Playing for Keeps (Hot Jocks, #1)

by Kendall Ryan

Normally—I see something I want—and I go and get it. It’s how I’ve always been. It’s how I’m wired. The one exception to that rule? Elise Parrish.

She’s a no-fly zone. She used to be the cute kid sister of my best friend, but something shifted recently and I went from thinking of her as Owen’s younger sister to something more.

I had no idea how badly I would miss all those things about her until I moved away for college.

That’s the best thing about her. I can just be myself.

When she’s beside me, all my nerve endings light up with a feeling I can’t explain. I feel alive.

His room smells like him. His scent hasn’t changed in all the years I’ve known him. The smell is a combination of an understanding boyfriend, clean cotton, and a bar of soap.

“Tell me what you need,” I whisper, placing my hands on his waist. He feels so solid beneath my palms. “You,” he croaks out, voice raw. “On the bed.”

He tastes like lemons, and vodka, and every sinful pleasure imaginable, and dear God, I don’t ever want to stop kissing him.

My own brother heard me fucking his friend last night. And Justin doesn’t even remember it. Welcome to the worst best day of my life.

“Here’s the thing, Elise. People treat you the way you let them.” I roll my eyes. “Sheesh, that sounds like a line out of a self-help book.”

“Today, tears,” she says, patting my back. “Tomorrow, we plot his murder and take over the world.”

And when she’d practically bolted out of my room, I’d grabbed my phone to see a text from a girl I hooked up with a couple of months before while on the road in Tennessee saying she was pregnant. It

I know I missed my shot with her, but that doesn’t make the thought of her with someone else sting any less.

My cheeks burn with the attention of the entire table now looking at me—notably Justin. His blue gaze feels hot and makes me jittery like there’s suddenly a million butterflies dancing the cha-cha inside my stomach.

But the heart wants what it wants, and mine stupidly still wants him.

I know I should say no. There are literally ten thousand reasons why this would be a terrible idea. But tonight’s the first time I’ve seen her laugh in months. If she’s nursing a broken heart, I should be there to cheer her up, right? Or make sure she doesn’t choke on her food. Damn, the lies I’m willing to tell myself are getting a little ridiculous—even for me.

Huge gray eyes look up at mine, and fuck, I’m done. I’m done resisting this girl, with her sweet personality and her quick wit. I’m all wrong for her, but she’s gorgeous and I want this. So fucking badly. Or maybe I just want redemption.

“I remember, okay? All of it. Every whimper, every moan, every pant. How perfectly we moved together. How you taste, how your body felt around mine, how soft you felt beneath me. Shit, I remember every-fucking-thing. And I can’t seem to get you out of my head.” His

His body is built for sin

but I have a feeling there was something said during brunch with her girlfriends that made her go all possessive-territorial over my cock. And fuck if I don’t like that. It’s all hers, she can have it for as long as she wants it. There is no one else I want more than Elise, which made it very easy to agree to her terms.

Owen talked me in to cooking. Are you going to be home? I shoot back. I’ll eat anything you spread in front of me. :)

Almost as fast as I dared come in here and kiss her, I leave, my heart beating fast and my cock swelling against my thigh.

I want to hug her, and kiss her goodnight, or you know, drag her to my bedroom like a caveman and make love to her all night.

I have no idea what it is about this woman that gets me so worked up, but I intend to find out.

I have no idea when this happened, or when she started to become my whole world, but something has shifted. Elise is all I think about.

The words I love you are right on the tip of my tongue and I wonder what the fuck is wrong with me.

“Maybe it’s okay that things aren’t simple. Maybe it’s worth the risk.”

I know I’m not ready for this to end. But am I ready for more? That’s the million-dollar question.

“We made a bet. It’s about damn time you guys realized how perfect you are for each other.”

I won’t let my past dictate my future.

With Elise by my side, I’m learning I can pretty much tackle any obstacle head on.

That’s what he’s worried about? For a second, I’m speechless. His little bro-mance with Justin?