After drinking my body weight in wine, I ended up spending most of my night researching the members of the team, trying to put a name to the various handsome faces. I refuse to let Connor Holden put a damper on this incredible opportunity I've received, and for the most part, today has run smoothly.

I shot Levi first, working out any lighting kinks because I knew he'd be patient enough. He stood there in his uniform like a statue, doing whatever was asked of him like the sweetheart he is.

Next up was Matti, the guy who asked how I got my scar without thinking before he spoke. I also remember Connor accusing him of not having manners, and the little flutter in my chest makes me grit my teeth. He wasn't saying that to stand up for me. He couldn't have. Not with the attitude he sports.

"Can you tilt your head to the side?" I ask. Some hockey players need help with posing, Matti, a defenseman, being one of them. He's got a very similar build to Levi, but rather than deep tan skin and chestnut hair, he's pale with freckles splattered across his cheeks. Matti seems younger than the others, with a boyish grin to match. "Yeah. Just like that. Keep still for me." My camera shutters as it captures the images, and with a quick glance at the screen, I know I've got my shot. "Perfect! Thanks, Matti. You're all set."

"Anytime, darlin'." His southern charm threatens to make me blush, but before it happens, a sudden awareness prickles the back of my neck. All the hairs seem to rise, and I don't need to hear the sultry, low voice to know whose mouth it comes out of.

"Did you save the best for last?"

I roll my eyes as Connor steps in front of the green screen, directly in my line of shot. "Hardly. I've got about six others before I make it to you. Wait your turn."

"Actually, it needs to be now." A woman with a slim waist hangs up her phone, stuffing it into her designer bag. Her heels click against the tiled flooring, stopping beside me. "Connor has an interview at three."

I squint at the blonde-haired female, eyeing her lips plumped with filler. The only boss I have is Brian, not whoever the hell this chick is. "As I said a few seconds ago, he can wait his turn."

She arches a perfectly penciled brow before she sticks her hand out to me. "I'm Lacey, the social media manager, and I'm not trying to be a bitch, but if you want his picture, and trust me, you want his picture, it must be taken now unless you want to explain to Brian why the league doesn't have a headshot to plaster on the news of the most sought-after player."

My molars are clamped down so tightly that I fear I'll break one. The last thing Connor needs is to get his way, but judging from the lazy smile on his face, he knew it would go this way the second he stepped foot in front of the green screen.

"Fine." Pointing to the screen, I get him centered, not allowing myself to stare at him in his uniform. I can't. Otherwise, I'll get distracted, and that's the last thing I need. "Now just look at the camera, and—" Fucking hell. The man knows how to work a lens. I don't even have to instruct him.

The lighting seems to work in his favor. Wherever his head turns, it follows suit, working in tandem to showcase the sharp lines of his face. I peer into the lens, muffling my strangled breath at what a work of art this man is. His full lips, the chiseled structure of his jawline, the slightly crooked nose that somehow works for him, more than likely from breaking it given his occupation, but his eyes... Again, I get the feeling he's not who he portrays himself to be. The depths of green pull me in, and beneath that mask he wears lies an intriguing mystery begging to be solved.

Connor clears his throat. "Are you going to take the picture?"

Oh, shit. My finger remains hovered above the button, my eye glued to the lens. A few shutters later, because that's all it seems to take from what a masterpiece he is, we're done. I'm about to call the next player over until Lacey steps in beside me with her phone in hand again. "Alright, I need something for the socials. You know what to do."

That playboy grin falls onto his face, and I despise how familiar it's becoming.

"Here we go," Matti teases. "Go get us our likes, Connie."

Connor flips him off before facing Lacey again. "Let me know when you're about to record."

Holding up her perfectly manicured hand, she does a silent countdown on her fingers, and when the sound of recording begins, I try to drag my gaze away from the sight in front of me, but it's impossible.

Connor keeps his gaze on the camera with a hooded, seductive expression as he reaches behind his head to strip himself of his jersey. He crumples the shirt in his hands, flexing his biceps before he tosses it to the ground, and holy fuck. I saw him shirtless in the locker room, and well, completely naked a few years ago, but standing there shirtless in his hockey uniform unlocks a fantasy of mine I didn't realize existed.

The top button of his pants is left undone, the v-lines above the waistband acting as an arrow to the forbidden place I swore never to indulge in again. I'm half-tempted to take a picture of my own, but my job wasn't to take shirtless pictures of the center. I'm here for headshots, and I refuse to let Connor tease me about taking the picture for another purpose besides business reasons.

"Alright," she says, ending the video. "Got it. Go ahead and get dressed. I'll meet you outside to prep you with questions."

With a jerk of his chin, Lacey disappears out the double doors of the conference room we're shooting in. My feet feel rooted to the floor, my camera still in hand as Connor closes the distance between us. He remains shirtless, and I can practically feel the heat radiating from his body when he dips down to my ear to whisper, "Stop drooling, baby. It's not very becoming."

I snap my mouth shut, taking a wide step back. "Don't you have an interview to get to?"

He shrugs. "Maybe I'd rather be here instead."

"And miss your chance to be on television and have women fawn all over you?"

"Are you jealous, Aria?"

Christ. The way he says my name...

"Not in the slightest. I'm just aware that your ego is much too fragile to miss an opportunity to be showered with compliments."

A bunch of whistles and hoots come from the team lined up against the wall beside us, but I try my best to ignore them, flipping back through the pictures I took on my camera, which doesn't help since they're mostly of him.

Connor places a hand over his heart, but that smile of his never fades. "I'm wounded."

I snort. "I'm sure you are."

Levi steps to my side, putting space between me and Connor. "Who's next on your list?" He asks, diffusing the situation. For the first time, I feel like I'm completely inadequate for this job. I told myself I wouldn't get sucked into Connor's charm, yet here he is, completely distracting me.

I need to focus.

"Go to the interview, Connor," Levi says. "If you don't, Brian's going to kick your ass."

Connor's eyes don't leave mine. We're locked into some staring battle, and from the scrutiny of his gaze, it's almost as if he can see right through me. I can say I'm not attracted to him all I want, but we both know the truth. We were willing participants that night in a luxury hut in the Maldives, and from the sounds he elicited out of me, there's no denying the chemistry we have.

Had!

The chemistry we had.

"Fine," he says, but it isn't in defeat. It sounds like a challenge. A warning. "I'll be sure to have Lacey email you a copy of the video, though. You seemed very interested."

"In your dreams," I seethe.

He wiggles his brows. "Promise?"

Oh my god, does this guy have a comeback for everything? I can't remember the last time I've been so fucking annoyed. Five and a half years ago, I stopped feeling entirely. There may have been flickers of emotions here and there, but hardly ever did they rise to the surface. I've felt more with Connor in the past two days than...

"You truly think of no one but yourself, huh?" I take a step closer, and Levi shockingly moves to the side, allowing me to get into his face. "This little act may have worked on the photographer before me, but it won't work now."

"You sure?" Because it's worked before is what he wants to add but doesn't. He can't because the team is here.

"Positive. Best get to your interview. How else will you spend the rest of your day if you can't sift through all the puck bunny compliments?"

"Damn," Matti snickers.

Even Levi stifles a laugh, earning a death glare from Connor. Again, I've hit a nerve, and the thrill it gives me isn't something I'm proud of.

"See you at the game this weekend," he says with the promise of revenge, "Aria."

When he's officially gone, a ton of bricks seems to lift from my chest, allowing my lungs to properly take in air again. Levi throws an arm around me, and I almost collapse from the weight of it. "You okay?"

"He can be a dick," Matti adds.

I nod, waving over the next player. "You guys are friends with him?"

Levi shrugs. "I know he seems like an ass, but underneath all the layers, he's a good guy. My best friend, actually. But when he gets around girls, he just..." He sighs, running a hand through his hair.

Picturing Connor as anything but an ego-obsessed jerk is hard, but Matti backs him up, eagerly nodding his head. "He's a great leader."

My brows practically shoot to my forehead. "A leader? Connor?"

"You'll see at the game this weekend," Levi explains. "He's just giving you hell right now. Every woman he meets is a challenge to him. Once he realizes he can't have you, he'll lighten up."

But what if he's already had me?

The sentence threatens to spill, but I bite my tongue. Instead, I focus back on the green screen, eager to finish and pretend the last thirty minutes never happened.

***

Later that evening, I'm curled up on my couch watching a romantic comedy. A big bowl of buttery popcorn is placed in my lap when suddenly, my phone vibrates from beneath the blanket. I fish it out, stilling when I see the message that awaits.

Unknown number: Just for you, baby ;)

Beneath the message is a video attachment, and the minute I hit play, Connor is in view, stripping himself of that damn jersey with that seductive expression on his face. It feels as if he's staring directly into my soul, so I quickly exit out of the video to type my reply.

Me: What, the comments on social media didn't stroke your ego enough, so you had to send it to me? Hate to break it to you, but you won't be getting any compliments from me, either.

Unknown number: But you were so good at giving them to me while I was between your legs. If I'm not mistaken, you called me a God, did you not?

Okay, I called him god like, not God himself.

Me: That was years ago. Please, get over it. Go look at the comments on this video and I guarantee you'll find someone to stroke your ego the way you're wanting. How did you even get this number?

Unknown number: I have my ways.

Placing my phone on my chest, I try to focus my attention back on the movie, but my heart is racing, and dammit if I don't feel like a goddamn teenager again waiting to see if her crush likes her back. This is stupid. Connor shouldn't take up the majority of my thoughts, but here I am, picking up my phone to re-read his texts.

That night in the Maldives seemed like a reckless decision at the time, but Connor hadn't made it feel that way. When he took me to his hut and stripped me bare... When he laid me on the bed and pressed his lips to mine, completely devouring me, it had felt like the first right decision I had made in months.

He wasn't arrogant when we slept together because he didn't think about himself at all. The pleasure was solely for me. Hell, he made me come on his tongue three times before he fucked me, and even when he was inside me, he paid attention to my comfort. He made sure I enjoyed it. He found the sensitive spot of mine right beneath my ear, and as soon as he discovered it, he nipped and sucked and licked while he pounded into me, my legs around his waist, pushing me over the point of no return.

After that night, I knew sex wouldn't be the same with anyone else, and that's partly the reason I left. It was too soon for me to feel again. I had grown accustomed to being numb, and I intended to keep it that way.

But when another text pings on the screen, as soon as I read it, the butterflies erupting in my stomach beg to differ.

Unknown number: I told Lacey not to post the video because the truth is, now that I've found you again, the only woman I'm fishing for compliments from is you, Aria.

Author's note:

What did you think?!

Six hours to reach that goal?

WHAT?

I'm curious.... 200 votes, 200 comments for next update.

If we don't reach this in two days I'll update regardless, but now I'm curious lmao

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