Page 42 of Offside

Deciding this conversation needs to be stopped before I end up doing something I regret, I take a bite of soup and swallow to get a breather.

“Have you spoken to Marek recently?”

Ballas lifts his spoon to his lips and then sets it back in his bowl and wipes away some remnants from the corners of his mouth.

“Not since before training camp. But I did get a chance to spend a little time with him and Harper this summer. I stayed at their place and we did some hiking in the Cascades and golfing out in Sammamish.”

“I heard you did some fishing in the Gulf, too. Did you go alone?”

Very smooth, Karis. Even a concussed man can see right through that question.

Ballas lifts his brows. “Hmm, interested in my extracurricular activities, princess?”

“No.” The word comes out too quickly and I feel the heat painting across my cheeks. “I happened to overhear it while Marek and I were in a meeting in his office. And no, I wasn’t trying to get the latest on your extracurriculars then, either. I don’t care what you do outside of hockey.”

“You’re a terrible liar.”

I look away and down at my plate. It’s embarrassing to be so transparent but I deny it, nonetheless. “I am not.”

“You lied the other night when you said you don’t want to sleep with me.” Ballas stands up and moves to tower over me. I hesitate before tilting my head back to stare up into this beast’s hot and dark eyes.

He grips me at the shoulders and pulls me to my feet. I feel weightless, bound to obey him without putting up a fight.

He cups a hand around my throat, squeezing gently as he strokes his thumb at the underside of my chin. Shivers bolt down my spine.

“Admit it. You lied when you said you didn’t want to sleep with me again.”

My breath stalls as he drags the pad of his thumb over my bottom lip, hypnotizing me with his touch.

My lips part and I swipe his thumb with my tongue.

“I can’t.”

He cocks his brow. “You can’t what, princess?”

I give an imperceptible shake of my head. My voice sounds breathy, clearly communicating my desire even if I can’t.

“I can’t say that.”

He pushes his whole thumb into my mouth, depressing my tongue, and my jaw opens to obey him.

“Suck, sweetheart.”

Those words. That gesture. My panties go damp and my clit throbs at the coarse words.

I close my eyes and succumb to the bold request, sucking his thumb deep as my cheeks hollow in and out. Suddenly, Ballas’s hands grasps my hips, and in one fluid motion he pulls me against him. I feel his erection bulging hard as steel inside his shorts. He swings me around so my stomach presses against the table and bends me over, grabbing both my wrists to stretch me out. My cheek is flat against the wood of the tabletop and his mouth is at my ear.

“Say you’ve thought about me fucking you again, princess.” With a tilt of his hips, Ballas grinds against my ass. A moan releases from my chest. “Don’t lie to me.”

I tug one hand free and slip it behind my back to wedge between our bodies and cup his thick cock in my palm. He jerks in surprise and hisses out in pleasure as I rub my hand roughly over his arousal.

“I am not. A. Liar,” I say through gritted teeth, the truth finally able to be set free. “I think about it all the time.”

19

Ballas

I’d like to blame it on my concussion but that’s a cop-out.

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