Chapter 18
GRAYSON
Iwaited until we’d cleared the building, out of sight and out of earshot, before I turned on Cruz.
“What. The fuck,” I ground out, getting all up in his face.
He smirked. “Got something to say, Cross?”
I shoved at his chest, catching him off guard, and he stumbled backward, the side of the building stopping his movements. His lip curled as he snarled under his breath.
I didn’t bother to heed his warning. Using my body weight to hold him in place, I planted my hands on the brick wall on either side of his head. I was under no illusion that he couldn’t flip our positions if he wanted to, but I needed him to stay where he was. I needed answers. Now.
Ignoring the heat of the solid line of his body against mine, I pressed my forehead to his. Hard. “Yeah. I do. What the fuck was that?”
His nostrils flared, his jaw working, but he remained silent.
This fucker was such an asshole. I pressed into him even harder, and when he exhaled harshly, grinding forward, my breath caught in my throat. What the actual—? “The fuck? This turns you on, Martinez?” I growled.
He shoved at my chest, and it was my turn to stagger back, creating some much-needed distance between us. His gaze dropped to the bulge in my jeans, and he smirked. Again. “I could ask you the same question.”
“Fuck you.”
“Is that an offer?”
“Fuck. Off. Are you gonna tell me what that was all about?” I jabbed my finger in the direction of the building we’d just left. “You had this resource all along?”
His smirk disappeared. “It was a resource I didn’t want to use. It was my last resort. You wouldn’t understand.”
Biting back a retort, I thought back to our interaction with the deceptively innocent-looking teenage hacker in the scary-as-fuck place, and the deal Cruz had apparently made without consulting me. The deal that came with multiple strings.
When I think of something, I’ll let Cruzito know.
Fuck.
“Tell me,” I commanded, but Cruz was already walking away from me, heading for the car. Picking up the pace, I jogged to catch up with him. “Seriously. What was that back in there?”
“We weren’t getting anywhere, and maybe now we’ll have some answers,” he said in a bored voice.
“What did you promise him, Martinez? Tell me.”
“I don’t owe you any answers.”
Wrapping my fingers around the door handle, I glared at him across the car. “Tell me. I’m involved in this shit now, thanks to you, whether I get any say or not. So tell me exactly what the fuck that was all about, and what the consequences are.”
He glared straight back at me. “I’m not telling you shit. You were there. I took care of it.” Popping the lock on his own door, he ducked inside. “The next time we get a text, Teclas can trace it.”
I slid into my own seat, too livid to speak. How fucking dare he make decisions like that without talking about it to one of us? To put himself in danger so casually?
Neither of us spoke as we drove, the silence growing thicker and thicker as the car rumbled along the streets.
Despite my efforts to get him to talk, the stubborn fucking asshole refused to say anything.
The man had serious trust issues, and okay, maybe I did too…
especially when it came to him, but we were never going to get to the bottom of this shit if he didn’t open up to me.
By the time we reached the hockey house, we’d said a total of three words between us.
Me: “Tell me.”
Him: “No.”
After an hour of lying on my bed staring into space with a headache from clenching my jaw so tightly, I realized I was going to be pissed off with him for the foreseeable future. And that wasn’t the only thing I was feeling when it came to Cruz Martinez. In all honesty, I was worried, too.
Our relationship was strained enough without me inevitably putting my foot in it if I tried to speak to him again, and there was only one thing I could think of doing. Swiping my phone from my nightstand, I unlocked the screen and tapped out a message.
Me:
Could you do me a favor?
Ava:
It’s not a sexual favor, is it?
I fucking wish.
Me:
No don’t worry. It’s for Martinez
Ava:
Maybe I wouldn’t mind the sexual favor
Fuck. I bit down on my lip, adjusting myself in my jeans.
Me:
From me or Martinez?
Ava:
Both?
Me:
I could deal with that as long as it wasn’t at the same time. I wouldn’t be able to perform with him in the room
Micah, on the other hand… My dick jerked again, thinking of getting him and Ava in a room at the same time and what might happen…
My phone buzzed again, and when I glanced down at the screen, I saw she’d sent me a GIF with the text “I don’t believe you.” She should. My dick would shrivel up and die if Cruz were there.
I ignored the part of my brain that was trying to remind me of what had happened earlier. That wasn’t going to be repeated. It was just a stress response to the situation.
Ava:
Enough talk of sexual favors. What do you need me to do for Cruz?
Me:
Can you check in on him tonight or tomorrow? He won’t talk to me but I think he needs someone to talk to. He trusts you
Ava:
That’s sweet. You do care about him deep down, don’t you?
Me:
I wouldn’t go that far. I just don’t want him to do anything stupid
Ava:
OK. I’ll check on him. Did something happen?
Me:
Nothing I can talk about. If he wants to tell you he can. We just need to watch out for him
Ava:
OK
Me:
Thanks. I owe you
Ava:
I know a way you can return the favor
My dick was uncomfortably hard in my jeans at this point, with all the talk of sexual favors and images of Ava and me in my head, and I groaned when I read her message. Maybe I could—
Ava:
Got to go. I’ll see you at your morning skate tomorrow for the favor
Fuck. Unzipping my jeans, I rubbed my palm over my aching cock straining against my underwear.
My fantasies were obviously much wilder than whatever she planned to ask for from me, since she wanted me to return the favor when I’d be surrounded by my teammates and coach.
In the privacy of my head, I could admit just how badly I wanted her, but I guessed my hand would have to do for now.
Tugging down my boxer briefs, I wrapped my fingers loosely around my erection, sliding my thumb through the precum coating the head of my cock.
I groaned again, imagining Ava was right here in front of me, lowering herself to her knees, licking her pouty lips as she stared up at me with those huge blue eyes and dilated pupils.
I was so pent-up, and the thought of her sucking my dick was so fucking hot, that when I stopped edging myself and began jerking my cock in earnest, it only took a few strokes before my balls were drawing up and I was striping my abs with my cum.
“Fuck me, she’s hot.”
“I’d show her my skills with my stick anytime.”
“You’d have no fucking chance with her, bro.”
I gritted my teeth, switching up my trajectory, skating toward my far-too-loud teammates. If Coach heard them speaking like that when we were supposed to be doing line drills, I’d get the blame as the captain.
“Keep it down,” I hissed as I skated past them, tapping Smith’s stick with my own in warning.
He chuckled, skating after me to take his position next to mine. Glancing over at Miller, he leaned in, lowering his voice. “Hey, man. Ignore us. We’re just playing.” Nudging me in the side, he added, “I think she’s here for you. She hasn’t been able to take her eyes off you since she showed up.”
“Huh?”
I followed his gaze to the stands, and my heart stuttered.
Ava. Looking way too gorgeous and way too distracting in tight sports leggings and a Blackwell U hoodie, with her blonde waves loose and spilling over her shoulders.
Her pouty lips curved upward the second our eyes locked. I hadn’t forgotten she was coming, but I guessed I hadn’t expected her to come and actually watch me practice. We still had forty minutes left of our session.
“Whoa. I didn’t know your mouth could smile that widely,” Miller said, getting all up in my face and blocking my view of Ava. I shoved at him with my gloved hand.
“Shut your mouth, dick.”
“It’s shut.” He was still grinning obnoxiously, so I turned away from him, doing my best to focus on the repetition of the drills rather than the girl in the stands. Every now and then, I glanced over, and every time, she was watching me. Only me.
After our cooldown, I noticed her rise to her feet and make her way through the stands toward me. I dismissed my teammates, leaving them to gather their shit up and head to the locker room, and then I skated over to the edge of the rink to meet her.
Tugging off my helmet, I smiled down at her, and she instantly returned my smile with a bright one of her own. Easy and free, like she used to be before everything that had happened.
“Hi,” I said. She didn’t reply for a moment, studying me with a small furrow between her brows despite her smile.
Eventually, she exhaled. “Gray?” she began hesitantly. “If…if I were your girl, and I came to watch your practice, what would you do?”
I stared at her. What? “Uh…I don’t—”
“No, don’t tell me. Show me. I want to cash in my favor.”
My brows lifted. I had no idea what she was thinking. “You want that to be your favor?”
She nodded.
Okay. What would I do if she were mine…?
The answer came easily. I moved a little closer, lowered my head, and brushed a soft kiss over her cheekbone.
“You missed my mouth,” she murmured, and then her lips were sliding against mine, and I was lost.