Page 35 of Ice Rebel

With his head toward the table, he lifted his eyebrows and his gaze. The sinfully sultry look alone was enough to make me blush. “That’s awesome to hear and something I’ll keep in mind.”

I pressed my fingers against my face, using finding a place to store my bag to hide the full level of embarrassment from shoving my foot into my mouth.

If the game was one of cards, I’d say he was a shark, but since I had no clue about pool, I’d hold my tongue and my judgment.

He handed me a stick and I did my best to look cool. I’d seen people play before. It was all about hitting a ball into one of the holes. Right? With his legs spread apart, his stick between them, he still gave off a badass appearance. All while wearing a wry smile.

“Would you like to break?”

I tried to act as if I knew what he was talking about, moving closer to the table, even taking a quick glance at the balls. Meanwhile, beads of perspiration had already formed on the back of my neck.

“You mean the balls?”

At least he attempted to remain a gentleman, only acknowledging my clueless factor by rubbing his thumb across his lips. “Yeah, you can remove the plastic surrounding the balls, take the white ball, you know, the cue ball then use that to strike the group of balls to see if you get any into a pocket. That’s what you do, right?”

Even his expression held such seriousness. “Yeah, of course. I wanted to make certain we were playing the same game. Roy.” I was forced to turn my head completely away. Sweat had even formed over my top lip, let alone my face was flaming.

“I think we’re playing the same game. One I’m thoroughly enjoying.” He stood right where he was, his two hands on the end of the stick. Watching me. Never blinking.

An image formed in my mind of witnessing a game at some point in my life. I placed the white ball near the end of the table, pointed the end at the ball, leaned over and nearly crawled onto the table while the back end of the stick was pointed almost directly at the bar’s ceiling. He said nothing as I proceeded to make a fool of myself.

At least I hit the white ball. It was entirely too bad it went sailing over the colorful ones, smashing hard against the wall.

And barely missing slamming into a guy playing on the other table.

If I could crawl under the bar, I would.

To Roy’s credit, he took a few seconds before responding, remaining right where he was. While I was mortified, turning away from the table completely and fanning my face, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed my near-miss victim had collected the ball for me, tossing it on the table.

Thankfully, he didn’t make things worse.

“Well, that was one way to issue a break.” Roy’s voice was bland, almost no amusement whatsoever.

Hearing no real expression allowed me to face my faux pas. I turned toward him. “Oops.”

He took a few seconds before swaggering closer, so close the body heat was oppressive but scintillating. When he spoke, his voice was little more than a deliriously dark and seductive whisper. “First time playing pool?”

With the way he was leaning in, his body almost touching mine, my heartrate had exploded. “Mmmhmm.”

“Well, don’t worry, Clementine. I’ll show you how it’s done. You can learn from the master.”

* * *

Cole

Roy.

I kind of liked the name. In fact, I might use it as a new moniker. Plus, it offered anonymity, although I was craving having sweet Clementine learn more about me.

Damn if I didn’t crave knowing every single activity that made her tick.

Well, shit. My cock was aching all over again.

I’d never enjoyed a game of charades as much as with her. Granted, this wasn’t a traditional game by any means, but neither was our date. Using a fake name was entirely different and if I had to be truthful with myself, the playfulness of pretending was far more enjoyable than any recent dates I could remember.

Not that I’d been on even one in a long time. Hooking up was different. There weren’t many conversations held if any. Also, not that I’d indulged in a number of carnal activities either in several months.

Once since joining the Seattle Wild. And yes, while I hated to admit it, the sexual escapade had been after a party heavy on the booze.