Page 19 of Pucking One Night Stand

Then I see Coach standing outside his office. He’s talking to someone. A woman.

I glance. Then glance again.

Oh, shit… not her. No. What the fuck is she doing here?I slow my pace. Not consciously—my body just halts like it’s bracing for impact. McCullum is in full drill-sergeant mode, his voice ricocheting down the hallway. “You think this is some kind of joke, do you? Five AM you got in this morning. While you live under my roof, you abide by my rules. GOT IT?”

She doesn’t flinch. Doesn’t even look at him. Her arms are folded, her weight tilted to one side like she’s got all goddamn day. Her eyes? On me.

And shit, those eyes.

“You!” Her tone could slice drywall, and it certainly isn’t a greeting, it’s a shot across the fucking bow.

McCullum blinks and turns his head slowly between the two of us like we’ve just started speaking in code. “Sorry, do you two know each other?”

“What?” she snaps.

“No,” I fire back at the same time.

We both pause. McCullum stares at us like we’re juggling chainsaws. “Umm, well, this is my daughter, Cassy McCullum. Our new Media and Communications Manager.”

My spine locks up. The air feels too thick. I say nothing. I can’t say anything. My mouth is working, but all that’s going on in my head is:

No. No. NO.

Her working here, well, that’s not only a problem, that’s a fucking catastrophe. McCullum is the one guy on this planet I absolutely can’t afford to piss off. And now, the woman I had buried myself in two nights ago is his daughter.

I pull on a neutral face and shake out the tension. I act like I’ve just met her for the first goddamn time, and extend my hand. “Hi. Blake Mitchell. Nice to meet you.”

She looks at it like I’ve just offered her a dead squirrel. “Yeah. I know.” No handshake. Just venom. Her voice low, controlled, like she’s warning me not to fuck with her twice.

McCullum watches, his expression shifting. He’s clocking something. There’s an edge now in the air, subtle but sharp.

An image flickers behind my eyes— uninvited and way too vivid.

Cassy, naked and sprawled across the hotel bed sheets, her tongue flicking my dick. Her lips parting. Her nails in my skin. The way she looked right before she—

I shut that shit down. Hard.

“Good luck with the new job.” I’m already walking, fast, ignoring everything behind me.

Damn. What happens if McCullum finds out?

I cut through the corridor, heading for the Media Conference Room. Screw it. I'll just have to avoid her like the plague. If I can.

The rest of the team starts arriving, a low rumble of voices and footsteps rolling through the hallway like a storm front. I catch the sound of the door swinging open, then—

Chaos.

“Jesus, Thumper, watch it!”

Peters nearly face plants into the doorframe as Thumper shoves him hard enough to shift a wall.

“Walk it off, rookie,” Thumper grins.

They barrel into the room together like it's recess. Loud, obnoxious, testosterone-fueled. Exactly how it’s supposed to be. Except—

Every single guy suddenly stops as Cassy enters the room and every damn head swivels.

Damn… why does she have to be so beautiful?