Page 20 of Reckless On Ice

“I was smart enough to know I should focus on hockey and make that my end goal rather than chess club or a career inrocket science,” Rook counters once his flaming cheeks are less nuclear-looking.

I shake my head as I laugh and let my gaze wander the bar absently while the guys continue to poke and prod at each other’s egos. Tan, smooth legs that look a mile long capture my attention. The sleek real estate leads my eyes up to a short skirt and a cropped shirt that shows a flat stomach. Silky black strands of hair fall to a tiny waist that highlights an unbelievable rack that wants to spill out of the low neckline of a strappy white top. The face that finally grabs my attention is mid at best. She’s pretty, and she knows it, but she’s trying so hard to be stunning that she looks like every Instagram girl with her plumped lips and contoured, heavy makeup hiding whatever she naturally looks like. What captures my interest the most are her eyes, which are the same espresso shade as Knox’s.

What. The. Actual.Fuck? Did I just compare this chick in the bar to…Knox? That won’t do. Why is he even in my head right now when I’m looking for a hookup? I’m hanging out with the boys, my teammates, and we’re having a good time without any need for a sensitivity lesson or correction of my behavior. There’s no reason for Knox to come barreling through my thoughts. Yet, here I am, seeing his face when this girl caught my attention, and I can’t have that. I think back through the day and realize this isn’t the first time I’ve thought of Knox. I’ve let my thoughts flit back to him far more than I’d care to admit to anyone, more than just trying to keep my anger under control or watching what I say. After a few weeks of living with the guy, and a few opportunities to try out being the nice guy for a change, suddenly I’ve got him on my brain. I think the fuck not.

I need to prove to myself that Knox isn’t the only one on my mind and that he doesn’t control my choices when it comes to who I take home. I rise from the booth, cross the room to the exotic smoke show with legs for days, and introduce myself. With any luck, we’ll be getting to know each other a whole lot better soon, and I’ll be a little less lonely in the morning.

Eleven

Knox

I’m so ready to be home, in my bed, after days on the road. Even luxury hotel beds don’t hold a candle to my customized Alaskan king mattress that lets me sleep like a baby, and I miss it. I can't sleep well on planes, so my night was trash, and I’m feeling every gritty hour I spent not dreaming on our overnight flight back from San Francisco, where we won our Thursday night game. The team stayed later than expected on Friday for a partnership with the Firebirds as part of a youth sports initiative their foundation launched, then took a redeye home. I’ll need at least a three-hour nap before even thinking about being human again. We have another away game next week in Tennessee, but I get a few days off before we startpractice again to reset.

I unlock the door and stumble inside, dead-tired and already feeling the relief of being home. A gasp from the kitchen has me turning that way as I drop my suitcase in the entry, looking for the source. A woman with messy black hair and makeup-smudged eyes is standing naked in my kitchen, wearing only a man’s button-down shirt that’s fully open and showing off her considerable assets.

Her surprise turns into interest as she smiles. “Well, hey there, handsome. Are you joining us for round three?” she asks, her voice smoky and, I’m sure, seductive to the right person, but she does absolutely nothing for me.

“Wrong fucking tree, baby girl.” I keep my tone kind and even when I answer her, but what the actual fuck?

Fucking Ryder. I close my eyes and pray for patience. That motherfucker brought a woman home and let her parade naked around my house. I told him to give me a heads-up if he was having company. Could the asshole think to do that? No, he was selfish and only cared about sticking his dick in something.

“You’re home early.”

I look up to find Ryder walking in from the hallway that leads to the bedrooms. His dark brown hair is extra messy, like the woman in my kitchen spent the whole night with her fingers in it. He’s shirtless so his tattoos and muscles are on full display, and he’s wearing those damn gray joggers that make him look like a snack and let his dick swing freely again. Heleans against the kitchen island like he doesn't have a care in the world, while I’m uncomfortable as hell with the strange woman propositioning me to join their threesome.

I turn to the woman and with the utmost respect and compassion say, “Sweetheart, it’s time for you to go home now. Go get your things, and I’ll call you a Lyft.”

To her credit, the woman isn’t dumb and doesn’t try to stick around somewhere she realizes she’s unwanted. She shrugs and saunters up to Ryder, grabbing his dick and squeezing it so he groans. “That was a lot of fun. I left my number on the notepad in the kitchen. Call me anytime.” She lifts on her toes, and Ryder kisses her while she continues to cup him through his pants, all while I watch. This is a fucking nightmare.

When she walks away, Ryder is sporting an impressive semi. I have to look anywhere but at him or the cock saluting me through his loose joggers.

“Are you serious right now?” I say, keeping my voice low. “You didthatin front of Goldie? How dare you expose her to your questionable choices.” I point at the fish tank in the living room where the fish swims. She probably has a four-second memory, but it’s a good enough start for the lesson he needs to learn today. I pull my phone out and open the Lyft app, calling a car that will arrive within ten minutes.

“Goldie liked watching. It was nice for her to be the voyeur instead of the exhibitionist for once. She gets tired of always being watched,” Ryder says, cracking a smile as he presses the heel of his hand into his erection, willing it to go down.

I groan at his bad joke and the fact that he’s touching himselfright in front of me. What is wrong with him? He knows I’m attracted to men. He has to know this will more than do it for me. Why would he tease me like this? I have to be tripping from not getting enough sleep. A horrible thought occurs to me, and I whip my head to the living room.

“You better not have had jersey chaser sex on my couch,” I say. “I don't need skank juice on my favorite spot to nap.” I’m too tired to deal with this. It feels like a nightmare I stumbled into where I can’t wake up, and Ryder gets to torment me.

“Relax, we just made out as we walked through the living room.” He pauses and looks at me with a guilty smile. “But…I may have dented the drywall in the hallway. I picked her up, and the way she moved on my cock like she was riding a damn pole about buckled my knees, bro. I hit the wall to catch myself. I’ll have it fixed.” He’s so damn nonchalant, sharing details of his hookup like I’m one of the boys and want to hear it.

All it does is make me picturehimnaked, ass flexing and clenching as he drives his cock into a faceless person, his powerful body in control and dominating the other as their flesh slaps together and the scent of sex fills the air. He has to be a top, with his masculine, alpha energy, and authoritative way about him. He would absolutely crush his partner into submission, and they would thank him for it as they drooled into a pillow.

I should be drooling into my pillow, none-the-wiser to Ryder’s bedroom proclivities or what his dick looks likesaluting me, passed out getting the sleep I desperately need, but here I am thinking of being bent over the couch and fucked hard. But it’s Ryder who’s doing all the fucking. I’m having none of it, and it should stay that way.

Stalking into the kitchen, I rip open the refrigerator and grab a water bottle. I open it and chug the contents to calm the raging volcano of lust that erupted when I started thinking about the way Ryder fucks. I can't be picturing this man fucking anyone. He’s not here to be my personal porn fantasy, he’s here because I have to teach him to be a better person, in interviews and in life. That effectively clears my brain enough of the sex fog and allows me to have some kind of rational thought again. I level Ryder with a murderous glare so he knows I’m serious.

“You’re here as a favor. I don’t want you bringing random puck bunnies, or whatever your sport calls them, here and fucking them in common spaces, or letting them prance around naked for me to walk in on. Show some damn respect.”

“Come on, Golden Boy, let me have some fun,” he says with a devastating smile, his hand roaming his bare chest like he knows where my thoughts have strayed, and he wants my attention to stay there. He can’t know, but I turn away and run through offensive plays in my head to keep from matching the semi he was sporting.

“You can have your fun somewhere else, Reckless,” I grumble, pulling out the blender base and a cup attachment, then the protein powder and ingredients for a shake.

“You should still be able to appreciate the finer things in life,even if you don’t like women. Her tits were nice, but her ass was truly spectacular. I bounced her on my cock like a rodeo queen, and she rode me like a bronco she wanted to break in. You ever been to the rodeo, Knox? I think you’d like all those cowboys in their tight jeans, riding the shit out of those horses and bulls. It’s really something to see.”

He comes up next to me in the kitchen, picks up a banana I’ve placed on the counter for my protein shake, and grips it like he’s measuring its girth while I try to keep my heart rate under control. He has to be doing this to get under my skin, to see how far he can push me and what it will take for me to snap. Too bad for him, my line is a football field long, and he’s nowhere near the end zone.

“Fuck off. I don't need to hear the details. I don't want them. Fuck your skanks at their places, while you’re on road trips, or at a hotel, but don't bring them here and mess with the only peace I have.” I snatch the banana out of his hand, peel it, and throw it into the blender cup with the rest of the ingredients before screwing the cap on.

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