EliseEveryone’s here tonight. Owen, the entire team, Coach Bryant, several players I don’t recognize out of their gear, Becca, me, and most
distracting of all—Justin.
He’s dressed in a finely tailored black tuxedo, crisp white shirt and enough sex appeal to thaw an entire ice rink in three seconds flat.
We’d ridden together in a limo over to the event. I sat between Becca and Owen, but with Jus- tin seated across from us in the dimly lit interior, my mind had immediately scrambled in sixteen different directions and my heart beat so hard I was scared everyone in the limo could hear it. It had taken some serious level of Jedi strength to force myself to not stare at him the entire ride, and based
on the way his eyes smoldered, he appreciated my dress.
Once inside the huge ballroom, we made the rounds, mingling and exchanging hellos. I quickly had two glasses of champagne and then accepted Justin’s offer to dance.
I’ve never danced with him before, but the sev- en-piece jazz band is inspiring, and he’s a much better dancer than I would have imagined. Maybe playing hockey all those years has made him light on his feet, who knows.
He places his hands innocently against my waist while I rest mine against the lapels of his jacket. It’s been ten days since we made out and there’s an urgent sexual attraction buzzing between us, but we’re supposed to be acting like we’re just friends, so dancing is as far as it’s going to get.
There’s a faint dark bruise beneath his left eye, and I have the strangest impulse to kiss him there. My lips twitch with that secret knowledge.
“What is it?” he asks, amused by me.
I shake my head. He’s way too perceptive. “Nothing. It’s not important.”
“Tell me.” His voice is steady, and sure when I
feel anything but.
“I just had this strange reaction—I wanted to kiss your black eye and make it feel better.”
His gaze locks onto mine, his blue eyes dark and filled with emotion as he watches me. “My eye feels fine, but I could think of a few other places that I’d like your kisses.”
I raise one eyebrow at him. “Is that so?”
He shakes his head, chuckling. “You’re going to get me in trouble.”
I meet his eyes. “How would I get you in trou- ble?”
He pulls me closer, under the guise of dancing. “Because when I suddenly get an erection while dancing with you, Owen is going to beat my ass. And I’ve been in more fights on the ice than I can remember, but I’ve never gotten into a brawl wear- ing a tuxedo.”
I can’t help the laugh that tumbles from my lips.
His eyebrows dart up. “You think that’s funny, huh?”
He presses his hips closer, and the laughter dies on my lips. In fact, all the breath leaves my lungs at
once. Because holy shit. He wasn’t kidding about being hard. There’s a steely rod pressing behind his zipper, and all we’ve done is dance—at a safe enough distance to make any middle-school chap- erone happy.
I grin up at him, feeling a little cheeky. “Hey there, big boy.”
He chuckles darkly, gaze hot. “Don’t.”
“Is that a hockey stick, or are you just happy to see me?” I tease.
“Elise,” he warns, voice now tight.
I’ve never felt quite so powerful, quite so desir- able. He wants me. This sexy, god of a man wants me. The feeling is quickly becoming addictive.
His fingers slide along the exposed skin on my back, settling low and resting just above my ass. Just as I’m contemplating asking him how soon we can get out of here, my attention is captured by Owen approaching us. Justin moves his hand to a more innocent spot against the middle of my back and separates our bodies with a couple of ex- tra inches. I hate it immediately.
But I smile at my brother. “Hey, Owen.” “Hey.” He looks directly at Justin, eyes nar-
rowing. “I’m going to get out of here. You’ll take care of Elise?”
“Of course,” Justin says without hesitation.
And just like that, I’m immediately picturing all the ways Justin Brady can take care of me to- night. Most of them are while I’m naked and hori- zontal, but Owen doesn’t need to know that.
Owen gives Justin a solemn look, nods once, and then returns to his date, placing his hand against the small of her back as he ushers her to the exit.
I’ve never seen the girl he’s with before, but I don’t bother asking her name, because I’m also certain I’ll never see her again. My brother the manwhore, ladies and gentlemen.
Justin and I finish our dance and go to the bar to get another drink.
Predictably, Asher and Teddy disappear half- way through the evening with their dates, because heaven forbid they go one night without getting some action.
Actually, Justin is the same way. Becca’s right about that. But this time I’m okay with it because for once we’re on the same page. This is just for pleasure, nothing serious.
Just after the coach finally leaves, Becca comes to find me.
“I’m going to go. Are you guys staying?” She looks meaningfully between me and Justin.
He pulls my hand into his lap. It’s a bold move, but almost everyone else is gone. “I’ll make sure she gets home safely. Goodnight, Becca.”
Is it just me, or is it kind of hot how he just dismissed her?
She gives me a playful wink. “Okay then. It’s sounds like you two kids have this under control.”
Justin leans close to my ear, biting his lip. “She knows, doesn’t she?”
My stomach fills with nerves. This is supposed to be a secret between us, I know that. But surely he doesn’t expect me to withhold this from my best friend? Plus, I don’t think Justin will be mad that I told Becca. First, Becca is trustworthy. Second, Justin has never gotten mad at me once in my entire life. And I was a very bratty, hormonal pre-teen. “I needed some advice. So, yeah. I talked to her.”
He nods, looking down at me. “It’s fine. I just want us to be careful. This is just for fun, right? No feelings. No one gets hurt. Two friends enjoying
each other’s company.”
I nod quickly. “Exactly.”
“You ready to get out of here?”
I lick my lips. I fight the urge to say something cheesy like, I thought you’d never ask, and instead opt for a brief sure.
Actually, it comes out as more a squeak, but Justin doesn’t seem to mind.
He grins, pleased with me and leads the way to the exit.
Fucking finally. My ovaries do a happy dance as we climb into a car for the ride home. I’m not sure what happened to the limo—if it took others home or was just a one-way thing, but it doesn’t matter. Sitting in the back of a car alone with Justin feels incredibly intimate and I like the closeness.
It smells like leather and him, and oh my God, I can’t believe this is real.
His hand rests on my knee as the driver pulls the car into traffic. When I give the driver my ad- dress, he tells me the bridge is out and traffic is at a standstill.
“My place is five minutes away, let’s go there,”
says Justin.
“What about Owen?” I ask.
He looks at me with a puzzled expression. “He won’t be home tonight. He never brings bunnies back to our place if he can help it.”
My shoulders tense for just a second. But then I realize he’s right. Owen’s quirk of not taking a hookup to his bed isn’t exactly a state secret. It’s weird, and gross, but Justin’s right.
“Plus, he’d never come in my room if my door was shut.”
I nod, still feeling a little unsure as Justin rattles off the address.
He glances at me. “If you’re really worried about it, my bedroom door has a lock.”
I take a deep breath, visibly relaxing. He’s right. It’ll be fine. Worst case scenario, we could say I was too drunk to go home and was just there to crash on the couch.
When the driver pulls to stop in front of Justin and Owen’s building, we climb out and head in- side. And I find that Justin was right. It’s dark and quiet inside. But it still feels incredibly strange to be here at my brother’s apartment sneaking around.
I make sure to take my purse and my heels and I immediately head into Justin’s bedroom. He fol- lows me, smirking.
“You okay?”
I nod. “A little nervous, but yeah.”
“What can I do?” he asks, moving closer and placing his hands on my bare upper arms. His touch grounds me and I immediately feel more calm.
“Will you bring me a glass of water?”
“Of course.” He leaves and returns a second later with a tall glass of ice water.
I take a long drink and then place it on the ta- ble beside the bed with shaking hands while Justin closes the door to his room. He turns on the lamp in the corner, creating the perfect amount of ambient lighting and then turns on some soft music from his laptop. I notice the playlist is called Chill Vibes on Spotify. It’s melodic and calm. I make a mental note to check it out later. But then he comes back to where I’m standing and the moment changes. It’s filled with expectation and meaning.
Suddenly I realize I have no fucking idea what I’m doing here or how this is supposed to go, and I’m immediately self-conscious. The one and only time I’ve had sex was with him, and alcohol was involved. Now we both know what we’re here to do and I’m more nervous this time.
He looks so sexy standing in front of me in his tux. He lifts both my hands and places them against his waist. Then he puts his hands on my hips, grip- ping me lightly.
“You look a little anxious. Are you sure you’re okay?”
I nod. “Yeah. I mean, I am nervous. But I’m okay.”
“Tell me what I can do to help.” His voice is low and sensual and chill bumps race along my ex- posed arms.
“I guess I’m just remembering the last time I was in this room with you.”