Campus Secret (CFU Hockey #3)

Chapter 1

ONE

OCTOBER

The cold air of the rink did little to stifle the heat that infused my body as I watched Liam Farrell—my brother’s best friend and the guy I’d been secretly having sex with since last spring—warm up on the ice.

He was on his knees doing that hip thrust thing that I knew was just to loosen up their hips, but it had the filthiest thoughts filling my mind. It didn’t help he’d moved that way as he thrust inside me an hour ago.

My thighs clenched as my core spasmed from the memory.

He twisted his head slightly, but it was just enough for him to make eye contact with me. The corner of his sinful mouth lifted in the slightest hint of a smile, and my cheeks flamed knowing we were thinking the same dirty thoughts. I broke the eye contact first.

We had to be careful or we were going to get caught.

It was a miracle we hadn’t gotten caught already.

But I knew our time was coming to an end.

This arrangement was only supposed to last for as long as it took to fulfill my spicy bucket list, and there was only one thing we hadn’t crossed off yet.

My heart thumped heavy in my chest at the thought of it ending.

This was going to blow up in my face and yet I knew I wouldn’t stop it.

I couldn’t.

I was officially addicted to Liam Farrell.

His filthy mouth.

His thick cock.

His piercing gaze when he was right at the edge of coming.

He looked at me like I was a miracle, and that was probably the most addicting feeling of all.

What was supposed to be just sex had stopped being just sex for me months ago. But Liam didn’t do relationships. Something I’d known before I’d agreed to let him help me fulfill my crazy bucket list.

And I refused to be the girl who deluded herself into thinking she could change a man.

Bright, curly red hair caught my attention and I lifted a hand, waving to Harper, who had my niece, Rory, strapped to her chest.

In a million years, I would never have guessed that my twin brother, Drew, would end up falling in love with Harper Tinsley.

Our families had been feuding for seventy years, and no one had taken that feud on more than Drew and Harper.

I would’ve bet money that they’d kill each other before they fell in love, but I guess what they say about the line between love and hate being thin was true.

“Over here,” I called, getting Harper’s attention. She joined me at our seats in the front row right behind the glass. Rory loved being able to see her dad play, and Drew seemed to play better when he could see his daughter.

I was proud of my brother and how much he’d stepped up when his daughter was basically left on his doorstep.

We had no idea who the mother was, something Drew was embarrassed about, but it didn’t matter.

We’d all surrounded that sweet baby with more love than she could handle.

She was truly being raised by a village, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Harper sat down next to me on the blanket I’d brought for us so our butts didn’t freeze on these seats during the game.

“God, I swear every time I see her she’s gotten bigger,” I said.

I couldn’t help tickling Rory’s chin, earning a toothy grin that always made me smile in return. “Look at those cheeks.”

“Drew’s been feeding her everything in sight,” Harper said, adjusting Rory’s tiny black CFU Hockey beanie. Harper and I wore matching ones. “Yesterday I caught him trying to give her a taste of his protein shake. I had to explain that babies can’t have protein powder.”

I laughed. “Sounds like him. He probably figured if it’s good enough for him to build muscle, it’s good enough for her.”

The players were doing more warmups on the ice, and while I knew I was being too obvious, I couldn’t stop watching Liam—the effortless way he cut across the ice, all smooth power and easy control.

And then I caught sight of my brother, jaw tight and shoulders rigid like he was two seconds from snapping, at the same time that Harper said, “I wonder what’s wrong with Drew. ”

My stomach knotted with a foreboding that made my palms clammy.

“I don’t know. He seemed fine when I saw him earlier today.

Maybe one of the other players trash-talked him?

I know he still gets easily annoyed with Beau and Kyle after all that bet stuff.

Poor guys have been working hard to get back on his good side. ”

“Maybe,” she said, but I knew Harper well enough now to catch the doubt in her tone.

My gaze jumped between Drew and Liam. He couldn’t have figured it out, could he? We’d been so careful, especially since being back at school. And bless my brother, but he’d been pretty preoccupied with Harper and Rory, which made it easier to hide our arrangement from him.

Dread filled me. He couldn’t know.

I wasn’t ready for things with Liam to end yet—wasn’t sure I’d ever be ready. But I would take as much of him as I could get.

The arena filled quickly as game time approached.

Clark Fork’s hockey program might have only been a few years old, but the town of Dunridge took their team seriously.

By the time the players returned for introductions, the stands were packed with students, families, and townspeople bundled in the team colors of maroon and black.

The first period passed without incident, both teams feeling each other out. Drew played his usual solid defense, but strangely, he wasn’t working with Liam like he normally did.

They’d been best friends since they were kids and playing hockey together forever. They’d always been in sync on the ice, covering for each other when necessary and teaming up to annihilate the competition. But tonight it was like they were playing two separate games.

Drew slammed into the boards after a particularly aggressive check, and when he got up, his helmet was askew and his face was flushed with more than just exertion. That dread that had been bubbling in my gut spread through my limbs, and I knew what was coming before it even happened.

Call it twintuition or whatever, but I knew in my bones this was all about to blow up.

It was like watching a train wreck in slow motion.

Liam skated over to check on him, the way he’d done thousands of times before, but instead of accepting his hand, Drew shoved him away.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Liam’s voice carried clearly through the glass, a hint of his Irish accent that always made me weak in the knees coming out.

Anger radiated from every line of Drew’s body as he screamed at Liam. “You fucked my sister!”

My jaw dropped along with my heart as I stared at my brother and the guy I’d fallen so hard for. How had Drew found out? We’d been so careful, or at least I thought we had.

But worst of all was the devastation that I knew was coming.

Liam was going to deny it.

He wouldn’t claim me here in front of this crowd of people who’d all come to a standstill at Drew’s accusation. He’d made it clear he didn’t do relationships.

Not even with me.

I couldn’t look anymore. I couldn’t watch as Liam pretended like I was nothing.

My heart hurt enough knowing he’d never really be mine.

I buried my face in my hands and whispered, “Oh, shit.”

My worst-case scenario was coming true, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

And no one I could blame but myself for being incredibly stupid to go and fall for my brother’s best friend.