22. Behind The Mask
Behind The Mask
Bex
I t’s Keene.
The man behind mask number six.
Hot, perfect, sarcastic, abrasive, rude, surprisingly caring Keene is the secret kiss I haven’t been able to stop thinking about.
The second his lips touch mine, I know it without a doubt.
I would recognize that gentle confidence anywhere; the way he presses his lips against mine but doesn’t immediately try to deepen the kiss.
Instead, he teases my mouth open with a playful brush of his tongue along the seam of my lips.
He’s waiting to be invited in, and I do; I let him in without even thinking about it.
When his tongue strokes mine in that firm but not overpowering way I remember from the mystery kiss game, warmth invades my body as our chests touch.
I don’t even think about the fact that he’s still doused in paint; I surround his neck with my arms.
He throws his gloves off without breaking the kiss, like he does on the ice before getting into a fight. His assault on my mouth is anything but violent; it’s surprisingly sweet.
His big, slightly rough hands cup my jaw, tilting my head to deepen the kiss.
Keene groans when I respond to each stroke of his tongue with one of my own.
I’m on fire; my skin is prickling with need as we breathe each other in. I need more, so much more than the contact between our mouths.
I grip the fabric of his jersey, pulling at it to communicate my frustration.
He responds with a low growl without breaking the kiss.
God, he has no business tasting so good. His lips are so soft that I melt against them, and I love the way he kisses with his entire mouth. The tongue action is just a small part of the kiss. There’s a lot of lip contact, and then his teeth come out to play, nipping at my bottom lip.
I respond with a nip of my own, pulling at his jersey again when my clit sends a throb of pure need to all my nerve endings.
“What’s up, kitten? Too much?” he asks.
A shake of my head is the only response I can give him right now. I don’t trust my voice not to sound like a quivering mess if I try to tell him how much I want him.
But he knows. He nips at my bottom lip again, a little harder this time; then he sucks it into his mouth, soothing the sting he just caused.
“It was you.” I manage to say between kisses that are turning more and more heated and frantic. “At the Zeta party. You were the one who kissed me that night.” I clarify.
He doesn’t deny it, but he pulls slightly back to look at me. His ice-blue eyes are burning as hot as every inch of my skin; my pulse is roaring in my ears, and I’m sure he can feel it under his fingertips that are still cupping my face.
“Would you be disappointed if it was me?” his voice is a low rasp, that fire in his eyes burning hotter with every passing second.
The answer surprises me too, but it slips out of my lips easily. “No.”
“Thank fuck.” He rumbles before taking my lips in another soul consuming kiss.
I pull on his jersey again, and this time he gets the hint. Keene grabs the back of his jersey, lifting it over his head, and it’s my turn to groan.
Rather than his naked upper body, I’m greeted by all his hockey protective gear. Shoulder pads, a breastplate and elbow pads.
He chuckles at my frustrated reaction. “You said to put on my full gear.”
“I know what I said.” I bite out. “It’s just…”
“Do you want me to take it off, kitten?”
I feel his deep voice like a caress on my heated skin, and I nod.
“Use your words, kitten. Do you want me to take off my protective gear?”
The urge to roll my eyes is strong, but I resist it. “Please, Keene, take off your protective gear.”
He begins dropping his elbow pads with a pleased smile on his face.
“What?” I glare.
Another chuckle escapes him as he sheds his shoulder and breastplate. “Nothing. I just didn’t realize how much I liked it when you begged me.”
Oh God, how much I hate this man is unreal.
My body, though? That’s a completely different story. There is nothing I wouldn’t do to see that smile on his face again, and my pulse skyrockets, settling firmly between my thighs.
“Come here, kitten.” Keene invites me in all his bare chested glory.
I go willingly, and when he pulls me against his perfect, chiseled chest, his skin feels as heated as my own.
His lips find mine again, and I forget why I was annoyed a second ago.
“Jesus,” he pants, tormenting my bottom lip between his teeth. “Why do you have to feel so perfect?”
I’m wondering the same thing, but all the answer I have for him is another kiss, as I let my hands roam over the planes of his hard upper body.
We kiss as if our lives depended on it, and Keene’s hands aren’t idle either.
He grabs both of my buttocks over my skirt. When he presses me to him, there’s no mistaking the effect I’m having on him, too.
Eventually, his hands leave my ass and come back to tangle in my hair, but as we keep devouring each other, even that isn’t enough.
“You,” he pants, tracing my pulse point with the pads of his fingers. “Are way overdressed for my liking, kitten.”
He’s been calling me kitten from the second he kissed me. I’m surprised at how much I like it.
A week ago, I would have picked a fight about him treating me like his cat, but now I know what that means. I know that this feeling in my chest whenever I look at him isn’t just one sided.
“What are you gonna do about it?” I provoke him.
The corners of his lips curl up, and I know I’m in trouble even before that smile reaches Keene’s blue eyes.
Ping .
Rather than trying to unfasten the small round buttons of my shirt, he pulls, sending the tiny buttons flying around the room like bullets.
My mouth drops open in surprise as cold air hits my bra-clad chest.
“Sorry.”
His chuckle tells me that he isn’t sorry at all, and I smile, looking down at my torn shirt, stained with the paint from Keene’s jersey.
“The shirt was ruined, anyway.”
He pulls me closer, tracing the swell of my breasts with a gentle finger. “I’ll buy you a new one.”
His fingers find the clasp on the front of my bra and stop.
I nod in response to the question in his blue eyes. “Take it off, please.”
“Just because you asked nicely. I might get used to this, kitten.”
Keene’s tone is teasing, and I indulge him. “Since you like it so much when I ask nicely, I miss your lips on mine.”
He doesn’t make me ask twice; he slants his mouth to mine as he lowers the straps of my open bra down my arms.
His skin is warm, smooth and toned against mine, a feeling I could easily get lost in.
Keene
She tastes incredible.
And she feels even better with her soft chest smashed against my hard one.
Every time I kiss her, a new crack forms in the walls I carefully erected around my heart since the day I found my ex in bed with another man.
I’m not scared. I’m fucking terrified.
That’s why I didn’t let myself get any closer after fate—or Candace and Luke, if my suspicions are right—forced me to kiss her during that secret kissing game.
Bex isn’t the only one who couldn’t stop thinking about that kiss.
I’ve replayed it in my mind over and over again. I’ve been coming in my hand to the memory of how soft her lips felt, of how sweet she tasted.
Every time I looked at her, I couldn’t help but want her. That’s why I was such an asshole to her.
If she had been just a random sorority girl, I could have gotten her out of my system by ending the night of the Zeta party in bed with her. A one and done, no strings attached night of fun to break the sexual tension that had been there between us from the moment we met.
But she was Luke’s sister, his twin.
My team captain quickly became one of my best friends, together with Jamie and Connor, from the moment I joined the Cove Knights at summer training camp. So I knew that I couldn’t touch Bex unless I was prepared to let her through my walls.
Even now, I know that if we do this, if this goes any further, there’s going to be nowhere to hide. It’s go big or go home.
And speaking of big, her fingers run along the waistband of my hockey pants, finding the strings that keep them closed at the front.
My cock twitches in anticipation, but I inhale a steadying breath and cover her hand with mine to stop her.
“Bex.” I start, my voice cracking as I gather the courage to say what I need to.
She opens her mouth to speak, hurt flickering in her green eyes, but I charge on before this can go south like every interaction we’ve been having from day one.
“Kitten,” my voice softens as my eyes trace the lines of her face, returning to her eyes before I continue. “I haven’t been with anyone since my ex-wife.”
Fuck. I hate feeling this vulnerable. This is why I had sworn women off.
“I want this. I want you.” I force myself to continue. “Please don’t hurt me.”
Emotion flashes in her eyes, and her hand comes up to cup my jaw. “I would never hurt you, Keene.”
I know it’s true. “I believe you. But I’m still fucking terrified.
I didn’t expect to feel like this about anyone ever again.
I’m sorry for the way I acted around you.
I wanted you so much, but I couldn’t take the risk of getting hurt again.
This is why I voted against letting you move in.
And why I’ve been an ass this entire time. ”
I’m surprised when she chuckles. “Dammit. Luke was right.”
“Was he?” I ask, confused.
“Yeah. Every time I complained to him about you being an asshole, he said you acted that way because you liked me. That the person you were mad at was yourself, not me.”
Her words hit home, and I can’t help but laugh. “How does he do it?”
Bex shrugs. “Beats me. And the worst part is that the second he finds out that he was right, he’s going to gloat.”
“Fuck, you’re right.” I groan.
“And he isn’t the only one who’s gonna gloat. Jamie and Connor will too. They’ve been telling me that you liked me for weeks, and I didn’t want to hear it.”
Maybe I should be worried that my teammates know me so well, but that’s not the worst of my problems right now.