Read Online The Hurricane by R.J. Prescott - Free Book Online Page B

slutty all at the same time. She was every man’s ultimate fantasy. She had her legs coyly tucked in beside her on the sofa, and she leant her head against one hand whilst twirling another around a strand of her hair. She was leaning so far against O’Connell to whisper in his ear that she’d be sat in his lap in a minute, and all the while, he stared at me. I raised my hand to wave hello. It seemed only polite as we’d caught each other’s eye. But he just gave me a quick nod, not even a smile, in acknowledgement. I felt hurt by his indifference. Had Kieran been there I might have been brave enough to go over, but as long as he sat with that girl, I just couldn’t. I wondered if he was mad at me for not coming over when I first arrived. The girl had moved from hair twirling to rubbing her hands seductively up and down O’Connell’s chest. My stomach turned over as the disappointment built up inside me. I was jealous, and I had no right to be. It was better that way but damn if I hadn’t imagined what those granite abs felt like under the gentle touch of my fingertips. Just then, Albie placed his hand protectively against my back and bent down to ask me if I was all right. I smiled at him and answered that I was fine but when I glanced back at O’Connell, I was anything but. Any pretence at subtle flirtation had been abandoned, and they were halfway to having sex, right there on the sofa. She was straddling him now, her shorts pulled so tight I half expected them to split at the seams. She was nibbling and licking her way up his neck, like some dog who’d just found an ice cream cone on the pavement and was rushing to eat it before any other dogs turned up for a lick. He watched me stare at him in shock. Like a rabbit caught in the headlights, I couldn’t look away as he slid his hand up her thigh to grab her arse. He whispered something in her ear and didn’t look away from me as she answered him with a nod. My heart plummeted and I felt bile rising from my stomach as he gripped her and stood, so that she wrapped her legs around his waist. This must be a regular occurrence for O’Connell, because no one in their group batted an eye at their behaviour. He carried her across the room and down the hall to what I assume was a downstairs bathroom. It wasn’t too much of a stretch to imagine that he was doing her up against the sink. To say that his actions gutted me would have been an epic understatement. I was devastated. In my ridiculous little mind, I’d created the fantasy that he wanted my legs wrapped around him. Me who he’d giggle and cuddle with after. I picked at the hem of my top, wishing with all my heart that right then I was in sweats, curled up on my bed crying and feeling sorry for myself. Instead, I was putting on a brave face and pretending that the first man I’d been attracted to for years wasn’t banging some slut in a bathroom like a street corner prostitute.
    “You sure you’re okay?” Albie asked me again gently. “We can go if you’ve had enough?” It was only then that I realised that Albie had left his hand on my back the whole time.
    I forced a smile, and reassured him once again that I was fine. Call me a glutton for punishment, but I just couldn’t bring myself to leave yet. Ryan came storming back into the room soon after and his hair looked crazy, like he’d just spent the last half hour pulling on it.
    “Right, boys,” he called out, “who’s up for shots?”
    “Shit,” Albie whispered. “Clearly things didn’t go well with Nikki. Shots this early means he’s getting shitfaced tonight, which means I’m getting shitfaced. We’ve got practice tomorrow afternoon so our coach is going to hand me my arse.”
    “You don’t have to get drunk with him,” I pointed out.
    “Of course, I do.” He smiled. “We’re mates.”
    This was where my understanding of the team sport mentality fell short. Just because one of them was doing something stupid, didn’t mean they