Page 28

KAYDEN

I put my hands on Erik’s shoulders before grabbing his arms and pulling him over to my side. Then I rolled over, climbing on top of him, pinning him down to my mattress. I leaned in, kissed his lips, feeling his naked body pressed against mine.

You’re probably wondering what came of our first real date.

Well, this was it. We came home to my place, and my roommate really was gone.

Erik De Ruiter can be a flake on the ice but a total demon in the sack.

He didn’t stay over—I’d learned my lesson about that—but the rest of our night had been so fucking hot.

I’d started our latest romp by fucking him, just like I had in the locker room. Then he turned the tables, fucking me like he had during our romantic dinner. We’d rested for a while, recharging our batteries, but I could practically taste another round of sex looming.

I don’t care what Erik told you. I don’t care how strong of a front he put up. You can’t hold off sex like that when the temperature was rising. For that matter, no one could turn down sex from me forever, right?

This was during the day. I’d kept the blinds closed and the lights off but allowed enough illumination to see my teammate. I kept him pinned down and prepared to slide into him again, but then he surprised me by flipping me over. Then he jumped on me, pinning me down, just like I’d done to him.

He flashed a mischievous smile that looked out of place on a guy that treated getting into bed like a science project. But it was sexy as hell too. I would’ve savored it in any case since getting Erik to let loose like this sometimes felt impossible.

On the other hand, I couldn’t let him get away with tossing me off of him and definitely not pinning me down. Yeah, I loved getting fucked, but I couldn’t let Erik think he was in charge.

“What do you think you’re doing?” I asked.

“Fucking you. What does it look like?”

“You don’t have your cock in me yet.”

“A formality I’m going to fix right now.”

That mischievous grin widened, looking sexy as ever, when he parted my legs and lifted them a little.

Then he spread my ass cheeks and rubbed his big, hard cock in between them.

I saw his chest heave as his breathing quickened in anticipation.

I tensed up a little, too, but in a good way.

Before he could push his dick into me, I rolled out from underneath and tackled him to the bed.

The mattress springs bounced us, and he offered a different smile now.

“Now I’ve got you! ” I said.

We both laughed because we’d basically engaged in a naked wrestling match. But I couldn’t let him get away with what he wanted to pull. I’m Kayden Preston, which means I had to stay in charge no matter what.

“What are you going to do?” he asked.

“I’m going to fuck your brains out, bro.”

“No, I’m going to fuck your brains out!”

But he didn’t try to toss me off like a judo throw this time. In fact, he didn’t do much of anything. He paused like he wouldn’t move to the next step no matter what…like how this little romp had ended so suddenly.

You know how I know?

He reached over to the light and switched it on.

For real. Things were about to get scorching hot in my bedroom, as always, and Mister Erik De Ruiter had to squash everything.

I know I’ve gone to a lot of trouble to keep this guy happy, but this was ridiculous.

“Okay,” I said, “what is it now?”

My teammate knitted his eyebrows like he was taken aback by my question. What the hell was I supposed to say? Thank you so much for getting me all excited and then cutting me off?

“You make it sound like I’m being annoying,” he said.

“I’m sorry if I’m smart enough to learn from history, bro.”

He rolled his eyes like he, too, wondered if I was worth all the trouble.

Here’s the easiest and smartest answer: Of course I am! Didn’t I just say I’m Kayden Preston?

“Why do you have to act so stupid?” he asked.

“It’s all part of my charm, bro. And shut up.”

“Look, let’s not get into an argument here. Something’s bothering me, so I’m just going to tell you what’s on my mind.”

“Okay, Erik, tell me because I’m just dying to know.”

“I’m really enjoying the sex. It’s totally hot.”

“I knew you’d like it.” I couldn’t stop a smile from appearing on my face.

Erik drew a deep breath like he hadn’t expected me to take that moment to congratulate myself. The dude really should’ve known better by now.

“That’s what makes what I’m about to say even harder,” he said.

“Oh, God…”

“You don’t have to give me an ‘ Oh God’ when we’re not in the middle of having sex. I just want to tell you I think it’s time to think about the future.”

“You mean like winning a championship?”

“Not hockey, Kayden. Nothing about the team. I’m talking about us and our future together.”

“I hadn’t thought about that.”

And I really hadn’t…much. Look, the only thought I’d given to our future was to acknowledge the fact that we would soon cross the point of no return.

I might’ve wanted to enjoy the moment, but I’m not stupid.

We’d inched closer and closer to that threshold every time Erik wanted to take another step.

“I know I said that we wouldn’t have any more sex until we’d at least had a real date,” he said, “and now we’ve done that.”

“Hell, we’ve had two.”

“Right. And we’ve slept together more times than we’ve ever gone on dates.”

“What’s your point?”

“My point is that we’ve got to figure out what the next step is. We’ve fucked a lot, yeah. I’ve gone on a date with you and didn’t hurl. What’s left to do?”

I shrugged. Did he really expect me to answer that?

“My parents always taught me that you’re supposed to move toward the next steps,” he said.

“That’s how it works on the farm, huh?”

“Whatever, dude. I just think we’ve reached the point where we should think about trying out a real relationship.”

“What, like being boyfriends?”

My mouth and throat felt so dry that the words barely came out.

“If you want to call it that, then yeah,” he said.

I paused, having no idea what to tell him.

“What’s the problem?” he asked.

“I don’t have a problem.”

“Yes, you do. You practically groaned when I said it.”

“I did not…and even if I did, it’s only because you keep moving the goalposts on me.”

“I’m not moving the goalposts.”

“Yes, you are.”

“Why don’t you tell me how I’m moving the goalposts?”

“You told me we needed to go on a real date before having sex again. I went above and beyond by giving you that homemade dinner. Once we rocked each other’s world again, you said we had to have another one in public.

Stupid me went along with that too. Now that I’ve gotten used to having regular sex with you, you’ve gone and raised the stakes again. ”

Erik sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed, which meant I could forget about this moment advancing into sex. Normally, I wouldn’t have cared. Now I did, and it drove me crazy.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “That came out wrong.”

“No, it came out exactly right. That’s what you really think, isn’t it?”

My eyes fell shut, and I sighed. I couldn’t win with this kid no matter what I did.

“I’m just saying that I’m not sure if getting into a relationship is the right move,” he said. “At least during the season.”

“If you think it’s a bad move, then we can always put things on pause…as long as you’re willing to put sex on pause.”

I put my hands on my head, practically clawing at my hair, and I didn’t give a shit how it looked. This kid was killing me.

“We don’t have to do that,” I said.

“We don’t? Just a second ago, you told me that a relationship wasn’t a good idea during the season. Sex can be every bit as much of a distraction, you know.”

“No, it isn’t. It helps chill you out when you’re stressed. It’s a great release. Sex is like milk: It does the body good.”

He snorted. “Give me a break, Kayden.”

“Look, you know we’ve got to slow down. Things are moving really fast.”

“What are you talking about? I’m asking to try being boyfriends. I didn’t say we should get married.”

“Of course not. You’ve got to save something to push on me next week.”

Erik eyed me, not just like I was being stupid but asking himself why he put up with me.

He would’ve put up with me no matter what I did and no matter how much of a pain in the ass I acted like, but he couldn’t figure out why.

I had no idea why I put up with a fraction of Erik’s crap… but I would keep doing it.

What a mystery.

I don’t like to get into things I can’t get out of.

If we struck up an actual official relationship, I would get myself deeper into something I’d never planned for.

Getting out would be hard. And the longer I stayed in that relationship, the more I would stray from my ironclad plan of having a knockout wife and three sons.

You don’t do that just to get laid, no matter how hot the sex is.

But I would’ve done it. That was the truth. And I’d already gotten into things pretty deep, don’t you think?

Erik stood up, presenting his naked body to me as he continued the conversation. He meant to drive me nuts, show me what I couldn’t have until I gave in. I wanted to look away. Of course, I couldn’t do that with his big cock in view. I’m only human.

You’d swear he sensed my willpower chipping away, cracking, and soon it would all come tumbling down.

“I know you think I’m being a pain, Kayden. I really don’t mean to. And I know I’ve slipped myself now and then, but I have principles and I stick to them.”

“Life would be a lot easier without principles, don’t you think?”

He half-smiled. “You say that. But I believe in us, Kayden. Don’t ask me why, but I think we could have something really awesome.”

I fell back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. Erik couldn’t be right. No way in hell. He would stick to his principles, but I had a life plan to adhere to. On the other hand, there must’ve been some reason why I caved in to this kid again and again.