Caged (Gold Hockey #11) - Elise Faber Page 0,44

paid the bill, so we can just go straight out to your car.”

“What?” His brows drew together, his hand still half in his pocket, since he’d been in the process of pulling out his wallet. “What do you mean—” But his question was cut off when Dani sat down next to him, tugging his hand out of the opening, shoving his wallet back inside.

“I said, I got it.” Her fingers lightly brushed his. “Which means you still owe me a date.”

Joy swirled through him, a tiny tornado growing in intensity with each second he spent in the presence of this woman. “I’ll take that deal,” he said, sliding his hand up her arm, lightly gripping the side of her neck. “Because it means more time with you.”

“I like you, Ethan Korhonen.”

“Well, right back at you, Dani Eastbrooke.”

He brushed his lips over hers.

She turned the kiss into something that had his heart pounding, his cock going to granite.

Then she stood, took his hand, and he knew he was in for a hell of a ride.

Chapter Fifteen

Dani

She was sitting up front by Fanny; the man who made every cell in her body sit up and pay attention was several rows back.

She’d been intending to sit by him, but then Max had gotten ahold of Ethan, and Fanny had come to carry out her aforementioned interrogation, and . . . next thing she knew, she was in her normal row on the bus, her friend chatting her ear off as the vehicle got loaded.

Brit walked by, winking when she caught Dani’s gaze as she made her way to the back of the bus.

Seniority ruled when it came to seat position.

Coaches up front, then support staff, then rookies on back to the senior citizens.

Dani wondered what Brit might say if the goalie knew that Dani mentally referred to her, Blane, and Max as the senior citizens.

They were the oldest players.

But the lithe, strong Brit wouldn’t be happy.

Still, Dani filed it away for use at a future date—maybe during one of those times where she was hanging with the women of the Gold and worked up the courage to actually say something.

If she were living her life for real now, she’d need a few teasing statements stowed away and ready to roll.

“What are you smiling about?”

She blinked, glanced up to see that Fanny had vacated her seat, and it was suddenly occupied by a man who took up much more space than her tiny figure-skating friend. “I was categorizing Brit as a senior citizen.”

He froze. His face an expression in shock.

And then he burst out laughing, drawing the notice of pretty much everyone on the bus. They were probably wondering what the heck quiet, shy Dani could be saying to make a man like Ethan laugh so riotously.

But for the first time ever in her life, Dani didn’t care what anyone else was thinking.

She only cared what Ethan was thinking, and she supposed, what she was thinking. And the thoughts floating through her mind were light, happy ones, cautious optimism and a need to know everything about this man. His family, his parents, every sad and positive story of his life.

She wanted to know his favorite color and food and—

“Why’s there smoke coming out of your ears?”

“What’s your favorite color?”

He straightened, lips parting and then curving. “It’s like that, huh?”

“It’s a perfectly acceptable first date question.”

“We’re on a date?”

Her sigh was disgruntled, and she swatted at his chest. “We’re going to be at some point. Well, if you stop being such a pain in my ass, that is.”

He grinned, his gray eyes dancing, and she nudged him with her elbow. Which just had him snagging her arm, tucking it against him . . . tugging her against him. Her breath caught, desire swirling through her, and she was quite desperate to taste him again.

His hand came to her cheek, his thumb brushing along her bottom lip. He groaned. “Don’t look at me like that.”

She would give almost anything right then to be able to kiss him like she had on her porch the night before, like her body was an extension of his and if she just kept sipping at his mouth, the rest of the world could go on without them.

“Not helping,” he murmured, that thumb still running back and forth.

“You came up to sit by me.”

“I like you,” he said. “I like to sit by people I like.”

“That’s a lot of likes.”

He tapped her nose. “Sass. I like that, too.”

She laughed, shook her