Page 70 of Big Stick Energy
This. Yes.More.I grab his shirt with both hands, scooting closer and kissing him back just as fiercely. I pour all my confusion and anger into the kiss, nipping at his lower lip in a way that makes him growl. His arm tightens around my waist, lifting me into his lap as he deepens the kiss. I respond by dragging my nails across the back of his neck, drawing another sharp intake of breath from him.
The cool night air whispers around us, but all I can feel is the heat of his mouth against mine, the solid press of his body.
It’s everything I’ve always wanted, and I don’t really understand the turn of events that brought me here.
When we finally break apart, I can’t look at him. His hands cup my face, but I keep my eyes closed, trying to memorize every sensation before it disappears. The gentle stroke of his thumb across my cheekbone. The warmth of his breath against my lips. The way his heartbeat thunders under my palm.
“Darcy,” he whispers, and the sound of my name in his voice breaks something loose inside me.
I finally open my eyes and find him watching me intently. There’s something raw and unguarded in his expression that I’venever seen before—not during playoff finals, not during team crises, not even when he’s confided in me about his family. For once, the unflappable captain looks entirely undone.
“Tell me that wasn’t part of our act,” I say, my voice barely a whisper.
“You don’t actually think that,” he insists, his gray eyes refusing to let me look away.
But that’s the cruel part—I don’t know what to think. I’ve spent so long convincing myself that Eric Tremaine sees me as nothing more than the GM’s helpful assistant, a friend of a friend, a convenient fake date. “Then what’s your plan, exactly?”
A feral smile flickers across his face. “Do you really want to hear it?”
“I just said so, didn’t I?”
“Fine.” He shrugs. “My plan would be to get that dress off you in the next five minutes. We’ll probably only make it as far as that giant ottoman in your hotel room before I’m inside you.”
My body shimmies at this gloriously specific image, and I let out a telling little gasp.
His eyes darken. “Should I go on?”
It’s all I can do to nod.
“All right. So after the ottoman takes the edge off, I’ll carry you to the bed for round two. Then we’ll probably get some sleep so we’re well rested for the rest of the weekend. I can think of several horizontal surfaces in your suite that need breaking in, plus a few of the vertical ones. What do you say?”
I take a breath and try to think. As if that’s even possible right now. This is a terrible idea, but who am I kidding? We both know I’m going to say yes.
He sets me gently down onto the bench seat and rises. Then heholds out a hand. “If you like this plan, let’s go back to your room. If not, I’ll bunk somewhere else this weekend. No hard feelings.”
I stare down at his open palm, my fingers quivering at the ready. But disbelief causes me to hesitate one more second. “This is… just for the weekend, right? And then we part as friends. I don’t want things to be awkward at work.”
“Oh,please. When am I ever awkward at work? I know my role, Darcy, and I play it well. Same as you. But we’re not at work now. So stop pretending we’re not on the same page. You’re wasting valuable minutes of our weekend.”
A half second later, I lay my hand into his. Strong fingers close around mine. He gives my hand a bossy tug, and we take off in the direction of the hotel.
Chapter 24
A Big, Hard Problem
Eric
The cool night breeze does nothing to calm the fire beneath my skin as we hurry toward the building. After weeks of dancing around each other and a kiss that nearly stopped my heart, we’re finally doing this.
I glance back at Darcy, and the sight of her—cheeks flushed, lips still swollen from my kiss—nearly makes me stumble in the grass.
“Careful, Captain,” she says with an arch glance. “Don’t hurt yourself.”
I tighten my grip on her hand. “Trust me, I’ve never been more motivated to stay injury-free.” Her laughter is low and sexy as we burst through the hotel doors.
Mercifully, the lobby is empty. I give a quick nod to the night clerk, who barely glances up from his computer screen.
Darcy slaps the elevator button, and when the doors slide open, I usher her inside, feeling like a teenager on prom night. The doors close with a soft ping, and we’re alone in the small space, the air electric between us.
