Chapter 29 - Josie
Josie
Why did he say that?
That’s all I could think about as I hurried to the elevator and mashed the button for my floor. The worst part was there was another couple in the elevator, so I had to keep my shit together until I made it to my room.
Once there, I let out an angry yell. Hopefully the walls weren’t thin in this place.
What the fuck?
Grayson was a dick on our first date. And if I was being totally honest with myself, I was a bitch too. We hated each other from the start, a hatred that was very mutual.
But every date since then had gone a little bit better. He told me about his background, and I slowly revealed more of myself to him. By the time he was teaching me how to ice skate, I actually enjoyed being around him.
And I was certain—certain—that he felt the same way.
It was all I could think about on the flight here. Whether there was a spark of something real between us. After a few free drinks on the plane, I’d even allowed myself to imagine a world where we started dating after the season was over. A relationship that wasn’t mandated by a marketing contract.
It made me feel hopeful.
But the moment I said something nice to Grayson, admitting that I was happy to be here in Edmonton with him, he made me feel like a fool.
This was why I didn’t open up to people. It always bit me in the ass.
I didn’t cry over it. I was proud of that. I allowed myself to feel dejected about the whole thing for exactly five minutes, blinked away a few stray tears, and opened my laptop to do some work.
Editing videos for a few hours helped me relax. It gave me a sense of control.
When I reached a good stopping point, I opened the room service menu. I would have rather gone to one of the restaurants within walking distance of the hotel, but the last thing I wanted was to run into Grayson again.
Besides, the team was paying for anything I bought in the hotel. Filet mignon and salmon? Don’t mind if I do.
Now it was time to get another buzz on someone else’s dime. I mixed myself a nice cocktail from the mini bar, but the Coke wasn’t particularly cold. I grabbed the ice bucket from the desk and went to find the ice machine down the hall by the elevators.
But when I got to the room with the machine, someone else was already standing in front of it while it dispensed ice.
Grayson.
There was a brief moment where he didn’t know I was there. His back was turned to me, the plain gray T-shirt spread across his broad shoulders. Steele Wall indeed.
Before I could run away, he glanced over his shoulder, flinching when he saw me. “Josie,” he said in surprise.
“Don’t you have an ice machine on your own floor?” I asked. The concierge had told me that elevator access would be limited to the sixth and seventh floors since the team was occupying them.
“The machine on our floor is broken.” He glanced at my bucket. “Making yourself a drink?”
“No, are you?” I replied defensively.
“I need to ice my shoulder.” He rolled his right arm in the socket, wincing slightly.
“I didn’t realize you’re injured.”
“I’m not,” he replied, just as defensively as me. “Just a little beat up. It’s been a long season.”
“Oh.”
The ice machine stopped rumbling, and he removed his full bucket from underneath the dispenser. “All yours.”
He slid past me, arm brushing against mine in the narrow doorway. His scent, so familiar and reassuring to me, lingered in the space. I placed my bucket underneath the machine and hit the button. Out in the hallway, I heard Grayson press the button for the elevator.
But the longer I stood there, the angrier I became. I left my bucket there and stormed out to the elevator lobby.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I demanded.
He turned toward me. “Did I use up the rest of the ice?”
“Don’t play dumb. You were a dick to me in the lobby. What the hell was that?”
“I’ve made my feelings known from the start,” he said calmly. Too calmly. “I can’t wait for all of this to be over so I can do my job.”
I scoffed. “Bullshit. You were embarrassed that your teammates were making fun of you. Like this is freaking high school. I didn’t realize your skin was so thin. Steele Wall? More like paper.”
His handsome face twisted with anger. “What the hell is your problem? I thought you were happy to get a first class trip on the team’s dime.”
“My problem is that you have feelings for me, but you’re too much of a coward to admit it!” I shouted.
“I have feelings for you all right,” he growled. “Frustration. Annoyance. You’re the most insufferable woman I’ve ever met, you know that?”
I let out a high-pitched laugh. “Like I said. You’re a coward. If you want to lie to yourself and pretend like you feel nothing, that’s fine. But don’t try to convince me, because I know the truth.”
“You don’t know anything,” he shot back.
“I know that you’re exactly what I thought you were on our first date,” I said, my words practically dripping with acid. “You’re self-centered. You’re egotistical. You’re just another asshole who’s too rich and famous to care about anyone but yourself.”
I stepped into his space and stared up into his eyes defiantly.
“I’m just glad you reminded me now, before I allowed myself to believe this was something real.”
Satisfied with the confrontation, I turned to walk away triumphantly.
Grayson spun me around, threw me up against the wall next to the elevator, and kissed me.
An explosion of desire filled my body as his lips churned against mine hungrily.
He leaned into me, pressing me into the wall with his weight.
I moaned at how firm and sturdy he felt; he was the only thing real in the world.
His tongue forced its way into my mouth, and I accepted it eagerly, letting it dance with my own.
He pushed into me, thigh wedging my legs open, and I widened my stance for him. Pleasure erupted between my legs at the wonderful pressure of his weight. His cock was hard and hot against my thigh, growing even stiffer with every passing second until Grayson tore his lips from mine.
“I don’t just care about myself,” he said in a low, deep voice while staring deeply into my eyes. “There’s someone else I care about more than I can ever say. And that feeling terrifies me.”
“What feeling?” I whispered. “Tell me.”
The elevator dinged on our floor, and a woman gasped. “What happened here? Oh, what a mess!”
Grayson stepped back quickly. His ice bucket was on the floor, with square chunks of ice covering the carpet in front of the elevators. I hadn’t even noticed that he’d dropped it to kiss me. Based on the way he was staring at the ice, he hadn’t realized it either.
The couple that had exited the elevator stared at us in confusion.
“I’m… I’m sorry,” he said, picking up the bucket and jumping into the elevator. “I’ll get someone to clean it up.”
The doors closed, leaving me standing there with the two strangers.