Page 22

CHAPTER 22

AXEL

T he party crawl was the biggest college event I’d ever experienced. It seemed like the entire student population from Sutton and the surrounding towns was out here tonight celebrating our win. Music blasted from all the frat houses on the block, and the sororities too.

We met up with the rest of our team at the Delta Beta Ki house, the biggest frat on campus. There was beer pong and funnel contests, and every other drinking game you could imagine going on. I was surprised to see Silas in the crowd, talking with Maddox, Kayden, Finn, and Colin. Ethan was standing in the center of the makeshift dance floor, the main living room of the house, along with his frat brothers.

Jace and I had arrived separately, of course, with me trailing a good five minutes later.

When I’d entered the house, though, Jace was right there, talking to Ethan. I passed by them, overhearing our teammate pointing out Jace’s giant hickey and speculating on the source. I scurried off to the kitchen and gratefully accepted a shot of vodka and a beer chaser from Jackson, Dane’s boyfriend.

Jackson was the quieter of the duo, but just as friendly, and sometimes fiery to boot. I got into a heated conversation with him about rowers vs. hockey players and who was the better athlete. Hockey players, no question. I was right, of course, but Jackson held firm and suggested that we have a friendly competition between groups to prove his point. I agreed to that, but only after nationals. Then we continued talking about the hockey season so far, and I was incredibly grateful for the distraction.

Not that it worked for long because inevitably my gaze scanned the crowd for Jace. I didn’t want him out of my sight, which was all kinds of fucked up. It took everything in me to stay where I was and not follow him. Not reach for him. I wanted him right here, beside me, warm and real and…mine.

Do you hear yourself? Jesus, sex with Jace melted what was left of my brain.

And it rankled that he didn’t appear affected in the same way at all, smiling and laughing as he made his way around the room. Like he hadn’t just given me the most intense orgasms of my life. Then again, he hooked up a lot.

Maybe I was just another notch in his hockey stick.

Jace certainly knew everyone here. But I didn’t like the fact that some of the guys and girls got up in his personal space. I bit back the possessive urge to intervene and tried to focus on my conversation. Thankfully, the beer was kicking in, and I was starting to relax. I was just tired and out of sorts because today was an anomaly—the game, the fucking, the talking. It was all too much at once.

Everything was fine, though, and I was under control.

Until I spotted a preppy looking guy making his move on Jace. Suddenly, the stranger wrapped his hand around Jace’s bicep, and then accidently (or maybe not) spilled his drink on him.

My first thought was get your fucking hands off him.

And then oh my God, Jace is wearing my t-shirt.

No wonder I kept pulling at the neckline of mine. It was too small. Shit, I’d accidently thrown on Jace’s shirt and he’d put on mine. Despite the chill of the cold beer in my hand, I was sweating something fierce. Knowing that Jace was walking around in my shirt, smelling like me, was such a turn on. I casually dropped my head and sniffed my shoulder. Yup, I smelled like him, spicy and delicious. Swapping t-shirts was like marking each other. It was probably a simple mistake, but it didn’t feel like one. It was fucking hot.

Don’t get a boner.

Then I gave myself an eye roll. You’re acting like an idiot. Calm down.

Easier said than done because my jeans were getting tighter by the second. And when Jace pulled his arm away from that eager stranger? I gulped down the rest of my beer in relief.

“Are you okay?” Jackson asked me. “You’re not coming down with a bug, are you?”

“Uh, no. I just…uh…ate too much after the game. I need to sweat it off. Or, drink it off,” I replied and held up the empty bottle. “Pass me another beer?”

Jackson gave me a quizzical glance, then handed me another drink.

I was about to take my first sip when Jace glanced over, and we locked eyes. Intense heat crawled up my neck and cheeks. I was burning up, like I’d been sitting in a sauna for hours. Jace licked his lips and all I could think about was the way he’d feasted on my ass. I’d never had a rim job before and riding his face was the hottest thing ever.

I took a long pull of beer and swallowed down my lust.

Until that stranger leaned into Jace again, distracting him. Unfortunately, I couldn’t swallow down my temper.

“I’ll be right back,” I said to Jackson and set my beer aside.

I stalked across the room, every step ratcheting up my heartbeat, the rushing sound filling my head, until I saw nothing but Jace.

It was obvious that the guy flirting with Jace was drunk and handsy. Jace was doing his best to get the guy to back off, but whoever this asshat was, he wouldn’t take a hint.

“Go find a room and sleep it off,” I announced when I reached them.

“Who the fuck’re you?” the stranger hissed, glaring up at me.

“It doesn’t matter who I am,” I barked, staring down at him. “Clearly, Jace doesn’t want you touching him. Back off.”

Jace scowled at me. “I can handle this, fuck you very much.”

“Really? It doesn’t seem that way,” I bit out. “He’s got his hand on your arm and my…I mean, your t-shirt is wet thanks to his drunken accident.”

“You guys are t-talk…t-talking too much,” the stranger slurred. “I wanna get laid. Did you hear me? I came all the way from U of V, and I want to get laid. C-come on, Jace, fuck me. Come on.”

Jace wrenched his arm away and shook his head.

“I told you, I’m not interested, Lorquin,” Jace replied. “You’re drunk.”

“Lorquin?” I chuckled.

“You’re one to talk about names, Axel ,” Jace snarked.

“Right back at you, Jace ,” I returned.

“But—” Lorquin interrupted.

“No!” Jace and I yelled at the same time.

“W-wait a minute,” Lorquin tapped my arm. “Axel? A-Axel Lund? The forward? S-so hot. I know you.”

“I don’t think so,” I bit out.

I’d never met this guy in my life.

“Ha!” Lorquin smacked his forehead. “Ow, that hurt.”

“Get lost,” I repeated.

“No! I mean, I d-don’t know you . But, I know of you. And Jace here. That’s why I want to fuck him. Because of P-Pearson. Preston. Too many p’s in that stupid fucking name,” he mumbled. “What was I saying?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Preston. My f-father, Luke Bane, works with his father. They’re like this.” Lorquin tried to cross his fingers, several times, but he didn’t succeed.

If I wasn’t in such a bad mood I’d laugh my ass off because Jesus, this guy needed to sober up. Still, the mention of Preston certainly had my attention.

“Preston’s a lying l-little shit. Did you know that? He uses people and then dumps them,” Lorquin muttered and sneered at Jace. “Like Jace here. He f-fucked you up good, didn’t he? P-Preston told me you were an easy bitch to c-control. I thought you’d be a sure thing when I got here. Why aren’t you easy for me?”

“Shut the fuck up and leave him alone,” I snapped as I put myself between him and Jace. “Better yet, get out of this house. Now.”

Lorquin was probably harmless but the vicious way he talked about Jace had me more than concerned. He needed to get gone.

“This p-party sucks.”

“Then you better leave,” I insisted.

Lorquin finally took the hint and fucked off, leaving me and Jace alone. Or, as alone as we could get in a packed party room.

I turned around and met Jace’s furious gaze head-on.

“What the hell was that?” Jace asked, pushing a hand to my chest.

“That was me saving you from that asshole.”

“It was under control.”

“You kept trying to back away.” I stepped closer, and Jace didn’t budge. “He was touching you and not taking the hint. And what he said about you and Preston?—”

Jace’s eyes darkened.

“Oh, so now you believe me?” Jace scoffed. “And I was dealing with it. I don’t need you to rescue me.”

“I didn’t like it,” I bit out.

“Him insulting me?” Jace asked. “Or coming on to me?”

“Him,” I snapped. “Both.”

Shit.

“I need another beer,” I groused and made to move away.

Jace gripped my—his—t-shirt tightly in his fist and pulled me in closer.

“Oh no,” Jace hissed. “You can’t just say something like that and walk away.”

I bit my lower lip in frustration. Jace was so close, his wicked lips right there, and there was nothing I could do about it. I wanted to kiss the fuck out of him, and I didn’t want to stop.

“But you can. Right?” I scoffed, irritated and frustrated. “There’s nothing going on here. Nothing at all.”

“You’re a liar,” Jace declared, leaning in until his breath teased my ear. “And for once, I’d say we’re two of a kind.”

“What?”

“Back away, Ax, or swear to God, I’ll kiss you right here, right now. And I know neither of us is ready for that. You, especially.”

No. No, I wasn’t. I think?

But instead of leaving, I reached up and grabbed his biceps, sparks of electricity racing over my skin.

“Ax.”

I didn’t notice—or care—that people nearby were staring at us. Not that anyone would remember much of anything given the amount of alcohol being consumed.

“Break it up, Hot n’ Honey.”

Fucking Ethan. How’d he get the sneak on us?

“There’s nothing to break up,” Jace replied, his voice hoarse.

“You gonna let go of him, Axel, or do I have to intervene?” Ethan asked with one raised eyebrow.

I dropped my hands and shoved them in my pockets.

“We were just having a conversation.”

“Seemed pretty intense for a chat,” Ethan remarked as he studied Jace and then me.

“Like Jace said—” I started.

“It’s nothing?” Ethan interrupted with a laugh. “You’re so full of shit.”

“Ethan,” Jace warned.

“Alright, I’ll butt out. For now.” Ethan shook his head. “Anyway, I came over here for a different reason. Hailey wants to get to know Axel.”

“What?” Jace snapped.

“What’s the problem?” Ethan smirked. “You’re not dating her and Axel’s obviously in desperate need of distraction. Maybe then he’ll cool off.”

I glanced at Jace, and the scowl I got in return? I wasn’t the only one who needed cooling off.

“Uh, no thanks,” I replied quickly. “Like I said in the locker room, I’m not interested.”

“Come on, man, live a little,” Ethan encouraged. “She’s on the dance floor, join us.”

Ethan wasn’t going to let it go.

“One dance, but that’s it,” I offered to Ethan and then turned to Jace. “Are you coming with us?”

Jace crossed his arms and shook his head, his mouth pursed in a sulky pout. Fuck, I wanted to taste him so bad.

“Yes,” Ethan encouraged. “Let’s go, Jace. The rest of the team are already out there.”

“I’m going to grab a drink first,” Jace bit out. “I’ll meet you shortly.”

He stalked off and I followed Ethan through the maze of students. Dane and Jackson, as well as Finn, Colin, Silas, Kayden, and Maddox, were dancing in the center of the room, leading the crowd in singing Rush. I wasn’t a great dancer by any means, but I had enough beer in my veins to let loose. And I freaking needed to let loose.

Until a pair of arms grabbed me from behind, sliding around my waist.

Arms that didn’t belong to Jace.

I whirled around to find Hailey looking up at me with a wide smile and glassy green eyes. She wore tight black jeans that hugged her curvaceous hips, and a red v-neck sweater that revealed the swell of her tits.

“Nice moves,” she teased and squeezed tighter.

I took a step back, untangling myself.

“I do okay,” I shrugged.

“More than okay,” she replied, giving me a heated once-over. “Don’t be shy, dance with me.”

“Sorry,” I muttered, pointing over my shoulder. “I’ve gotta stick with my teammates.”

It was a lame excuse, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t interested in her. It would be so much easier if I was.

“Come on,” she urged and stepped closer. “You know you want to.”

No, I really didn’t.

“Sorry, I’m not feeling it. But I appreciate the interest.”

Her smile vanished.

“Your loss,” she snapped and took off into the crowd.

I was about to turn back to the guys when another set of hands reached for me, gripping my hips tightly. Only, I didn’t need to turn around this time to know who was touching me.

And I didn’t have any desire to move away from Jace.

Instead, I rocked my hips to the heavy beat of the music, and Jace did the same, until we were moving in perfect unison. His hot breath teased my neck, making me shiver, and I bit back a groan. He smelled like vanilla and musk and the scent drove me crazy. I felt every inch of his long, hard body as he rubbed against me, the pulse of primal energy flaring between us.

Why him? Why, of all people, did it have to be Jace?

Flashbacks of the night hit me; every kiss, every moan, until I wasn’t just rocking to the music, I was rocking another hard-on. It was too good to stop.

“Look who’s kissed and made up!” Ethan shouted.

I turned my head at the sound of Ethan’s voice to find our teammates staring at us in amusement. Not that me and Jace dancing with each other was odd or anything. Everyone was packed into the space, crowded up against each other, it’s not like we were the only ones. Although, most of the guys weren’t grinding against each other. Only the couples, like Kayden and Maddox, and Dane and Jackson, were doing that.

Shit.

Instead of pulling away, Jace laughed and slapped my ass.

“Hey!” I glared over my shoulder.

“Told you he’d come around!” Jace called back to Ethan.

I elbowed Jace and stepped away from temptation. “Not quite.”

“I think Hot’s melted Honey,” Ethan quipped. “Or, maybe it’s the other way around.”

“It’s about fucking time!” Kayden yelled and crowded into us, slinging one arm around my neck and his other around Jace. “I’m so happy you guys are finally getting along.”

Getting along? That was one way to put it.