The Penalty Box (Vancouver Wolves Hockey #3)(23)

Gasping, I turned around.

Mica stood there, looking completely gobsmacked. His eyes were glued to my body.

My arms crossed over my chest as I stared at him.

“I came back to get my phone, and I didn’t want to scare you,” his low voice explained, but his eyes were looking at me like they had never looked at me before.

“I was trying stuff on,” I stuttered. I was practically naked. I debated rushing into the bathroom but decided that was too dramatic. I needed to find his hoodie. My eyes located it hanging on the handle of the door. I casually moved towards it, which also meant I was moving towards him. With a dry mouth, I reached for it, cursing inwardly when the hood got caught on the handle.

I froze as our eyes met. His expression was dark, and his blue eyes looked almost black. Without shame, he deliberately dropped his eyes to my chest, feasting on my decadent display of flesh. His nostrils flared slightly as he took a step towards me.

I swallowed hard, not sure what was happening between us. Never had I seen Mica look at me the way he was looking at me now. Hoodie forgotten, my chest heaved with emotion as I stood, awaiting my fate.

Energy crackled in the air. He towered over me, and I watched in fascination as his Adam’s apple bobbed. For the first time in two years, Mica stood before me with an expression of lust on his face. Until now he had never given me a second glance. Now he looked like he wanted to devour me.

“That is fucking hot,” he growled. And then he disappeared from view.

I stood frozen, cheeks flushed, listening to the echo of his footsteps down the hallway and the sound of the front door slamming.

That is fucking hot. His words reverberated in my ears. I had secretly lusted for the man for over two years, but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine he would reciprocate my lust. Fantasy did not match reality. Reality was a thousand times more terrifying.

Mica was one-hundred-percent a man’s man and put every guy I had been with to shame. I was no shrinking virgin, but I knew better than anyone that he was way more man than I could handle. He radiated masculine power, intensity and a blinding sexual wattage that promised to short-circuit me and potentially ruin me for the rest of my life.

If I slept with Mica, would anyone else after him come close to comparing? I didn’t think so. And I needed to remember that. This was a short-term arrangement, and I needed to make sure I came out of this intact.

My legs shook as I quickly got dressed again. I carefully tucked my lingerie in the back of a drawer. It had been a mistake to buy those items. I wouldn’t be trying them on again until I got through this fake marriage in one piece.





Chapter 8





MICA





I stalked to my car and got inside. Holy fuck. What had just happened? I covered my mouth with one hand as my mind replayed what I had just seen.

Baby fucking Krista, wearing that scrap of lace, had looked like a man’s wet dream. My dick was throbbing hard while lust pulsated through my body.

That had caught me completely off guard. Jesus. Those breasts with creamy, milky skin and a hint of nipple that begged to be sucked. I had almost lost my head when I saw her standing there.

And when she had walked towards me, hips casually swaying, her breasts jiggling with each step, I had thought for sure she was coming towards me to get something started.

When I realized that she was reaching for my hoodie, I had instinctually taken a step towards her. To do what? To unwrap that body like it was my own personal gift?

I groaned and looked at the front of my house. I forced myself to start my car and back out of the driveway. Charlie was off-limits. She was here to help me get out of a mess. She was not here as my own personal plaything.

I shook my head, still in disbelief. How had I never noticed how fucking perfect her body was? Now that I knew that, how much would it screw with my head? I needed to remember that she was here in name only. Because nothing would mess up this situation faster than if we became physically involved.





*



I took my time getting groceries, trying to think my way through this situation I found myself in. Charlie and I were stuck living together. When we made this agreement, I had thought we would live as roommates. When her house had burned down, she became someone that needed my help.

I didn’t even see her as a friend. She had been an extension of Krista and part of a plan to get me out of my current mess.

But seeing her body on display like some hedonistic goddess, I had to rethink who Charlie was.

Off-limits. She’s off-limits.

I felt almost duped by the fact that I had never noticed her before. For two years, layers of baggy work clothes had hidden her body, and she had shielded herself with a sharp tongue and sarcastic tone. I needed to remember the old Charlie and completely erase the siren vision now burned onto my retinas.

When I came back with groceries, she came out of the bedroom, fully covered up in a pair of leggings and my hoodie. I had just spent thousands of dollars on her new wardrobe, but she chose to wear my oversized hoodie. That amused me. Which made no sense. I studied her as she peeked into one of the grocery bags. She looked damn cute. Her curly hair was tangled down her back, and I resisted the urge to push my hands into it.

“Can I help put things away?” Her tone was friendly and casual, but she avoided eye contact.

“Sure.”