Several trips up and down the elevator later, I was moved into our new place. Not even remotely unpacked, mind you, but all of the boxes were stowed away in my room along with my bed, dresser, and desk. Siobhan had already purchased furniture for the shared areas with her rental insurance payout, which was a good thing because I didn't have any other furniture. Or money.

Everything Shiv purchased coordinated perfectly. A sleek navy blue sectional, modern light-colored wood kitchen table set, plus a few other accent pieces. The pieces were stylish and looked distinctly grown-up; a definite improvement over the second-hand furnishing situation at my old place, complete with battered coffee table and worn, dirt-brown couch oozing stuffing at the seams.

Factoring in the much nicer roommate, significantly newer building, and the ability to finally have Chase over, the move was an upgrade in every sense of the word.

Including the monthly rent. But who needs groceries?

After we brought up the last set of boxes, Chase followed me into the kitchen to get a glass of water. I filled my cup under the fridge dispenser while he leaned against the counter, reading a text that he'd just received.

"Dallas and Shiv are going to Penner's for drinks." He locked his navy blue phone and slid it back into his pocket. "He's just a guy on our team. Ty and a few other people will be there too. Do you want to go? We don't have to."

"Sure. What time?" I set down my empty glass on the black granite countertop, glancing up at him.

"Whenever. They just finished dinner and they're heading there now. But I know we just finished so if you want to chill for a bit, we can leave in half an hour or something."

"I wonder what we should do till then." I tilted my head, pretending to think. "There's a game on. Chicago versus Boston?"

"Fuck the game. Let's circle back to my list." Chase pivoted to face me and took a step forward, eyes darkening. Warmth radiated from his body as he fenced me in against the cupboard with his hands, gripping the edge of the counter behind my back.

"Sadly, all my skirts are packed. And I don't think your truck will fit inside this apartment. Guess you're out of luck."

His smoldering expression cracked, mouth tugging. "Watch it, or I'll make a point to tease you even longer."

"You already teased me earlier."

"Oh, I was just getting started." He nudged my legs apart with his knee. I drew in a soft gasp as he pressed against me, igniting a flicker of desire within my core.

"Really?" I wasn't sure how much of that my brain could take. Or other parts of me.

"I've got all kinds of plans for you." He leisurely traced a finger along my collarbone, dipping overtop my dark green t-shirt, just between my breasts. A tingle ran down my spine. His tone softened, losing its edge. "But you can always tell me to stop if it's too much."

"I know." Never needed to, but I knew he would in a heartbeat.

"Or you can say red if you want me to stop..." Chase ducked his head and his soft lips met mine. I gripped his upper arms as his tongue pushed inside my mouth. One hand nimbly unbuttoned my jeans and he pulled back slightly, breaking the kiss. "Yellow for wait or slow down," he murmured against my lips, tugging at my zipper. "And green for keep going."

"Mmm..." I ran a hand through his silky hair. "Green."

Rough palms skimmed down the side of my ribcage, pausing.

"You are so fucking gorgeous." He ran the pad of his thumb along my cheek, tilting my chin up. His voice turned stern. "But you're still in trouble."

My breath caught. "For what?"

"Not calling me."

I should have known he wasn't letting that one go so easily.

"I didn't want you to worry."

"I was worried anyway."

"Er...Red?"

He shook his head, jaw right. "Doesn't work for that, James." His deep brown eyes traced my face. "You downplay things. I know you do. Why?"

"I don't know." It was an instinct. I didn't know how to not downplay things. I couldn't explain why. Well, if I dug deep enough, I could probably come up with a few theories—but none that I particularly wanted to discuss.

"Turns out," he said, "I was right to worry."

"Guess so."

"I don't want anything to happen to you." Strong, broad hands spanned my hips, thumbs gently stroking the bare skin above my waistband.

"It won't."

He raised his dark eyebrows. "Sounds like it almost did."

I wasn't sure how accurate that was. It was hard to say how much risk Luke actually posed. I hadn't expected him to show up like that in the first place. He would never have bothered to do something that when we were dating, so it made even less sense now that we weren't.

Chase watched me, waiting for a response. My tongue darted out, licking my lip. His gaze fell to my mouth and his pupils dilated.

"Lucky for you," he said, eyes snapping back up to meet mine. "I'm way too worked up to get into this right now. But we're not done. You're going to tell me what actually happened later."

"Okay."

He leaned in to kiss me again, pressing me up against the cupboard. Ducking down, he leaned down beside my ear. "I bet you're wet for me already, aren't you baby?"

"Maybe."

"Let's see." His hand slipped beneath the waistband of my underwear, stroking me and setting off an explosion of pleasure. "Knew it. You're soaked."

I drew in a shuddering breath as he continued to touch me, pushing every button in exactly the right way.

"Do you like it when I touch you like this?"

"Mmm-hmm." My eyelids drifted shut and I whimpered again, hips tilting against his hand. I could barely stay upright, let alone dirty talk back to him.

"I can tell you do. You're squirming for me already."

Pressure built between my legs as he continued to tease me in the most exquisite form of torture. I leaned back against the counter, letting out another moan.

"Fuck, baby, that's so hot. I love when you make sounds for me."

I grabbed his hand, hips arching against his touch. I was so close to an orgasm I could practically see it. Could almost reach out and touch it. Chase slowed down, keeping me on the verge, and a growl of frustration escaped the back of my throat in response.

"Not yet." His warm breath fanned my neck.

I reopened my eyes, looking up at him. "But I'm right there."

"I know." Chase grinned. "You have a tell."

I do?

"What is it?"

He shook his head, deep brown eyes gleaming. "Can't give away all my secrets. I just know."

I sucked in a sharp breath as his fingers slid against me again, holding me on the edge without release. Another growl of frustration followed.

"You're cute when you're frustrated."

"Oh my god." I whimpered. "You're mean." I wasn't used to being frustrated in this way, either. Before Chase, it had been frustration from trying to capture the ever-elusive orgasm. Now he was purposely keeping it away?

"You can say red and I'll stop teasing you. I'll let you have what you want right now. Otherwise I'm not letting you come until I say so."

"When's that going to be?"

"When I fuck you. Later." He kissed me on the cheek. "But we should probably get going. I want to change at home quickly."

I blew out a breath. How was it possible to leave me turned on and annoyed at the same time?"

"I think I might hate you right now."

Chase smirked. "No, you don't."

*

"Let's just swing by the liquor store," Chase said, signaling and making a left turn as we pulled away from his place.

"But you're driving."

"Not planning on drinking much, just have a policy against showing up places empty-handed."

Minutes later, he pulled into the parking lot and scanned the rows of parking stalls with a frown. They were all occupied, probably because of the gigantic movie theatre within the same commercial complex. Finally, he found a vacant stall nearly a block away.

"Sorry, James, we're going to have to park all the way back here."

"That's okay."

The radio cut away from the sports talk show we were listening to.

"Breaking news on the sex tape scandal for NHL player Matthew Stevens," the announcer said. "Stevens allegedly recorded a second unidentified woman without her consent while they were enraged in sexual activity. Criminal charges are now pending."

Matthew Stevens was an up-and-coming hockey prodigy one year older than Chase, supposedly on track to be the next Sidney Crosby in terms of his skill and style of gameplay. Now it looked like his career might be over before it started.

"Yikes." I reached over, turning down the volume. Definitely didn't need to think about that right now. Or ever.

"No kidding." Chase grimaced as he pulled into the lone vacant stall. "Something like that could end his career."

And hers, too—whoever she was. The news was keeping her identity anonymous for now, but if criminal charges went ahead, I was sure it would be revealed eventually. Then his lawyers would probably drag her name and reputation through the mud any way possible.

Not to mention, there was the fact that everyone she knew could go to PornPlace—or whatever it was called—and watch her most intimate moments. Horrifying.

A prickle of anxiety crept back into the corner of my brain. I'd pushed the sex tape blind item to the back of my mind until now, but I was getting paranoid again.

There was no way that had anything to do with me.

Couldn't.

I hoped.

*

Fifteen minutes later, Chase pulled up in front of a blue two-storey house in a newer development. It wasn't as impressive as the one he lived in with Dallas and Ty, but it was still nicer than average as far as college student accommodations were concerned.

He parked against the curb and killed the ignition. Unbuckling my seatbelt, I shifted in my seat, moving closer to him and placed a hand on his thigh.

Payback time.

"Before we go in," I said, "tell me more about your truck sex fantasy."

His gaze fell to my hand, then lifted up to my face. He gave me a devilish smile. "What about it?"

"Where would this take place?" I slid my hand higher up on his jean-clad leg. "I mean, in theory."

"Lots of quiet areas out where my mom lives. Maybe around Thanksgiving, we could take a little detour..."

"Mmm," I hummed, moving my hand even higher. "We should definitely do that." Chase shifted his weight, drawing in a breath, because now I had him going.

"Dammit." He shook his head.

"What?"

"You know what. You're making me horny before we have to go inside Penner's."

"Call it payback, Carter." I gave him a look. "Besides, you're always horny."

"Of course I am," he said. "Look at you."

*

Everyone else was bombed by the time we showed up. Dallas and Siobhan had gotten drunk on expensive wine at dinner with his parents—Shiv in particular, because she was talking so loudly I could hear her from the next room. And reportedly, everyone else had been playing beer pong for a good portion of the night. Based on the noise level, it showed.

Chase steered me into the kitchen and quickly introduced me to Penner, whose first name was Kyle. He had wavy, reddish-blonde hair and didn't look familiar to me, but a lot of the guys looked different off the ice.

But the girl with him looked familiar. Dark hair, very pretty, petite. Then it hit me that she was the girl hanging off Chase at the rink after the game against Callingwood. Kristen. I wasn't her biggest fan. There was definitely history between her and Chase; I could just tell.

After an awkward exchange of hellos with her, we headed into the living room where everyone was playing a drinking game with cards. Well, everyone except for Tyler and the girl he'd brought. They were making out on a couch in the corner while his hand crept dangerously high underneath her short skirt. I had to avert my eyes to avoid seeing straight up it.

"Bailey!" Shiv squealed, waving us over. We squeezed onto the couch beside her and Dallas. "Are we still going shopping this weekend for the gala?"

Right. The gala. In the chaos of the move, I had forgotten that Chase asked me. It was a big charity event that the hockey community put on for the Children's Hospital Foundation. We were sharing a table with Dallas and Shiv, Ty and his date, and another couple.

It sounded nice—and fancy, which may be a slight issue for me in terms of the dress code. But I would figure it out, maybe via Zara or Noelle's closet.

"Yup."

By "we," I meant I would accompany her and watch while spending zero dollars.

"I can't wait," she said. "I love dress shopping."

Dallas chortled. "You love shopping, period. I can't even take you to get groceries without it turning into an event."

Shiv rolled her eyes, taking a sip of beer. "You have more shoes than I do, Dal."

Chase nudged me. "Are you going to buy something sexy for me?"

Yeah, with my negative balance bank account.

"Uh, no." I cleared my throat. "I'm sure I have something. Just going for Shiv."

We joined in their drinking game, playing together and sharing a beer because I didn't understand the rules and didn't want to get drunk anyway. A few rounds later, I excused myself to use the bathroom. The one on the main floor was occupied by someone throwing up, so Kyle directed me upstairs to the other bathroom.

After drying my hands, I opened the bathroom door and turned, taking a step out into the hallway. A wall of solid muscle stopped me. Glancing up, I was met with mischievous dark eyes.

Chase gave me a crooked smile. "Hi."

"Hi." My breath caught as he placed his hands on my hips and took a step forward, steering me into the bathroom. "What are you doing?"

"Getting you alone."

"Why?"

"Why do you think?" He closed the door behind him, locking it. Reaching over, he flipped on one set of lights, bathing the bathroom in a dim yellowish glow.

"But there are people downstairs."

"Not sure if you noticed, but everyone else here is too plastered to even realize we're gone." His eyes danced. "Besides, that's what makes it hot."

I drew in a breath. "I—"

"Unless you don't want me to make good on all that teasing." Warm hands slid under my shirt, fingers digging into my skin. Liquid heat pooled between my legs. "But teasing you gets me worked up too, so between that and the truck, I really need to fuck you. And I'm pretty sure you feel the same way."

I bit my bottom lip and nodded.

Chase backed me up against the counter. "Can you be quiet for me, baby?"

"I don't know if I can."

"Guess you're going to have to try."

His lips crashed down on mine, leveling me with a demanding kiss. Everything went into fast forward, mouths and hands moving in a blur. Desire crashed over me as I fumbled with his belt, unfastening it and his jeans. His hands slid down the curve of my hips, taking my jeans and underwear with them.

Grabbing the backs of my thighs, he sat me up on the counter, spreading my legs. I grabbed his lower back, trying to pull him closer to me, but he stopped short.

He dipped his head down, mouth beside my ear. "Say it."

"Say what?"

"Say, fuck me please. Or maybe, I want your cock buried deep inside my pussy. I need specific instructions about what you want me to do."

The throb between my legs verged on painful. I wanted those things. Very badly. Verbalizing them was another story.

"I can't say that," I breathed.

"Oh, I think you can." His hands palmed my breasts, squeezing. "Otherwise we'll both be left hanging. And I don't think either of us wants that."

"I...want you."

His gaze held mine, predatory and expectant. "What me to what?"

Breath coming out in tiny pants, I watched him for a beat. He placed his hands on my bare upper thighs, waiting. My heart bounded against my ribcage. I was too turned on to care about feeling self-conscious. I needed him.

"I want you to fuck me."

"Good girl." He gripped my hips roughly and pulled me closer to the edge of the counter, pushing inside me. Pleasure instantly surged through my body, going from 0-60 for the third time today.

"Oh god," I whispered, arching my back against him.

One hand spanned my lower back, holding me in place while the other slid up the back of my neck, grabbing a fistful of hair at the roots. I tried to stifle a moan as he moved against me, staying deep and hitting the perfect spot.

"Can I pull your hair a little harder?" He asked, voice low.

"Mmmhmm."

His grip tightened, tugging in a way that didn't hurt but somehow pulled me deeper into everything else he was doing. Leaning by my ear, he murmured, "Come for me, baby."

He thrust harder, changing the angle and sending the pleasure past the limits of what I could tolerate. Everything else turned fuzzy.

I buried my face in his shoulder, trying to stay quiet. "Oh my god."

He angled my face up to his and planted a scorching kiss on my lips, muffling my cries. My nails dug into his skin as pleasure spilled over in a wave. It was bright, blinding, all-consuming. I lost awareness of everything but what he was doing to my body.

Just as it was starting to recede, he thrust into me harder. Both of his hands flew to my waist and he pulled me against him. "Fuck, fuck, fuck."

Chase stilled, leaning his forehead against mine. I placed my palms against his chest, feeling his heart pound against his ribcage.

I drew in a shaky breath. "Oh my gosh."

He glanced back up at me, biting his bottom lip. "It drives me wild when you come. I really wanted to get you off again."

"I don't have any complaints in that department," I said. "I'm not sure I could have handled another one like that."

He kissed me softly. Pulling back, he studied me, biting his knuckle with a grin.

"I'm afraid you look freshly fucked, baby."

"You might want to look in the mirror before you get too cocky there, Carter."

He glanced up and laughed. "Good point."