32. Indie
Indie
This was a dumb idea. I’m going to catch the next plane back after we land.
Connor
Now that doesn’t sound like the Indie I know.
Indie
That Indie left her good sense at customs in Pearson Airport.
Connor
If you can make a reporter piss his pants in fear and wrangle hockey players to their respective media obligations, you can talk to your friend. It’ll be all good, you’ll see.
Indie
Nope. Not happening. I’m coming back and I’ll have Swiss Chalet for Xmas dinner.
Connor
I’m beginning to think your phone has been hacked. The only fast food I’ve seen you consume is made with coffee beans and comes in a cup.
TO THE HACKER OF INDIE’S PHONE—I don’t make enough money to pay the ransom you are trying to extort here. You’d have better luck with Yao’s account. He must be rich because he’s practically geriatric after being in the league so long.
Despite the great white shark of worry swimming in my stomach, Connor’s texts had a small smile forming on my lips.
Only when I set my phone down did I feel the ache from gripping it so tightly my fingertips tingled mildly.
A warm, calloused hand enveloped mine where it now rested on my thigh, resisting the urge to fidget.
“What’s got you smiling?” Theo whispered. His lips brushed my ear as they moved because he’d leaned in so close.
I held up the screen of my phone for him to read the exchange with Connor. Theo lingered in my space as he read through the texts.
“Way to throw a teammate under the bus, Andrews. What kind of loyalty is that?” He shifted back to his own side of the armrests that divided our seats.
Theo had insisted we fly business class, even though it wasn’t something I did anymore because it made me feel like I was mirroring my parents’ lifestyle .
He’d said he wanted me to be comfortable. For once, I didn’t argue the principle of sitting in coach just because I made my decisions based on rejecting my parents’ lifestyle.
Dating—whew, that was still a mind-bending concept—an NHL star came with some realities.
I’d joked that Theo Yao, the famous NHL goalie, could not be expected to fly in coach where he might be mobbed by an unknown number of rabid hockey fans, Canadian and American alike.
Plus, it meant lots more room for Gizmo’s carrier, where she was currently sound asleep.
But the real reason I’d agreed was I’d noticed a few winces now and then after Theo played a particularly rough game. I’d wanted him to have the chance to recuperate as best as possible, and business class meant a lot of legroom.
I was very conscious of, ahem, the need for extra legroom . Theo definitely needed space for his… large lower appendages. I had to force myself to keep a small chuckle from escaping my mouth.
Great, not only are you an idiot for falling for him all over again, but all the sex you’ve been having has given you the sense of humor and maturity level of a fourteen-year-old boy.
“Baby?” Theo looked at me with a questioning gaze. He’d obviously said something I’d missed while thinking about giving up my principles to protect his assets .
God, his ass was a work of art too.
“Aw, Ind. It’s really going to be okay. Em’s not going to get mad at you, I promise. I bet, if anything, she’s going to be thrilled, and then all this worry will evaporate.” He moved our entwined hands from my thigh to his. I could feel the strong muscles underneath the designer black sweatpants he wore; the name of the specific sponsor was lost to the other thoughts swirling in my mind .
I needed another distraction. With my free hand, I tugged my airline-provided blanket further up and over so that it covered both our joined hands and both our laps. I leaned my head onto his shoulder, consciously ignoring the way the armrest dug into my rib cage.
Feeling unsettled was something I’d always squashed under the heel of whatever stylish shoe I happened to be wearing. I loathed the sensation of being out of control.
I gently detangled my fingers from Theo’s and gripped as much of his thigh as my hand could reach, giving it a playful squeeze. “You’d bet on it, hmm?”
“For sure I would. Em will want us both to be happy.” He kissed the top of my head sweetly. I almost felt bad for the diabolical act that was about to unfold.
“So…” I said while I dragged a finger over the soft, thick fabric of his sweats. “ What would you bet exactly?” I tilted my head back so I could see the side of his face as I waited for him to catch on to my plan.
He glanced down at me, the side of his mouth I could see curved upward. “Like an actual bet? With stakes?”
I merely nodded, my fingertip continuing to graze his pants up toward his mid-thigh.
The competitor in him wouldn’t be able to resist my challenge, and deciding the stakes would help me cope with the nerves that threatened to overwhelm me.
A quirked eyebrow completed the now intrigued expression as Theo shifted slightly in his seat to turn his head in my direction, but not enough to dislodge my head from where it leaned back against his taut shoulder muscles (nor did it stop my hand from continuing its trajectory toward its target).
“What do you have in mind? ”
Taking in all his features at once was enough to scramble someone’s brain if they were attracted to men. I was made of tougher stuff than most.
Goddamn, he was handsome, though.
“Whatever you want.” I threw out the potentially limitless prize options to him. I returned his curious gaze with a sweet smile.
That should have raised all his alarms. But we were pretty cozy snuggled up under this blanket, and that made the anticipation of my sneak attack that much more satisfying.
His body jolted when my finger met its target. I knew I was on borrowed time with my inappropriate actions, so I was quick to add the rest of my fingers and palm to wrap around his cock.
“Rocky,” he hissed but notably didn’t do a damn thing to stop me. Maybe he wanted to see what I would do next.
I moved my hand up and down his length. As a man in peak physical condition, his circulation was top-tier as he immediately started to harden under my hand. I paused briefly at the tip of his length, which was now pressing upward against my hand, and rubbed my thumb over the sensitive underside of the head as much as the fabric separating our skin would allow.
“What?” I batted my eyelashes. “So what do you pick as the prize if Emery doesn’t get upset about us?” His hips shifted slightly as I continued to alternate between firm and soft pressure against his fully hard appendage—that extra legroom sure came in handy. Good thing the blanket was up high enough on his chest, which gave me this room to play, or the flight attendants would be getting a show any second.
He moved as close to my ear as possible to whisper, “Can we please not say my sister’s name while you have your hand on my cock?” Theo nipped the skin he’d pressed his lips against in retaliation. “Do you think I won’t make you pay for this little stunt?”
This time, a laugh did break free. God, this was fun. It was easy to let go for a minute when I knew Theo would play along with whatever scheme I came up with. When was the last time I just got to enjoy something like this?
“I’m counting on it.” I moved so that our lips were now pressed together. I took his bottom lip between my teeth and gave a particularly firm stroke to the rock-hard length in my hand.
He stifled his groan by pressing his lips firmly against mine and thrusting his tongue into my mouth and turned the moment from playful to hotter than hell within seconds.
There was only so far we could take this little game of arousal before a public indecency charge was added to our criminal records, and we’d hit that limit.
I pulled back to soften the kiss to little pecks and gave his cock a little “there, there” pat before I released it as an inelegant snort of laughter escaped me.
Theo grabbed my hand that had gone rogue, securing it in his once more. He gave it a warning squeeze that only made me laugh once again.
“I’m going to win this bet. And I’m going to enjoy every second of it.”
I didn’t mention that he hadn’t set the terms yet, giving him a break because he was currently occupied with some deep breaths to relax the largely inconvenient situation he had going on down below.
Didn’t stop him from giving me a stern look, which only served to send another sizzle of arousal through me.
I couldn’t wait to see what he came up with.