Page 61 of False Play
He clicked his tongue with a shake of his head as he started to lace his skates. His fingers were long and sleek, but he moved swiftly like it was second nature to him. “I can’t be with a girl who doesn’t know how to skate.”
I scoffed. “Good thing we’re not together, then.”
“Ah.” His eyes gleamed with mischief. “But we are.” He dropped his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “You know, as fake boyfriend and girlfriend, in case you’ve forgotten.”
I tilted my head. “You’re enjoying this a little too much, aren’t you?”
“Howdareyou question my intentions?” He leveled me with a feigned innocent look.
I let out a sigh as I rubbed my temples. “Go train the kids, and we’ll talk about this later. I don’t want to be stuck here all day.”
Before I had a moment to react, his hand reached for mine and jerked me forward, sitting me on his lap.
I immediately started to squirm, trying to get away. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“The photographers are looking,” he whispered.
I tried to turn my head to see where they were, but he gripped my chin tightly. I took a sharp, small inhale when his calloused fingers made contact with my skin. The sudden touch was scorching hot, but I tried my best to focus on the situation at hand.
“Don’t look over there, or they’ll be suspicious.” He chuckled softly, the sound making my skin prickle with goosebumps. Was his laugh always this sexy? “Your acting skills are seriously lacking, Kenny.” His intense, stormy blue eyes met mine with glee.
“And you’retoodamn good.” My tone held no bite. The proximity was making me feel…off. Tense. Like I was suddenly too aware of all my spidey senses.
“Relax your shoulders and lean into me.” His tone was surprisingly husky and soft, with an underlying command that made the pit of my stomach feel warm and fuzzy.
“No.” I could barely manage to be this close; if I leaned into him, it was going to be game over.
“Doit. They’re still looking.”
I was not equipped for this fake relationship shit. It was too damn stressful.
I took a deep breath, and without a word, I relaxed intohim. Even with all the layers we had on, I could still feel his chiseled body pressed against mine.
“I’m going to kiss your cheek now,” he whispered. “Think about all the good press we’ll get from this.” He wiggled his eyebrows.
“Okay, but make it quick. I don’t know how long I can keep pretending. Being so close to you gives me the urge to gag. I swear, I can’t control it even if I tried,” I managed to say in a dry tone despite the way my heart trashed almost painfully at my ribcage at the possibility of having Henry’s lips on my skin.
His mouth found my ear with a gruff chuckle. A shiver ran down my spine, and goosebumps bloomed across my skin like tiny warnings. My thighs clenched, and my clitthrobbedwhen his voice, dark and husky, whispered, “Oh, Kenny, you and I both know you haveplentyof opinions about me, but thinking I’m repulsive isn’t one of them.” He leaned in, and his lips brushed dangerously close to mine, the contact fleeting and maddeningly soft.
Henry had one true disadvantage, and that was being cocky. He truly believed he had the upper hand, and that’s exactly what made this victory all the sweeter.
I grabbed his hat, placed it on the bench, and then ran my pink manicured nails through his hair. It was sosoft, and black, and shiny.Stupid, perfect hair.
His eyes fluttered shut, and he took a shaky inhale when my lips hovered over his. Every bone in my body screamed at me to get as far away as possible. Playing these games was toying with a line I desperately didn’t want to cross. But I was too competitive by nature, so my fingers kept threading his hair in a soft, borderline sensual way, and he gripped my waist tightly in silent warning. When I knew I had him exactly where I wanted him, I gracefully stood and grabbed his hat,putting it back with a diabolical smile plastered all over my face.
“You’re going to be late.” I didn’t bother hiding the smug undertone in my otherwise casual voice.
He opened his eyes, quickly finding mine in disbelief. I met his stare with a cross of my arms and a playful wink. The triumph I felt was too satisfying to hide.
He arched a brow, his mouth curving into a knowing smile. “Well played, Jonesy.”
I mockingly bowed. “Why, thank you, pretty boy.”
“The media is goingto eat this up,” Val said, sitting next to me as we stared at the ice rink, where Henry was almost done training the kids.
“Tell me about it,” I muttered.
The kids were starstruck when they saw Henry gliding around the ice, waiting for them. He was such a natural with them, too. Very patient and a surprisingly good teacher. He was doing a great job putting up the front of a sweet, kids-friendly hockey player. It was almost as if this was what was natural to him. It didn’t look exaggerated or over the top, like his usualI-don’t-give-a-shitpersonality—though, I hadn’t seen that one in a while, which was a win in itself.
