Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Lila
If I’d thought I’d been floating for the last week, since Kardok had held my hand, then right now I was…grounded. The opposite, but in all the best ways. I wasn’t flitting about, jumping from one sensation to another and one thought to another.
I was here and now.
I was alive, with every tiny piece of me focused on the sensation of Kardok’s lips on my skin, his hands on my body.
Just the feel of his claws scraping against my scalp had me shivering. I knew that orcs could extend or retract them, and I’m not sure if they were present right now because they made me shudder with pleasure or for a different reason, but I definitely wasn’t complaining.
Kardok was kissing me, I was kissing Kardok, and I thought perhaps my life couldn’t get more real than this moment.
His tongue was ridged—did I mention that? Thick and ridged, just like my dildo, and the correlation between what he was doing to my mouth and what I wanted him to be doing to my lady bits? Well, pretty sure my panties were soaked through to the gusset of my jeans.
And oh God, when he squeezed my ass, fingers digging into my cheeks, I flexed my legs around his waist and moaned into his mouth. Kardok was hard all over, his daily gym visits ensuring his muscles stayed toned…but I was pretty certain there was one particular piece of hardness I was feeling.
Or maybe it was his belt buckle.
Either way, I gyrated against him, pleased years of skating meant my legs were strong enough to hold myself up.
But eventually, all good things have to come to an end. Or we had to breathe; one of the two. Kardok pulled his lips away from my skin to stare down at me, one corner of his lips curled in that wry smile I knew well.
I’d been dreaming of kissing Kardok the Wicked for ages, but those dreams didn’t compare to the real thing.
He’d done this a million times with girls like me, I’m certain. Fan girls, puck bunnies, whatever you wanted to call them. The females who’d thrown themselves at him, who’d helped him build his reputation as the wicked enforcer, the one who drove females wild.
But you know what I’d never seen before? The spark of green in the center of each of his dark eyes. It was obvious now that he was staring down at me, breathing heavily, as if we’d both run a distance, and it made my lips curl in response.
“Wow,” I whispered.
“Well…” He dropped another kiss to my lips, over too quickly, before moving his hand from my ass and allowing me to gently slide down his body. “Congratulations on a solid throw.”
Since that long slide down his front had pushed my sensitive bits against his hard cock, my knees were a little weak. I grabbed his arm to steady myself and said weakly, “Yeah. Full commit.”
His lips twitched again as he scooped up one of the axes. “Can you do it again?”
I’ll admit that it took me a hot second—or three—to remember all the things he’d taught me before, and I flubbed the first try.
Can you blame me? Kardok’s hard body, framing mine, him holding my wrists over my head?
God, I don’t think I’d ever been so turned on, and it’s amazing I’d learned anything.
So I just had to channel those sensations, to get back into that mindset, and my second try slammed the axe blade-first into the target.
I couldn’t help the little whoop and victory dance, which was made even sweeter by the way Kardok celebrated with me. He handed me my beer, then kissed me again.
Maybe I was buzzed on the alcohol. Maybe I was buzzed on the victory. Maybe I was buzzed on him. Either way, I was having the best date of my life, and I never wanted it to end.
Of course, as soon as you say something like that, the universe intercedes, and our allotted time was up.
“Do you want to go again?” I asked eagerly, knowing we could reserve the stall again. “You didn’t throw much.”
Kardok shrugged and scooped up my empty beer glass. “I had more fun teaching you. Talking to you.” His gaze dropped to my lips. “Kissing you.”
I grinned. “Then let’s go someplace where we can…talk more.”
From the way he pulled me up against his side, he knew exactly what I’d meant when I’d said talk.
“You up for more beer? Or do you want to go someplace fancier?”
I could feel my brows draw in as I glanced around. “I thought this place was great. Do you want to just go hang out at the bar?” I nodded to the bar across from the sign-in counter.
But Kardok was leading me toward the door. “This is my neck of the woods, remember?” Oh, that’s right—he said this place was right next to his apartment, hadn’t he? “There’s a dive next door that’s one of our favorites.”
A dive bar? I’d never actually been to one, but tonight—after the axe-throwing, after the kisses—I was feeling like I could tackle anything. So I slid my hand into the back pocket of his jeans. “Lead the way.”
As soon as we stepped out into the Colorado evening, I could feel the difference in the air.
“Storms rolling in,” Kardok grunted. “Luckily, we don’t have far to go.”
He was right; the bar was much closer than the parking spot he’d managed to snag earlier, and it was easy to duck inside.
The air was thick with the scent of alcohol and sweat, and I had to admit that I was genuinely impressed by how sticky the floor was. It was like no place I’d been before, and frankly, I was thrilled to be here tonight.
With Kardok.
If there was someone I wanted to introduce me to things like jaeger bombs and darts, I wanted it to be him.
Fifteen minutes later, I was squeezed next to him in a booth along one of the walls, a glass of something sticky-sweet held in both my hands.
His arm was around my shoulders, his posture slouched as he used his beer to point out the regulars.
He was telling me a story about something stupid his brothers had done when I twisted in my seat so I could peer up at him.
From this angle, I could see his old scars on his jaw, and I wanted to stretch up and kiss them. To take away the old pain.
But if I did that, I would take away part of what made him Kardok, and I couldn’t do that.
He glanced down at me. “What are you thinking about?”
I’d already had too much to drink; I knew it. That was why I blurted, “You,” so confidently, and when one of his brows twitched, I explained, “How hot you are.”
His lids lowered seductively, along with his chin. “You think I’m hot?” he murmured.
Could he not tell from the way I’d kissed him? My tongue ran over my lip as I began to blush and retreated. “Of course. That’s your thing, right? Being the hottest one on the team?”
A moment, as if he wasn’t sure how to take that response, then he chuckled slightly and lifted his beer.
“Are you looking forward to it?” I asked. “Getting back to practices with the whole team? The season starting?”
I wasn’t. Because when that happened, it would mean that the exhibition would be done.
Kardok took his time answering, staring down into the amber foam in his cup. “I do miss working with the guys. I don’t know…” He winced. “I guess I have to earn their forgiveness.”
I frowned. “Forgiveness? For that last game?”
“Yeah.” He glanced at me. “And don’t give me some bullshit about not needing forgiveness. Just the fact that you knew what I was talking about proves it.”
I sipped my drink—was it supposed to be purple?—while I considered how to ask him what needed to be asked. “You…in that last game, you made a penalty. It was one you’ve made a hundred times before.” He’d hit a little too hard protecting one of his teammates.
“But I made it with two minutes left in a playoff game, which meant that with me in the box, my team had to play a male down for the rest of the game. And they couldn’t hold out the entire time.”
The Crimson Crushers had a power play our team just couldn’t kill. The memory of Kardok’s howl of rage and pain from the penalty box—as he realized what he’d caused—still made me shiver.
“Kardok, you’re the team’s enforcer. That move you made was totally normal—something your team expected from you. Coach puts you on the ice for a specific reason, and you’re good at it.”
“I’m too out of control,” he said to his beer. “Wild.”
I placed my drink down. “You are wild.” My hand covered his on his beer, forcing him to look at me. “But not too. Not too wild, too wicked. You’re just you, and the team knows that. They love you, the same way the fans do. No one blames you for doing your job.”
Kardok’s eyes were dark holes as he stared at me…almost hungrily. As if I could offer him something. “They think I need to learn control. Learn to be civilized. Like you.”
I winced, knowing he was referencing how different our backgrounds were. “Yes, well, I’m learning to be more like you right now, correct? Throwing myself headlong at targets.” I squeezed his hand and offered him a smile. “What is it you want, Kardok?”
“I want the team—”
“No, I mean for yourself. You. What do you want?”
He didn’t answer for a long moment, his dark gaze searching my face. Finally, he said quietly, “I want to not be the reason shit goes wrong.”
My heart clenched. “That’s not the same as being the reason shit goes right.”
I loved his little wry smile when he responded to me doing something wicked like cursing.
“Kardok, what do you want?” I whispered up at him, too close. “Right here, right now? What would make you happy?”
His tongue flicked against his tusk, as if considering my question, and the sight sent a wave of arousal through me, remembering the feel of his tongue on my skin.
But that wave did nothing to match the longing I felt when he murmured, “You, Princess,” and bent to capture my lips with his.
Kardok
I think Korrad was the only other soul I told some of those secrets to, before Lila. It’s not like the beer was affecting me, either; I nursed the second glass for the next hour.