Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 131271 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 656(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 438(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131271 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 656(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 438(@300wpm)
“Riley,” he rasps. “Fuck, Riley. Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” I say, smiling. “Fuck yeah.”
And when Jacob and Shawn burst into laughter, I can’t help but join them.
I don’t know how I ended up here, but I’m overwhelmed with emotion, riding the euphoric high of sex so incredible it outshines even my wildest fantasies. In this moment, I couldn’t be happier.
22
JACOB
The atmosphere in the bedroom is like the locker room right after a win. All the tension is gone, and in its place is relief and the kind of euphoria that outsiders can never understand. Riley’s lying between us on Hayes’ bed, with flushed cheeks and parted lips, and I can’t stop watching the way she looks at us. Not nervous but curious, excited, happy.
Different from the girls I’ve been with before. There’s no artifice to Riley. She’s authentically herself without pretense or the desire to please us for any other reason than it feels good. She’s not looking for a man for his NHL potential or his current prestige. All those times she pushed us away make this surrender a well-earned victory and Riley a trophy worthy of winning. It’s good.
It’s also dangerous.
Hayes is still deep inside her, gripping her thighs like he’s afraid he’ll hurt her if he pulls out too quickly. That’s Hayes for you—steady, careful, considerate. It makes sense that Riley would feel safe with him. It’s also why I’m not annoyed that he’s the one who took her first.
I would have liked it to have been me, but I can breathe as long as we’re all in this together, experiencing it as a unit. I can’t lose anyone else in my life. I can’t be alone. We have to be a team because that’s all I know. And Riley, for all her sass, soothes me in a way I wish I didn’t crave.
I lean closer to brush a strand of hair away from Riley’s face, the urge to be gentle and soft with her taking me off guard. Our eyes meet, and the surprise in hers hits me right in the chest. “Careful, Jacob. Your brothers might think you care,” she whispers.
She’s right. If I’m baffled by my swell of feeling, my brothers must be bemused. Usually, I can’t stand closeness or after-sex conversation, and any girl I fucked would usually be halfway down the stairs but today is different. Riley’s different. And sharing with my brothers? Well, that’s different, too.
“Nah,” I say, tipping my head to one side. “Just making sure you didn’t have cum on your face.”
Riley snorts, but her eyes are bright and knowing, and her smile broad. “So considerate.”
Shawn, who’s the only one who hasn’t come yet, is still holding his dick. Mines harder than iron, and Hayes, although relaxed, is eyeing Riley like he could devour her for a second time. Her arms cover her breasts, and the shyness in the gesture tugs like a hook in my chest.
“This is so surreal,” she whispers. “I’m in one of those ridiculous locker room stories you guys probably swap after practice.”
“This would be a story no one could top,” I muse.
Hayes shoots me a glare.
“What?” I raise my hands, my grin widening. “I’m just stating facts.”
“You can’t tell anyone,” Riley says suddenly, gnawing at the corner of her mouth, eyes darting between us. “I don’t want to be the talk of the locker room or another notch on your hockey stick.”
“You embarrassed of us?” I ask, keeping my voice light while, in truth, her quickness to defensive mode pricks like a splinter of glass.
“No,” she says quickly. “I just…”
“...realize the world isn’t ready for what this is?”
The world? Trust Hayes to make a mountain out of a molehill.
“Do we even know what this is?” Shawn says. I’m not sure how he’s still functioning while most of the blood in his body is in his dick, but he has mental-physical separation skills that I don’t possess.
“Exactly.” Hayes takes Riley’s hand. “Of course, we’ll keep it between us for now.”
“Okay.” As her face relaxes, I know that Hayes has promised the right thing.
Hayes leans down, his lips brushing hers in a kiss so soft that it feels like I shouldn’t be watching, but I do because the way she melts into him and her fingers curl against his chest stirs something primal inside me.
When Hayes pulls back, he rests his forehead against hers, his voice low. “You set the pace, Riley. We’ll follow your lead.”
She nods, her lips parting like she’s about to reply, but before she can, I slide closer, my hand covering hers. “You ever seen a team that works better apart than together?” I ask, my voice low and steady.
She blinks, her brows furrowing slightly. “No...”
“Exactly.” I squeeze her hand lightly. “We’re a team, Riley. And a team protects each other. Me and my brothers… we’ve always been a team, and now...” I trail off, letting the words hang there for a second. “Now, we want you to be part of that.”