Page 63 of Playing Dirty (Leighton U #4)

Madden

Six Months Later — October

“Hello, welcome to Snowline Reso— Oh, God.”

“Hey there, Jeremy. Good to see you again.” Theo drops his ID and credit card on the counter before aiming a winning smile at the receptionist. Meanwhile, the poor guy looks like he wants to crawl into a hole and die right now as he stares at my boyfriend.

“H-how can I help you?”

“We’re looking to check in,” I say politely.

To Jeremy’s credit, he gathers himself quickly, then grabs Theo’s ID and turns to the computer to pull up our reservation. But it doesn’t stop Theo’s shoulders from shaking with silent laughter until I shoot him one of those knock it off looks.

Of course, I almost lose it when Jeremy’s face goes stark white while looking at his computer screen .

“I have you down for a…king room, mountain view for four nights.”

Theo glances at me with the fakest confusion drawing his expression down. “I don’t think—”

“Yes, that’s right,” I cut in, wishing I could kick him right now. But he just finished physical therapy and is back at one hundred percent, so I reel in the urge.

Jeremy’s attention darts between the two of us for a second before he states, “I have double rooms available if there’s—”

“We’re good with what we have,” I promise.

He nods a couple times before giving me a tight smile. “All right, then. Here are your room keys. You’ll want the second elevator bank—”

“Oh, we remember where it is,” Theo cuts in, aiming another devilish smile at the receptionist. “Thanks so much, Jeremy. We’ll let you know if we need anything.”

I swear, I hear the faintest “please don’t” come from the guy as we grab our bags and head in the direction of the elevators. It’s only when we’re safely closed behind the sliding doors that I finally let my composure slip, laughter spilling from me.

“Oh, my God,” I manage between chuckles. “You really must’ve made an impression on him back in December.”

“I guarantee I haunt his nightmares after checking for another room every single day,” Theo jokes, linking his fingers with mine while we ride up to our floor.

We arrive at our room, and Theo pushes open the door, making way for me to enter before following me in. The suite looks identical to the one from this past December, though it’s not lost on me how entirely different the circumstances are on this trip to Vermont.

It’s kismet, in a way; being back in the place where this whole thing started. Only this time, we’re stupidly in love instead of at each other’s throats.

I drop my bag near my side of the bed and then turn, finding Theo still smirking to himself about the encounter with Jeremy.

“You’re rather proud of yourself for almost giving him a heart attack.”

His grin covers his entire face as he closes the distance between us and wraps his arms around my neck. “Serves him right, making me share a bed with you for an entire week against my will.”

“And now I can’t seem to get you out of it,” I tease while slowly backing him toward the bed.

To further prove my point, I give him a gentle shove backward.

He bounces on the mattress, a string of laughter falling from his lips as my body descends over his.

But the laughter is quickly smothered when I mold my mouth to his in a slow, tantalizing kiss that has my dick stirring behind my jeans far too easily.

Theo breaks away first, his eyes glittering with a mixture of amusement and filthy ideas.

“Oh yeah. Seems to me like you’re trying very hard.”

His hands snake down my chest before grabbing the hem of my shirt, only to drag it toward my neck.

But rather than letting him peel it off, I remain locked in place with the fabric bunched up beneath my arms. As much as I’d love to hole up here for the night and do dirty, unspeakable things to him, unfortunately, we have prior obligations standing in the way. Ones we really need to get ready for.

“We need to change for the party,” I remind him, but Theo is ever insistent.

“Yeah, I know. I’m trying to help you with that.”

His hand moves to open my belt and unzip my jeans, but when he goes to slip beneath the waistband of my underwear, I snag his wrists and pin them to the mattress above his head.

“The only thing you’re trying to help me with is being late,” I murmur before pressing my lips to his and then peeling my body away.

I know damn well if I don’t put distance between us soon, I’ll end up giving in to his incessant desire for sex. Because, let’s face it, I’m a huge pushover when it comes to Theo Greyson.

I can feel his glare on me as I grab my bag and start pulling out my clothes, and when I finally meet it, I find him still flat on his back with a frown on his perfect lips.

“You’re a tease.”

“And you’re incorrigible,” I rebut with a smirk. “So as a compromise, why don’t you get that fine ass of yours in a suit, and I’ll promise to rip it off you later?”

His brows hike up, and he immediately hops off the bed to grab his suitcase, slapping my ass along the way.

“Well, then. You’ve got yourself a deal, MadDog.”

An hour later, the two of us are clad in suits and heading out to one of the terraces the resort rents out for parties and events during the off-season.

Of course, it took an hour because Theo insisted on taking his time getting dressed—likely in hopes I’d renege on my deal and strip him down before Archer’s engagement party instead.

He wouldn’t be Theo if he wasn’t constantly trying to tease or goad me, though. It just means I get to pay him back for it later.

The party starts off great. Theo meets various members of my extended family and mingles with them as we slowly make our way to chat with the guests of honor, and everyone gets along swimmingly.

But as more time passes, I start to feel a little guilty about constantly being pulled into conversation with anyone looking to catch up, the same questions being asked and answered on a loop.

It’s exhausting, and I can’t imagine he’s enjoying it any more than I am. Only an hour into the event, and I already feel myself wearing thin from all the peopling a family event like this requires.

Where the entire Hastings side of my family is more laid back and relaxed, Archer’s family—the Rhodes line—are definitely more…

structured. It always takes me a minute to adjust to being in their presence, and even once I manage, I always tend to feel like I’m under a microscope of scrutiny with every answer I give.

But somehow, we manage to escape most of the vultures, and I do my best to keep Theo and myself posted up at one of the cocktail tables near the terrace railing that Archer and Hailey have been lingering at.

Unfortunately, it’s not enough to stop me from being pulled aside numerous more times, the latest culprit being Archer’s father, Ian Rhodes.

“So how’s Denver?” he asks, starting with the same question everyone else has this evening.

I force a smile and nod. “It’s good, yeah. Theo and I are moving into our new apartment downtown when we get back from this trip.”

“And the team?” he presses, arching a brow. “It’s a shame you weren’t able to get further in the playoffs, but—”

“Honestly, I was floored to even be part of their post-season run.”

It was the last thing I expected after being drafted by the Denver Coyotes back in July, only to report to their farm team in Salt Lake the following month.

But when the Coyotes’ starting catcher was taken out with a broken clavicle near the end of the regular season, things just kind of fell together for me to take his place .

It was the wildest moment of my life, getting that call.

After all, it’s not often a newly drafted rookie gets called up without at least one full season with a farm team.

And though I’m trying not to keep my hopes up, from the way Coach made it sound, he intends for the spot to be mine come April too.

Pending Spring Training goes well.

Ian continues grilling me like a damn steak about baseball, the city, my relationship with Theo—basically anything he can think of—before his wife snags him away with a terse smile.

“Apologies, Madden,” Christine offers. “We have other guests to attend to, but it’s good to see you.”

I simply nod, thankful for the interruption more than anything. Except, when I turn to rejoin Theo, Hailey, and Archer…they’re all gone.

Actually, the two betrothed are easy to spot, having moved over to chat with a few people I don’t recognize. But as my gaze flashes around the terrace, hoping I might find Theo somewhere in the midst of the guests, I come up empty-handed.

Well, shit. Where in the hell could my boyfriend be hiding at an engagement party?

I grab my phone and type out a quick text, asking where he went, only to get a sassy little response within a minute.

Theo: You’re the stalker. I’m sure you can figure it out.

I sigh and pocket my phone. This has become something of a game between us now; a never-ending round of hide and seek where I always seem to be “it.” Though, I do thoroughly enjoy the moments after he’s found—especially if they end with one of us sliding inside the other.

Which, come to think of it, might be exactly what he intends right now.

A little jolt of anticipation zips through me, and I head over toward my cousin in hopes he might have some sort of clue as to where Theo’s gone.

Archer’s in the middle of listening to Hailey and one of their guests chat, but I gently rest my palm on his shoulder to subtly grab his attention.

“Not trying to interrupt, but have you seen Theo?” I whisper.

Archer manages to peel his eyes away from his bride-to-be and arches a disbelieving brow.

“You’re not a very good babysitter if you’ve managed to lose your boyfriend already.”

I roll my eyes at the babysitter comment before scrubbing my palm over my face. “I swear, the only downfall of him not being on crutches anymore is him being able to sneak off, and I have no freaking clue until it’s too late.”