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"But if you hurt her, Ryan, I will personally rip your balls off and feed them to you with a spoon after I throw them in a blender." Holly narrows her eyes shrewdly, taking my measure as a man.
"That was really specific." I shudder. I think my balls shrivel up a little at the thought. "But you have nothing to worry about. You know me, Holly. You know she's all I've ever wanted."
Holly nods once, then takes off to do whatever she needs to get my plan rolling.
??????
I swear I can sense Em before I see her. I have a sixth sense when she's around, and my spidey-senses are tingling.
I'm just about to hop into my SUV and head home for my afternoon nap when I hear the click-clack of heels on the cement of the parking garage. The sound echoes off the walls, fast and angry.
Most of the guys have already left since practice ended over an hour ago, but I stayed behind to talk to Coach and management about my grand scheme.
I left out the wooing part.
They loved the idea because they were already trying to think of something to bring the team closer to fans. The idea of getting an inside look into the hockey world has management glowing.
The clacking gets faster and louder until I hear Em's breathing and the rustle of her knee-length skirt. I want to lift that skirt up her body so I can see what she's wearing underneath and then make her come against my car. Em used to wear amazing underwear. Everything from simple sexy to ridiculous boy shorts with naughty words on them.
"What the actual fuck, Ryan?" Oh, she's pissed.
I turn around and shoot Em my best smile, which I know will drive her a little crazier. White, hot anger is pulsating off her in waves. I want to bottle that energy up, drink it before I go on the ice, and then bathe in it with her in a Jacuzzi tub. Naked, of course.
"Hello, Em."
"What the fuck?" I love when she repeats herself. Especially when it's my name over and over, and it's more like a chant. "I'm not going to chase you around like your own personal camera woman."
"What is it about the project that bothers you? The fact that it's a brilliant idea to connect to our fanbase in a new and exciting way, or that it's me?"
I swear I can hear her teeth grinding.
"It's the fact that it's me." Em sighs like she's lost some of her steam now that we're face-to-face. "Why do I have to follow you like a fangirl with a camera? There are other people who would happily do this job."
"I'm comfortable with you, Em. I don't mind having you step into my personal life and space. The whole point of the project is to be natural and open. If we get some random person to follow me around, who knows what we'll end up with."
"Someone from SASS is hardly some random fan." Em rolls her eyes like I am being over dramatic. She has no idea I am completely making this shit up as I go along. Sadly for her, I know how to serve up the coup-de-grâce in this set.
"It wouldn't have been someone from SASS," I lie. "The original plan was to have a contest for fans—Win a chance to spend a week with the team and me while posting everything on social media.
"The last thing I want is to be stuck with some glitter-happy puck bunny who purchases a trust fund's worth of entries and only wants to snoop around in my underwear drawer and get in my pants."
Em's fists clench at her sides, her knuckles whiten, and she starts chewing on her bottom lip.
Bullseye.
Em knows how to wear jealousy like a designer dress, and it makes me hot.
"Fine," she says, throwing up her hands in defeat. I make an honest effort not to smile but fail miserably.
"Quit smiling. I'm only doing this because this is my career, and I don't want some rando posting anything I haven't approved first."
Em and I spend about ten minutes chatting and developing a plan. We’ll kick off this project on the day of our next home game. In the meantime, we'll have ads promoting "The Blue & White Life." As we brainstorm potential posts, it's as if we naturally fall back into our rhythm. I want to kiss her so badly that I start to vibrate with it.
Instead, I let her go. Almost.
I tentatively wrap my arms around her in a "thank you" hug. I hold on just a second too long, breathing her in. When I lean back out, I press my lips softly against hers. It's over in a flash.
Just a tease.
