Page 36 of Troublemaker
The hickey was a proclamation. Not that she belonged to me, no. That she wasn’t ashamed of what had happened the night before. But when did Lucy ever feel shame? She was the oppositeof me in that way, and I’d always admired her for it, even if it made me want to rip my hair out at the roots.
It was the look on her face that did me in. Her lips, succulent and sweet and begging for my cock between them, begging me tokissthem, were quirked in a small smile, like she knew something I didn’t.
Like that something she knew wasme.
And her eyes, oh her eyes. They swallowed me up and spat me right back out. I was lacking, a coward, and didn’t even deserve retribution and rage. No, I was too below her for that.
I see you, they said.And I think you’re full of shit.
And she, the goddess, was right. No one that young should be that wise, but Lucy had always seen through people’s bullshit, and today the bullshit was mine.
She looked like a naughty student seducing her professor. She looked like any man’s wet dream. She looked like jailbait.
Trey whistled, and my hand fisted at my side. It was the only way I could keep myself from punching my assistant coach in the fucking throat. I’d kicked enough men’s asses as it was.
Control, Blake. Control. Your middle fucking name, and don’t you forget it.
Flanking Lucy was her entourage: Leslie, my center’s fiancée, with her dark hair and bemused eyes, stood to one side. Tovah and Aviva, two troublemakers-in-waiting at our rival school, Reina University, stood on her other, arms crossed and grinning. Tovah whispered something in Aviva’s ear, and shit, these girls knew. As much as that could fuck with my entire career, I was glad that Lucy had friends to confide in. That she wasn’t alone.
Alone like you left her early this morning, my brain supplied.
Finally, Lucy opened that delectable trouble of a mouth.
“Hi boys,” she called. “What did I miss?”
There were catcalls in response.
“Coach is trying to kill us,” Emory said.
“Did you ever find that panty stealer?” another one of my players called.
I tried not to fist my hand in my pocket. I’d been carrying her panties around for days—like they were my good luck charm.
“No,” she said, laughing. “But I appreciate the concern.” To me, she pursed her lips. “Don’t you think you’re being a little…hard on them?”
Her “hard” sang in the air, and even though no one else picked up the implication, I did.
“It must be…frustrating,” she added. “And a little bit cruel.”
She shrugged her shoulders and tossed that long, blonde hair. Hair that had been spread out on a pillow beneath me as she’d whimpered, moaned, and cried out my name last night.
Hair that I suddenly wanted to cover up so no one else could see the gorgeous golds and yellows. Once again, I fantasized about convincing her to wear a wig so no one could see her hair but me.
“It’s okay, boys,” she said. “I believe in you. You’re all tough and brave men, and you can handle this. In fact,” her eyes turned wicked, and she winked—at me. “I’m happy to give a massage to whoever stays standing the longest. No puking.”
There was a chorus of “yes ma’am” and whistles, and then my team started skating harder, longer, faster, wanting to impress the blonde vixen in front of them who was trying to kill me with her disdain and disinterest.
“No massages,” I barked. “No fraternizing, you all know the rules.”Or I’ll kick you off the team or kick your asses.
“Oh, but Coach,” she said sweetly, her eyes promising pure hell. “Rules are made to be broken.”
She blew a kiss at the team. With my eagle eye vision, I spotted it, a tell: One nail—just one—looked bitten to the quick, the only sign that she’d been upset. Lucy had bitten her nails asa kid, and I’d thought she’d broken the habit, but she wasn’t as unaffected as she seemed.
I had hurt her. I’d abandoned her this morning and no matter how brave and strong she was being right now, the truth of what I’d done to her was a hard pill to swallow.
“Bye, boys. Have a good practice, and I promise I’ll see you later,” she said, unaware that I’d spotted it.
With that, she pivoted and walked out, skirt molded to her ass, hips swaying, her friends trailing after her.
