The fact that I was kissing Theo Brooks—again—just to prove a point to my ex was a long-forgotten thought. I felt the kiss in my bones. My core burned as bright as a flame when Theo’s teeth tugged on my bottom lip, pulling my mouth open a little farther so his tongue could sweep inside and quite literally sweep me off my feet. I couldn’t breathe in the air of the party. Instead, I could only breathe in Theo. I was no longer at a party with watchful eyes and an ex who had provoked me into this position. I was lost, and I didn’t want to find my way back again.
Theo’s other hand left my hip as I turned all the way around, and he cupped both sides of my face. My mouth was his, and the way he coaxed me to kiss him back with passion instead of urgency made me feel something I’d never felt with Chad. My heart was beating wildly with excitement, and my body ached to move a little closer to him, just to feel the hardness of his chest brush against mine.
The smallest groan left him as he pulled away and peered down at me. I darted my tongue out and licked my swollen lips, wondering if they felt as branded as I did. His hands didn’t leave my face, and the light and airy green of his eyes was hardened to emerald rocks.
“Now”—his Adam’s apple bobbed as he forced down a swallow—“that’s how you do it, Bryant.”
I swallowed his taste on my tongue and nodded, breathing out a thank you. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen next, and I braced myself for the impact of Chad’s glare from across the room. Guilt began to drown out the pounding beats of my heart inside my ears, but it had nothing to do with actually kissing Theo, but more so because I didn’t regret it for a single second.
“Make sure you look over at him when I step away, because he will be staring over here. Two can play that game, baby. And he doesn’t get to make the rules when it comes to you.”
Theo’s voice was gravelly and daring. The hard and absolute look in his eye never wavered, and he suddenly seemed so much more rugged than usual. My face burned when he winked at me, and the moment he stepped away, I pulled my shoulders straight, flicked my hair off my shoulder and looked Chad right in the eye. Theo was right. Chad was looking right in our direction, but instead of sending me a chilling glare, like I’d assumed, he was standing back against the wall with his arm draped over the shoulder of the girl that I’d watched him kiss just moments before.
Irritation flicked down my spine, all the way to my toes, but Theo provoked me in the best way. He doesn’t get to make the rules when it comes to you. Almost as if I was putting armor on, I reached down and grabbed onto Theo’s hand and intertwined our fingers together. Chad laughed silently, looking across the party at me like I was pathetic, but I refused to let him make me feel anything but powerful in the moment.
Theo’s fingers squeezed mine as he pretended not to pay attention. He joined in the conversation with Taytum and Ford, who also acted as if Theo kissing me was nothing out of the ordinary, although just about everyone knew it was. I stayed unmoving as Chad began pulling the auburn-haired, fair-skinned girl by the arm toward the stairs, rolling his eyes in my direction before putting his back to me.
“You make the rules,” Theo said.
I inhaled quietly and let the air out before I tugged on his hand, noticing the calluses on his palm rubbing against the softness of mine. Aasher coughed under his breath from behind us as I continued to watch Chad prowl through the party with one of his toys trailing behind him, and he said, “Does this mean she’s rethought his earlier proposition?”
Theo and I both ignored everyone who was having a quiet conversation behind us and were suddenly on the same team. He crooked an eyebrow when he caught my eye, and the playfulness was back on his face, which all but demanded a smile from mine. There was a challenge surrounding him when he subtly flicked his chin over to the stairs and tugged on my hand. I followed after him willingly, feeling nothing but irresistible as heads turned every few seconds. There was a mix of expressions that surrounded us. Some of the athletes of BU were both in awe and confused, and then there were a few jaw drops from some of the students that I knew were in the same classes as Chad. The puck bunnies’ lips jutted outward as they pouted, knowing they wouldn’t be scoring with the most popular hockey player tonight, which made me feel prouder than I should have.
When we got to the bottom stair, I peered up and saw Chad touching the auburn-haired girl with an eager intimacy he’d never used on me before.
“He’s taunting you,” Theo growled, pulling me up the steps, passing by a few other couples. “And I’ve gotta say…I don’t like it.”
I stayed silent as we passed behind him, letting Theo lead us, but his voice stopped both of us in our tracks like we’d been caught doing something we shouldn’t have been doing.
“That’s fine, Claire Bear.” Chad went back to kissing the girl who was embarrassingly clueless as to what was going on. “You could use the experience.”
I forced myself to keep my jaw from falling open with complete and utter disbelief. I knew he wanted a reaction out of me, and he wouldn’t get one, but ouch. I tugged on Theo’s hand, but it was like trying to pull down a building. He didn’t budge. I glanced at him, pulling again, but his feet were cemented into the floor of the hallway. A red-hot color began to crawl up his neck from beneath the collar of his t-shirt, and the muscles along his temples flickered back and forth just as quickly as my heart was beating. His eyes narrowed, and his breath hit me in the face as he leaned backward and shot Chad a look that would make anyone shiver.
“You think she’s going to go back to you when I’m through with her?” My stomach dipped at the thought of Theo touching me. Remember, this isn’t real, Claire. “She won’t even remember your name after I touch her.”
I was too busy trying to put out the fire in my body to even care that Chad’s jaw tightened. Theo pulled me the rest of the way down the hall, opened the door on the right, and pushed me inside with a look on his face that I’d never seen before. His cheeks had hollowed out, and his tongue had darted out to lick his bottom lip, making it glisten in the barely lit room. He pushed me to the side, and the locking of the door cut through the thumping inside my ears.
“I could go back out there and throw him down the fucking stairs.” Theo’s hands went to his hips as he stood back and stared at me from several feet away. He was out of breath, his chest rising and falling so quickly it seemed like he was back on the ice, putting the puck between the defenseman’s own feet before taking the shot on the net.
“It’s fine.” I crossed my arms over my chest and looked away with embarrassment.
Theo erased the space between us with two long strides and gripped me by the waist, pushing me against the door. His breath cascaded down in between us as he stared into my eyes. “It’s not fine. Did he blame his cheating on you? Did he say that you weren’t experienced enough or something?”
I blinked several times, trying to work through what I was feeling. “I…yes. I mean, no.” I mean, he didn’t technically say that. “Why do you care so much? It’s fine, Theo. Seriously, I’m fine.” I pulled away when his hands left my waist, and he took a step backward. I knew he was looking at me, and I suddenly wanted to cover myself up. I wasn’t wearing anything that was revealing. In fact, I was still in worn jeans and my Bexley U shirt from the game, but I still felt seen. Too seen. “I appreciate you… helping me downstairs, though. I won’t lie. It kind of felt good to piss him off.”
“I owe you. You came to my rescue earlier.”
I nodded, still making a conscious effort to keep my attention elsewhere because I was too afraid that I’d look at his lips again and show my cards. I couldn’t stop thinking about how it felt when he’d kissed me. It was rejuvenating. Maybe it was because I knew I was pissing Chad off and taking back some of the dignity that he’d stolen from me, or maybe it was just Theo.
“We aren’t done, though.”
My body stilled as I slowly tore my gaze from the faintly glowing lamp on the dresser and met his determined expression. “What do you mean?”
The anger that Theo was putting off had lessened as he slowly walked over to me. His smirk had too many thoughts racing through my head that I’d done a pretty good job of ignoring until now. “Do you really believe that what I said didn’t bother him?”
I thought for a moment before shrugging. “Honestly, I’m not sure.”
“I guarantee that he’s still lingering in that hallway with that girl, waiting to see if we come out of the room soon. Or better yet, he’s probably listening for certain sounds.”
Theo’s hand appeared in front of my face as he smoothed out the crease in between my eyebrows. “Trust me, Bryant.”
I tried to deflect the attention and half-laughed. “There’s probably a line of puck bunnies out there too, waiting to get their turn with you.”
He shrugged. “Then they’ll be waiting a while.”
“Why?” Hesitation backed my question, and any bit of confidence that I had left faltered with Theo’s dangerous smirk.
“We gotta make them believe it. Especially Chad, because I’d love nothing more than to piss him off even further.”
Theo must have seen the pure panic on my features, because he smoothed his voice and shook his head softly. “We will hang in here for a while, cause some thumping, maybe make a few noises, and they’ll believe it, yeah?”
I couldn’t help it. A laugh bubbled out of my stomach and hit Theo in the chest. “Cause some thumping and make some noises?” I laughed again. “What?”
Theo’s smile was so perfect it hurt my chest. He had one of those smiles that could make you do anything. “Like this.” Theo moved toward me with the precision of a lion and gripped my hips again, pushing my butt against the door so forcefully that it shook the hinges. His hand went behind my upper back to shield it as the other stayed gripped on the waist of my jeans. I noticed a few of his fingers had slipped under my shirt and touched my skin, igniting a fire. “Now…” His smile grew wider as surprise took me captive. “I want you to make the same kind of sounds you made with him…and don’t be shy.”
All humor left me. My smile vanished, and embarrassment was like two hot rods burning my cheeks. Theo’s brows went inward, and his head tilted to the side slightly, like he was trying to figure me out. My mouth opened, but nothing came out, so I slammed my lips together and quickly looked at my feet.
“Don’t tell me.”
I managed a whisper. “Don’t tell you what?”
“Has he…” I pulled my chin back up and stared at the side of Theo’s profile as he turned his head to the side in disbelief. There was a thin layer of facial hair starting to sprout, and I wondered what it would feel like to have it rub against my skin. When he turned back to me quickly, I jumped, realizing his hand was still placed over the small of my back. “Has he never made you come?”
Not without my help. “Um…” Lie, Claire.
Oh my God. I want to die.
“Is that why he said you could use the experience?” Theo’s grip grew rougher on my body, and suddenly, his jaw seemed sharper than before. “He’s really gonna hate me now.”
“Why?” My question was breathy, and I watched Theo turn from lethal to devious in a matter of seconds.
“I’ll lead.” The hand behind my back slowly slid down my spine and around my stomach, landing at the button of my jeans. “And you follow.”
