The Sweet Talker (Boston Hawks Hockey #1) - Gina Azzi Page 0,13

off guard by the way he automatically slants my head in his hand and deepens our connection. He tastes like beer and peppermint; he smells like pinecones and winter.

I moan as his tongue dances with mine and feel his hand slide all the way around my waist, until I’m arching my body into his. My arms wrap around his shoulders, my hands clasping behind his neck.

He kisses me desperately, like he thinks he’ll never kiss me again.

Heat pools between my thighs and my nipples tingle, desperate to be touched. In fact, I feel like I’m vibrating with need, needy for Noah’s skilled fingers to provide a relief I haven’t experienced in too damn long.

I whimper and he swears, ending our connection as quickly as it started and taking a step back. He stares at me, his eyes wild, his chest heaving, his hands clenched into fists.

I raise my hand to my mouth, coming back to the moment, coming back to the reality where I desperately threw myself into the arms of hockey heartthrob, Noah Scotch.

Embarrassment washes through me and my gaze flickers to the front door behind Noah. For fuck’s sake, we didn’t even make it past the foyer. I make a move to start for the door but Noah growls, causing me to freeze.

“You’re staying here tonight,” he says the words decisively, no hesitation in his expression. “But we can’t go there, babe.” He gestures between us, shaking his head.

I bite the corner of my lip, my arms crossing in front of my chest, practically hugging myself. Shit, I messed up. I took advantage of Noah’s kindness. From his looks all night, I know he finds me attractive but that doesn’t mean he wants to sleep with me. I’m nothing like the women he’s usually pictured with, about as far from his ex-fiancée as one could be.

Noah’s gaze softens as he studies me. He strides forward, eating up the space between us and wraps his arms around me, holding me. “You’ll never understand how badly I want you right now. But you deserve more, Indiana. Much more than me, and a hell of a lot more than what I’m capable of giving. All I’ve got is tonight.”

I glance up at him, noting the way his Adam’s apple bobs. His voice is sincere and I can tell he means, truly believes, the words he’s saying.

The thing is, his words don’t bother me. They’re not the issue. Jace taught me better than to hitch my star to a hockey player. My star can blaze all on its own. But right now, I want Noah.

I want the wild, uninhibited, carefree, live-in-the-moment fun I’ve denied myself for far too long. I have a history with Noah, enough to know he’s a good man and one hell of a good time.

So I open my mouth and say, “What if tonight is all I want?”

He swears, his eyes blazing with heat I feel in my veins.

Grabbing the front of his shirt, I pull him closer and kiss him hard, until his lips mold to mine and he carries me up the stairs, to his bedroom.

He tosses me in the center of his bed and I’m shimmying out of my dress as fast as he’s pulling his sweater over his head. He loses his pants next and I giggle. I giggle! Because this moment is fun and exciting and overflowing with sexy expectations and nothing else.

This is what I’ve been missing? I could slap myself for passing up on nights like these all throughout college.

Noah pounces on me, his expression playful. “You sure about this, Little Indy?”

I lie down and hook my heels around his back, pulling him closer. Between the liquid courage of tequila, the heady look in Noah’s eyes, and the sweet promise of living in the moment, I nod. “So ready, Scotch. Give me your best.”

He chuckles even as his eyes burn. “Promise, baby.”

Then he dips his head, kisses me hard, and lights me up like a firework finale on the Fourth of July.

6

Noah

My mouth feels like cotton and a dull throb aches behind my eyes when I wake up the following morning.

Shit. How much did I drink last night?

Slowly, memories of the evening thread together in my mind. Austin organizing a team night out. Firefly, dark lights and a pulsing beat. Shots with Torsten. And Indy.

Indy! I sit straight up in my bed and swing my legs to the side of the mattress.

Last night, I kissed Indiana Merrick and it was spectacular.