Hooking - Kristine Allen Page 0,62

the hell not?”

I sighed. “Because this is supposed to be casual. Remember? I can’t spend every night here,” I said, trying to reason with him.

“Actually, you could. Last time I checked, you’re a grown-ass woman who can make her own decisions.” He gently bumped me with his shoulder to move, so I sat up. Then he turned to sit on the edge of the bed, his back facing me.

“Alex, don’t be like this. We both knew going into this that I had to be careful so I didn’t put my job in jeopardy,” I argued even though my heart wasn’t in the argument. He looked over his shoulder at me, his blue eyes crackling.

“Careful doesn’t mean casual. So if we’re only going to be casual, then you’re okay with us seeing or hooking up with other people?” His voice was tight and strained.

“Is that what you want?” I questioned in disbelief. Sensing the tension, Victor stood up, stretched, and jumped off the bed with a thud. My chest constricted painfully, and I had to resist clutching it.

“Fuck no, it’s not! I’ve never had a chick spend the night with me until you. Hell, I haven’t brought one home here, period. Even when I was staying in the condo, they didn’t stay afterward,” he snapped, and I cringed at the “afterward.”

“I’m not trying to fight with you, Alex. Truly, I’m not. Where is this coming from? I thought you were okay with this only being sex.” The words came out, but they hurt. Because deep down, I knew I wanted more but I was afraid.

His hands gripped the edge of the bed, and his head dropped. The waves of his hair curtained around his face. Hesitantly, I reached out to trail my hand over the bunched muscles of his back. Perfectly sculpted, it was fascinating. “What if I’m not okay with casual anymore?”

It was said so quietly, I wondered if I’d heard correctly. “What?”

Slowly, his head swiveled in my direction, and his pale blue eyes locked on mine. “I’m almost twenty-six years old. I’ve been playing hockey as long as I can remember. The last serious girlfriend I had was when I was seventeen. It lasted all of three months until hockey season started again. The reality of me being gone half the season didn’t appeal to her. After that, I poured my emotions into hockey, content with that and puck bunnies.”

Chest rapidly rising with each breath, I waited for him to finish. There was the chance he was going to say something that gutted me, but my instincts told me this was big. For both of us.

“You’re like no other woman I’ve ever met. Even though I keep telling myself it’s hard to have a relationship during the season, I feel like I want to try. With you.” When he said the last word, I swallowed with difficulty and fought to catch my breath. It was like all the oxygen had been sucked from the room.

“With me?” I nervously clarified.

After a brief pause, he wet his bottom lip. “Yeah. You.”

“Wow.” It was all I could choke out. Part of me was terrified I was dreaming. The rest was worried I wasn’t. If things went bad between us, not only would it make things awkward at work, it had the potential to leave me wrecked in the worst and most destructive way.

Alexander Kosinski was addictive. To have him—all of him—and then lose him might be something a woman could never recover from. My hesitancy must’ve been misleading, because his shoulders caved, and he stood.

Trying to ignore the mesmerizing contours of his tight butt, I sat up quickly.

“Alex!” He stopped but didn’t turn around. Scrambling naked out of the bed, I caught his arm. My fingertips pressed into hard biceps covered in gorgeous ink and soft, smooth skin. When he still refused to turn around, I stepped in front of him.

“Just go home, Sydney.” He sounded so tired and defeated, it broke my heart.

Raising up on my tiptoes, I kissed him.

At first, he didn’t move. His lips were soft but still beneath mine. In desperation, I ran my tongue along his bottom lip, seeking entrance. When I still had little response, I bit him. Partly out of anger that he wouldn’t respond, and partly because I was determined.

It seemed to do the trick, because he gripped my hips and lifted me as he devoured my kisses. My legs wrapped frantically around him, not wanting to let go.

He became fierce, wild, and bold