ONE
OCTOBER
The cold air of the rink did little to stifle the heat that infused my body as I watched Liam Farrell—my brother’s best friend and the guy I’d been secretly having sex with since last spring—warm up on the ice.
He was on his knees doing that hip thrust thing that I knew was just to loosen up their hips, but it had the filthiest thoughts filling my mind. It didn’t help he’d moved that way as he thrust inside me an hour ago.
My thighs clenched as my core spasmed from the memory.
He twisted his head slightly, but it was just enough for him to make eye contact with me. The corner of his sinful mouth lifted in the slightest hint of a smile, and my cheeks flamed knowing we were thinking the same dirty thoughts. I broke the eye contact first.
We had to be careful or we were going to get caught. It was a miracle we hadn’t gotten caught already. But I knew our time was coming to an end. This arrangement was onlysupposed to last for as long as it took to fulfill my spicy bucket list, and there was only one thing we hadn’t crossed off yet. My heart thumped heavy in my chest at the thought of it ending.
This was going to blow up in my face and yet I knew I wouldn’t stop it.
I couldn’t.
I was officially addicted to Liam Farrell.
His filthy mouth.
His thick cock.
His piercing gaze when he was right at the edge of coming.
He looked at me like I was a miracle, and that was probably the most addicting feeling of all.
What was supposed to be just sex had stopped beingjust sexfor me months ago. But Liam didn’t do relationships. Something I’d known before I’d agreed to let him help me fulfill my crazy bucket list.
And I refused to be the girl who deluded herself into thinking she could change a man.
Bright, curly red hair caught my attention and I lifted a hand, waving to Harper, who had my niece, Rory, strapped to her chest.
In a million years, I would never have guessed that my twin brother, Drew, would end up falling in love with Harper Tinsley. Our families had been feuding for seventy years, and no one had taken that feud on more than Drew and Harper. I would’ve bet money that they’d kill each other before they fell in love, but I guess what they say about the line between love and hate being thin was true.
“Over here,” I called, getting Harper’s attention. She joined me at our seats in the front row right behind theglass. Rory loved being able to see her dad play, and Drew seemed to play better when he could see his daughter.
I was proud of my brother and how much he’d stepped up when his daughter was basically left on his doorstep. We had no idea who the mother was, something Drew was embarrassed about, but it didn’t matter. We’d all surrounded that sweet baby with more love than she could handle. She was truly being raised by a village, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Harper sat down next to me on the blanket I’d brought for us so our butts didn’t freeze on these seats during the game. “God, I swear every time I see her she’s gotten bigger,” I said. I couldn’t help tickling Rory’s chin, earning a toothy grin that always made me smile in return. “Look at those cheeks.”
“Drew’s been feeding her everything in sight,” Harper said, adjusting Rory’s tiny black CFU Hockey beanie. Harper and I wore matching ones. “Yesterday I caught him trying to give her a taste of his protein shake. I had to explain that babies can’t have protein powder.”
I laughed. “Sounds like him. He probably figured if it’s good enough for him to build muscle, it’s good enough for her.”
The players were doing more warmups on the ice, and while I knew I was being too obvious, I couldn’t stop watching Liam—the effortless way he cut across the ice, all smooth power and easy control. And then I caught sight of my brother, jaw tight and shoulders rigid like he was two seconds from snapping, at the same time that Harper said, “I wonder what’s wrong with Drew.”
My stomach knotted with a foreboding that made my palms clammy. “I don’t know. He seemed fine when I saw him earlier today. Maybe one of the otherplayers trash-talked him? I know he still gets easily annoyed with Beau and Kyle after all that bet stuff. Poor guys have been working hard to get back on his good side.”
“Maybe,” she said, but I knew Harper well enough now to catch the doubt in her tone.
My gaze jumped between Drew and Liam. He couldn’t have figured it out, could he? We’d been so careful, especially since being back at school. And bless my brother, but he’d been pretty preoccupied with Harper and Rory, which made it easier to hide our arrangement from him.
Dread filled me. He couldn’t know.
I wasn’t ready for things with Liam to end yet—wasn’t sure I’d ever be ready. But I would take as much of him as I could get.
The arena filled quickly as game time approached. Clark Fork’s hockey program might have only been a few years old, but the town of Dunridge took their team seriously. By the time the players returned for introductions, the stands were packed with students, families, and townspeople bundled in the team colors of maroon and black.
