Page 160 of Risking the Pucking Defense

Yeah, don’t I fucking know it.

We make our way back out of the bar, where Rett has a round of sodas waiting for us. It’s not exactly the kind of night out we’re used to after a game, but with another one tomorrow, it’s how it has to be.

I take the glass and swallow down a few mouthfuls as I scan the VIP area for my girl.

I hate that I pissed her off. That I stepped in when I shouldn’t. She might not have fully explained her past, but I know enough to understand just how much her independence and control over her own life mean to her. I never, ever want her to think she can’t do or say anything she wants. She’s right, she is her own person, and she deserves just as much respect as everyone else. I just…fuck, I was jealous as fuck. I’m going to have to get a handle on it, though, because Dylan Harvey won’t be the last guy to try it on with my girl. I mean, look at her—she’s fucking stunning. There can’t be a man on the planet who wouldn’t want to shoot their shot with her. Lucky for me, though, she isn’t going home with any of them.

My need for her grows, and I pull my cell from my pocket.

I’ve got a screenful of notifications, but I ignore them all and pull up our chat.

Hayden: Let me make it up to you.

I rest my ass back against the bar as the guys get lost in conversation about tonight’s game and watch, waiting for her to see it.

She’s in work mode, so she’ll be on top of her cell, and I expect to see it read any moment.

A smile twitches at my lips the second the ticks light up.

Hayden: Meet me downstairs on the dance floor.

My heart picks up speed as I hit send, abandon my glass on the bar, and walk away without saying a word.

Sensing I’m being watched, I look over my shoulder to find Bea watching me closely.

She nods, a smile playing on her lips, silently encouraging me.

I descend the stairs to the main part of the club, and once I’m there, I keep my head down and head straight for the darkest corner of the dance floor before unlocking my cell again and opening the camera.

I snap a selfie, doing my best to show my location, then tap out a message to accompany it.

Hayden: Find me, and you can do whatever you want with me

My temperature spikes and my heart slams against my chest.

Thankfully, everyone back here is lost in their own little worlds, and no one so much as looks up at me as I loiter, awkwardly moving to the music as I wait to see if she’s going to throw caution to the wind and steal a dance with me before we head back.

Fuck. I want it. I want to be able to act like a normal couple. I want to feel her hips rolling against mine, glide my hands over her body, and maybe just discover what she is or isn’t wearing under that little dress.

Her words as she climbed out of the car earlier haven’t left me—nor has the semi they caused.

Time ticks on. I get no reply to my message, and I start to assume she’s not coming.

I get why she wouldn’t. It’s a risk. But fuck, I really want her to.

I check my cell one more time and tell myself I’ll give it another two minutes, and then I’ll head back up with my tail between my legs.

I count down in my head, and I’ve got thirty seconds left when heat spreads down my back.

My heart lurches, because there’s every chance it could be someone else, a drunk girl taking a chance on what looks like a lonely guy. But the second a pair of small hands land on my waist, I know it isn’t a random girl. It’s my girl.

I spin around, already smiling, and it only grows when I find her staring up at me.

“I’m still mad at you,” she states, her voice all business-like, which makes my dick jerk in excitement.

Man, I fucking love it when she gets all bossy and tells me what to do.

“I know,” I say, holding my hands out from my sides, offering myself up to her. “What are you going to do about it?”