Pucking Around: A Why Choose Hockey Romance (Jacksonville Rays Book 1)

By the time I get back to my apartment, it’s nearly five o’clock at night. I drop my bags down in the kitchen, glancing around my tiny space. Jake buzzed my phone a few times this afternoon. And I had a missed call from Caleb by the time I finished up Ilmari’s physical exam.

I know I owe them answers about today, but I can’t give them. Ilmari is trusting me not to say anything. The guys will just have to understand.

Moving over to my little breakfast bar, I sit on the stool, pulling my phone from the high waistband of my leggings. I’m desperate for a shower, but I need to make a call first. I’m in over my head with this whole situation. I’m the only person Ilmari has trusted with his secret. I need to call the only person I can trust with mine. He’ll know what to do.

Flipping through my contacts, I pull up his name and take a deep breath before tapping the call button. To my eternal surprise, he actually answers his phone.

“Price? This is unexpected,” comes his deep voice.

“Hi, Doctor Halla. So sorry to call like this but…” I really wasn’t planning to speak to him directly. I had a voicemail all planned out in my head.

“Is something wrong?”

I clear my voice. “Umm…I need your advice on a course of treatment, actually. It’s…well it’s a complicated situation. Do you have a few minutes to chat?”

He’s quiet for a second. “Of course,” comes his reply. “Walk me through the case.”

I take a deep breath. “Well…where to begin?”

An hour later, I step out of my shower, wrapping a towel around my hair. Then I slip into a silky, emerald green cami and a pair of matching sleep shorts. The heat of the shower helped relax my muscles. I can’t wait to sink onto Jake’s couch with a glass of wine. Maybe he’ll give me one of those foot rubs he promised.

I’m not planning to move all my stuff over at once. I decided that in the shower. I’m too damn tired to deal with it all tonight. I’ll go over there, apologize for ghosting them all day, and hopefully scrounge up something to eat.

I snatch my phone off the vanity, checking my messages. Jake sent me his address earlier…and a picture of his cheat day sushi lunch. I think, in another life, Jake was sushi. I smile at the thought as I tap out a quick message, moving through my bedroom towards the kitchen.

RACHEL (6:17PM): Hey, leaving here in ten. Plz tell me you have something to eat.

My stomach may be empty, but screw it. Mama needs a glass of wine after this marathon of a week. I step into the kitchen and promptly scream, phone clattering from my hand to the floor. “What the fuck, Caleb!”

The asshole is standing in my kitchen, leaning against the stove with his arms crossed. “So, you are alive. Good to know.”

I bend down and snatch up my phone, checking for damage. Jake is already responding.

JAKE (6:18PM): YAY!!!! *confetti emoji*

JAKE (6:18PM): Pizza good? Preheating oven now

JAKE (6:18PM): Hey, I think Caleb was still over that way too. Maybe ride together

Heart racing, I glare at Caleb. “You breaking into women’s apartments now? How did you even get in here?”

He raises a dark brow, arms still crossed. “Seriously? You gave me a key, remember?”

Wow, I totally did. That feels like a lifetime ago instead of only a few weeks. I scoff, jerking open my fridge to take out my bottle of chilled chardonnay. “Yeah, but that was for emergencies. What’s the emergency, Caleb?”

“I was out of seashells,” he mutters, gesturing to the glass bowl on my breakfast bar.

I open the cabinet and pull down a wine glass, helping myself to a generous pour. “So, why all the cloak and dagger?” I say, taking a sip.

He’s still giving me that level look, arms crossed. “You’ve changed your mind.”

I pause, glass of wine halfway to my lips. “Is that what you think?”

He nods, his fuck-all-the-way-off energy simmering at a low boil. After the day I’ve had, Dragon Rachel feels ready to come out and dance a little. Jake would never give me the fight she craves, but Caleb is a whole other story. There’s a darkness in me that I see mirrored in him. Two jaded coulda-beens used to standing in the shadows of other people’s spotlights. Only we’ve both found we prefer the dark over anything we ever had sharing their light.

I set my drink down on the counter. I’m still wearing my towel wrapped on my head. My silky cami and shorts leave nothing to the imagination. I’m sure he can see all my curves. And he’s looking. I’m watching him do it, his gaze heating.

I cross my arms under my breasts, leaning against the counter. “So, you think I changed my mind? It took me less than twelve hours to decide living with two hockey bros might not be the best life choice. That’s what you wanna think, right?”

“I don’t want to think that,” he corrects. “I’m just not surprised that you have. It’s a lot for anyone. Jake is a lot. But I’m here to see if you’ll reconsider.”

I raise a brow. “Oh yeah? And what are you gonna offer me, Caleb?”

He takes a deep breath, dropping his hands to his sides. “I’ll bow out.”

There it is. Like clockwork.

Snatching up my glass of wine, I take another sip, saying nothing. Best to give them as much rope as possible when they’re determined to get tangled up in it. And Caleb loves a little bondage. He wants this. I bet he’s getting hard right now, high on his own bullshit martyrdom.

“Look…this is all a lot,” he goes on, rubbing the back of his neck. “Jake doesn’t need the distraction at the start of a new season with a brand-new team. And you certainly don’t need the added complication. I mean, you’ve been on the fence from the beginning. You tried to ghost Jake in Seattle, so I know you have your doubts. I just don’t want to add to them.”

Oh Caleb, you sweet, scared mess.

“Mhmm,” I say, taking another sip. “So…you’ve decided that if I mean to cut and run, best I do it with only Jake to hurt, right?”

“No,” he growls. “I don’t want Jake hurt.”

“Are you sure this is about Jake? Sounds like you’re ending this before it begins to keep you safe. Sparing yourself the pain of getting left behind. That’s your fear, right?”

“No—I—fuck, this isn’t coming out right,” he mutters, lowering his gaze.

“No, you’re doin’ great,” I deadpan. “Let’s get all this bullshit out on the table now.”

His gaze flashes, his eyes molten. “You think this is funny?”

“Not at all,” I reply. “I also don’t think this is actually about me and my loyalty issues,” I add. “It’s certainly not about Jake. Look up ‘constancy’ in the dictionary, and you’ll see a picture of Jake Compton giving a thumbs-up.”

He shakes his head, dragging a hand through his messy, dark auburn hair.

“By the way, I already texted him and told him I was on the way over,” I add. “That’s what I was doing when you scared me half to death just now.”

His brow scrunches as he looks at my buzzing phone on the counter. “You did?”

“Yep, Caleb, I did. I had no intention of ghosting either of you today. Work just got in the way. I handled it as quickly as I could, and I was ready to head over. But now that you’re standing in my kitchen, we can have this out here and now.”

His eyes narrow. “Have what out?”

I scoff, setting my wine aside again. “You really expect me to believe you used my key for the first time to come in here and tell me you’re bowing out? You’re not even the teeniest bit curious to see where this might go?”

“It can’t go anywhere. You said so yourself.”

“I said it can’t be public,” I correct. “For a whole mess of reasons, we all need to keep this quiet. But there’s a lot of room to dance in the dark, Caleb. For you especially.”

His frown deepens. “What the hell are you talking about?”

I shrug one shoulder. “Well, you’ve got a chance to see all your dreams come true here.”

His arms tighten over his chest. “I don’t follow.”

“You don’t? Let me spell it out for you then.” I take a step closer. “Your best friend found the love of his life. So, now you’re reeling. You don’t know what to do. Because she’s not some blonde puck bunny named Kelsey who wants to marry him and have his 2.5 babies that she’ll dress in Gucci onesies.”

The corner of his mouth twitches. “She’s not?”

I tug the towel off my head and drop it to the floor. My mess of damp hair falls around my shoulders. “Nope. She’s a Thai-food eating, scrubs-wearing, curses-like-a-sailor hot mess of a doctor. A born and bred rock’n’roller who grew up dropping acid behind the amps at her daddy’s sold-out shows.”

I take another step closer, watching the way he tenses. He’s fighting himself now more than me. He’s got his own monster chained up tight.

Come play with me, baby.

There’s barely an arm’s length between us now. I reach out a hand, brushing my fingertips lightly down his chest. He stiffens at my touch, his hands going back to grip the stove.

“Jake’s new girl has battled addiction, depression, and dysmorphia…all before she turned eighteen,” I go on. “We both know she’s all wrong for him…and all right too.” I close the space between us, my hand still splayed on his chest. “She’s strong. She doesn’t take his bullshit. And his shine doesn’t blind her the way it has other women. She can handle him, protect him, and more than match him in strength.”

I lean in closer, counting the freckles dusting his tanned cheeks, and whisper, “And do you wanna know the best part about Jake’s new girl?”

His jaw clenches as he looks down at me, his dark eyes flashing. “What?”

I smile. “She’s Caleb’s girl too.”

He goes impossibly still as I slip my thumbs into the top of my silky sleep shorts and tug them down, letting them drop to the floor. I stand before him, naked from the waist down.

“Your girl likes to be shared, Cay. She likes to be fucked. Separately, together. She wants you both to devour her.”

“Fuck, Rachel,” he mutters, gripping to the stove so tight I’m surprised he’s not bending the metal.

“Nuh-uh,” I say, putting a finger over his pouty lips. “When we’re alone, you don’t get to call me that.” I hold his gaze, waiting.

“Hurricane,” he says, voice low.

My insides light up as I raise my hand, brushing the hair off his brow.

He closes his eyes, as if my touch is physically hurting him.

“You want an emergency exit because you’re afraid,” I say. “Afraid to want. Afraid to be wanted.”

He flinches at my words, his jaw clenched tight. “You don’t know me.”

“I know enough.”

He shakes his head.

“Jake loves you, and I trust Jake,” I say simply. “And you love Jake,” I add. “Can I trust you to keep loving him? Can you ever learn to share him with me, Cay? He’s got a lot of love to give. Enough to sustain us both, I think.”

“I’m no good for you,” he mutters. “Either of you. I’ll break this—I’ll—” He bites back the rest of his words.

“Caleb—”

“I’ll ruin it,” he says. “Let me go. Let me walk away now, before…” He fades into heartbreaking silence.

Words won’t get through to Caleb. I need to rely on a little action to show him what we could be. I hold his gaze as I take him by the tattooed wrist and guide his hand between my legs. I suck in a breath, shivering with relief at his touch. We both drop our gaze to our shared point of connection.

“Fuck,” he says on a breath, his fingers finding my center and plunging in, lifting me up on my toes. His other hand curls around my waist, holding me still.

“Jake is our angel,” I say on a breath, my hands tightening on his shoulders as he moves his fingers slowly in and out. “He makes us both feel bright and shiny. He sees us for all that we are.”

I cup his stubbled cheek, holding his gaze once more. Caleb’s fingers go still inside me.

“But I think you might just see me for all that I hide,” I whisper. “You’re in this, Cay. With me. With us. Be my devil. Come dance with me in the dark.”

He pulls his fingers from my pussy, leaving me empty and aching for more. Slowly, he lifts his wet fingers and traces them over my parted lips. “Is that what you need, Hurricane? You want a taste of my shadows?”

I fist the middle of his shirt. “Just a taste? Baby, you better make me drown—”

He’s kissing me before I finish the words. His hands delve into my damp hair, fingers digging in tight, as he jerks my neck back, owning my mouth. I open eagerly, moaning out my need as my hands drop to his waist, fingers hooking into his belt loops.

He spins us around, pressing my bare ass against the handle of the stove. His jeans are rough against my skin as his hard cock presses at my center. I press right back. His hips hold me pinned as his hands roam, the calloused pads of his fingers setting my skin on fire. He brushes down my neck, over my collarbones, until his fingers snag on the silky little straps of my cami. With his tongue in my mouth, cock pressed hard against me, he fists the little strands of silk and jerks, tearing them loose.

I gasp as the cami slips down around my hips. Then his hands are cupping my breasts, pinching my nipples tight until I cry out, breaking our kiss. I love mixing pain with my pleasure. It keeps my nerves firing faster and my core coiling tighter. I’m on fire, body humming with need.

Reaching for the hem of his shirt with both hands, I give it a tug. “Take it off.”

He breaks our kiss with a grunt, pulling his shirt off one-handed. Tossing it aside, he ducks down, his hot mouth closing around my peaked nipple. He flicks and sucks, driving me straight to that edge.

I smooth my hands over his shoulders. His muscles are lean and hard over his broad frame. I can practically feel the lingering warmth of the sun on his tanned skin. I dig my fingers into his surfer boy hair and rake his nape with my nails until he groans.

“Fuck,” he pants against my flushed skin.

He drops a hand back between my legs and I open for him, not caring that the stove is digging into my ass. He works my clit with his thumb, two fingers buried in my wet center. Then he pops off my breast with a sucking sound, righting himself to hold my gaze. His other hand cups my cheek, holding me still, watching my expression change as he finger fucks me.

I’m falling to pieces in his arms, knees trembling. “Baby, I’m so close,” I pant, feeling desperate and weak.

He smiles, his dark eyes flashing. “I’ve thought of this moment since I first saw you. Thought of the sounds you’d make for me, how you’d taste on my tongue.” His hand softens, smoothing down the column of my neck.

I arch into his touch, panting through parted lips, as I feel my release coil tighter. “Please—”

“You swept into my life like a swirling storm of chaos. You’ve shattered everything. I’m in fucking free fall. No parachute. No one to catch me.”

I cup his face with both hands, my body aching with need. “Cay…look at me, baby.”

His obsidian gaze locks on me, shattering my last shred of control.

“I’ll catch you,” I say on a breath. “Let me catch you. Fall into me. Never stop—”

And then we’re kissing again, both our hands dropping to the front of his pants. We fight for the button, jerking it open. He tugs his tattered jeans off his hips to the floor.

I slip my hand inside his boxer briefs, wrapping my fist around his hard cock. He’s long and lean, with less girth than Jake, but fuck if those piercings don’t already have me salivating. His tip leaks, the wetness slicking the palm of my hand. I can’t help the eager sound that escapes my lips as I tease his lips, our tongues tangling.

“Fuck—stop,” he growls.

Chest heaving, I watch him tug his briefs down his thighs freeing his cock. I’m literally desperate to come, but now I don’t want to until he’s inside me.

He pinches his tip, staving off his own release, as he buries his free hand back in my wet hair. “Tell me what you want,” he says, nipping my chin.

“I want you to fuck me,” I reply, holding tight to his hips. “Cay, make me yours. Please, baby—ah—” I gasp as his free hand circles my neck.

“I’m not your baby,” he growls, squeezing my throat. “You’re my twisted fucking Hurricane. Chaos in a brunette bottle. Who am I? Who waits for you in the dark?”

I wince, even as I smile. The monster in him is finally coming out to play. I swallow against his hand, loving that exquisite tightness of breath. Meanwhile, my pussy is desperate for some more attention.

“Please, daddy,” I whimper, loving the way his eyes flash with hunger and triumph. Oh yeah, Cay screams daddy dom kink. My control freak. Mr. Fixes Everything. “I need you. Fuck me so good. Own this pussy before I scream—”

I shriek as he grabs me, hoisting me up his body as he turns. He shuffles forward two steps and sets me down roughly on the edge of the only part of the counter free of overhead cabinets—my little breakfast bar. I gasp, hands falling back to catch myself. My elbow hits the big glass bowl of seashells, sending it teetering over the edge. It shatters on the floor, seashells spilling everywhere, as Caleb parts my legs, notches the tip of his cock at my entrance, and drives into the hilt with a single thrust.

I scream, body convulsing with a spasm as I instantly shatter. My pussy clenches down on his cock and then he’s moving, pounding into me. “Oh—god—”

I feel all four of Caleb’s piercings like the world’s most luxurious ribbed condom. I swear, my soul has to be floating somewhere above my body. Having a pierced dick isn’t enough to accomplish what Caleb is currently doing to me. This man is fucking me with everything he’s got. The ribbed sensation is just a delightfully kinky bonus to what would be some otherwise mind-blowing sex.

“Oh my fucking god,” I cry out, holding on to whatever piece of him I can reach. I can’t even think because he’s holding my hips tight enough to bruise as he absolutely destroys my greedy pussy, slamming into the hilt again and again until I feel another wave of release hit me, cresting off the first that never really stopped.

“God—you feel amazing,” he groans. “So wet and tight. Gonna fuck this pussy every damn day.”

“Yes—”

“Gonna own you, sweet girl. Bend you over and spear you on my cock. Jake’s cock too. You’ll take us both together. In this pussy, in your ass. You’ll be begging us to stop even as you scream for more.”

“Do it,” I plead, my body trembling from the aftershock of my double orgasm—and he’s not done.

With a desperate groan, he pulls out of me and jerks me off the edge of the counter. I all but fall into his arms, sagging against him as he turns me roughly around. “Bend over. Show me this perfect ass.”

I gladly fall to my elbows on the counter, a smile on my face as he buries his hand between my legs. His other hand massages my ass cheek, giving it a sharp slap that I feel straight through to my clit.

“You’re gonna take me deep,” he orders, pressing in with his hips, his cock wet with my release as he slides it between my legs.

“Please,” I whimper.

“You want me to come inside you, don’t you?” he teases, softly nipping the lobe of my ear. “You’re a needy girl who wants to be filled with cum. I bet you’d take two dicks at once, wouldn’t you, Hurricane? You want me and Jake stuffing this cunt together?”

“Yes,” I pant, loving the feel of my hips wedged tight against the counter. The hard edge is cutting into me, but I don’t care. “Finish with me, Cay. Take everything.”

With a growl, he pushes down on the small of my back and notches himself at my entrance. “Tell me you want it.”

“I do,” I cry. “I want you. Please—god—fuck me ’til there’s nothing left.”

And then he does. He slams home once more, the new angle with his piercings on my G-spot making me see stars. I’m a shaky, mewling mess as he pounds me against the counter, my hips getting cut in half with each thrust, but I don’t care. He’s ruining me in the best possible way.

I’m lying palms-flat on the counter, my sensitive nipples pressed against the cold surface. I lift up, arching my back, mouth open on a slowly building moan, as he fucks me so hard, I think my hips might crack.

We both cry out our ecstasy as I clench tight around him, strangling his cock. My legs clench around him too, begging without words for him to stay buried deep. I feel the warmth of his release as he groans, his sweat-slicked body folding over mine.

I don’t know how long we hold onto that moment of our shared release. Time becomes meaningless as my body unravels from its high and I’m left with nothing but the exquisite aftershocks.

Eventually, his grip softens and then he’s slipping out, his hands framing me in as he pushes off the counter. I lay there, body trembling. The counter feels like ice against my burning skin. I shift back, wincing at the pain in my hips.

Caleb’s breath is warm against my neck as he bends over and wraps me in his arms, lifting and turning me off the counter. I curl up against his chest letting him hold most of my weight. We’re both shaking. He brushes my hair back from my face, kissing my brow.

“Don’t pull away from me,” I murmur. “From us. Please stay.”

The hand petting circles on my back stills. “I’m not going anywhere,” he replies.

Letting out a relieved exhale, I smile against his warm skin. “Take me home, Cay. Jake is waiting for us.”