Seduced by the Game (3 page)

“That’s because I don’t
try to hook my best friend up with my brother, since that’s gross,” Lacey said,
but she didn’t think they were listening to her.

Rolling her eyes, she
watched as Rachel said, “Yeah, all she told me was that you were a beast on the
ice, not that you were a sexy beast.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,”
Lacey muttered, heading toward the kitchen for a drink. She didn’t care if they
hooked up, but she still thought it was weird. Grady was not a sexy beast… he
was a weirdo. Plus, he was dirty. They’d only last a day before Rachel dumped
him.

Rolling her eyes, she
reached in a bucket for a beer. She went to open the top, but couldn’t manage
it. When the cap began to cut into her hand, she placed it on the table and
opened the drawer for a bottle opener, stopping when someone reached out,
taking her beer.

“Hey, that’s mine—” she
said, stopping when her eyes met Karson’s.

His eyes bored into hers
as he popped the top with ease, handing it back to her. “Here you go.”

“Thank you,” she said,
taking the bottle, her eyes still held by his. She didn’t know what to say,
didn’t know what to do, so she just drank in the sight of him. He was wearing
fitted blue jeans and a Cats’ tee, which hugged every inch of him. She could
see that the definition of his chest and his arms was just scrumptious. He was
so big, so burly, that she just wanted to get lost in his arms and never leave.
Jesus, he was hot. His hair fell into his caramel eyes, as his mouth curved up
into a devilish grin. Soon, she found herself lost in his eyes, grinning like a
fool, but then she remembered that she was supposed to stay far, far away from
Karson King.

Taking a step back, she
muttered, “Well, thanks again. Bye.”

Just as fast as she tried
to get away, Karson’s arms shot out, holding the counter to stop her. Looking
from his arm to his eyes, she knew that she could push through and be gone, but
she wasn’t going anywhere.

She couldn’t, not with how
she was locked into his playful gaze.

* * * *

Karson was feeling on top
of the world.

He scored the only two
goals, winning the game, and basically played the best game of his life. He was
on fire and knew it. The draft was his, and he knew he would be the first pick.
He was excited, ready to celebrate a winning night and his bright future. After
being fussed over by his mom and dad, he said bye, promising to meet them for
breakfast and for Kacey’s game, before going back to the house to set up for
the party they always had after games. Tonight though, the atmosphere was nuts.
It was the first time in years the Cats had shutout NYU, so they were partying
hard.

Girls were everywhere, his
teammates were being their dumb selves, and Karson was feeling great, but when he
saw Grady’s sister at the counter, he knew his night was about to get ten times
better. There was something very intriguing about the gorgeous blonde, and she
had Karson heading straight for her. Maybe it was her legs, which went on for
days and ended at a great ass. Or maybe it was her sweet lips and even sweeter
eyes. He wasn’t sure, but he had to talk to her. He had to know her. As he
reached where she stood, he saw that she was trying to open a beer, which meant
she was a damsel in distress… And he was all about saving damsels.

He thought once their eyes
met she wouldn’t want to leave, but to his surprise, after thanking him, she
tried to run off, but there was no way he was going to let her escape that
easily. Throwing his arm out against her stomach, she glanced up at him, her
eyes wide and her lips parted. He wanted to drop his lips to hers, and he
wanted trap her in his arms and never let go. She was taller than most of the
girls he went after, but her eyes captivated him. Such a pale green that shined
in such an intoxicating way.

“Where’s the fire?” he
asked, replacing his arm with his hip. She took a step back, and he noticed she
was squeezing the bottle she held so tight her knuckles were white.

“No fire, just need to go
find my friend.”

Karson’s head fell to the
side. “Oh, well, I wanted to say hi. Introduce myself.”

“I know who you are,” she
said quickly, looking up at him.

His mouth curved in a grin
as he slowly nodded. “Well, that’s not fair. I want to know you. What’s your
name?”

Looking away, she expelled
a breath, trying to act like she was annoyed, but Karson could see it in her
eyes. She wanted him.

“Lacey.”

“Lacey, such a pretty
name. I’m Karson. It’s truly a pleasure to meet you,” he said, reaching out to
take her hand in his. She didn’t take his at first, but he could see in her
eyes that she wanted to. Finally, she did, squeezing his hand as she held his
gaze. When she brought her lip in between her teeth, it took everything not to
groan out loud. She was sexy and sweet all in one. He could get lost in her
body and never look back. He had never been completely taken by a girl like
this, but Lacey was doing something to him, and he liked it way more than he
should.

“So you’re Grady’s sister,
right? Younger sister?”

She nodded as he got lost
in depths of her green eyes. “Yes, I may be younger, but I can still make him
cry.”

Karson laughed. “Good to
know and, if I may add, that’s kind of hot.”

He wanted to make her
laugh. When her lips curved in a smile, the laughter followed, and his dick
came to life in his pants. It was such a heavenly sound, and he had never
wanted to make a girl laugh as much as he wanted to make Lacey.

“You’re a dork.”

“That’s a good thing,
right? That turns you on?”

She laughed again as she
shook her head. Looking at him through hooded eyes, she said, “Maybe.”

“Good to know. It was
great to see that you came to watch me play tonight. I’m pretty good, huh?”

She laughed, rolling her
eyes. “Wow, conceited much?”

Karson grinned. “I know
what I saw.”

“You’re delusional. I came
to watch my brother.”

Still grinning, he said,
“But you watched me.”

“You were on the ice; I
was watching the game,” she protested, but he shook his head.

“Your eyes never left me.”

“How do you know?” she
asked with an amused look.

“Because when I wasn’t
trying to score, I was watching you.”

Her cheeks deepened with
color as she looked down, playing with the label on the beer. “I’m not sleeping
with you; you’re wasting your time throwing all this game at me.”

He was a goner. This girl
was it. Any other girl would have fallen for his game, but not Lacey Martin.

Smiling, he said, “Who
said anything about sleeping together? Are you thinking about having sex with
me?”

Her cheeks colored more
before she looked away, laughing louder, making him think that maybe she was.
He liked that. A lot. “Oh my God, shut up!”

“I never once brought up
sex, and you did.”

“Whatever,” she said, a
grin still pulling her lips.

“You are really beautiful
when you do that. I like that half smile thing. Really hot.”

Meeting his gaze, her
smile fell as she looked away, shaking her head. “You’re wasting your time.”

“Let me be the one to
decide that, and aren’t you supposed to thank me? I did just say you are the
hottest girl in the world.”

Her cheeks still burned
with color as she nodded. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

She brought her beer up to
her lips, and he smiled as he watched her take a sip before asking, “Are you
old enough to drink?”

Her eyes narrowed. “Are
you going to tell on me if I’m not?”

He shook his head. “Nope,
I was just trying to figure out how old you are.”

“Eighteen,” she answered,
a smile pulling at her sweet lips.

“Cool, I like my girl
legal.”

“Your girl?” she laughed,
her eyes wide.

As she giggled, her eyes
bright, he admired the long lashes that framed her beautiful eyes. “Yeah, you
didn’t get the memo that I find you incredibly sexy and want to know every
single thing about you?”

She shook her head, taking
a step toward him. Her body was close; he could feel the heat of her and knew
he’d miss it once space was put between them again. Karson craved to press her
against the counter and kiss the living hell out of her but, before he could,
she said, “Obviously, you didn’t get the memo that said I’m off-limits.”

With his eyes locked with
hers, his mouth came up at the side. “Off-limits, why?”

“You don’t want me. You
think you do, but I promise you’ll return me the minute you have me,” she said
sadly, as she looked away. “This was fun. You’re insanely hot, and any girl
would be lucky to have you ruthlessly flirt with her, but believe me, you don’t
want me.”

“I disagree,” he said,
taking a step toward her, closing the distance between them. Her breasts
touched his chest, and it took everything out of him to form words as he got
lost in her eyes. “I think I’d treasure you. I think it would surprise you how
much I do want you.”

She gasped for breath as
she took a step back, putting distance between them. Her eyes told him that
Karson had her, but soon she was shaking her head as she whispered, “Don’t
waste your time, Karson.”

She went to walk away, but
he took her wrist in his hand, stopping her. Bringing her hand up, he placed a
kiss to the inside of her palm and looked deeply into her eyes as he said, “I’d
be wasting my time with anyone but you.”

Her eyes softened, but
still she shook her head. “Just let me go and don’t look back. Believe me,
you’ll be thankful later.”

“I don’t know if I can let
go. I’m sprung.”

Her eyes went wide as she
shook her head. “You don’t even know me!”

He smiled confidently as
he held her gaze. “I know that if I let you go, I’ll regret it for the rest of
my life.”

“How do you know that?”

“’Cause I know what I
want, and you’re it.”

“You’re crazy,” she
accused, shaking her head. “All you know is my name, and you are going to
regret getting to know me. Please, let me go.”

“So let me get to know
you, prove to you that what we are both feeling is real, and let’s see what
happens.”

She only blinked as she
tore her hand from his. Her eyes narrowed as she slowly shook her head. “I
don’t know what you are doing, but this is crazy. So just stay away from me,
okay? Don’t waste your time.”

Turning, she walked away
from him but, like he knew she would, she looked back. He could see every
emotion in her sweet eyes and knew that she wanted him. He didn’t know what was
holding her back from him, but he was going to do everything to make her
realize he was it.

As he watched her walk
away, he knew that even though he could score on the ice with no problem,
scoring with Lacey Martin was going to be a challenge. When she reached her
brother and a short brunette, she looked back at him, her eyes wide as they
locked with his. His heart lurched in his chest, and a slow grin curved his
lips as he whispered, “Challenge accepted.”

Coincidence?

Karson King was following
her.

That was all there was to
it. As much as she wanted to think it was creepy, she couldn’t, because she
liked it. She liked him. No matter how much she wanted to be mad at herself for
it, she couldn’t. Call her an idiot, but there was something invigorating about
someone as hot as Karson King chasing after her. Something about his cockiness
just turned her on, and she wanted to know more about him, but she knew it was
a bad idea. Nothing could come out of it, and she knew the minute he had her, he’d
run, but nothing said she couldn’t enjoy seeing him all over the place.

For a week, he didn’t say
anything. He’d just show up at the places she was. It wasn’t a big deal, but
then he started showing up and saying little things. Like
hi
, or
how
are you
,
funny seeing you here
. It was mind-boggling. Maybe it was a
coincidence, but she was pretty sure she had never seen him at the library or
coffee shop before, and she went to both places religiously.

Like now, she was sitting
there, enjoying her mocha coffee, and he just strolled in like he owned the
damn place. As she watched him, he made his way to the counter and placed an
order, never once looking at her. However, she knew that he knew she was there.
Drinking in the sight of him, Lacey found herself breathless. He was beautiful.
He wore a dark red beanie that covered his hair, with a peacoat that fit him
perfectly. In her head, Lacey imagined them cuddled up next to each other,
walking through downtown as the snow fell. It was sad, but she couldn’t help
but wonder what it would be like to be wrapped in his arms. She could know. He
had made it plain and clear that he wanted her, but it was just too scary.