Chapter 14
Lily
Tingling sensations washed over me every time Saint skated by our seats. Every time he did, I could swear he was ensuring I remained where I was, watching him.
Hungering for him.
How could I not watch him? The man was larger than life.
A loud thunk on the ice brought fans to their feet.
And not in a good way.
“Get him out of here!” a guy from behind me screamed at the top of his lungs.
“Shitcan the Italian Wall!” another puffed out.
“Why the hell did that dude from the other team smack Saint?” I asked, furious with the asshole. Wasn’t there a code of conduct for games?
Vicky pumped her fist, yelling Savage’s name like almost every other person in the arena.
Except for me.
I was completely uncomfortable, so far over my head I was lost in the clouds. The only good thing about sitting on my ass freezing to death was my skin wasn’t itching as badly as it had the night before.
“See that dude in the black and red uniform?”
“Not a nice guy.”
She chuckled. “Rocco Lorenzo.”
“Oh, yeah. Saint mentioned him.”
“He’s an ass but a damn good player. He and Saint can’t stand each other. Fights break out every time they’re in the same city let alone forced to play hockey.”
Seconds later, she was on her feet and so was I. Saint acted as if he was going to use the hockey stick as a bat. That would be such a bad idea and I had no idea about the penalties. I’d forced myself to glance at a few internet articles on hockey, but it had all seemed like mumbo-jumbo to me.
“Saint. No!” I yelled and I’d be damned if he didn’t toss a look in my direction before lowering his stick, doing nothing more than puffing out his chest at the opposing player.
Vicky sharply turned her head. “How did you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Make him stop?”
My brain shifted to his wildly exaggerated attributes. Maybe keen hearing should be added to the list. “I did nothing. He stopped on his own. Maybe he’s starting to learn.”
“Right. You need to look at photographs of these two. They are brutal.” We both sat back down and the game resumed.
I was fidgeting, still thinking about the night before. The night I’d dropped into the forbidden zone. Oh, what had I done? I had to concentrate on the game.
“So the idea is that Saint is supposed to get the ball into the net. Right?” The cheering was insane. I’d never heard so many girls squealing at the same time in my life.
I’d spent my day trying to be some superhero in content creation, praying I could blow the ugly posts and comments from the night before away. While it had taken hours, thankfully the posts I’d created had been well received.
The views were climbing and the following increasing. Exponentially.
In a twist of fate, my presence at the restaurant had been tossed aside as either unwanted or perhaps hated.
For the most part.
However, what had been said the night before still bothered me.
Vicky remained quiet. She was probably the only one in the stadium. From men shouting to kill members of the opposing team to the girls begging Saint and a few other players to give them attention by hanging over the rails, I couldn’t think straight.
I finally looked at her, laughing at her scrunched-up face. “What?”
She rolled her eyes. “You really don’t know anything about hockey. Do you?”
“Uh, no. I never said I did. Just answer the question.” After Saint had provided me with two special tickets, as he’d called them, I’d easily cajoled Vicky into meeting me at the arena. There was no way I would have gotten through this alone.
“Yeah, the idea is for the offensive team to take a shot on the ice so the puck will fly into the net without the goalie stopping it. The goalie for the opposing team is the Italian Wall. Maybe now you can see why their hatred is so bitter.” Her tone was condescending.
“You’re supposed to be Saint’s hot girlfriend.
You need to read up on at least a few hockey terms.”
After snarling at her, even curling my fingers as if I was going to rake her eyes out, I tried to concentrate on the game.
Thankfully, it didn’t appear as if anyone cared about the hundreds of images flying around the internet from the night before or had recognized me tonight. Thank God for small favors.
“Fine. I’ll try to learn some of the terminology, but it’s not like I’ll need to recite anything.”
“Yeah,” Vicky said, “but you also can’t look like a fool.”
As I studied the way Saint moved, so did something deep within my core. He was hot. He was on fire and not just on the ice. He was…
I fanned my face even though chills continued to course through every muscle and I could no longer feel my toes. “Not bad.”
“What? His technique or the sizzling man?” she teased and bumped against me on purpose.
The same rush of heat exploded across my face. “Maybe everything. But I stand firm on what I said. The man is an absolute nightmare to deal with.”
“How so?”
“He’s a party boy through and through. He has enough charisma in his pinky to permanently tarnish his reputation and that doesn’t seem to bother him in the least. He is intent on making my life miserable and no man has ever accomplished that feat so quickly or deftly.”
Vicky raised her eyebrows. “So what are you going to do about him, rein him in?”
“Absolutely. It seems like for the most part everyone, including his coach is content in coddling him. The man needs to be placed on a short leash so he can’t hurt himself.”
“Are you gonna pull on that leash a few times?”
“If I need to. He’s his own worst enemy. I refuse to allow him to become mine.” Yes, I was becoming exasperated, but that’s what happened every time I thought about him. When she didn’t say anything at first, I finally looked in her direction. She was grinning. “What?”
“My guess is he needs a strong woman in his life to take control. Maybe you could find handcuffs and a whip, call him a very bad boy when he’s naughty.”
Her suggestion forced a wave of heat to shift between my legs. “Very funny. I don’t think I could stand getting that close to the man.”
“Uh-huh. I can totally see you as a hot dominatrix. Maybe a solid spanking or two will help.”
I coughed and looked away as heat was forced into my face. Memories of the spanking flooded my mind.
“So… How was your date last night?” Her laugh managed to irritate the hell out of me.
“You know exactly how it was. He was an ass on purpose.”
“Okay, but he swept you off your feet. Literally. Right?”
I brushed a dangling piece of hair from my eyes before giving her the side eye. “He did his duty as my boyfriend.”
“Why do you hate the idea so much?”
“Because he’s an arrogant jerk who thinks he’s God’s gift to women.
Because he acts as if this nightmare is no big deal, even exploiting the rumors.
Because he thinks he’s some reincarnation of the world’s greatest athlete.
” I was getting more worked up with every answer.
“And because he’s the goddamn best kisser in the world and I hate it. ” Oh, shit. Oh. Shit. Shit. Shit.
“Yeah, well…” She stopped mid-sentence, turning her head toward me. “I think you just need to breathe.”
Maybe she was right. Maybe she hadn’t caught what I’d said. The last thing I needed to do was to appear like a flaming wreck every time I was within close proximity to the man. I closed my eyes, taking several deep breaths. All it did was make me feel even more lightheaded.
“Whoa. Hold on. He kissed you?”
I narrowed my eyes, fisting one hand out of frustration. Why did my mouth constantly get me into trouble? “He is supposed to be my boyfriend. Right? So, yeah, he kissed me. So what?”
“So what? I thought you told him no touching.”
“Things didn’t work out so well.” Why, oh, why did my face and neck have to flush right at that exact moment?
Now Vicky was in my face. “What happened?” Every second she searched my eyes, I could tell a light bulb was going off inside her head. “Oh. My. God. You slept with him. Didn’t you?”
“No! I did not sleep with him.”
“Then what happened? Confess or else.”
“Nothing… much happened. He was just… I mean he took me back to my apartment and we… talked and…”
“And?”
“Things got complicated.” My body was swaying at this point. I was such a terrible liar.
I could tell by the wry smile curling across her mouth she didn’t believe a word I’d said.
“You fucked him. All that pontification about how horrible of a man he is and you gave in to carnal need. I can tell by the colorful splotches on your face I’m right.
Just say it. Just admit it. I am your best friend. ”
“Fine!” I snapped. “I fucked him. Are you happy now?”
Almost instantly every inch of skin was covered in prickles. Not the nice kind, sensations rocking through my body like wildfire, but the kind that could destroy every organ, frying my skin to a crisp.
I’d made the horrible admittance very loudly. Loud enough the other attendees around us were suddenly staring at me intently. Now I just wanted to crawl under the seats.
She jumped up and down and I wanted to slap her. “That is amazing. Just amazing. Tell me everything. Is he incredible in bed? Did he make you swoon? Is his cock huge?”
Her voice was louder than mine had been. Yep. This was perhaps the most embarrassing moment of my entire life. I closed my eyes, willing everything and everyone around me to disappear. A sudden roar and a hard cracking sound coming from the ice indicated otherwise.
With my teeth gritted, I leaned closer to my bestie I might just remove from my Christmas card list. “Okay. Fine. He was… electrifying. It was the single most incredible moment I’ve ever had with a man. Satisfied now?”
“Not until you tell me about his cock.” She wagged her finger in front of my face.
“You are no longer my friend.”
“Oh, bullshit. Just answer the question. I will get it out of you one way or another.”
“Yes. His cock is huge. My hand could barely fit around his thickness.”