Page 61 of Zero Pucks Given
“No, are you?” I replied defensively.
“I need to ice my shoulder.” He rolled his right arm in the socket, wincing slightly.
“I didn’t realize you’re injured.”
“I’m not,” he replied, just as defensively as me. “Just a little beat up. It’s been a long season.”
“Oh.”
The ice machine stopped rumbling, and he removed his full bucket from underneath the dispenser. “All yours.”
He slid past me, arm brushing against mine in the narrow doorway. His scent, so familiar and reassuring to me, lingered in the space. I placed my bucket underneath the machine and hit the button. Out in the hallway, I heard Grayson press the button for the elevator.
But the longer I stood there, the angrier I became. I left my bucket there and stormed out to the elevator lobby.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I demanded.
He turned toward me. “Did I use up the rest of the ice?”
“Don’t play dumb. You were a dick to me in the lobby. What the hellwasthat?”
“I’ve made my feelings known from the start,” he said calmly.Toocalmly. “I can’t wait for all of this to be over so I can do my job.”
I scoffed. “Bullshit. You were embarrassed that your teammates were making fun of you. Like this is freaking high school. I didn’t realize your skin was so thin. Steele Wall? More like paper.”
His handsome face twisted with anger. “What the hell is your problem? I thought you were happy to get a first class trip on theteam’s dime.”
“My problem is that you have feelings for me, but you’re too much of a coward to admit it!” I shouted.
“I have feelings for you all right,” he growled. “Frustration. Annoyance. You’re the most insufferable woman I’ve ever met, you know that?”
I let out a high-pitched laugh. “Like I said. You’re a coward. If you want to lie to yourself and pretend like you feel nothing, that’s fine. But don’t try to convince me, because I know the truth.”
“You don’t know anything,” he shot back.
“I know that you’re exactly what I thought you were on our first date,” I said, my words practically dripping with acid. “You’re self-centered. You’re egotistical. You’re just another asshole who’s too rich and famous to care about anyone but yourself.”
I stepped into his space and stared up into his eyes defiantly.
“I’m just glad you reminded me now, before I allowed myself to believe this was something real.”
Satisfied with the confrontation, I turned to walk away triumphantly.
Grayson spun me around, threw me up against the wall next to the elevator, and kissed me.
An explosion of desire filled my body as his lips churned against mine hungrily. He leaned into me, pressing me into the wall with his weight. I moaned at how firm and sturdy he felt; he was the only thingrealin the world. His tongue forced its way into my mouth, and I accepted it eagerly, letting it dance with my own.
He pushed into me, thigh wedging my legs open, and I widened my stance for him. Pleasure erupted between my legs at the wonderful pressure of his weight. His cock was hard and hot against my thigh, growing even stiffer with every passing second until Grayson tore his lips from mine.
“I don’t just care about myself,” he said in a low, deep voice whilestaring deeply into my eyes. “There’s someone else I care about more than I can ever say. And that feelingterrifiesme.”
“What feeling?” I whispered. “Tell me.”
The elevator dinged on our floor, and a woman gasped. “What happened here? Oh, what a mess!”
Grayson stepped back quickly. His ice bucket was on the floor, with square chunks of ice covering the carpet in front of the elevators. I hadn’t even noticed that he’d dropped it to kiss me. Based on the way he was staring at the ice, he hadn’t realized it either.
The couple that had exited the elevator stared at us in confusion.
