14
Kat
I’ve never known how brutal or extremely hot it was to watch hockey players dominate the ice like Vikings heading into battle. But then again, I only watched Granger as he took charge, his skates hardly touching down as he moved with a speed and strength that had me mesmerized. I wondered where else he would take charge. Maybe the bedroom? I’m betting he’s commanding, but with gentle hands, making you enjoy every last delicious thrust until you're weeping with pleasure as he makes sweet, hot love to your body. My God, what is wrong with me? Why can’t I stop thinking of him worshiping my body and leaving me wanting more? Mary is rubbing off on me.
No more dirty sex thoughts, Kat! Don’t think of Granger working your body into a sweaty mess and gasping as he stares at you with those green eyes that seem to know your every desire as he spreads your thighs open for him to fit between.
I wrap my arms around myself while leaning against the cold cement walls outside the men's locker room. I’m waiting in the tunnel for Granger to emerge so we can walk together to our classes, and all the while, I argue with myself to stop thinking about sex. He’s just a pretend boyfriend, nothing more, but I’m really needing a distraction right about now. When Jeff came after Granger and sent him flying off the ice, I thought for sure a fight would break out, but Granger surprised me once again. He wears this shield around himself that is all too familiar—for the outside world to only see your tough, thick skin but on the inside, it's completely different. We hurt. We feel. We grieve what our lives could have been and got to where we are by surviving. I see him. I see the pain hidden deep, the anger, and the desire to have what everyone else has—someone to accept them for who they are, and to be loved for the good, the bad, and the ugly.
I see you, Granger, and I like what you show me. Even the tragic disaster you are. We match.
Right now, he's the first one to walk out of the locker room, his hair still slightly damp and his intense green gaze locking me in place. God, is that how I look at him? With hunger and so much longing, but scared to take that leap? I don't know what's real or pretend anymore, but I’m here for this—the want. He stops inches from me, staring down at my small height compared to him, and I feel the need to step into his embrace and have his strong arms hold me close. The last time I had this need to be held was the night I said goodbye to Mom.
“Why are you staring at me that way?” he asks in a baritone voice like smokey campfire and crisp cold morning air that has you breathing in deeply for more, and my body temperature rises at hearing it again.
His teammates start to walk out slowly when they notice Granger standing very close to me, but he completely ignores the others around us… It’s like he can’t look away from me. They’re staring at us with interest and curiosity, probably wondering who’s the girl that caught the attention of Granger—the hockey jock who has plenty of women to choose from. I’ll show them exactly who I am. I don’t answer him with words, I’m going to show him instead.
Grabbing his shirt with my fist, I pull him down and watch his eyes widen before darkening to a mint green as I place my other hand on the back of his neck. I meet him halfway by standing on my tippy toes and take a flying leap as my mouth connects with his soft smooth lips.
He releases a pleased groan as he drops his hockey bag and dives one calloused hand into my hair with a tight grip to angle my head back as his lips move against mine. Heat courses down until it floods my stomach, and I can’t stop grinding slightly against the thigh he wedges between my legs as he walks me backward until my back rests on the wall. His other hand grasps my waist to crush me impossibly closer to his hard body.
Sweet Lord.
He kisses me as if I’m the only one who can give him oxygen, and my own passion matches his with every glide as our mouths fuse together in a dance that mimics slow fucking. He continues to devour my mouth, controlling the kiss until I remember I’m the one who started this. I want to blow his mind, to have him feel as if I’m the only one that can make him lose his control. I pull back with a hum. My eyes close as my heaving chest grazes his. I run the tip of my nose along his and lean back in to nip his bottom lip, sucking on it before sliding my mouth against his with a desperateness that speaks for itself. My mind may be fighting with me constantly, but my body knows it wants Granger something badly. I smile when he groans deep in his throat, the vibrations hitting my skin, and he pushes away, panting lightly. All of a sudden, we hear his teammates whistling and clapping at our public display.
“What was that for, Princess? Are you trying to kill me?” he asks in a gravelly tone that I feel right down to my pussy, like a pulse. He’s staring into my eyes with pure lust swirling in his gaze, until he glares over his shoulder, which gets everyone shuffling to escape his wrath.
They scatter, giggling like a bunch of school girls the whole time, while some run for the exits because they don’t want to be on his bad side even more than they already are. You can see the division in his team, the way they walk on eggshells around him. Granger is trying to mend it, but I can’t help feeling like there's more to the story that I’m missing. He’s hiding something, keeping whatever it is to himself, and I’m wondering if I can get him to open up to me.
His deep, light green eyes swing back to me and drop down to my mouth once more as he bites his bottom lip in indecision, as if he wants to pick up where we left off. That look alone has my lower stomach muscles clenching, because I’d rather be biting that lip of his as he pulls me back into his strong, hard body. The way he stares at me makes it seem like I’m the prettiest thing he’s ever seen. It feels like it’s his hands caressing me as his gaze moves down my body and then slowly climbs back up to look into my eyes that no doubt reflect the need I have for him in return. My head isn’t on straight around him, and it’s terrifying. Not too long ago, this guy told me to get off his ice like he owned it with everything else around him, and yet here I am, giving him sass and letting him in to see the real me.
Stepping back, I glance away to see the tunnel has emptied out, except for a few hockey players joking around at the exit doors before they disappear outside into the cold.
“That was just me showing off as your fake girlfriend. You don’t mind, do you?” My head swims with the thoughts bouncing back and forth in my head. I almost want to run the hell out of here so I can sort through my emotion for the guy who seems to bring them all out.
I keep my expression blank as he stares down at me, his eyebrows pulling together, and he only shakes his head before bending down to grab the hockey bag he threw on the floor when I practically attacked him. A blush climbs into my cheeks as I replay what I just did in my head, and I want to smack myself. What if he didn’t really want to kiss me? Was it all for show as I pretended it was, when in reality, I just really wanted to kiss him?
“Right…fake girlfriend. Almost forgot there for a second, but don’t worry, it won’t happen again. Let’s get to class,” he says with his jaw ticking, and strides past me in angry steps through the doors leading outside.
Shit, maybe I read this all wrong? Does he want to kiss me just as much? My feet are moving before my brain catches up as I hurry after him. Damn him for his long legs, because by the time I’m gripping his shirt to stop him, my breath is coming in pants and I’m shivering from the Boston morning air.
“Just hold on a second, Granger! Are you mad? Why are you stomping around campus?” My fingers grip his bicep, which flexes under my touch, and my hand has a mind of its own as I start petting his hoodie sleeve, trying to soothe him.
He pointedly looks down at my petting, and a small smirk lifts the corner of his mouth just before he places his arm over my shoulders, heading towards the cafeteria hall. Pillows of snow cover the ground, but at least the sun is breaking through the clouds. All I need to make this day better is a cup of coffee. Granger buries his face into my hair, breathing in deeply and placing a light kiss against my temple. I stumble at the expected tender touch and feel his chest rumble at my side as he chuckles under his breath.
“I’m not mad, Kat.” He sighs and pulls away a little, but tucks me tightly under his arm. “I guess I don’t know what I want anymore. Hockey is all I live and breath, but it’s falling apart. My team is scared of me, and it’s my own damn fault. And then there's you, the feelings—” He cuts himself off when he stops walking, and out of the corner of my eye, I see a flash of red heading in our direction.
Turning my head, I stifle my groan as his ex-girlfriend bears down on us. I really wish I had that cup of coffee just about now, because I can’t be in this woman's presence again without opening my mouth. I don’t like her attitude and how she looks at everyone like they’re beneath her. She puts on a fake smile just as she reaches us, standing directly in front of us to block our path. She’s wearing a long expensive coat with high heels and flipping her red wavy hair over her shoulder in a flirtatious move, practically eating Granger alive with her gaze. She has it bad for him, and I wonder why she cheated on him in the first place if she wants him so badly. It couldn’t have been love.
“Granger! Listen, I want to apologize for my behavior at the party. I don’t know what overcame me!” She pops her hip out, puts her hand over her chest, and bats her fake lashes at Granger while taking a step closer to him. She doesn’t even look at me the whole time.
Granger shifts on his feet, quickly glancing down at me to see my reaction to her flirting, and his helpless look almost makes me smirk. Poor guy. Don’t worry, babe! Princess to the rescue! I mean, I am the fake girlfriend to keep the ladies away from him. I snuggle more into his warm body and place my hand firmly on his chest. Victoria’s gaze laser beams onto my hand with a glare as she snaps her brown eyes my way. A sneer comes over her face, giving away her reason for coming over here.
“Maybe it was all that booze, or maybe you want my boyfriend for yourself, but you lost that chance when you cheated on him.” I have no idea what just came over me and made me talk to her like that. Maybe Granger brings this side out of me, to stick up for myself and what’s mine.
I hold her widening gaze and watch in amusement when she literally stomps her foot and pouts at the stone-faced Granger at my side.
“Are you really going to let her talk to me like that?” she demands from him, but he doesn’t say anything. He holds her gaze as he moves his hand to stroke the side of my face in a loving way, and it’s almost as if he doesn’t realize he’s doing it.
