Page 59 of Dice & Dekes

She finally yanks free. “Bullshit. You had your chance. You don’t get another one.”

An incredulous laugh escapes me. “Are you serious? We were fourteen! I had two left feet and a huge crush on you. I was afraid of embarrassing myself in front of the whole eighth grade.”

“Actually, I was referring to Saturday, but sure, let’s gothere.” She frowns down at her socks, which are patterned with little mushrooms. “The time when you embarrassed me in front of the whole school.”

Holy shit, she’s serious. Not only is she still pissed about me coaching the Special Olympics, she’s also still holding onto a grudge from middle school. For some reason, that gives me hope. If she didn’t care about me, she’d be able to laugh my old fuck-ups off. The fact that she’s still holding onto them means she isn’t over me.

I reach for her hands and take them both in mine. “It was never my intention to embarrass you, babe.”

Her hands ball into fists so that I can’t interlace our fingers. “I’m not your babe.”

“You most definitely are. And you’re going to listen to me. No storming off. No shutting me out.”

“No. I’m not listening to any more of your bullshit.” She yanks her fists free. “I’m sure you’ve got some great excuse for why you went out the other day.”

“I do—” I begin.

She laughs bitterly. “Right. And let me guess, you don’t actually do any outreach do you?”

“Yes, I do!”

“For fuck’s sake.” She presses one hand over her face. “What kind of outreach? Helping the league’s puck bunny population reach enlightenment? I don’t know what to think, Viktor.”

I take a step closer and lift one hand to brush her cheek. “Knova. Look at me.”

Slowly, almost reluctantly, she raises her eyes to mine. She’s so beautiful I can hardly stand it. Cheeks flushed rosy pink. Breasts heaving. Her anger isn’t gone, but it’s faded to the point where I can see how vulnerable she’s feeling. No wonder she’s mad. I know how many defenses she’s raised over the years, and she doesn’t like that I’ve squeaked through them.

“I promise I haven’t had sex with anyone else. Not since Knight got signed, and definitely not since our marriage. Cross my heart and hope to—”

“Don’t say it,” she blurts. “Please. Don’t say that.” She lays her palm over my heart.

“Aw.” I lean closer until our foreheads touch. “So you do care.”

“Viktor—”

I press closer, and she shuffles back until she hits the wall. I lean closer, pinning her in between my arms and lowering my mouth to her neck. Before my lips touch her skin, I whisper, “I’m going to have you. Right now. I’m going to show you what wanting you all this time has done to me.”

“Viktor—” she says again. Fuck, I love the sound of my name in her mouth.

“If you don’t want me, now’s the time to leave.” I kiss her neck. “But I think you do. I don’t think you’re mean at all. Just covering up your vulnerability with anger. But you know what I think most of all? You want to be a good girl for me, don’t you? You want to be used. Like a filthy little toy that belongs to me. You want to be ruined for anyone else.”

Knova’s breath stutters, and her thighs part wider. That’s all the answer I need. Her chest rises like she’s about to speak, but instead, she tilts her jaw and bares her neck. Submission wrapped in defiance. My favorite flavor.

Wrapping her arms around me, she grabs my shirt in her fists. I adjust my stance so that I can press one thigh between her legs. She immediately rolls her hips, seeking the pressure of my body against hers.

“That’s what I thought,” I say. I kiss the tender skin just below her earlobe. I reach up to press two fingers into her mouth, and she opens for me, whimpering as she sucks my fingers.

I’ve spent years fantasizing about what Knova would be like, but I never thought she’d be like this: urgent and quivering and eager to yield. I want to claim her. I want to fuck her until she begs for mercy.

I roll my hips against her, pinning her to the wall as I thrust between her legs. There are too many layers of clothes between us, but I’m not going to rush this. I’m going to make her wait.

Knova pulls back, and I let my slick fingers slide out of her mouth. “Hurry the fuck up. Stop wasting my time.”

“You’ve got quite a mouth on you.” I nip at her neck, making her squeak.

She pants a few times. “What are you going to do about it?”

I lower my hand to her neck and wrap it around her throat. Knova moans.

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