Chapter 32
thirty-two
RYDER
“I thought everyone was here?” Griffin cocks a brow at Maddox. “Who else did you invite?”
I’m only half listening to their back and forth because I’m so focused on Lexi’s warmth at my side. I still can’t quite believe she agreed to come with me tonight. Or that she fits in so seamlessly with my teammates. Well, that’s not true. I can believe that. Lexi is smart and witty. It’s easy to like her, and everyone wants to include her in their conversations. It’s as if she was made to fit right into my life.
Maddox rises from the armchair he and Isla have been cuddled up in and checks his phone. “Oh, yeah. I invited Coach to stop by. Didn’t think he’d take me up on it, but I guess he’s going to dinner nearby, so he said he’d drop in for a beer.”
Lexi goes completely stiff beside me as my brain catches up with what Graves just said. “Wait. Coach is here?”
Maddox nods.
“Shit,” Lexi hisses. She’s already scrambling out of my hold and rising to her feet. Her eyes ping between the apartment door and the hallway leading to the bedrooms and bathroom. A couple of the guys look at her funny. It’s our goalie, Sebastian Navarro, who speaks first.
“Are you okay, Lexi?”
Wide green eyes turn my way. No. Lexi is not okay. She’s panicking. And even though I know she doesn’t want Coach to find out about us, and I’m going to respect her wishes, I really don’t think things would be as dramatic as she believes if he sees us together. But that doesn’t matter. Lexi came here trusting me, and I won’t squander that trust.
“Wait,” I say. It’s loud enough that conversation grinds to a halt and all eyes turn my way. I stand and link fingers with Lexi. “This is going to sound batshit crazy, and I don’t have time to explain right now, but—” I glance at Lexi. She nods. “—Coach can’t know I’m here, and he really can’t know that Lexi is here. I need you all to swear not to say anything about either of us. Can you guys do that?”
Every eye in the room bounces between me and Lexi. She can’t take her attention away from the door. Maddox runs a hand through his dark hair. “You in some shit, man?”
I shake my head. “It’s nothing bad, I swear. It’s just… Well, it’s complicated. I’ll try to explain after Coach leaves.”
The Rogues’ center blows out a breath through flattened lips. It’s Isla that pipes up and says, “Nobody will say a thing about either of you. Feel free to hang out in one of the guest rooms. I’ll come and get you when he’s gone.” Isla offers Lexi a reassuring smile. And then I’m tugging my girl out of the room, down the hall, and into the farthest empty bedroom.
As soon as the door snicks shut behind us, I hear Maddox’s deep voice welcoming Coach into his house. “Well, shit, Oscar. I’m sorry. I never thought your dad would show up here.”
Lexi’s wide-eyed stare has morphed into something closed off. Something I don’t like. She rubs her sternum with her free hand. “It’s not your fault. But I should have known better. Coming here was probably a mistake.”
Mistake? Bullshit. She’s been having fun tonight. I know she has. She’s relaxed and charming and she’s laughed more times than I can count. Her dad showed up—so what? He won’t see us, and I trust the guys not to spill the beans when we’ve asked them to remain silent. Yeah, we’ll have to come up with something to tell all of them, but that’s not the end of the world. Right?
Using our intertwined fingers, I tug her forward. She collides with my chest, letting out a soft puff of surprise. With my free hand, I cup the side of her jaw and force her to look up at me. I won’t let her shut me out. And I won’t let her believe that coming out tonight was a mistake. It wasn’t.
“Baby, none of this was a mistake. Are you going to tell me you aren’t having fun?” When I rub the pad of my thumb along her jaw, Lexi’s eyelids flutter.
“Of course I’m having fun.”
“Then, are you saying going out with me was a mistake?” I’m slightly afraid to hear her answer, but I have to know.
Her mouth falls open and her brow crinkles. “What? No. Of course not.”
“Good. Because I don’t think it was a mistake, either.”
I take a few steps forward, making Lexi shuffle backward.
“I know we’ll have to explain now, and that’s something you don’t want to do, but it’s going to be okay.”
I take a few more steps forward.
“I get that you’re worried about what your dad will say if he finds out we’re dating, but I’m willing to take the heat. I don’t care if he yells at me or benches me for a few games. You’re worth it.”
The range of emotions that play across Lexi’s beautiful features is truly dizzying. First, her brow wrinkles, and she opens her mouth to speak but thinks better of it. She cocks her head to the side while studying my face. Her perfect lips open and close a few more times. “That’s not… You don’t understand, he’ll…” Frustrated, Lexi shakes her head, and those blonde curls I’ve been playing with all evening bounce. Frustration hardens her features for another moment, but then it melts away, leaving her looking resigned.
I hate the way her shoulders slump. I press forward two last steps. When the back of Lexi’s legs hit the tall bed, she lets out a little squeak and falls on her ass. Hair fanned out around her head like a halo and her mouth opened in surprise, Lexi stares up at me from her back.
“I understand,” I rasp as my fingers go to the hem of her dress, which rides up around her thighs. She shivers when I drag it higher. Higher and higher until I can just make out the red lace panties she’s wearing. “You’re scared, and right now, you’re stressed. You need a distraction.”
The strangled gasp she makes when my fingers skim along her seam through that thin red lace has my cock standing at attention. I can make Lexi forget that her dad’s outside right now, crashing our New Year’s Eve. It’ll be so very, very easy.
“I’m going to distract you, baby.” I slip my index finger beneath the lace. She’s soaked for me already. Slick and ready. She lets out a soft moan when I use my thumb to press her clit. I grin. “Shh. Don’t want anyone to hear.” The look of panic on her face is adorable, and I chuckle. Lexi? Not amused.
“This is a terrible idea. What if my dad walks in?” She looks at the door, then back at me. My girl is torn because I know she’s aching for me—her thighs are pressed tightly together—but she’s also freaked out about the idea of her dad walking in on us. Which, yeah. That would be bad.
Without a moment of hesitation, I stride over to the door and press the lock. Then I stalk over to Lexi, grab her by the hips, and flip her over so she’s on her stomach. She lets out a little squeak of surprise, and I swat her butt playfully. “Quiet, baby. Muffle your cries in the bed, if you have to.” And with that, I tug her sexy lace panties off her round ass and down to her ankles. I say a silent thanks to Maddox for being a tall sonofabitch, because it means the bed is taller than most. Between the box frame and the mattress, Lexi’s perfect ass and pussy are right where I want them.
“Ryder, we’re at a party with your friends. And my dad is outside.” She hisses the words at me, but her eyes are heavy lidded, and she cuts off with a gasp when I run a finger through her wet slit and press it inside. “Oh, god.”
“This may be the first time I take you when other people are around, but I doubt it will be the last. You’d better learn how to come quietly, Alexis.”
She squirms as I press another finger inside of her. She whimpers at the intrusion but quickly covers her mouth with her hand.
“That’s my good girl.” I watch, entranced, as Lexi grows wetter and wetter with every pump of my fingers in her pussy. “Damn, baby. You’re turned on by the idea of someone hearing us, aren’t you?”
She shakes her head, but the way she presses her ass back into my hand, silently begging me for more, gives her real feelings away. Now I’m imagining fucking her against sinks in bathrooms and eating her out in dark closets. This is...not how I imagined the night going. I’m not mad about it, though.
I play with Lexi for another few minutes until she’s writhing and gasping on the bed. Then I grab a condom out of my wallet before unzipping my pants and letting them fall to my ankles. I’m desperate to be inside her. As soon as I roll the latex over my cock, I’m pressing into Lexi’s pink, wet heat. With her panties around her ankles, her legs can’t spread very far apart, and it makes her impossibly tight. It’s my turn to muffle my moans as I bottom out inside of her. I still, breathing heavily and committing the feel of her like this to memory.
“Ryder,” she whines. “Please.”
That’s all I need.
At first, my thrusts are slow and controlled. I want Lexi to feel my cock-head dragging along her inner walls. I want her desperate and needy. Every stroke is a test of my stamina and resolve because she’s gripping me so tight, and she’s not even coming yet. My pace quickens when pleasure tingles up my spine. Digging my fingers into the globes of her ass, I use Lexi’s hips and butt as leverage to thrust into her hot little pussy.
Lexi moans a little too loudly, and I lean over her back and cover her mouth with my hand. She nips at my palm, so I nip her shoulder. That has her back arching and her perfect ass pressing back against me while I pump into her faster and faster. I’m getting close. Fuck, this is hot. I won’t last much longer.
Letting go of her ass, I push my hand between Lexi’s belly and the mattress until my fingers find her clit. It’s an awkward position for me, what with my other hand still covering her mouth, but it lets me fill her deeply. I slam my hips into her ass, my fingers working her clit furiously. My hand barely muffles the sexy-as-hell moans that spill from her lips.
“Come for me, Lexi. Come on my cock.” I’m so close. So damned close. But I need her to come first. “Now, baby.”
I’m not sure if it’s my words, the harsh slap of my hips, or my fingers madly circling her clit, but Lexi comes. Hard. As her body shakes and shudders beneath me, she bites my palm to keep from crying out. Her pussy ripples and clenches around my cock, and I explode. My movements becoming erratic, I press my face between her shoulder blades to muffle my own sounds of pleasure.
We’re a twitching, gasping mess as we both come down from our orgasms when there’s a soft knock on the door and Isla’s muffled voice floats through the wood.
“The coast is clear whenever you two are ready.” There’s a pause. She clears her throat, and I can almost hear the grin she must be fighting. “Take your time.”
Lexi groans, hiding her face in the mattress. I kiss her neck before slowly pulling out. I miss the heat of her immediately. “Let’s get cleaned up. Time to face the music.”
“That saying is so stupid,” she grumbles, turning over and flopping onto her back. Her face is flushed and dewy with sweat. “How in the hell does one face the music? You can’t face a sound.” She lets out a little growl. “Doesn’t make sense.”
I can’t help it. I laugh. “You’re right, Oscar. It doesn’t make sense.”
She glares at me. “Shut up.”
I lean down and kiss her. “So grouchy for someone who just came all over my dick.”