Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 85616 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85616 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
“A great time,” I replied, offering him a genuine smile. He wore a subtle cologne tonight that mixed perfectly with his natural scent. It was an equal mix of spice and sweetness. I fought the urge to lean in and press my nose against his neck, as if I were in my wolf form wanting to bury my snout in his fur. “What are you drinking?” I asked.
“Vodka Sprite. It’s my go-to drink.”
“Really?”
“Does that surprise you?”
“A lot of things about you surprise me.”
He cocked his head at that. “Like what?”
Like how attracted I am to you, unlike any sort of attraction I’ve felt with anyone else. “Like your sense of fashion,” I said instead. “You strike me more as a tank top and athletic shorts kind of guy.”
“Wow, just cuz I’m a hockey bro? Way to stereotype.” He gave me a friendly wink. I tried not to admire the way his eyebrow dipped and how his birthmark made him a thousand times more interesting. “Are you saying you don’t like it?”
“No, I do. I don’t think I could ever pull off your style. My closet has about five neutral-colored shirts, two pairs of jeans, and tons of gym clothes.”
“Well,” he said, looking me up and down. “You’re very handsome in your neutrals and gym shorts.”
“Thanks,” I said, suddenly realizing we were flirting right in earshot of everyone in the kitchen. Thankfully they were all too busy gorging themselves on freshly baked cookies to notice that Dyl was staring at me the way a wolf would stare at a bloody piece of meat. He wanted to devour me.
And I wanted to let him, yet I knew I couldn’t.
“I think I’m going to grab myself another beer.” It was the first thing I could think of to distract from the rising heat that swirled between us.
“Want me to save you a cookie?”
I glanced at the near-empty platter. “I’ll grab one to go,” I said and reached over. I took a bite, the cookie practically melting in my mouth with how soft it was. I closed my eyes and let out a low moan. “Damn, these are great. Maybe I’ll take two.”
“Go for it,” Dyl said. His eyes fell to my lips. He raised his hand and gently pressed a thumb to the corner of my mouth. “You’ve got some chocolate there.”
“Ah, thanks.”
“Got it,” Dylan said and put his finger up to his own lips and licked it clean. “Tasty.”
I could have melted as easily as one of the chocolate chip cookies. I glanced over my shoulder and could have sworn I saw Chris smiling in our direction, but he quickly turned and fell back into an animated conversation with Eli and Gabe.
I walked through the kitchen and out through the living room, back through the sliding doors, heading directly for the cooler. The ghost of Dylan’s thumb against my lips followed me all the way there. I could have kissed him right there and then. I wanted it so fucking bad, but what message would that send to everyone around?
I sighed as I cracked open another beer. The buzz of all the alcohol I’d drunk began to tingle and spread through me. My inhibitions were definitely lowering. Maybe it was best for me to head home. It was getting late and the game night seemed to be winding down anyway. Removing myself from this island of temptation felt like a good idea at this point.
But first, I needed to find the bathroom.
I went back inside the living room. A couple people were sitting on the couch chatting, and another handful were at the round table near the window playing a round of cards. Gabe waved me over. “I think I might be heading out soon,” I said as he pulled out a chair for me. “Where’s the bathroom again?”
“Down the hall to the left. And you should stay a little longer, I think Soren got some fireworks to throw later. It’s a bit of a Bobcat tradition. We do it at the start of every season.”
That did sound fun and I enjoyed being included in a tradition, especially being so new to the team.
It also meant spending more time around Dyl…
“Sure, why not,” I said.
“Hell yeah.” Gabe lifted his beer and clinked it against mine.
I excused myself and followed the directions toward the bathroom. Emmy had a couple photos hanging up on the walls. Some of them were cool art prints and others were some great action shots of him and the team on the ice. There was one toward the end that made me pause.
It was a photo of us. Taken on his twenty-second birthday. We’d gone out to a wreck-it room so we could break some stuff and have a good time doing it. The photo had been taken in the middle of our wreckage. We stood with our arms over each other’s shoulders, helmets off and smiling wide. He loved that birthday. We went out afterward and had the time of our lives barhopping and meeting random people. I still laughed at some of the bright memories. I had no idea he kept that photo.