Page 31 of Arctic Titans of Northwood U: Volume 1

Just as we all dried and dressed in the locker room — me, struggling to look anywhere but at Cameron’s bare body — Coach entered. Most of the guys had left by then, but the few that remained decided to stick around and hear what Coach Murray had to say.

The clap that echoed against the walls made my head spin. For a moment, I thought he was being sarcastic. I couldn’t understand why. This was the best I’d played in ages and Cam had given it his all. “Well, boys… You did it.”

The weight that dropped off my chest was accented when Cam grabbed my shoulder and gave me a friendly shake. I didn’t believe it for a second, but it was still reassuring to feel his hand on my body, even if it was as innocent as touching my shoulder.

“Whatever it was that you did, keep doing it,” Coach said.

I was too stunned to speak and the temperature of my face was rocketing. Cam, though, pulled on his unbelievably innocent smile. “That we will, Coach. We sure will.”

If anyone heard the dripping sex-appeal in Cam’s voice, they weren’t swayed by it. As for me… Well, I was struggling to stay on my feet. Sometimes, ice was better than solid ground.

But Cam’s words echoed through my head long after we returned to the house and all went back to our own worries. Caden announced he was going out with a friend and wouldn’t bite the bait no matter how much I was asking if it was a date. He wouldn’t deny it, either.

When I stayed all alone, the room seemed to shrink around me rather than expand. I was pacing, thinking of how assured Cameron was when he said those words. Like it was a given. Like there was no way he could be wrong.

It excited me so much that he would just assume I would run to his heels at a single whistle. It fucking blinded me. And it looked to me like I was the most comfortable when there was an iron grip around me, squeezing air out of my lungs and threatening to crush me.

Even now, I was fighting for every breath. The glimpse into the wrongness of my desires made me bite my lip hard, right where I’d cut it not that long ago.

Before I knew what I was doing, I found myself getting out of my room and marching downstairs to Cameron’s. I knocked once, hard, and heard him clear his throat. It was an invitation enough for me, so I walked in and shut the door. “What was that all about?” I demanded, annoyed with myself.

“What?” he asked.

“You know what. Telling Coach we’d keep doing whatever it takes to keep winning.” A small frown creased the space between my eyebrows as I cocked my head in waiting.

Cameron lifted his eyebrows. “Are you for real?” he asked, incredulous. And when I gave no answer, he scoffed. “Sorry, then. Didn’t mean to presume.”

I looked around his room for the first time. There were a few trophies. One of them was from high school and I was there when he’d won it. But his words confused me and I stopped looking around and pierced him with a confused look. “Wait, what?”

Cameron hopped off his bed and walked up to me, crossing his arms at his chest, just one pace away. “Didn’t expect that, did you?”

“Um… I… No.”

“Did you want to fight a little, first?” His tone was serious, but I could see the amusement glowing behind his eyes.

“Actually, kind of.” I had no choice but to admit it. It wasn’t until he pointed it out that I realized a fight was exactly what I was baiting for. A fight, then making up. Because I wanted it. I wanted it more than I knew how to describe.

But I couldn’t just get it.

It needed to feel hard-earned and dangerous and terrible in the best of ways.

Cameron bit his lip and nodded. “Alright. Since you insist on being a needy little brat, you’re leaving me no choice but to cut you off.”

The severity with which he spoke startled me. “Cut me off?”

“You heard me,” Cam said in his flattest, most contemptuous voice. “I’m revoking your access to my dick.”

“That’s rich, assuming I want to have anything to do with you.” My tone was growing heated, but my heart was jittery.

Cameron lifted one corner of his lips and let his arms drop, stepping heavily toward me until his face was inches away from mine. “Prove me wrong, Brooks. You came here with a purpose. Don’t pretend to be coy when you’re not. I can read you like a book.”

My throat was tightening fast and my stomach was filling with butterflies. Holy shit. If this was a kink, I didn’t know what to call it. But I knew I liked it. In part, it was like looking at something grotesque and bizarre that you couldn’t decide if it was disgusting or beautiful. It was appealing, though. “You don’t read, Cam,” I wheezed.

“Don’t pretend like you know me,” Cameron snapped, setting his hands on my hips and pushing me against the door of his room.

Breath hitched in my throat and I was lost. I was gone down the stream of lust. I melted into him, viciously clawing at his tight T-shirt, sticking to the sides of his torso. It was like a prelude to a wrestling match, but with a much happier ending.

And Cameron played his part beyond all my wildest expectations.