Page 37 of Twisted Play (Cruel Games #1)
When Eva took in a shaky breath but didn’t move, I made my decision. Didn’t matter whether I was ready—I wasn’t going to let her stand in my house, embarrassed because Cole and I were unhinged about going after what we wanted.
I stepped forward and wrapped my arm around her waist, nudging her with my hip so there was no space between any of us.
“Do you have something to say, Carly?” I asked, my voice surprisingly calm, considering the storm going on inside my head.
“No, she doesn’t,” Rami said, standing. “C’mon, let’s go help get the snacks ready.” He dragged the girl to the kitchen with him. She wouldn’t be back. Both the team and the WAGs were ruthless about getting rid of puck bunnies who didn’t get along with others.
“Move over,” Cole said to Haruto, who sprawled across an entire loveseat. “Our girl needs a seat.”
Something possessive flared in my chest at Cole’s use of “our.” Eva wasn’t ours—she wasn’t anyone’s—but god, I wanted to stake my claim.
Haruto rolled his eyes but stood, leaving the two-person couch open for us and breaking the tension. Before Eva could protest, I settled into one corner of the couch and tugged her down next to me so her thigh pressed warm against mine.
Cole dropped into the space on her other side, boxing her in. We barely fit. Her breath hitched, but she didn’t try to move away from either of us.
“You okay?” I murmured, just loud enough for her to hear. She nodded, but her fingers twisted in the hem of her dress. I caught them, and she let me move her hand to my thigh.
“Who’s hungry?” Rami called from the kitchen. “Pizza’s here.”
“I’ll get you a plate,” I told Eva, but Cole was already up.
“Got it,” he said with a sharp grin. “Don’t want you missing any of the game.”
Eva tensed slightly beside me, and I wrapped my arm along the back of the couch behind her, not quite touching but close enough so she could feel my warmth.
“First period’s starting,” Haruto announced, cranking up the volume.
Eva leaned forward as the teams took the ice, pressing our hips closer together as her body shifted on the couch. She felt so goddamned right next to me, in the hockey house, part of my life.
Cole returned with plates loaded with pizza, passing one to Eva before settling in beside her. She was caught between me and Cole, our arms and shoulders brushing every time she moved.
When Cole draped his arm along the back of the couch, mirroring my position, his fingers brushed the nape of my neck, sending longing sparking through me.
Instead of pulling away, we created a cage of warmth around Eva, neither of us speaking about the silent understanding passing between us.
She belonged here, tucked between us, and from the way Cole’s eyes met mine over her head, he felt it too.
I shoved my trepidation deep down inside, ignoring the question of whether this was another of Cole’s games or if he was serious about sharing Eva.
When Cole’s thumb stroked her bare shoulder, she shivered but didn’t pull away. My hand dropped to her waist then slid down to her hip, smashed between her leg and Cole’s when she leaned forward to watch a play develop.
“There!” Eva pointed as one of the players intercepted a pass. “Did you see how he?—”
“Score!” The room erupted as the puck hit the net.
In the chaos of celebration, she fell back against both of us, and for a perfect moment, the three of us fit together like puzzle pieces locking into place.
Time suspended with Eva pressed between us, my arm resting against Cole’s where we cradled her, the rest of the team’s celebration fading to background noise.
She snuggled deeper into the cushions and our arms, and tension leached out of me.
Maybe she was okay with this. Maybe she didn’t find the idea as wild and deviant as I’d thought she would.
When Cole’s fingers traced idle patterns on her shoulder, her breath hitched. I watched, mesmerized, as her pupils dilated and her lips parted. She was so fucking gorgeous like this, caught between pleasure and uncertainty.
Her phone buzzed in her purse, and she ignored it, turning her face into my chest. Cole’s hand slid up her back, working its way to her nape, where he gently worked her muscles, drawing a sweet sigh out of her as she melted into me.
Teamwork.
“Fuck,” she whispered when her phone buzzed again. She moved to stand, but we’d snared her between us, gently caging her. “I need to—I have to go.”
“Stay,” Cole said, tightening his grip on the back of her neck.
I stroked my thumb over her hip, where my hand still rested. “Game’s not even half over.”
She untangled herself from us, and by the time she stood, her familiar mask of composure had slipped back into place. “I need to go.”
“I’ll drive you,” Cole offered immediately.
“No!” The force of her refusal surprised me. She softened her voice. “I’ll be fine.”
Cole’s expression mirrored my frustration as we watched her gather her things.
“Text me when you get home?” I asked, knowing she wouldn’t.
Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Of course.”
A chorus of protests rose from the team as Eva headed for the door .
“You’re leaving already?” Haruto called. “Stay and watch the rest of the game—we never get to hang out with you.”
Eva’s smile turned genuine for a moment. “Next time,” she promised, but her eyes darted to her phone again.
I followed her to the door. “Eva?—”
“Don’t.” She laid her hand on my chest, and for a moment, I thought she might kiss me. Instead, she stepped back. “Today was—thank you. For everything. For inviting me to be your errand friend.”
I watched her hurry down the front steps and into the darkness, everything in me screaming to follow. When I turned back to the living room, Cole’s expression matched mine—frustrated, worried, and absolutely fucking captivated by Eva Jackson.
“She’s hiding something,” he said quietly to me as I dropped back onto the couch beside him.
I frowned. “She said she had to stop by campus this weekend.”
Cole froze. “Campus?”
“Yeah, but what work could she?—”
“Fuck.” Cole was already on his feet, grabbing his keys. His expression had me following without question. The team didn’t question our departure, exchanging amused grins as they assumed we were going after Eva.
“Cole, what the hell is going on?”
He yanked open his car door. “You coming or not?”
I got in. Whatever was happening with Eva, whatever she was mixed up in, I needed to know. And from the grim set of Cole’s jaw as he peeled out of the driveway, it wasn’t anything good.