Halloween smut time!! Earlier this month, Mer wrote a one-shot called “Wannabe” with a special little item for me. She’s allowed me to take her idea and run (thanks Mer). If you’d like to refresh your memory: Wannabe
Too Much of Something is bad enough,
But something's coming over me to make me wonder,
Too Much of nothing is just as tough,
I need to know the way to feel to keep me satisfied.
- Spice Girls
“Oh shit,” Jordan laughs grimly, eyes fixed somewhere behind me. “Sorry Nealer.”
He walks away, tugging the reins on his costume free from my hand. Dressed in all white, with a long blond horse’s mane wig and a saddle around his middle, he actually kind of looks like Maximus, the horse from Tangled.
I steel myself. Walking into the team Halloween party in drag is one thing but this is entirely different. We are in a club, everyone dressed to the nines in the smallest, funniest Halloween costumes they could find. Not me. I lost the October shootout at practice a few days before. Normally we wait till the first of the month, but November is Movember and the normal title of “Moustache Boy” will be lost amid all the guys growing their own. So Dupuis and Cooke devised a particularly hellish punishment for the last two guys to get stopped by Fleury. Jordan finally scored. I didn’t.
Now I’ve been in the place twenty minutes and I swear they are all still laughing.
Be cool, I remind myself. Fitting in is more important than looking good right now. My October has been great and things in Pittsburgh are finally coming together for me. If I can make this funny, instead of being the butt of the joke, I might just be in. There’s only really one thing that could derail me tonight, and I have a feeling she’s walking up behind me.
Oh shit.
She’s almost at the steps that separate the VIP lounge from the rest of the patrons. With a quick shuffle on very high heels, she rushes right up until her chest is nearly touching mine, until she’s close enough to kiss.
“OhmyGodwhodidthistoyou?”
Her mouth is open slightly in surprise, her eyes wide. And I just stare back.
Stop it stop it stop it, I tell myself. But my heart is racing.
Danielle wears a figure hugging dress in dark green that stops well short of mid-thigh. It looks textured, like velvet. The hem is lifted from her legs by a white petticoat, exaggerating the flare of her hips and shape of her legs. It’s open at the top, leaving her shoulders bare above sleeves that circle her upper arms. The front dips low in the center and runs down a laced bodice, revealing white fabric underneath, all the way to a brown belt cinched at her waist. Brown boots come over her knees and a triangle shaped green hat with a red feather sits perfectly askew atop a pile of long dark curls, punctuated by two small red cat-like ears sticking up from the top of her head. She has a quiver over one shoulder and a small bow and arrow over the other. Her eyes are lined darkly, making them flash, and her lips are juicy, glossy red. It had to be her.
“James.”
I snap my eyes up from where I’m drinking in the sight of her like a man dying of thirst. Dani smiles suggestively, teasing. She is good like that: letting us off the hook.
“You lost the shootout,” she says, putting it together. “I get it now.”
And since I have ogled her, I just close my eyes and let Dani do the same. I am sandwiched into an XL female costume that fits around me but not down me. The dress is two shades of pink - a hot pink bodice with gold lacing that is supposed to have puffy shoulders but they’re stretched to the limit over mine. We had to slit the underarms just so I could get it on. The front is tight across my chest, laced to the waist, and the pink skirt hangs to around mid-calf. The coup-de-grace is a pair of pink Converse high-tops Cookie special ordered online for overnight shipping. Oh, and the long blond wig that extends in a braid down past my ass.
Then she reaches up over her head. My eyes are distracted by the lift of her chest, pushing up beneath the low curve of her costume top. Creamy skin and low lightning and...
Dani touches a hand to one of the ears she wears, rubbing it between two fingers.
“Walt Disney is rolling over in his grave.”
____
Ridiculous.
I feel like a waitress at Hooters as I walk through the club, especially next to Lisa. I am examined, judged and dismissed a hundred times before I even get the VIP area. What a way to start the night. Lisa, on the other hand, has someone try to lasso her and at least two guys following with extra drinks in hand. She has that effect on people - and so does her infinitesimal French maid costume. It is little more than an apron and a feather duster and she looks like Playmate of the Year. If I looked like that... no.
At least I’ll know people. Lisa will make all the friends in the world, pick one and probably disappear behind a couch somewhere to learn about stick-handling. I am not allowed to do that. But I am allowed to look.
Of course the first person I see is James. Poor, god-damned gorgeous James Neal, sex on skates and somehow still wholesome, still paying the “new guy” price for everything. He’s uncomfortable being the focus so this is how they torture him. He is too nice and more than once I’ve wanted to punch someone for chirping him in the locker room or to the press. When seasons get long, players get snippy. Like brothers. If this place is a family, I am the visiting foreign exchange student. I’m around all the time but don’t speak the language, have different rules.
And the number one rule is pretending I don’t see when guys look at me the way James looks at me. Even if I want to. Those big, sad eyes and that quick, easy smile...
God I want to.
“James.” I tap my booted foot because it’s at the bottom of him looking down my dress.
Those big hazel eyes immediately reroute to mine, full of apology and embarrassment. A grown man dressed as a Disney princess and I make him nervous? He makes me nervous every day. I get a little fluttery and stupid around him - some sports reporter I am. I’m probably the reason he never takes his shirt off with press in the room: I’d either pass out or go all Twilight and bite him. Now, even in drag, he still has that perfect, delicate face.
“Walt Disney is rolling over in his grave,” I say to break the tension.
Jordan chooses that moment to pop up behind James and whinny at the top of his lungs. I nearly choke on my tongue. He’s huge and so... horsey.
“My lady,” he says, turning to the side to show off his saddle and bowing so his mane hangs into his face. “Care for a wild ride on the stallion?”
I roll my eyes. There is only one way to play the game around here: give as good as you get. Even if the rules say you can’t do anything about it.
“Hmmm,” I scoff. “I prefer to ride bareback.”
Jordan bursts out laughing, grabs my arm and hauls me toward the bar. I look over my shoulder but James is just shaking his head.
We join some of the players and their wives and girlfriends at the bar. I am wearing twice as much dress as any other woman in the place. There is a slutty lion, a slutty race car driver, a slutty Batgirl and a Wonder Woman, and a quintet of perfect-looking Spice Girls. Of course they all look amazing - they can afford to. I escape Jordan with just a shot of vodka and make the rounds. Lisa is God knows where already, but I see Tyler Kennedy as Captain America, looking better than ever for the spandex suit. Cookie stuffed into a sailor suit, complete with a tattoo of Olive Oyl on one bicep. Geno as a Reno 911 cop and Matt Niskanen as a very convincing Doctor Spock. The lap brings me back where I started, but James is no longer manning the top step. I’m about the turn for the bar when a huge cheer goes up from the crowd.
“Ho-leeeeeeee shit!” Engo runs past me in a kilt and sporran, nothing else. Good thing I didn’t see him coming.
The crowd parts biblically to reveal a very serious looking Crosby hulking out of a black bustier and tiny boy shorts complete with fishnets and curly black wig. He is wearing as much makeup as any woman in the place - only it’s the white face, black eyes and bright red lipstick of Dr. Frank N. Further from Rocky Horror.
Holy shit, I have to agree. He stops, glaring around like he dares anyone to laugh. This is not normal Sid behavior.
“Nope, not doing this!” He turns to leave. Fleury and Vero materialize behind him - perfectly Riff Raff and Magenta - and push him back into the room. In the silence, I feel rather than hear someone come up behind me. Someone big.
“Thank God,” a quiet voice says near my ear. It’s James, the relief obvious in his tone. He could no more be the center of attention now if he were Scarlett Johansson in a bikini. We both watch as Ginger Spice - who could only be Max’s ex-girlfriend, the one he left behind - strides right up to Crosby and breaks the silence with a big hug. The whole place relaxes. I love her for that. James is close and he’s still taller than me even in these boots. I feel him move his left side.
“What’s with the ears?” he asks. His fingers tug gently at my headband. If I leaned back, he would hold me up with that broad chest.
“You’ll never get hired at Disney World, James.” I turn and realize he’s nearer than I thought, barely inches away. And me with my boobs all pushed up and out. This time he doesn’t drop his eyes, though the corner of his mouth curls into a smile that say he knows it.
I could get in trouble for standing like this. For the first time I wonder if I care.
“Who am I?”
“Uh, Robin Hood?”
“And the Disney Robin Hood was...?”
He makes a face like he has no idea. I could stare into his eyes all night, but instead I drop my head to one side. “He was a fox.”
“Oh yeah. So you’re a Disney prince?”
“Kinda.”
He arches an eyebrow and looks right down my dress again. “In that outfit?”
I pout slightly, drop my eyes and run my tongue softly over my bottom lip. His shoulders round a fraction, an inch closer. Why am I doing this?!
“You don’t like it?” I feign.
“Well if you’re a prince and I...,” he waves a hand down his side like it’s a swimsuit competition,” am a Disney princess...,”
James looks at me for a long moment, as if weighing the consequences of what he wants to do. Then he slides one arm around my waist. It’s heavy and strong; he’s not bulky but it feels like he could lift me clean off the ground without trying.
“Guess that means you’re my date,” he says.
____
I wait for a fresh beer, leaning against the bar listening to Geno recite lines from police movies to two girls in their underwear. Letang wriggles himself in next to me and signals for a drink.
“Girl from Root Sports looks hot,” he says. Kris got the lucky end of our costume trio - he’s Flynn Rider, the real Disney Prince. And he looks like a fucking theme park actor, you could pay him to play this character in real life. He’s the only guy in the place who’d draw eyes away from Crosby’s ass in those hot pants.
“Danielle. Yeah, she does.”
He flicks the hair from his face. “You gonna go for it?”
“No!” I say too loudly, standing up straight.
“You always watch her,” he says matter-of-factly.
“She’s press, she can’t. I mean, she wouldn’t anyway but with her job she can’t....”
Of course the bartender brings his drink first. Fucking Disney Prince. Kris rolls his massive shoulders back, flexing his pecs and making every woman in the place ovulate. Then he shrugs at me with that elfin face, like he’s all innocent.
“Who has to know?” he shrugs, counting the guys who are admiring Dani before adding himself to the list. His eyes rest on the handspan of creamy thigh between the top of her boots and the edge of her skirt. He’s probably purring inside.
That’s it.
Of course I watch her - just like now. I’m not going to do anything Kris is thinking, of course, but I will go back over to stand near her and pretend that if she got a new job or won the lottery or ever decided to break this rule, she might do it with me. Just pretend. At least I can keep everyone else away from her.
Then Crosby walks in, wearing less clothing than half the women in the place. And I am off the hook.
“Thank God.” I don’t mean for Dani to hear it, but I don’t mean to be so close to her either; practically pressed against her back as we watch Sidney struggle with his grand entrance. The ruffled hem of her petticoat touches my leg. Her curls twist together, I want to throw that hat off and run my hands through them.
“What’s with the ears?” I rub one bristled little triangle between my fingertips. My forearm brushes against her. Dani turns rather abruptly and I lock my eyes on her face like a tractor beam - I’m not going to look down her dress again. But I’m not going to pretend I don’t know she’s threatening to spill out against my chest.
She explains to me that Robin Hood is a cartoon fox. It’s clever, really, but I’m lost at the part about the fox and the way she pretends to pout when I don’t recognize the joke. The tip of her soft pink tongue slowly drags along her mouth, wetting the berry-stained curve. I bite my own lip to keep from finishing the job for her. But I can’t stop my body moving closer, looping an arm around her tiny middle and setting my big hand right where her skirt starts to flare. If she wants to be a Disney prince then it’s a good thing I lost that shootout.
“Guess that means you’re my date,” I say.
To my surprise, Dani laughs and leans into my chest. Not just my side, arm-in-arm, but she steps right into a full contact hug. I feel the suede of her boot against the bare skin of my calf, the firm round of her hip fitting into my lap, all the way up to where her forehead touches the side of my neck. The giggles shake her body, gently bouncing all her good parts against mine.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath because there’s no way in hell I’m letting go.
“That’s just fucking weird,” Engelland announces in a nearly unrecognizable Scottish accent. It will get better as he drinks more. He’s so impressive in his skirt and socks and that I want to keep Dani’s face turn away from the sight of him. But she just grins.
“What? Not the kind of girl-on-girl action you were hoping for?”
Crosby finally makes it to the roped-off area, along with Flower, Vero and couple of the Spice Girls. I notice that Ginger Spice, the artist formerly known as Max’s girl, is talking very closely with Kris in hushed voices. His eyes are soft and she’s looking down nervously. That’s a tough situation for sure, but good for me. Like removing the top predator from the food chain.
“You’re not gonna write about this, are you?” Sid asks Dani, blushing.
“No one would believe me.” And she’s right.
My hand is on the small of her back. I mean it to be protective and friendly but my finger traces a short length of the zipper that holds her costume together, like I’m practicing taking it off. If I’d bother to take it off. I could just push that skirt up over her hips and...
Stop stop stop.
If anything, Dani’s the one not stopping. She’s is firmly against my side, talking to Sidney as if she didn’t have one hand at the back of my neck, fingers tracing just beneath this stupid wig. Her touch gives me goosebumps and every hair on my body stands up. With a tiny squeeze, she begins to gently massage the sensitive spot at the top of my spine.
“I’m sure there will be pictures,” Sid grimaces, looking back as if expecting paparazzi.
Dani puts her hand up like she’s swearing in. “Your secret is safe with me.”
____
“Shots,” I tell the bartender.
Not that I need another - it’s our third or fourth round. James makes an ‘okay whatever you say’ face, but he’s the reason I’m ordering. That tall, lanky frame is leaning on me a lot more than it needs to be and I keep leaning right back. He’s against my side, breath tickling across the bare skin of my shoulder. We’ve posted up by the bar and people keep coming to us, so we’ve talked to everyone in the party. To my right, Crosby fidgets in his corset while talking about some movie he saw....
“Dani!”
I shake myself back to focus; he’s giving me a narrow look. James is laughing. I may have been staring at Sid’ chest and shoulders. And arms. While feeling James big, sturdy body threatens to flatten me against the bar.
“I’m up here,” he says.
“For fuck’s sake, Sid. Now you know how girls feel when you stare at their boobs!” I give myself a facepalm.
“I finished staring at your boobs, Dani,” he says primly, pursing his lips. Without taking his eyes from mine, he adds, “But James is looking right down your dress.”
“Again?!” James and I both say in perfect unison.
As we’re laughing, his hand comes to rest around my side. Long fingers reach well onto my stomach. His hand is so big and warm, if he’d just slide it down and under my...
STOP.
I am flirting shamelessly with him. The first time I brushed his skin was accidental, now I cannot stop. It’s a flagrant foul. And it’s only making things worse - my hormones are sloshing around like a frozen margarita. For his part, James is getting pretty hands-y. And the looking down my dress business continues.
I tell myself it’s not a big deal. We’re all tipsy, it’s Halloween, we’re just kidding. We’re all a little naked too, except for James, and even Crosby is making comments that would toast his normally white bread. Our shots arrive - we tap them once together, once on the bar and throw them back. Ice cold vodka drains right through me and I hiss as it spreads into my veins. James gently squeezes my hip in time with the sensation.
“Okay,” Crosby announces with a thunk of his shot glass on the bar. “I am going to find someplace where I’m the best-looking guy in drag.”
We both watch him leave - I don’t even think it’s weird that James checks out Sid’s magnificent ass. It’s not till he’s swallowed up by the crowd that I realize James and I are alone at the bar, his hand is still on me. It’s warm through my dress.
“Hey,” he says softly, now that it’s just the two of us. We’ve been standing close a long time. The urge to lean into him, curl up and fall asleep has been kept at bay by the company of others. A slight push at my waist and he’s turning me around.
I tilt my face up to his. Those doe eyes and soft-looking lips... I’m feeling a little unsteady even as his hand drops from the point of my hip. It’s instantly disappointing - he’s going to pull away just when I want to pull him in. I need to do something and quickly. But just as I start to think, I feel his hand come back - now light fingertips dragging slowly up the bare stretch of my thigh. My eyes go wide but he doesn’t flinch. James just grazes over my skin till he’s touching the back of my leg below the hem of my skirt.
____
I should not have had the last two shots. Maybe three. I’ve been touching her all night - her waist, her back, her bare shoulder. Even as we stood talking to every guy on the team, I’ve barely taken my hands off her. Dani has been giving it right back: fitting the curve of her body against my side, keeping her voice down so I have to stay close to hear. And she’s been touching the back of my neck since she told Crosby tonight was for secrets.
Sidney leaves and it’s the first opening I’ve had in hours. I might not get another. My hand drops from her plush skirt and comes back up her leg, skimming from the top of her boot until it’s just below the curve of her ass. I feel warm, a little dizzy and a handful of Dani’s thigh isn’t helping. Another two inches and I’d be underneath her skirt. Not that it’s hiding much - I can feel the edge of her little boy shorts just beyond my fingertips.
But she doesn’t back away; instead Dani turns her face up toward mine. The light catches a shimmer of gloss on those ripe lips. My other hand moves itself until it’s at her neck, lifting the dark curls from her pale skin, thumb brushing her jaw.
I can’t do this.
Not like this. Not in this stupid costume, like it’s some kind of joke. There’s nothing funny about the smooth skin of her leg. There’s nothing frivolous in the tiny pulse at her throat that beats against my palm. If I’m going to kiss her - and I am going to kiss her - I will mean it and she will not mistake me.
Suddenly I have to get away from there, just so I can come back.
“Don’t move,” I whisper, close enough to put my lips right on hers.
I shoot into the crowd and burrow through the dance floor. Every inch of space in this club is packed. Somewhere in the crush I pull the blond wig from my head, but I can’t move very quickly in this pink dress. Pulling it up around my knees helps as I sidestep people grinding away to the song blasting and think that could be me.
There’s a line at the bathroom, so I go the other way down a hall, step right through the kitchen entrance and out into the alley behind the bar. It’s not cold yet though it’s nearly November. I toss the wig into the dumpster and contort myself into a human pretzel to reach the zipper at the back of the dress.
How do girls do this?!
The tiny metal tab slips from my giant fingers every time. I try pulling the dress off over my head, but it gets rolled and balled around my chest. Dani must be wondering where the hell I went. What if her common sense kicks in? What if she changes her mind? I meant to come right back, like a superhero phone booth costume change, and give the regular me a chance to kiss her for the first time. Also I doubted I could carry her out of there with my shoulders so encased. Now I’m tangled in the pink nightmare, flopping around in an alley.
Ha ha, Tangled. Fuck this.
I unstuff the dress down to my rear end and walk around the the front of the building. People are smoking and hanging out - luckily there’s a guy in a Pens hat sending a text message.
“Buddy, can you help me out?”
He looks at me like I’m nuts, until he recognizes my face. Then he can’t unzip my dress fast enough.
“Thanks, man.” I furl the dress and shove it in a trash can, then hurry back toward the front door. The bouncer takes one look at my shorts, t-shirt, pink Chucks and shakes his head. If only he knew my hair always looks like this.
“I was just inside!”
“It’s Halloween, not a beach party.” And he turns his back.
I whip out my wallet to show him my license, hoping he might recognize me too. Because I hate the “I’m with the band” shit that hockey players sometimes pull but I’m about to do anything to get me back inside to Dani.
“I play for the Penguins.”
He rolls his eyes. “You and everyone else who didn’t get in here tonight.”
Fuck! So I do the only thing I can think of. I stand right there in his way and mass text every player I know to be inside the club. Lucky might give me sixty seconds before this bouncer has me tossed into the street.
Stuck outside, come and get me!
God, no wonder my teammates think I’m a loser.
The bouncer stares at me and I stare at the door, hoping for someone to barrel through. Dani is in there, hopefully still standing in the exact same position so I can get back to those handfuls of thigh and hair and finally do the thing I’ve wanted to do for so long.
Fucking hurry up!
I consider going back around to the alley, waiting for someone to come out the way I did. That’s a last resort. I don’t have Dani’s number. I don’t have any cash to bribe this guy with and my credit card is behind the bar inside. I need to get back in there, now.
The door opens and I laugh, sharply and loud. Sidney Crosby in cult-movie drag is standing on the step like a cowboy making his entrance into the OK Corral. The light behind him, the music spilling out - it’s a moment Tim Curry would be proud of. The bouncer’s mouth actually drops open.
“He’s with us,” Sid simply says. I resist the urge to stick out my tongue at the guy as I jump past him and back into the club.
“Thanks.”
He smiles, all that makeup looks frightful. “Hurry up, dude or you will never get laid!”
____
“Don’t move,” James whispers.
He was about to kiss me. I’m sure of it. Probably he was about to lift me by the ass, wrap my legs around his waist and have his way with me against the bar.
Or would that have been my way?
Then he dive-bombs into the seething mass of people. My brain says I can’t do this, it’s too dangerous, the game is out of control. The area between my hips says otherwise. They battle as I stand trembling for the first two minutes, breathing short gulps of air. Then another eight minutes pass, alone at the bar.
What the hell?
Every second is just another chance to talk myself out of this.
Come on, James!
I give up and search for Lisa - she’ll tell me to drag James to the nearest closet - only to find her rounding second base with a fireman. He probably told her he plays for the Penguins - lots of guys in here using that line tonight. Luckily Engelland, Orpik and Dustin Jeffrey are standing nearby, and discussing the most popular women’s Halloween costumes this year.
“She’s a waitress,” Brooks says.
“No man, she’s a robot maid,” Deryk insists.
“What kind of costume is robot maid?” Dustin asks.
“Like on the Jetsons?” They both stare at Jeffrey, who just shrugs.
“Dude, we are so old,” Brooks pushes Dustin away and turns his back. I’m about to offer my opinion that the girl in question is actually slutty Alice in Wonderland when a huge hand claps onto my shoulder and twirls me around.
“Lose your boyfriend?”
Crosby is smiling but I jump backward - the makeup is too much. Everything about him is already exaggerated, from the full lips and big eyes down to thighs the size of my waist. The effect is jarring.
“What?”
“James texted, he got stuck outside.”
“Well that explai... wait, where in that costume are you keeping a phone?” I look him up and down - there’s not a centimeter of space between leather, spandex and his hulking body. Even the stretchy fabric shines with exertion as it strains to keep Sidney’s body under wraps.
He gives me his best try at a sexy stare. “If you weren’t going home with Nealer, I might just show you.”
“No! Nothing is happening. Sid, I can’t... it can’t.” I drop my voice to a whisper, “My job!” I am officially the worst liar who ever lived. My reflex is to keep stammering excuses so I bite my lip to shut the hell up. Luckily, there’s a sympathetic smirk on Crosby’s face.
“You’re keeping my secret, I’ll keep yours.”
My heart about stops. It would be a secret, of course, and I knew that before. But only if it happens. And it could actually happen.
“Your costume is not a secret!” I hiss.
“Neither were you two groping each other at the bar,” he points out.
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck. Of course we weren’t. God damn drinking and big hands and long eyelashes and... fuck.
“Dani, don’t worry about it!” Sid laughs. “You think one of the guys is going to tell your boss? They’ll just try a lot harder to get you in bed now that they know it actually works.”
I smack him hard on the arm; I bet he doesn’t even feel it. He keeps smiling.
“Neal will probably play even better once he gets some. No sex on game days though. And no getting all turned on when he’s sweaty in the locker room during post-game, or phone sex on the road because Nisky has to sleep in there....”
He feels my punch this time.
“Jeez Dani, don’t hurt him!” Sidney shakes his arm out. “One Disney Princess, coming up!”
I watch him plow through the crowd. People back up and gape and whip out camera phones - it would be funny if I could stand still. I’m shifting my weight, nervous and scattered, knowing I’m about to take a huge risk and feeling the rush of giving in. If James would just get here already we could skip the nauseating, career-jeopardizing, monkey with the cymbals in my stomach part and get to the good stuff.
____
There’s no way through the crowd on my own. I’d have to climb over people, under them and weave slowly as a spider. But not if Sid leads the way. A few cameras flash as we pass - we’ll be seeing this costume for a long time. He charges right for the VIP area then lets me pass.
Why are all these guys so tall?
I can see over almost everyone but Dani’s lost among Tanger and Duper and WAGs and whoever else the rest of these people are. A doctor, a taco, Spiderman... no Robin Hood. I pivot around Jordan, who gives me a shove for ditching my costume early. Letang’s hair flip catches my eye so I turn, and crash right into her.
She squeaks and stumbles on her heels - I was moving pretty good when I bumped her. I grab her by the waist, the curve of her body is perfect in my hands. The moment she’s steady, I scoop her cheek into my hand just as she starts to look up. Before she even gets there, my mouth is on hers.
It cracks like lightning, right through me, rooting me to the ground. She gasps against my lips, surprised by my boldness, but it passes in an instant. Dani wraps her arms around my waist and parts her lips, giving me to soft taste of cold cranberry on her tongue.
“Giddy up!” Jordan shouts. People smack me on the back but I don’t stop kissing Dani until I feel her trying to wiggle free. Even then I don’t take my hands from her face.
“James!”
“Didn’t want to do that in a dress,” I wince. My fingers knit behind her neck, Dani runs her fingers through my hair.
“You’re better as a brunette,” she says.
“Hey, I thought the press were off limits!” TK hollers. I look over my shoulder to see at least ten of my teammates watching us.
“I don’t see any press,” Crosby chimes in. “Just Robin Hood.”
Jordan has moved around behind Dani and picks her up from behind, tilts her down and pretends to try to kiss her. She bats at him with a shout.
“Come on, aren’t you all for one, one for all?” he whines.
Dani climbs out of his grasp. “That’s the Three Musketeers, dumbass.”
“Oh.” He shrugs like he couldn’t care less. “What does Robin Hood do?”
“Steal from the rich to give to the poor,” she informs him, moving in next to me. Jordan watches as I lock my arm around her waist, then gives us a zillion watt smile.
“I’ll consider it an act of charity to get this guy laid,” Staal laughs, cuffing me on the shoulder.
____
James nearly knocks me off my feet twice. The first time when he wheels around from behind the only guy who can hide him - Jordan - and bowls into me at speed. Those big, strong hands are at my hips in a second, but I barely recognize the grasp before they’re moving. One turns my face up and James’ mouth comes crashing down on mine.
It happens so quickly I squeak in surprise, even as I’m pulling in tight to his chest, his hips, his thighs. The urgency and force are so sexy that my knees wobble. James greedily slides his tongue over mine and my entire body revs into the red.
“Giddy up!” someone yells. I am snapped back to reality with a jolt.
“James!” It’s all I can say. His face is close, his eyes hold no apology. His hands don’t leave me, rather they slide to my neck and twist together against bare skin. I realize now he’s in shorts and a t-shirt, his hair sticking up like always. My favorite version of James.
“You’re better as a brunette,” I tell him, because ‘oh my God take me right here’ sounds slutty. But I bet he’d do it.
“I’ll consider it an act of charity to get this guy laid,” Jordan announces.
But I can’t let him get the last word. So I slide in close to James and say loudly, “I plan on doing lot of good deeds tonight.”
Staal swats my butt because I’ve just opened season on mild sexual harassment. Or maybe Crosby did when he walked in wearing those poor, defenseless hot shorts. Either way, this place is going to be a lot different come Monday morning.
Then James rubs his palm across the top of my back. It sends a shiver down my spine and I think I might not make it till Monday. When he’s facing me again, that other hand fuses back into place on my thigh. We were standing just like this half an hour ago, waiting.
No waiting now.
“Can we please go before I get fired?” I whisper.
He smiles. “I was thinking about getting arrested.”
____
Two minutes later, I beat Dani to the taxi door. Not very chivalrous, but I pull her right down into my lap, petticoat flashing that jackass bouncer, and slam the door. She’s giggling so hard I have to give the driver my address twice. It’s easy to hold her but not easy to keep from kissing her. So I set her facing straight ahead - we’re twisted together in a single space - and pull her hair to one side. Then I settle for nuzzling her neck the whole way home.
“Uh, can you go faster please?” she asks the drive sweetly, grinding her hips into my lap. I bite down on her shoulder, she wriggles harder.
“Stop,” I whisper, punctuating it with my lips to the delicate curve of her ear.
She turns into the kiss. “I haven’t even started.”
The vibration from her throaty laugh is nearly as bad as her bouncing against me. I press one of my hands up each of her thighs - high enough that she shifts in approval - then hold her down hard. The fit of her body against mine is too perfect for so much pressure, though we’re both dressed-ish. Dani lays her head back.
“Is this really better?” she purrs, swiveling just to prove I’m not as strong as I think. Her hand slides over mine, following my fingers right down between her legs, so it seems like I’m making her grind against my already obvious desire. We need to get out of this taxi right now.
When we do stop in front of my house, I practically throw Dani out the window without opening the door. She starts toward the door, but I have to call her back.
“Shit. Do you have any cash?”
She teeters back on those high heels, right up to me where I’m standing on the sidewalk.
“You can get it.”
“Huh?”
Dani looks down her cleavage, hands behind her back.
“Ohmygod,” I groan. I’m going to come before we even pay the cabbie. She just smirks as I slide my fingers between her breasts, holding my breath. I brush a nipple - already stiff, hopefully aching - and find a thin fold of paper. The driver gets both twenties as fast as I can toss them onto the seat.
“Inside. Now.” I say. She’s already halfway there.
____
James takes the five stairs to his front door in two strides of his long, powerful legs. He moves with a purpose - I guess now he has one - and practically rips the storm door off it’s hinges. The way his forearm flexes gives me the wobblies. He tosses open the door and throws me inside.
My feet never touch the floor. He holds me against the wall, his hips angled up under my ass so I wrap my legs around his waist. The only thing I’m wearing down there is underwear, and the thick, hard length of his erection snakes along the notch in my body. I grab two handfuls of his messy hair and moan against his tongue.
“James, I....”
“Dani,” he’s gasping. “I hope you don’t mind if I....”
His hand moves between us, practically fingering me as he gets the button on his shorts open. The fly goes down like an engine starting. Then he brushes the back of his fingers against my soaked panties and pulls them aside.
“Please,” I hear myself whisper.
James holds everything, including me, perfectly still for a moment and just looks into my eyes, then puts his lips to mine. I can’t even blink. Then he rolls his hips and tips my slick entrance right down onto the head of his cock.
“Oh God.” It comes out like a curse.
“Fuckyou’resotight,” he gasps, face pressed into my neck.
The feel of him and the spreading of me and the complete insanity of this whole thing... it’s a long, slow, delirious way down to his thighs and when he finally takes all of me I’m panting like a dog in heat. He waits til my body has made enough room to take all of him, then he kisses me again. And strokes once.
“Oh yes,” I moan like a porn star. My hands scrabble against the wall, looking for something to hold on to, some was to leverage myself against him. There’s nothing. So I arch my back, pressing my shoulders to the wall, and force myself hard into his lap.
He grunts and compensates by pushing against me. Only he’s much, much stronger and my back slams flat - he nearly puts me through the wall. A short, sharp scream rips from my throat as the force of it drives James’ cock past anywhere anyone’s ever been.
“Dani,” he whispers before kissing me roughly. Then one big paw grabs my ankle and begins lowering me to the floor. As the ball of my foot brushes the hardwood James slides his dick free. I whimper. He looks down at me.
“Is this the only Halloween you’re going to?”
“Uh, dunno Why?”
He spins me around and shoves my chest to the wall. Midway down my back, where the costume comes to a v-shape, he grabs two handfuls of fabric and pulls hard. The flimsy material tears right down the seam.
“You’re going to need a new costume,” he growls into my ear. His hands are already digging into the twin halves of my ass. James drops to his knees, pulling my panties off on the way and sinks his teeth into the soft rises. I claw so hard at the paint it’ll probably say FUCK ME by the time he’s done.
A second later he pulls me down, into his lap and flips me onto the floor. His feet touch the inside of the front door as he stretches out the full length of his body over mine. I paw at his t-shirt and throw it as far away as possible. No more clothes, ever. He slips down, kissing over my nipple, the curve of my stomach. Strong hands force my thighs wide open and his tongue moves strongly, hungrily up the soaking wet door to the vault.
“OhhhhhhhhhhhhhJames,” I groan. His hair is soft between my fingers. He laps at me, then slowly drags the textured surface up each side of my folds. My eyes roll back into my head. His fingers slip down, grazing the delicate skin around my back door. Just as I flinch he flicks his tongue against my clit.
“God, baby, please, fuck....” But he doesn’t hear me begging, he’s too busy sucking my clit between his teeth and teasing it with his soft tongue. Two of his long fingers dip into my honey pot.
“James, I want you.” I’m ready to cry, pulling his hair. Another minute of his oral attention and there’s nothing but a puddle of Dani from my hips down. He finally relents, freeing his fingers last.
As he rises against me I see his perfect, thick cock straight out and throbbing, like it wants to fuck me as badly as I want it to. James pushes the head into position, then slowly and deliberately screws into me as deep as he can go. His huge hands lift my ass off the floor, pulling me past the known world until my breathing is shallow and raspy.
“Jesus Christ,” I rasp.
“Shhhh,” he whispers. “I’m trying not to come.”
I laugh out loud, then he joins me. I know he’s being honest. James unfurls his back, which was hunched up to drive into me, and kisses my lips. We’re naked in the entryway of his house, under the only light on in the whole place. If he has an alarm system, the police have definitely been called. By the time they get here, I might be dead enough to give them something to investigate.
“More,” I smile wickedly.
Probably a bad idea. All two-hundred-plus pounds of James proceeds to thrust, again and again, each time stronger than the last. His long, smooth shaft is rock hard, driving me down and away with every swing of his hips. I clutch at him as he smears me across the floor like he’s waxing the hardwood. I’ll be so bruised I could pass for a hockey player.
We find a wall somewhere and James lifts me into his lap and twists us against it so I’m sitting on top of him with my back to the wall. He puts his hands to the floor and drives up with his arms and legs. I’m nearly tossed into the air and land like a ton of bricks, speared on his cock.
I make an incoherent noise, half-scream and half-yelp. It encourages him. He tosses me in his lap like a rag doll, my ass slapping against his rock-hard thighs on every bounce. James closes his eyes and bites his luscious lower lip between his teeth. I use a thumb to drag it free then catch it between my own teeth. He grunts with each powerful thrust, running the head of his dick into the deepest part of me.
I’m losing control of everything. It’s all I can do to hold onto him - I can’t think or breathe. I ca see though, I can see his face as he fights to hold onto his own release until he finds mine. So I stop trying and just let go, let him overwhelm me and my body and push me right to the edge.
“James, James,” I am panting shamelessly, so close to the brink and he knows it. Effort strains his perfect features but he’d wait all night if that’s what it took. Because James Neal might take you home and throw you against the wall, rip off your clothes and have his way with you, but he’d damn sure going to make sure you like it.
“Baby,” he says.
It’s the last inch of ground beneath my feet and when it disappears, I drop like a rock off a cliff. I come, loudly, twisting and grinding into it, into him, riding every ounce of the pleasure he’s given me. James holds me close and keeps pumping, his forehead to my neck, his sweaty hair sticking to my skin.
“Now,” I tell him when I’m past the point of no return. He doesn’t need to be asked twice. James pushes up from the floor, lifting himself and me in his lap. Twice, three times - his shoulders are rock hard beneath my sagging arms. When he comes, it’s with a roar and a final push so deep he could tear me in half.
“Dani,” he says as the rush passes. He jerks, pumping himself dry, leaving not so much as a drop of desire unspent.
____
I’ve never laid on the floor in my entryway. Or anywhere in this house, now that I think of it. Certainly not with a warm, ripe woman sprawled sweatily across my chest, her heart pounding vibration through my body. Dani’s breathing is ragged - it’s the sexiest sound.
I twist a strand of her dark hair around my finger, tracing it’s natural curl. Every part of her is perfect: I know that for a fact know that I’ve seen and felt her last few inches.
The rush has passed, though every nerve in my body tingles with the ghost of pleasure. Now as I hold her naked body, I realize the hardwood beneath us is cold and not at all comfortable. I didn’t mind at all while my attentions were elsewhere. I hope I haven’t hurt her or insulted her by being so aggressive, suggesting I wouldn’t take her to my bed by instead fucking her on the doorstep. I hope she’s not quiet because she’s deciding how to get the hell out of here discreetly.
“Dani,” I say quietly. She might be sleeping.
“James.”
“If I let you up, are you going to try to leave?”
She’s silent for a moment, I hope she’s not busted by my mind-reading.
“Are you saying,” she lifts her head to look down at me. Her eye makeup is smeared in the sexiest way. It looks like some lucky guy just rode her to a win in the Kentucky Derby. “... that once is all you’ve got in you?”
Her fingernails drum on my bare chest, one at a time in rapid succession. Which is how I’d like to take her - repeatedly, endlessly, with no time in between.
“You forget, honey, I literally ripped off your clothes. And I spent the last of your cash. So unless you’re going to pay for a cab by riding naked, you can’t leave. You can’t even get dressed.” I roll onto my side, bringing our faces close together. “You can’t leave. Ever. Until I let you.”
She arches one dark eyebrow like she’s impressed. Her nails drag OVER my chest, flicking back and forth across my nipple. Soft lips part slightly, darkened and swollen from so much kissing.
Kissing me.
I slip a hand behind her ear and pull her in to a kiss. I crush my mouth to hers, can’t even breathe, just push my tongue into her mouth and tell her the old-fashioned way that if I have my way she’ll never leave.
“What happens tomorrow?” I ask, unable to stop picking the open wound.
“If I find some clothes? Same as always, I guess. I get hot and bothered watching you practice.” She stares right into my eyes while her fingertip traces the curve of my bicep. “I pretend not to stare at your tight, sweaty Under Armor.”
I gulp. My Adam’s Apple bobs embarrassingly. Could she really have been watching me while I was watching her?
“I think about how you look in the shower, wonder if you’ll shave. Then you leave and I write my story: James Neal. Number 18. NHL leading goal scorer,” she stops to giggle. “There are a lot of statistics I could add to that list now.”
My hand moves down her side, fitting into the curve of her waist. The shape is small in my hand, easily manipulated. I continue to the small of her back where holding her feels possessive.
“Then you come back here. Bring another costume."
Dani smiles like the idea had already crossed her mind. I untangle myself, get to my feet and reach down for her.
"But first, I’ll show you how I look in the shower.”
_
Too Much of Something is bad enough,
But something's coming over me to make me wonder,
Too Much of nothing is just as tough,
I need to know the way to feel to keep me satisfied.
- Spice Girls
“Oh shit,” Jordan laughs grimly, eyes fixed somewhere behind me. “Sorry Nealer.”
He walks away, tugging the reins on his costume free from my hand. Dressed in all white, with a long blond horse’s mane wig and a saddle around his middle, he actually kind of looks like Maximus, the horse from Tangled.
I steel myself. Walking into the team Halloween party in drag is one thing but this is entirely different. We are in a club, everyone dressed to the nines in the smallest, funniest Halloween costumes they could find. Not me. I lost the October shootout at practice a few days before. Normally we wait till the first of the month, but November is Movember and the normal title of “Moustache Boy” will be lost amid all the guys growing their own. So Dupuis and Cooke devised a particularly hellish punishment for the last two guys to get stopped by Fleury. Jordan finally scored. I didn’t.
Now I’ve been in the place twenty minutes and I swear they are all still laughing.
Be cool, I remind myself. Fitting in is more important than looking good right now. My October has been great and things in Pittsburgh are finally coming together for me. If I can make this funny, instead of being the butt of the joke, I might just be in. There’s only really one thing that could derail me tonight, and I have a feeling she’s walking up behind me.
Oh shit.
She’s almost at the steps that separate the VIP lounge from the rest of the patrons. With a quick shuffle on very high heels, she rushes right up until her chest is nearly touching mine, until she’s close enough to kiss.
“OhmyGodwhodidthistoyou?”
Her mouth is open slightly in surprise, her eyes wide. And I just stare back.
Stop it stop it stop it, I tell myself. But my heart is racing.
Danielle wears a figure hugging dress in dark green that stops well short of mid-thigh. It looks textured, like velvet. The hem is lifted from her legs by a white petticoat, exaggerating the flare of her hips and shape of her legs. It’s open at the top, leaving her shoulders bare above sleeves that circle her upper arms. The front dips low in the center and runs down a laced bodice, revealing white fabric underneath, all the way to a brown belt cinched at her waist. Brown boots come over her knees and a triangle shaped green hat with a red feather sits perfectly askew atop a pile of long dark curls, punctuated by two small red cat-like ears sticking up from the top of her head. She has a quiver over one shoulder and a small bow and arrow over the other. Her eyes are lined darkly, making them flash, and her lips are juicy, glossy red. It had to be her.
“James.”
I snap my eyes up from where I’m drinking in the sight of her like a man dying of thirst. Dani smiles suggestively, teasing. She is good like that: letting us off the hook.
“You lost the shootout,” she says, putting it together. “I get it now.”
And since I have ogled her, I just close my eyes and let Dani do the same. I am sandwiched into an XL female costume that fits around me but not down me. The dress is two shades of pink - a hot pink bodice with gold lacing that is supposed to have puffy shoulders but they’re stretched to the limit over mine. We had to slit the underarms just so I could get it on. The front is tight across my chest, laced to the waist, and the pink skirt hangs to around mid-calf. The coup-de-grace is a pair of pink Converse high-tops Cookie special ordered online for overnight shipping. Oh, and the long blond wig that extends in a braid down past my ass.
Then she reaches up over her head. My eyes are distracted by the lift of her chest, pushing up beneath the low curve of her costume top. Creamy skin and low lightning and...
Dani touches a hand to one of the ears she wears, rubbing it between two fingers.
“Walt Disney is rolling over in his grave.”
____
Ridiculous.
I feel like a waitress at Hooters as I walk through the club, especially next to Lisa. I am examined, judged and dismissed a hundred times before I even get the VIP area. What a way to start the night. Lisa, on the other hand, has someone try to lasso her and at least two guys following with extra drinks in hand. She has that effect on people - and so does her infinitesimal French maid costume. It is little more than an apron and a feather duster and she looks like Playmate of the Year. If I looked like that... no.
At least I’ll know people. Lisa will make all the friends in the world, pick one and probably disappear behind a couch somewhere to learn about stick-handling. I am not allowed to do that. But I am allowed to look.
Of course the first person I see is James. Poor, god-damned gorgeous James Neal, sex on skates and somehow still wholesome, still paying the “new guy” price for everything. He’s uncomfortable being the focus so this is how they torture him. He is too nice and more than once I’ve wanted to punch someone for chirping him in the locker room or to the press. When seasons get long, players get snippy. Like brothers. If this place is a family, I am the visiting foreign exchange student. I’m around all the time but don’t speak the language, have different rules.
And the number one rule is pretending I don’t see when guys look at me the way James looks at me. Even if I want to. Those big, sad eyes and that quick, easy smile...
God I want to.
“James.” I tap my booted foot because it’s at the bottom of him looking down my dress.
Those big hazel eyes immediately reroute to mine, full of apology and embarrassment. A grown man dressed as a Disney princess and I make him nervous? He makes me nervous every day. I get a little fluttery and stupid around him - some sports reporter I am. I’m probably the reason he never takes his shirt off with press in the room: I’d either pass out or go all Twilight and bite him. Now, even in drag, he still has that perfect, delicate face.
“Walt Disney is rolling over in his grave,” I say to break the tension.
Jordan chooses that moment to pop up behind James and whinny at the top of his lungs. I nearly choke on my tongue. He’s huge and so... horsey.
“My lady,” he says, turning to the side to show off his saddle and bowing so his mane hangs into his face. “Care for a wild ride on the stallion?”
I roll my eyes. There is only one way to play the game around here: give as good as you get. Even if the rules say you can’t do anything about it.
“Hmmm,” I scoff. “I prefer to ride bareback.”
Jordan bursts out laughing, grabs my arm and hauls me toward the bar. I look over my shoulder but James is just shaking his head.
We join some of the players and their wives and girlfriends at the bar. I am wearing twice as much dress as any other woman in the place. There is a slutty lion, a slutty race car driver, a slutty Batgirl and a Wonder Woman, and a quintet of perfect-looking Spice Girls. Of course they all look amazing - they can afford to. I escape Jordan with just a shot of vodka and make the rounds. Lisa is God knows where already, but I see Tyler Kennedy as Captain America, looking better than ever for the spandex suit. Cookie stuffed into a sailor suit, complete with a tattoo of Olive Oyl on one bicep. Geno as a Reno 911 cop and Matt Niskanen as a very convincing Doctor Spock. The lap brings me back where I started, but James is no longer manning the top step. I’m about the turn for the bar when a huge cheer goes up from the crowd.
“Ho-leeeeeeee shit!” Engo runs past me in a kilt and sporran, nothing else. Good thing I didn’t see him coming.
The crowd parts biblically to reveal a very serious looking Crosby hulking out of a black bustier and tiny boy shorts complete with fishnets and curly black wig. He is wearing as much makeup as any woman in the place - only it’s the white face, black eyes and bright red lipstick of Dr. Frank N. Further from Rocky Horror.
Holy shit, I have to agree. He stops, glaring around like he dares anyone to laugh. This is not normal Sid behavior.
“Nope, not doing this!” He turns to leave. Fleury and Vero materialize behind him - perfectly Riff Raff and Magenta - and push him back into the room. In the silence, I feel rather than hear someone come up behind me. Someone big.
“Thank God,” a quiet voice says near my ear. It’s James, the relief obvious in his tone. He could no more be the center of attention now if he were Scarlett Johansson in a bikini. We both watch as Ginger Spice - who could only be Max’s ex-girlfriend, the one he left behind - strides right up to Crosby and breaks the silence with a big hug. The whole place relaxes. I love her for that. James is close and he’s still taller than me even in these boots. I feel him move his left side.
“What’s with the ears?” he asks. His fingers tug gently at my headband. If I leaned back, he would hold me up with that broad chest.
“You’ll never get hired at Disney World, James.” I turn and realize he’s nearer than I thought, barely inches away. And me with my boobs all pushed up and out. This time he doesn’t drop his eyes, though the corner of his mouth curls into a smile that say he knows it.
I could get in trouble for standing like this. For the first time I wonder if I care.
“Who am I?”
“Uh, Robin Hood?”
“And the Disney Robin Hood was...?”
He makes a face like he has no idea. I could stare into his eyes all night, but instead I drop my head to one side. “He was a fox.”
“Oh yeah. So you’re a Disney prince?”
“Kinda.”
He arches an eyebrow and looks right down my dress again. “In that outfit?”
I pout slightly, drop my eyes and run my tongue softly over my bottom lip. His shoulders round a fraction, an inch closer. Why am I doing this?!
“You don’t like it?” I feign.
“Well if you’re a prince and I...,” he waves a hand down his side like it’s a swimsuit competition,” am a Disney princess...,”
James looks at me for a long moment, as if weighing the consequences of what he wants to do. Then he slides one arm around my waist. It’s heavy and strong; he’s not bulky but it feels like he could lift me clean off the ground without trying.
“Guess that means you’re my date,” he says.
____
I wait for a fresh beer, leaning against the bar listening to Geno recite lines from police movies to two girls in their underwear. Letang wriggles himself in next to me and signals for a drink.
“Girl from Root Sports looks hot,” he says. Kris got the lucky end of our costume trio - he’s Flynn Rider, the real Disney Prince. And he looks like a fucking theme park actor, you could pay him to play this character in real life. He’s the only guy in the place who’d draw eyes away from Crosby’s ass in those hot pants.
“Danielle. Yeah, she does.”
He flicks the hair from his face. “You gonna go for it?”
“No!” I say too loudly, standing up straight.
“You always watch her,” he says matter-of-factly.
“She’s press, she can’t. I mean, she wouldn’t anyway but with her job she can’t....”
Of course the bartender brings his drink first. Fucking Disney Prince. Kris rolls his massive shoulders back, flexing his pecs and making every woman in the place ovulate. Then he shrugs at me with that elfin face, like he’s all innocent.
“Who has to know?” he shrugs, counting the guys who are admiring Dani before adding himself to the list. His eyes rest on the handspan of creamy thigh between the top of her boots and the edge of her skirt. He’s probably purring inside.
That’s it.
Of course I watch her - just like now. I’m not going to do anything Kris is thinking, of course, but I will go back over to stand near her and pretend that if she got a new job or won the lottery or ever decided to break this rule, she might do it with me. Just pretend. At least I can keep everyone else away from her.
Then Crosby walks in, wearing less clothing than half the women in the place. And I am off the hook.
“Thank God.” I don’t mean for Dani to hear it, but I don’t mean to be so close to her either; practically pressed against her back as we watch Sidney struggle with his grand entrance. The ruffled hem of her petticoat touches my leg. Her curls twist together, I want to throw that hat off and run my hands through them.
“What’s with the ears?” I rub one bristled little triangle between my fingertips. My forearm brushes against her. Dani turns rather abruptly and I lock my eyes on her face like a tractor beam - I’m not going to look down her dress again. But I’m not going to pretend I don’t know she’s threatening to spill out against my chest.
She explains to me that Robin Hood is a cartoon fox. It’s clever, really, but I’m lost at the part about the fox and the way she pretends to pout when I don’t recognize the joke. The tip of her soft pink tongue slowly drags along her mouth, wetting the berry-stained curve. I bite my own lip to keep from finishing the job for her. But I can’t stop my body moving closer, looping an arm around her tiny middle and setting my big hand right where her skirt starts to flare. If she wants to be a Disney prince then it’s a good thing I lost that shootout.
“Guess that means you’re my date,” I say.
To my surprise, Dani laughs and leans into my chest. Not just my side, arm-in-arm, but she steps right into a full contact hug. I feel the suede of her boot against the bare skin of my calf, the firm round of her hip fitting into my lap, all the way up to where her forehead touches the side of my neck. The giggles shake her body, gently bouncing all her good parts against mine.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath because there’s no way in hell I’m letting go.
“That’s just fucking weird,” Engelland announces in a nearly unrecognizable Scottish accent. It will get better as he drinks more. He’s so impressive in his skirt and socks and that I want to keep Dani’s face turn away from the sight of him. But she just grins.
“What? Not the kind of girl-on-girl action you were hoping for?”
Crosby finally makes it to the roped-off area, along with Flower, Vero and couple of the Spice Girls. I notice that Ginger Spice, the artist formerly known as Max’s girl, is talking very closely with Kris in hushed voices. His eyes are soft and she’s looking down nervously. That’s a tough situation for sure, but good for me. Like removing the top predator from the food chain.
“You’re not gonna write about this, are you?” Sid asks Dani, blushing.
“No one would believe me.” And she’s right.
My hand is on the small of her back. I mean it to be protective and friendly but my finger traces a short length of the zipper that holds her costume together, like I’m practicing taking it off. If I’d bother to take it off. I could just push that skirt up over her hips and...
Stop stop stop.
If anything, Dani’s the one not stopping. She’s is firmly against my side, talking to Sidney as if she didn’t have one hand at the back of my neck, fingers tracing just beneath this stupid wig. Her touch gives me goosebumps and every hair on my body stands up. With a tiny squeeze, she begins to gently massage the sensitive spot at the top of my spine.
“I’m sure there will be pictures,” Sid grimaces, looking back as if expecting paparazzi.
Dani puts her hand up like she’s swearing in. “Your secret is safe with me.”
____
“Shots,” I tell the bartender.
Not that I need another - it’s our third or fourth round. James makes an ‘okay whatever you say’ face, but he’s the reason I’m ordering. That tall, lanky frame is leaning on me a lot more than it needs to be and I keep leaning right back. He’s against my side, breath tickling across the bare skin of my shoulder. We’ve posted up by the bar and people keep coming to us, so we’ve talked to everyone in the party. To my right, Crosby fidgets in his corset while talking about some movie he saw....
“Dani!”
I shake myself back to focus; he’s giving me a narrow look. James is laughing. I may have been staring at Sid’ chest and shoulders. And arms. While feeling James big, sturdy body threatens to flatten me against the bar.
“I’m up here,” he says.
“For fuck’s sake, Sid. Now you know how girls feel when you stare at their boobs!” I give myself a facepalm.
“I finished staring at your boobs, Dani,” he says primly, pursing his lips. Without taking his eyes from mine, he adds, “But James is looking right down your dress.”
“Again?!” James and I both say in perfect unison.
As we’re laughing, his hand comes to rest around my side. Long fingers reach well onto my stomach. His hand is so big and warm, if he’d just slide it down and under my...
STOP.
I am flirting shamelessly with him. The first time I brushed his skin was accidental, now I cannot stop. It’s a flagrant foul. And it’s only making things worse - my hormones are sloshing around like a frozen margarita. For his part, James is getting pretty hands-y. And the looking down my dress business continues.
I tell myself it’s not a big deal. We’re all tipsy, it’s Halloween, we’re just kidding. We’re all a little naked too, except for James, and even Crosby is making comments that would toast his normally white bread. Our shots arrive - we tap them once together, once on the bar and throw them back. Ice cold vodka drains right through me and I hiss as it spreads into my veins. James gently squeezes my hip in time with the sensation.
“Okay,” Crosby announces with a thunk of his shot glass on the bar. “I am going to find someplace where I’m the best-looking guy in drag.”
We both watch him leave - I don’t even think it’s weird that James checks out Sid’s magnificent ass. It’s not till he’s swallowed up by the crowd that I realize James and I are alone at the bar, his hand is still on me. It’s warm through my dress.
“Hey,” he says softly, now that it’s just the two of us. We’ve been standing close a long time. The urge to lean into him, curl up and fall asleep has been kept at bay by the company of others. A slight push at my waist and he’s turning me around.
I tilt my face up to his. Those doe eyes and soft-looking lips... I’m feeling a little unsteady even as his hand drops from the point of my hip. It’s instantly disappointing - he’s going to pull away just when I want to pull him in. I need to do something and quickly. But just as I start to think, I feel his hand come back - now light fingertips dragging slowly up the bare stretch of my thigh. My eyes go wide but he doesn’t flinch. James just grazes over my skin till he’s touching the back of my leg below the hem of my skirt.
____
I should not have had the last two shots. Maybe three. I’ve been touching her all night - her waist, her back, her bare shoulder. Even as we stood talking to every guy on the team, I’ve barely taken my hands off her. Dani has been giving it right back: fitting the curve of her body against my side, keeping her voice down so I have to stay close to hear. And she’s been touching the back of my neck since she told Crosby tonight was for secrets.
Sidney leaves and it’s the first opening I’ve had in hours. I might not get another. My hand drops from her plush skirt and comes back up her leg, skimming from the top of her boot until it’s just below the curve of her ass. I feel warm, a little dizzy and a handful of Dani’s thigh isn’t helping. Another two inches and I’d be underneath her skirt. Not that it’s hiding much - I can feel the edge of her little boy shorts just beyond my fingertips.
But she doesn’t back away; instead Dani turns her face up toward mine. The light catches a shimmer of gloss on those ripe lips. My other hand moves itself until it’s at her neck, lifting the dark curls from her pale skin, thumb brushing her jaw.
I can’t do this.
Not like this. Not in this stupid costume, like it’s some kind of joke. There’s nothing funny about the smooth skin of her leg. There’s nothing frivolous in the tiny pulse at her throat that beats against my palm. If I’m going to kiss her - and I am going to kiss her - I will mean it and she will not mistake me.
Suddenly I have to get away from there, just so I can come back.
“Don’t move,” I whisper, close enough to put my lips right on hers.
I shoot into the crowd and burrow through the dance floor. Every inch of space in this club is packed. Somewhere in the crush I pull the blond wig from my head, but I can’t move very quickly in this pink dress. Pulling it up around my knees helps as I sidestep people grinding away to the song blasting and think that could be me.
There’s a line at the bathroom, so I go the other way down a hall, step right through the kitchen entrance and out into the alley behind the bar. It’s not cold yet though it’s nearly November. I toss the wig into the dumpster and contort myself into a human pretzel to reach the zipper at the back of the dress.
How do girls do this?!
The tiny metal tab slips from my giant fingers every time. I try pulling the dress off over my head, but it gets rolled and balled around my chest. Dani must be wondering where the hell I went. What if her common sense kicks in? What if she changes her mind? I meant to come right back, like a superhero phone booth costume change, and give the regular me a chance to kiss her for the first time. Also I doubted I could carry her out of there with my shoulders so encased. Now I’m tangled in the pink nightmare, flopping around in an alley.
Ha ha, Tangled. Fuck this.
I unstuff the dress down to my rear end and walk around the the front of the building. People are smoking and hanging out - luckily there’s a guy in a Pens hat sending a text message.
“Buddy, can you help me out?”
He looks at me like I’m nuts, until he recognizes my face. Then he can’t unzip my dress fast enough.
“Thanks, man.” I furl the dress and shove it in a trash can, then hurry back toward the front door. The bouncer takes one look at my shorts, t-shirt, pink Chucks and shakes his head. If only he knew my hair always looks like this.
“I was just inside!”
“It’s Halloween, not a beach party.” And he turns his back.
I whip out my wallet to show him my license, hoping he might recognize me too. Because I hate the “I’m with the band” shit that hockey players sometimes pull but I’m about to do anything to get me back inside to Dani.
“I play for the Penguins.”
He rolls his eyes. “You and everyone else who didn’t get in here tonight.”
Fuck! So I do the only thing I can think of. I stand right there in his way and mass text every player I know to be inside the club. Lucky might give me sixty seconds before this bouncer has me tossed into the street.
Stuck outside, come and get me!
God, no wonder my teammates think I’m a loser.
The bouncer stares at me and I stare at the door, hoping for someone to barrel through. Dani is in there, hopefully still standing in the exact same position so I can get back to those handfuls of thigh and hair and finally do the thing I’ve wanted to do for so long.
Fucking hurry up!
I consider going back around to the alley, waiting for someone to come out the way I did. That’s a last resort. I don’t have Dani’s number. I don’t have any cash to bribe this guy with and my credit card is behind the bar inside. I need to get back in there, now.
The door opens and I laugh, sharply and loud. Sidney Crosby in cult-movie drag is standing on the step like a cowboy making his entrance into the OK Corral. The light behind him, the music spilling out - it’s a moment Tim Curry would be proud of. The bouncer’s mouth actually drops open.
“He’s with us,” Sid simply says. I resist the urge to stick out my tongue at the guy as I jump past him and back into the club.
“Thanks.”
He smiles, all that makeup looks frightful. “Hurry up, dude or you will never get laid!”
____
“Don’t move,” James whispers.
He was about to kiss me. I’m sure of it. Probably he was about to lift me by the ass, wrap my legs around his waist and have his way with me against the bar.
Or would that have been my way?
Then he dive-bombs into the seething mass of people. My brain says I can’t do this, it’s too dangerous, the game is out of control. The area between my hips says otherwise. They battle as I stand trembling for the first two minutes, breathing short gulps of air. Then another eight minutes pass, alone at the bar.
What the hell?
Every second is just another chance to talk myself out of this.
Come on, James!
I give up and search for Lisa - she’ll tell me to drag James to the nearest closet - only to find her rounding second base with a fireman. He probably told her he plays for the Penguins - lots of guys in here using that line tonight. Luckily Engelland, Orpik and Dustin Jeffrey are standing nearby, and discussing the most popular women’s Halloween costumes this year.
“She’s a waitress,” Brooks says.
“No man, she’s a robot maid,” Deryk insists.
“What kind of costume is robot maid?” Dustin asks.
“Like on the Jetsons?” They both stare at Jeffrey, who just shrugs.
“Dude, we are so old,” Brooks pushes Dustin away and turns his back. I’m about to offer my opinion that the girl in question is actually slutty Alice in Wonderland when a huge hand claps onto my shoulder and twirls me around.
“Lose your boyfriend?”
Crosby is smiling but I jump backward - the makeup is too much. Everything about him is already exaggerated, from the full lips and big eyes down to thighs the size of my waist. The effect is jarring.
“What?”
“James texted, he got stuck outside.”
“Well that explai... wait, where in that costume are you keeping a phone?” I look him up and down - there’s not a centimeter of space between leather, spandex and his hulking body. Even the stretchy fabric shines with exertion as it strains to keep Sidney’s body under wraps.
He gives me his best try at a sexy stare. “If you weren’t going home with Nealer, I might just show you.”
“No! Nothing is happening. Sid, I can’t... it can’t.” I drop my voice to a whisper, “My job!” I am officially the worst liar who ever lived. My reflex is to keep stammering excuses so I bite my lip to shut the hell up. Luckily, there’s a sympathetic smirk on Crosby’s face.
“You’re keeping my secret, I’ll keep yours.”
My heart about stops. It would be a secret, of course, and I knew that before. But only if it happens. And it could actually happen.
“Your costume is not a secret!” I hiss.
“Neither were you two groping each other at the bar,” he points out.
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck. Of course we weren’t. God damn drinking and big hands and long eyelashes and... fuck.
“Dani, don’t worry about it!” Sid laughs. “You think one of the guys is going to tell your boss? They’ll just try a lot harder to get you in bed now that they know it actually works.”
I smack him hard on the arm; I bet he doesn’t even feel it. He keeps smiling.
“Neal will probably play even better once he gets some. No sex on game days though. And no getting all turned on when he’s sweaty in the locker room during post-game, or phone sex on the road because Nisky has to sleep in there....”
He feels my punch this time.
“Jeez Dani, don’t hurt him!” Sidney shakes his arm out. “One Disney Princess, coming up!”
I watch him plow through the crowd. People back up and gape and whip out camera phones - it would be funny if I could stand still. I’m shifting my weight, nervous and scattered, knowing I’m about to take a huge risk and feeling the rush of giving in. If James would just get here already we could skip the nauseating, career-jeopardizing, monkey with the cymbals in my stomach part and get to the good stuff.
____
There’s no way through the crowd on my own. I’d have to climb over people, under them and weave slowly as a spider. But not if Sid leads the way. A few cameras flash as we pass - we’ll be seeing this costume for a long time. He charges right for the VIP area then lets me pass.
Why are all these guys so tall?
I can see over almost everyone but Dani’s lost among Tanger and Duper and WAGs and whoever else the rest of these people are. A doctor, a taco, Spiderman... no Robin Hood. I pivot around Jordan, who gives me a shove for ditching my costume early. Letang’s hair flip catches my eye so I turn, and crash right into her.
She squeaks and stumbles on her heels - I was moving pretty good when I bumped her. I grab her by the waist, the curve of her body is perfect in my hands. The moment she’s steady, I scoop her cheek into my hand just as she starts to look up. Before she even gets there, my mouth is on hers.
It cracks like lightning, right through me, rooting me to the ground. She gasps against my lips, surprised by my boldness, but it passes in an instant. Dani wraps her arms around my waist and parts her lips, giving me to soft taste of cold cranberry on her tongue.
“Giddy up!” Jordan shouts. People smack me on the back but I don’t stop kissing Dani until I feel her trying to wiggle free. Even then I don’t take my hands from her face.
“James!”
“Didn’t want to do that in a dress,” I wince. My fingers knit behind her neck, Dani runs her fingers through my hair.
“You’re better as a brunette,” she says.
“Hey, I thought the press were off limits!” TK hollers. I look over my shoulder to see at least ten of my teammates watching us.
“I don’t see any press,” Crosby chimes in. “Just Robin Hood.”
Jordan has moved around behind Dani and picks her up from behind, tilts her down and pretends to try to kiss her. She bats at him with a shout.
“Come on, aren’t you all for one, one for all?” he whines.
Dani climbs out of his grasp. “That’s the Three Musketeers, dumbass.”
“Oh.” He shrugs like he couldn’t care less. “What does Robin Hood do?”
“Steal from the rich to give to the poor,” she informs him, moving in next to me. Jordan watches as I lock my arm around her waist, then gives us a zillion watt smile.
“I’ll consider it an act of charity to get this guy laid,” Staal laughs, cuffing me on the shoulder.
____
James nearly knocks me off my feet twice. The first time when he wheels around from behind the only guy who can hide him - Jordan - and bowls into me at speed. Those big, strong hands are at my hips in a second, but I barely recognize the grasp before they’re moving. One turns my face up and James’ mouth comes crashing down on mine.
It happens so quickly I squeak in surprise, even as I’m pulling in tight to his chest, his hips, his thighs. The urgency and force are so sexy that my knees wobble. James greedily slides his tongue over mine and my entire body revs into the red.
“Giddy up!” someone yells. I am snapped back to reality with a jolt.
“James!” It’s all I can say. His face is close, his eyes hold no apology. His hands don’t leave me, rather they slide to my neck and twist together against bare skin. I realize now he’s in shorts and a t-shirt, his hair sticking up like always. My favorite version of James.
“You’re better as a brunette,” I tell him, because ‘oh my God take me right here’ sounds slutty. But I bet he’d do it.
“I’ll consider it an act of charity to get this guy laid,” Jordan announces.
But I can’t let him get the last word. So I slide in close to James and say loudly, “I plan on doing lot of good deeds tonight.”
Staal swats my butt because I’ve just opened season on mild sexual harassment. Or maybe Crosby did when he walked in wearing those poor, defenseless hot shorts. Either way, this place is going to be a lot different come Monday morning.
Then James rubs his palm across the top of my back. It sends a shiver down my spine and I think I might not make it till Monday. When he’s facing me again, that other hand fuses back into place on my thigh. We were standing just like this half an hour ago, waiting.
No waiting now.
“Can we please go before I get fired?” I whisper.
He smiles. “I was thinking about getting arrested.”
____
Two minutes later, I beat Dani to the taxi door. Not very chivalrous, but I pull her right down into my lap, petticoat flashing that jackass bouncer, and slam the door. She’s giggling so hard I have to give the driver my address twice. It’s easy to hold her but not easy to keep from kissing her. So I set her facing straight ahead - we’re twisted together in a single space - and pull her hair to one side. Then I settle for nuzzling her neck the whole way home.
“Uh, can you go faster please?” she asks the drive sweetly, grinding her hips into my lap. I bite down on her shoulder, she wriggles harder.
“Stop,” I whisper, punctuating it with my lips to the delicate curve of her ear.
She turns into the kiss. “I haven’t even started.”
The vibration from her throaty laugh is nearly as bad as her bouncing against me. I press one of my hands up each of her thighs - high enough that she shifts in approval - then hold her down hard. The fit of her body against mine is too perfect for so much pressure, though we’re both dressed-ish. Dani lays her head back.
“Is this really better?” she purrs, swiveling just to prove I’m not as strong as I think. Her hand slides over mine, following my fingers right down between her legs, so it seems like I’m making her grind against my already obvious desire. We need to get out of this taxi right now.
When we do stop in front of my house, I practically throw Dani out the window without opening the door. She starts toward the door, but I have to call her back.
“Shit. Do you have any cash?”
She teeters back on those high heels, right up to me where I’m standing on the sidewalk.
“You can get it.”
“Huh?”
Dani looks down her cleavage, hands behind her back.
“Ohmygod,” I groan. I’m going to come before we even pay the cabbie. She just smirks as I slide my fingers between her breasts, holding my breath. I brush a nipple - already stiff, hopefully aching - and find a thin fold of paper. The driver gets both twenties as fast as I can toss them onto the seat.
“Inside. Now.” I say. She’s already halfway there.
____
James takes the five stairs to his front door in two strides of his long, powerful legs. He moves with a purpose - I guess now he has one - and practically rips the storm door off it’s hinges. The way his forearm flexes gives me the wobblies. He tosses open the door and throws me inside.
My feet never touch the floor. He holds me against the wall, his hips angled up under my ass so I wrap my legs around his waist. The only thing I’m wearing down there is underwear, and the thick, hard length of his erection snakes along the notch in my body. I grab two handfuls of his messy hair and moan against his tongue.
“James, I....”
“Dani,” he’s gasping. “I hope you don’t mind if I....”
His hand moves between us, practically fingering me as he gets the button on his shorts open. The fly goes down like an engine starting. Then he brushes the back of his fingers against my soaked panties and pulls them aside.
“Please,” I hear myself whisper.
James holds everything, including me, perfectly still for a moment and just looks into my eyes, then puts his lips to mine. I can’t even blink. Then he rolls his hips and tips my slick entrance right down onto the head of his cock.
“Oh God.” It comes out like a curse.
“Fuckyou’resotight,” he gasps, face pressed into my neck.
The feel of him and the spreading of me and the complete insanity of this whole thing... it’s a long, slow, delirious way down to his thighs and when he finally takes all of me I’m panting like a dog in heat. He waits til my body has made enough room to take all of him, then he kisses me again. And strokes once.
“Oh yes,” I moan like a porn star. My hands scrabble against the wall, looking for something to hold on to, some was to leverage myself against him. There’s nothing. So I arch my back, pressing my shoulders to the wall, and force myself hard into his lap.
He grunts and compensates by pushing against me. Only he’s much, much stronger and my back slams flat - he nearly puts me through the wall. A short, sharp scream rips from my throat as the force of it drives James’ cock past anywhere anyone’s ever been.
“Dani,” he whispers before kissing me roughly. Then one big paw grabs my ankle and begins lowering me to the floor. As the ball of my foot brushes the hardwood James slides his dick free. I whimper. He looks down at me.
“Is this the only Halloween you’re going to?”
“Uh, dunno Why?”
He spins me around and shoves my chest to the wall. Midway down my back, where the costume comes to a v-shape, he grabs two handfuls of fabric and pulls hard. The flimsy material tears right down the seam.
“You’re going to need a new costume,” he growls into my ear. His hands are already digging into the twin halves of my ass. James drops to his knees, pulling my panties off on the way and sinks his teeth into the soft rises. I claw so hard at the paint it’ll probably say FUCK ME by the time he’s done.
A second later he pulls me down, into his lap and flips me onto the floor. His feet touch the inside of the front door as he stretches out the full length of his body over mine. I paw at his t-shirt and throw it as far away as possible. No more clothes, ever. He slips down, kissing over my nipple, the curve of my stomach. Strong hands force my thighs wide open and his tongue moves strongly, hungrily up the soaking wet door to the vault.
“OhhhhhhhhhhhhhJames,” I groan. His hair is soft between my fingers. He laps at me, then slowly drags the textured surface up each side of my folds. My eyes roll back into my head. His fingers slip down, grazing the delicate skin around my back door. Just as I flinch he flicks his tongue against my clit.
“God, baby, please, fuck....” But he doesn’t hear me begging, he’s too busy sucking my clit between his teeth and teasing it with his soft tongue. Two of his long fingers dip into my honey pot.
“James, I want you.” I’m ready to cry, pulling his hair. Another minute of his oral attention and there’s nothing but a puddle of Dani from my hips down. He finally relents, freeing his fingers last.
As he rises against me I see his perfect, thick cock straight out and throbbing, like it wants to fuck me as badly as I want it to. James pushes the head into position, then slowly and deliberately screws into me as deep as he can go. His huge hands lift my ass off the floor, pulling me past the known world until my breathing is shallow and raspy.
“Jesus Christ,” I rasp.
“Shhhh,” he whispers. “I’m trying not to come.”
I laugh out loud, then he joins me. I know he’s being honest. James unfurls his back, which was hunched up to drive into me, and kisses my lips. We’re naked in the entryway of his house, under the only light on in the whole place. If he has an alarm system, the police have definitely been called. By the time they get here, I might be dead enough to give them something to investigate.
“More,” I smile wickedly.
Probably a bad idea. All two-hundred-plus pounds of James proceeds to thrust, again and again, each time stronger than the last. His long, smooth shaft is rock hard, driving me down and away with every swing of his hips. I clutch at him as he smears me across the floor like he’s waxing the hardwood. I’ll be so bruised I could pass for a hockey player.
We find a wall somewhere and James lifts me into his lap and twists us against it so I’m sitting on top of him with my back to the wall. He puts his hands to the floor and drives up with his arms and legs. I’m nearly tossed into the air and land like a ton of bricks, speared on his cock.
I make an incoherent noise, half-scream and half-yelp. It encourages him. He tosses me in his lap like a rag doll, my ass slapping against his rock-hard thighs on every bounce. James closes his eyes and bites his luscious lower lip between his teeth. I use a thumb to drag it free then catch it between my own teeth. He grunts with each powerful thrust, running the head of his dick into the deepest part of me.
I’m losing control of everything. It’s all I can do to hold onto him - I can’t think or breathe. I ca see though, I can see his face as he fights to hold onto his own release until he finds mine. So I stop trying and just let go, let him overwhelm me and my body and push me right to the edge.
“James, James,” I am panting shamelessly, so close to the brink and he knows it. Effort strains his perfect features but he’d wait all night if that’s what it took. Because James Neal might take you home and throw you against the wall, rip off your clothes and have his way with you, but he’d damn sure going to make sure you like it.
“Baby,” he says.
It’s the last inch of ground beneath my feet and when it disappears, I drop like a rock off a cliff. I come, loudly, twisting and grinding into it, into him, riding every ounce of the pleasure he’s given me. James holds me close and keeps pumping, his forehead to my neck, his sweaty hair sticking to my skin.
“Now,” I tell him when I’m past the point of no return. He doesn’t need to be asked twice. James pushes up from the floor, lifting himself and me in his lap. Twice, three times - his shoulders are rock hard beneath my sagging arms. When he comes, it’s with a roar and a final push so deep he could tear me in half.
“Dani,” he says as the rush passes. He jerks, pumping himself dry, leaving not so much as a drop of desire unspent.
____
I’ve never laid on the floor in my entryway. Or anywhere in this house, now that I think of it. Certainly not with a warm, ripe woman sprawled sweatily across my chest, her heart pounding vibration through my body. Dani’s breathing is ragged - it’s the sexiest sound.
I twist a strand of her dark hair around my finger, tracing it’s natural curl. Every part of her is perfect: I know that for a fact know that I’ve seen and felt her last few inches.
The rush has passed, though every nerve in my body tingles with the ghost of pleasure. Now as I hold her naked body, I realize the hardwood beneath us is cold and not at all comfortable. I didn’t mind at all while my attentions were elsewhere. I hope I haven’t hurt her or insulted her by being so aggressive, suggesting I wouldn’t take her to my bed by instead fucking her on the doorstep. I hope she’s not quiet because she’s deciding how to get the hell out of here discreetly.
“Dani,” I say quietly. She might be sleeping.
“James.”
“If I let you up, are you going to try to leave?”
She’s silent for a moment, I hope she’s not busted by my mind-reading.
“Are you saying,” she lifts her head to look down at me. Her eye makeup is smeared in the sexiest way. It looks like some lucky guy just rode her to a win in the Kentucky Derby. “... that once is all you’ve got in you?”
Her fingernails drum on my bare chest, one at a time in rapid succession. Which is how I’d like to take her - repeatedly, endlessly, with no time in between.
“You forget, honey, I literally ripped off your clothes. And I spent the last of your cash. So unless you’re going to pay for a cab by riding naked, you can’t leave. You can’t even get dressed.” I roll onto my side, bringing our faces close together. “You can’t leave. Ever. Until I let you.”
She arches one dark eyebrow like she’s impressed. Her nails drag OVER my chest, flicking back and forth across my nipple. Soft lips part slightly, darkened and swollen from so much kissing.
Kissing me.
I slip a hand behind her ear and pull her in to a kiss. I crush my mouth to hers, can’t even breathe, just push my tongue into her mouth and tell her the old-fashioned way that if I have my way she’ll never leave.
“What happens tomorrow?” I ask, unable to stop picking the open wound.
“If I find some clothes? Same as always, I guess. I get hot and bothered watching you practice.” She stares right into my eyes while her fingertip traces the curve of my bicep. “I pretend not to stare at your tight, sweaty Under Armor.”
I gulp. My Adam’s Apple bobs embarrassingly. Could she really have been watching me while I was watching her?
“I think about how you look in the shower, wonder if you’ll shave. Then you leave and I write my story: James Neal. Number 18. NHL leading goal scorer,” she stops to giggle. “There are a lot of statistics I could add to that list now.”
My hand moves down her side, fitting into the curve of her waist. The shape is small in my hand, easily manipulated. I continue to the small of her back where holding her feels possessive.
“Then you come back here. Bring another costume."
Dani smiles like the idea had already crossed her mind. I untangle myself, get to my feet and reach down for her.
"But first, I’ll show you how I look in the shower.”
_
You have outdone yourself.
ReplyDeleteI don't have any other words for how amazing this was.