Page 57 of Never In My Wildest Dreams
“Survival, Hellcat. I’m your man in the apocalypse.” He threw ball after ball at her head, chasing her around the table and across the living room. She snatched them off her head and threw them back until the air was a blur of neon yellow and green Velcro balls.
“If you’re trying to prove you’re not a washed-up old hockey player, you can stop now. I’m never playing with you again. You’re awful.”
“You started this with sabotage. Don’t be a spoilsport.” He grabbed her around her waist, lifting her, and her legs kicked out. “As if you’re any less competitive. You just prefer ambush tactics.”
Well, he wasn’t wrong. And she wouldn’t have made it as far as she had with her career if she hadn’t been competitive.
As she started wriggling out of his hold, he hurled her up and over his shoulder. The cabin, the fire, the leather couches, everything was a blur as he stalked into the bedroom.
“What are you doing?” She was still laughing, so her voice came out strained and choppy.
He tossed her onto the bed. “I’m containing the hellcat.” Once she landed on her back, he climbed on top of her, clamping his hands around her wrists and pinning her to the mattress. With his feet across her ankles, he’d immobilized her. “Now, I’m disarming you.” He drew her arms over her head, locking her wrists together with one big hand. With the other, he peeled off his cap.
“Take mine off, too. Game’s over unless we’re both wearing them.”
“You’re not really in a position to call the shots.” He slid the edge of the cap under his knee and peeled off the balls, sticking them to her head until all thirty of them were on her. “You look ridiculous.”
She was alive, filled with happiness, and trying very hard not to make this sexual. Still, she arched her back and twisted her hips, half-heartedly trying to get him off her, but really, she loved it. She loved his touch, his closeness, and the gleam in his eyes. She loved that he was so muscular, so strong. She trusted him. She felt safe with him. “I’ll get you for this.”
“Will you, though?” His hold tightened.
She bucked hard, bumping her chest against his, and that was when their smiles faded.
Because he was right there. Those sea glass green eyes locked with hers, that dirty blond hair falling forward. She wanted to scrape it back with her fingernails. She wanted his weight on top of her, pressing her into the mattress. She needed him inside her.
This man would fill her. He would take her.
“Stop looking at me like that.” His deep voice rumbled with frustration.
“You’re the one pinning me down.” She couldn’t take it anymore. Her hips slammed up and ground against him, and she finally got to feel his very hard cock against her core.
His eyelids fluttered closed, and he moaned. “What are you doing to me?”
She took advantage of his weakened hold and wriggled her wrists free. Wrapping her hands around his neck, she finally let her fingers sift through that thick, silky hair.
“You don’t want this.” He ground the words out.
“I don’t think I’ve ever wanted anything more.”
“Fuck.” He claimed her mouth. This man didn’t play. He didn’t tease. He just licked inside and took possession. His tongue coaxed hers into play, and he kissed her with sensuous, luxurious strokes.
She couldn’t think. She couldn’t catch her breath. All she knew was that she needed more. So much more of him. Her hands skimmed down his back and grabbed hold of his ass. The hard, round globes clenched with each thrust of his hips, and she drew him up hard against her.
He tore his mouth away and pushed himself back onto his heels, pulling off his Henley and tossing it. “Take off Granny’s sweatshirt. Let me see all of you.”
Even as wound up as she was, he still made her laugh, but she reached for the hem, pulling it and the shirt underneath over her head. She thought she’d die if she didn’t feel his bare chest on hers. The moment she laid back down, he tugged the waistband of her leggings down. Restless and aching, she tried to toe them off, but they were stuck and tangled.
“Stop.” In a commanding tone that belied the tremble of his hands, he clasped her ankle and peeled off one leg. He kissed the sole of her foot, then licked a hot path up her calf. His touch plucked a chord, awakening every cell, every molecule, and making them sing. Once he reached the back of her knee, he kissed her there. Never taking his eyes off her, he lifted the other leg and removed the leggings, tossing them aside.
It made her wild that this big, strong, powerful, and commanding man could be so impossibly gentle. His gaze raked over her body with hungry eyes. “So, that’s what you’ve been hiding under all those clothes.” He cupped her breasts, squeezing and plumping them together. “I’m going to fuck these.”
A shudder went through her. “Yes.” The word came out strangled.
Slowly, he lowered one bra strap and then the other. He reached a warm hand into a cup. When she hissed in a breath, his gaze cut to her eyes, and he lowered his mouth to her nipple.
That first flick of his tongue had her toes curling. Leisurely, he licked and swirled, and it drove her wild. Which he knew because he kept watching her, studying her reactions.
He sucked her into his mouth—the heat, the suction…Fire raced along her nerves
