Read Online Cross-Checked by Lily Harlem - Free Book Online Page B

this question. Who is the new Vipers player? If you think you know the answer, the number’s at the bottom of the screen. Good luck.” He gave the camera a wink. “So, Carly.” He turned to me. “Since we have you here, can you tell us what it was like, that moment you pushed ahead and got over the finish line first? The longest, most grueling cycle competition of them all in that wonky-floored stadium.”
    “A velodrome,” I said, again willing myself to concentrate and not think of the ring Brick had through the end of his cock and how it would feel on the tip of my tongue or between my teeth.
    “Is that what it’s called? A velodrome?”
    I nodded. Has he been teasing me about his piercing? Does he really have one?
    “So.” Ray smiled, almost, but not quite patronizingly. “How did it feel in the ‘velodrome’ when you came in first? When you stood up on that platform and had an Olympic gold medal hung around your neck.”
    I felt myself grinning. I always did when I thought of that moment. The pinnacle of years and years of sacrifice and training. “It was awesome. I felt like I could fly to the moon and back without a rocket.”
    Ray laughed. “Well I guess if there was a path there you could cycle there and back.”
    The fake audience laughed in my ear. I was just pleased I’d been able to contribute to the interview without becoming a meltdown of sexual frustration.
    “And, Brick, who’s going to win the Stanley Cup this year?”
    “Vipers again, of course.” He nodded confidently.
    There was a cheer down my earpiece.
    “So, now, the moment you’ve been waiting for.” Ray turned to the camera “The official video to go with Promises and Dreams is here. New and exclusive, please settle back, enjoy, and don’t forget to put your hands in your pockets and buy the Promises and Dreams song, recorded by Florida’s finest athletes.”
    Wild applause filled my earpiece, then the opening bars of our cheesy song rang out then faded.
    The red light on top of the camera flicked off and I glanced at the door. The On Air sign had stopped blinking. Suddenly everyone was moving around again, talking and fiddling with equipment. I dragged in a deep breath and wished my nipples would stop tingling.
    “Excellent,” Ray said, standing. “Well done, perfect slices of information interjected with humor and wit.” He grinned broadly and turned to a pretty member of the crew who was offering him a glass of water.
    I glanced at Brick. He was looking straight at me, his eyes an even deeper forest green under the harsh studio lights. They looked almost unreal, hypnotizing with those slices of gold glinting in his iris. “That went well,” I said, trying not to fall under his spell.
    He shifted his body nearer. So near his thigh pressed against mine and heat from his arm radiated on to my skin. “Yeah, honey,” he said quietly. “But it’s all going to get so much better when we get outta here.”
    I caught in a breath, gave up the fight and became lost in his eyes and the spiced buttery scent of him that had become like a drug to me. “Why?” I managed. ”What’s happening when we get out of here?”
    “When we get out of here,” his voice deepened, “I’m going to fuck you.” One corner of his mouth curled up and his eyes narrowed. “I’m going to fuck you hard and fast and there’ll be an explosion of the really good stuff.” He moved his face so near our noses touched. “Don’t try to deny you want it, Carly Flannigan, because I know you do and I know exactly how you want it too.”
    The background noise in my earpiece went quiet.
    Deadly quiet.
    My heart stuttered. A ton of rubble dropped in my stomach.
    Shit!
    The whole studio, absolutely everyone, had heard what Brick had just said.
    Shit!
    Brick pulled his head back and swallowed. I watched him rub a hand over his brow and then around the base of his neck.
    Feeling the color run from my cheeks, I looked up to be greeted with a sea of