Chapter Eight Theo
CHAPTER EIGHT: THEO
W hile I had the resolve of steel, Vivian was torching it. Jesus, what was it about this woman? I mean, Grayson and I had fucked our way through a plethora of sexy girls over the years, and none of them got to me. None of them tried my resolve.
If anything, I felt total disinterest when it came to doing what they wanted me to. My rigid ass was about staying in the zone and sticking to the plan.
But I hadn’t even gotten Vivian naked yet, and she was already screwing with my control. I was pretty sure if I didn’t get my head back in the game ASAP, the lingering smell of her arousal was going to have me stripping down her leggings and pounding her on the bench while her skates sliced and diced my ass cheeks.
Shaking my head out of those thoughts, I asked, “Ready?”
After nibbling on her bottom lip, Vivian sighed. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
“Don’t you trust me?”
Her emerald green eyes locked on mine. “Um, maybe,” she said hesitantly.
“Vivian,” I growled.
As she continued staring at me, the fear and doubt slowly began to ease out of her emerald eyes. Not only that, a determined flint flashed in them. “Yes.
Taking Vivian by the hands, I slowly eased her up off the bench. Once she was upright, she squealed, as her fingers dug into my biceps. “Easy now. I’ve got you.”
She swept her gaze from the floor up to mine. “I wish that made me feel better.”
“What happened to trusting me?”
“That was when I wasn’t in danger of falling.”
At my chuckle, she scowled. “I don’t know what I was thinking when I agreed to this,” she huffed.
“I do.”
Jerking her chin up, she challenged, “Okay, Mr. Mindreader, why?”
“Because you knew we’d have our hands all over you trying to keep you upright, which would be a great run-up to tonight.”
When her mouth parted in surprise, I winked at her. “It’s the exact reason why Gray and I planned it.”
Vivian rolled her eyes in exasperation. “You two are impossible.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
When she opened her mouth to argue, I tugged her forward slightly. “Okay, take a step.”
With her brows furrowing, Vivian dipped her head to her feet. She then raised a shaky foot and took a tentative step forward. At her relieved breath, I barked, “Again.”
Frowning, she protested, “Give me just a minute.
“Now, Vivian,” I commanded.
“You’re so bossy!”
“Just wait until I get you in the bedroom.”
At her sharp intake of breath, Vivian’s eyes flew to mine. “You’re serious about bossing me around, aren’t you?”
Nodding, I replied, “And Grayson.”
“You boss him, too?” she asked in a low voice.
“I’m always the one in charge when we’re together.”
Vivian’s knees wobbled, and she pitched forward slightly, her chin smacking against my chest. Bringing my hand to her face, I tipped her chin up.
Gazing down at her, I said, “You won’t be a brat for me, will you?”
Her eyelids fluttered furiously. “A what?”
“A brat is when you defy someone and don’t do as you’re told in the bedroom.”
When her pink tongue darted out to swipe her upper lip, I inwardly groaned. The juxtaposition between her age and her inexperience lit me on fire. At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to bury myself deep inside her.
I brushed my thumb across her jawline. “Answer me, Vivian.”
“I don’t know.” She shook her head. “I don’t think so.” At my intense look, she replied, “I’ll try.”
“Good girl.”
My words sent a shudder through her. But she quickly focused her attention back on putting one foot in front of the other. Considering her current snail’s pace, it was going to take five minutes to make it to the ice.
“Say something to get my mind off things,” Vivian said.
Frowning, I asked, “What would you like me to say?”
“Tell me about your family,” she implored.
“That’s so basic,” I grunted.
“I don’t care. Do it.”
Cocking a brow at her, I said, “Are you trying to command me again?”
“No. I just want to hear about your family.”
“Don’t forget who is in charge,” I reminded her.
Vivian stared wide-eyed at me. “Okay. I won’t.”
“Fine. It’s just me and my parents.”
“An only child. I can see that.”
“What does that mean?”
She gave me a sly grin. “I think it’s the confidence and the bossiness that does it for me.”
I laughed. “I would agree with you on those two. Of course, I’m just glad you didn’t say I was spoiled.”
In a teasing tone, Vivian replied, “I think the jury is still out on that one, Mr. Range Rover.”
I huffed an indignant breath. “A vehicle doesn’t make me spoiled.”
“It does when you couple it with expensive clothes and exotic vacations.” At my questioning look, she winked. “You’re not the only one who can stalk socials.”
“I see,” I grunted.
“Do you still deny being at least a teeny bit spoiled?”
“Maybe.”
“It’s not a terrible thing, Theo. My parents spoiled me and my siblings.” With a knowing grin, she replied, “I mean, they weren’t taking us to Bora Bora, but we had all the cool gadgets that the other kids did.”
I snorted. “Did you just use the word gadget?”
“Uh, maybe?” A sheepish look came over her face. “It’s the hazard of being the daughter of a structural engineer.”
“That makes sense.” Tilting my head at her, I asked, “Speaking of your dad, you didn’t want to follow in his footsteps and do engineering?”
Vivian wrinkled her nose. “No. I had no interest in any of that. All that DNA went to my brother, Walker.”
“I assume he’s an engineer as well?”
She nodded. “Yep. My dad even got him a job at the company he works for.” With a cheeky little smile, she added, “You could say he’s a little spoiled.”
“I see where you’re going with that. And I would say despite what you assume, I can assure you that I’m not spoiled in the traditional sense. My father instilled a hard-as-hell work ethic in me.”
That comment was an understatement. My dad didn’t accept failure. Losing was for other kids. If I didn’t put my best foot forward every time I was on the ice or in the classroom, there was hell to pay.
A questioning look danced in Vivian’s eyes. “Was his drive because of immigrating at a young age?”
“That was part of it.”
“When did your family come over?”
“In 93, after Czechoslovakia split.”
Vivian eyed me sympathetically. “Was it hard on them?”
I nodded. “My grandparents were part of the upper class in Ostrava, where they lived. The political turmoil and cominghere took a lot of their wealth. Since they were in their fifties, it was almost impossible to recover. They did well, but it was nothing like what they were used to.”
“It must’ve been equally hard on their children to get accustomed to a new country and a new way of life.”
You have no fucking idea. “My dad never got over losing his old life. He’s been trying to recapture it since the day he went off to college.”
“And that pressure has bled onto you,” Vivian remarked knowingly.
A prickly sensation rippled over me. I wasn’t one for talking about my feelings with anyone, least of all a woman I’d just met. I rarely allowed Grayson and Bennett to scratch below my emotional surface, and I usually had to be drunk to allow for that.
Shrugging, I replied, “Yeah, I guess.”
As if she sensed my apprehension, Vivian said, “I can’t begin to imagine what your family has experienced. I’ve lived here all my life except when I went away to college, so it’s all I’ve known. The thought of starting over in a new country–” She shook her head. “It’s unimaginable.”
“You’re brave. I’m sure you could handle it.”
Vivian crinkled her nose. “I’m not brave like that.”
“You’re pretty brave to take on two horny hockey players.”
She elbowed me playfully. “You’re terrible.”
Her happiness faded when she realized we’d finally reached the ice. I shook my head. “Don’t chicken out on me now.”
My comment earned me a scowl. “You’re brave, remember?” I said.
“If you say so,” she grumbled.
Although I kept hold of her hands, I turned around so I could step onto the ice first. Once I was ready, I started slowly tugging her to me. “Not so fast,” Vivian protested.
“You’re joking, right?”
She furiously shook her head. “Absolutely. Serious,” she gritted out.
Since I had no fucking patience, I reached over and gripped her by the waist. Vivian shrieked as I swept her off her feet. Gentle, I eased her onto the ice and back onto her feet.
As she stared wide-eyed up at me, she shuddered out the breath she’d been holding. “You…asshole!”
“Hey, it got the job done, didn’t it?”
Vivian scowled at me. “Not how I wanted it to be.”
“You’re not always going to get your way, Vivian.”
“Whatever,” she huffed.
“Okay, to be able to skate, you want to start in the T-position.”
“What does that mean?”
Bending down, I eased her skates to where her back foot was slightly behind and outside of her other one. “Like that.”
Nibbling her bottom lip, she replied, “Now what?”
“Using the inside edge of your skate’s blade, push off with your back leg.”
“That might as well be Greek to me.”
Gripping the front of her thigh, I pushed it back, sending her slightly forward. “Like that.”
Vivian tried to do the move again, but she was as wobbly as a newborn colt. Keeping my hands on her waist, I decided I needed to do something to get her mind off things. “Now, tell me something about your family.”
With her face lined with concentration, Vivian argued, “I already did at dinner.”
“Tell me something I don’t know,” I urged.
“Okay, you said you stalked my socials.”
“I did.”
“Then you must’ve seen pictures of my nephews and niece.”
“Truthfully, I didn’t pay much attention to them,” I admitted.
Vivian frowned. “Don’t you like kids?”
“Nope. Not a fan.”
“Hmm, it must be because you don’t have brothers and sisters.”
“It’s not like I’ve never been around kids. I have a lot of younger cousins.”
“And you don’t like them?” Vivian asked incredulously.
“Not really.”
“What about children of your own?”
“What about them?”
She rolled her eyes. “Do you want kids someday?”
Shrugging, I replied, “Maybe. It’ll just depend.”
“On the woman?’
I shook my head. “Where I am in life then. Like I’d want to take my hockey career as far as possible. And if that doesn’t pan out, I might go to medical school instead of just working in biotechnology.”
“You’re a man with a plan, huh?” she teased.
“You don’t get anywhere in life without one,” I replied. Inwardly, I cringed when I realized how much I sounded like my father.
Wanting to change the subject, I noticed that Vivian was skating without my help. Grinning at her, I said, “Guess what?”
Furrowing her brows, she asked, “What?”
“You’re skating.”
After glancing down, she realized my hands weren’t tight around her waist anymore. Vivian’s eyes lit up. “I’m doing it.”
“Sort of. I mean, I am still helping you.”
“Shut up,” she shot back with a smile.
“Maybe I should’ve gotten you one of those walker things like they have at the skating rink.”
“If you don’t stop making fun of me, I’m going to scream for Grayson and cut off our time,” she threatened while jerking her chin at me.
Vivian was so ridiculously sexy trying to be a hardass. Tilting my head at her, I asked, “Then how will you get your mouth and your pussy both filled with just him?”
“I’m pretty sure he can finger me while I blow him,” she countered to my surprise.
Holding my pointer finger up, I said, “ This isn’t the same as–” I brought one of her hands to my cock. “ This . Is it?”
Vivian swallowed hard, which caused my cock to jerk beneath her fingers. “Um, no.”
A piercing whistle interrupted us. “What the fuck, T? I assumed you’d be acquainting Vivian with the stroking position, not having her stroke you.”
The sound of Grayson’s voice caused Vivian to snatch her hand away. It also sent her wobbling, and I had to quickly grab her around the waist to keep her from falling. “Easy, now.”
After skating up to us, Grayson tsked. “Now who is going off the plan?”
“It was just a momentary detour,” I replied.
Vivian glanced between us before licking her lips. “Does it have to be?”
The amusement drained off of Grayson’s face as I gripped her waist tighter. “What are you saying?”
“I’m ready if you are.”
“Fuck yes,” Grayson grunted.
“Let’s get the hell out of here,” I replied.