Page 87 of Hockey Halloween
“Hmm.”
Yeah, brain, I get it. She wants someone else.
“What’s that?” Paisley asks, her voice light, oblivious.
Shit. Did I just make that sound out loud?
I fake a cough. “Uh—just need a drink. Throat’s dry. Have to get the pipes ready if we’re singing later.”
She nods. “Same.”
As Brighton wails her way through a ballad, we slip into the kitchen. My hand stays planted on the small of Paisley’s back—not because I’m playing the part, but because Ineedto touch her. She gives Melanie a quick nod on our way through, and Melanie’s grin is Cheshire-cat level smug.
Figures. Those two were scheming earlier. Plotting this whole “make-Jaxon-jealous” plan. When I caught them whispering, I thought…God, I don’t know what I thought. That she was flirting with me? Interested? Turns out she was just drafting me in this ruse.
A ruse that seems to be working. Jaxon’s still watching like he’s trying to solve a puzzle he didn’t know existed.
“He’s watching,” she whispers, her voice low and satisfied.
I glance over at her, and there’s this look in her eyes.Hope.Expectation.Like she’s waiting for me to seal the deal.
Well, all right then.
Just before we’re out of view, I stop by the wall, spin, and pull her in close, right between my legs. Her breath catches. I’m not usually one for public displays of affection but screw it. If this is the game she wants to play, I’m going all in.
My hand moves up the back of her neck, fingers grazing that soft, sensitive skin just beneath her hair. Her shiver is immediate, full-body and unmissable. She tips her head up, and I swear, time slows.
Then that tongue.
That slow, pink sweep over her bottom lip like she’s daring me to kiss her.
Jesus.
She has noidea what she’s doing to me.
I dip my head, the brim of her witch’s hat brushing against my face as I lower my voice to a whisper. “You know…I think you cast a spell on me tonight.” She laughs softly, like she doesn’t believe me. I inch back and flash her a grin that tells her I’m not joking. “All I want to do right now is put my mouth all over you.”
Her breath catches, throat working as she swallows. And then, something flickers in her eyes. Heat. Real, scorching heat. Or maybe she’s justgood at this little act. Too good. But I’m done playing it safe. Maybe it’s time to push, to see if that fire is for me.
“You know… toreally help nail this,” I say.
She gives me that smile again, the one that punches straight through my chest. “Nail it, yes,” she says quietly. “But your mouth all over me…we can’t do that here. Not with everyone watching.”
I tilt my head, lips brushing her ear. “No, you’re right. Besides, doing it in private wouldn’t help your plan, would it?” I glance over her shoulder, right at Jaxon. “The point is to make him jealous, yeah?”
“Right.” One word. Soft. Barely audible. And laced with disappointment so thick I feel it in my bones.
Jesus, does she want my mouth on her?
Let’s find out. I close the gap and crush my mouth to hers. I kiss her like I mean it—because I do. My hands slide down her spine and pull her flush against the hard line of my body. I don’t care that the entire damn room is behind us, or that Brighton’s voice is still echoing through the speakers. The only thing I can hear is the rush of blood in my ears and the soft, addictive sounds she makes when I deepen the kiss.
She moans, and that sound lights me on fire. Her fingers dig into my biceps, her hips rocking into mine like she needs this just as badly. I grind against her, and her entire body arches. I’m gone. Completely gone.
“Get a room.” Roman’s voice breaks through the haze. I pull back, and turn just in time to see him wearing his signature smug look. But it’s not Roman I’m worried about. It’s Jaxon.
He sets his drink down. His expression tightens. And then, hestarts walking toward us. Every instinct I have fires at once, half of me wants to throw Paisley over my shoulder and claim her in front of the whole damn room, and the other half wants to shove Jaxon through a wall.
Fight or flight?
