Page 3 of Pucking One Night Stand

I throw my hands up, all polite surrender. “No problem. I understand. But if you change your mind, I’ll just be over there.” I flash Riley a smile, completely ignoring Cassy, then turn to leave.

I don’t get two steps before—

“So, what? You’re just going to give up? Just like that?”

A smile tugs at my lips. I wipe it away before turning back around.

I walk back toward her, slow and deliberate, tilting my head like I’m trying to work out a complex equation. “Give up?” I let the word roll off my tongue like it’s foreign. “I was only going to offer you a drink.”

Cassy’s lips twitch as she lifts her drink, her perfectly manicured black-painted nails tapping lightly against the glass. “Well, okay then, but only if you insist.”

This woman.

I’ve dealt with a lot of different types, but this? She’s got me a little lost. I don’t quite know what to do with her.

I flag down the barman, keeping my eyes on her. “Can I have—” I pause, waiting for her to tell me what she wants.

She stays silent.

Of course, she does.

I glance at the drink in her hand, taking a wild guess. “A large Jägermeister, please.”

Something flickers in her expression, impressed, maybe? It vanishes before I can pin it down.

Riley perks up. “I’ll have one if that’s okay.”

I turn back to the bartender. “Make that two… no, three of your largest Jägermeister's.”

The glasses hit the counter a moment later, dark liquid sloshing as I pick one up and hold it out. “Cheers.”

Riley clinks her glass against mine. That Cassy? She just takes a sip, like she’s doing me a favor.

Then she looks me dead in the eye and, in the rudest tone possible, says, “Don’t go thinking just because you’re some big-shot hockey player that it means in any way you’re going to get into my panties.”

Riley nearly chokes on her drink, looking both horrified and delighted.

I laugh. “Don’t you dare go thinking that just because you’re some beautiful, leggy blonde that means you in any way are going to get into my pants, because trust me, sweetheart, you’re not my type.”

Cassy’s expression flickers, shock? Amusement?

I don’t get time to analyze it because, from across the bar, Thumper’s booming voice cuts through the crowd. “Hey, Riley! Over here!”

Riley points toward the guys. “I’ll just be over…”

Cassy raises an eyebrow as Riley walks off, leaving us alone.

She studies me for a second, then smirks. “Well, I must admit, at least you’re original…” Then, under her breath, like she’s talking to herself, “Not your type.”

I sip my drink, keeping my face blank. “I’m not joking. You could offer yourself to me on a plate, and I’d turn you down.”

That gets her.

Her body shifts slightly, something calculated in the way she steps closer, her gaze locking onto mine. “No, you wouldn’t.” She tilts her head, voice dropping into something softer, silkier. “Come on, let’s go somewhere quiet and…” Her eyes flick to my mouth, her lips parting slightly. “Fuck all night.”

For half a second, I nearly fell into her trap.

I know exactly how this plays out, if I say yes, she’ll just laugh, lean back, and hit me with a smug told you so.