Page 12 of Stand Your Ground

“No more questions?” I asked.

“Not at the moment.”

I carefully scrawled my own signature. “Well then, Mr. Fabri,” I said. “Are you ready for your first lesson?”

He swallowed, voice cracking when he asked, “Now?”

I shrugged, standing slowly and noting how his gaze followed the gold chain that disappeared under my blouse. “Unless you need a week to prepare,” I teased, tilting my head. “Do you want to carb load? Watch video? Get a pep talk from Coach?”

Carter stood a little too fast, knocking his thigh against the edge of the table. “No!Shit, that hurt,” he said, rubbing the spot. His cock was still hard, pitching a tent against his slacks.

Why did I find it so fucking endearing that he wasn’t the least bit embarrassed to be so eager?

“No,” he repeated, schooling his expression. “I’m ready.”

I grinned.

“Oh, Rook,” I said, circling the table slowly, heels clicking with each predatory step I took. “You have noideahow not ready you are.”

Earn It

Carter

I was embarrassingly hard before she even laid a finger on me.

Okay, so that was a bit harsh. Technically, shedidlay a finger on me. In fact, she laid her whole damn hand on me and rubbed my cock before squeezing it so hard I didn’t know if I wanted to scream and shove her away, or groan and beg for more.

I was so out of my element, butfuck,was I enjoying it. I still could barely believe Livia had agreed to the whole thing, so any time she shot me a look or rewarded me with a little piece of praise, it was enough to have me panting and howling for more.

It wasn’t just that I was excited to touch her — thoughJesus, that alone was enough to short-circuit my entire nervous system. It was that for the first time in my life, I felt like I was taking control of the part of myself I’d always been too ashamed to own.

I’d spent years trying to scrub off the voice of my OHL coach who’d broken me down. He’d told me I was too soft, too easily rattled, too emotional to lead. And I’d believed him. My parents had watched me turn from a confident, happy kid who loved to play hockey, into an anxiety-riddled mess who couldn’t perform.

That pressure had haunted me for years — on the ice, in the locker room, in bed. Eventually, I was able to work with Coach McCabe, with our goalie, Will Perry, and with other players to figure out how to be better for the team. I’d painstakingly slowly figured my shit out, and I finally felt like a reliableteammate who could show up, play the puck, pass and score, and contribute to a winning season.

This was my opportunity to do the same thing for my personal life — this time, with Livia as my coach.

And I knew before we even got started that she wasn’t just going to teach me — she was going to give me the tools to make the changes on my own. I could see it in her predatory gaze already, how she wanted me to crave the power of knowing exactly what I was doing and exactly how to make someone else feel good.

I’d fought tooth and nail to find confidence on the ice, building it brick by brick with every game, every season, every brutal loss and hard-earned win. Now, I had a chance to do the same thing here: to torch the fear, rewrite the narrative, and become the kind of man who didn’t just score, but dominated.

I was tuned in to her every move now that the contracts were signed and the caps were back on our pens. Livia made me pull my chair to the middle of the room, and now, she circled me like a lioness sizing up her prey.

She told me she planned to teach by example.

So, I buckled in for the presentation.

I clocked every click of her heels, every brush of the fabric of her suit against the chair, and when she dragged her fingernail from one shoulder to the next as she passed behind me, I visibly trembled.

I really was like an eager schoolboy, early to class and sitting in the front row. I wanted to learn. I was fuckingexcited.

And if I thought her little touches and looks were undoing me, it was nothing compared to when she lowered her mouth to my ear and whispered her first command.

“Unbutton your shirt,” she said, pausing to lick along the shell of my ear before she added, “Let me see what I’m working with.”

Immediately, my hands flew to the button on my dress shirt. I shoved my suit jacket out of the way and hastily made work of each button until my chest and abdomen were exposed.

Livia circled me slowly, grinning as she watched me obey her.