She leaned up on her toes and our mouths collided in a rush. Her arms were around the back of my neck and she ran her fingers through my hair as she held on to me. I grabbed her hips and slowly backed her up until she was flush against something.
“Wait,” she broke away, breathless. “I don’t even know your name…”
I pulled away for a moment, sliding my hand into my pocket as I pulled out my phone to check our surroundings. It was just a storage closet and there was a worktable behind her. Turning off the screen, I slid it back into my pocket before I grabbed her thighs and lifted her up.
The sharp intake of her breath filled the room and her hands clutched at my shoulders as I had her sitting on the table with me standing between her legs. My cock throbbed in my pants and she hooked her legs around my waist, pulling me flush against her.
“Nico,” I told her as I dropped my mouth to her neck. “But you can call me whatever the fuck you want.”
“Mmm, Nico,” she hummed as she reached for the bottom of my dress shirt and pulled it out of my pants. Her nails were sharp against the skin on my back. “Different. I like it.”
“I like the way my name sounds rolling off your tongue, but you know what I really want to hear, love?”
She looked up at me as I pulled the straps of her dress down her arms. “What’s that?”
“I want to hear you screaming it instead.”
I slid the straps of her dress down to her elbows before trailing my hands across her collarbones. My lips found hers again as my fingers traced the dips and curves of her body. Sliding the material under her breasts, the feel of her skin was soft against my palms and I rolled her nipples between my fingers.
She moaned into my mouth and I swallowed the sound. Her hands found the waistband of my pants and she worked them open. Shifting my hips back, I gave her access to my cock as she slid her hands under my boxers.
A pounding sounded on the other side of the door and she stilled against me with my cock throbbing in her hand. “Someone knows we’re in here,” she breathed against my lips.
“Fuck,” I mumbled as I released her breasts and pulled back. Whoever was on the other side knocked on it again and I heard my name. “Goddammit.” I grabbed the straps of her dress and pulled them back up to cover her up. “Hold on.”
Her heels hit the floor as she dropped down off the table and I pulled up my zipper and buttoned my pants as I walked over to the door. The hinges groaned as I pulled on it with force, feeling the frustration building inside. My balls ached and I needed to be inside her.
Wes was standing on the other side with a look of regret on his face. “Sorry to interrupt, bro, but I need your help with Linc.”
“What about him? I’m not his babysitter.”
He frowned and swayed a bit. “He left with these two girls. I don’t know what the hell happened, but they kicked him out of his car.” He paused for a moment and lifted his backward baseball hat from his head before putting it back in place. “I shouldn’t drive and I didn’t know if you could.”
Goddammit. I only had one drink and barely drank the second one I ordered. If there was anyone sober enough to drive here, it was me. I glanced back at the girl with ocean eyes who was staring at me from across the small room.
As much as I wanted to finish what we started, she was just a stranger at the end of the day. These guys were my family and we had to have each other's backs on and off the ice.
I turned back to Wes. “Give me a minute and we’ll go get his dumb ass.”
“Thanks, Nico.”
Leaving the door cracked open, light shined into the small room as I closed the distance between the girl and me. “I hate to leave like this, but I gotta go.”
She smiled up at me. “I get it. You go do whatever you have to do and maybe one day our paths will cross again.”
“Let me see your phone,” I said to her as I held out my hand.
She raised an eyebrow and pulled it from her clutch. After unlocking the screen, she handed it to me. I took it from her and called my phone from hers.
“There, now you have my number,” I told her as I handed it back and slid my hand up to cup the side of her face. “I’m not done with you. Call me if you decide you want to finish this sometime.”
I claimed her lips once more with a teasing kiss and grabbed her hand before pulling her out of the room with me. Wes was waiting by the booth and I stopped next to him as I watched her disappear back into the crowd.
“Who was that?”
Shit. I pulled out my phone and saw that I had her number, but I never got her name. A slow smile pulled on my lips.
“I have no idea,” I paused as I slid my phone back into my pocket, “but I have every intention of finding out.”
CHAPTER ONE
HARPER
As I rolled out of bed, I checked my phone for the time. I had plenty of time before I had to be at work, so I laid in bed for a moment. It had been three days since the night at the club. After I came out of the storage closet with Nico, I ended up finding Ava who had been looking for me. She was another photographer and I met her when I came for my first interview. We kind of hit it off and she offered to be the one to show me around.
Orchid Beach was a lot different than Boston or Denver but I was slowly getting acclimated to it. The worst part was being alone. I needed a change of scenery after I ended things with my ex. And as soon as the position opened up for the Orchid City Vipers, it seemed like the perfect escape.
I fell in love with Connor in college and stayed with him for far too long. He was drafted into the NHL after we graduated, so we tried to do the long-distance thing. It didn’t work for long before I had to end things with him. He seemed like a great guy when I first met him, but after getting into a relationship with him, I realized he wasn’t the man I thought he was. After multiple blowout fights and too many hurtful words later, I knew what I had to do.
He was manipulative and when I refused to follow after him, he completely lost it. The night that he threw a glass at my head was the same night I finally ended things. I felt absolutely broken at first. I wasted my time and energy with someone who wasn’t good for me. It hurt and I was still healing, but I was finding out that I was much better off without him.
He had other toxic qualities, but I chose to put on my rose-colored glasses when we were together. Now that he was out of my life, I was able to move on. The only problem about being a sports photographer that worked for a professional hockey team… there was going to be a point in my career where I’d most likely see him on the ice.
The only thing I could do is prepare. I wanted him to see what he was missing, but not because I wanted him back. Because I wanted it to be a slap in the face, for him to see that I came out stronger and never needed him.
I allowed myself the luxury of lying in bed for a few more minutes as I scrolled my social media accounts. There was a text from Ava, checking in to see if I wanted to meet up with her before work today. I sent her a response, agreeing to meet her at the coffee shop near the arena before I climbed out of bed and began my routine.
The day passed by quickly and before I knew it, it was time for me to head out. Grabbing all of my equipment, I double-checked my outfit in the mirror and slipped my feet into my sneakers and left my comfortable space to meet Ava.