Page 13

13

mad dog

I woke to the annoying double buzz of my phone, the one it does every five minutes when it thinks I’ve forgotten a message. Fuck that. I didn’t want to move because I was in bed with Holky, wrapped around him like he was my personal life preserver, both of us holding on for dear life.

“Hey,” I mumbled, my voice scratchy. He didn’t move, so I gave him a light shake. “Wake up, Holky.”

“Don’t want to move. You feel too good.”

That was so good to hear I couldn’t stifle a moan. “There’s a message on my phone, probably saying we were supposed to be on the bus fifteen minutes ago.”

“Read it then.”

“Can’t. It’s on the nightstand beside you.”

“Fuck.”

He grumbled like a man being asked to crawl out of paradise. As we untangled ourselves, limbs reluctantly peeling away from limbs, I felt a chill where his body had been. My skin missed him instantly, and so did every other part of me.

He looked at the phone, then passed it to me. “It’s locked.”

I held it up so it could recognize my face, and when it opened, there was a text message front and center.

HARPY: Game’s canceled. We’re on our own the rest of the night and Coach hopes we can fly out in the morning as planned. Anybody want to meet up later and hang out?

Several guys had responded yes, and I was sure everyone would be there. Where else would we go?

Holky was still lying on his side facing me. “What’s it say?”

“From Harpy, the game is canceled, and it looks like everyone will be hanging out later.”

“Thank fuck, at least about the game. What time is it?”

I glanced at the phone. “Four-twenty.”

He traced lazy circles over my stomach, allowing his fingertip to drift lower until it settled in my navel, warm and possessive. “Good. Want to sleep more?”

“You read my mind.”

I tossed the phone onto the nightstand beside me and scooted against Holky. We tangled ourselves together until we were in the same position as before.

“Should we set an alarm?” I asked.

“No. Fuck hanging with the boys. Let’s stay like this all night.”

Nothing had sounded so good to me in a long time.

* * *

Holky was watching me when I woke up again. His cheeks were flushed, and he was taking shallow breaths through parted lips.

“Hey,” I whispered. “Been up long?”

“No. I like watching you sleep.” His voice was quiet, but there was a rasp in it that made my stomach flutter.

Our cocoon was almost perfect, except for a small sliver of space that had crept in while we slept. I inched closer, and as soon as he tightened his arms around me, I melted into him. Then it hit me—I’d never felt this safe with anyone else.

Whoa. What the hell is happening to me?

Holky. He’s happening .

I started to rest my head on his chest, but as I shifted, my cock dragged against his thigh. A jolt of raw pleasure shot through me, stealing my breath.

“Oh God,” he whispered, turning toward me until our cocks lined up, heat pulsing between us. Only two thin pairs of underwear stood in the way, doing nothing to dull the friction.

“Yeah.” My voice was barely there, a whisper of want.

“Fuck, Dog.” He rolled his hips, rubbing his cock along mine in a slow, deliberate grind that had both of us groaning. The pressure built with each pass—slick cotton dragging over sensitive skin, the rigid lines of our dicks catching and sliding like we were made to fit this way.

His eyes were heavy-lidded and glassy, his lips parted. Every sound he made lit another fuse inside me.

“Feel that?” he asked.

“All of it.” I was on fire. My cock throbbed with every heartbeat, the heat spreading low and deep until it felt like my body couldn’t take another second without combusting.

He rocked against me again, slower this time, drawing it out. “Let’s get these shorts off,” he said, but neither of us moved. We were too far gone, caught in the thick, electric haze of desire.

“Okay.” I backed away, every cell in my body screaming at me not to.

“Can I do yours?” he asked.

That might’ve been the hottest fucking sentence ever spoken. “Yeah, but I get to take yours off.”

“Deal.” He shoved the comforter aside, and it hit the floor with a soft thump.

I rolled onto my back, my pulse thudding in my throat as Holky crawled beside me. His touch was featherlight, but the second his finger traced the skin above the waistband of my boxers, I shivered like he’d run ice down my spine.

He raised his eyebrows with a cocky grin. “Ready?”

I nodded. He was about to be the first guy to ever see me hard, and we were way past the point of pretending this wasn’t happening. Still, it was to take the edge off, right? We’d slow things down again after this, wouldn’t we?

“You’re so hard I can see your dick throbbing,” he said, eyes sparkling with mischief. He dragged one fingertip along the length of my shaft through the cotton.

I arched off the bed with a strangled moan.

He grinned like he’d unlocked a cheat code. “Feel good?”

I flopped back down, chest heaving. “Like you couldn’t tell.”

“Let’s get these off, then.” He hooked his fingers under my waistband and paused, looking into my eyes. “I can’t believe we’re doing this, but it feels so fucking right. You’re too fucking sexy to resist.”

My heart pounded, but he still didn’t move to pull them down. Instead, he leaned in, stopping just shy of my mouth. His breath ghosted over my lips.

Neither of us spoke; we didn’t need to. The tension between us was drawn to the breaking point, and when our noses brushed, my breath caught. I parted my lips on instinct.

The kiss hovered, a heartbeat away.

Someone knocked on the door, and we both froze.

“Quiet,” I mouthed. “They’ll go away.”

But they didn’t. After more knocking, they started banging on the door.

“Jesus,” he whispered. “Is the hotel on fire?”

I shook my head and put a finger by my nose.

“Answer the fucking door, Dog.”

The voice shattered the moment like glass underfoot. I flinched, and Holky jerked his head away. We both blinked as if we’d surfaced from a dream.

He exhaled hard and muttered, “Motherfucker.”

Yeah, that about summed it up.

He shook his head and whispered, “It’s Riley.”

Riley yelled again. “I know you’re in there because we’ve looked all over the damn hotel. Let me in or I’ll tell the manager I think something’s happened to you.”

Shit, shit, shit. I held up a finger to keep Holky quiet and yelled, “Hold on. I’m coming.”

“Apparently not yet,” Holky whispered, giving me a wry smile.

I huffed. “I won’t let him in, so stay quiet.”

There was a big wet spot on my underwear, so I dug sweatpants out of my suitcase and pulled them on. Riley started pounding again.

The door had no safety chain, so I only opened it a few inches. “What is it? I was sleeping.”

He tilted his head, obviously trying to see as much as he could through the crack. “I see. Do you know it’s after eight?”

“Now I do. Thanks for the update.”

I started closing the door, but he shoved his foot between it and the frame. “Is Holky in there?”

My heart stuttered. “N-no. Why would you…” My cheeks burned, and I wanted to kick myself in the ass for being nervous. “Why would you even ask that?”

“Everyone’s downstairs hanging out except you two. We texted you both and got worried when you didn’t reply. Harpy asked Nels and me to see if we could find you.”

Shit. Would a posse be next? “Where is Nels?”

Riley’s lips twitched into a lopsided grin. “Checking out the first floor where the bar and shops are.”

I hoped that meant he wouldn’t show up here. “Well, Holky’s not in here.”

“Hm.” Riley narrowed his eyes. “He’s not in his room either. Get dressed so we can go downstairs. There’s plenty of pizza and beer, and it’ll be a good chance to do some bonding with us.”

A squeak of the bedsprings made my heart lurch.

“Come on,” Riley said. “You must be hungry.”

Obviously, the only way out of this was to go with him. “Okay. Give me a few minutes, and I’ll meet you there.”

“Open up. I’ve got to piss, and it’s not like I haven’t seen you naked.” His voice was far too amused for someone supposedly in a bladder emergency.

I tried to sound casual, like I hadn’t just been about to kiss Nate Holcomb. “Uh… yeah, I need to use the bathroom right now. Give me a few minutes, and I’ll meet you downstairs.”

Riley’s grin torqued into a full smirk. “I’m down the hall in 918. Finish your business and come get me. We’ll walk down together.”

Great. I have an escort now.

“Sure,” I said. “I’ll be there soon.”

He still didn’t move. Eventually, I heard the shuffle of his foot leaving the threshold. “Room 918,” he repeated, as if he were talking to an idiot.

“Got it. I seriously have to go.”

The second the door clicked shut, I slumped against it and let out a slow breath. Holky was sprawled across the bed, grinning like a cat who’d just watched a canary dodge a bullet. “See something you like?” he asked.

“I can’t believe you’re still hard after that.”

He chuckled. “What can I say? I’m a horny guy, and seeing you flustered excites me.”

Desire coiled in my gut, but I pushed past it. “We don’t have time to mess around. If I don’t go get him, he’ll be back.”

Holky got up, walked across the room, and put his hands on my shoulders. “I know. Promise me we’ll finish later?”

My dick started getting hard again. “Like I could resist.”

“Good.” He slid his hands down my back and pulled me into a hug.

I leaned against him, wanting to take the kiss we’d almost shared, but if I did that, it would shift us into high gear again.

“Look at me,” he said.

My heart sped up when I raised my head. I could see fire in his eyes, and I hoped he was about to kiss me. Riley could go to hell.

“I want you so much, but I guess we should wait.”

“Thought that was settled.”

He moved his head until our cheeks brushed, and the rasp of our whiskers made the back of my neck tingle. When I shifted, the hairs caught and tugged, and the slight pull sent a jolt of excitement through me. It was erotic in a way I hadn’t expected. The tingling spread like a slow burn, crawling down my throat and seeping into my chest, where it settled. “Incredible,” I mumbled. “Fucking amazing.”

He moaned softly. “Being with you like this is weird only because it doesn’t feel weird.”

“Same.”

He let me go, and we gazed into each other’s eyes until an elevator dinged down the hall.

“We’d better get dressed,” he said. “I’ll sneak to my room, and you can meet Riley. I’ll follow you guys in a little bit.”

A few minutes later, I cracked the door and motioned for Holky to go first. He took one step into the hall and froze.

“What?” I whispered, but he didn’t answer.

I squeezed past him to look, and— fuck . My stomach dropped straight through the floor.

Riley was leaning against the wall a few doors down, arms crossed, with one foot kicked back against the baseboard. He was wearing the kind of grin that said “busted” and “this is gonna be fun” at the same time. It was the smirk of a man who’d caught a plot twist in real time and couldn’t wait to tell the group chat.

“You found Holky,” he said, starting toward us. “Good to see you, Nate. We were getting worried.”

“Riley, it’s not?—”

Riley held up a hand and said, “You came to find Dog while I was in my room taking a leak, right?”

He held out a fist, and Holky and I both bumped it.

“This way,” Riley said, turning to head for the elevator.

His shit-eating grin spoke for itself. I didn’t believe he’d gone to his fucking room at all.