Daring the Defender (Wittmore U Hockey #3)

Chapter 16

16

R eid

“She’s cute.”

“Who’s cute?” I grab a bottle of water out of the cooler near the back door. Pete’s staring across the room, eyes trained on something–or rather someone.

“Axel’s sister. Shelly?”

“Shelby,” I correct. My good girl.

“Right. Well, it’s no wonder he gave the big speech in the locker room.”

“I don’t think I’d test him on it.” I take a swallow of my drink in an attempt to do something with my hands other than throttle my teammate. He’s only just gotten out of the cast from snapping his ankle back in the fall. The last thing he needs is another career halting injury.

“I don’t want Rakestraw ruining my life–or my pretty face,” he grins, “but, someone is going to make a move on her. She’s got that innocent vibe a lot of guys are drawn to.”

He’s not wrong about that. Every single, and a few non-single, guy in the room has checked Shelby out and it’s not hard to tell that she’s sweet and most likely naive. There’s nothing I can do about it, but remind myself and anyone else that brings her up that she’s off-limits, and as foolish as it is, I feel a smug sense of satisfaction knowing I’m the one that’s felt her lips on mine.

I watch her like a hawk as the party winds down, noticing when she vanishes in the laundry room with Nadia and Twyler, and then later as everyone heads out and we start to clean up.

“Put those down.” Axel looks at his sister, who has a collection of empties in her hands. Handing Nadia her coat, he adds, “We’ll get it tomorrow.”

“Ax, it’s gross to leave all of this out overnight.” Her nose wrinkles. “It smells and everything is sticky.”

The party faded out twenty minutes ago, the last stragglers heading home, including Emerson who offered to walk Nikki back to her dorm. I didn’t notice when Reese and Twyler took off, or if Jefferson left with someone or if he’s upstairs. Ever since that hot little makeout session on the porch, my focus had been completely consumed by Shelby.

“I’ll take them,” I say, hoping my face doesn’t reflect my thoughts. Thank god for the box of recycling in my hands, it’s the only thing covering the half-chub in my pants.

“Thank you.” She drops them inside, grabbing two more and tossing them in.

“That’s enough,” Axel tells her. “Our party, our mess.”

“If you say so.” She turns in the direction of the porch. “Night, everyone.”

“Night, Shel,” Nadia says, zipping up her coat.

I follow the two of them out the door, carrying the recycling out to the bin. Axel throws his arm around Nadia’s shoulders and he calls out, “Leave the porch light on. I’ll be back in a few.”

“Got it.”

I head back inside and the house is quiet.

I flip off all the lights other than the one by the front door and another by the stairwell, and head upstairs. It was a long day, with a grueling game, a party, and the hasty makeout session with Shelby as the cherry on top. That’s the part I can’t stop thinking about. My brain or my body. I felt like a deviant, drilling into her while she sat on my lap, her hot little mouth on mine. The question about if my erection ‘hurt’ is a sure signal she’s not ready for anything beyond kissing and some light fooling around. Someone just needs to tell that to the monster in my pants, because he can’t get with the program.

Although I volunteered to help her explore life a little, I know that doesn’t include me taking this to the point of no return. She just wants to learn a few things before she goes back to Texas and the predictable future she has with David the Dud.

Yeah, I doubt that relationship is truly over.

Ignoring the thump of Reese’s headboard against the wall, I enter the bathroom, where I’m accosted by the scent of Shelby’s shampoo. There’s no escaping her.

I start my nightly routine. It’s not just washing my face and brushing my teeth and the guys have no fucking clue that I do it, but I’ve always got a daily mantra. My adoptive mother taught me to do it when I was struggling with some of the transitions in my life. Sometimes it’s about hockey. Other times about my goals. But lately it’s even more specific. Shoving my toothbrush in my mouth, the words start:

Shelby Rakestraw is your best friend’s little sister.

Shelby Rakestraw is off limits.

Shelby Rakestraw is not the girl for you.

Shelby Rakestraw’s mouth is unbelievably perfect and would look so good wrapped around–

Dammit.

Taking a breath I start at the top.

Shelby Rakestraw is your best friend’s little–

I go through the list over and over, trying to get my head on straight.

Finishing up, I start unbuttoning my shirt before I get to my room, shrugging it off and tossing it in the laundry basket in the corner. I thumb open the button on my jeans and hook my thumbs in the waistband and–

“Stop!”

The voice is a rushed squeak, and I turn. Shelby is standing on the opposite side of my room, the bed between us. Her hair is loose around her shoulders in an oversized hot pink T-shirt and plaid pajama pants, her eyes are glued to my open fly.

Fuck.

I glance out to the hallway, making sure that no one heard her, but Reese is occupied and Axel isn’t back home yet. Thank Jesus.

The right thing to do, the only thing to do, is for me to send her back downstairs to her room. I should lock myself in here for the night, protecting us both from the inevitable disaster of this situation.

“What are you doing in here?” I whisper.

“Waiting for you.”

Nope. Nada. Hard pass.

Instead of kicking her out, I shut the door and lock it.

“You shouldn’t be in here,” I tell her, reaching for a pair of cotton shorts hanging on my desk chair. “Turn around.”

“What? Why?”

“GG, I don’t think either of us are ready for you to see what’s under the denim.” Her jaw drops and she spins. I change fast, dropping the jeans and dragging on the shorts. It’s probably not a great trade for me, because there’s less fabric hiding my increasingly growing erection. “Okay.”

She turns and again, her eyes roam over my body. I’m about to ask her again what she’s doing here when she blurts, “I just thought maybe, you know, we practice kissing some more, but that’s a dumb idea…”

She rushes toward the door, but she has to get past me first. I grab her hand and pull her against my chest. “It’s not dumb.”

“No?”

“It’s fucking stupid and it’s going to get us both into a lot of trouble.” I tilt her chin, making her look up at me. “Coming to a man’s bedroom means something, GG, innocent intentions or not.”

“What does it mean?”

“That you want to take things further.” I swallow. She needs a warning. Needs it spelled out. “Further than kissing.”

“Okay.” She nods. “So what if I want that, too?”

“Do you even know what I’m talking about?” Because she’s not stupid, but she is innocent, and even in those silly plaid pants she’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever had in my room.

“Yes,” she says quickly, but then shakes her head. “Sort of. I mean, what you and I did before, that night on the porch.”

“I shouldn’t have. I went too far.”

“You didn’t.” Her hand flattens against my stomach and I inhale sharply. “You didn’t do anything I didn’t want.”

I thrust my hand into my hair, this girl is going to be the end of me. The end of my relationship with Axel. The end of my sanity when this all falls apart.

“I understand the mechanics,” she’s saying, “the biology–but I want to experience it. Is that wrong?”

“With me?” I answer for her. “Yes.”

She looks up at me, wide-eyed and determined. “I don’t think so.”

Outside the door, we hear heavy footsteps as Axel comes up stairs. We both freeze, waiting for him to go into his room. There’s a tap on the door, and then, “Yo, Reid.”

My balls shrivel up at the same time my heart lodges in my throat. I struggle to clear it enough to speak. “Yeah?”

“I’m going to hit the gym in the morning. You wanna come?”

“S–” the ‘s’ comes out in a squeak. I try again. “Sure.”

“Cool. I’ll meet you downstairs at nine.”

We stare at one another for a long moment, waiting for Axel to enter his room and close the door. I flip off my overhead light, which I should have done as soon as I walked in the room. “He’ll kill me, you know that, right?”

“He won’t find out,” she assures me. “And if he does? I’ll handle him.”

“It won’t be necessary.” I cross my arms over my chest, trying my best to act tough. “I think you need to leave.”

Apparently, she’s not falling for my act and Shelby lowers herself to the edge of the bed before saying, “What if I just sit here, on the edge of the bed. That’s safe enough, right?”

“There’s a lot of things that can happen on the edge of a bed, GG, and if you don’t know that, you should probably head back to your room now.”

Her jaw tenses and she lifts her chin defiantly. “The simple fact that I don’t know that should be reason enough for you to show me.”

I think back to what Pete said. Someone is going to get to this girl. Someone with way less restraint and shadier motives than myself. Maybe she needs someone to push her out of her comfort zone. Make her less trusting. At least in the end, I won’t hurt her.

“You really want me to show you?”

“Please.”

I sit next to her, the mattress sinking under my weight.

“Don’t hold back. Act like a guy who wants to be with me.”

I fight a groan. She has no fucking idea how badly I want her, and despite what she’s asking for, I can’t imagine any situation with Shelby where I’d feel comfortable letting loose. Showing her all the filthy things that run through my mind every time I think of her.

Sliding my hand behind her neck, I draw her face close to mine, and ask one last time, “Are you sure?”

She nods, but states definitively, “Yes.”

Our breath mingles before I make contact, giving me a hit of her taste before I even kiss her. But she doesn’t wait for me to make the move, surging forward, pressing those hot lips against mine, mouth open. The feel of her tongue teasing against mine sends a jolt straight to my cock. The idea that she’s never kissed anyone before seems ridiculous, but tonight she’s not content with just kissing and she pulls back, admiring my body.

“Are all men like this?” she asks, pressing her hands to the hard lines of my chest. “Because I don’t think David looks like this.”

“Does David work out six days a week, four hours a day?” It comes out smug as shit and I’m not even sorry. I’m proud of the work I’ve put into my body–that I’m no longer the scrawny kid shuttled from home to home, wondering where his next meal was coming from.

Her blue eyes meet mine and she says, “No. Not a chance.”

I’m bulkier than a forward like Reese who needs speed on his side, but I’m cut, the hours of working out at the gym and practice giving me a body that I know women love. I let her explore my chest, watching her tongue dart out in hunger. Then her nails graze over my nipples and I exhale a groan. “Fuck, GG, you make me so fucking hard.”

“I do?”

I’d pull her on my lap again, but I’m wired to trigger and there’s too much of her to explore, so I take her hand and hold it against my length. “You feel that?”

“Yeah.”

“You do that to me, and it’s driving me fucking crazy.”

I refocus, pushing my hands under her shirt, cupping her tits in my hands. Her nipples harden, peaking against my palms and I say, “I think I drive you crazy too.” Her inhalation is sharp, but she doesn’t draw away as I massage her with both hands. I want to see her tits. Taste and touch them. The night shirt she’s wearing is too loose, hiding all the good stuff under the billowy cotton. “Can I see you?”

Her hands drop to her hem, but I’m impatient and help her take it off. Fuck me. Her shoulders curve, letting her hair fall over her chest, like she’s attempting to hide herself. “No hiding,” I command, brushing the hair back and trailing my fingers down her goosebumped flesh. I trace the curve, then lift them with both hands. “Fucking gorgeous,” I mumble, more to myself than her, then duck my head, swiping my tongue over one stiff peak and then the other.

Her hands thrust into my hair, pulling hard, and her back arches, giving her body to me. My cock throbs, and I squeeze the base, trying to gain back a little control. Her fingers loosen in my hair, and I lay her on her back, not ready to stop sucking on her nipples. There’s so much of her to explore and every taste reminds me this could be the one and only time. That this is just an adventure– so I press a kiss to each dusty pink nipple before kissing down her belly. Her skin is soft–sensitive–and she twitches as I move toward her hips.

When I reach the edge of her plaid pants, I hook my fingers into the band, she rises up on her elbows, looking down at me over the flat plane of her belly and the swollen peaks of her tits. ”What are you doing?”

“Showing you what can be done on the edge of the bed.” I lick my lips. “Eating pussy is one of the best parts.”

Her breath hitches, causing her chest to rise and fall. “You want to do that?”

“You have no idea.” My mouth waters at the thought of her. Fingers curled into the cotton, I add, “But, if you want me to stop, tell me now.”

Her cheeks are red, her lips puffy. She already looks ravished and I haven’t even gotten her off. I’m terrified she’ll tell me to stop and sure as fuck, I don’t want to. I almost shout in victory when she says, “No, don’t stop.”

Dropping to my knees, I make quick work of the pants, but leave her panties on. I’m patient. Diligent. Perseverance is what makes the difference between playing D1 and everyone else. It’s a skill that has served me all of my life. The panties are white cotton, and I think I may come just looking at them. They’re an indicator of how sweet and innocent she is. How she really is a good girl .

I’m going to dirty her up for the rest of her life and I want to be that man for her. To make it so good for her that she has no regrets.

Starting at her knees, I press a kiss on the inside of each one, spreading her wider as I work my way back up. She’s nervous, her fingers fluttering between her belly and fisting in the comforter. She told me not to hold back, and I don’t plan on stopping until she either tells me to, or she’s coming on my tongue.

The closer I get to her pussy, the easier it is to see the wet spot. Innocent or not, her body is getting ready for me. Planting a kiss over the cotton, I inhale her scent, feeling my balls tighten on instinct. Her thighs threaten to close, but I push them back apart and hook a finger into the crotch and drag it aside, getting my first look at her pretty, pretty, pussy and then do what I’ve wanted all night–longer than tonight.

I dart my tongue out and taste her.

Jesus Christ.

Her hips rise up, chasing my tongue and I use the opportunity to peel those panties off and toss them aside. I give her a long slow lick, lathing her clit with my tongue. I know from experience GG isn’t going to last long. Her fingers find their way back into my hair, and every time I get near her clit she tugs, sending a sharp pain across my skin. I hear nothing but the sound of my tongue lapping against her body and her quick breaths. She’s close, but she’s also new at this, and finding her rhythm may be hard. I grab her hips, controlling her movements, getting us into synch.

“Reid,” she whispers, voice low. “I’m–I’m–”

Her thighs snap against my head, and the rest of her words are overtaken by a moan. I bury my face into her pussy and let her ride my tongue, licking slowly until she pulls away. “Holy shit,” she says, and I think it may be her first time cursing around me–maybe ever. I press a final kiss against the hot bundle of nerves and rise up, crawling over her body. I kiss each one of her tits again, sucking gently on her nipples. All I want to do is drag her to the top of the bed and cuddle with her, but my cock is so fucking hard, I can barely see straight.

“Give me a second, okay?” I tell her, shifting to my knees. “Don’t go.”

I stand, not so discreetly gripping the base of my cock, trying to will it down. She sits up, watching me. “Where are you going?”

“To the bathroom. I’ll be right back.”

“Because of that?” she asks, gesturing to my erection.

“Yeah. I’ll be quick.”

“But–”

“No but’s.” I lean over to kiss her. “I’m just going to–”

Her hand wraps around mine and it feels like a gut punch. “GG,” I say slowly, “I don’t think this is what you came up here for.”

“I came here to learn. For you to teach me.” She eyes the hard line of my cock as it strains against my shorts. “Learning how to make you feel good is part of it.”

“I feel fantastic–feeling you come on my tongue was a highlight.”

Her cheeks get impossibly redder, but she surprises me by running her hand along my shaft. I inhale sharply, my lower belly caving and I almost come on the spot when she asks, “Can I?”

Touch me? Rub me? Suck me?

Take your pick.

I swallow and reply quietly, “You can do whatever you want.”