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Rigby laughed. “Could be worse. You could be pounded into the boards by a solid wall of muscle everyday.”
“Sounds pretty good to me.” The words were out of my mouth before I could drag them back. Every single set of eyes turned to me, their focus like lasers as they stared at me. “I mean the hockey part, not the pounding. I mean… Woo, is that the time? I better go to bed.”
I shifted to my feet and stood up, the world swaying a little in my peripheral vision. Drinking while sitting in front of the fire was a trap; you never knew how hard it was hitting you until you needed to move.
Rigby stood quickly. “I’m going too. I’ll walk you up so we can all rest easier knowing you aren’t going to fall down the stairs.”
I expected River and Devan to protest, but they didn’t. They just watched me with expressions that I couldn’t decipher. Maybe they thought I was an alcoholic? Though the fact I was tipsy off three bottles of beer probably didn’t lend much credence to the idea.
I muttered a goodnight under my breath and hightailed it inside. I could hear Rigby’s chuckles from behind me, and I turned to look over my shoulder at him.
“You’re a bit of a lightweight there, sweetheart.” I flipped him the finger, and he just laughed.
“We aren’t all pickled. I’m out of practice. In college, I could have drank that beer upside down at a kegger and still passed a sobriety test.”
“Really?”
I sighed at the bottom of the stairs. Why were there so many? “No. I was a lightweight then too. But I wasn’t this bad. Did you add an extra ten stairs while we were out? How the hell do you climb that after a big game?”
“Normally, we go out for drinks after a game, and I don’t come home until the following day if I’m lucky.”
I faux-gasped. “Rigby Engman, are you a manwhore?”
He laughed as he took two big steps toward me and lifted me in his arms like a bride. “Reformed manwhore. There’s only so much meaningless sex you can have before it becomes a chore. Still feels nice, but so does fucking my fist in the shower, and my fist won’t poke holes in the condom or talk to the media about me.”
I looked up at him with wide eyes. “People haven’t?” I breathed, horrified at the very idea of selling private details to the press, let alone trying to baby-trap someone. Who does that shit?
“Not to me, but to others.” He curled his arms, pulling me closer to his chest. “Enough to be a warning to us all. I know that River is picky as hell, and had a booty call that he made sign an NDA contract. Though he hasn’t seen her in a while,” he said thoughtfully. “And I make itrealclear about what I expect early on. You get better at picking the girls who just want to ride you so they know they can, and the ones looking to trap you as a meal ticket.”
I frowned. That was so fucking sad. “I’m sorry.”
He laughed, cuddling me to his chest. “I know, right? Poor little manwhore.”
Still, I wrapped my arms around his neck tighter, hugging him closer. “Abusing your trust isn’t a joke, Rigby. Next time someone does that shit, point me at them and I’ll beat their ass.”
Rigby snorted as he climbed the stairs easily, even with my body weight. “Are you going to get into a catfight for me?”
I frowned up at him as we reached the landing. “Notforyou. I’m protecting your honor. It’s chivalrous.”
“Can women be chivalrous?”
“They told me I can be anything I want to be,” I announced like a PBS special, making him laugh. He stopped outside my door, lowering me to my feet.
“That you can, baby girl. You can be anything or anyone you want to be.” He stared down at me with intense eyes, his hand cupping the back of my neck like he was going to kiss me.
I realized I wanted him to. Really, really bad.
Instead, he stroked my jaw with that huge mitt he called a hand. “Goodnight, Nova,” he murmured softly.
“Goodnight, Rigby,” I breathed back. He stared down at me for what felt like an infinite amount of time, before turning and walking back down the short hall toward his own bedroom.
I stayed in the hallway until his door closed softly, breathing deeply. Moments later, the water of Rigby’s ensuite shower turned on. My brain jumped to what he might be doing there, and I shook my head vigorously.
No. Bad Nova.
But it didn’t stop me from dreaming of lips sliding across my body and Rigby’s sexy smirking face staring down at me.
ChapterThirteen
