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"I'll let you look all you want if you tell me your name."
"Leia."
He chuckles and I press my hands to my overheated cheeks.
"I did not give you my name because I want to look at your junk," I growl. "I need a favor."
"Did you just insult my dick?"
"What? No. Oh my gosh. Why are we even talking about it?" I cry. How is this happening right now? My sisters are never going to let me live this down when they find out.
"You're the one who keeps bringing him up." He chuckles. "In more ways than one."
"Oh, my God. Stop talking!"
He laughs again. "What kind of favor do you need, Trouble?"
"What's your name?"
"My name is your favor?"
"No," I groan and close my eyes. "This would go so much faster if you'd put clothes on so I can look at you."
"Again, no. How do you not know my name, but you know that fucker's name?" he growls.
"Who?"
"Bruce Gordon."
"Long story."
"I've got time."
"Well, I don't. And I don't know anything about hockey."
"But you know Bruce Gordon."
"I know his name. If you'd quit being irritating, I'd know yours too."
"Colter Bayliss."
"Colter," I repeat, resisting the urge to shiver as I say it. It fits him, though I'm not sure why.
"Say my name again and you'll be naked in this locker room too, Leia."
I whip around to face him. Only he isn't across the room anymore. He's standing right in front of me. So freaking close I practically bump into him. He grasps my arms to keep me from tipping over backward. His scent wraps around me and my entire body quivers. I brush against his erection in the process.
"Fuck," he mutters, his pupils flaring as he sways toward me. His jaw turns to granite as he tries to get himself in check.
"Let me go," I whisper, my whole body aching for something that it shouldn't want. I don't even know this man. Just because he's naked and touching me shouldn't make me want to jump into his arms. And yet…that's exactly what I want to do.
"Tell me why you're in our locker room."
"I got lost."
"Who were you trying to surprise?" His gaze rakes across my face, his expression hard.
"Who was I trying to…?" My stomach sinks as realization dawns. I jerk out of his hold, putting space between us. He thinks I'm a puck bunny. "I'm not a puck bunny, Colter. I'm a journalist. I'm looking into a story and got lost. That's it."
"What story?"
"One that doesn't involve you."
"What story, Leia?"
"One about a bossy hockey player who gets ejected from games and destroys locker rooms," I snap, rolling my eyes. Until he accused me of being a puck bunny, I fully intended to recruit him to help me. But now? No thanks. "Is that what you want to hear? That I'm writing a story about you? Well, too bad because I'm not. My story has nothing to do with you or your giant ego."
He narrows his eyes at me, growling softly. "I like that smart fucking mouth, Trouble. The more you sass me with it, the more I want to fill it."
"Too bad for you because I'm not a puck bunny." I poke him in the chest. "And another thing, buster, I don't even like hockey!"
He throws his head back and laughs.
I consider punching him in the throat, and then decide I probably shouldn't. He's already been in more than enough fights tonight. Besides, violence never solves anything. At least that's what Adalynn, my older sister, keeps telling me.
I decide she's probably right. Instead of punching him, I just growl at him and stomp toward the doors.
He grabs me before I make it two steps, hauling me up against his chest. His lips touch the side of my throat. "I'm going to find out what you're up to, Trouble. Don't think I won't."
"Well, good luck with that because I'm not going to make it easy for you, Bossy."
His rough hands glide across my chest, sending waves of heat through me.
My core clenches. I fight the urge to whimper, refusing to fall under his spell. He's grumpy and bossy and I'm not entirely sure I even like him all that much.
Liar, liar, pants on fire, a little voice whispers.
I imagine myself smothering it with a pillow.
"Yo, Colter, is everything…?" The security guard who was stationed outside pokes his head inside the locker room, takes one look at me in Colter's arms with his hands on my boobs, and snaps his mouth closed. He slowly pulls back, disappearing from the doorway.
"Shit," Colter whispers into the ensuing silence.
My cheeks blaze with humiliation. The security guard now thinks I'm a puck bunny too. He probably believes I came back here to have pity sex with Colter after he got kicked out of the game.
This is Silver Spoon Falls. Gossip travels at the speed of light around here. By next week, it'll be all over town. Razor, my brother-in-law, will find out, and then my sisters, and my brother. It'll be the Grand Inquisition. And any chance I had of settling quietly into this town will vanish in a puff of smoke. Everyone will think I landed this story by sleeping with Colter and not through my own hard work.
