Page 26 of Breaking the Ice (Denver Stampede #6)

Fucking hell, this man could kiss. One of his hands splayed across the middle of my back, anchoring me to him, and I could feel how much he wanted me, solid and heavy against my stomach. If I wrapped my leg around his thigh, could I rub my aching center against his hard cock?

He teased me, his tongue swiping against mine, then nibbled on my lower lip, his other hand sinking into the back of my hair as I melted into his body. He made me feel cherished in a way I couldn’t remember ever being, all while he set my body ablaze.

Other noises filtered in. A cleared throat. A damn and fucking hell. I swore someone said Tucks was trying to inhale me, and I froze.

We were in a bar, in front of his entire team, and I’d practically jumped him.

I broke the kiss. “Shit.”

He pressed a kiss to my forehead, and I could feel him smiling. Of course he was probably smug. I’d basically attacked him with my mouth in front of everyone.

“Damn. I’m always going to try to piss off your dad if that’s the reward I get.” His voice was husky, and I ordered the shudder that started rolling through my body to calm the fuck down.

I swatted his chest. “Not funny,” I grumbled.

He stepped back and shrugged. “Kind of funny.”

“Damn, Tucks. How bad of a kisser are you? Dani looks irritated,” Sin said.

“Whose turn to hit him?” Harper asked.

“Ooh, can I?” Josie asked. I turned away from Gabe to see Josie lean over the bar. She’d hopped behind the bar to help out Simone when we’d arrived since the place had been jammed after the Stampede win.

Sin backed up. “Hey, hey. No hitting necessary. Timmy and Micah, your ladies are a bit bloodthirsty.”

Micah snorted. “Nope. They’re just doing all of us a service when you’re being a dumbass.”

I caught Josie’s eye again, and she winked at me. I giggled. I couldn’t help it. These people were ridiculous, and I was grateful that they weren’t all staring at me and Gabe anymore.

“How about I buy a round of drinks to make up for it?” Sin asked.

Tally slapped him on the back. “Best idea you’ve had in ages. I’ll grab the second.”

“Shut up. I’m full of great ideas.”

“Or just full of it,” Tally replied.

“Round’s on me, except for Tally,” Sin called out.

“I got you, Captain,” one of the younger players yelled.

“Suck-up,” Sin responded, but there was only humor in his tone.

Hockey players really were just a bunch of overgrown boys when they got together. It could be both annoying and charming at the same time, but at least I wasn’t thinking about kissing Gabe anymore.

I didn’t even try to stop my snort. Who the hell was I fooling? My body was on fire, and it didn’t help that Gabe was still achingly close to me. I could easily turn back into his arms and kiss the hell out of him again.

“Ice-cold vodka soda with lime.” Josie winked and slid a drink toward me.

“Something in your eye,” I said, but Josie just snickered.

“Looked like you could use some cooling down.”

“Very funny,” I muttered, and then I took a healthy sip.

“You know we just love to tease. You fit in perfectly with this group, I couldn’t help it.” Her smile was bright and I nodded before she turned to start filling drink orders for everyone else.

“Sorry if I got carried away, but you started that kiss and I couldn’t resist,” Gabe said, low in my ear.

I brushed against him, unable to stop myself. Shoving aside thoughts about my father and all the bullshit he brought with him, I focused on enjoying myself.

TUCKS

I grinned down at Dani after Tally handed me my second beer.

It would be my last beer of the night. Dani was currently polishing off her third drink and getting a little extra touchy-feely.

I wasn’t going to take advantage of her current state, but I also wasn’t going to discourage the touching.

Her hands on me felt incredible. She wasn’t groping me or anything, just sticking to my side.

Every time her body brushed up against mine, I had to will myself not to yank her into my lap or grind my hard dick against her.

She might not mind it now, but she’d be pissed as hell about it in the morning.

And her mood had improved. We didn’t talk about her father anymore, but I still wanted to punch the guy for making her look sad. I couldn’t even bring myself to consider him my idol any longer.

“Are you pouting?” She tapped her finger against my lips, and I resisted the urge to nibble.

I chuckled. “No.”

“What’s going on in that brain?”

“Nothing important.”

She quirked a brow. “You know that you can tell me. You should be happy right now. Not only did you get your two points, but you also have a hot girlfriend sitting next to you.”

A bubble of laughter popped out. “Are you drunk?” We needed a new subject. I had no plans to bring up her father again tonight. She’d heard enough about him, and I didn’t want to upset her again.

“What? No. Just a bit buzzy, why?” Then she tugged me closer, her warm breath washing over my ear, which did not help my already hard cock. Thank fuck for dim bar lighting. “It’s part of the ruse, remember?”

I ran my thumb down her cheek, cupping her jaw. “Oh, I remember.” And I hated the reminder because I wanted more than the ruse. And it was starting to piss me off.

“Should we kiss?” she asked.

“Do you want to?” I kept my voice low, my body desperate to taste her.

She lowered her gaze and bit gently on the corner of her mouth. I sucked back a groan. No matter what happened tonight, I knew I wouldn’t take it further than a kiss or two.

“Kiss me, Gabe,” she whispered. I closed the distance between us, sealing my lips to hers. Who was I to say no to her?

I kept the kiss light, fully aware that we were sitting with my teammates, and I didn’t want to take advantage of her current state.

Her tongue trailed along the seam of my lips and I opened briefly to tangle my tongue with hers, before ending the kiss. While it would make complete sense to tug her closer and keep kissing her—we were “together,” after all—I didn’t think Dani was ready for that amount of public affection.

Tonight had been perfect, and I’d loved having Dani here with my friends. It felt as natural as breathing, and I wasn’t ready for it to end. She fit in with us so well, like she’d always been here. And my need for her had just continued to grow. Fuck, how could I be so gone after two weeks?

“I should probably switch to water after this.” She took a sip of her drink after settling back in her chair.

“Hydration is key to skipping a hangover. Want me to grab you one?”

“Why are you so sweet?” she murmured. Her tone held a note of surprise, and it wasn’t the first time I wanted to ask her about what kind of guys she dated. Of course, if they’d all been like Jenzy, I could understand her comment.

“Not sweet, just a good guy,” I said.

“Too sweet, like those iced snickerdoodles.” Her fingers trailed over the top of my hand where it rested on my thigh.

My muscles clenched again. I needed some ice water, too, before I leaned in and told her that she tasted way sweeter than those cookies we both loved.

“Don’t move.” I pressed a kiss to the top of her head and made my way to the bar.

“You two are adorable together,” Simone said as she handed me the waters.

“Uh, thanks. Yeah, Dani’s amazing.”

She smiled. “Don’t let that woman go, Tucks.”

“I’d be a fool to.” I gave Simone a nod and then turned back to where Dani was sitting and laughing with my friends.

I’m fucked.

***

“You want to head out of here?” I asked a short while later after we’d finished our drinks and our waters. A few of my teammates and their partners had left, and I was ready to go too.

“Yes, Let me just order an Uber.” She pulled out her phone.

I put my hand on hers. “I can take you home, Dani. I only had two drinks and two bottles of water, so I’m good to drive. It’s late, and I’d rather not put you into an Uber when you’ve had a few more. It’s just as easy for me to drive you home.”

“Umm, thanks.”

“Plus, I’m not ready to say good night just yet,” I murmured, enjoying how her smile widened.

“Me neither.”

We said our goodnights, then I ushered her out of the bar. There was a nip in the night air and she curled herself into my body as we made our way to my SUV.

I held the passenger door open for her and she slid in, turning to give me a beautiful smile.

“Such a gentleman.”

“I’m just holding open the door for you. Anyone should do that.” There was a hint of edge in my tone that made her stiffen. Then she pulled the door shut.

“I’m sorry, Dani,” I said when I got into my seat.

She sighed. “I have shitty taste in men. I get it.”

“I’m not trying to remind you of that, I swear. And I didn’t even mean it that way. You were a little unsteady, so I was trying to be helpful. I’d do this for any of my friends, honest. But you know you deserve better, right?”

“Can we not talk about this right now? I was enjoying my buzz.” Then she turned to look out the window.

I reached over and linked my fingers with hers, needing to touch her, and was grateful when she didn’t pull free.

“What are we doing here?” she asked when I pulled up to my condo building a few minutes later.

“I thought you could use a Tucks and Pucks sandwich.”

“A what?”

Had I really just said that out loud? I internally shook my head at my dumbass comment, but at least she was looking at me like I was crazy and not like she was about to stomp off.

“Did you really just say a Tucks and Pucks sandwich?”

“Uh, maybe,” I said sheepishly. “I’ll have you know that Pucks is very good at snuggling. And I’m not half bad, either. Not that I expected you to snuggle with me.” I paused. “Okay, I sound like a total idiot. Anyway, I needed to let Pucks out and we were close to my building.”

She burst out laughing. “You truly are adorkable.”

I shifted my body to face hers after turning off my car. “A-what?”

“An adorable dork. Adorkable,” she said. “I promise, it’s a good thing.”

“If you say so. Are you mad that we detoured here instead of me just dropping you off at your place?”

Her tongue peeked out, touching the corner of her mouth, and I sure as hell didn’t feel adorable or like a dork right now. I wanted to tug her into my lap.

“I promise meeting Pucks will make it all worth it.”

“I guess, but he better give great snuggles.” Her lighthearted tone made me grin.

“The best. He did learn from me, after all,” I boasted.

She rolled her eyes. “Totally adorkable.”

Did she truly have no idea how much I wanted her?

Of course, I would never pressure her for anything more than what she wanted to do, especially after she’d been drinking, but dammit, I fucking wanted this woman and it seemed like she wasn’t on the same page.

But, to be fair, this was just supposed to be fake, so it wasn’t her fault I was falling when I knew I shouldn’t.

“So, are we going to meet Pucks?” she asked, drawing my attention back to her and off of my rambling nervous thoughts.

“Let’s go,” I said, hopping out of the SUV. I quickly rounded the front to get her door, but she was already out and moving toward me.

We managed not to run into any of my teammates in the lobby, and I wondered what she would do if I kissed her just as the elevator door closed.

“Is it weird that I’m nervous?” she said with a laugh.

“What?”

She held my gaze. “To meet Pucks. What if he doesn’t like me?”

“Please, he’ll adore you. What’s not to love?” The words slipped out before I could stop them, and her eyes widened. “I mean, you’re an amazing woman. And dogs sense goodness.”

Her smile grew. “I can be prickly.”

“Oh, I know.”

She swatted my arm. “You’re not supposed to agree.”

I turned my body toward hers and linked our fingers. “I like you prickly because I also know how sweet you are.”

“Gabe,” she whispered, lifting up on her toes. Her eyes filled with heat.

And then the elevator dinged and the doors slid open.

I groaned in irritation.

Dammit, I wanted to kiss her again.