Rush: The Season (Austin Arrows Book 1)(119)

When she pulls back, I stare at her.

I heard the words and I’m trying to process them. She wants sex, that’s clear.

Damn, it would be so f*cking easy to give in. To take her to her office and f*ck her right up against the door. I wouldn’t even regret it.

Not until tomorrow, anyway.

Not until I realize that no matter what I want, Ellie Kaufman isn’t mine forever. And until that happens, I’m not sure I can settle for anything less.





Ellie

All I have to do is take his hand, lead him down the hallway to my office…

I continue to watch Kingston while I debate the merits of having a quickie in my office. I know he’d be willing if I made the first move.

Unfortunately, I’ve already made more moves than I intended tonight.

Fucking Cheryl.

I don’t have a clue why that woman chose to show up here tonight, but she managed to ruin it. I damn sure wasn’t going to sit back and let her think that Kingston was ripe for the plucking. Although he seems to have pressed pause on our arrangement, I’m not about to let her sink her claws into him again.

Instead of taking my verbal bait, I see a battle warring in Kingston’s eyes. It doesn’t seem to matter that I was forward enough to tell him I still need his services; he’s not going to bite.

And it’s more proof that Kingston is upset with me still. I hate that he is, but I don’t know how to fix it. I’m not an idiot. This all started when James appeared like magic into my life—thanks, of course, to Bianca’s post—and I can see that the thought of James in my life bothers him.

I can’t make that any better. I can’t sit down and tell James that he can’t be Bianca’s father. And Kingston shouldn’t expect me to.

I thought we’d shared something. And maybe we did. Maybe we shared a little bit of ourselves and that’s all Kingston had to offer. He certainly doesn’t look as though he’s willing to go another round, although I’m still pretending this is only about sex.

If only it were that simple.

“Happy New Year, Kingston.”

And with that, I manage to take a step back, swallow my pride—as well as my heart, which has lodged in my throat—and get back to work.





49

Kingston

Tuesday, January 3rd “Fuck you!”

I shrug off the hateful glare from the center who bowled me over a few seconds ago. I’m trying to rein in my temper and not go ballistic ninja on his ass. Let me tell you, it’s not easy.

The ref gets between us, pushing the other guy back while I pretend not to give a shit. Normally I would pass it off as the accident it looked to be, but I’ve got so much fear and anger coursing through me I want to throw off my gloves and beat the son of a bitch bloody.

I don’t get the chance because, thankfully, the * backs down, and the game gets underway once more.



As I expected, we lost the game. I was shit out there on the ice, so I’m probably the one to blame, but I’m not sticking around long enough to find out. I don’t care. Right now, I don’t care about anything except possibly getting plastered and passing out for a couple of days.

Not that it’s an option, but it seems like a damn good idea.

“Kingston.”

I lift my head when I hear Ellie’s voice. I see her standing in the hallway. She smiles and offers a small wave when I see her. Not wanting to be a total dickhead, I start toward her.

It isn’t until I’m about two feet away that I see she’s not alone.

“Kingston, this is James Heron. James, Kingston Rush.”

James holds out his hand, and I feel as though he used that very hand to punch me in the throat.

“Kingston is my brother’s best friend,” Ellie tells James.

Yeah? Is that all I am?

I manage to return the gesture and shake James’s extended hand. I squeeze firmly but pull away quickly.

“Nice to meet you,” James states politely, his eyes darting between Ellie and me.

I don’t bother looking at her. I don’t want to see the way she’s looking at him. I’ve managed to keep my distance for the last couple of weeks. It f*cking sucks, but at least I haven’t had to endure seeing the two of them together.

“Same.” I glance over James’s head. “I gotta head out.”

Without even acknowledging Ellie, I start for the door. My stomach has landed somewhere in my shoes, and I feel like I might be sick. The hollowness in my chest threatens to take me out at the knees.

“Hey!”

I pretend I don’t hear Ellie calling after me, but I’m forced to stop when she puts her hand on my arm. Only feet from freedom, I find myself turning to look at her. I pray she doesn’t see the torment in my eyes. The last thing I want is her sympathy. The woman doesn’t owe me anything. We went into this arrangement knowing it was temporary. In fact, she was the one who was forthcoming with not wanting anything permanent.

I was the dumb ass who went and fell in love with her.

“Are you okay?” she asks, her voice soft as she gets up close to me. I look down the hall and see James staring after her.

“I’m great. Why?”

Ellie’s nose scrunches. I know that means she doesn’t believe me.