Page 31

THIRTY-ONE

RILEY

Months ago, I thought the universe was trying to fuck me over.

A car accident, losing my leg, and not being able to play hockey again all in one night.

Now it’s like I’m being rewarded for being so fucking patient with everything that’s happened in my life, because Lexi Armstrong is naked on my bed. She’s holding out her hands, blinking up at me with dark lashes and wide eyes, and it’s a goddamn wonder I haven’t already finished in my pants.

Her body is fucking unreal. Soft curves at her hips. A toned stomach from years of exercise. Strong, long legs that would look best wrapped around my head.

She’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.

“I’m going to do a double column tie,” I say, proud of myself for being able to get actual words out. “It’s the same thing I did earlier, but with both of your wrists.”

“I didn’t mind that,” she tells me.

“You were wearing clothes and not tied to the headboard. This is going to be different.”

I get started on the knots, making sure to watch Lexi’s face every second. She’s busy watching my fingers, and after a few seconds, I pull the rope tight to lock the knots in place, satisfied with how it looks.

“Finished?” Lexi asks, and I nod.

“That’s it.” I slip my fingers between the ropes and her wrists, checking to make sure nothing is too tight. “How does that feel?”

“Weird, but…” She trails off and lifts her hands in front of her, examining them. “Good.”

“Any pain? Too much pressure? Hands are the first thing to lose circulation, so if it’s uncomfortable, I need to know.”

“No.” Lexi smiles. “I like it.”

“Okay. Good. Yeah.” I run a hand through my hair. “It looks good.”

“Are you always this nervous?”

“I’m not nervous.”

“Yes, you are.”

“I’m fine. Just want to make sure you’re okay,” I say, and I double check the tie knot again.

“I’m more than okay. What happens now?”

“The benefits part of all of this.” I lift her hands above her head. “Me doing whatever you ask. Making sure you get off. That’s what you want, right?”

Lexi squirms and exhales a puff of hot air that tickles my face. “When you say it like that, it makes it seem like you’re not enjoying yourself. It makes it seem like this is only about me.”

“Right now it is.” I draw a straight line down her body, from her neck to her stomach. “Relax, Lexi baby. You know I’m going to take care of you.”

When her shoulders drop away from her ears and she closes her eyes, I tie her wrists to the headboard. I give the ropes a pull, making sure she can release herself if she wants to get out of the ties, as every thought I’ve ever had about her comes rushing to the surface.

I cup both of her breasts and drag my thumbs over her nipples, grinning when she squirms again and finds she can’t move her upper body.

“ Fuck ,” she whispers, eyes flying open.

“Impressed yet?”

“You’re a goddamn tease.”

“Says the girl who waltzed in here, told me she wanted to be tied up, then made me sit through dinner with my friends while I imagined what she’d look like spread out on my bed.”

“And? Is it what you pictured?”

“Better,” I say, pressing my palm on her stomach. “Last time I took your underwear. This time, I might need to take a photo of you so I can look at it when I’m sad and lonely in my hotel room during our away games. And I’m sad a lot, Lexi.”

“That’s the best part about being friends with benefits.” She moans when I push a finger inside her and find her pussy tight and wet. “You could knock on my door, have the real thing, and not stick around to find out if I snore.”

“Tempting. What would I tell my teammates?” I add a second finger, stretching her out, and her legs tip open wider. She lifts her hips, and I push her back against the mattress so she can’t move. “ Sorry. I can’t make dinner. I have a needy woman in my room who is demanding my attention ?”

“Throw in the word hot too.”

“You’re so damn confident.”

“Am I wrong?”

“No.” I bend to kiss her stomach. My tongue leaves a trail of wet marks behind as I position myself between her legs. “You’re not wrong at all. You doing okay up there?”

“Yeah,” she says. I glance up at her and watch her tug on the ropes. “This is… I like this a lot.”

“I like this , a lot.” I lick her pussy, tongue pressing down on her clit. “Fuck. I’ve missed you.”

“You’ve missed my cunt.”

I haven’t been with a lot of women. The number is small compared to some of my teammates who like sleeping around. But I can say without a doubt in my fucking mind Lexi is the hottest person I’ve ever slept with.

There aren’t any games. I don’t have to ask for guidance. She tells me exactly what she wants and exactly how she wants it, blunt as hell when she wraps her thighs around my head and urges my face deeper between her legs.

“No, you brat.” I pinch the inside of her knee and she squeals. “I’ve missed you .”

“Less talking. More— shit, Riley ,” she whines when I push a third finger inside her. She tightens around me, and it’s alarming how much that turns me on. “Right there.”

“Wrists okay?” I ask, the words coming out muffled when she squeezes her legs against my cheeks.

“Yes. I just wish—” She stops talking, and I look up at her. When she doesn’t continue, I rub a slow circle over her clit until she cries out, arms twisting above her. “I wish I could touch you,” she finishes in a rush of a breath.

“You can’t have it all, Lexi. I’ll take the ropes off after you come.”

“That’s not fair.” She huffs. “I want to leave them on and touch you.”

“And I want you to come on my tongue so I can taste you. Given our current position, I think I’m going to be the one who wins.”

Lexi moans again, and I take my time with her. I do everything she likes, including curling my fingers and burying my tongue inside her and almost passing out from how hard I am, all because I’m touching her.

“Riley. I think I’m going to come.” She yanks on the ropes and twists her hips, but I keep her pinned in place. “It’s too much. I-I can’t—” She gulps down a breath when the rope digs into her wrists, and a sob works its way up her throat. “ Please .”

“Please what?” I ask, watching her for any signs of discomfort. Her eyes are squeezed shut. Her chest is flushed red and her nipples are hard, and her hair is halfway out of her ponytail. “Do you want me to stop?”

“ No . It feels too good. It’s never?—”

“This is how it’s supposed to feel when someone is doing it right. As long as you’re my friend , you’re not going to have to fake anything, Lexi.”

That earns me another squeeze of her thighs around my neck as she falls apart, a mess of shaking legs and whispered pleas. I coax her through it, tongue still on her clit while I slow my fingers inside her until she’s trembling on the sheets.

“Please,” she whispers again. “I want to get out.”

I’m off her in a second, moving up the bed as fast as I can. I release the knot so her hands fall away from the metal headboard. I tug the rope, breaking her wrists free, and pull her into my lap, cradling her close to my chest.

I kiss her forehead and the top of her head. I stroke her hair, blowing out a breath when she buries her face in my shirt. “You did so well, sweetheart.”

“That was—” Lexi sniffs and tilts her head back, gaze meeting mine. There’s mascara under her right eye, and I wipe it away with my thumb. “The most intense experience of my life.”

“Did I hurt you?” I carefully check her hands, kissing the inside of her wrists and the marks I find there. Blood pounds in my head, fearful she hated every minute of that until her lips turn up in a smile. “Talk to me, Lex.”

“No. No, you didn’t,” she says. The roar around me settles when her palms slip out of my grip, move up my chest, and drape around my shoulders. “I’m fine. I’m so much better than fine. That felt so… natural . I loved every minute of it. I have so much adrenaline, it feels like I could go run ten miles.”

“That’s the orgasm talking. Or you have way too much energy.” I put my finger under her chin, kissing her softly. Lexi melts into me, mouth opening and tongue brushing against mine. “Knowing you, both are possible.”

“What can I say? One quickie from your fingers, and I’m practically a superhero. Thanks, friend.”

“You really did do well. How are you feeling? Do you want some water?”

“Such hospitality.” She tosses me a cocky smirk and throws a leg on either side of my waist. It’s my turn to blow out an exhale when she slowly brings my shirt over my head, and I hold my breath until she pulls it off and tosses it aside. “I want you, Riley. More benefits. More fun.”

“Yeah. Yes. Yup. Let’s—” I lick my lips and grip her waist, fingers pressing into the curve of her ass. “There’s a condom in the drawer over there.”

Lexi leans to her right, stretching for the bedside table and almost knocking the lamp off in the process. My laugh turns to a cackle when she yanks on the drawer too hard, the whole piece flying out and landing on the floor in a wooden heap.

“You need new furniture,” she murmurs, plucking a condom from the box I impulsively bought after our first night together. Wishful thinking and all that bullshit. “I’m going to get a splinter.”

“I’ll buy something new tomorrow. Whatever color you want. Better yet, send me a link of one you like. I’ll overnight it.”

She grins and spins the foil packet between her fingers. “Do you want to try something new? A different position? How… how can I make this good for you?”

The pre-cum in my briefs would argue that everything we’ve done up to this point tonight has been fan-fucking-tastic, and she’s barely touched me. But I’m calm. I’m fucking easygoing, her friend and newly appointed orgasm provider for the foreseeable future, and I’m not going to blow my cover by being a pathetic, yearning mess of a man who will have her any way I can get her.

“Maybe you on top again? If you liked it,” I add, and her smile softens. “Next time we can try something different. I’ll… I’ll fuck you.”

“I like being on top.” She kneels next to me and puts her hand on my left thigh. “Are you going to take your pants off? Or do you prefer?—”

“I’m going to take them off and leave my prosthetic on again. Was it okay last time? I know the socket isn’t?—”

“It was perfect. Take off your clothes, Riley,” Lexi says softly, and of course I fucking listen. I unbutton my jeans and untie my shoes. She helps me pull the denim over my prosthetic then works on my briefs, making quick work of the black underwear. When I’m naked in front of her, she wraps her hand around my cock and smiles. “Look at you. Getting me off turns you on, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, and—” I groan when she opens the condom and rolls it down my length. “We can’t spend too much time on foreplay. I want to fuck you, and if you jerk me off, I’m going to come in twenty seconds.”

“I bet we could make it eighteen,” she says, a challenge in her eyes. She straddles me again, hovering over the head of my cock and leaning forward so she can whisper in my ear. “But, fine. We’ll play your way. Fuck me, Riley. You know I like it rough.”

I touch her everywhere I can reach; her tits when I squeeze them together, her clit when she drops her head back and moans, her hips when she lowers herself on me, and a light smack on her ass when the first half of my cock sinks into her.

Fucking hell .

Her pussy is glorious. Absolutely divine when she rolls her hips and puts her hands on my chest, using me as leverage so she can get another inch deeper. I lift off the bed, snapping my hips to meet her halfway and thrusting into her as hard as I can.

It’s messy and sloppy. The bed shakes and rattles the window above us. Sweat rolls down our bodies. I hook my thumb in the corner of her mouth then press on her tongue, smiling when I drag her drool down her cheek. When I grab her throat, watching her to make sure I’m not being too unhinged with her—I’ve about lost my goddamn mind—her pussy squeezes my cock tight.

“Listen, sweetheart,” I pant, my nails digging into the swell of her ass. “I’m a selfless man. I want you to finish first. Always. But, um, watching you come undone with your hands bound together really did a number on me. Can we still be friends if I come before you? I promise it won’t happen again.”

“You are infuriating. ” Lexi kisses me and I move my hand to the back of her head, holding her there while I claw at the cusp of an orgasm. “Too goddamn nice and?—”

“Answer the fucking question,” I grit out. “ Please, Lexi baby.”

“At the risk of sounding cliché”—she gasps when I spit on my thumb and rub a slow circle over her clit.—“I’m about to come too.”

“Race you there?” I ask, and when she giggles, arms above her head and hair spilling down her back, I lose it.

My entire body tenses, muscles spasming while I fill the condom with my release. My glasses fog up, and everything around me is a hazy blur of colors and sounds. Lexi collapses on top of me, her breath heavy and my name whispering out of her like a slurred incantation when I keep my fingers between her legs.

“I think”—She pauses to swallow, and I feel the bob of her throat against my cheek—“you’re the best friend I’ve ever had.”

An exhausted laugh rattles out of me. I’m pretty sure I’m seeing stars. Visions of her falling apart are playing on repeat in my head. “I aim to please.”

“You do it really fucking well.”

“I’m glad you think so. You’re a tough critic.” I yawn and drop my head against the pillows. “Did two orgasms impress you?”

“We’re getting there.”

We both wince when she lifts off my cock and flops on her stomach next to me. She drapes an arm over my stomach and I get rid of the used condom, feeling winded like I’m heading for the bench after being on the ice after a long shift.

“You gonna stay?” I ask, yawning again. “Or are you bolting?”

“I’ll stay for a minute. I need to pee. My legs hurt. So do my hands.”

I grab her hands and massage the inside of her wrists, thumbs gentle when I pass over the pink marks that haven’t faded. “Are you allergic to anything?”

“That’s a random question to ask after rearranging my insides. I figured you’d ask about birth control first.”

“Sorry. This is my first friends with benefits arrangement. I haven’t figured out the rules yet, and I want to make sure you don’t go into anaphylactic shock when you’re on top of me. Or while your hands are tied up.” I pinch her side and she lets out a squeak. “But yeah, that too. Are you on birth control?”

She pushes her hair out of her face and smiles up at me. “I am. And I’m allergic to bees.”

“Bees, got it. Won’t introduce any of those in the bedroom.”

“What about you? Any allergies I should be aware of, buddy?” she asks.

“No. My limb gets red and irritated from the gel liner it sits in sometimes, but I’m not allergic to anything. And if you don’t want to use a condom, we can go that route.”

“You’d be okay with that?”

“Yeah. But only if we’re exclusive. Sex ed and all of that.”

“I’ve never had a friend with benefits either,” Lexi admits. She scoots across the wrinkled sheets and rests her cheek on my shoulder. “It’s mostly been one and done for me.”

“Personal preference? Or is it because my gender is a constant disappointment?”

“Both.” I feel the curve of her smile, and it makes me smile too. “I read romance books. I’ve seen my friends fall in love and get married and have everything they’ve ever wanted. I know it happens, I just… it’s hard for me to believe it’s real and true. Why waste my time and energy on something that might turn around and hurt me six months later? Or, even worse, six years later? I don’t want to be tied to someone else. I want to make my own happiness. My own rules.”

“I guess I could ask the same question about other things. Why get in a car when it could end with me losing my other leg? Just because something could happen doesn’t mean it will,” I say. “But I get it. Your independence is important to you. Letting another person in offers up the chance for you to lose that part of yourself.”

“Exactly.” Lexi props herself up on an elbow. “But I still have needs, you know? I may not want a ring on my finger, but I do want a couple of orgasms.”

“That’s my job.” I close my eyes. “I’ll be a good friend to you, Lex.”

“Speaking of friends, can we agree to keep this between us again? I know if I tell the girls, they’ll start coming up with couples names for us and asking how we’re defining our relationship . I’m not ready for an interrogation.”

“My lips are sealed.”

“Thanks.” She kisses my forehead, and the mattress dips when she rolls toward the edge of the bed. I crack an eye open and watch her scoop up her clothes. “I’m going to head out. I have some guys scheduled for taping before the game tomorrow night, and I need to be at the arena early.”

“If you give me a second, I’ll walk you out.”

“That’s okay.” Lexi smiles at me over her shoulder, clasping her bra and putting on her shirt. “I can find the door. It’s in the same place it was earlier.”

“Will you let me know when you’re home?” When she lifts an eyebrow, I roll my eyes. “It’s not a marriage proposal. I’d ask the same thing from the guys.”

“Yeah, yeah.” She pops to her feet and redresses with her underwear and jeans. “If you insist.”

“I do insist. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” She blows me a kiss, and I laugh. “Sweet dreams, friend.”

“See you tomorrow, Lexi baby.”

With another smile, she slips out of my bedroom. I hear the toilet flush in the bathroom down the hall, then the click of the front door closing behind her. I count to one hundred, and when I know she’s gone, I grab a pillow. I put it over my face and groan, knowing I’m teetering on the edge of a very dangerous slope.