Page 62 of Stick It
We follow him over to his table, and when he steps aside to let one of us into the booth, Wren all but shoves me into the seat, so I’m boxed in beside Jax, with Ethan sliding into the free spot beside me.
Grinning like the Cheshire cat, Wren takes the empty seat at the end of the booth next to Finn. Of course, that means Finn is sitting opposite me, which makes it next to impossible for me to ignore the dark glower he levels in my direction.
Beside him is Griffin, who just blatantly stares at me as I squirm in my seat.Isn’t this comfortable?I’m going to murder Wren for dragging us over here.
Ethan and Wren fall into an in-depth conversation regarding which NHL team is going all the way this season, while Finn quietly broods and Griffin just keeps staring, a hint of a smirk curling at one corner of his mouth as though he can see how uncomfortable I am and is amused by it. Jackass.
“You’ve been avoiding me,” Jax murmurs, leaning in close so his breath brushes my ear.
“No, I haven’t.”
Lips tilted, he just hums, not buying my lie. After failing to catch up with him after our team meeting on Saturday, I’ve decided to keep him at arm’s length instead. That way I won’t be tempted to remind myself of how good his lips felt on mine. I won’t be drawn to get to know the man behind the silent, watchful demeanor. I won’t be curious to find anything about Jax that could put me at risk of actually falling for him.
“What I can’t figure out is if it’s because I saw behind that tough exterior of yours.” His nose brushes along the column of my throat, sending shivers racing down my spine. “Or because I kissed you.”
My face heats, my breath growing shallow.
He makes a noise under his breath, like he just received the answer to that question.
I jump when the backs of his knuckles brush down the outside of my thigh, and I once again curse Wren for making me wear such a revealing outfit.
Jax chuckles breathlessly, the sound barely audible to my own ears, never mind anyone else’s at the table. Still, I glance up from beneath my eyelashes. Finn has been pulled into a conversation with Wren and Ethan—thank God—but Griffin…Griffin is looking directly atme. There’s a rare heat in his gaze, like he somehow knows exactly what Jax is doing to me.
I can’t seem to look away as Jax grows bolder, the tips of his fingers circling my knee before skimming up the inside of my thigh. He moves them in a slow, teasing pattern, back and forth, that leaves tingles in its wake. My core clenches, a ball of heat growing steadily brighter with every sweep of his fingers.
“I keep wondering,” he rasps in my ear, voice thick. It jolts me out of my trance, and I wrench my gaze from Griffin, slamming my eyes shut instead as I force myself to gain control. “What would have happened if we hadn’t been interrupted?”
The memory unfolds on the backs of my eyelids. Jax’s hands on my body; my hands on his. His lips bruising mine. The desire I felt. The need for more. How close I’d been to pulling his shirt off, to shoving down his sweats.
God, my throat is parched.
“What I would give to hear the sweet noises you’d make as I made you come,” Jax murmurs, and I’m just about ready to combust. Seriously, if he moved his fingers an inch higher, he’d literally just have to tap my clit and I’d come. “The way you’d feel wrapped around me.”
I shoot upright, practically knocking Ethan out of the booth in my haste to escape. I mutter an excuse about needing thebathroom before practically steamrolling over him and fleeing the table.
At the sink, I stare at the flushed cheeks of my reflection. There’s a rosiness to them, a glow in my eyes. I look more alive than I have in a long time. Blowing out a breath, I run the tap and splash cold water on the backs of my wrists and neck in a bid to calm the fire Jax ignited.
The fact that he is the one to instill such life back into me…I don’t know what to make of that.
I hide out in the bathroom for as long as I can, and when I finally muster the courage to leave, Finn is waiting in the hallway outside. He pushes off the opposite wall as soon as I appear. There’s a tic in his jaw, and he looks absolutely furious as he takes me in. I barely get a chance to acknowledge how hot he looks in his formfitting jeans that hug his muscular thighs and shirt that stretches across his toned chest, hinting at the layers of muscle hidden underneath, the intoxicating clash of red hair and green eyes before he rushes forward, crowding me against the wall.
His palms are on either side of my head, elbows locked as he stares down at me with twin emerald pools of liquid lust, his gaze hot and heavy against my skin. “You’re driving me insane, showing up here dressed like that.” His voice is a thick rasp that scrapes against my skin, much like I imagine the hint of stubble along his chin would scratch my inner thighs. “Letting my friend and teammate turn you on right in front of me.” My cheeks blaze red as his gaze slowly drops over me. Everywhere his eyes touch, goosebumps pebble in his wake. My breathing shallows; my chest heaves. All I can focus on is the heat of his body searing into mine.
“You’re a temptation I’m trying to resist.” His voice cracks, strain evident in the lines of his face, the way his palms flatten against the wall beside my head, nails scraping along the paintlike he’s desperate to be touching something else…to be touchingme.“But fuck, when you look like that, I can’t stay away.”
Finn’s mouth crashes down on mine in a kiss so rough and demanding that it leaves me dazed. The fire I’d managed to douse rages back to life stronger and more dangerous than before. I’m engulfed in it, burning alive, and I don’t even care.
However, I can’t forget how cold he has been toward me. His kiss might be searing, but his attitude has been arctic. Balling my fists, I go to shove him away when suddenly, his touch is gone. The warmth of him vanishes in an instant, slipping away like the final notes of a song fading into silence, leaving only the echo of what was. I sway where I stand, unsteady in the absence of him as my eyes slowly flutter open, and I stare at his retreating back. The ghost of his lips haunts mine as I watch him storm away.
Asshole. He hasgotto stop doing that to me.
Alone, I collapse against the wall. My lips tingle, and my heart is crashing against my chest like I just skated suicides for the past hour. I decide there is absolutely no way I can return to the table and act like everything is normal. Pulling my phone out of my purse, I send Wren a quick text to let her know I’m leaving. I hesitate for a second before sending the same message to Ethan, knowing he’ll probably worry if I just disappear.
Before anyone can come looking for me, I slip through the crowded bar toward the exit. Of course, Griffin is waiting by the door.
“Don’t start,” I warn, marching past him and throwing open the door.
He falls into step beside me as I move down the sidewalk. “Easy, Hurricane. Just making sure you get home.”
