Fuck, why is her calling me babe so hot?
“It’s been a couple of months. Our mutual friend, Maggie, lives in the same building as Kennedy and introduced us. She thought we might hit it off.” I place my arm around the back of her chair, careful not to actually touch her. Something tells me she could probably go toe-to-toe with me in a fight.I’d like to keep my face for the moment.“Sure enough, she was right.”
“Are you sure you’re allowed to date one of the players?” he asks with a smug look on his face. Just as I open my mouth to speak, she lays a hand on my chest and shoots me a look that says ‘I’ve got this.’
“Actually,Chadd…I’m allowed to date whoever the hell I want,” she fires back, her voice firm and confident.Holy fucking fuckballs, Kennedy Kramer isofficiallythe woman of my dreams. “I’m not directly employed by the Riders, which means we’re not technically co-workers. Not to mention, I fly my friends and family all the time, as I’m sure you do as well.” She stands and grabs her purse, my chest burning from the imprint of her hand as if she left a brand on my skin. And now she’s staring Chadd down like a lioness about to devour its prey. My pulse races, all of it flooding south.
I have never been more turned on in my life.
“But you,Chadd, youaremy co-worker. And you’ve been hitting on me, not to mention questioning my ability to do my job, since the minute you stepped into the flight deck,” she snaps before turning her attention to me. “What do you think? Should we report him?”
My pulse races, my muscles tense at the thought of him doubting the talent of the best pilot in the entire fucking world. This fucker would be worth every second of a ten-minute misconduct. But I stay focused because…dearGod, this is all my dreams come true.The way she’s playing along. The way she seems like she’s all in. The way I want to have moments like this forever. “I one-hundo percent think we should report him. But we’ve been trying to keep this relationship under wraps and away from the paparazzi, so how about you just leave my girlfriend the hell alone and we call it a day. Do we have a deal?”
Chadd’s face turns a deep shade of red, anger and embarrassment shooting from his eyes as he shakes his head, refusing to admit defeat.Good.Just as he opens his mouth to, no doubt, insult Kennedy again, I step forward to tower over him. I can’t take this fucker anymore. A warm hand grips my arm, goosebumps pebbling all the way to my fingers.She’sgotto stop touching me so I can concentrate.
“Listen to me, Chadd, with two d’s,” I whisper through the menacing smile I give all my opponents. “You don’t know me, and you sure as hell don’t know her. Mind your own damn business. And if you ever talk to her like that again, I will destroy you. Myself, and the entire team of players at my disposal, will make your life a living hell. You will never fly for an NHL team again. You got me?”
He grits his teeth staring at us as if fire is about to shoot out his mouth like a dragon, but he doesn’t make a move. Doesn’t say a word. Yet another person speechless at the stellar showmanship of Jordan Joseph Boucher.
Fucking crushed it.
“Come on. Let’s get out of here,” Kennedy whispers as she glides her hand down my arm to grip my hand and drag me away. Like a puppy following its new owner, I fucking follow her. But not before getting in a couple more digs at the douche-nozzle that’s been harassing her.
I blow a kiss over my shoulder. “Bye, Chadd! Hope you’re not mad. If you get sad, go cry to your dad!” I yell as she continues to lead me toward the elevator.
Holy. Fucking. Shit.That was fan-freaking-tastic. And, by some miracle, she’sstillholding my hand. I swallow hard, my heart beating in my throat. God, she smells good like vanilla and sugar, and like I want her to be mine forever.
I glance at her through my peripheral vision.She’s right here. Next to me. Acknowledging me. Her hand perfectly molded in mine. I flash her a warm smile, hoping she’s feeling what I am. Feeling this instant, overwhelming need to be together always. My stomach flips, the world tilting just enough to feel like I’m getting the rom-com moment I’ve always dreamed of when her fiery green eyes meet mine.
DING!
As soon as the elevator doors open, she pulls me inside and hits the button for the twentieth floor. That’smyfloor.Oh my God.Does she want to come to my room? My downstairs elevator shaft rises rapidly at the thought. But shit—I’m not ready for…
THUD!
My entire body jolts as the elevator comes to a dramatic stop between floors, and Kennedy Kramer shoves me up against the wall.Yep. It’s official.The elevator in my pants has achieved liftoff, and the woman pressing into me is going to make it burst right through the ceiling like the end of Willy Wonka. The way she’s looking at me like she wants to devour me…
“Whatthe fuckdid you do back there, Cashanova?!”
I swallow hard, my eyes wide. I’m beginning to think I may have misjudged this.“What are you talking about? I was helping you! Wait…did you just call meCashanova?”
“Yes, you jerk. I didn’t fucking need you and your rich boy ass helping me. Now you’ve made things a million times worse!” she yells as she steps back and flicks me with her finger.
I clutch my bicep. “Ow! What the hell was that for? How did I make it worse? That guy was mauling you with his dumb pilot hands!”
Her face turns a shade of red brighter than the stop button she just pressed.Shit.
“Dumb pilot hands? What the hell does that even mean? I’m a pilot…do you think I have dumb pilot hands?”
“No…I don’t think…I mean, you have hands, and you’re a pilot, but they aren’t dumb, they’re…they’re…”Shit.How do I tell her they are the most perfect, softest hands I’ve ever held without sounding like a total creep?
“What’s the matter, Mr. Ego? At a loss for words?”
I mean…kinda yeah.“No. I just…I mean…you went along with it. You were smiling. You were holding my hand.”
“Because there werepeoplewatching. Specifically fuckingChadd,” she says as she takes a step back and runs her hand over her face, the sigh she lets out crushing my soul. “What the fuck do we do now?”
My gaze falls, my stomach twisting like a knotted ball of skate laces fresh out of the dryer. “I just thought, maybe, if you had a boyfriend, he would leave you alone.”
