Off Limits PUCK (Love on Ice #1)

24. Jake

Chapter twenty-four

Jake

S he’s under me, her eyes searching mine for something—reassurance, maybe? I want to make love to her. I want her to know that I have her back, that I have already started making right that which was taken from her. But I also want to surprise her, to show her in one huge gesture that she is my number one, my only, my past, and my future.

Some of the married guys on the team had said they knew months before they proposed that their girlfriend was the one for them. I’m not there yet, but I would like to date her openly and publicly. I don’t know how guys keep things like this a secret for so long, but I’m going to try.

“I want you, Allie,” I say cryptically.

She runs her hands up and down my chest. “I want to feel your cock inside me.”

I lean down and bite her bottom lip. “So demanding,” I tease her, my voice husky.

She fumbles with my pants, hastily taking them off the best she can while I am over her on the couch. I slide off and stand before her, naked, with my length long and hard for her. I pick up her legs and find the bottoms of her pants while she undoes her jeans at the waist. Then, in a quick move I perfected over the years, I flick her pants down and throw them on the ground, leaving her in a red thong and a shirt that covers her far too much.

“Off,” I say as I lift her ankles and spread her legs, kissing her calves and then her thighs, making my way up to her wet center.

She gives me a coy look. “Look who is the boss.”

I nip at her inner thigh, making her yelp. Then I use my fingers to hook into the thin straps of her thong and pull it off. She gasps as she throws her shirt on the floor, goosebumps forming on her pale skin as the cold air hits her. I can see her breasts moving as she takes deep breaths, her nipples hardening and her eyes glazed over with anticipation for what is to come.

“You are gorgeous,” I say honestly. “Every part of you is perfect.”

“Tell me what you’re going to do to me.” She places a hand on the back of my head, guiding it down to her pussy. “Tell me in detail.”

I kiss her lips and then her clit, then use my tongue to slide between her lips up and down, making her moan softly. I feel her whole body relax. I kiss her inner thighs.

“I’m going to use my tongue to give you an orgasm, baby. Then I’m going to take my cock and push it so, so deep in your pussy to make you cum again.” I punctuate each phrase with kisses.

“Yes, I want it. I want all of it.” She uses her hand again and I settle between her legs, her fingers in my hair.

My tongue explores her pussy, teasing her and tempting her toward an orgasm. I love the sounds she makes, the way she moves when it feels too good for her to handle. All too soon, she’s crying out my name as she comes hard on my face. I climb up over her, pausing to kiss her breasts. Then I feel her heels on my back and I know she’s ready for my length to be inside of her.

I line up my tip at her entrance, locking eyes with her before I slide in. As soon as I do, I forget my shoulder pain. I forget that just two hours ago she was piping hot mad at me. I forget everything but this moment of intimacy with her. I thrust into her slowly until she smacks my ass and tells me to go harder and faster.

I press my forehead against hers and thrust into her until we’re both panting and too excited to resist coming together, hers loud and beautiful, mine quieter and fast. I pull out and lie down, my arm draped over her.

“You know you can’t go home, right?” I mumble to her.

She nudges me, her head leaning against mine as we lay side by side. “Are you asking me to move in with you, Jake?” she asks with a laugh.

“I’m asking you to move in with me, Allie. Not as my PT this time. And not as my babysitter. But as the one and only woman I am with.”

She rewards me with a kiss on my lips. “I’ll consider it.”

That earns her a tickle or two until she’s laughing and crying out that she wants to move in with me so badly that she will do so tonight. She and I get dressed and then she follows me back to my house. All during the drive, I’m thinking of my conversation with Coach, and how important tomorrow’s meeting is going to be.

***

I arrive at the top floor of the Charlotte Eagles NHL arena at exactly eleven o’clock the next day. No one should be here working, but I don’t want to let this go on for one minute longer without clearing the air. Coach agreed to call an emergency meeting—though there is no emergency—with the team leadership, including Dr. Jones, himself, Ron, and a few other franchise executives.

I had seen Allie off an hour ago so she could spend half the day with my sister. I asked her to meet up with me here at the arena later today. Of course, she had resisted, but I told her it was just so I could take her on the ice and show her a few moves—that no one would be here.

I smile as the elevator opens. I don’t know why I didn’t have clarity like this a few months ago when we were sneaking around and sleeping together. It’s all so obvious now. I love her. I want to honor her by dating her publicly. I should have done what I’m about to do long ago.

I love her. The realization sends a thrill through me. I have never felt this way about anyone before. It’s motivating me to do things I never would have done for anyone else. I want to date Allie in every real way. No more secrets. No more hiding.

“Looking sharp,” Dr. Jones says to me with a grin.

He and I have, of course, become very close since Allie left. He took a personal interest in my recovery after she left, likely initially set up by Coach. But then he just sort of stuck around as a friend, almost a brother lately.

I’m in dark jeans, a polo shirt and a casual sports jacket. I rotate my arm, Allie having worked her magic on my shoulder today before she left.

“I’m feeling sharp, too,” I say, adjusting the jacket.

“Pain level?” he asks as we walk together to Ron’s office. It’s large enough to have its own conference room style table.

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe a two out of ten right now?” I decide not to lie anymore. Not to myself and not to my team. Whatever my pain is, it is. I shouldn’t hide it. A two out of ten is very low, which is great.

He nods. “Good. You should take every chance you get over the holidays to rest it.”

We arrive at the office and I walk in first. Ron stands to shake my hand, looking grave. Coach nods at me from across the table as I take my seat.

“I am very surprised to have this sort of meeting called, young man,” Ron says sternly. “It is a holiday, you know.”

I nod. I look around and it seems that everyone is here. “Thank you all for coming.”

Coach clears his throat. “Today, we’ll be talking about Jake’s future with the Eagles,” he begins, not looking happy about it.

I nod. This is exactly how I set today up—I want to make my “ask” very clear and I want to make the stakes if I don’t get what I need very clear.

Ron sputters and then laughs, totally shocked. “You have a contract, young man. You cannot just throw around the idea of a ‘future’ with a team you are under contract with.” He looks between Coach and me. “You should know you have no leverage here.”

I nod. “I know it doesn’t look that way. But there are a few things I need to tell you.”

Ron leans forward in his power move position, fingers steepled, eyes severe. “I’m listening.”

“I broke a rule. And unfortunately, I was not punished for it. But someone else was. And I can’t stand by and let that inequity stand.”

Ron blinks, and then his eyes dart back and forth between Coach and me. His tone is extremely gruff when he says, “What the hell is this about, gentlemen?” He points to Coach. “Your contract is easily broken, so whatever this is, I hope you weighed out the consequences long and hard.”

“He has nothing to do with this other than I told him my decision before the rest of you. He has suspicions of my misconduct, but no proof. If he had proof, he would have gone through the appropriate channels,” I say to protect Coach and also because it is true. He could get fired on the spot if he knew with proof in hand that Allie had been intimate with me. The cameras showed us getting off the PT table four months ago, but never showed where we went or what we did that day in the storage room.

Dr. Jones says, “Respectfully, Ron, I think you should know what a fine young man Jake has turned out to be. Most young players go through a wild phase before they settle down. From what I’ve seen, other than trying to keep his shoulder pain from me, he’s matured a lot the past few months.”

I stare at him.

“Yes, I know you thought your lies were working. They weren’t.” Dr. Jones gives me a small smile.

I feel bolstered by him. And then the whole story with Allie comes out, carefully worded to make it look like I initiated and chased after everything with her. My goal is to show the unfairness of how this would have been handled had the team known. As it stands, with Coach’s careful planning and her not working here any longer, she’s safe.

Ron listens carefully to the whole story. Once I tell him that Allie and I are currently dating, he blinks at me in his way.

He shrugs. “I don’t see why this meeting was called. You had a relationship with one of our staff PTs. She works somewhere else. So now you two can date. What’s the problem here?”

“It was unfair that in order to date me, she had to leave.”

He shakes his head. “No. It is not professional to date someone who works for the team in that capacity.”

We go back and forth on this topic for ten minutes, getting nowhere. Finally, he asks, “What is this really about, Jake? Does she want her job back?”

I shake my head. “No. I want her to have the option of coming back to work here. I want to date her officially and also know that her job is open to her here if she wants it.”

“And you’re willing to throw your career away for that?” Ron asks, flabbergasted.

I nod stoically. “I think equity between the male players and our staff, male or female, is important. I’m willing to risk it all to make sure she is not receiving unfair punishment for something we both engaged in as two consenting adults.”

Ron looks at Coach. “What hand did you play in this, exactly?”

“I sent her away. I suspected something might be going on. I had no proof, so I talked to her. She made it seem like my suspicions were accurate. In less than twelve hours, she was terminated, and I arranged an interview for another team, a woman’s team, for her to work with.”

Ron nods and then stands to his feet. He paces the room. “This is unprecedented. PTs are worth what, eighty k a year in salary and our players are worth millions. But you want me to instate equal punishment on each if they date each other while working for the Eagles?”

“Or no punishment,” Coach says.

“I think Jake makes a good point. Both people are consenting adults. This should not be such a red line topic,” Dr. Jones adds.

Ron shakes his head. At that moment, I think the worse. This is going to end up with me being benched until the end of the season and then traded out to become another team’s problem.

But Ron surprises me. “You’re lucky this is a family holiday. I have two grown daughters, both career women. They talk about inequity on the job. So, I listen to them.” He straightens up to his full height. “I will allow it. I’ll speak to legal to update the contracts. It might lead to some headaches if couples break up, but in reality, we don’t have many single players who would want to date our staff, I don’t think. So I think this won’t change too much.”

I sigh in relief. I was willing to walk if need be. But now, I don’t have to.

“I’d like a signed offer letter to take to Allie,” I say and Coach instantly opens his binder he brought with him and pulls out a document. He and I aligned on each detail last night. He slides it to Ron.

“You two really are efficient, aren’t you?” Ron says. But he does sign the simple document after reading it twice and then has Dr. Jones read it for good measure. “Legal would have my backside right now if they knew I was signing anything without going through the proper channels. But this is a holiday and I know and trust you all, professionally.”

With that, I take the paper, we all shake hands and I’m free to go down to the ice to meet Allie and hopefully start to right some of the wrongs she has endured during this whole process. Coach and Dr. Jones ride down with me, then they shake my hand and wish me good luck.

But when I walk out to the players’ entrance and see Allie walking hesitantly up to the double glass doors, I know I don’t need any luck. This is bigger than that. I think it is fate that decided to put Allie and me together, and there’s no tearing something like that apart.