Rush the Edge: A Brother’s Best Friend Hockey Romance (Blue Devils Hockey Book 3)

My plan completely backfired, which seems unfair because it wasn’t meant to be malicious.

If I wanted to stir things up between us, I would have brought some random guy as my date to the function, but instead, I convinced River to go, promising him a night of free food and drinks.

But then Kane just had to bring Paris, and now I’m regretting much more than my decision to deny Kane as my date.

“I almost didn’t recognize you without horns,” Emory chuckles, staring out at the party.

I grin. “I made a last-minute decision to tuck them into my purse. I can put them on it if you’d like.”

Emory almost smiles. He shakes his head and puts his hands into his pockets to rock back on his dress shoes. “I take it you haven’t seen all the photos from the media shoot, huh?”

When walking into the charity event, I was in awe. The photos that Scottie took hang on the walls, showcasing all the children smiling with their favorite Blue Devils player. It’s a great idea for the charity function, and I’m sure it has donors emptying their pockets.

“Why do you say it like that?” I ask Emory.

He nods to the left, and I follow him closely. I glance into the sea of people. Reese and Malaki are deep in conversation with their faces awfully close, while Coach Jacobs stands with his hand resting against his wife’s lower back. I refuse to look any farther and keep my focus ahead. I’m too afraid I’ll snag a glimpse of Kane with Paris—something I can only blame myself for.

The knot in my throat gets tighter the closer Emory and I get to the far-left corner of the room. When he stops, I do too. My heart slips, landing in the pit of my stomach, as I stare at a photo of Kane and me.

His angular jaw is angled to the side as he gazes at me over the head of Jonas, who is sitting happily in my arms. I’m staring up at Kane, and to the naked eye, it may not look suspicious, but a photo speaks a thousand words, and if River sees this, we’re doomed.

“It’s a good photo.” Emory takes a sip of his drink. “And I’m not just saying that because my wife took it.”

I force a laugh.

“It makes Kane look like he actually has a heart,” he adds.

I’m quick to defend him. “He has a heart.”

The broody goalie grins over the rim of his cup. “I know he does. But there aren’t many that do.”

I follow his line of sight when he looks toward the large room basked in warm light from golden chandeliers and hundreds of people dressed in suits and gowns.

I find Kane right away, and the breath whooshes from my lungs.

Kane’s hand rests on his date’s lower back, and I suddenly wish I’d worn her dress instead of this one. If Paris and I had traded, at least his hand would be on silky blue fabric instead of her bare skin.

“Excuse me.” I rush off and leave Emory alone to stare at his wife mingling with her camera around her neck.

This is high school all over again—me watching Kane flirt with other girls from afar while dying a slow death of jealousy. Nausea climbs up my throat until I find a random door along the hallway just outside the venue space.

I’m desperate to be alone to clear my thoughts.

I shut the door and exhale. My shoulders drop with the quietness of the dark room, but they quickly tense when the door opens. I turn to see who it is, but it closes just as quickly.

It only takes me a split second to realize it’s Kane. His scent envelops me, but I try to mask my emotions before he catches on to the hurt and confusion lying just beneath the surface. I square my shoulders and step backward, hitting something on my way. I can’t see anything, but I can most definitely sense the shift in the air with his presence.

“Are you hiding, little devil?” His voice is smooth and confident, brushing against my bare arms like velvet.

“I’m not hiding, Kaney,” I snap.

So much for not acting perturbed by his choice of date.

His gruff chuckle races against my skin.

“Where’s your date?” I ask, the question full of utter disgust.

I hate myself for showing my jealousy.

“Nuh-uh,” he says in a hushed tone. “You don’t get to do that.”

I cross my arms, though he can’t see me. “Do what?”

His warm, whiskey-scented breath brushes against my lips. “You can’t force me to bring a date and then act jealous. That’s not how it works.”

“I am not jealous,” I stress, my body strung tight.

His sigh is heavy with something other than anger, and to my surprise, he doesn’t respond. My heart pounds when I take a step forward, the tip of my heel touching his shoe. He makes no move to get out of my way.

The small closet fills with tension, our attraction feeding off each other.

“Fine,” I finally admit, too exhausted to fight it. “I’m jealous.”

“I know you are.” He sounds sad, his voice more of a breath.

I think back to the text I saw on his phone, the worry settling on my shoulders once again.

“You okay?” I whisper.

Kane sighs loudly. “I don’t know.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No,” he snaps. The air surrounding us grows even tighter. “Yes? Fuck, I don’t know. What is there to talk about, really? It’s Miles. I should be used to his bullshit by now.”

A low growl rumbles from his chest, and a gust of hot air fans against my face. My eyes have adjusted slightly, and I can see that he’s put his back to me. A sense of urgency pulls me toward him, afraid he’s going to walk out the door and feel more alone than ever.

My arms wrap around his waist, and my head rests against his firm back. His chest heaves, his heartbeat thunderous.

It only takes a breath for him to place his hand on my arm. I pray that it grounds him.

“Talk to me,” I whisper. “I’m here.”

Silence fills the tiny room, settling into all the empty spaces around us. His heartbeat quickens before his deep voice hits my ears.

“Every time he comes around, I say it’ll be the last…” He chuckles darkly. “Hell, he says it too.”

“Why do you keep giving in and helping him?” I ask, softly.

“Because he’s my brother.” Kane’s hand tightens against my arm. “Because I need to protect my mom from another tragedy. It’s clear he isn’t going to stop getting himself into these situations, and if he doesn’t pay these people back, they’ll probably kill him.”

The heaviness in his voice pulls me in even further. Hurt washes over me, and I slowly slip around to the front of him. I glide my hand up his suit jacket and place it on his freshly shaven face. “Have you ever thought about the fact that it’d be a tragedy to lose you?”

He swallows loudly. “What do you mean?”

“Your mom,” I say slowly, needing him to hear. “Did you ever think that maybe your mom thought it was a tragedy to lose you?”

He pulls his face away from my hand, like he can’t fathom the thought. “My mom hates me.”

“That’s not fair to assume.” I pull his face back to look at me, and even in the dark, I can see there’s a slight gloss to his eye. “She doesn’t know the truth.”

This moment between us feels eerily similar to the one we shared the night before we parted ways. There’s a quietness around us, a stillness that I think we’re both afraid to disturb.

But I do anyway.

“You have to cut him off, Kane.”

He knows it, and I know it. The endless pamphlets I’d gathered for Miles over the years flash inside my head like a jumbotron. The research and understanding of someone with a gambling addiction comes to the forefront of my brain. “You’re enabling him by cleaning up the messes he finds himself in.”

Kane’s chest rises, and a tight breath floats between us. “I guess you and I are both enablers, then.”

The briefest squeeze of his palms around my waist draws a spark to every intimate part of my body. My thighs tingle, and my stomach flips.

“What does that mean?” I whisper.

Goosebumps cover my arms as Kane drags one hand up my back, gliding the pad of his finger over my spine until he reaches the back of my neck. I sigh wistfully as he curves around to cup my face, and the only thing I suddenly care about is his mouth on mine.

Kiss me.

It’s torment to have him so close but to keep him at arm’s length.

“You…” his voice is low and husky. “Standing here in front of me behind a locked door, showing me how big your heart really is…”

I swallow. “You call that enabling?”

“I don’t know,” he murmurs. “Let’s see if you allow me to kiss you without pushing me away.”

My stomach flips. Kane gently grips me around the throat and pulls my face to his. His mouth is on mine, so wet and hot, sending warmth to the very tips of my toes. I open up for him, craving his tongue against mine and unconsciously letting out little noises of pleasure.

I pull away briefly, breathing heavily and glance at his shirt. My fingers work quickly. I pull the crisp linen shirt out of his pants and undo his belt. I tip my face back to his, and we’re lost in each other.

His hands are everywhere.

I forget where we are and who we are.noveldrama

It’s just so right when he’s touching me.

He breaks the kiss to shrug out of his suit jacket. “I want to be angry with you for pulling your little stunt of making me take another date.” Kane hauls me up into his arms, and I wrap my legs around his waist. “But it’s hard to be mad when I know how pure your heart is. I know you did it because you think what we’re doing behind River’s back is wrong. You’re always trying to keep the peace.”

The scruff of his face scratches my palms when I grab his cheeks to pull his mouth to mine.

We kiss again, our tongues starting off in a rush but slowing down as soon as he moves my panties to the side and begins to glide inside of me.

I throw my head back and push my hips forward to meet him halfway. “Ah,” I breathe out.

“I think I know what it’s like to be addicted to something,” he admits.

I meet his gaze through the darkness and let him run the show. His thrusts are slow and deep, but he keeps me steady against him, never moving his fingers from my hips. I move along with him, matching his pace until I can’t focus anymore. A bundle of warmth stirs in between my legs and shoots down my thighs.

I whimper, and Kane shushes me.

“You’ve gotta be quiet, baby,” he whispers. “Bite me if you have to, but keep it down, or more than River will find me here, proving to you that we’re impossible to keep apart.”

I fall into a tailspin of pleasure. My body goes into overdrive, and I move up and down over his hard length, his fingers sinking into my flesh to keep us steady.

“No one compares,” he murmurs against my mouth. “No one ever has.”

I lean close and kiss him with every hidden thought I’ve buried over the years. I use the kiss to prove to him that it isn’t just him that feels this between us. It’s so much more than sexual tension and attraction. I’ve had chemistry with other guys, and he’s right, nothing compares to this.

Kane kisses me with an urgency. An orgasm rips through me, the pleasure so intense I do what he says to do to stay quiet and bite him.

My teeth move to his shoulder, the muscle bundled tightly from holding me up.

“Fuck,” he groans quietly.

He pumps into me one more time before his body stills with another grunt escaping him. He collapses to the floor with me still on top of him.

I rest my forehead on his sweaty chest, both of us gasping for air.

After a few minutes pass, I slowly sit up and attempt to climb off him. Kane’s hands grip the tops of my thighs, and I stop.

“You may not have come to this function with me as your date…but you sure as hell are leaving as it.”

I bite the inside of my cheek to hide a smile. “What about River?”

“I don’t want to think about River right now…or Miles…only you.”

My lips part, an argument on the tip of my tongue.

“Please, Daisy,” Kane whispers. “I’ve never admitted it before, but I just need you.”

“You just had me,” I remind him.

He shakes his head. “I don’t mean like that.” My cheek falls into his palm as he reaches for my face. “I just need you.”

“Okay.” I exhale slowly and accept my fate. “Then you have me.”