The Puck Secret (Fairfield U Book 1)

A pounding in my head wakes me and as I rouse from a deep sleep, a looming heat engulfing my entire body from top to bottom. What the hell? My eyes flick open and scan the unfamiliar room in confusion, until I feel the palm of a hand tighten against my lower stomach, and then it all comes rushing back. Fuck. I’m at Nova’s house, in Nova’s bed, after letting him fuck me. Twice. Fuck this is bad, so so bad. I need to get out of here.

My eyes scan the room again, noting the details I didn’t take in last night, or the first night I came here, both times too drunk and horny to notice. It’s clean for a guy’s room, not what I expect when I think about college hockey players. There is a door in the corner that I presume leads to an ensuite, a dresser by the door, a closet on the other side, and then a desk and bookcase along the wall opposite the bed. A mirror stands in the corner, and I can see our reflection in it as we remain cocooned in his bed.

I’m still shocked that he insisted I stay here, and even more shocked that he seems to be a cuddler. Who would have thought? I roll onto my back and study him in the morning light. He is still wearing the same tank top and shorts he went to sleep in, and his hair is all messed up against the pillow. He looks peaceful, calm, nothing like the usual Nova that I deal with on a daily basis, and I almost smile at the comparison. I wonder how many people have seen him like this? It’s that thought that sobers me up, as I think about how many girls he must have had in here. Gross.

I slowly slide his hand off my stomach and roll to the edge of the bed as silently as humanly possible, careful not to wake him. I’m still naked from last night, and in the harsh light of the morning, I feel worse than just my hangover. I can’t believe I had sex with him, and not just that, but I sucked Alexander’s cock. What the hell was I thinking? How am I ever going to face either of them again? And god what the hell am I going to do if Josh finds out? He will kill me, and them. This is such a fucking mess.

Reaching down, I retrieve my discarded costume from the floor, trying not to remember how his hands ripped it off my body, and shimmy it back on as quietly as I can manage. I look around for my shoes before finding them at the foot of the bed, then pick them up and move towards the door.

“Really? Not even a good morning blow job before you try and run from me?” His voice is rough and a little grizzly as it cuts through the silence of the room, and it freezes me in place.

My entire body turns to jelly as I turn around to face him. Gone is the calm and peaceful sleeping Nova, and in his place is the cocky and charming Nova I am used to. His muscular arms are now hugging his pillow, as his eyes drag over my skin from head to toe, a knowing smirk pulling on the corner of his mouth. A smirk that says I’ve seen you naked. My mouth is completely dry and empty of any words in the English dictionary. I have no clue how to act or what to say to him, so instead, I remain silent, praying he makes this easy on me.

“Wow, if I knew the way to finally shut you up was to fuck you, I’d have done it years ago, Princess.” His smirk turns into a full on grin, and all it does is remind me of how damn attractive he is. I mentally high five myself for the hot sex we had last night, but still I can’t find a single word to say to him. He shakes his head with a sigh, the grin falling from his mouth as he no doubt takes my silence for regret. “Come on, I’ll take you home.” He sits up, rolling out his shoulders and moving to leave the bed in search of clothes in order to do just that, when I stop him.

“It’s okay,” I whisper, clearing my dry throat and finally finding something to say. “I have a ride.” Hector or Julian will be waiting outside for me, depending on who is on shift right now, and I see Nova’s stare darkening, so I quickly add, “My guard, he will be waiting outside for me.” I already feel bad for making them wait outside all night for me, the longer I take the worse that feeling gets.

Nova shakes his head, that smirk curving back around his lips. “Of course he is, Princess.” He rolls his eyes, but still gets out of bed, and I try to ignore how good he looks as he reaches down and grabs something from one of his drawers. “Here,” he adds, tossing the thing in his hand to me. I almost drop my shoes when I rush to catch it before it falls, and it’s only when I have it in my hands that I notice it’s one of his jerseys.

I look at him in confusion. “What’s this for?” Even I can hear the panic in my voice as I worry about this being some token of our new found situation, but he has to know last night was a one time thing. Okay maybe it was a three time thing if you count the other two interactions we had, but it can’t happen again.

Nova doesn’t seem to share my panic as he leans back against his dresser, watching me closely. “Well, as much as I enjoy looking at your tits, I’m not sure I want everyone else seeing them.” He nods towards my dress, reminding me how risky my costume was for his birthday, and the fact I’m not wearing anything underneath.

Hesitating for only a second, I nod in thanks, and slip the jersey on over my head, ignoring the assault of his masculine scent as it engulfs me once more, just like last night. Now I am left awkwardly staring at him without another word to say, before I nod my head again and slip out of his room quietly. Thankfully the hallway is empty, and I release a deep breath as I move towards the stairs and get closer to my escape.

I make it all the way to the bottom before I smack right into Alexander. Heat drowns me from head to toe as we lock eyes, but before embarrassment and regret can claim me, I note the dark bruising under his swollen stare, and the small cut to his lip. “Oh my god, Alexander, are you okay? What happened to your face?”

His own eyes assess me, like he was expecting to find marks on my own skin, and I know the moment he sees something when his eyes lock on my neck. I reach up to the side of my throat and sure enough the skin feels bruised and tender, but his eyes remain cold and detached. “Don’t ask stupid questions, Peters, it’s beneath you.”

I can’t help but blanch back from his words, and when I focus more closely on his face, I watch as his stare rises above my head, settling behind me. I flick my eyes up, following his stare, and find Nova watching us at the top of the stairs. I drop my eyes down to his hands and it’s only now that I notice the red marks across his knuckles.

Turning back to Alexander, I whisper, “Nova did that to you?” I don’t know why I ask the question when the answer is already right in my face, but I just need the confirmation.

Alexander nods, his eyes never leaving his teammates. “I deserved it,” he shrugs, finally letting his stare drop back to mine as he adds, “I touched something that belongs to him.” He pushes past me and moves towards the kitchen, where I find Archer and Jake watching me with knowing smiles on their faces.

It’s only then that I feel Nova’s presence against my back, and their smiles only widen. Even Alexander hides a smirk behind his coffee mug as all three of them stare at us. “Good Morning, Madeliene,” Archer coos playfully. “Fancy seeing you here so early in the morning, I didn’t know my best friend allowed sleepovers in his bed.”

The blush creeps up my neck, but I hold my voice firm and confident as I toss back, “And how do you know I didn’t just get here, Gray?” My words are bolder than I feel, and all they do is make his grin even wider.

“Oh yeah? Then how about you take that jersey off and let me see what’s underneath.” He nods towards my clothes and the blush on my face burns even hotter. “Come on, give us a flash of what has Darkmore so pussy-whipped.”

“That’s enough!” Nova booms. “One more word and I will axe your favorite part from your body,” he adds, snapping at his best friend with nothing but hostility. I don’t have time to be shocked though because his hand finds the bottom of my back, and he steers me towards the front door, saving me from the showdown with his teammates.

“Goodbye, Madeline,” all three of them sing-song to our backs, and I nod my head over my shoulder at them, as I let Nova push me to the front of the house.

When we get there he drops his hand and I instantly feel the coldness his lack of touch leaves behind. I turn around and open my mouth to say something, anything, but he shakes his head. “Go, Princess,” he sighs, leaning around me to unlock the door and opening it at my back. “Go before I make you stay,” he adds, and somehow that threat holds more promise than anything he has ever said to me.

I turn to leave, and then halt, turning back to him and leaning up to press a soft kiss to the side of his mouth. I don’t know why I do it, and it’s clear neither does he because his eyes widen in shock, and all I can do is whisper, “Goodbye, Nova.” I let my eyes drop to the floor, and then I run from the house without looking back like a coward.

Hector is the one waiting for me, and when he spies me coming, he jumps from the front seat and opens the back door for me. His eyes take in the jersey and no doubt the name on it, but he remains silent as he closes me inside. I don’t look at the house as we leave, and I am grateful that Hector keeps the silence going as we make the quiet drive back to my house.

When we get there, I lean forward and give a gentle squeeze to his shoulder in thanks, and slip out without so much as one word, hauling my ass up the path to my house. Unlocking the door, I can already hear the Hamilton soundtrack drifting out from the kitchen, and I know Hallie is already up and waiting for me.

I walk inside silently, listening to her belt out the words to ‘Wait For It’ until I spy her whisking eggs. It isn’t until she turns to grab some juice from the fridge that she finally spots me. “Hairy fucking balls,” she yelps, her hand flying to her chest as I startle her. She grabs her phone and turns down the music. “Hell, Wendy, you gave me a damn heart attack,” she scolds, going back to pouring herself some juice.

“I had sex with Nova Darkmore,” I blurt out, and she freezes. “Twice,” I add with a weak smile, and she laughs.

“Oh I know, we all heard,” she fans herself, as she takes a sip of her juice, before pouring one for me and passing it over. “So,” she draws out slowly. “How was it?”

“Infuriatingly amazing,” I sigh, taking a drink from my glass as I take a seat at the island. “It was so fucking good, Hals, like mind-blowingly good, the best orgasms I have ever had.”

Her eyebrows raise as she returns to whisking her eggs. “Orgasms?” she questions. “As in plural?” I nod, and she smiles. “Damn, go Mr Darkmore.”

I launch into a tale of what happened, from him dragging me into that utility room to now, including everything with Alexander both last night and this morning, and by the time I am done, breakfast is ready and her mouth is hanging open in shock.

“He hit him? That’s insane, it was his dare.” I shrug, shoveling some of the delicious food into my mouth, as I try not to think about Nova’s reasonings behind it. They don’t matter anyway, they can’t, and as if reading my mind, Hallie adds, “So what happens with you two now?”

Almost choking on the eggs she made, my eyes snap to hers. “Nothing happens now, Hals, last night was just a one time thing. Now Nova and I will go back to ignoring each other.” She doesn’t look convinced by my words, and I hate to admit that I am even less convinced, but there is no other option.

It doesn’t matter that the sex was amazing and better than anything I could have ever imagined, it’s over now. Nova is Josh’s teammate, they hate each other, and we have all our fucked up family history, and not to mention Brad. It would never work between us, so a great one night stand is all it will ever be.

It won’t ever happen again.