Chapter 12 #3
“Please tell me you can come like this,” he begged. “Come all over me, baby. Please.”
If I hadn’t already been well on my way to coming, his pleas would’ve taken me there.
“God, Taylor,” I breathed, and I started pumping myself as I rode him for all I was worth, taking him as deep and hard as I could as my orgasm built and built.
“Oh, yeah,” he murmured. “That’s it. I want to come, but I want to make you come first. I’m…” He squeezed his eyes shut and arched his back. “Oh my God, Vasily…”
He made my name sound like a curse, and his hunger hauled me right to the brink. I needed that release like I needed air, but I rode that edge for a few delicious seconds.
And then… I was there. Coming. Crying out God only knew what. Shaking all over.
Taylor egged me on, and he kept thrusting up into me as I came on his abs just like he’d wanted. Then he was pulling me down onto his dick as he shouted his release.
We both shuddered. I slumped over him. He wrapped his arms around me.
I closed my eyes as I basked in the aftershocks of my orgasm and the heat of his body against mine.
Oh, yeah. This had definitely been worth the wait.
One very fun shower later—a little making out, a couple of handjobs, and yes, getting clean—we sank into bed again. After the long night and two orgasms in rapid succession, I was amazed I was still awake.
“Wow,” Taylor murmured as he settled onto the pillow. “That was so worth the wait.”
I laughed, resting a hand on his abs. “Yeah. It was good.”
His eyebrow arched. “Just good? Really?”
I rolled my eyes and kicked him gently. “Shut up.”
He just chuckled, rolled on his side, and draped his arm over me. “So much for slow and gentle, eh?”
I half-shrugged. “Felt too good not to.”
“Uh-huh. It did.” His brow pinched. “But you won’t be sore tomorrow, will you?”
I shook my head, then kissed his forehead. “I’ll be fine. I do know what I can handle.” He still looked worried, so I kissed him again, this time on the mouth. “Trust me. I’ll be fine.” I paused, then grinned as I added, “And I can think of worse things than remembering this every time I move.”
Taylor laughed. “Okay, true. I just don’t want you to be miserable, you know?” He carded his fingers through my hair. “But you know what you can handle and you know what you like.”
“I may not have much experience, but…”
He half-shrugged. “Doesn’t take a lot of partners to figure that part out.”
“No, I suppose it doesn’t.” I thought about it. “Though it might make it harder for me to settle into… whatever we’re doing.”
Taylor propped himself up on his elbow and tilted his head. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, the sex is easy. It’s good. Hell, it’s amazing.” I swallowed. “But I mean it when I said I’ve only ever been with one person. And that went to shit. So with everything else—with seeing each other—it might… I mean, it might take a while. For me to…”
“Trust me?” he finished.
I winced but nodded. “I have no reason not to trust you, but it’ll take time.”
“I get it,” he said softly, trailing his fingertips down my cheek. “You’ve been burned. Anybody would be cautious, whether that was your first relationship or your tenth.”
“But you know it’s not you, right?” I asked. “I’m not suspicious of?—”
The soft press of his lips silenced me. When he broke away, he whispered, “I know. I promise, I do. I’m not in any hurry.
We’ve got time to figure out what we’re doing, and we’ll learn to trust each other as we go.
” He smiled as he half-shrugged. “That’s how relationships work even if neither of us had ever been burned. ”
I studied him, sure he couldn’t possibly mean that.
His expression softened a little more. “I’m serious.
This is a pretty normal thing for everyone.
We’ve known each other, what—a week? We just fucked for the first time.
It’s going to take a while to get to know each other, and that’s where the trust happens.
We’ll get there.” He paused, and a frown crept in.
“It’ll be tough at first. I mean, it won’t be a long-distance relationship, but it kind of will be. ”
I sighed. He was right. Once I went back to Seattle, the team schedules pretty much guaranteed that whenever one of us was home, the other would be on the road.
“That will give us time to talk, I suppose,” I said. “Text. FaceTime.”
Taylor brightened again. “That’s true. And it’s only for half the year. Less than that, since we’re partway through the season already.”
“True,” I murmured. “So there’s time.”
“There is. I suppose that means there’s time to figure out what this is, too. So we can just… let happen on its own.”
Smiling, I nodded, relieved he’d said that before my brain had even gotten to it. “No rush. No pressure.”
“Exactly.” He paused. “How, um… How public should we be about it?”
My stomach suddenly turned to lead. “Oh. Uh.” I thought about it. “I’m not sure. I don’t want to hide. But I…” Shifting on the bed, I quietly admitted, “Being out in the open—that scares me too.”
“We don’t have to jump into that part.”
I met his gaze.
Taylor smiled and touched my face. “Nobody has to know anything. Even the rest of the team—I mean, they probably figured it out before we did, but?—”
“Wait, what?” Panic straightened my spine. “They have? They know?”
He laughed softly. “Yeah. Hoskins gave me shit on the way to Edmonton. Said we weren’t being subtle about flirting.” His cheeks darkened as he rolled his eyes. “I didn’t even realize we were flirting, but the guys—they caught on.”
I chuckled, though there was still a knot in my gut. “So if they figure out we’re hooking up…”
“They might,” he acknowledged. “But they’ll be discreet. They’re good guys, and they know how some people can be in this league. Especially after all that shit with Jack Hayes last season.”
Just the mention of that man’s name raised my hackles. “Ugh. I would have fought my trade if he’d still been GM when Seattle picked me up.”
“Right? And like, the whole team had the guys’ backs when he outed them. But everyone knows there are some players who are dicks, and there are some higher ups who are. So nobody outs anybody.” Taylor shrugged. “If the guys know about us, they’ll keep their mouths shut.”
“That’s true. And I suppose it doesn’t matter too much if people find out.”
“No, but we can keep it quiet if you’re more comfortable.”
I thought about it. “Maybe for now? Just not broadcast it, I guess?” I paused. “Though if the media notices…”
He studied me. “We’ll keep it on the downlow for now. If people do find out—I mean, for what’s worth, I don’t care if anyone knows we’re seeing each other.” He slid his palm down my arm. “But I won’t put it out there until you’re ready for people to know.”
The words relaxed me all the way to my core, tension I hadn’t even noticed before melting out of my body.
Pulling him closer, I whispered, “I don’t want it to be a big secret.
It was—staying in the closet like that, it was miserable.
” I carded my fingers through his hair. “But maybe not yet? Not until we know what we’re doing? ”
Taylor’s smile would never stop making my heart go wild. “Vasily, I’m so excited we’re doing anything, at all—trust me, I couldn’t care less who does or doesn’t know.”
I chuckled. “You sound so surprised that we’re…” I gestured at our naked bodies.
“I mean, I kind of am?” He laughed softly. “We didn’t get off to the best start, and like, you’re you. You’re quite literally out of my league.”
I rolled my eyes and kissed his forehead. “I am not. And not that it matters with whether I’d date you or not, but I don’t think you’ll be playing at this level much longer.”
Taylor blinked. “You don’t?”
“No.” I shook my head. “I know what the coaches want at the NAPH level, and I know what Seattle is going to be looking for, especially after this season.” I grinned. “I don’t think you’ll be an Orca for as long as you think.”
His eyes widened, and I thought I could feel his heart speed up. “You… You really think so?”
“Mmhmm. Which means we’ll probably be teammates sooner than later.” I chewed my lip. “Dating while we’re temporary teammates is one thing. What about if we’re both on the Rainiers?”
He seemed to give it some thought. “I don’t mind. We’d hardly be the first.” He paused. “What about you? You’re the one who’s had a bad experience with it.”
I couldn’t help grimacing at the reminder of my ex.
At the same time, mentally comparing Taylor and Drew settled something in me.
They were so different, and had been from the start—even if things didn’t work out with Taylor, I couldn’t imagine them playing out the way they had with Drew.
“Somehow, I don’t think you’re anything like him. ”
“From what you’ve said about him?” Taylor made a face. “God, I hope not.”
I laughed softly and reeled him in close. “You’re nothing like him.”
“Thank God.” He paused. “Though, he probably wasn’t that way right from the start either. So, I’ll understand if it takes time for you to trust me.”
I thought about that. “It will, just because we don’t know each other very well yet, but I don’t think you’ll ever be like him. The red flags—they were there with him. I didn’t want to see them, but they were there.” I smoothed Taylor’s hair. “I don’t see any of them with you.”
“I should hope not. I have my own damn red flags, thank you very much.”
I burst out laughing, and so did he, and of course, that devolved into lazily kissing and touching.
It was hard to believe this was the first time we’d been in bed together.
It felt new and exciting, but it also just felt…
right. Normal. Like this was where we should’ve been, and somehow, almost like we’d been here all along.
After a while, I drew back and gazed into his amazing hazel eyes. “Do you, uh…” I cleared my throat. “I mean, you’re already here. We’ll have to go find food and whatever eventually, but after… Do you want to sleep here? Tonight?”
Taylor chewed his lip. “My roommate will notice I’m gone.”
My heart sank. “True. I suppose…”
“I should stay in my room tonight.” He lifted his chin and kissed me softly. “But I don’t have to leave right this minute. Not unless you want me to.”
Grinning, I pulled him in close, sliding my hand up his back. “I definitely don’t want you to leave.”
“All right.” He brushed his lips across mine. “Then I won’t.”