Page 50 of Of Pucking Course

I should have known Sam would say that. Del has always made it known among his friends and teammates to never, ever try to get with me.

But he’s not in control of me. I can decide who I want. And I want Sam.

My hand hovers above the waistband of his jeans, aching for more, aching to go further…

“Dakota…” he rasps.

“Yeah?”

Closing his eyes, he shakes his head. A second later, he wraps his hand around my wrist, stopping me.

Then he looks at me, his pupils blown out. “If your brother wasn’t my best friend, I’d let you keep going.”

The heat inside of me starts to dissipate. A faint pain lands at the center of my chest.

“He’s the only thing stopping you from this? From me?”

Sam nods.

Slowly, he pulls my hand off of him, then shrugs out of my hold.

“I’m sorry, Dakota. You have no idea how sorry I am.”

My heart sinks. “But you said you want this…”

“More than anything. But I can’t.” His voice is low and rough. I can hear the struggle playing out in his voice, and it’s the tiniest bit of comfort.

The intensity melts from his gaze. He blinks, and I see a flash of sadness, then regret.

He steps away, creating space between the two of us. We’re just a handful of feet from each other now, but it feels like miles.

Maybe because it would be so easy to give in…we’re so close…he just won’t let it happen.

He walks off toward his bedroom, leaving me alone, standing in the living room, wondering where the hell I go from here.

But then, a second later, an idea pops into my head. The more I think about it, the more excited I get…

Sam is going to hate this…but he won’t be able to resist it either because it’s exactly what he said he wants.

Chapter 17

Sam

“McKesson, you’re up,” Coach Porter hollers.

I hop off the bench and hit the ice for face-off. I get into position, covering the left winger from the other team.

Del, who’s facing off against the center of the Los Angeles Demons, glances over at me and nods before turning back and getting ready for the puck to drop.

Guilt punches through me, just like it did when I walked into the locker room and saw Del getting ready for tonight’s game.

I instantly thought of Dakota.

I shouldn’t have let things get as far as they did this afternoon when she found out that I overheard her. But the second she touched my arm and told me to show her what I’m like in bed, it was game over. I couldn’t have moved from her if someone offered me a billion dollars to walk away.

I wanted to be close to her, to stand there and feel her touch me. I wanted to finally admit after all these years justhow much I wanted her, how I saw her as more than a friend.

How if she weren’t the sister of my best friend, I would have given in and kissed her right then and there.

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