DIRTY REBOUND Read online

  We eat and talk and joke. She shows me the pattern for the Lego Masters apron Matty asked her to make him. We haggle over what we’re gonna watch tonight, I want The Curse of Oak Island and she wants Blacklist, which always kills me, considering how many romance novels she’s got loaded on her phone. But when it comes to TV, she’s all about the action and intrigue. That or rockumentaries.

  Chances are good we’ll watch hers, but it’s fun to negotiate whose pick is first.

  By the time I’ve polished off the Thai Basil Chicken Cammy couldn’t finish and the check is paid, I’m feeling pretty good about the smile on my girl’s face. We head back to the alcove, weaving through bodies to where the coats hang by the door. I help her with her coat and she wraps the blue scarf I got her for Christmas into some kind of elaborate knot while I shrug into my jacket.

  Suddenly I feel her hand in mine. My eyes come up because while we’re pretty touchy-feely with the hugs and me just kind of liking to be close to her, hand-holding hasn’t really been our thing. But then that delicate hand delivers a crushing grip that has me wondering if I’ll be able to hold my stick for tomorrow’s game.

  “Damn, woman, what—?”

  “Do it again,” she whispers through a kind of scary smile.

  Do what again? I helped her with her coat. Bumped at least four people because it’s a tight fit and I’m a big guy. But I apologized. Still, if she thinks I need to do it better—I start to turn to the guy behind me but stop when she delivers another bone-grinding squeeze.

  “What?” Look, I’m a pretty quick guy, I don’t miss a lot. It’s what makes me good at what I do. Right now though? I have no idea what this woman wants from me. But based on that freaky intense stare she’s giving me, whatever it is, she wants it bad.

  “Kiss me. Now,” she demands through teeth that don’t move. “He’s here!”

  And it clicks. “The Blip?”

  I start to turn but for being a pretty little thing, Cammy’s surprisingly strong and snaps me back with a hissed, “Don’t look. Don’t look. Don’t look.”

  I try to wipe the smile off my face, because, come on.

  “What? You were mad when I kissed you two weeks ago. Now you want another?”

  That pissy huff. “No, I do not want another, Ruxton. But I’d rather have it than have The Blip think you just gave me some pity kiss or worse”—her face morphs into this tragic mask of horror that has me wanting to pull her into my arms without even knowing what worse is—“a pity lay.”

  Choking on a strangled laugh, I pat her hand while carefully extracting mine.

  “Whoa. No one thinks that, Sunshine.”

  “Think about what he said to me. He thinks I’m desperate. That I have no options. He thinks I’m the kind of woman who would make easy pickins for a player like you.”

  “Easy pickins?” Christ, she’s adorable. “Can’t have that.”

  “I’ve got my pride, Rux.”

  Maybe, but her confidence could sure use a bump.

  “Okay, so our situation is this. You don’t really want my kiss—which is crazy because it’s amazing—but you need it so The Blip knows you aren’t desperate. Yeah?”

  “Easy, stud. Your kiss was nice. But my bar is set pretty high.”

  My eyes narrow. “By who?”

  If she tells me some high school boy from seven years ago who didn’t know enough to hold on to what he had, I might have to make a point I was kind of hoping not to make.

  “I don’t kiss and tell,” she says, eyes dancing with mischief.

  Whatever.

  “But, yes. So far as The Blip is concerned, you’re my boyfriend now.” She lets out a little squeak, grabbing my hand back for another crush. “He’s turning around. Do it. Do it. Do it.”

  “Cammy—”

  Poking me in the ribs, she steps closer. “Just suck it up and kiss me already.” I haven’t even moved in an inch when her hand pushes into my chest, holding me back. Her eyes are deathly serious. “And Rux, make it good.”

  As a rule, I’m all about giving this girl whatever she wants. She’s had a tough run and making her smile is one of the better fucking things in life. But making it good probably isn’t a great idea. That said, I’ve got another play in mind that might be.

  “Cammy, chill.” When she takes a breath, I catch her chin in the crook of my finger, bringing her eyes up to mine.

  She stills.

  I brush my thumb across the swell of her bottom lip. This girl has the hottest, tartest, sweetest mouth and it’s kind of fun to get to play with it like this for a minute when I normally make a point of pushing those objective observations aside. Thinking about that sexy, soft lip too much could get a guy in trouble.

  Cammy

  Rux is a big guy. He’s got muscles everywhere. Big hands. Big shoulders. An even bigger ego. But when the big goof puts his hands on me, he’s incredibly gentle, brushing the hair from my eyes and tucking it behind my ear with such tender care, I melt a little.

  It’s not what I’m expecting from my showy friend.

  “What are you doing?” I ask quietly, all too aware of how his hand hasn’t moved away, and his thumb is stroking my cheek.

  “Being a good boyfriend.” He repeats the actions on the other side.

  No one touches my hair, and the feel of his fingers in it nearly has me moaning at the gentle tug. Trying to keep my focus, I whisper, “This kiss needs to say long-term tenderness and emotion. Then you’ll never have to do it again.”

  He nods, the corner of his mouth twitching like he’s finding this all so cute. He finds everything cute. Which is kind of cute itself, now that I think about it.

  He’s holding my face in the cradle of his palms. Like I’m precious. Like he never wants to let me go.

  Like he’s putting way more into this bit of fiction than I would have expected him to. Heck, the way he’s touching me is almost enough to convince me.

  I’m about to tell him to get on with it, but then he starts to move and I tip my head to his, my lips parting as I ready to take this kiss I really don’t want… that I’m not waiting for… that’s only about my dinged ego and a misplaced need to prove something to a guy I couldn’t care less about.

  His face is so close to mine, moving along the contours in this slow tease, his cheeks almost touching mine, noses nearly aligned, so close I can feel the heat from his skin, the wash of his breath against my lips, my jaw—oh my God—that tender skin beneath.

  I swallow. Try to keep my breathing even, but this thing he’s doing, this not-quite kiss that has my heart starting to skip and my belly starting to twist, is some seriously powerful stuff.

  And he hasn’t even kissed me yet. My lips are starting to tingle with the want of it. The needy pull getting stronger and stronger with every second he draws out his tease. His mouth is next to my ear, so close I get chills along my neck from the sensation of that charged bit of air occupying the space between us.

  “Fuck this guy, Cammy,” he murmurs softly. “He doesn’t deserve a single thought.”

  I nod and the motion is enough to make contact, bringing his lips against the shell of my ear for one fleeting second. Just long enough for that low-level current to sizzle across my skin, drawing a quiet gasp from me.

  Chuckling softly, Rux pulls back.

  One brow raised in a look so cocky and sure, at any other time I’d have to give him trouble for it. But today, after this?

  “Wow. You have got some serious game.”

  He nods. “I know, right?”

  “I mean, my belly feels like I just stepped off the Eagle up at Six Flags and do you see this?” Tipping my head to the side, I show him my neck.

  “Chills? You’re a sensitive little thing.”

  I guess. “Hey, you didn’t kiss me.”

  He gives me another grin so smug I can’t help but smile along with him. “Pretty sure I got the message across anyway.”

  He’s right. Relieved, I beam up at him. “You’re so i
nto me. It’s totally obvious.”

  “Yep.” And then he rests his hand over mine… where I’ve fisted his shirt against his heart. “And it’s not one-sided.”

  Seeing what I’ve done, my brows shoot high as I blush, smoothing the fabric with a few pats of my hand. “Guess not.”

  “You good to get out of here?” he asks, buttoning my jacket.

  I nod and we head out, probably passing The Blip at the door. But honestly, I’ve sort of lost track of him.

  Outside, Rux throws a heavy arm around my shoulders and pulls me in, keeping me warm.

  “Thanks for that, Rux.”

  “You bet.”

  When we get to his truck, I climb in and buckle up while he starts the engine. He turns to me. “What?”

  “Gotta admit, now I’m wondering what kind of kiss you’re packing when you actually try.”

  Shaking his head with a laugh, he pulls into traffic. “I bet you are. And guess what?”

  I raise a brow.

  “You owe me. We’re watching Oak Island.”

  Chapter 4

  Cammy

  I can barely look at myself in the mirror. Last night was… it was nothing. Except somehow my sex-starved subconscious disagrees and is making a bigger deal out of that not-quite kiss that was strictly for show than it should.

  I’ve never had a dirty dream about Rux before. Ever. Not even before we were really friends and all I knew about him was that he was this big, sexy hockey star who hung out with my sister’s secret boyfriend. Granted, there’d been a lot on my mind back then. And by the time I’d sorted it out, Rux had become a regular in my life. He’d become my friend. One I needed more than any kind of sexual fantasy.

  So no naughty dreams about Rux.

  Until last night. When suddenly he shows up in my dreams cast in a role he’s never played before. What’s worse? It’s not like I even got any action out of it. It was just this replay of the events from the night before, only instead of being sort of delightfully giddy and quietly awed by Rux’s ladies’ man skill set… I was completely caught up in the closeness of our bodies, the way his mouth hovered so near mine, the electric charge sizzling between us.

  I wanted more.

  But even as my breath went uneven and my pulse sped, he continued to torment me, tease me—moving into that space just beyond my reach. Tempting me with what I couldn’t have.

  Making me beg his name and whisper pleas he wouldn’t answer.

  All he’d give me was that knowing eye contact, that heavy-lidded stare.

  Until I’d woken reaching into the empty space of my bedroom, breathless and worked up to a near painful degree. I’m ashamed to admit I thought about Bob. But there was no way I could give in to that impulse with Rux on the brain—Rux!

  Uncool.

  So very, very, very uncool.

  And now Rux is on his way over and not only am I wondering how I’ll be able to look at myself in the mirror… but how am I going to be able to look him in the eye?

  The sound of the door opening says it’s too late to figure it out.

  I head into the living room telling myself it’s going to be fine.

  Seriously, this is Rux.

  The guy has zero filter and doesn’t seem to understand the concept of TMI.

  There is no reason to be concerned. None.

  The only reason it will get weird is if I make it that way.

  “Morning, Sunshine. How’d you sleep?”

  I could totally dodge the question. Answer fine and move on. But the idea of keeping a stupid dream a secret feels like I’d be giving it more power, making it more of a thing than if I just put it out there.

  We’ll have a laugh. He’ll tease me while his ego bloats to monumental proportions. I’ll find a way to put a pin in it. We’ll get on with our day.

  “That good, huh?” He drops onto the couch, setting down the coffees and pastry bag on the coffee table first. “Got you a banana nirvana thing this morning,” he says, looking completely delighted as he waves his hand over the sip hole, wafting the scent toward his nose.

  “That sounds gross, but I’m kind of curious anyway.” I drop onto the couch beside him, tucking one knee on the cushions between us as I take the steaming insulated mug. “Oh wow, that really does smell good.”

  He’s nodding, his smile getting bigger by the minute.

  This guy is so much fun. He devours new experiences like no one I’ve ever met before, and I have to admit, it’s not bad getting caught in the wake of that excitement.

  I take a sip and my brows pop up as my mouth goes into meltdown mode over how delicious it is. “Wow. I totally thought that was going to be a bust, but it might be my new favorite drink.”

  I hand him the cup. He takes a sip and falls back against the couch cushions with a groan that ought to be contained to the bedroom and has me wanting to kick myself for letting my head go there.

  Rux is my friend. I don’t want to be thinking about the sounds he makes in the bedroom. Not at all. But here I am, staring at the sprawl of his long legs, the way his heavy thighs fill out his red athletic pants and his vintage Easton T-shirt stretches over the ridged terrain of his abs.

  “What’s wrong? Funky aftertaste?” He smacks his lips, brows furrowing in concentration. “Still tastes good to me.”

  “No, the coffee is delicious. It was just…” I think about the way he’d been looking at me in my dream the night before and feel my cheeks flame.

  Catching my wrist, he sits up, grin slanting like it’s a hairsbreadth from slipping off his face. “Just what?”

  Meeting his eyes, I shake my head and let out a strained breath. Which I hate, because there’s nothing strained between us. It’s always easy and open and—and I’m not going to be the one to screw that up by turning nothing into something bigger than it should be.

  “This is silly and you’re never going to let me live it down, but…”

  One thick brow pushes up.

  I take a breath and bite the bullet.

  “But you got all up in my head with your not-quite kiss last night, and I had a dirty dream about you.” The words spill out in a rush and I’m pretty sure I’m going to die of embarrassment. Except then Rux barks out a laugh, eyes glittering with smug satisfaction.

  “Oh my God, you don’t have to laugh about it,” I gasp, but I’m already joining him as relief floods me.

  How does he do it? Know exactly what I need even before I do.

  “I’m not!” he shouts out, setting the coffee aside as I poke at his ribs a few times. He catches my hand and pulls me into him so I fall against his chest.

  It’s a place I’ve been a hundred times before, and I’m not going to think about it any differently now. Even if it is a pretty spectacular place to land.

  “Okay, maybe I was a little.”

  I pinch his ribs and using some superhuman hockey-stud strength, he tucks me along his side, so I’m beneath his arm and half between him and the back of the couch, half on top of him.

  Again, it’s a place I’ve been a hundred times before. It’s one of my favorite ways to be when we’re watching a movie after Matty’s gone to bed or we’re just talking and Rux wants a cuddle.

  Now, his big arm is holding me tight, keeping me close as he lets out a contented sigh.

  “So how was I?” he asks, tucking his chin to give me a salacious grin. “I was a stallion, right? Rocked your world right off its axis.”

  I huff out a laugh, beyond grateful that I told him and that he found exactly the right way to diffuse any tension I might have been holding onto about it.

  “You were a freaking tease.”

  He stills and then pulls back again. “Huh?”

  “Yeah, it was all that same business you were giving me last night, except times ten. And then you were giving me these sexy eyes that, I’m not going to lie, were pretty potent.”

  He pulls back even farther, a deep furrow etched between his brows. “The same business like we didn
’t even kiss?”

  “You wouldn’t give it up. I wanted it, bad. But no. You weren’t accommodating.”

  That big arm clamps around me again and he smiles into my hair. “Total bullshit on my part, Sunshine. Sorry.”

  I burrow into his side a little deeper, and sigh. “It was BS, but I forgive you.”

  “Dream Rux sounds like a dick. Pretty uncool considering…”

  I’m so relaxed, I think I could fall asleep right where I am. But there’s something about the way he’s left that sentence…

  Lifting my head, I meet his eyes. “Considering what?”

  Oh yeah, that smile is every kind of unrepentant naughty. “Dream Cammy always puts out.”

  Cammy

  “He did not say that!” Julia practically shouts through the line as I poke around my desk, pushing my little stack of heart-shaped sticky notes in line with the high-heel tape dispenser.

  “He totally did. And worse yet, then he winked! And now, he’s been sending me these lip-pics all afternoon.”

  “What the hell is a lip-pic?”

  “Like a dick-pic but featuring his dirty mouth instead of his package.” I roll my eyes just thinking about the assortment of pictures of Rux’s lips filling up my phone. “Here, sending you one now… At first I thought he’d accidentally fumbled the phone, somehow snapped the picture, and sent, but then I got the next one.” And the next after that.

  I wait for it, and yeah, my sister’s squeal says she got it.

  “Hello, he’s biting his lip.”

  “But just a little.” Not like he’s trying to chew the thing off.

  “Yeah, sort of tasteful but still sexy.”

  “That’s what I told him!” I love those moments when Julia and I share the same brain. She’s six years older than I am, and we don’t even have the same dad—but we’re close in a way that comes from her stepping in and raising me whenever our mom wasn’t up for the task. So most of the time.