Page 104 of Daring the Hockey Player

"I got ejected from the game, which you would have seen if you were in the stands." He's staring at me, and I shift awkwardly on my feet. I don't have to ask why he got ejected. He was probably fighting with Knox. The two of them were at it earlier on the ice.

"I may have told him a little white lie," I whisper, glancing away. I don’t want to feel Jasper's intense gaze burning me from the inside.

"And what lie was that?"

"That I was dating a hockey player with the Ice Dragons."

The rage seeps right out of him, and he laughs, his shoulders sagging as he pulls me against him for a hug. "You were talking aboutus,right?" Jasper pulls back, staring down into my gaze.

My heart races and my mouth goes dry. I nod. It's all that I can give him. The locker room is hot and stuffy, or maybe it's his warm arms wrapped around me that makes it feel a hundred degrees inside.

"Good," Jasper says, and he brushes his lips against mine.

I crave him like I need air, and my fingers tug at his jersey, bringing him closer and tighter. Every fiber of my being tingles with excitement.

"We should do that more, in public," he whispers against my lips.

I nod, willing to do anything this man asks of me. "I think Emerson knows," I whisper. If she doesn't, then she would have made a terrible FBI agent.

Jasper shrugs. "Kyler will find out, but I don't care. I'm falling for you, Amber."

I bite down on my bottom lip, tugging it between my teeth. I don't want to tell him that I've already fallen hard for the man staring back at me. I'm not great with vulnerability and confessing how I feel. I worry it might scare him away.

"Your brother should be happy for us," I say, leaning on my tiptoes to kiss Jasper.

"He should be, but you're his fiancée's little sister." His brow creases and commotion begins to pour down the hallway. The game must have just ended. "Bro code," he says.

"Seriously? It's not like I dated your brother. If he's not happy for us, then tell him to go screw himself." I can't hide the grin, the fact that Jasper wants to be with me, and the only thing standing between us is his silly concern withbro code. I don't see the problem.

He pulls me tighter, his lips crashing on mine as the doors open and the team begins pouring into the locker room. Jasper doesn't break apart the kiss. His lips are on mine, letting everyone see that we're together.

Jasper holds nothing back, his tongue pushing its way in past my lips, and I willingly oblige, stepping backward out of the way against the wall as he pins me to the white-painted brick.

"Get a room!" Noah laughs as he breezes by into the locker room.

A gruff voice clears his throat. "Greyson!"

Jasper pulls back from the lip lock, but he still has his hands around my waist. His fingers tease my hips, grazing against my skin, igniting a fire deep inside of me.

His coach doesn't look the least bit thrilled to see me.

"You got ejected from the game, and you're making out with a puck bunny?"

My shoulders tense, and Jasper spins around, growling at the older man. "She's not a puck bunny, Malone. Amber is my girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" Kyler's voice echoes through the hallway, and he glances from his younger brother to me.

I momentarily hold my breath, hoping that another fight isn't about to break loose in the locker room.

TWENTY-SIX

JASPER

"Wait here,"I say to Amber, hoping that she'll listen to me as I head down the hallway and into the locker room with the guys.

She doesn't say a word, just stares down at her hands clasped together in front of her as she leans against the wall.

I walk into the locker room and take a seat at my locker on the bench, undoing my laces. My helmet is already off, and I hang it on the hook nearby.