Page 68 of Risking the Pucking Defense

I keep my eyes locked on Hailee’s as she stands in the middle of the enclosed space with her chest heaving and her fists balled at her sides as if she’s trying to hold herself back from something.

If that thing is me, then there’s zero holding back needed. I’m right here, and she’s welcome to whatever she wants.

I undo my bowtie, letting it hang loosely around my neck before undoing the top few buttons. I’ve already long abandoned my jacket and mask, thank fuck. I hate the idea of my face being covered and her pretending I was anyone else.

Fuck that. I want her to look into my eyes and know exactly what’s making her react as viscerally as she is now.

I let my eyes drop to her lips. They’re stained deep red, and I’m dying to know just how well it might stay on. If I were to kiss her, would I end up with it all over my lips? If she were to drop to her knees, would it smear all over my⁠—

Stop, Hayden.

Just fucking stop.

Your pants are way too fitted to be getting hard in here.

Unless…

My eyes continue tracing the delicate curve of her neck before dropping to the small swell of her breasts covered by red fabric that I’m desperate to peel away from her.

“Hayden,” she warns, her voice barely a whisper as I make a show of enjoying every inch of her.

The thick band around the middle of the dress shows off the curve of her waist, and then the fabric flares out over her hips and plummets to the ground with splits on either side, showing off almost the entire length of her legs when she walks. I can’t see them right now, but I know for a fact that there are the sexiest fucking shoes hiding under that fabric as well, with straps that wrap up around her calves.

The image of dropping to my knees and delicately unwinding them from around her legs, and then shoving all that fabric out of the way and discovering exactly what might be hiding beneath…

Fucking hell.

I drag my hand down my face as I try to gather my racing thoughts.

“You need to press the alarm. We need to let someone know we’re stuck.”

I take a step closer, and her sharp intake of breath hits my ears.

“Is that what you really want? For someone to come and rescue us so we can go back to the party?”

She chews on her bottom lip. The fact that she doesn’t immediately agree has my excitement growing.

“I…uh…aren’t you hungry?”

I let my eyes drop again. “Yeah,” I rasp. “Fucking starved.”

I undo my cuffs and roll my sleeves up to my elbows as I wait for her to react.

“We should press the button,” she says, although there’s zero conviction in her tone.

“Okay,” I say, stepping away from the panel of buttons. “Go ahead.”

She looks from me to the buttons and back again.

She steps forward, and I follow her movements, my fingers twitching with the need to reach out and pull her to me. But no matter how much I want to, I won’t. I need her to come to me of her own accord. She showed me at her apartment how she feels about being told what to do. If anything is going to happen here, it needs to be on her terms. That being said, though, I’m more than happy to play dirty in an attempt to get what I want.

She hesitates, her hand over the button.

“The choice is yours, Hailee,” I breathe. “If you don’t press that, do you think anyone will notice? Do you think they’ll come looking for us?”

“Harlow needs her iPad,” she states. “I told her that I’d—” She hangs her head. “She’s relying on me.”

“Yeah,” I breathe, hating that I’m putting her in this position.