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  “I tried.” I groaned as she unbuttoned my shirt and kissed my neck and chest. “But now that I’ve seen this side of you, it’s over.”

  “What side of me is that?” she whispered in my ear. I slid out of my shirt and tossed it on the floor. When I took her wrists and put them over her head, restraining her small forearms with one of my giant ones, she moaned and flexed her hips against me.

  “The vixen,” I said against her lips. “The side of you who wants me to fuck her so bad her body’s humming for it. Who’s soaked through her panties. Who’s turned on by the jock with tattoos who doesn’t fuck nice.”

  She groaned, pretending to disagree, but her grinding hips told a different story.

  “Just fuck me,” she said. “Don’t ruin it by talking.”

  With a low note of laughter, I moved off of her and got out of bed, standing next to it and looking down at her. Her gasp of protest made me smile.

  “You don’t like me talking?” I asked, pulling my undershirt over my head. “You don’t like me telling you how sexy I find the bad side of such a good girl?”

  Her expression clouded with lust as I unbuckled my belt and unbuttoned my dress pants. I let them fall, pushing my boxers down next.

  Sadie’s eyes widened as she eyed my erection. Her mouth could lie, but her body couldn’t.

  “You like that?” I asked in a low tone. She nodded once.

  “Tell me,” I ordered.

  “I like it,” she said quickly.

  “What do you like?” I wrapped a hand around my cock and stroked, groaning at the relief of the ache I was feeling.

  “I like your cock,” Sadie said in a rush. “Please don’t do that.”

  I quirked my brows at her. “Don’t do what, sweetheart?”

  “Touch yourself. I want to do it.”

  Fucking shit. She was gonna make me blow my load before I made it inside her.

  “Is that right?”

  She nodded and got to her knees on the bed. “You’re right. I do like it. When you talk to me. I want you so bad, Niko.”

  A harsh realization hit, and I eyed her tenderly. “Baby, I want you too, but I don’t have any condoms.”

  “I have some.” She reached for a bedside drawer and slid it open. A wave of jealousy swept through me for any other man she’d let fuck her, dulling my arousal for a second. I pressed it down, knowing it wasn’t fair, and took the square packet she handed me.

  It was like the kiss – I wanted to slow down, stop time if I could, to savor her. But everything flew by in a wave of sensation. I eased the panties down her thighs, letting my mouth roam every inch of her. When I removed her bra and took a pert pink nipple into my mouth, she wrapped her legs around my waist and pulled a handful of my hair, moaning.

  I’d already slid the condom on, and I filled her with one thrust of my hips. Her back arched as she cried out loudly.

  “You okay?” I eased out, knowing from how tight she was that I’d hurt her. I kissed her jaw line, surprised when she sank her nails into my ass cheeks and pulled me back toward her.

  “Yes,” she said breathlessly. I moved again and she cried out, bucking her hips to meet mine.

  I looked down at her face, which was filled with desire and satisfaction. Seeing her want me like this made me feel both tender and unhinged. Luke had worried this would hurt her, but instead something was happening to me that couldn’t be undone.

  I closed my eyes for a second, thinking about the tight clench of her pussy around my cock. That was what we were both here for – a nice, hard fuck. This wasn’t love, it was sex. I picked up my rhythm, watching her tits bounce as I fucked her harder.

  “Niko,” she cried, breathless. “Oh, don’t stop.”

  “I won’t, baby.” I groaned, forcing myself to hold on. “You feel so fucking good. Come for me.”

  Her eyes found mine as she cried out, and I pounded my cock into her. She said my name as she came, and the sound of it made me come so hard I shuddered, holding myself deep inside her for several seconds and groaning loudly. I let my face fall against her neck. I couldn’t look at her right now or I’d say something stupid.

  “God, you’re amazing,” she said with a small laugh. Only I wasn’t. This beautiful, sweet, sharp woman in my arms was the amazing one.

  “We’ve only just started, sweetheart,” I said, kissing her shoulder. And I meant it. Satisfying Sadie was a high like I’d never known. But this was a one-time, shit, we drank too much and screwed up kind of thing. It wasn’t, but that’s how I’d justify it to Luke if he ever found out. So I needed to make the most of the few hours we had. Sadie murmured a contented sound against my ear, and I knew these hours would fly by like minutes.

  ***

  Sadie

  I pushed the hair away from my face with both hands. My eyelids were heavy, and when I forced them open, bright sunlight made me squeeze them shut again.

  It took a few seconds for me to adjust and focus on the clock on my bedside table. 9:23. Shit. I never slept this late.

  The reason I had was sprawled out asleep on his stomach, the top of his bare, gorgeous ass visible over the sheet wrapped around his lower body. I admired his broad, muscled back and shoulders. Niko was by far the largest man I’d ever slept with – in every respect. His huge athletic body had brought me to the brink of sanity more than once last night. Well, last night/this morning. I’d dropped into a deep sleep when the sun started rising.

  Rising … I wondered if Niko could be persuaded that Round Four was a good idea. My body warmed at the idea of him inside me yet again. I was sore, but last night had been like a long, icy drink of water in a hot desert. My dry spell had been snapped by a sex god, and I wanted more.

  I picked up Niko’s huge, heavy forearm, sliding my chest under it. He stirred and cracked open an eye, a smile pulling at the corners of his lips.

  “Morning,” he said in a deep, sleepy voice. His fingertips grazed down my breasts and stomach before his hand found my waist and he pulled me against him.

  “Good morning,” I said, unable to keep from grinning.

  “You’re beautiful, Sadie.”

  His compliment warmed me all the way down to my toes. Niko was turning out to be so much more than I’d originally judged him to be. And when I was in his presence, the rest of the world disappeared. His gaze was the most intense I’d ever known. His anger was darker. His dirty talk was sexier. Compared to other men, everything about Niko was just more.

  “Last night was so worth oversleeping,” I said, still grinning. I had never let him see the sliver of hopeful optimism in my personality, but I decided he deserved a glance. He was responsible for my current mood, after all.

  “What time is it?” Niko bolted up and untangled his legs from the sheet.

  I glanced at the clock again. “9:26.”

  “Fuck!” He leapt from the bed, his eyes wild and upset. “Dammit!”

  “What?” His anxiety was rubbing off on me, my heart pounding as I slid out of bed with the sheet wrapped around me.

  “I’m fucking late for practice,” he growled. “I’m so fucking dead. I can’t believe this. I’ve never in my life been late for practice.”

  “How late?” I asked, tossing the sheet aside. I grabbed a pair of jeans from a chair and slipped them on quickly.

  “We start at ten but you have to be there at nine,” he said, frantically dressing in his tux from last night. “I can’t fucking believe this. I had the alarm set on my phone.”

  “Was the volume on?” I’d put my bra from the night before back on, and Niko’s eyes roamed down my body for a split second.

  “Uh …” He rubbed his forehead, his face twisted with aggravation. “Shit. I turned it off for the dinner thing and never turned it back on.”

  “Is practice at the arena?”

  “Yeah.” He ran toward the door, shoes in hand.

  “I can have you there in ten minutes,” I said, grabbing my purse and following him to the door. “I�
��ll drive you.”

  He turned to me, a flicker of annoyance passing over his face. “What? No. Look, I have to go.”

  “I’m parked closer and I’m an efficient driver,” I said. “Move your ass.”

  “Efficient?” He gave me a puzzled glance as we raced down the stairs. “What the fuck does that mean?”

  “Just get in,” I said, running to my small SUV. I stepped in and started it, and as soon as Niko closed the door I glanced over my shoulder and waved, pulling out.

  “Sadie, there are cars coming!” Niko said sharply. He craned his neck to look into traffic.

  “It’s fine,” I said, pressing the accelerator as I pulled into the line of cars. A horn blared behind us and Niko sighed deeply.

  “I can’t fucking believe this,” he muttered. “I haven’t even been here two months. I finally get my chance and I fuck up.”

  “You overslept. It happens.” I pressed the gas to cruise through a yellow light.

  “Jesus, Sadie, you just ran a red light! Slow down! I’m already late, there’s no need to get in a wreck.”

  “Just let me drive. You gonna put your shoes on?”

  Niko shook his head, a disgusted expression on his face. “Coach is gonna find out I came in wearing this and know I was late because I was getting laid. Fuck.”

  I pursed my lips, not sure how I felt about being a lay. But then, that was what it was, wasn’t it? Niko had been trying to screw me, then backed off, and I ended up begging for it. This had probably gone exactly like he wanted. I’d gone from vowing to never give him the time of day to becoming a notch in his bedpost in record time.

  Did this count against my 60 days? We weren’t dating, per se, we’d just slept together. So no, I was still okay. Maybe. This definitely violated the spirit of my plan, if not the letter.

  “That door,” Niko said, pointing when I pulled into the arena parking lot.

  “Text me if you need a ride to get your car later,” I said.

  “I’ll have one of the guys give me a ride.”

  I stopped the car and he jumped out, muttering more profanity and not even looking at me.

  I shook my head and sighed. A column idea I couldn’t write without outing my own treachery came to mind. I’d just gotten worse than a “wham, bam, thank you ma’am.” As shitty as that was, “wham, bam” was worse.

  ***

  Niko

  I slipped into the locker room, hoping to get the tux off before anyone saw it. Everyone was absorbed in loud conversation. Could I get lucky enough to blend in and not get busted for being late?

  When I snuck into a shower stall, I already had my shirt and shoes off. I was sliding out of the pants when a booming voice stopped me cold.

  “You’re late, douchebag!”

  Orion. I sighed deeply and scowled at him.

  “Shut up, asshole,” I muttered.

  He tossed something at my chest and I looked down. Practice clothes. I still had to go get my gear on, but this would help.

  “Akeson knows you’re late,” he said.

  I slipped into the clothes silently. Akeson was an assistant coach, and he wasn’t as big of an asshole as Price.

  “Did you fuck Sadie?” Orion leaned against the shower wall, arms crossed casually.

  “Shut the fuck up,” I said in a low tone.

  “Did you? I’m saving your ass here. She’s a nice girl, man. Don’t fuck her over.”

  “I’m not fucking anyone over,” I snapped. “You don’t know me well enough to know how I treat women, so fuck off.”

  “I’ve heard.”

  “She’s not like other women.” I wadded the tux into a ball and tucked it under my arm, strolling past him. “We’re friends.”

  “Friends who fuck? That never ends well.”

  I turned to face him.

  “Just keep your fucking mouth shut about her. I’m serious.”

  He shrugged. “Just be careful, alright? Showing up here in last night’s tux isn’t a good move.”

  I nodded my agreement. “I just fucked up. It won’t happen again.”

  “Gimme the clothes and go get your gear on,” he said, reaching an arm out.

  I handed the ball of clothes over and left the shower room. I was getting into my practice gear in record time when Akeson approached me.

  “Nice of you to make time for us, Vereshkova,” he said sarcastically.

  “Sorry I’m late. Won’t happen again.”

  He nodded and moved on. I let out a sigh of relief. This could never happen again. My instinct about Sadie being a distraction I couldn’t afford had been right on. I’d meant what I said to Orion – she wasn’t like other women. She was so much better. And that was why I had to stay as far away from her as possible.

  ***

  Sadie

  Dell sipped her iced coffee, her expression a mixture of pity for me and contempt for Niko.

  “Next time I work on that motherfucker, my hand’s gonna slip,” she said. “Or maybe my foot. His balls will never be the same. How dare he fuck with my best friend?”

  “I didn’t tell you because I want you to do something about it,” I said, glaring. “I told you because you’re my friend and you asked why I look like shit. So that’s why, okay? We screwed, it was amazing, he never called and it’s been almost a week. That’s it. Don’t tell Luke. I don’t want any drama.”

  “Fine,” she said, shaking her head. “But that asshole will get his. You’re better than the other women he’s been with. And I resent the way he flirted and fell all over you, only to screw you over immediately after sex.”

  “Yeah, I resent that, too,” I said, sipping my latte. “I don’t know that he fell all over me, but he definitely made me feel like I was more than a casual fuck. But why did I fall for it? He’s just better at gaming women than your average man. Why didn’t I factor that in?”

  “I know every guy on my team pretty well, and he had me fooled, too, Sadie. The way he sat an inch away from you at the fundraiser dinner and couldn’t take his eyes off you? I thought you were the one who finally got through. I was practically crying on the way home that night because I was so happy that you guys were finally getting together.”

  “Why do I write a column called Sadie Says?” I mused. “I have no business saying anything about men. Clearly I’m total shit with them.”

  Dell pointed a chocolate-covered pretzel rod at me. “You are beautiful and smart and … just so many other things, Sade. Sweet. Loyal. Kind. You deserve the best man in the world.”

  I covered my face with my hands. “I’m over it. I let my no-sex plan slide and it was a huge mistake. I’ll give it to Niko — that was a well-played game.”

  “You are not someone to be played with!” Dell slammed the pretzel to her plate and little chunks of it flew into the air and then settled.

  “I was a willing participant. Seriously, girl, it’s over for me and Niko. I’ll be fine. I just need to get focused on my writing.”

  “Are you sure you’re okay? And you’re sure you don’t want Luke to sucker punch him or something? He will, you know. Luke thinks a lot of you and this would really piss him off.”

  I waved a hand. “It is what it is. Sometimes people who read the column ask why I’m so jaded. Well, case in point. This. This is why I’m so jaded.”

  ***

  Niko

  I tossed my sweat-soaked gloves to the ground and flopped onto the bench. I was fucking beat. I’d been pushing myself to the limit in every game and practice this week. My body needed a release, and this was all I had.

  My night with Sadie had been the ultimate release. I’d let go of everything I’d been holding inside since getting to Chicago. All my frustration and longing had poured out of me when we finally connected.

  And that was a problem. I didn’t want to be tied to anyone like that – in an emotional, deeply attached way. I couldn’t afford the distraction. My parents had refused to take time off and come here for Christmas, but they we
re still at the front of my mind. I’d just had someone from the team’s front office wire them $5,000 for Christmas. That was the only way I could get them to accept money from me – by sending it straight to their bank.

  I wiped the sweat from my face and tossed my towel to the floor by my gloves. I grabbed my phone to check messages before my shower and saw a text from my brother Lyov.

  Lyov: call me asap

  I pressed the button to call him back, concern making my chest tighten.

  “Hey,” he answered.

  “Hey man, what’s up?”

  He sighed into the phone. “It’s Dad. He’s in the hospital.”

  “Is he okay? What’s going on?” I stood and ran a hand through my hair, the shower forgotten.

  “He’s in bad shape. It was Len’s guys. They jumped him when he was closing the deli last night.”

  “What the fuck do you mean?” Anger rose hot and fast in my chest, so thick I could taste it. “What’d they do to him?”

  “Broke both his legs. Fucked up his face real bad. And one of his wrists is … I don’t know man, it’s like pulp. They slammed it in the back door over and over.”

  I scrubbed a hand down my face, helplessness paralyzing me. “Fuck. Is he gonna be okay?”

  “He’s in surgery now.” Lyov exhaled deeply into the phone. “If I had a gun, I’d be on my way to Len’s right now. I won’t let this stand.”

  “You’re not doing shit right now. Why’d he do this? Dad paid Len off a long time ago.”

  “Apparently Dad’s back into debt with him. I didn’t know. Mom didn’t even know.”

  “How much? I just sent them $5,000.”

  “He owed twelve grand and Len says it’s now twenty grand with interest.”

  “Fucking prick.” I looked up at the locker room ceiling, considering. “Alright. I’m gonna go catch a flight. I’ll have to come back tonight for a road trip tomorrow.”

  “Meet up at the hospital?” Lyov asked. “I’m here already. Anna’s here, too. Mom’s a wreck.”

  “Let me take care of this,” I said. “You stay with Mom and Dad, and I’ll settle up with Len.”