Edge by Brenda Rothert

imagined I could.
    Me: I want to taste you.
    Luke Hudson: Yeah? If I could kiss u without touching u, I’d have done it a long time ago.
    Me: No, I mean I want to taste … your cock. I’ve never tasted one.
    Luke Hudson: ur killing me. I’m about to bust the zipper out of my jeans here. Never?
    Me: No. Never did, never wanted to. But I want to with you.
    Luke Hudson: Shit, baby. ur making me crazy. I want it with u too. U have no idea.
    Our goalie, Scroggins, approached and flopped into the seat next to me.
    “I’m bored,” he said. “Wanna play cards?”
    I screamed at him in my head. No! For the love of all, Scroggins, I’m getting more action than I’ve had in years right now!
    But I had to keep my cool. I often played cards with the guys during road trips. I tried to muster a disinterested expression. “Sure, why not?”
    I looked down at my phone.
    Luke Hudson: U ditching me for Scrogs?
    Me: Come up and play if u want.
    Luke Hudson: I can’t be that close to u right now. My boner could cut diamonds.
    “Ready?” Scroggins asked. I took a deep breath, trying to flood my mind with unsexy thoughts. My skin was flushed and I worried that Scroggins would figure out why. I sat my phone on a shelf nearby, face down, and nodded.
    The last hour of the trip was an agonizing pretense of nonchalance. I appeared to be playing cards, but I was actually replaying the text conversation in my head and imagining a heated make out session with Luke. It didn’t even have to be sex; I just wanted to look into his eyes and feel his body against mine.
    The bus pulled into the hotel and I went to put my phone away, my body humming with arousal. Looking at it, I pressed the screen, backing up to erase ‘Hudson’. After that conversation, I figured just his first name would do.
    The guys rose to leave the bus, and Luke’s icy blue eyes swam over me for just a second as he stopped and waited for me to get out of my seat. My gaze slid down from his face to his waist, where I could see the outline of his erection. My pulse quickened. I’d forgotten how euphoric it was to be crazy attracted to someone.
    I filed off the bus, waiting with the guys for our bags to be unloaded. Our equipment manager Mikey passed me mine and I slung it over my shoulder and headed for the hotel door.
    “Dell,” Luke called. He was jogging to catch up with me, but he didn’t have his bag yet. He leaned down to speak quietly in my ear, though no one was in listening range.
    “You like seeing what you do to me?”
    I nodded slightly, begging my cheeks not to betray me by bursting into flame. He leaned back down and spoke again.
    “I’ve never been so turned on. You’d better be going to your room to change panties.”
    Holy shit. The boldness I’d found while texting him was gone. This was face to face, and I couldn’t even think of a complete sentence, let alone speak one.
    “I am,” I said softly, “but first I have to take care of something else.”
    His eyes widened. “You mean …? Are you gonna …?”
    I smiled. I’d been talking about taking a shower, but he obviously thought I was going to rock my own world since I was so worked up from our text convo. And he clearly liked that idea, so who was I to correct him?
    “Oh, yeah. Aren’t you?” I asked, looking down at the outline of his hard cock again.
    He cleared his throat and shifted. “Well, I’ve got a roommate, so … I think I’m fucked. Can I text you later?”
    “I’d be disappointed if you didn’t.” I tucked my hair behind my ear and turned to walk away, dying to turn around and see if he was watching me.

Chapter 5
    Luke
     
    My pregame ritual was to get lost in my playlist and get into the war zone. It was a place in my head where I was wound to fight. I pictured good hits and thought about the euphoria of scoring and winning. Since my injury, thoughts of maiming John London in the next game we played against his team also fueled me.
    But tonight, I wasn’t feeling