Page 18

CHAPTER 18

LILAH

“Nothing gets me hotter than watching hockey in person.”

I laugh at Rory, who hasn’t taken her eyes off the ice since we sat down. She’s barely even touched the nachos in her hand, and the urge to reach out and eat one has been bugging me all game, even though they’re likely soggy as hell by now.

“What? It’s true. Lawson is like a whole other person after a game,” she says, still not looking away as the Serpents race up the ice with possession.

But I’m not watching the puck. My focus is solely on the man in net bent over trying to catch his breath as he watches his teammates attempt to score so they can increase their lead.

I don’t know what’s gotten into the team lately, but they’re on a hot streak, having won their last five games. It’s been fun to watch at home, but it’s even better to be sitting here at the arena. This atmosphere is electric, and the fans are on their feet for every incredible save Fox makes. It’s been that way the whole game, and now at the start of the third period with the Serpents up three goals to one, they’re really buzzing.

Fans groan when Lawson misses his shot up over the net, and the Florida team takes it back down the ice. Fox gets into position, his glove up while he tracks the puck as they get closer…closer…and the puck goes right into the webbing of his glove. The crowd roars again, and I join right in with them, standing to cheer him on. Rory is right—it is hotter to watch hockey in person.

I cup my hands around my mouth, yelling loudly along with the crowd. “Foxy, Foxy, Foxy!”

Knowing Fox, he’s likely blushing right now with all the attention, but he doesn’t let it distract him. Florida takes another puck down his way, and he stops it with his blocker. They gather the rebound and try again, but Fox is quick, pushing over and flipping his leg out and sealing it against the net. Save after save and the arena is so loud it’s deafening.

All I can think is That’s him. That’s my guy. And I don’t even panic about it, too entranced by the stellar performance in front of me. After another fifteen minutes of the same, the Serpents earn their sixth win in a row, only allowing one goal. The team gathers around Fox, tapping him on the head before saluting the crowd and skating off.

“That was incredible! Did you see Lawson?!” Rory shouts, clapping wildly and grinning bigger than I’ve ever seen her. It’s strange at first, considering the woman hardly ever smiles, but it’s so cute how much she clearly loves him.

Auden’s no different, her face lit up with excitement, especially as they flash Hutch’s picture up on the screen.

“Tonight’s third star of the game, with two assists, is your captain, Reed Huuuuuutchinson!”

The crowd extends his name along with the announcer, the hordes of spectators stomping rhythmically. Hutch waves to the crowd, tossing a stuffed snake into the sea of people across from us.

“Tonight’s second star of the game, scoring twice and earning his 500 th NHL point, is Lucas Laaaaaawson!”

Once again, the crowd roars to life, Rory maybe even being the loudest of all as her boyfriend takes a lap, tossing a stuffie into the crowd and blowing them a kiss because of course he does. He’s Lawson.

“Stopping forty-six of forty-seven goals?—”

The arena gets so loud I can’t even hear them announce Fox’s name. It’s drowned out as the “Foxy” chants start once more. It’s amazing to hear everyone scream his name like this, and all I can think is, I get to scream his name later.

Fox waves to the crowd, throwing his hands up, trying to pump the fans up even more, and they go even more wild as he skates to where we’re seated. He stops, and those espresso-colored eyes of his lock with mine.

I swear time stops…or at least that’s the only explanation I have because even though it’s only moments he stands there staring at me, it feels like hours. He chucks the stuffed snake into the crowd, everyone clamoring for it, but I don’t budge. I can’t. I’m too busy locked in a staring contest with him as a smile curves his lips. Fox winks, and heat stains my cheeks.

Auden elbows me as he skates away, everyone still cheering around us. “I saw that.”

“Saw what?”

She rolls her eyes. “You like him, Lilah. You’re happy with him.”

I am happy with him. Not even my mother’s obnoxiousness about our upcoming engagement party is enough to get me down. I’m sure it helps that any time I start to get stressed about it, Fox helps me “relax” by distracting me with sex or getting me out of the house. Like for our makeup Valentine’s Day date, when he took me to Pike Place and the aquarium and we spent the day playing tourists. Or last week when he took me to an arcade, and he spent over four hundred dollars just to win the giant stuffed turtle they had that he could have bought for a fraction of the price. Or last night, when, after a particularly stressful day of linen shopping with my mother, he showed up at my door with a pint of butter pecan ice cream. We didn’t even fool around. He just kissed me and held me on the couch while I read to him from a fantasy novel about dragons and courage.

So Auden is right. I am happy with him, more than I thought I could be if I’m being honest. It’s so strange. I’ve been a serial dater all my life, never staying with someone for more than a month and never seriously. This thing with Fox has been going on for longer than that, plus it’s definitely feeling serious, and I don’t just mean because of the engagement. It’s more than that, and I can’t quite place my finger on what that more is.

“So?”

“ So …” She stretches out the word. “Remember what I told you, yeah?”

“I know, I know.”

Be careful, Lilah. I don’t want to see him get hurt. But I don’t think Auden realizes it’s not just Fox she needs to be worried about. It’s me too.

And I don’t know what to do about it.

“That was quite the game, Artie.”

He lifts his head, his whole face lighting up as he sees me standing against his car. He slows his pace, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

“Looks like I need to have a chat with security. They’re just letting anyone in these days, huh?”

“Not just anyone,” I say, pushing off his car and rocking back on my heels. “Only wives and girlfriends and fiancées .”

His grin grows at that as he stops in front of me. “That so?”

“Yep. I just flashed this bad boy, and they let me right in.” I hold up my hand, showing off the ugly-as-hell ring I’ve been wearing more and more lately. At first, I took it off every chance I got, only wearing it when I had to meet up with my mother, who has been far too invested in planning our engagement party. Then, one day, I forgot to take it off, and it’s been there ever since. I try not to think too much about that, about how natural it feels on my finger.

“That’s worrisome. Anyone can find an ugly ring and flash it.”

“Hey! It’s not ugly.” I manage to hold my laughter in for all of two seconds before it bubbles right out. “Sorry, I couldn’t even pretend.”

Fox shakes his head, hooking a finger through a belt loop on my jeans. He hasn’t even touched me yet, but my body lights up at his proximity anyway. “It’s the most hideous thing I’ve ever seen, but it’s kind of growing on me.”

“It is not.”

“Is too.” He jerks me forward, and I fall against him. He catches me easily, his hands dropping to my waist as I curl my own around his biceps. I squeeze them, loving the way the defined muscle feels under my palms, especially when he’s thrusting into me and whispering dirty things into my ear.

He leans down, his nose brushing against mine, his lips so close I can feel his breath ghosting over me. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to kiss him so badly before, but I chalk it all up to the leftover buzz of the game.

Yeah, that’s all it is. Nothing else.

“Is not,” I argue again.

“You make it pretty, Lilah.”

And then he’s kissing me, his warm lips pressing against mine in a soft yet commanding way, and I’m wrong. I am so fucking wrong.

It’s not the buzz from the game. It’s Fox. All him and nothing else at all.

I should have known it was him. It’s that same buzz I’ve had since the birthday party back in January, the same one that’s been simmering just beneath the surface since. Fox’s fingers dig into my hips as he draws me even closer, our bodies pressed together so tightly I don’t know where he ends and I begin and vice versa. I don’t care to know either. All I want is this—Fox’s hands and mouth on me and that hum of pleasure rolling through me.

His touch inches higher, slipping beneath the Serpents jersey I’m wearing, the one with his name plastered across the back, and I shiver when he hits bare skin.

“Cold?” he asks, kissing the corner of my lips.

I shake my head, leaning it back to give him access to that spot on my neck he loves to taste. “Opposite.”

He sinks his teeth lightly into me, then chases the sting with his tongue before trailing his lips back to mine, sealing our mouths together once more. I groan against him, pulling him closer if that’s even possible.

“As hot as this is to watch, do you think I could get by?”

My eyes fly open, and I wrench my lips from Fox’s to find Keller standing nearby, his hip pressed against a familiar-looking truck.

“Uh, hi, Keller.”

He grins as much as Keller can. “Hey, Lilah. You mind if I get into my truck?” He nods toward the vehicle we’re standing just inches from.

I look at Fox, whose lips are rolled tightly together.

“I, uh, should probably mention this isn’t my truck.”

“What?” I look back at it. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” He points at the car Keller is leaning against. “That one is mine.”

It looks identical. How did I not notice there are two of them?

“You have matching trucks?”

Keller points at his teammate. “He copied me.”

Fox shrugs. “I copied him.”

“Oh my god,” I mutter, pressing my face to Fox’s chest as he shakes with laughter. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I was kind of distracted.” He presses a kiss to the top of my head and tugs on me. “Come on. Let’s let Keller have his truck back.”

“Yeah, that’d be great,” says the perpetual grump, shoving off Fox’s car.

As the two men pass, they exchange a knowing glance, and I hate it and love it all at once, especially when just a hint of jealousy passes over Keller’s face.

“Always lovely seeing you, Lilah,” Keller calls over his shoulder just before disappearing into his car.

The truck rumbles to life, and he races out of the garage at a high speed.

Fox rolls his eyes at his teammate and holds the passenger door of his vehicle open for me. “After you.”

I glower at him as I climb inside. “You’re paying for that.”

“Promises, promises,” he says with a grin.

Fox keeps his hand on my thigh the entire drive to my apartment, and it does nothing to quell the desire coursing through me. The sight of him driving one-handed makes me hotter than I ever imagined it could, and from the looks he keeps sending me every few minutes, he knows it, too.

He pulls into a parking spot. We hustle into the building, and I lose all sense of control the second we step into the elevator. Fox laughs when I shove him against the wall, but all the humor is gone when I press my lips to his in a rushed kiss. He groans against me, his tongue tracing the seam of my lips, then snaking inside.

We don’t stop until the car arrives on my floor. Only then do we break apart, but only long enough to stumble out of the elevator and to my door. Fox presses against me as I push the key into the lock, his lips on the back of my neck, making it hard to concentrate on the simple task of unlocking the door.

“You taste so sweet,” he mutters against my skin. “So fucking good. I can’t wait to taste you more.”

I groan with the promise, arching back against him, my ass sliding against the obvious erection he’s sporting.

He hisses at the contact, teeth nipping at me. “Open the door already, Lilah.”

“I’m trying!” Doesn’t he see my hands are shaking? Doesn’t he notice I’m barely hanging on by a thread right now?

I finally get the door open and spin, tugging Fox inside along with me. He follows after, hands on my hips the whole way until he’s backed me against a wall. I don’t even really know where we are even though it’s my apartment. I’m too lost in Fox’s touch to pay attention.

Our lips connect again, his tongue pushing into my mouth, and I moan. He shrugs his suit jacket off as my fingers find where his dress shirt meets his slacks, and I tug it up, needing to touch him properly. He groans when my bare hands meet his skin, and it spurs him on, his fingers flying through the buttons on his shirt until it’s hanging open all the way. I slide my hands over him, tracing the ridges of his abs that I know he works hard on, admiring every inch of him.

“Your hands feel so good on me.”

“You feel good under my hands.”

His palms slide over my ass. “I can’t decide how I want you first.”

“I love how you think you get to make that decision.” I spin us suddenly until it’s his back pressed against the wall.

He grins down at me. “Is that so?”

“That’s so,” I say, pressing my lips to his before dragging them down his torso, kissing every visible inch until I’m on my knees in front of him.

“Fuuuuuck.” He drags the word out, biting his bottom lip as he watches me tug his belt free. “I won’t last long, Lilah.”

“You say that like I care.”

I unsnap his pants and pull his zipper down, the sound sending another shudder of excitement through me. I grab his pants and boxer briefs, working them both down until his cock springs free.

“Like I don’t enjoy the feel of you spilling down my throat.”

I lean forward, running my tongue along his slit, loving the saltiness of his precum.

“As if I don’t love the taste of you.”

“Fuck. Shit. Fuck.” He punctuates each word with a knock of his head against the wall, and I laugh at how unhinged he’s becoming with just a little teasing. “You’re killing me already, and you’ve barely touched me.”

“You like being teased.”

He nods, his eyes hooded as he peers down at me. “Only by you.”

I lick him again and am rewarded with another soft groan. I love him like this, compliant yet flirting with the urge to rebel. I like that he doesn’t, that he gives me what I need, even if it means holding back his own pleasure.

He huffs out a breath. “Is it bad if I say I could come like this?”

“No.” Another lick. “But don’t.”

“Is that a command?”

I nod, tasting him again, and he sucks air in between his teeth. “Yes. That’s a command.”

I tease him more, running my tongue over him again and again until he’s literally shaking, but he does good. He doesn’t come, though I can tell he’s close, his balls tightening with each pass. I give them attention with fluttering touches while Fox lets out another string of curses.

“Lilah…” He groans, his eyes screwed shut tightly, the veins in his neck on full display as he holds himself back.

I know I’m pushing him, testing my luck.

“You’re doing so good,” I praise. “Being such a good boy.”

His eyes spring open, and he looks down at me, his gaze hazy, almost drunk-like. I knew he liked it when I said that, but I didn’t realize just how much. Seeing him like this now, knowing he’s completely at my mercy…it’s intoxicating.

He nods. “Yours,” he says, voice thick with desire.

The single word unlocks something in me, and suddenly, I’m the one who can barely hold back, and I don’t want to anymore. I suck him into my mouth, and Fox bucks against me as I finally give him what he wants. He’s panting in a matter of minutes, his hands tightening to fists at his sides as he holds himself back from grabbing my head and driving into me like he wants to. His restraint spurs me on even more.

“Can I— fuck .”

He groans as I pull him to the back of my throat, entirely cutting off his ability to speak. He’s nothing but harsh breaths and incoherent noises as I work him over.

“Lilah…” Another groan. “I need to come.”

I pull off him. “Come for me, Arthur. Come on me.”

And he does. He grabs his cock, pumping once, then twice before he’s spilling his heavy load right on my tongue and then some. It spurts all over my cheek, running down my chin, but I don’t care. I love seeing him undone like this. I drag my fingers through the mess he’s made, then suck them one by one into my mouth, not wanting to miss a drop of it. Fox gulps in air, watching me the whole time with eyes that promise I’ll get mine too.

I kiss my way back up to his lips, and the second I touch them, he comes alive again, gripping my head so hard it nearly hurts, but I don’t care. I want the hurt. I want the wild side of him. Fox lifts me into his arms with ease, his tongue working against mine as he leads us through the apartment, setting me down on the arm of my pink sofa. He pulls away long enough to shrug his shirt off the rest of the way. He rids himself of the rest of his clothes until he’s standing before me naked, and I’m still fully dressed.

He strokes his cock, looking so hot with his hair a mess and his lips swollen from our kisses. I almost want to drop to my knees and suck him again.

“Turn around, Lilah. Hands on the couch,” he instructs.

A part of me wants to be defiant, but when he pumps his cock again, I lose all the rebelliousness nipping at my heels and do as he says, wanting to feel him inside me more than I want anything else. With zero finesse, he yanks my leggings and underwear down just enough to expose me to him. He palms my bare ass, spreading me open, and he sucks in a breath.

“God, you’re beautiful, you know that?” He slips a finger between my cheeks, running the pad of it over my back hole. “You ever been fucked here?”

I shake my head. “Not yet.”

He chuckles. “Does that mean you’ll let me?”

I shrug, trying to play it cool even though I’m barely holding myself up as he presses his finger harder against my rim. “Depends on how much of a good boy you are.”

He growls—growls—and fills me in one hard thrust, knocking my breath from my lungs as I wasn’t expecting it. I moan as he pulls out and slams back into me. His finger is still resting against my hole, the movement adding just the perfect amount of pressure.

I hear it before I feel it and tremble with lust as his spit lands against the top of my ass and slides down between my cheeks, right to where his finger is pressed against me, allowing just the tip to slip inside with ease.

“Oh god,” I mutter, pushing back against him, loving the feeling of fullness that’s overtaking me. He’s barely even inside my ass, but I already know I’m going to want more.

He slows his pace, but only enough for his finger to slip inside me further until he can’t go anymore. He adds more spit, then fucks me slowly, a vast difference to how he was just rutting into my pussy.

“Fuck, you have no idea how good you look right now.” He pulls his finger out, then pushes it back in slowly. “My name across your back…my finger in your ass… I want to taste it, bury my tongue into your hole. Want to taste all of you, Lilah.”

I nod. I’ll agree to just about anything right now if it means feeling like this.

“But later. Right now, I want to make you come just like this, all over my cock while your tight little ass squeezes my finger.”

I try to nod again, but it’s no use. Not when he’s back to fucking me with a relentless force, pounding into me over and over until my arms feel like they’re about to give out, and my legs shake as I hold back my orgasm.

“So fucking pretty.” Another hard thrust. “Wish you could see yourself taking my cock.”

I don’t know what it is—his punishing movements, me holding back, or how full I feel with his finger stretching my ass—but suddenly my eyes are stinging with tears. I want to come. I want to come so badly I can’t stand it, but I can’t.

He folds himself over me, his lips finding my ear. “Let go. It’s okay to let go. I got you, sugar.”

I do. I let go of everything, and I can’t seem to help the tears that fall from my eyes as I come, his cock still drilling into me, his finger still in my hole. I have no idea why I’m crying, but I have a sinking suspicion that what Fox said has a lot to do with it.

Yours.

He is mine. I don’t know when it happened, don’t know how it happened, but Fox isn’t just my fake fiancé anymore. He’s mine , and I’m his .

The scariest part of all? The realization doesn’t terrify me nearly as much as I thought it would.

It doesn’t terrify me at all, and that scares me more than anything else.