Page 8 of Slapshot Summer
Wow.He noticed that?
Josh flashed her a brilliant smile—a real one—revealing perfect pearly whites.The smile looked good on him and gave her a glimpse of the charm that might possibly be buried beneath his prickly exterior.
“Hey, buddy.”
They both turned toward the voice, and Lexi’s heart caught in her throat.Neil stood behind them.He looked even better up close.
“You’re back,” Josh deadpanned.
Neil shrugged, then his liquid brown eyes zeroed in on Lexi.“You going to introduce me to your beautiful friend?”
Josh straightened and swiveled in his seat so he faced them both.“Lexi, this is Neil.Neil, this is Lexi.”
She couldn’t be certain, but she thought she detected an undercurrent of hostility in his tone, which made no sense.
Chapter 4
The Deception of Looks
“Hi,Lexi.I’mNeil.What are you drinking?”He pointed to her drink, going straight for the jugular.Guy wasted no time moving in.Not that Josh cared—this was what Lexi wanted after all—but Christ!Where was the discretion?And where the hell was the bro code?What ifJoshwanted her?Which he didn’t, of course.
“I’m having …” Lexi hesitated.
“Piña coladas,” Josh interjected before she could trip over her tongue again.He contained a small chuckle inside.
“Yes, those.They’re delicious,” she added cheerfully.
Neil’s lips curved in a grin that bared his pointy canines.“Looks like you’re running on empty.How about I get you a refill?”
“I’d like that.Thank you.”Her eyelashes fluttered—actually fluttered.
Oh, for fuck’s sake!
Neil stepped away, and Lexi seemed to remember she had been on a mission before she got derailed by the penis coladas because she started rapid-firing questions at Josh—about his supposed buddy.The fact that she was obviously into Neil amused him.It also annoyed the hell out of him.What washe?Chopped liver?Other women found him attractive on the regular, but obviously not this redhead.If Neil hadn’t been her ulterior motive, she wouldn’t even be sitting next to Josh.Not that he gave a flying flip.
Why not have a little fun with this?He could play along, pretend he and the object of her attraction were actual friends, and watch their mating dance from the sidelines—all while keeping himself clear of any entanglements and enjoying a few laughs.A decent distraction to pull him out of his pissy mood.Plus, her eyes were a little glossy, and it occurred to him she might be tipsy.Best stick around and make sure the shark she was angling for didn’t take advantage while she wasn’t in complete command of her faculties.
Look at you, being all chivalrous.
Josh replied to her questions as best he could, repeating the few tidbits he knew about the guy.This approach, he reasoned, technically kept him out of the “deception” category.If he did this right, he would be playing Mr.Matchmaker.They could uncover the truth about each other later, maybe as they shared pillow talk after sex, and have a good laugh.Maybe they’d invite him to their wedding.
Eyes cast to the side, she seemed to process his flimsy answers for now, though a thoughtful look etched her features as she sipped her fruity drink.Or was that skepticism?
She moved her hair off her shoulder, flipping it behind her and drawing his eyes to spun-gold threads woven within her lustrous auburn strands.It was shiny and silky, begging to be touched.But not by him.
When her lips closed around the straw and her cheeks hollowed, though, the image arrowed to his cock, rousting it from its dormant state.He sucked in a silent breath, willing himself not to get distracted by the sensual way that mouth of hers moved and how it might feel onhim.Instead, he zeroed in on how her long eyelashes feathered against her ivory skin and the sweet blush kissing her cheeks.Bad choice.This merely led him to wonder what shade of pink her skin turned when she came—which then led him to stare down her neckline while he pondered whether her nipples were rose-colored like her mouth and how they would taste with his lips wrapped around them, his tongue teasing them into tight little pebbles.What kinds of sounds did she make?
Fuck!
What in the hell was wrong with him?
She looked up at him—probably wondering the same thing—her eyes a soft bottle-green with depths he could drown in.He nearly jerked in his seat like a thirteen-year-old caught with his dad’s porn in one hand and his dick in the other.His gaze roamed over a dusting of light freckles on the bridge of her delicate button nose, landing once again on that rosebud mouth, ripe for kissing.
His ridiculous musings reminded him his dry spell had lasted way too long.It was damned unhealthy.He was having all sorts of inappropriate thoughts about this girl, yet he wasn’t evenattractedto her.Well, that wasn’t entirely true because shewasattractive, and he wasn’t the only one who had noticed.A few guys had nearly sprained their necks watching her sway from her table toward the bar, and Josh had enjoyed a modicum of pride when she’d chosen the seat beside him.With that copper hair, a killer smile, and curves a man could sink into, Lexi attracted alotof male attention, though she seemed completely oblivious to it, only adding to her appeal.A lot of guys would kill for her to throw her attention their way.
And she smelled really, really good.
Despite his lusty haze, he admitted to himself that Lexi had been pretty when she’d held up the bus and slammed into his back.While he’d been annoyed with her at first, he had no complaints about her now.She was easy on the eyes.Up close, with her perfume and her expressive eyes and her musical voice carrying him away to pleasant places, the effect she was having on him verged on hypnotic.
