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“Nah, I’m just hot and dirty for you.”

“I noticed.” Her eyes dart down to my erection trying to burrow out of my pants. She reaches out and says, “I can—”

“As much as I want you,” Jesus, my balls hate me right now, “and I really fucking want you. I’m pretty sure that if you touch my dick, Sunshine, I probablywillcrack a rib.” I thread my fingers with hers. “When I finally can have you, I don’t want anything holding me back.”

She looks startled by my admission, but it’s the God’s honest truth.

“But understand, I’m going to make you mine.” I brush my fingers over her cheek and then make the heroic decision to put a little space between us. “Can you hand me that laptop?”

She leans over and grabs it off the bedside table. Jesus, her ass. I almost reconsider my decision to wait until I’m all healed up.

No. No. I have more restraint than that. Plus, I’m too fucking selfish.

“What’s that for?” she asks, handing it to me.

“Would it be strange post-sex behavior if we watched the rest of that documentary? I really need to figure out what the fuck happens to these people. Do they drink the Kool-Aid or just lose all their self-respect and money?”

“It may be strange, but it’s my kind of strange,” she says, leaning back against my pillow. “You’ll be addicted to true crime just like the rest of us.”

I doubt it. There’s only one thing I’m addicted to and she’s right next to me.

* * *

“So what’s goingon with all that?”

I’m in the middle of a set of reps, a fifteen-pound weight in each hand. It’s half the weight I normally lift, but I’m still letting this injury heal. On an exhale I grunt out, “All what?”

“You and TG,” Axel asks, racking his own weights. His tank has the sleeves cut out, revealing his tat-covered arms. “You usually can’t keep your eyes off each other at practice, but neither of you have even glanced at the other today.”

He’s right. I haven’t looked at her once, but every fiber in my body, particularly my cock, knows the location of Twyler and her hot little body when we’re in the same room. We agreed not to do anything to raise Green’s suspicions. Including making eye contact.

It’s for the best. I’ve been desperate for her since our status changed from fake relationship to on the downlow. We stayed up late watching her crazy cult show and talking. And making out. Just kissing. I can’t remember the last time I was content to just fool around with a girl and not take it further. Fuck, it was perfect.

But it’s been three days, and the bruise on my side is finally healing. If I don’t get inside this girl soon, I may actually explode.

“She did me a solid by helping me out with Shanna. Now that she’s backed off, there was no reason to keep up the act.” I allow my gaze to drift over to where she’s working with one of the guys. “It was never anything real.”

I’m a hockey player, not an actor, but the bullshitting I do on the ice must have taken root, because Axel seems to buy it. He follows my gaze and says, “She is pretty cute.”

My reaction is instantaneous. “No.”

He laughs and runs a hand through his blond hair. “What do you mean, no?”

“Stay away from her, man.” I rack my weights and grab my towel off the bench. “We’re not supposed to mess around with her. Remember Green’s warning.”

“What Green doesn’t know won’t hurt anybody.” He looks back over at Twyler and I see the interest in his eye. “She wouldn’t be the first girl we’ve both had a go at.”

It’s a good fucking thing I already put down the weights because Axel is dangerously close to getting hurt. I turn and push into his space. My voice is low when I say, “As your captain and friend, I’m telling you to back the fuck off. That girl is off-limits.”

Axel’s jaw tics, like he’s considering his options, but we both know he doesn’t have any. I pulled rank, and for Twyler, I’m not afraid to go a step further. He must come to the same conclusion because he gives me a slow grin and holds up his hands. “No worries, man. She looks a little too timid for my liking anyway. The kind of girl that gets attached.”

There’s no reasoning with a manwhore like Axel. I spent the last five months working my way through the puck bunnies, but he’s the kind of guy who has spent the last three years cutting a wide swath across all segments of the female population at Wittmore. The best thing for him is to think she’s more trouble than she’s worth.

Once he refocuses on his workout, I exit the gym, needing to cool off before I do something stupid. The pent-up need to be with Twyler isn’t helping. I’m tense all the time. Entering the locker room, I grab my phone.

OneFive: Meet me before class?

She responds faster than I expect.