Chapter 9 #2
Leon checked her out so blatantly that Fox suddenly felt the urge to throw a sheet over Lilly. He was overcome by a restlessness he didn’t quite understand. He had the strange feeling of sharing a secret that he had never wanted to reveal.
Maybe it was because he’d kept the memory of Lilly for the past ten years for those bad days, sharing it with no one…and he was realizing he would have to give it up. She had ruined the memory. “Oh. Hello, Serial Killer,” Lilly said in surprise when she saw Moreau.
“Roller-girl,” he replied, looking at her with his eyes narrowed.
There was quiet anger in his expression, obvious curiosity in everyone else’s, and…
it still bothered Fox that everyone was staring at Lilly, thinking about her, wondering what had happened back then…
He didn’t want those thoughts in his friends’ heads.
“Let’s go outside,” he said sharply to her, before adding loudly for the others, “And you all change your clothes. If I catch anyone eavesdropping, they won’t have ears tomorrow.”
“You’re not our boss…” Leon complained.
Fox looked at him blankly and raised an eyebrow.
“…but because we’re good people, we’ll do what you ask.”
“Good,” he replied, crossing the locker room as Lilly stepped back into the corridor.
He still heard Leon mutter, “I thought his type was models? Not…normal women.”
“Well, I think she’s pretty,” Devreaux said.
Fox didn’t hear anything more because he made certain to close the door.
Normal. Pretty.
He hadn’t had the mental capacity yesterday to think about such trivialities, but hearing his colleagues’ words, his gaze automatically slid down to Lilly, who still had her back to him.
She was wearing a dress. One of those shapeless, colorful maxi dresses that left plenty to the imagination. Over it, she wore a denim jacket that was snug at the waist, but all in all, Leon was right. She was…normal.
“So…” Lilly sighed, turning and fixing him with her large gray eyes as she nervously gnawed at her full lower lip and tugged at the sleeves of her jacket so that it slipped down one of her narrow shoulders, revealing pale skin and her collarbone.
Instantly, his stomach tightened.
Nope, she wasn’t normal. And he might hate her — but his body didn’t hate her. Instead, he remembered her hands, her mouth, her soft hips, and breasts…
He glanced over her shoulder at the white wallpaper, despising himself. Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous.
He took a deep breath and tried to look at Lilly neutrally. He tried to forget the anger, push the memories away, and calm himself.
He should make an effort to get along with her, and none of those thoughts were helping much, so…
“I thought you were bringing Delfina?”
“She’s waiting around the corner with a friend of mine,” Lilly said, straightening her back and clearing her throat. “I just wanted to make sure…” Her gaze slid past him to the locker room. “Well, I was skeptical that she’d be safe here among swearing, half-naked athletes.”
“I’m dressed, and I’m only cursing you in my head,” he offered.
“Well, congratulations, that’s a solid performance. You hung up so quickly yesterday, I was actually going to ask…well, I’m not sure if ice hockey isn’t a little brutal for Del.”
He blinked. “Excuse me? What?”
“I watched some YouTube videos last night and…I felt like there were more fists than pucks flying,” she continued matter-of-factly. “So I’m not sure…”
“Hockey isn’t brutal, it’s physical.”
She snorted. “Swimming is physical, hockey is one big brawl.”
“Only if Charkov and Leon are having a bad day.
“I don’t want to scare her and I’m unsure…”
“Lilly,” he interrupted impatiently, his blood rushing again. “This is my job. No, it’s pretty much my whole life and I want Delfina to be a part of it, so she should at least see me play.”
Surprised, she raised her eyebrows. “It’s your life? Isn’t that a bit extreme? No job should be your life.”
He leaned toward her slowly, his eyes narrowed — and it filled him with some satisfaction when she took a step back. “Well, maybe things would be different if I’d known about my daughter. Perhaps my life would be a little more multifaceted.”
Her eyes flashed angrily. “I sent you a damn letter and several emails!”
“A lie doesn’t become true just because you keep repeating it.”
She sighed heavily and rubbed her eyes. “I don’t want to argue with you!”
“Then don’t.”
She tilted her chin and gave him a cool look. “I don’t like being called a liar.”
“Then you probably won’t like the other words I use to describe you in my head either.”
“I remember you as more charming,” she replied, feigning thoughtfulness.
“Well, your memory doesn’t seem to be the greatest, considering you forgot to tell me about Delfina.”
“If you keep this up, I’ll forget I’m actually a pacifist!” she retorted, unfazed. “But it’s good that Del doesn’t have to worry about you injuring your head. Your skull is far too thick for anything to happen to it!”
The corners of his mouth twitched. He wasn’t smiling; he didn’t want to, and he hated the thought, but her sour look and her contrasting, nonchalant voice…
“Would you like to hit me in the head?” he asked, intrigued.
She frowned, as if seriously considering his question, and he almost burst out laughing. Thankfully, his still-simmering anger stopped him. Finally, she said, “You’re too tall, so your head is too difficult for me to reach.”
“Maybe you’ll get lucky and there’ll be an accident on the ice.”
“But that’s impossible, Austin,” she replied innocently, placing a hand on her chest. “The sport isn’t brutal, just physical.”
“Hmm,” he murmured, tilting his head. “You know, I remember clearly that you really enjoyed physical contact ten years ago.”
Her cheeks flushed…and a wave of self-satisfaction washed over him. Until she opened her mouth.
“I think you’re the forgetful one now — and on top of that, you can’t tell a fake orgasm from a real one.”
His jaw tightened and he stepped closer to her. “If you don’t want to be called a liar, you should stop lying.”
She tilted her head back and looked at him impassively. “Don’t worry about it, Austin. I’m sure you’ve learned a lot in bed over the last few years, so you aren’t such a big disappointment anymore. ”
He snorted. Oh, she was playing dirty. But he preferred a worthy opponent to a coward. “Do you shout the name of every man who disappoints you?”
“Only those whose egos are so fragile that I might otherwise hurt them. And you’re not exactly convincing me that a hockey locker room is the right place for a nine-year-old girl.”
“You started this shit.”
“What? You…”
“Hey, guys. We got impatient and thought we’d drop by,” a loud female voice boomed. The next moment, a woman with sleek black hair and olive skin came around the corner with Delfina in tow.
All the air left Fox’s lungs.
Fuck. What was wrong with him? He’d meant to keep his cool, not provoke Lilly any further! He’d meant to talk to her rationally, not think about sex!