Page 15 of Puck Me Harder
“Alright. I’m going to clean this. It’s gonna sting, alright?”
Kai smiles and bites his bottom lip, which I mentally file away for later tonight when I’m alone and naked.
“It’s fine. I play hockey. I don’t mind a little pain,” he says, all of the swagger back.
I sigh again, leaning forward to dab at the cut with my little disinfectant-soaked cotton ball.
“What about you?” he asks, his voice full of that deadly quiet again.
“Me?” I ask, my voice shaky again, incredibly aware of how close his lips are to mine. The angle is wrong for a kiss, but it wouldn’t take much. “I don’t need any first aid, but thanks.”
My pussy throbs in sympathetic memory as I recall exactly how good of a kisser Kai is.
“Do you like it sweet, or do you like a little pain?” Kai asks, leaning into my hands, and pressing his wound against the burn.
I can feel my heartbeat in my entire body. My panties are goners, too. This man is turning me completely liquid, and I want nothing more than for him to plunge into me.
“None —,” I clear my throat, “ — none of your business.”
I pull the cotton away, inspecting my handiwork. The bleeding has slowed down, but it still needs a butterfly bandage.
“I’d like to make it my business, and I think you want that, too.” Kai growls
Focus. I instruct myself. Ignore the smoking hot stud. Ignore the way his eyes are heating up your skin, ignore the rough burr in his voice that you never hear except when he’s talking like this to you.
“Whatever makes you think that?” I ask, falling back on sarcasm. My first, last, and best line of defense.
I peel the band-aid and apply it a little rougher than I mean to. But I need to get this done, get this man out of my room before I make a huge mistake. If he notices, if it hurts, he doesn't give any indication.
“Well, I could say it’s in the way your hands are a little shaky. Your cheeks are flushed, and it’s spreading. But mostly it’s because you keep sneaking glances at that vibrator on your nightstand.”
Oh fuck.
I whip my head over to look, panic singing through my veins. There it is, staring back at me in all of its hot-pink glory.
I left my toy out.
The blush spreads from my scalp to my toes as Kai laughs that quiet laugh.
“Kiss me,” he says, making me rip my horrified gaze off the sex toy.
I blink down at the sex god sitting on my bed.
“What?” I ask, my voice breathy and unsteady.
He smiles that hungry smile again, and my legs go weak.
“I’m in time out,” he says, shrugging to indicate his hands. “You said no touching. So I can’t pull you in or brush that hair out of your face the way I want. But your pretty little mouth needs kissing, so kiss me.”
I want it so much I can’t think of any reason not to. My career, his career, who cares? This kind of connection is worth taking a beating. The chemistry between us is a physical thing, chains drawing me closer and closer to him despite my reservations.
But if I kiss this man, I won’t stop. I can’t. Perched on the edge of an abyss, I’m terrified about what will happen to me if I fall into Kai. Because my heart is already doing triple axels for this man, and I know all too well this is just another weeknight for a player like him.
“No touching,” I whisper as I lean in. “I’m in control. I’m not going to sleep with you. Not tonight.”
Kai nods ever-so-slightly, his eyes on mine as he tilts his head, waiting for me to come to him.
“No sex. I’ll keep my hands to myself. But we’re going to finish what we started in the sauna, Dakota,” Kai whispers against my lips.