Page 126 of Top Shelf

He smirks victoriously. “Little Moth, when it comes to you, I want everything. I’ll take it all if you’ll give it to me.”

Fuck. Me.

Unable to hold back any longer, I lean in and press my lips to his. I long to do so much more, but for now, this will have to suffice. “I give you all of me,” I murmur quietly.

“Thank fuck because you’ve owned every inch of me since that first day when you bent over in that tight little skirt and showed me that biteable ass.”

“Lucian!” I shove him in the chest as Ronan, rolling his eyes, drags him away.

“What?” he calls, smirking cheekily as he looks back at me over his shoulder. “I was just being truthful.”

Ripping a page out of his notebook, Silas presses it into my hands, kissing me quickly before chasing after them.

Alone, I unfold it, my heart skipping a beat as I read what he wrote.

He’s not the only one who gave himself over to you at first sight.

Stunned, I stand there, oblivious to the chaos continuing around me as I get lost in Silas’s words until the lights in the arena dim suddenly.

Shit!

Pocketing the note, I hurry toward the tunnel from which the teams will appear. The stands are full now, a ripple of excitement moving through the crowd as children scramble back to their seats, clutching popcorn and foam fingers while music pulses through the overhead speakers.

My pulse kicks up right alongside it.

Okay.

Showtime.

I stand near the edge of the tunnel entrance with a microphone clasped tightly between both hands while arena staff scramble through the final checks around me. Across the ice, the giant projector screen flickers to life with the Kings logo spinning slowly against a backdrop of flashing lights.

I’m waiting for my cue to speak when Coach Wexler’s voice echoes through the speakers.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us for the Valehurst Kings Youth Charity Weekend!”

Cheers erupt instantly from the crowd. I glance around. This wasn’t part of the plan… What is going on?

Wexler continues speaking from center ice, thanking sponsors and volunteers while the massive crowd settles into anticipation. Everywhere I look, kids are vibrating with excitement in their seats. Parents hold up phones ready to record. Volunteers grin knowingly from behind merchandise booths.

Then he gestures toward me from center ice. “And none of this would’ve been possible without one person in particular.”

Oh no.

Absolutely not.

The spotlight swings toward me before I can escape.

The crowd erupts into applause. Heat floods my face instantly. The banging of sticks from behind has me turning, finding the entire Valehurst Kings team standing just inside the tunnel. Ronan, Lucian, and Silas are at the front, clapping and hollering the loudest.

Traitors.

“Gwendolyn Winslow has worked tirelessly to make this weekend happen,” Wexler continues, entirely unbothered by the fact that I’m internally dying. “And apparently she decided sleep was optional somewhere along the way.”

Laughter ripples through the crowd.

I bury my face briefly in my hands. If it wasn’t for little impressionable minds watching from the stands, I’d flash him the bird.

“And because she enjoys making the rest of us look bad…” He gestures toward the tunnel entrance behind me. “She’s arranged one final surprise for tonight’s exhibition game.”