Chapter 1
Cady
August
Four months earlier…
I bolt straight up
in bed, the sheets clutched to my chest. Panic fills me as I take in
the bright sunlight filtering in through the windows. I turn my head
slowly, dread filling me as I make eye contact with the alarm clock
beside the bed.
10:03 AM.
Phew! My heartbeat
settles down immediately as I realize I haven’t missed my
flight back home, which is scheduled for late afternoon. And while
the panicked feeling has been immediately eased, I take stock of the
fact that my head is pounding, courtesy of a hangover I fully
expected to have. Grimacing, I swing my legs to the side of the bed,
intent on searching my purse for the bottle of Excedrin I know will
assuage my suffering.
My body freezes when
I feel a hand snake around my waist. A large hand. Rough… yes,
I feel the calluses scraping against my skin, and then I’m
pulled backward into a hard body.
For a split moment,
my mind is blank, and I search in vain to remember why there is
someone else in this bed with me.
Then it all comes
back in a rush.
Zane.
Sexy as hell,
professional hockey player… Zane Kavanaugh.
I groan loudly as
the back of my naked body connects with his front… hot skin,
the scrape of his chin on my shoulder, and a very stiff erection
poking me in the backside.
“Where are you
going?” he asks, his voice all rough and raspy.
I take a deep breath
in and let it out slowly, but it does nothing to relax me. My body is
stiff and unyielding in his embrace. “Just to get some headache
medicine. I think I drank one too many last night.”
Zane chuckles and
plants a soft kiss on my shoulder, then follows it up with a nip of
his teeth, which causes a jolt of pleasure to spark through my body
and I melt back into him. “I thought you said there’d be
no regrets,” he murmurs near my ear. “Your voice is
sounding regretful.”
Sighing, my hand
comes up to rest over the arm wrapped around my waist. “You’re
right. We agreed… no regrets.”
But damn, I regret
every bit of it as I lay here in bed with a practical stranger who
will officially become my first one-night stand ever.
But oh God…
what a night. It may be a one-night stand, but it certainly wasn’t
a one-orgasm night. I may have started off partially inebriated when
his lips first touched mine, but I sobered up quickly when we had our
clothes off and were rolling around naked on my bed.
No…
correction… not my bed.
Linc and Ever’s
bed. Their guest bed to be precise and I groan out loud again.
“What’s
wrong now?” Zane asks softly as he moves his arm from around my
waist, only to caress his hand over my hip.
Turning abruptly in
the bed, I face Zane to tell him exactly why I just groaned, but my
thoughts scatter when my eyes lock onto his. How is it possible I
forgot how insanely gorgeous he is? It’s the eyes…
bright green, flashing with heat and intelligence, and a bit of a
cocky attitude. Full, generous lips, a surprisingly straight nose
given the nature of his work, and golden blond hair that’s
unfashionably long and unruly. Oh, and let’s not forget…
a body that was built by the gods themselves.
Zane’s hand
travels over my backside, where he squeezes my ass cheek and pulls me
in closer so his erection now lays pulsing and hot between my legs.
He leans in to kiss me, and my heart rate zooms away. Just before his
lips touch mine, I come to my senses and push him back. “Wait…
you’ve got to get you out of here before Linc finds you in this
room. We can sneak you out the window.”
Cocking an eyebrow
at me, Zane scoffs. “I’m not sneaking out the window.
Linc won’t care that I’m here.”
“Yes, he will.
I distinctly remember last night him warning you that he’d kill
you if you harmed a hair on my head before he left.”
“And have I
hurt you in any way?” Zane counters.
“No, but you
know what he meant… he meant for you to keep your hands off
me.”
Zane chuckles and
pulls
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