Page 9 of The Draft

“Are you coming over for our fantasy football league on Friday?” Adam asked with an amused smile on his face, pretending to be oblivious to the mounting tension between Dash and me. “Missed you last month.”

“I’m busy.” It was his only response. Curt, but to the point. A lot like him.

Adam leaned over the table and brushed his hand against mine. A move that did not go unnoticed by Dash. “What about you, Madison? You coming?”

I smiled, ready to answer, but Dash spoke first. “You guys know that Madison is Cade Bright’s little sister, right?” He emphasized the “little” a little too much for my liking.

“Yeah, she was just telling us about how she smacked him in the face with a puck when they were kids. Wouldn’t want to mess with a girl who’s so vicious.”

Dash’s lips twitched as he tried to stop them from curling in a smile.

“Do you remember that, Big Man?” I asked, watching him do his best to hide any emotion. “You were there too.” Turning back to the footballplayers, I pointed my thumb at Dash. “Ever the responsible one, he called the ambulance so Cade could get the stitches he needed. Luckily, I hit him right in the spot that makes the split in his eyebrow look intentional.”

“She’s a badass, isn’t she?” Adam goaded, and before long, Aiden Matthews was at our table.

“Devin, where’d Gina go? I thought you were looking after her for me.”

“Gina left when she realized you wouldn’t stop drooling over Lyss.”

Aiden rolled his eyes and cut his gaze to me as if he were trying to prove a point. A grin split across his face, and all of a sudden, it felt like I was all he could focus on. “Maybe I don’t need Gina. Who’s this enchantress?”

Sexy and seductive, I could see why the entire student body wanted to try their luck with Aiden. There was something about the way he looked at you that made you feel like he wanted to memorize every single inch of your body using only his tongue.

“That’s it,” Dash interrupted, pushing Aiden to the side. “Madison needs to go home. It’s way past her bedtime.”

“Oh, sorry, man.” Aiden raised his hands and stood at full height. He was tall, but no one could beat Dash. “Did I just walk in on some kinky role-play or something? Are you trying to be her daddy?” Aiden asked with amusement.

“I wish,” I mumbled, but Adam was the only one who heard me, and he nearly spit his drink out.

“Well, if it’s past your bedtime, my house is only a five-minute walk away. I’ve got a California king and a soundproof room.” Aiden pushed in front of Dash, completely ignoring him as he gave me a wicked grin.

I had to admit, it felt nice talking to guys who were outright matching my energy instead of cowering away from it. Had I been so fixated on hockey players that I didn’t notice I was more of a football girl? Was I about to do a Taylor Swift and switch my type to a guy who catches balls for a living? Or maybe he throws them. I didn’t know his position.

“I thought you were waiting for Gina?” I retorted, enjoying the sexy smirk Aiden threw my way.

“And I thought Devin had game, but here we are, talking about all the things I could do to keep you warm while his arm is around your shoulder. I’m sorry, Devin has issues when it comes to incredibly hot women. Hecan’t express himself.” Aiden winked, and I nearly swooned because the way he was looking at me made me feel like he could see deep into my soul, and I didn’t like it.

I took in a sharp breath, staring straight back at Aiden. Was there something happening between us?

No. Aiden was obsessed with some other girl, but being the object of his affections for all of two minutes was fun.

“Aaand…we’re done here.” Dash pulled my chair out and grabbed my arm, forcing me off the seat. Pinning me to his side, he wrapped his arm around my shoulder. His hard body was pressing against mine as his fingers applied pressure to my arm.

So possessive. So hot. “See you guys around.” With that, he moved hastily while I was firmly attached to his side.

“Hey!” I wailed at no one in particular because I really didn’t care that Dash was dragging me away. I was happy about it. Where was he going to take me? Home? To my bed? Maybe he’d join me just to tick Aiden off.

I was nearly tripping over my heels because he was pulling me out of the bar so quickly, and the entire room was watching us in shock. For someone who hated making a scene, he was doing a pretty good job at creating one right now.

“Dash.” I rushed out because I could barely keep up with his pace. The spikes of my heels were hitting the ground so hard, I was going to have to send him a bill to get them re-heeled.

“Would you mind slowing down a little?” I said in the sweetest voice I could as I huffed out a breath. This was the most exercise I’d done in weeks, and I wasn’t prepared to be red-faced and blotchy when I finally got to speak to Dash about my undying love for him. Undying love? Okay, that might have been a little strong, but it was a crush that never seemed to die.

“Nope.” Cold and harsh. His tone and words would make it seem like he wasn’t interested in me, but his actions were telling me the exact opposite. He dragged me out of a bar because I was harmlessly flirting with a few guys. Talk about overprotective.

“You know, there are people watching.”

“Let them. Then they can all tell Cade that I was the one to get you outof this mess.”