Chapter 4 Everett
EVERETT
“You know, anyone who makes such big promises can only be a letdown.”
A deep chuckle rumbles in my chest. I know exactly how I sound, but luckily for her, it’s not bullshit. I just need the chance to show her that my skills match my arrogance.
“Is that right?”
“That wasn’t a challenge,” she counters, but it’s too late, I’ve already taken it as one.
She watched me play tonight, so she should already have a clue about how competitive I am. What she saw on the ice will pale in comparison to how hard I’ll play to prove her wrong.
I will give her everything I promise, and tomorrow, when she thinks back to tonight, she’ll know that one of us was right. And it won’t be her.
“You made the right decision, coming to my game tonight,” I tell her after accepting my shot and swallowing it down.
“I didn’t attend the Everett Donnelly game. I went to an LA Vipers game. You just happened to be in the line-up; there’s a difference.”
My brows lift as I absorb her words.
It’s refreshing. Most women I hook up with spend all night blowing smoke up my ass. If I’m lucky, I’ll even get a little hand action to prove they're serious before diving in. As of now, this woman has done nothing but fight me and try to get away.
It only makes me want her more.
“Didn’t stop you from turning up wearing my jersey though, did it?”
“That wasn’t by choice,” she mutters.
“Fate, then. You turned up wearing my name and number, and out of everyone in the arena tonight, I saw you and only you.”
“Do these lines really work?” She rolls her eyes, and my hand twitches with the need to wrap it around her throat.
My cock jerks. The image I’ve painted in my head of her wearing nothing but my name and number pales in comparison to what she’d look like wearing nothing but my hand as a necklace.
“No,” I confess, dragging her ass back against me so she can feel what our banter is doing to me. “I don’t usually have to work this hard. They’re generally willing to drop to their knees the second they learn my name.”
“Well, unfortunately for you, I have a little more self-respect.”
“I can’t help but wonder how much sweeter it’ll be when I prove you wrong.”
“Try as hard as you like; I’m not fucking you tonight.”
“Wanna bet?”
A laugh of disbelief bubbles from her lips as she spins around to face me.
I grin down at her, my eyes alternating between hers and her stained-red lips.
Fuck, what I wouldn’t give to see that lipstick smeared all over my dick later tonight.
“Do I want to play a game with one of the country’s biggest players? Absolutely not.”
“Ah, see, and I thought you were going to be fun.”
“I am fun. What I’m not is stupid. Excuse me,” she states before marching away.
This time, I let her go.
I keep my eyes on her as she heads toward the sign for the restrooms.
“What did you say?” Killer asks as he steps up beside me and watches her go.
“That I’m going to rock her fucking world the second she’s ready.”
“And she turned you down? How does it feel to lose, Casanova?”
I don’t take my eyes from her until she’s disappeared around the corner, and then I turn to my teammate.
“I haven’t lost. The night is still young. And unless she’s planning on climbing out of a second-floor window, she’ll be back out in a few minutes. She just needs time to realize I’m right.” I watch as her friend also excuses herself and follows her to the bathroom.
He laughs and lightly smacks my shoulder. “Good luck with that.”
“I’ve got this. I won’t be ending this night without hearing that woman scream my name.”
Killer shakes his head, but there’s a smirk on his lips.
He gets it. And I have no doubt he’ll end his night in a similar fashion.
Stepping up to the bar, I order myself a beer and keep one eye on the other side of the room, waiting for her to emerge.
“She’s not your usual type,” Parker says, stepping up beside me with Linc attached to her hip.
That’s how it is now. Linc has switched sides. It used to be the two of us against the world. Now it’s him and my little sister.
I love Parker more than I’m willing to admit, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t resent her a little bit for getting so much of my best friend all to herself these days.
Linc and I have always had the ability to know what the other is thinking; we can have silent conversations that no one else is involved in. However, I’ve recently seen the two of them doing the same thing.
I know I’ve been in Seattle for a few years, but even with the physical distance between us, I still felt like my partner in crime was there. He still is there for me, but his sidekick has changed. And mine…well, I guess I don’t have one anymore.
I glance around the room at my teammates. My friendships with them are growing. Killer and I spend the most time together. We’re both single and happy to party and lose ourselves in a bunny or three. Linc used to be my wingman, but those times are long gone now.
“What makes you say that?” I ask, trying to keep the hurt from my tone.
“Well, she willingly walked away, for one,” Parker says, making Linc snort.
“She’s gone to the bathroom.”
“She looked like she wanted to run away,” she points out happily.
“She’s playing hard to get.”
“Exactly. Not your normal type.”
“She’s got a point, man,” Linc agrees. “You don’t usually have to put any work in.”
“Well, maybe I fancy a challenge tonight to mix things up a little. You guys are all celebrating, and I want to—”
“You’re celebrating too,” Parker says with a frown. “You won as well.”
“By default. I won by default.”
“No, that’s not—”
“Just leave it,” I bark, regretting saying anything.
Parker might be happy to call me out on my bullshit, but she celebrates my wins harder than anyone. She always has, and I love her for it, but nothing she can say will convince me that I had any influence on the Vipers’ performance this year.
“Darcy said your shoulder needs looking at,” she says, reverting to work.
I roll it, smothering the wince of pain. That asshole fucked me up when he slammed me into the boards tonight.
“It’s fine.”
Parker narrows her eyes at me.
“Promise me you’ll ice it tonight.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” I mutter as movement behind her catches my eye. “Excuse me, my presence is required elsewhere.”
I march away, directly toward the two women who’ve finally reemerged.
“I thought you’d run away,” I rasp, stepping right into her side.
“If only,” she counters, making her friend bark out a laugh.
“You’re meant to be letting go, Bea. Remembering how to enjoy life,” her friend supplies, giving me insight into the conversation that just happened in the bathroom.
“And you dare not ignore the queen’s orders.”
Her friend smirks as she lifts her hand to straighten her crown.
Thankfully, Hammond, our second-line goalie, appears and sweeps the queen away, leaving us alone again.
“Dance with me,” I demand before taking her hand and dragging her to the dance floor.
“No one ever says no to you, do they?” my girl asks when I pull her to a stop and tug her into my body.
“Can’t say I remember a time when they did.” She rolls her eyes again. “Keep doing that and you might just find yourself in a very compromising position, sweetheart.”
Her eyes widen, but I don’t miss the way her pupils dilate.
Dropping my hands down her back, I grab her ass, pinning her right up against me.
“I love willing women,” I rasp in her ear. “They make life easy. We both know what we want and we take it. But do you know what really gets my dick hard?” I thrust my hips forward so she doesn’t stand a chance of missing exactly how hard I am right now.
“Women stroking your already-inflated ego?” she quips.
“There can be stroking, but it’s not my ego I’m really interested in.” Lifting one hand to the back of her head, I twist my fingers in her hair and drag her head back so she has no choice but to look at me. “This little brat act you’ve got going on, though…it’s really doing it for me.”
I stare at her, my need for her growing. Her lips are parted, her chest heaving. I can only imagine how fast her heart is beating right now. Hopefully just as fast as mine, because fuck, I need this woman more than I need my next breath.
“Go on. Do it again. Roll your eyes at me, I dare you.”
“First a bet, and now a dare. You really are all about the games, aren’t you?”
“Sweetheart, you have no fucking idea. And do you know what I love more than playing a game?”
“Let me guess,” she mocks. “Win—”
She doesn’t get to finish her word. Instead, I steal it.
She’s fucking right. Winning is fucking everything to me, and I’m about to prove to her just how good it’s going to feel.
Her palms press against my chest, and for a brief second, I think I’ve read this whole situation wrong and she’s going to push me away.
I’ll feel like an asshole if she does, because I never want to overstep with a woman who isn’t along for the ride.
But then, just when I’m convinced I’ve fucked up, her fingers curl in the fabric of my shirt and her lips part.
Fuck. Yes.
My tongue rushes out, eager to meet hers.
The second we collide, desire hits me right in the cock.
I step forward, forcing my thigh between hers before I begin moving in time with the music as I continue to devour her.
Her hands move, sliding up my chest until she threads her fingers in my hair, holding me against her.
I groan as she twists the short lengths at the nape of my neck, sending the perfect amount of pain down my spine.
My hand on her ass tightens as I grind against her, and I know the second I hit the sweet spot because her head falls back on a gasp.
I smirk as she stares up at me with hooded, glazed eyes.
The sweet satisfaction of victory rushes through my veins. I don’t let her see it, though. Not yet. I’ve got a point to prove first.
My mouth finds hers again, and I kiss her until she’s clawing at my back, desperate for more.
Dragging my lips across her jaw, I nibble and lick down her neck before finding her ear.
“You’re trembling,” I point out, in case she hasn’t noticed the effect I’m having on her.
“Shut up,” she hisses.
“What’s wrong, sweetheart? Still want to try to convince me that you don’t want me? It’s too late; there’s already a damp patch on my thigh.”
“Shut up,” she repeats, but she doesn’t pull away; in fact, she does the opposite and pulls my mouth back to hers, taking exactly what she needs, and fuck me if that isn’t the biggest turn-on I’ve ever experienced.