Page 34 of Puck to the Heart
“Ash,” his name was more exhale than word.
Was he nuzzling my neck? The woodsy, smoky scent of his cologne engulfed me as he held tighter, and sparks trailed from my neck down, igniting a path through my entire body. Every inch of me was on fire, and maybe I should’ve reached for a fire extinguisher, but I reached for Ash instead. Turning in the circle of his arms was sweet agony; the length of him pressed against me turning me into a conflagration of messy need.
My hands threaded through the short, damp hair at the back of his neck as I pulled his face down to meet mine.
The first slow brush of our lips stoked the fire into an inferno as his arms twined tighter around me. When he kissed me before, it was all hard and aggressive, but now he let me lead, so I went softer, more teasing and lightness. A low groan sounded in his throat.
“Wilder.”
Reluctantly, I opened my eyes, my gaze meeting Ash’s to find him grinning like he’d read every lascivious thought I had.
“Wilder.”
Oh, shit, we had an audience.
“Press.”
“Shit,” Ash muttered. “Wait for me?”
I kept my responses short,giving canned answers, but I needed to escape this room and find Olivia.
Post-game adrenaline set my blood boiling, and I wanted nothing more than to find Olivia and sink into?—
Cool your jets, Wilder. It wasn’t…we weren’t…we couldn’t…not yet.
Fuck. My mind tangled in knots over Olivia, over every fucking thing.
All I knew was how much I wanted tobewith her. Not just for some post-game fuck, but for real.
It shouldn’t have been news to me, how much I wanted her,allof her, but seeing her wearing my name cemented something in me like I claimed her, and she accepted.
Maybe I should’ve paid more attention and been more attentive with the press, but Olivia waiting for me was the only thing on my mind.
Post-game sex, post-win sex more so, was a way to rid my body of adrenaline and endorphins after pushing myself to all physical limits. It was hard and long, just like I would be if I didn’t stop thinking about itright fucking now. And I flat-out refused to fuck her for the first time like this. Even if she threw herself at me, I wanted to wait until I had her in my bed and I wasn’t hovering on the knife-thin wire between collapse and release.
Holy shit. I needed to extricate myself before I made a mistake and crossed an irreversible line. Seeing her wearing my jersey,mine, not one bought from the team shop, but one I’d actually worn made me preen in possessive male pride.
She still balked, no matter how much I told her I wanted her, though her reaction tonight hopefully meant she softened on that front. And I realized I wanted to clear everything up before going further. I would take anything she gave me, but I needed to know whatshewanted, no matter how much it might hurt me.
When I found her after Press, she was shy again, andfuck, she was so pretty with her kiss swollen lips and mussed hair andmyname on her back.
“How’s your dad? I meant to ask the other day, but I got a little distracted.” Just like I needed to distract myself now, so I didn’t pull her into my car and slide my hands under the fucking jersey and—get a fucking grip. But her blush told me she knew exactly what I meant. Good.
A long, exhausted sigh came before her response. “He says he’s okay. I think he feels worse than he lets on, but then again, he says I overreact, so who knows?” The ends of her ponytail slid through her fingers as she fidgeted with the russet strands. Another sigh. “He asked about you.” When she trailed off, she pulled the ends of her hair tighter around her fingers, turning the tips white as she cut off circulation.
I didn’t know how to respond, so I reached out to take her hand, letting her squeeze my fingers instead of her own. Curiosity got the better of me, even though I wasn’t the kind of guy people told their parents about. “What did you tell him?”
“I told him you flew me across the country without a second thought, just because you saw how frantic I was to get there.” Her voice and eyes went soft as she spoke.
I waved her off. “I did what anyone else would’ve done.”
“No. Nobody else would’ve been able to make that happen but you.”
If I didn’t change the subject again, I’d show her what else I could make happen, right out here on the hood of my car, paint job be damned. “I’m glad you came.”
Olivia scoffed, the pretty pink blush staining her cheeks darker.
“It’s nice having someone to look for in the stands.” I pulled on our joined hands, drawing her closer until I felt her breath catch. “I liked knowing you were watching me.” The look on her face as I’d stretched would fuel a hundred fantasies. I knew what those stretches looked like, and so help me, I couldn’t help imagining her warm, soft skin under my body instead of cold, hard ice.
