Chapter Two
Beautiful. Please. The only thing visible on my entire body is my Rudolph nose, the rest ensconced in my long puffer coat, scarf, and mittens.
The fact this guy says it so quickly, with a voice like warm honey that I’m totally ignoring, proves what I’ve suspected about hockey players on campus.
He’s a total player.
On instinct, my arms go to his shoulders to hold on and I burrow my head in embarrassment.
On the front porch, Lizzie is doubled over, laughing hysterically. Her blonde hair bobs and sways as she shakes her head. “That was so funny. You should have seen yourself.”
I ignore her in favor of walking on my own two feet. “Thanks for the help. I can walk though.”
“Ah, but I think I like you in my arms.”
Yeah… smooth. His voice is deep and rich and based on the size of this guy’s shoulders, he’s as burly and bulky as the rest of the players. The fact he’s only wearing a short-sleeve shirt shows his muscles and corded throat.
Without setting me down, he walks up the stairs I’ve just fallen down and shoves two guys out of the way. Werewolf boy has disappeared but the other two guys, with their typical long and shaggy hockey hair, one blonde, one darker, wear their smirks as easily as they probably wear their skates.
“Please.” I dig my mitten-covered hands into his shoulders and push off. “Put me down.”
He stops instantly, and whether it’s the tremble he hears in my voice from the cold, or the mortification sluicing through me, he listens.
“You okay?” he asks.
I can’t bring myself to look at him. If he’s anything similar to the guys watching us with interest, I might fall right back into him.
And falling for a guy, whether it be in his arms—or his bed—is not on my agenda for the night.
“I’m fine. Cold. And again, thank you.”
“Well, it’s almost my fault you landed on your ass. I’m the one who dared Sorenson to run around the block without clothes on.”
As he says it, I hear a howl in the distance and laugh. Looking up, I turn to the guy who saved my tailbone and me from further humiliation. “Did the dare require him howling?”
“Ah. No.” The guy who grabbed me lifts an arm and runs it through his hair before dragging his fingers down a cheek covered with a thick, but trimmed beard. “That’s all on Max.”
I was right before. I shouldn’t have looked directly at him. This guy isn’t only muscular and fit and able to pluck me out of the air like I’m light as a feather—which I’m not—he’s breathtakingly gorgeous. I inhale a sharp breath as the light from the porch catches his eyes.
They’re so light. Almost clear. The lightest blue I’ve ever seen. So light they’re almost silver.
The howling grows louder. I have no desire to see Wolfboy again, or all that hair, so I step around the hottie before my plans go awry and gesture to Lizzie. “Well, thanks… again. We’ll see you inside, I guess?”
“Since this is my house, I suppose you will.” He lazily shoves his hands into the pockets of his jeans… jeans that show the strength of his thighs with a buckle at the center that’s an eye-magnet, drawing my gaze not only to it but the bulge beneath.
Oh….
Lizzie grabs my hand. “Come on, Katie. You look like you need a drink.” She’s right. We take two steps forward before she continues. “And dick. That guy back there? I have no doubt he’s absolutely willing to share his with you.”
We’re swallowed up by a sea of bodies and her voice mutes. Thank goodness. If he heard that, I’ll be even more embarrassed than I already was.
“Beer!” I shout in her ear. “Get me to the keg!”
“You got it, girl!” I follow her through the crush of scantily clad bodies, a shocking number of them considering the brutal temperatures outside, removing my coat and shoving my mittens into the pockets on the way. I’m pretty sure I elbow at least two people as I twist and slide through the crowd.
The music is loud and the bass shakes the floors beneath my feet. I hate everything about these kinds of crowds and the stench of stale beer and sweat. By the time I arrive at the keg tucked in a corner of the kitchen, I could kiss my best friend when I see her hands are holding two red cups. Like me, she’s ditched her coat, and both of us have them draped over our forearms.
“Drink first, and then we find a place to put these.” She lifts her arm. I’m not so sure I agree with her on that one. But I’m intent on that drink so I wait for her to fill them, joking with the beefy guy behind the keg who’s handing out cups and taking the money for them.
Based on the thick stack of cash in his hand, it’s been a busy night for these boys.
We’ve just gotten our cups filled when the hairs at the back of my neck stand up and take notice. I’m about to turn around when the guy in front of us, holding the cash, breaks out in a wide grin and sings, “Hey Jude…”
A muscled arm stretches over my shoulder and shoves the guy back. “That stopped being funny about two years ago, Dubiak.”
I know that voice. It’s his. From outside. And Jude? Is there a story there or is he a Beatles fan?
I’m curious, but not curious enough to turn around until the stranger who swept me off my feet continues, saying, “And give these two their money back. They’re on me tonight.”
“Oh!” Lizzie croons. Her smile is wide, her eyes twinkling with laughter as she glances at whatever expression I currently wear and the guy behind me. “That’s so nice of you. Isn’t it, Katie?”
She whisks the money Dubiak is holding out of his fingers quicker than I can blink.
I’m not falling for this. I spin, intent on telling off the behemoth, but once again I’m rendered speechless at the sight of him.
He’s so… manly. And it unsettles me the way my body responds to his looks, his cocksure grin he’s currently sporting, and his size. In the harsh fluorescent light of the kitchen, he’s even prettier than he was outside. More rugged. He’s so damn sexy that my girl parts Lizzie accused of growing cobwebs wake up and dust themselves off.
Oh no. This is not good.
“We can pay our own way.” In fact, I always insist on it. Lizzie is one thing, but I don’t need a guy to take care of me and even if I wanted one, it’s not going to be this guy, who most likely thinks spending ten dollars for a plastic cup will get me in his bed later.
That’s never going to happen. Ever.
“I bet you can, Katie. But tonight it’s on me. Consider it an apology.”
“Kate.” I ground out my name. Of course he’s heard Lizzie say it, but I’m still left in the dark as to who this guy is. “And you are?”
“Jude Taylor.” He says it like I should know who he is. There’s a slight hitch to his upper lip, which is really just as beautiful as the rest of him, even shaded by his dark scruff. “You two want to put your coats away? You can lock them in my room.”
“No—” I say, at the same time Lizzie shoves me out of the way.
“We’d love to.” She flashes me a glare and smiles up at Jude, which now explains the song. “Show us the way?”