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)
I gathered my things, shut down my computer, and made up my mind. Time for a run.
That’s when I sensed him. It was like a warm pulsing in my chest. A flare of sunshine in the darkening night. It was brief and caught me off guard.
“Hey, Miles,” Dylan said as he walked into the training room. He’d changed into a white T-shirt from a Madonna concert, the sleeves cut up so that his biceps and some of his chest were on display. “Bad time?”
“No, not at all,” I said. “Did you need to do some stretches? Ice bath, maybe?”
“I’m feeling good. I just… Well, George let me know you might want to see me and honestly I just wanted to chat.”
“Oh.”
Odd. I hadn’t said anything to George about seeing Dyl after the game…
“That game was complete shit. Coach already tore me a new one for how I played—rightfully so. I hate how it’s the first game you saw me play.”
I waved it away. “The first of many. And it happens.”
“Not to me.”
I arched a brow and shot him a smirk. “You may be a hot shifter, but you aren’t a god.”
Did I just call him hot? Judging by his mischievous smile and glint in his eyes, I guess I had.
“So then why did you keep saying, ‘Oh god,’ when we were in the bathroom?”
Guess he wanted to play. I could handle that. “Because I was scared you’d use too much teeth. I was praying.”
His eyes went wide before they narrowed again. “Funny. I thought I was the one on my knees.”
Heat flushed through me.
“And, for the record, I never use teeth.”
I chuckled at that, my nonchalant facade cracking a bit. “Trust me, I know.”
He winked at me before his attention shifted to something over my shoulder. He walked around me and leaned into my office. “You like playing FreeWatch?” He pointed at the three collectible figurines I had on my desk.
I answered with a nod, crossing my arms. I watched as he stepped inside my office. My body still felt warm from our playful flirtation, which put me even more on guard. We were at our place of work. It added an entirely different level of danger to what we were doing. It wasn’t like we were locked inside someone’s bathroom, our hard bodies pressed together as we tried so desperately to ride the waves of bliss. Anyone—a teammate, a coach, the GM—could walk in at any moment and catch us making eyes at each other. I swallowed and tried to stuff down my yearning to be back on top of Dylan.
He made that extra difficult with the way his biceps twitched as he reached for the figurines. He picked one up, still in the box, and looked at it with an approving nod. “This one’s my favorite character. I usually play healer, and I like the way she also owns at DPS.”
“I didn’t know you played.”
“I do. Helps me get out of my head when I’m stressed or anxious.”
“She’s one of my mains,” I said, stepping into the small space. He didn’t wear any cologne, but he had showered after the game. The soft scent of lavender and eucalyptus shampoo filled my nose. His hair was still damp. I resisted the very powerful urge to run my hands through it.
“I like switching between her and Life-threader,” I said.
“Oh, he’s a good one.” Dyl placed the box back on my desk. He turned to face me. We were only inches apart. Fuck. I wanted to knock all the shit off my desk and bend him over right there and then, have him spread open for me so I could give him the pleasure he so desperately deserved and that I craved.
And if he wanted to bend me over the desk, I was good with that too.
Dyl seemed to think about something before he said, “If you’re not doing anything, maybe you should come over tonight. Just to play a few rounds. Maybe have a couple beers.”
I hesitated for a moment. Twirled the gold bracelet on my wrist. The cool metal against my skin served as a grounding force. It kept me from floating straight up into the clouds and leaving my moral compass abandoned on the ground. I should say no. I shouldn’t give in to the carnal needs that were trying to hijack my logical thoughts.
Dyl batted his long lashes. “It’ll help me get over the shit game from tonight.”
Now how in the world was I supposed to say no to that? I’d just go over for a couple rounds and consider it two friends hanging out. Nothing more, nothing less. If things started to escalate, I’d politely untangle myself from the situation and say I had to go. Simple as that.
“Sure,” I said. I was pleased with the immediate effect that had on Dylan’s expression. He lit up, his smile widening and his eyes crinkling at the corners.