Page 7 of Rules Of Our Own

I can’t hear the other end of Mia’s conversation, but with each second, her brows pull together, forming a line between them that I want to rub away, and she chews her thumbnail.

River steps further into the room, closing the distance between them, crowding her until she looks all the way up, and her mouth drops open slightly. She thanks the person on the other end, eyes never shifting from his when she ends the call. Fuck, the tension radiates off them as he takes his time practically consuming her with his gaze.Buddy, I fucking feel you.

River’s always been controlled and silent, but that’s shifted over the past few years to a quiet dominance that makes you pay attention. I’ve caught myself on more than one occasion just waiting for him to say or do something. Just like Mia is now.

“Did they tell you what happened?” River asks, tone casual.

“Who?”

The corner of his mouth lifts. “The concierge. That’s who you called, right?”

She slowly moves her head up and down in response.Fuck, she is gone. He takes mercy on her and steps back, breaking whatever hypnosis he put her under. A flush crawls up her neck. “They apologize for the inconvenience, but it’s how the rooms were booked, and they don’t have any others. I’m going to kill Piper.”

I laugh, and warmth fills my chest when she glares. I’ve missed that fire.

“If I find out you had anything to do with this—”

River buries both his hands into his black dress pants pockets and rocks back on his heels. “You know we didn’t, Mia.”

Her shoulders slump, and for a millisecond, I think I see disappointment flash behind her eyes, and then she sinks back on the bed. “I’ll crash at Sidney’s.”

I choke on a laugh. “Oh, yeah, I’m sure she and Jax won’t scar you at all.”

Her eyes widen, and my smile grows. “Come on. You’re really telling me staying in here is worse than being in their room? You know Jax will totally fuck her while you’re there. It’s kind of their thing.”

Her face scrunches up in disgust, drawing a full laugh from my chest. “Exactly.”

“There’s only one bed. I’mnotsleeping with you.”

Sleeping with yourings in my ears before I shake it out and glance up at River, who nods. “I’ll sleep with Riv on the pullout. You can take the bed.”

“Really?” She raises a brow. “You’re really going to share a bed?”

“Wouldn’t be the first time.” I shrug, leaving out the fact that I’d been passed out drunk those times and letting her imagine exactly what we could’ve been doing. I rake my free hand through my wet, dirty-blonde hair. I’m still only in my towel and love how every time she looks at me, she flushes a little more. “Plus, I have the perfect solution. I’ll build a pillow barrier to keep him on his own side.”

River side-eyes me but doesn’t contradict anything I’ve said. Instead, he opens the minifridge and pulls out three drinks, tossing me a beer before holding out a hard cider to Mia. “Do you still like this kind?”

“Yeah…” Her voice trails off. She seems as off-balance as I feel with this entire situation. The only one of us who appears unaffected is River, but I’ve known him long enough to know he’s just hiding it better.

He nods and twists the cap off before handing it over. I watch her throat expand as she takes three deep pulls from the bottle before speaking. “Just one night, and I’ll sort it out in the morning. Okay?”

“Okay,” he replies evenly.

Considering she’s been avoiding us since university, this feels too easy. Unease sits in my stomach, knowing how quickly she could disappear. She’s done it before.

“Alex.”

My gaze shoots to River’s. “Yeah?”

“Come talk to me outside while Mia settles in,” says the man that doesn’t talk. But I know what he’s doing, giving her a second to get dressed and let it all sink in without two giant-ass hockey players looming over her.

I grab a pair of shorts from my open bag and stand so I’m just barely blocked from her view by a high-back chair. I revel in the sound of her gasp when the terry cloth fabric hits the floor. If she keeps making sounds like that, River will need to tie me to the bed. A warm hum travels low in my gut, but I ignore it.

Once I have my shorts on, I grab my beer and follow Riv out the door, where we both lean our backs against the wood siding.

“I think Piper and Sidney are trying to kill me.” He lets out a long sigh and tips his head back, resting it on the wall.

“You and I both, buddy.”

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