Page 41 of Confessions of a Former Puck Bunny

“Yeah, I had a similar experience…” She hooked her finger through my belt loop. “I thought about our kiss all day, and I don’t have the energy to fight this anymore. But—”

“Thank God,” I said before she could finish herbut.I lifted her into my arms and kissed her again. Luckily the door to our apartment was unlocked, so I pushed us through it and kept my hold on her, deciding I’d use every tool at my disposal to make her forget whatever conditions she’d been about to tack on.

Someone cleared their throat, and I spun, Lindsay still in my arms, one hand planted firmly on her ass. Dane and Megan sat on the couch, cuddled up in front of a movie.

Lindsay ducked her head on my shoulder, but I didn’t let her go—I was done with that.

Megan flashed me a thumbs-up and I bit back a laugh. Good to know she was still on my team.

“Hey,” I said. “Didn’t realize you guys were here. You guys remember Lindsay?”

She lifted her head, her cheeks adorably flushed. “Hey.”

“Don’t worry, bro,” Dane said, but the statement was directed at Lindsay, “I know that you two are just friends.” He tapped the side of his nose. So much for subtlety.

Lindsay glanced from him to me. “Well, negotiations are currently underway to possibly expand into more…”

My heart lurched in my chest, making its vote known. “If you’ll excuse us, I’m going to take her back to the conference room to make a thorough argument before she changes her mind.”

“Have fun,” Megan called after us.

As soon as we were inside my bedroom, I kissed the spot where Lindsay’s jaw met her neck. “Figured I’d start my in-favor-of argument here…” I moved my lips down the column of her neck, then I tugged the sleeve of her shirt down and kissed her shoulder. She wrapped her hands around my forearms, her fingers digging into my skin. “And end about…” I recaptured her mouth, parted her lips with my tongue, and kissed her until she sagged against me.

Her voice came out on a shaky breath. “Very compelling points.”

“Figured I should make the strongest case possible before you started with the buts.”

Lindsay dragged a finger across her slightly swollen lips, and I wanted to do the same. “It was definitely a good speech, and I’ll keep it in mind.” She placed a hand on the center of my chest, and my heart thumped even harder. Hope had never been my go-to—I preferred working to ensure I got what I wanted—but right now, I let hope wash over me. “Okay, so obviously I suck when it comes to you and self-control, and kissing you is definitely something I want to keep on doing.ButI just want to be as clear as possible about what this is and put a few boundaries in place. To keep us both safer.”

I gripped her hips, silently conveying I didn’t plan on letting go.

“You realize that we only have a couple months left of school,” she said. “That you’ll be busy with hockey for most of it—I have no doubt the team will make it to the Frozen Four—and that I’ll be busy with the paper?”

I nodded.

“So we have fun when we can, but we also both acknowledge the fact that we’re busy, and this has an expiration date. As long as we both know that’s how it’ll be, then maybe a little stream crossing won’t be as bad as I originally thought…”

“I can assure you it’s going to be very, very good,” I said, lowering my lips to the sensitive spot under her ear for another taste. “And since I’m awake enough now to be scary good at reading you again, I think you’re having the same thoughts.”

She wadded a fistful of my T-shirt in her hand and nodded, her hot exhale of breath hitting my neck.

My hips bumped hers as I drew her tighter to me and kissed and licked my way back up to her lips. I only had her for a little while, during one of the craziest, busiest parts of the year, and I wasn’t sure how much time I’d get with her. But I vowed to make every second count.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Lindsay

The next couple of days went by sort of like the Before Ryder Period. I worked like crazy to get the next edition of theHeightsready while trying to balance classes and studying. But we occasionally flirted through text and I counted down the minutes until I could talk to him again. Till I could feel those lips against mine, that firm body pressed up against me.

I glanced at the clock on my laptop screen. I’d brought a bit of work home, but I got distracted when I went to do some research and now I was killing time online, hoping it’d make time speed up. Ten minutes and counting…

Ryder and I were supposed to do an official first date-type thing tonight, where we’d also celebrate the fact that I’d aced this week’s quiz, something I used to think would be impossible for me to do. He’d picked a nice restaurant and I’d shaved my legs, even though I told myself I wasn’t going to sleep with him yet. Of course, I couldn’t stop thinking about what it would be like, because he was sexy and sweet, and well, I hadn’t had sex in forever and the urge to scratch that itch was definitely there. But it was more than that. I felt like Ryder truly saw me, more than any other guy ever had, and that was a hell of an aphrodisiac.

My phone chimed, and I’d never admit it to anyone, but when I saw Ryder’s name, I squealed.

Ryder:Hey, I’m going to be late. Coach is on a rampage & I’m risking death by sneaking in this text. Be there as soon as I can.

The excitement that’d been coursing through me all afternoon faded.It’s not a big deal. I’m the one who said we both had to understand each other’s busy schedules.

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