Page 17 of The Game You Play (Rixon Raiders 2)

n I’d started caring about things so goddamn much, but I needed to clear the air. I couldn’t afford any distractions this semester, and if my friends were going to keep bringing Felicity up, then she was just that. A distraction.

One I needed to nip in the bud sooner rather than later.

Determined, I headed toward the back of the bar where the hall leading to the restrooms was. Hailee and Felicity were just coming out of the women’s bathroom when I entered. My step-sister immediately spotted me, her eyes on high alert.

“Hey,” I said, raking a hand through my hair. “Can I get a minute?” My eyes found Felicity over Hailee’s shoulder.

“I don’t think that’s a good—”

“Hailee,” Felicity laid a hand on her shoulder. “It’s fine. Go, we’ll be right there.”

My step-sister shouldered past me, pausing only to meet my eyes. She didn’t speak. She didn’t need to; her message glittering right there.

Don’t touch.

Don’t hurt her.

I’m warning you.

Jamming my hands in my pocket, I moved toward Felicity. “Come on.” I slipped around her and down the hall. I knew this place well enough to know every nook and cranny. Shouldering the last door, I pushed it open and waited for Felicity to go inside. Her brow rose in question and I said, “Just to talk, I promise.”

She gave me a tight nod.

The second I stepped into the storeroom and closed the door, the air seemed to disappear. Felicity watched me, her eyes clouded with hesitation.

“What the fuck was that back there?”

She jerked away as if I’d physically slapped her. “Don’t act dumb, Flick. I saw the way you acted when Mackey was running his mouth.”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t plan on becoming locker room talk,” she shot back.

“Is that what you think? That I was talking about you?” I stepped closer. “That was a mistake. You were a mistake. One I don’t plan on making again.”

Felicity’s breath hitched, pain flashing in her eyes. “Fuck you,” she seethed.

“Baby,” I reached out, pulling a strand of hair. “We already did that.”

“I hate you.” Her voice trembled.

Good. She needed to hate me. I didn’t need her getting the wrong idea about us.

About me.

For as much as I hated to admit it, Hailee was right. I needed to stay away from Felicity. She was too naïve, too fucking pure. Until New York, until me, she’d been a virgin for fuck’s sake.

I stepped forward again, putting us almost chest to chest. I hadn’t planned on getting this close, but there was no denying she pulled me in. Almost made me want to finish what we started in New York. My eyes dropped to her lips; soft pouty lips I knew the taste of. Her tongue darted out as she watched me watching her.

“Jason, what are—”

“Shut the fuck up,” I ground out. Her chest was heaving, matching the way she kept sucking in tiny harsh breaths. She reminded me of a doe. Innocent and vulnerable. Waiting to be picked off by the big bad wolf.

Before I knew it, I’d slid my hand to her neck, stroking my thumb along her damp skin. She was sweating. I made her sweat. It was heady, knowing the way I affected her. Knowing that if I dipped my fingers into her panties I’d probably find her wet for me. Even though she hated me, even though she didn’t want this, her body did. Something we apparently had in common.

Her body shuddered, heat radiating off her.

Perhaps Felicity Giles wasn’t such a good girl after all.

The idea made my dick twitch, straining against my jeans.