Page 28 of Breaking the Pucking Rules
“Hit it and quit it, right?” I ask, hating the way it sounds now that we’re in this situation.
But despite the desperate urge to drop my clothes and crawl back into bed with her, I refrain.
“Right,” she agrees. “But as per my rules, we’ve got until sunrise,” she offers with a smile.
I consider it. I really fucking do. Temptation is sitting rightbefore me, looking devastatingly beautiful and perfectly messed up.
“Take off your mask.” The demand is out of my mouth before I’ve really thought about it.
Her mouth opens and closes, but her hands never lift from her lap.
I don’t know what difference it makes, really. This was always going to be a one-night stand, whether we knew each other or not.
But now, it only seems fair.
“I-I can’t,” she whispers, ripping her eyes from mine and staring down at the carpet.
“Why?”
“Because…because I just can’t, okay?” she says with a little more strength in her words.
The moment her gaze returns to mine, I know that she won’t be talked around.
“Okay, then,” I say flatly as I pull my boxers up my legs. “I guess we’re done here.”
“No, plea—” She cuts herself off and bites down on her lips to stop from begging. After taking a deep breath, she changes tack. “Thank you for tonight. I’m not sure you’ll ever know what it meant to me.”
I narrow my eyes, still suspicious as fuck about what all of this was about and how fast she’s going to sell the story to the press. But there’s fuck all I can do about it now. Offering anything for her silence will only make the situation worse. I’ll just have to grin and bear it.
I don’t say anything. I can’t. I don’t have any words.
Instead, I dress in silence with her watching my every move.
With one final look in her direction, I walk toward the door.
I’ve got my fingers around the handle when her voice floats through the air, making me pause.
“I meant what I said, Kodie.”
The second she says my name, all the hairs on my body stand on end.
“Our little secret.”
My nostrils flare with irritation.
I want to believe her. I really do. But life has taught me to trust no one.
“We’ll see,” I say flatly before pulling the door open and walking away.
If only forgetting what happened inside that room would be so easy…
8
KODIE
“Daddy,” Sutton sings, scaring the ever-loving shit out of me.
I sit upright on the couch, my eyes sore and tired, my vision blurry.
