Page 28 of Down & Dirty (Holden Cove #1)

CHAPTER 28

CORY

W hen it was time for our date, Skylar came out of my room, covered in mossy green velvet, from neck to knee. The tight dress was pinched and pulled in all the right places, and the fabric shined as she descended the stairs toward me like a green gemstone, rare and precious. Her hair was in sleek waves, falling loosely over her shoulders as she looked up at me with a cautious smile.

“You never said what we were doing.”

“I never will again if you promise to wear shit like this all the time.”

Her laughter filled the room, warmed more by her than the woodstove that had been roaring since dawn.

“So, I take it this will do?”

I reached out, trailing my hands down her soft arms. I wrapped my fingers around her waist, giving the dip there an appreciative squeeze. This thing was tight, and left little to wonder about just how heavenly her body was beneath it. But I swallowed down the caveman urge to toss her over my shoulder and keep her all to myself.

“It’s perfect.”

Her contented grin shot like a dart in my chest. For all her sharp edges, Sky had the sweetest, softest inside. When she let me see it. “You will still need your coat though.” When she eyed me sideways, clearly trying to do the math on what that meant, I just laughed. “You’ll see.”

An hour later, we arrived in Portland, making our way into the Brookley Arena, among a throng of hyped-up hockey fans. The temperature went from comfortable to chilly real fast.

“We’re up here.” I led her to one of the VIP sections, laughing under my breath when she rolled her eyes.

“Of course we are.”

“Hey, I didn’t do it this time.”

“No?” She pursed her lips, shaking her head.

“I know a guy. He hooked us up.”

“Who don’t you know?”

I handed her the beer we’d grabbed on the way in. “Plenty of people.”

We’d never talked about sports beyond motocross, but I wasn’t surprised to see Sky get into the game. Since it was an exhibition match between Portland’s feeder team, the Pinecrushers, and the Boston Brawlers, the crowd was mixed. But Sky was yelling and cheering for Portland like it was her hometown, and watching her slip into the energy of the crowd with ease, fitting seamlessly into a place I’d been dozens of times in my life, had me smiling so hard my cheeks got tired.

“Come on,” I said right before the final buzzer. The Pinecrushers put up a good fight, but the Brawlers were about to hand down a devastating win, and I wanted to beat the crowd.

Skylar eagerly took my hand, a flush to her cheeks from the excitement. “You don’t want to watch them finish?”

“I’ve got something better in mind.”

We descended a set of stairs that led down toward the locker rooms, the sound of the crowd going wild echoing around us as the game ended. The smell of sweaty men and dirty gear permeated the air, but she didn’t seem to notice. Her wide eyes darted around, taking it all in .

The security guard held up his hand and I pulled out the pass my friend had left me at the ticket window.

“Grady Holloway,” I said.

He gave it a quick glance and then nodded as he let us through. “Have fun.”

“You know Holloway?”

“Yeah, Grady is from Holden Cove. We grew up playing hockey on the lake every winter.”

I expected a snappy comeback, some witty retort about us professional sports guys all drinking from the same lake or something. But instead, she was looking up at me with a giant smile.

“What?” I was borderline uncomfortable without her taking the piss out of me.

“That sounds like so much fun. And now look at him. You helped make him a star.”

A laugh busted out of me. “I think Grady would take offense to that idea. But I appreciate it.” I took her hand in mine and brought it up to my lips. “You had fun?”

Her nod was quick and definitive. “This was great, thank you.”

Heat spread across the back of my neck in the light of her appreciation, and a sensation began to swell inside me; I wanted to give her this. And so much more .

“We’re just getting started,” I told her, leaning low so she could hear me.

And maybe it was the energy of the game, or the sound of the crowd pounding through the building as they streamed out of the arena still chanting and cheering. But Skylar’s eyes dropped to my mouth and then she was up on her toes, kissing me. Her tongue darted out to skim the seam of my lips and I opened to let her in, tugging her into my chest and stumbling back against the wall.

She took my face in her hands and pulled me closer, the kiss long and languid, and stoking a fire so deep in my gut that the rest of the world fell away. It was just me and her. It wasn’t frenzi ed like the kiss last night. It was sure and patient, like a confirmation. Like a promise.

When she stepped into the space between my legs, I knew she would feel me, growing hard and long in my slacks. And when she did, she let out the tiniest whimper, grinding into me and making my hands clench around her waist.

“Sky,” I hissed, noticing for the first time the players and coaches that had begun to stream past us in the hallway. I would have stripped her down right there and taken what we both wanted, but I wasn’t the type of man to share, and it took only a passing glance to see the hungry eyes and childish amusement on the faces of the men walking by.

“Ellis?” I heard my name from behind an approaching group, and recognized the voice. “Fucking hell, you actually came?”

Sky tilted back onto her heels, biting her lip like she was trying to stifle a laugh. I wiped my mouth before dropping a quick kiss to her head and wrapping my arm around her waist.

We turned just in time to see Grady shove one of his teammates out of the way with a smirk. He looked arrogant and proud in his Boston jersey as he ripped his glove off and held his hand out to me. I took a firm hold of it.

“Nice game, asshole. But you didn’t have to show off just ‘cause I was here. “

“I didn’t. I showed off ‘cause she was here,” he said, giving Sky a slick once over before peeking up at me to see my reaction. Jerk .

“This is Skylar,” I said, shifting beside her so I blocked Grady from getting too close.

He laughed outright, shoving his gloved hand into my shoulder. “Don’t block me, fucker. If she’s with you, she might need a white knight to save her.”

“You clearly don’t know shit, ‘cause she’d kick both our asses before that happened.”

When I looked down at Sky, her cheeks were their customary pink, but her eyes held a sparkle that soothed the barb of jealously pricki ng my ribs. And when she leaned into my side, wrapping herself around me, I dragged in a stuttering breath.

“It’s nice to meet you,” she said, giving Grady a quick wave. “You guys played great.”

Holloway nodded, looking over his shoulder at someone who’d tapped him as they went by. “We did all right. I’m glad you guys were here to see it.” He paused to thank one of the equipment managers who stopped to snag his stick. “You coming tomorrow?” he asked me when he turned back.

“Who the fuck do you think I am?” I was genuinely offended by the question.

He huffed out a knowing laugh, loving the rise he got out of me so easily. “As if anyone could ever forget who the fuck the almighty Cory Ellis is?”

Sky shook beside me and I knew she was laughing.

“So, that’s not a new thing, huh?” She glanced between us with a cheeky grin.

Grady ate it up. He smacked me on the shoulder and shook his head. “Damn. You don’t get enough abuse? You went and picked this girl? You should probably save yourself, and let me show her what a good time really looks like.”

I barely contained my growl when Grady went to move around me again. Barely. But the smile I gave him was more like bared teeth and he stepped back with his hands up.

“Okay, okay, old man. Take it easy.”

Sky burrowed into my chest and I wrapped my other arm around her. It was all jokes and light-hearted, but the way she kept getting closer, was like being chosen over and over again. It sent a wave of relief through me so strong I got knocked off balance and had to shift on my feet.

“Just remember, you’re a hockey ace, not a football star.”

“Shh,” Grady hissed, looking over his shoulder. “We don’t speak of such things, remember.”

His contract was a lot stricter than mine, and he’d get in royal shit i f the team knew we were playing tackle football tomorrow afternoon.

“Fine. But be warned. I’ve been playing a lot of Madden. I’m ready.”

“Yeah, yeah. Big talk. We’ll see how quick you are on your feet, Drafty.”

Hearing my old nickname reminded me of all the good times we’d had back in high school. It also reminded me of how long ago that had been, and everything that had happened before it. I gave Sky a squeeze, needing a touch point to this moment to pull me back.

“All right, we’ll see you tomorrow then.”

He started to turn for the locker room. “Wear pads,” he said to me, before looking down at Sky. “And it was nice to meet you. Thanks for coming.”

“Thanks for the seats,” she said back. He nodded, blowing her a quick kiss before dashing out of sight. Thankfully Sky’s only response to that was to shake her head.

As we made our way back up to the street, Sky’s hand clasped in mine, I let out a contented breath.

“You two always trash talk that much?”

“That? That wasn’t even the warm up. Wait till tomorrow. Half the game is the talk, the rest is tossing the ball around with maybe a couple good tackles.”

“What? Why?”

I shrugged. “For all his bullshit, Grady loves hockey way too much to risk his career over something stupid like a pickup game with friends. And we all respect that. He’s worked damn hard for his spot on the team.”

She looked at me thoughtfully. “So, this game tomorrow is really just book club for boys.”

I bit my cheek, trying to stem my laughter so she wouldn’t feel encouraged. “Fuck you,” I said, my voice breaking.

She cocked her head to the side with a smirk. “Truth hurts.”

“If you don’t take that back, I’m not getting you any tacos. ”

Her head whipped back to me. “Hey. We don’t joke about food.”

“Take it back.”

She narrowed her eyes at me, assessing how serious I was. But then she glanced up at the name of the restaurant I’d stopped in front of. El Rayo Taqueria.

“Shit,” she muttered under her breath.

“Table for two inside, but we can just head home if that’s better?—”

“Fine. I take it back. You’re both super manly and scary and tough.” She huffed, ripping her hand from mine as I started to laugh.

“They have great carnitas. It’ll make everything better.” I opened the door for her and she streaked by me, glaring with equal parts hunger and irritation. I liked her when she was feisty like this.

I liked her all the time.