Chapter 15
CHAPTER
FIFTEEN
WILDER
My jaw ticks.
The pen in my hand creaks under the pressure of my iron grip as I tighten my fist to the point that the plastic begins to split.
I’m convinced that I’m in one of the five circles of hell, a perpetual punishment for a lifetime of transgressions, and that the tiny little blonde in front of me is the one controlling the strings.
“Perfect, thank you soooo much.” She beams up at Legros, her smile wide and so goddamn pretty I want to hit him for even looking at her.
What the fuck is wrong with me?
I’m leaning against the boards, pretending to half-ass watch the guys run drills, but mostly staring at Maisie, because clearly, I’m a dumb motherfucker. Thankfully, practice is almost finished because I can’t focus for shit.
Not when she’s around.
Not when I’m trying and obviously failing at trying not to watch her like it’s my job.
My job is actually to coach hockey, and right now, I have no fucking clue what’s happening on the ice.
“You’re so strong. Thanks again for helping me with the boxes of books.” She giggles, reaching out and grazing her fingers along his bicep. The moment she touches him, the pen in my hand snaps in half, plastic pieces scattering all over me.
Goddamnit.
Her gaze connects with mine, and her eyes shine, glinting, almost like she knows exactly what it is that she’s doing.
Like she’s fully aware of the purgatory she’s put me in and enjoying every single damn second of it.
“Oh, it’s nothing. Anything you need, I got you, beautiful.” He flashes her a grin and a wink before walking back and stepping onto the ice.
I want to make him run drills until he’s puking, but Taylor told her that any of the guys were at her disposal today, so that would make me an asshole who’s abusing his power if I did.
Part of me is still considering it. Because really, who the fuck cares.
I brush off the plastic from the clipboard before stealing another glance her way, watching as she saunters over to a small step ladder with a large paper banner in her hands.
There’s no way in hell she’s getting on a fucking ladder wearing that.
Yet another short, girly dress that drives me to do shit like this every time I see her in them.
The athletic-type dress she’s wearing today is a shade of pale pink that hugs her curves, flaring out slightly at the waist.
And it’s the shortest thing I’ve ever seen her wear.
Trust me, I pay the fuck attention, whether I should or not.
So today, of all goddamn days, she chooses to get on a ladder wearing a scrap of material that barely covers shit to begin with?
Fuck.
Fuck.
Fuck.
My feet stay stuck on the floor, rooted in place, even though I want to snatch her off the first step and throw the ladder across the room. Maybe break it the fuck in half. Toss it in a dumpster. Like some inanimate object has offended me personally.
Not the girl standing on it, who I’m starting to believe knows exactly what it is she’s doing.
With each rung she climbs higher, the silky expanse of the back of her thighs becomes more on display, inch by inch. And when she gets to the top, she looks back over her shoulder at me.
Our gazes connect.
I scowl.
She smirks.
I grind my teeth together until they’re practically goddamn dust.
She tosses her hair over her shoulder, pretending she’s not doing this shit to provoke me. To push me over some invisible ledge.
I look around to see if any of the guys are looking, but thank fuck, they’re on the ice, practicing and not hanging around her and watching her like dopey idiots.
Like I am.
But that’ll be short-lived since practice is almost over.
Somehow, I’ve ended up standing below where she’s hanging the banner—not well, might I add—and a curse blows past my lips before I can even stop it.
“Goddamnit, Maisie.”
I can see right up her skirt. See the curve of her ass and the tiny scrap of purple lace she has on that barely covers her.
Which means every kid in this room will see it the moment they step off the ice.
And with that realization, I lose my fucking shit.
Internally, mostly, since I can’t do more than that in an arena filled with my players without exposing just how fucked-up over her I really am.
I glance around again to see if anyone is watching, and when I see that they’re not, I slide my hands around her waist and pull her off the goddamn ladder myself.
Fuck asking.
She lets out a small oomph when her feet hit the ground, surprise written on her face as she blinks up at me. “What the hell, Wi—Coach?”
I keep my mouth shut because I don’t trust myself to say a word right now.
Not when something a lot like hot, jealous rage is unfurling rapidly in my gut, making my skin feel tight and prickly.
Silently, with just a flick of my gaze as a warning, my fingers circle her wrist, and I’m tugging her into the nearest room.
A supply closet, by the looks of it.
The moment the door shuts behind us, the second we’re alone, I’m closing the distance between us, walking her backward until her back hits the shelf behind her, jostling everything on it.
Her scent immediately surrounds me. Fresh and sweet, so all-consuming that I have to bite back a groan that threatens to erupt from my chest.
I feel like I’m losing my goddamn mind.
I can’t think, I can’t even fucking breathe when she’s this close.
Every interaction between us in the last few weeks feels like we’re descending, like we’re going somewhere that we can never come back from.
That’s the thing about boundaries, even flimsy, poorly laid ones. Once they’re crossed… there’s no going back to the way it was before.
My voice drops low. “What the fuck was that, Maisie?”
“W-what was what?” she whispers before she tugs her lip between her teeth, peering up at me with her big, doe-like eyes that make her look far more innocent than I know she is. She’s not fooling anyone, especially not me, with this good girl act that I see all the way through.
I shake my head. “Don’t act like you don’t know exactly what the hell you were doing out there.”
“What? Hanging a banner?”
Fucking brat.
Jesus, I want to bend her over on this shelf behind her, flip that damn dress up, and spank her.
For pushing me, provoking me till we’re at this point.
My palm itches to feel her silky skin beneath it, to hear her shallow breath as she takes her punishment, to watch her creamy skin blooming red from my hands.
I’ll teach her exactly what kind of man she’s taunting. Just how much I don’t give a fuck about these buttons she’s blindly pushing.
I huff out a dark chuckle. “Oh? You wanna play games, Maisie? That what you wanna do?” An inch closer, and we’d be flush, her soft, pliable body molded against me.
Just where I shouldn’t want her, my palms curving around her small waist, her perky tits smashed against my chest. “You wanna pretend that you didn’t wear that short-ass skirt and climb up on a ladder on purpose, giving everyone a peek at those pretty little purple panties you’ve got on? ”
The hitch of her breath is audible. She opens her mouth, quick to defend her actions, but the effort is futile. We both know what the fuck she’s doing. Her pupils are blown wide as she says, “You think… T-that’s no—”
I cut her off. “Stop taunting me, Maisie. Stop fucking provoking me. You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into. Quit while you’re ahead.”
We’re a breath away now, far too close to be appropriate, but then again, everything about this shit between us is inappropriate.
I’m trying to stay away from her.
To do what the hell I came here to do, but fucking Christ, she’s making it impossible.
Those lips, that fucking body.
“You know what they say about playing with fire?” I murmur, shoving down a swallow, ready to say fuck it all and take what she’s offering me on a silver goddamn platter.
Maisie’s throat bobs, and she’s shifting on her feet, her thighs pressing together beneath the hem of her frilly fucking ruffled dress.
I have no doubt that if I pulled the front of it down, her tight little nipples would be hard and turned up, the perfect little treat for me to suck on. They’d be pink and flushed just the way her cheeks are right now.
“If you’re not careful, I’ll torch it all to the fucking ground, and we’ll both get burned, Maisie.”
And then I storm out before I do something fucking stupid like light the match.