Page 62 of Ice Rebel

“An uncontrollable one. I like her. Okay? I’m not marrying her.” Not in a million years, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t mind spending more time with her. In between the sheets. Out of them. Against the wall.

On the kitchen table.

Taking another pull of beer, I had to admit to myself that while the sex had been the freaking best I’d ever had, it would have just been another hookup if I hadn’t enjoyed her company so much. Maybe I was finally evolving as a man, which my dear pain in the ass sister had recommended that I do.

Or be alone for the rest of my life.

As he backed away, I could tell another zinger was coming. “You must like her. Your dick is hard.”

“Speaking of a dick,” Anthony said as he popped his head in. “Jagger arrived with his stuff.”

“Fucking great,” I hissed over the lip of the bottle.

“Hey. You don’t have the room next to him. I do,” Hudson complained.

“At least his girlfriend is hot.” Anthony undulated his damn hips.

“Now that’s a legitimate house rule,” I snarked in return. “No fooling around with another guy’s woman.”

Hudson nodded. “He’s right, man. We might not want Jagger here, but Cole is right. No fucking around.” He stuck out his hand for his ‘bro’ handshake. The man was one hell of a character, but he had a heart of gold.

Even if it was buried underneath all his bravado.

Noise coming from another part of the house caught our attention. Anthony snorted. “This should be interesting.” While he walked away, Hudson and I looked at each other. I wasn’t certain which one of us rolled our eyes first.

“I guess we need to welcome the jerk to the house.” Hudson kicked his heel against the cabinet.

“Why not. We don’t own the house.”

Hudson pushed off the counter first, shoving his hand into his pocket as he headed for the living room. I followed, not that I had any interest in witnessing Jagger’s love life, but he would be living in the house. We’d need to play nice if only for the girl’s sake.

Jagger had two boxes in his arms, the girl following close behind buried in a huge armful of clothes. Christ. How many suits did the guy own?

“Up the stairs and the last door on the left, sweet cheeks,” Jagger said, his arrogance on full display.

When he noticed me, he froze. Maybe he hadn’t been told who he’d be sharing a house with. Fortunately, for him, Hudson walked in front of me, obscuring my view long enough the girl stumbled up the stairs and I could take a deep breath before I said something I might regret.

Might.

I took another long gulp while the two of us glared at each other. He finally shrugged. “Nice place.”

That was it. He followed his girlfriend up the stairs, finally disappearing.

Exhaling, I glanced at Hudson. “This is going to be a long few months.”

“Tell me about it.”

I don’t know why it bothered me so much that Jagger was moving in other than the house was a refuge and even with the Italian Stallion’s swagger, the four of us had become a family. We’d come from different backgrounds, different areas of the country, and different situations, but we’d become tight.

Jagger’s presence would upset the apple cart.

He was arrogance personified and my days of complaining about the plays, another team, or even the coaches were over. My gut told me the man was a snitch. Plus, he was a rich kid and I had no doubt he had a trust fund. He drove a freaking eighty-thousand-dollar sports car, for fuck’s sake.

What the hell was he doing here?

Hudson clapped me on the shoulder and started to walk away when the girlfriend made another appearance, jogging down the stairs. As soon as she hit the landing, my heart stopped.

Her eyes opened wide and she had the same mouth twist I’d seen every time she’d become frustrated.