me expectantly.

“Satin,” I say, willing my voice to stay steady.

The bouncer’s eyes linger on mine for an uncomfortable moment, but he nods and slides off his stool to walk me to the heavy metal door. It opens silently, and the bouncer gestures for me to go inside. I step through and blink until my eyes adjust, and details start to emerge from the darkness.

Candelabras flicker all around the room, their flames dancing across the blood-red walls, and red satin is draped over every surface. Hushed conversations reach my ears over the soft sound of jazz music playing from somewhere. As I move farther into the room and the shadows retreat, I realize there are far more people than I thought.

Most of them are dressed in some of the finest clothes I’ve ever seen, and all their faces are covered by some sort of mask. Most of them are standing in small groups, clutching expensive looking goblets and whispering to each other. But one group stands out thanks to the sheer amount of shining black leather they’re wearing—and because they’ve formed a circle around a couple who are going at each other hard on their hands and knees wearing nothing but their masks.

My face flames, and I turn away instinctively. Even with the club’s classy, upscale vibe, there’s no mistaking what the clientele is here for.

It’s why you came too, Hannah.

The thought doesn’t stop my heart from pounding or extinguish the flickers of arousal sparking in my belly. No one I know back in Denver has a clue I’m into kink—or that I’d be brave enough to set foot in a place like this. But here, hundreds of miles away from everyone I know, surrounded by completely anonymous strangers in masks, something is stirring to life deep inside me. Something that’s been wanting out for a long time.

I’m completely free here. No rules, no limits.

Determined not to look like I don’t have a clue what I’m doing or that I’m here just to be a lurker, I follow a man who’s wearing a crisp suit and working his way through the room confidently, his gaze taking in everything. I keep enough distance that no one will notice I’m following him, but a soft moan from somewhere to my left draws my attention and my eyes drift looking for the source.

But the man spins around abruptly, and before I realize it, I’m crashing right into him. I stumble backward, but his hands instinctively fly out and catch me by the arms. His fingers wrap around me with surprising gentleness despite the strength in his grip, and I can’t stop myself from laughing breathlessly as he helps me steady myself.

“Sorry! I guess this is what I get for paying more attention to what’s going on around me than to where I’m going,” I say, feeling heat rise to my cheeks. I hesitate, then add, “This is the first time I’ve been to a place like this.”

The man doesn’t say anything, just stares at me, his amber-flecked brown eyes warm and curious behind his mask. His hands are still resting lightly on my bare arms, and his touch makes something crackle through me, like electricity finding a long-forgotten path.

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