Page 11 of Branded (Breakers Hockey)

Eleven

Smitty

One second, I was glancing down at her face, trying to discern the sparks in her eyes.

The next, I was seeing her face draw nearer.

“What are you—?” I asked.

Her nails dug in a little deeper, but it wasn’t to hurt me, to push me away.

It was…

To lift her higher, high enough for her to get her other hand on top of my shoulder and?—

“What are you doing, little bird?” I asked, though this time my question came in a whisper.

And this time I barely got the question out before she was huffing out a breath, that glimpse of fire reappearing, and those sparks were beautiful in her emerald eyes.

“What am I doing? What am I doing?” Her mouth pressed flat. “What I’m doing is trying to kiss you here,” she snapped.

She snapped .

With fire in her eyes and pink on her cheeks and her plump, pink lips glistening and begging for my touch.

And because I was Smitty, because I was myself , I couldn’t resist teasing. “I thought we were working on just being friends?” I tilted my head to the side, studying her face, ignoring my cock twitching in my sweats, the urge to take those pretty lips.

A glare.

An actual glare .

Since when did a woman glaring at me feel like an actual victory?

Since it was this woman.

Since it was this woman who was so fucking beautiful and intriguing and smart and soft and quiet and… fiery ?—

She dropped back onto her heels.

Wait. Shit . That wasn’t what I wanted.

I wanted her on her toes, in my arms, pressed to me.

I wanted her naked and on that desk. I wanted to be on my knees between those bare legs, my mouth buried in her pussy.

I wanted?—

Her not to step out of the circle of my arms, to not pull away.

So, I stopped her.

One hand on her hip, drawing her close. The other diving into her hair, tilting her head back. “Come on, little bird. Come on up and kiss me.”

She froze, cheeks going pink.

But her eyes, her eyes remained narrowed. “No,” she said tartly. “You had your chance and?—”

Fuck it.

I’d kiss her.

Fingers threaded into the silk of her hair. My hand sliding so that my arm could band around her waist. Lifting her up—and fuck, but she weighed nothing at all—drawing her even nearer, until her face was aligned with mine, her mouth…right there …

Hot breath.

Parted lips.

She smelled like cinnamon and coffee.

Her skin looked like velvet under the bright lighting overhead, and she was beautiful even though I’d heard the fluorescent bulbs described as harsh more than a handful of times.

“Smitty,” she breathed. “We shouldn’t…”

“Why?” I asked, rubbing my nose along hers, dragging it down, inhaling deeply on the skin of her throat. Cinnamon here, too. And flowers. And the barest hint of coffee. But mostly flowers, and woman, and…Kailey. “You want to.”

She shuddered, lips parting further, her breath hitting my temple. “Your beard is softer than I expected.”

“I thought about shaving it,” I whispered against her neck, pressing my mouth to the part where it met her shoulder.

Another shudder.

“Don’t.” Her hands lifted, weaving into my hair. “I like it.”

No shaving.

Got it.

“Okay,” I agreed, drawing my lips back along her throat, slowly up until I reached her jaw.

Lips? Or ear?

I went for her ear.

A slow trek along her slender jaw, finding a spot that made her shiver.

“That’s—”

“What?” I asked softly into her ear.

“Nice,” she said.

And maybe some might think simply nice was an insult, considering that what I felt was absolutely not nice, not in the fucking least. But her nails were biting into my scalp and her body was limp against mine, and?—

Fuck it.

Time to take that mouth.

A heft had her up and forward, our faces aligned.

Her pulse was fluttering in her throat like a hummingbird’s wings were trapped just beneath the surface. “Little bird,” I whispered.

“I—”

I kissed her.

It was…there were no words that I could possibly utter to describe what I felt when our bodies connected, our tongues tangled, when I had her breath mixing with mine.

I wanted to write a fucking sonnet to the stars and the moon and the sky.

I wanted to burn this touch, this kiss onto my brain, a permanent memory that I’d never forget.

I wanted to freeze time, or to be able to reverse it, able to relive this time and time again.

But time didn’t freeze, and our brains and lungs eventually needed air.

I broke away, breathing heavily. “Fuck, little bird. Fucking hell.”

Her nails were still in my scalp, sharp little points of pain that spiked my need, made me want to rip off her clothes and feast on her. Who gave a damn that anyone could walk into her office, could see us and?—

Fuck.

I couldn’t keep kissing her.

Couldn’t get her naked.

We were at work.

She’d just barely begun to trust me.

But, fuck, I couldn’t let her go, not quite yet. So, I held tight, and I inhaled deeply, and I slowed my breathing, and…I kept her as close as possible.

“I…” she began.

“I know,” I said. “ That’s what I felt when I first saw you.”

“That much?” A breath, her cheeks flushing when she glanced up at me. “I only felt…”

“Fear?” I asked.

A nod. “Fear, yeah, because you’re gorgeous, and gorgeous men don’t talk to me.”

I chuckled. “I think I’ll need to get your eyes checked. I’m pretty damned far away from gorgeous.”

“What?” Her brows drew together, and that fire came back. She pushed at my chest. “Put me down.” A beat, glare forming. “Now, Conner.”

I obeyed, setting her lightly on her feet. “What’s the matter?”

“You.” A poke to my chest. “Why do you do that?”

“Do what?” I asked, and now it was time for my brows to do some drawing, yanking together and forming furrows in my forehead so deep that I could actually feel them. “Little bird,” I said. “Do?—”

“Why do you keep calling me that?” she asked, then promptly waved a hand away.

“Never mind. It doesn’t matter right now.

You are beautiful and masculine and give me total lumbersexual vibes.

I could not believe that you liked me enough to approach me that first day, that you thought I was attractive enough to pursue.

And see?” she added when I felt the furrows on my forehead dig deeper.

“You don’t like it when I talk bad about myself, so don’t do it either. ”

My heart began to pound. “Look. I’m just a normal guy who plays hockey and knows my role.

I’m big. I’m strong. I’m funny. That’s it, and that’s enough for me,” I said.

“I promise. It’s not talking shit about myself.

I know I deserve to be here. I work hard to pull my weight with the guys and fulfill my role. But I’m not?—”

“Funny and protective and sweet and caring? Smart even though you have challenges? Persistent in the face of those?”

Now my heart thudded, pounded against my rib cage. “Kailey,” I began.

“You’re all of those things.”

Fuck.

This woman was going to undo me.

Her hands came to my face, and she kissed me hard and fast and just long enough so that I had a fucking tent in my pants.

“So just deal with the fact that I think you’re fucking cool,” she snapped.

I bit back a grin then tugged a strand of her hair. “So just deal with it?”

Dropping back onto her heels, she nodded (and let it be noted that the nod was also paired with a glare). “Yup.” The P was a pop.

“And are you going to just deal with the fact that I want you?”

She rocked back slightly, eyes going a little wide. “I…” A breath, her shoulders straightening. “I can accept that you think you do.”

“Kailey,” I warned.

Her smile was tremulous. “Hey,” she said softly, “I’m a work in progress, right? Consider it a win that I didn’t deny it outright.”

This time I couldn’t hold back my grin. God, I liked her. “Okay.”

“I’ll take that win.” A curl of wickedness crept through me, something she seemed to detect because she sighed, started to shake her head. “Don’t say it.”

“Say what?” My grin widened.

“Whatever is making you smile like that.”

“What?” I feigned innocence. “I was just thinking that if you’d take that win, you’d take?—”

She groaned, dropping her head back.

I pressed a kiss to that exposed throat, tilted my head so that I could whisper, “You’ll take it all, little bird?”

Another shiver, her hands clenching into fists.

“Not promising anything,” she murmured.

I leaned closer. “I am.”

A soft moan that nearly undid me.

Hazed green eyes blinking up at me.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?”

A nod.

My knuckles running down her throat, soft skin, curves that begged to be touched.

But…progress.

So much that day.

So…I brushed my lips over hers.

Then slowly backed away. “Bye, little bird.”