Page 15

CHAPTER 15

JACE

I was joking. Sort of. Definitely.

After that near kiss—if that’s what it was—I didn’t want to be anywhere near Axel. We were already combustible, but touching him? No way. I wasn’t ready for that kind of inferno. I wasn’t into pain. Besides, he was probably just flirting with me to fuck with my head. A game that I wasn’t willing to play.

Given his friendship with Preston, why should I believe anything that he said? Or did.

But Axel’s eyes, his body language, it was telling me all kinds of crazy things. That he wanted me to kiss him. He was curious, and nervous too. I saw the heated once-over he gave me when I told him I was bossy. And, it wasn’t a line. I liked to take charge during sex. Ever since Preston, it was necessary. I wanted, no, I needed the control. Especially with hookups. And while I was eager and happy having sex with men and women, there was something about being one on one with a guy that turned me inside out. There was no holding back. Sex could be slow and sensual, and then raw and rough. Always dirty, messy, and so freaking hot. And maybe it was the hockey player in me, but I was competitive, even in this. I wanted to be the best for my partner. Even group sex couldn’t compare. When I had that singular attention, no one else, it was so satisfying. And when I was the only one whose name they shouted when they came? Even better.

“Are you going to stand there staring into space or are you coming inside?” Axel bellowed.

I shook my head. “I’m thinking.”

“Not in this cold,” Axel muttered and clapped his hands together.

“Some of us dress for it,” I snarked as I forced my feet to move, heading reluctantly back to the house.

Axel ignored my comment.

The least I could do is try and play nice. I just needed to get drunk first.

Axel followed closely behind me, and I hated that I was aware of him now. The rustle of his jeans, the tobacco from his breath, and the heat that poured off his body. It was suddenly all too much. Part of me wanted to ignore Silas’s request and walk away. But he was right. This thing with me and Axel was out of control. We needed to find some kind of resolution. Any kind. And I needed to put this new and ridiculous sexual fixation aside. So, I wanted Axel. So what? I wanted a lot of people. It was chemistry. Plain and simple. It didn't mean anything more than that.

And I didn't have to act on it.

That was easier said than done, especially when I climbed the stairs with Axel right behind me. I don't mean a step or two, but like, right behind me. Practically rubbing against me. The temptation was there to lean back, or better yet, turn around, shove my hands in his thick blond hair, and show him what a kiss could be. I knew it would be good. But the fact that my cock was still hard told me that one kiss wouldn’t be enough.

I went to grab the door handle, but Axel reached around me and got to it first. He held the door open, his other hand suddenly bracketing my lower back. What was happening? Why was he touching me like that? I was vibrating so hard it took everything I had to keep walking.

Reminding myself that he’d already been drinking, I reasoned his behavior was a one-off. He was out of it, presumably due to alcohol.

As soon as we stepped into the house, his hand was gone. Good. Great. I probably imagined the whole thing.

“You’re back!” Dane yelled out when he spotted us. He was standing near the makeshift bar in the living room, with Kayden, Maddox, and Finn. “I’m so goddamn happy that neither of you is bleeding.”

Our teammates started laughing.

“Just get us a drink,” I bit back, shaking my head at my friend’s teasing.

“Vodka,” Axel replied. “No glasses. Bring the whole fucking bottle.”

“Make that two,” I stated.

Axel nudged me with his elbow. “I was going to share it with you.”

“You? Share with me? You really are drunk.”

“Not yet, but soon enough.”

I spotted Ethan coming down the stairs, alone, his hair mussed, with a huge smile on his face. At least someone was having fun tonight.

“I told them I was going to lock them in a room until they figured their shit out,” Silas announced loudly.

There were jeers and whistles at that suggestion. I glanced at Axel, who rolled his eyes.

“You’re a fucking genius,” Ethan replied and patted Silas’s shoulder. “That’s a great idea. I can put Hot n’ Honey in the basement, it’s soundproofed.”

There was more laughter as our teammates cheered and clapped . Motherfuckers.

Colin offered us a bottle of vodka and two glasses. Without pause, Axel poured two very large shots, then offered one to me. I downed mine and asked for seconds.

“You guys won’t be laughing if we don’t make it out and miss our next game,” Axel retorted.

“Only for tonight. Then we’ll let you go in the morning. That still gives you a day to prep for the game,” Ethan quipped.

“Okay, okay, the joke’s over,” I said as I reached for another shot. “Go back to the party.”

“It’s not a bad idea,” Maddox muttered, and glanced at Kayden. “Coach forcing us to share that hotel room on the road got us talking. It could work.”

“You mean, it got me talking.” Kayden smiled at him. “You ignored me, remember?”

“Oh, yeah.” Maddox nodded. “But, eventually I caved.”

“That’s what you’re calling it?” Kayden teased. “Ouch.”

“You know what I mean,” Maddox grumbled and put his arms around Kayden.

Judging by the kiss Kayden laid on him, he did.

“Listen up!” Dane announced, jumping up on the couch and waving his hands in the air. “As the Cougars’ captain, I’m ordering Jace and Axel to either shake hands now or share a room for the night!”

The whistles, laughter, and comments got louder.

“So not funny!” I called out.

“So not joking!” he shouted back.

Instead of fueling the fire, I offered my hand to Axel. When his bigger palm gripped mine, all that electricity between us jumped to life again, kick-starting my pulse. I nearly ripped my hand away but forced myself not to react. I could do this.

Physically, Axel was the bigger man, but right here, right now, I was better.

The joke was forgotten, but tonight? I needed a lot more than vodka to erase Axel’s touch.

Axel

I woke up disoriented, feeling like someone put a jackhammer to my head and was working it full blast, drilling into my skull. Shit, I was never drinking vodka again, or at least, not that much.

I reached into my pocket for my phone, and when I pulled it out and tapped on it, I realized it was just after three in the morning. I didn't remember walking back to the dorm, but I must have if I passed out on my bed.

Only, the bed felt different. And the room was in total darkness, except for a tiny window at the far end.

Wait, that couldn’t be right.

I tapped the flashlight feature on my phone and started scanning around me. This wasn’t my bedroom. What the fuck? This wasn't any room in the dorm. Then I heard it. A snore. There was someone else in here with me.

Where was I? And who was that?

Memories of the night before came flooding back, everyone teasing me and Jace about locking us in a room until we sorted out our shit. There were more drinks, and laughter, and then…

Fuck, they didn’t. They wouldn’t. Would they?

I scanned again, doing a full 360 this time, and sure enough Jace was lying on the far side of the king-sized bed, sprawled out on his stomach, hugging a pillow. Then recognition hit me. We were in the attic in Ethan’s house. The space for extra crashers.

So, not the basement but still, did they lock us up here?

Instead of freaking out, I quietly got up and located the door. There was a switch nearby and when I flicked it on, the room flooded with bright, white light.

“What the fuck?” Jace grumbled as he sat up, his hair sticking up on end.

Holy shit, how’d we gotten up here? What did it matter, as long as we could get out.

I reached for the door handle and jiggled it. Phew. It wasn't locked.

“Don’t tell me they really—” Jace started.

“Yes, they did. Serves us right for drinking so much. But we’re in the attic, not the basement, and the door’s not locked.”

Jace sat up, stretching, his white t-shirt riding high, exposing his taut abs. I licked my lips. Fuck I was dehydrated.

“Thank God for that.”

“Grab your stuff. I’ll walk you back to the dorm,” I offered.

Wow, I was so polite. I was obviously still drunk.

I padded back to the sofa, slipped on my boots, and reached for my coat.

“You go,” Jace replied, running a hand through his hair. “I’m gonna raid Ethan’s fridge as payback and then go home.”

He slid off the bed and walked around it, sleep-rumpled, his tight jeans riding low on his hips. My eyes couldn’t look away from the tease of sleek skin and tight v-lines.

“Axel?”

“What?”

“Are you hungry?”

Now? I was fucking starving. Only, it had nothing to do with food.

“Um, yeah,” I finally replied. “But first, I need water. My mouth tastes like stale booze, and it feels like I’ve been chewing on sandpaper.”

Jace grimaced. “No wonder you never get laid.”

I gave him my best finger.

“We gotta find a way to get back at the guys,” I suggested. “But I’m too hungover to think of something. Give me a day or two and we’ll get them back good.”

Jace gave me a wicked grin.

“Oh, we’ll think of something, alright. In fact, I already have an idea.”

“What?”

Another grin but this time, with a wicked wink. “Just play along.”

“Oh God,” I groaned.

I knew whatever Jace had planned in that mind of his, it wasn’t going to be good.

“You’ve got quite the porn star moan,” Jace teased. “It’s very distracting.”

“Shut up.”

“Hasn’t anyone told you that before? Do it again.”

“Knock it off.”

Jace sauntered up to me, his steps sure and confident, his eyes brimming with mischievous carnality. I don’t know why I didn’t notice it until now. The guy had raw sex appeal, and he fucking knew it.

“I say we give Ethan a good, hard lesson. One he won’t soon forget. Follow my lead.”

“What do you mean?”

“Get back on the bed,” he demanded.

My cock jerked at the order.

“Grab the bedframe and shake it as hard as you can so it bangs against the wall. Moan like you did before, but louder, and say some dirty things. Like ‘harder, more’, and ‘oh God, don’t stop’.”

“Jace,” I groaned.

Despite the alcohol-induced headache, my cock filled so fast I was about to pass out again.

“Just like that.”

Jace got down on his hands and knees on the floor beside the bed and I stared at him in confusion. Confusion and lust, my eyes lasered to his pert ass, sticking up in the air in obscene invitation.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“There’s an air vent on the floor,” he explained as he moved a couple of boxes to the side. “I want to make sure nothing’s covering it so the rest of the guys in the house can hear us, nice and clear.”

When he popped up again, he slid onto the bed and beckoned me to join him with one finger.

“Now we’re ready.”

Was I ready? No fucking way.