Offside: Rules of the Game Book 1

The bad news was we’d lost to Callingwood.

The good news was James hadn’t run for the hills after my not-so-smooth slip of the tongue in front of everyone. And the best news of all was we’d slapped a label on things, and I could actually, officially, call her my girlfriend.

Oh, she was stuck with me now.

I eased my truck out of the space and navigated through Northview’s parking lot, then turned onto the main road. Home was only a ten-minute drive away, but right now, that seemed like a lifetime. My mind was firmly locked in one-track mode.

All I wanted to do was get James into my bed, get her naked, and have a little repeat of the other night. Or a big repeat, as the case may be. Maybe multiple repeats? Hmm…

“What did Luke say to you earlier?” Bailey asked, snapping me out of my happy, horny daze.

“Nothing important.” My grip on the steering wheel tightened a notch. “Just shooting off his mouth when he shouldn’t be.”

Brutal honesty was my default setting, intentionally or not. But in this case, she already knew Morrison was an asshole. I had nothing to gain by upsetting her with those details.

“You sure laid him out,” she said.

Satisfaction washed over me like a warm, fuzzy hug. I really did. According to my insider sources, I fucked up Morrison’s knee nicely. Pity it wasn’t his smug face, but a knee injury would keep him out longer, so I would call it a win.

I shrugged, stealing a glance at Bailey. “It was a clean hit.”

“Kinda gray when you factor in the charging.” A smile played on her lips, and she made a so-so gesture with her hand. “Not that I’m complaining.”

“Maybe he’ll learn to keep his head up.” Despite my best efforts otherwise, the words came out clipped.

Bailey caught it immediately. “Are you sure he didn’t say something?” Her brows pulled together, hazel eyes scanning my face.

“Nah, I just prefer not to lose to Callingwood.” Even if I did take him out of the game in the process, losing to Morrison’s team annoyed me. Especially in front of James.

“You still played well tonight,” she said, as if reading my mind. “No one can carry a game alone. Even with Dallas’s help, it was virtually impossible.”

Yes and no. I should have done more to move the needle. Another assist or goal would have gone a long way in generating momentum for our side. But I’d let someone take my head out of the game for a good portion of it, and that was on me.

“You’re a little biased, James, but I’ll take the compliment.” I winked at her, patting her thigh. “Besides, the only thing that matters to me right now is that I get to take you home.”

“Smooth talker.” Bailey let out a soft, husky sigh. In my periphery, she raked a hand through her long waves, breaking into a bashful grin. It was so easy to get her flustered and so damn cute when she was.

Signaling, I made a left onto the main thoroughfare of my neighborhood. My mind circled back to all the things I wanted to do when I got her upstairs, starting with having her soft, perfect lips against mine and moving south from there. She made this little sound the other day—a cross between a whimper and a moan—that I desperately wanted to hear again.

What color were her panties tonight? Whatever they were, I wanted to take them off with my teeth. Then I could kiss my way back up her gorgeous legs and take a nice, long detour between them.

“I think…” Bailey trailed off. She drew in a deep breath. “I mean, speaking of that. I’ve given it a lot of thought, and I think I’m ready,” she said. “To have sex, I mean—with you.”

At her admission, I nearly drove right off the road.

It took me a good couple of seconds to reboot my brain. Even in the midst of entertaining all sorts of dirty thoughts inside my head, I wasn’t expecting her to say that. But I was sure fucking glad she did.

“Great,” I said. “Do you want me to pull over now, or?”

She giggled, swatting my arm. “No, you perv. I wanted to tell you when it wasn’t in the heat of the moment so you knew I meant it.”

“Well, I’m all yours.”

I really was. In every sense.

Factoring in tonight’s loss, I was still coming out way ahead. Fuck the game. What was hockey, again?

After committing several traffic violations and executing the worst parking job ever, we made it back to my place and went straight to my room. I followed Bailey inside, shutting the door behind me and locking it.

The first thing I wanted to do was ditch all these goddamn layers. I’d taken my suit jacket off in the car, but I was still in my white dress shirt, sleeves rolled up to my forearms, plus gray suit pants. And she was in jeans with a red button-up plaid shirt.

Very cute, and yet very much in my way.

The clothes needed to go—now. At least some of them.

As I took a step toward her, the doorbell rang downstairs. Irritation bordering on rage gripped me. Fucking hell, why was this happening? I swear to god, if this was Ward somehow interrupting for the third time, I might kill him—best friend or not.

“Should you…?” Bailey looked up at me, forehead crinkled in question.

Definitely not. Unless the house was literally on fire, I was more than happy to ignore all distractions.

I shook my head, pulling her closer. “I’m not expecting anyone.”

I slid a hand up her neck and grasped her jaw. She looked up at me, gaze soft. I knew in that moment that I was done, a goner. Not just in over my head; I was well past the point of no return.

Falling, fallen, fucked. In the best possible way.

I tilted my head, leaning in to kiss her, and her eyelids fluttered shut as our mouths came together. She parted her lips, letting my tongue slip inside. A soft groan escaped the back of my throat; she tasted better than ever, each and every time.

Her fingertips dug into my shoulders, and I slid my free hand around the curve of her waist, down to squeeze her ass. Somehow, kissing her both satisfied my desire and fueled it.

Then the doorbell rang twice in a row, followed by an insistent banging on the door downstairs. Bailey jumped, startling, and we pulled apart.

“Maybe it’s important,” she said.

At this point, it fucking better be.

“Okay.” I sighed, reluctantly releasing my hold on her. “I’ll go check.”

Sprinting down the stairs, I quickly adjusted myself so I didn’t commit some kind of act of indecent exposure in the process of answering the door.

It wasn’t Ward or anyone we knew, nor was it important. It was a pizza delivery guy with enough food to feed a small village who’d gotten the wrong house.

Despite my attempts to explain otherwise, he remained stubbornly convinced that he did not, in fact, have the incorrect address. What’s more, he argued with me about what my address was. Negotiating nicely to get him the hell off my front step took far longer than it should have and used every ounce of patience I possessed.

After he finally left, I jogged back upstairs and pushed the door to my room open. I stopped on the spot, and my heart bounced off my ribcage like a puck hitting a goalpost. Bailey was perched on the edge of my bed, looking at her phone—wearing my red Falcons T-shirt.

It was everything.

“Sorry.” She set her phone on the nightstand, lifting her eyes to meet mine. “I was writing Shiv back. She said they’re going to O’Connor’s for a couple of drinks.”

Good.

I hoped they stayed there. All night.

I shut the door behind me and locked it again. Spinning around, I couldn’t help but slowly scan up and down her body, drinking in the sight of her and growing more intoxicated by the second.

Dark blond hair loose around her shoulders, lush lips parted. My shirt. And tiny gray pajama shorts showing off her slender, endless legs. Legs that might be over my shoulders later, in a different way than last time. Or in both ways, maybe.

Both would be great.

I gave her a crooked grin and finally regained my ability to speak. “Nice shirt.”

“Isn’t it?” Bailey’s mouth tugged into a flirty smile. “I’m a big fan of number nineteen. He’s pretty cute.”

“What did I do to deserve this?” I asked, stepping closer. Whatever it was, I’d repeat it on the daily.

As I reached the bed, she pushed herself to stand and nibbled her bottom lip. “Just being you.”

Her hands landed on my shirt, slowly unbuttoning it from the top down and helping me shrug it off. She slid her fingers down my bare torso, probing. Then she took hold of my belt and unfastened it, followed by my pants. I quickly stepped out of them, pulling my socks off at the same time. Suddenly, I was left standing in front of her in nothing but black boxer briefs.

Her turn. But first…

“Are you nervous?” I brushed the hair out of her face and slid my hands down to her waist, gripping over top of the worn cotton.

Bailey’s eyes drifted shut for a beat before opening again and focusing on mine. “A little.”

“You don’t need to be nervous with me, James.”

“I know.” Her expression softened. “Are you?”

I gave her a small smile. “Maybe a little.”

Brutal honesty strikes again. But she’d told me the truth, so it was only fair. Feeling like this was a first for me, at any rate.

“Really?” she asked quietly, blond brows pulling together. “Why?”

A million reasons came to mind. Because I cared about her, which was uncharted territory for me, sexually or otherwise. Because I wanted it to be good for her. I was usually confident I had that under control, but I suddenly found myself sweating. And because she was so fucking beautiful that it made me ache a little inside.

I tried to capture all the reasons in one sentence. “Because I’m so into you that it’s insane.”

It was. It was like a drug. It might be my undoing.

She hummed a little sigh, smiling. “Same here.”

Not to mention I’d been waiting for this for a long time and had no shortage of built-up sexual frustration. Part of me wanted to bend her over, pull her hair, and fuck her into next Friday, which was definitely not on the table tonight. I was more than okay with that; I just needed to slow my roll a little. Somehow.

I stroked the hem of her T-shirt—my T-shirt—between my finger and thumb. “You know, this is very, very sexy on you,” I said. “Maybe you can put it back on later.”

Bailey nodded silently, reaching down to help me pull it over her head and tossing it onto the floor. Her lacy white bra showcased her plump breasts perfectly. I sucked in a breath, hardening even more. Damn.

I traced a finger along her bra strap, down the valley between her breasts, and back up to the other side. She drew in a small breath, goose bumps popping up along her skin.

I dipped under the waistband of her shorts, toying with the elastic. “Same with these.”

She tugged them down and stepped out of them. All that was left was the lacy white bra and matching panties, combined with miles of smooth, touchable skin. Not quite naked but hot as fuck.

My hands spanned her hips, and I picked her up, then I placed her on the bed so that I was on top of her, between her legs. God, she looked fucking good beneath me, and she felt even better.

I slid my hands under her thighs and gripped her plump ass. She let out a breathy moan as I peppered kisses along her neck, lifting her against my hard cock. This was perfect. Now we needed to replicate it without clothing.

Not yet.

Get it together, Carter.

Instead, I grabbed her hands and pinned them to the bed. Then I ducked my head, capturing her mouth with mine. Bailey giggled against my lips, half-heartedly squirming in my hold.

Still holding her hands, I pushed myself up so I was hovering over her while she lay back on my pillow.

I raised an eyebrow. “Looks like you’re stuck, James.”

“You like being in charge, huh, tough guy?” Her lips curved.

Sure did. In truth, I wasn’t applying much pressure. If she wanted to, she could easily pull away. And if she told me to, I’d let go instantly. It was more about the perception of being restrained.

“I like playing around with you.” I grinned, drifting closer to barely brush my lips against hers, then pulling back again. I paused until she met my gaze. “But if you say stop, it’s a hard stop.”

“I know,” she said softly. “I don’t want you to stop.”

I lowered my voice, watching her face. “But do you like me being in charge?”

So far, I had pretty good instincts when it came to her. And I had a strong hunch that I was right about this, but I wanted verbal confirmation.

Her pupils dilated. “Kind of.”

“Kind of?” I said. “Or yes?”

“Is it weird if I say yes?” Her breath grew shallow.

“No,” I rasped. “I like it. But I don’t want to overstep and upset you. That’s why I asked.”

Color flooded her cheeks. “Yes.”

Knowing this took my fantasies to a whole new level. Oh, the possibilities. So many possibilities.

We would have to ease into that, but maybe I could take my foot off the brake a little.

“Mmm,” I murmured, studying her—flushed cheeks, parted lips. “That’s fucking hot.”

Bailey’s eyes gleamed, the shyness fading away. “Why?” She tugged against my hands playfully. “What would you do if you were in charge?”

I shook my head, biting back a smile. “Oh, James. So many things.”

“Tell me one.” Her voice was breathy.

Damn, where would I even begin?

Spank her, blindfold her, tie her up, have her talk dirty to me, talk even dirtier to her, edge her, have her touch herself in front of me…

I could go on all night. God knows I’d had time to think about it.

But we had to walk before we could run, skate before we could shoot, and all that.

“In time.”

Ducking behind her ear, I brushed my nose against her skin, inhaling her sweet scent and holding it in my lungs for a beat. She sighed as I trailed a line of soft, open-mouthed kisses along the curve of her neck. Moving down to her shoulder, I gently sank my teeth into her flesh.

“Right now, I do have one thing in mind.”

“What’s that?” The words were a whisper across her lips.

“Making you come all over my fingers.”

Now that I’d gotten her there with my tongue, I was confident I could do it with my hands too.

And hopefully after that, with my favorite body part.

She nodded, watching me. “Okay.”

I kissed her again, reaching behind her back and undoing the clasp of her bra before slipping the straps off her shoulders. Taking her nipple in my mouth, I sucked, swirling my tongue around her perfect pink tip. She tilted her head back and let out a sigh, raking her hands through my hair. I palmed her other breast, squeezing before releasing her nipple from my mouth and moving to the other side.

Smoothing a hand down my abs, Bailey grabbed me through my boxers, pressing her palm against me, sending pleasure surging through my body. Holy fuck. This didn’t bode well for my stamina later.

Breathe. I needed to focus.

Her back arched as I skimmed the sides of her torso. I nipped and sucked my way back up her neck and across her jawline, kissing her on the mouth before pulling back again.

I wanted to see her face for this.

I slipped my hand beneath the waistband of her underwear, caressing the soft skin of her lower abdomen. At the contact, she drew in a jagged breath, lids fluttering closed as I moved lower and rubbed between her legs with the pad of my finger.

She was so warm and wet, soft like silk. All I wanted was to be buried inside her, balls deep. But not yet. I’d keep things slow, savor her a bit, and make sure she was ready.

My fingers glided against her again, and she pushed against my hand, needy and wanting. Blond hair against my pillow, squirming with pleasure. Seeing her like this was the hottest thing ever.

“Baby, you’re so fucking wet.”

She let out a little gasp, hips undulating against me. I slid one finger along her clit, sinking lower to slip inside. Another finger followed, and I stroked. My thumb moved to press her nub, working in rhythm with my fingers.

Her breath quickened, cheeks growing flushed as I kept stroking her. She whimpered, biting her bottom lip as she rocked her pelvis in rhythm with my movements.

“Do you like how that feels?”

Her eyes flew open like I’d surprised her. She looked at me, lids heavy and eyes glassy, but she didn’t respond.

“Do you, James?” I repeated, dropping my voice. When she didn’t reply again, I pressed her gently with my thumb.

She drew in a shaky breath. “Y-yes.”

“Are you going to come for me, baby?”

“Mm-hmm,” she moaned, nodding slightly.

I moved a little faster as her breath quickened. Her pussy clamped down on my fingers, pulsing as she writhed beneath me. She cried out, growing even hotter and wetter, right at the edge.

Fisting her hair at the nape, I tugged gently, angling her face and devouring her mouth. I rubbed her, unrelenting, as her legs started to tremble. She clutched at my arms, her nails digging into my skin, crying out against my lips as she came apart.

Still kissing her, I eased off with my fingers, gradually letting her down. Giving her a breather so I didn’t completely overstimulate her, I broke apart from her lips.

She drew in a shaky breath, watching me, her grip on my arms relaxing.

“Hi, baby.” I ran my free hand through her hair, tracing down her neck, down her arm.

“Hi,” she said, still breathless.

“Need a minute?” I asked.

She drew in a breath, cheeks still flushed pink.

“Maybe one.”