Page 3

My eyes widen as a foreboding feeling settles in my stomach.

High school? I mean, when I assumed she was only twenty-one, that made me hesitate.

But high school? No, she was drinking that night.

Looking down, I see a glass of champagne in her hands.

She takes that moment to bring the delicate glass to her lips and winks at me over the rim.

“You’re fucking with me?” It comes out more of a question than a statement.

Her answering laughter has me narrowing my eyes at her.

“You’re such a brat,” I tell her, shaking my head at her antics .

I don’t miss the way her eyes flare when I call her that or how she bites her bottom lip.

“Make it up to me?”

“And how would I do that?” she asks, quirking her brow.

“Dance with me.” Taking the glass from her hands, I set our drinks on a nearby table and hold my hand out for her.

She only hesitates a moment before placing her hand in mine and letting me lead her to the dance floor. I spot Jax on our way and nod toward the stage. A shit-eating grin eclipses his face, but he seems to understand what I’ve asked of him.

He grabs my guitar and sits on a barstool on stage. Seconds later, the opening chords of Morgan Wallen’s new version of “Spin You Around” fill the tent. I pull my mystery woman to my chest, grasping her one hand in mine and sliding my other around her waist.

The seemingly innocent contact shouldn’t have me buzzing with nervous excitement, but it does nonetheless. Clearing my throat, I ask, “Which college do you attend?”

“Abbott University.”

“Ah, I’ve got a buddy that went to Abbott U. What are you studying?”

“My undergrad was merchandising. I’m just finishing one prereq I needed for my accelerated MBA program that starts this fall.”

I hum in admiration. “Beauty and brains, I knew you were a catch.”

She tucks her chin, but not before I see the apples of her cheeks heat. “What about you? Did you go to college?”

I stiffen at her question because it hasn’t occurred to me until right this moment that she has no idea who I am.

She knows my first name is Bennett, and she’s likely got to be clued in that there are professional hockey players here—what with her parents knowing Griffin and Carson’s parents.

But I don’t think she’s put the puzzle pieces together about who I am.

Pushing aside the voice in my head telling me this is all wrong, I shake my head before telling a little white lie.

“No, college wasn’t in the plans for me.

I decided to get a job right out of high school.

” It’s not technically a lie. I did get drafted first overall right out of high school and signed the next season instead of playing college hockey.

Though, I am attending online courses now.

She’s so beautiful looking up at me right now, I can’t stop myself from brushing a strand of hair off her face. Her cheeks heat and she glances toward the lake, breaking our eye contact.

Clearing my throat, I squeeze my hand resting on her lower back. “Fate intervened. I think that means you owe me your number and your identity.”

Her eyes narrow as her nose scrunches up in the most ridiculously charming way. With a deep breath, she tells me her name on an exhale. “Scarlett.”

A wide grin spreads across my face. “Scarlett,” I repeat, liking how it rolls off my tongue.

“What? You’re not going to make some silly joke about how our names rhyme?”

“Not much of a jokester,” I inform her. “Besides, you call me Benny anyway.”

Just then, her eye catches on something over my shoulder and as I turn to see what’s caught her attention, she pulls on my loosened tie and draws my eyes back to her. “Do you wanna get out of here, Benny ?” she asks with a spark of mischief in her amber eyes.

I try to process her question, but my brain feels like it’s short-circuiting. Not wanting her to misinterpret my silence as turning her down, I swallow past my suddenly dry throat. “Where to? ”

She steps away from my grasp and meets my gaze. “I was thinking wherever you were planning to stay the night.”

Still temporarily stunned by her question, I simply nod in response and she leads me away from the dance floor.

Scarlett

A short Uber ride later, Bennett rests his hand on my lower back as he guides me through the lobby of his hotel. When we’re in the elevator, he presses a button, but I’m not paying much attention to which one.

Instead, my eyes rake down his body as I take him in.

His brown hair is cut short on the sides, leaving the top longer but smoothed back and giving him a polished look.

He has the perfect amount of trimmed scruff that somehow enhances his sharp jawline.

The suit he’s wearing is tailored to fit his muscular frame like a glove.

I’m a sucker for a tall guy, and he’s well over six feet.

As he unbuttons his suit jacket, I can’t help but fixate on the size of his hands.

Everything about this man is broad and powerful, and I can only hope this elevator ride leads me to a night full of him using that strength to pick me up and bend me over every surface of his hotel room.

Once we’re shut inside, our eyes lock from across the elevator, and before I know what’s happening, my feet move to Bennett of their own volition. An impish grin takes over his face when he sees how turned on I am.

I lunge toward him, and he easily lifts me with one arm, my legs wrapping around his waist at the same time that he tangles his other hand through my curls and softly tugs on my tresses.

His lips crash against mine and it’s at this moment that I realize how utterly fucked I am.

I know this man is about to ruin me for all others.

The moment Bennett’s tongue swirls against mine, a trail of burning heat shoots to my core.

Trying to ease the ache, I shamelessly grind my hips against his until my clit begins to pulsate and I think I’ll come right here, right now, just like this.

From dry humping a stranger in an elevator.

I don’t even know his last name. The thought is gone as fast as it appeared when a low growl of approval rumbles through Bennett’s chest as he presses me against the wall of the elevator, allowing him to work his hips even harder against mine.

Oh Jesus, thank you for this night. For putting me in this man’s path once again. Thank you for divine-fucking-intervention.

Bennett balances me against the wall as he hikes up the silk skirt of my dress before slamming his hips against mine once more. The feel of his erection through his suit pants rubs perfectly against my exposed clit.

His fingers dig into the bare skin on my hips before he pulls away and groans, “Fuck, Scar. You’re not wearing any panties?”

“I didn’t want any lines to show through my dress,” I explain, panting as I try to catch my breath just as the elevator chimes and the doors open.

Bennett carefully puts me down and makes quick work to adjust my dress, but there’s no need, the floor his room is on is deserted.

He grabs my hand and leads me through the entryway of his room after swiping his keycard.

I drop his hand and act as if I’m taking in his suite, but I can’t make sense of a single detail, completely distracted by how wound up my body is. The moment he turns the deadbolt, he faces me and then our bodies collide once more.

We’re a tangling mess of limbs as we strip each other out of our clothes. I break the kiss and wander into the bedroom, but I don’t get more than a few feet before Bennett clasps my wrist and pulls me toward him.

“Come here, baby. I want to watch you fall apart for me,” he rasps with my back pressed against his chest. I have to bite back a whimper when I arch my back and his cock nudges my ass.

Turning my head, I arch a brow at him and taunt, “Ah, shucks. Forget my name already? You had so many redeeming qualities, well, really just one, if I’m being honest.” I bite my lip as I look down at his thick cock that’s begging to be sucked.

Slowly trailing my fingernail up his thigh, I grip his shaft and am thrilled to find my hand can’t clasp around it. This is going to be a fun ride.

“Scarlett,” he growls out my name as he carefully brushes my hair over my shoulder before placing slow, open-mouthed kisses along my collarbone. “How could I forget the name of the woman who has invaded my every thought for the past month?”

I let out an unattractive snort, unwilling to believe that statement, and start to chuckle.

But my laughter dies in my throat as Bennett wraps my hair around his fist and yanks it back.

“Careful, Little Red. I’d hate to have to spank that snark out of you,” he warns.

My answering whimper tells him all he needs to know about how I’d feel about being spanked.

“Hmm,” he hums. “Perhaps you want to be punished. Does that turn you on, Scar? The thought of me turning this creamy skin red?” He pauses to palm my ass and I can’t stop the moan that slips past my lips. He steps closer, caging me in against the bedroom wall and his broad chest. “Yeah, me too. ”

Bennett is hard all over. Every inch of his body is defined and looks like he’s spent years in the gym. Maybe he has a manual labor job. Construction?

All thoughts evacuate my brain as Bennett drags the head of his cock between my legs from my opening to my clit.

The feel of his hot skin against mine has my skin erupting in goosebumps. The anticipation is killing me, I can’t take it another minute.

“Condom?” I ask.

“Whoa, why the rush?”

“I don’t know, most guys aren’t into the whole foreplay thing, I figured you were one of them.”