Most Desirable Player (Face-Off Legacy/Campus Kings 7)

I nod. “Duh, you know I do.”

“I set it up.”

I slap him on the arm, though it’s not hard enough to do any damage. I’m so weak right now I have almost no strength to make any kind of impact. “You idiot jerk, how could you?” Annoyed, I shake my head. “How could my best friend do this to me?”

“Sadie didn’t do it to you. She did it for you.”

I roll my eyes at him and then turn over so we’re no longer looking at each other.

He hooks his arm around me and flips me back over. “Don’t act like this, Bri. I miss you. I meant what I said earlier. The auction was the only way I knew how to get near you again. I never expected you to get knocked out with a bottle at my game. That was…”

“Crazy,” I finish for him.

“Unexpected,” he says. “I wanted to show you a good time not make you sick.”

I run my thumb along his strong, angular jaw that has a tiny bit of dark stubble on it. “It’s not fair,” I say to myself.

Julian grips my wrist, holding my hand in place. “What’s not fair?”

“That you get to look like this and still have everything.”

“We come from different parts of the country and different walks of life, and yet we’re still the same, Bri. No one gets me the way you do. And no one ever will.”

Before I can speak, our lips collide, and his tongue slips into my mouth. His hands roam my body, his touch going straight to my core. Right now, it’s easy to forget about how much hatred I’ve harbored for Julian. Because at this moment, I can only focus on the way Julian makes me feel. Like there’s no one else in this world but me.

He groans as he sucks on my bottom lip, my moans matching his. Lifting my leg over his, he massages my thigh, his big hand cupping my ass. I don’t want his hands to leave my body or his tongue to stop making my body tingle with pleasure. His tongue caresses mine once more, and he kisses me like a ravenous beast, his animalistic nature coming out to play. Heat runs over my skin in waves as his hand slides up my thigh. He feels every inch of me, his movements fast and impatient as if he’s waited so long to do this that he can’t decide where he wants to touch first. When it comes to Julian, everything about him feels familiar, normal even.

“I love your tits,” he mutters between kisses, pinching my nipple through the fabric of my shirt. “I love everything about you…”

We kiss until my head spins, stealing each other’s last breath from the other. At some point, the air slowly comes back to my brain, and I finally realize what we’re doing is wrong. This is a mistake. We can’t go down this road again. He’s my ex for a reason.

“We shouldn’t do this.” My breaths are shallow. “We have to stop.”

A hint of concern crosses his handsome face. “You feeling okay?”

“Yes and no. My head is still killing me. And I don’t think we should do this. Not after what we went through last time. This was a mistake.”

He frowns. “This wasn’t a mistake.”

“You cheated on me, Julian. I’m not putting myself through that again.”

He shakes his head. “I never cheated on you. You were the only girl I ever thought about when we were together.”

I sit up and use the stack of pillows behind me for support. “The puck bunny that used to hang around your house, you know, the blonde with huge boobs, she told everyone on campus that she had sex with you the weekend I went to New York with Sadie.”

“That never happened.” His expression darkens along with his tone. “She tried to sneak into my room that weekend, but I kicked her ass to the curb. Then, you came over when I was drinking with my teammates, and yelled at me before I could explain what happened that night.”

“You said some awful things to me,” I hiss, my teeth gritted in anger. “Thinking about the past is giving me a splitting headache.”

“You brought it up,” he spits back. “I just want to move forward.”

“Well, you can’t, Julian, because the past still haunts me. I still remember the pain and shame I felt when I left your house that night.”

“I never touched her.”

“I know,” I whisper. “But I was so jealous back then. I can’t handle seeing you with other women.”