23. Luke
Chapter 23
Luke
I’m finally starting to understand Mike’s gambling addiction. Pretty sure whatever hit he got from it is the same I get when I’m in the gym or on the ice.
I’m hurting Sienna. Her dad caused her the worst pain of her life by abandoning her, and now I’m doing the same. I’ve been the friend she’s relied on for years, her rock, and I abandoned her just like he did, knowing exactly the kind of pain it would cause. All because I can’t take the agony of losing her.
Seeing her with Marcus was a gut punch. The possibility of losing her hit me like a train. I won’t get that lucky again, and I won’t risk losing her. Even if it hurts now, she’ll forget about Ten eventually. I’m the one she can’t live without.
The double doors to the gym swing open. Knox, Damien, and Juliet are all stumbling drunk. Even Violet is giggly-drunk and Finn’s typical sure, steady gait is colored by the occasional misstep.
Wes and Sienna are the only two completely sober. As hockey captain, Wes is strict about avoiding alcohol during the season. And Sienna was no doubt sitting at the party worrying about me. That’s why they’re all here.
The gym is almost entirely vacant except for me and the metallic clatter of my weights. Sweat pours down my face as I drop the dumbbells. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“What the hell are you doing here?” Wes snipes back.
“You’re working too hard, Luke.” Violet jumps in because she knows I won’t pick a fight with her. “You need to go to a party once in a while and have some fun. Rest.”
I ignore them, gaze burning right through Sienna as if the words left her lips. Without shifting my gaze from her, I tell the rest of them, “Get your drunk asses home. I need to talk to my stepsister.”
Violet gives Sienna a sympathetic smile and Juliet mouths, Good luck , but none of them object as Wes guides them all out.
Sienna gulps as I stand and saunter toward her slowly. Sweat drips down from my temple and neck, soaking through my shirt.
“I’m worried about you.” Her voice is shaky. “You’re going to get hurt if you keep pushing yourself like this, and you’ve already been hurt enough.”
I close the space between us and reach for her, caressing her soft cheek. God, I’ll never stop being grateful for how much she cares about me. Almost as much as I care about her.
“You need to stop destroying your body like you’re punishing it. There’s nothing wrong with you. Nothing that’s ever happened to your dad or Chloe or Violet or me has been your fault.” Her hand caresses my cheek, sending chills down my spine and bringing me warm comfort all at once. “You saved me. You’re so good, Luke. Way better than you believe.”
My lips crash against hers. Sienna is way better than I deserve.
Her lips mold to mine. She latches onto my shirt and tugs me closer, sinking her teeth into my bottom lip before sucking. I sweep my tongue past her lips, dancing with hers until she moans. I suck on her tongue until she’s putty in my hands.
“You saved me , Sienna. There were so many times I didn’t know how I’d keep going. Then I thought of you.”
Tears glisten in those gorgeous green eyes that captured my heart that first night in the hotel. “If you get hurt, you might not be able to play hockey anymore. You might not get drafted.”
I nod, thumb brushing over her cheek. Her eyes nearly flutter shut. “If that’s what you want, I’ll ease up. Okay?”
She nods, opening her mouth, but I don’t give her a chance to respond before I’m scooping her up and kissing her, carrying her to the showers in the locker room.
When I set her on her feet, I caress her face before pulling off her shirt while she smiles at me.
Memories of that first night with Sienna in her hotel room come flooding back. The way she batted her lashes at me as she asked if I wanted to follow her to her room, the way she stood on her toes to slip the jacket off my shoulders, the way she tried to keep me from seeing her bruises, the way her every touch set me on fire.
Her fingers brush my cheek, ignoring the sweat. “I’m really, really happy I met you, Luke.”
I grab her face with both hands. I love staring at her body, but I’d rather stare into her soul. “I’m so fucking happy I met you, Sienna. If you asked me to, I’d rip the whole world apart for you.”
Her little smile melts me. “I know.”
I carry her into the shower and turn on the water while we strip off the rest of our clothes. She steps under the water, and I revel in her as her eyes fall shut, head tipping back as the water soaks her bare skin, rivulets streaming down her perfect body.
When Sienna’s eyes open, she saunters toward me with a smile. The same one she wore that night at the hotel bar. “Let me clean you up.”
She grabs the shampoo and instructs me to bend lower, hands braced against the wall behind her as she squirts shampoo into my hair before massaging my scalp. I can’t help the groan that escapes.
Once the suds are rinsed from my hair, running down my shoulders, she scrubs me with the soap, admiring every inch as she washes my face, shoulders, back, chest, abs. Then she pushes me against the wall before dropping to her knees.
I nearly groan. “I’ll never get tired of that sight.”
She smiles at the praise before fisting my cock and swirling her tongue around the tip. I drop my head back against the shower wall, clutching at her head and groaning her name.
Her mouth follows her hand as she glides it down to the base, gagging softly when my tip hits the back of her throat. I bite back my chuckle so she doesn’t change her mind about sucking me off. I’ll never know how I got this fucking lucky. “You’re doing so well, sweetheart.”
Sienna reaches with her other hand to cup my balls, and I hiss through my teeth. “How’s this?”
From the sultry way the words pass through her lips, she knows exactly how incredible it feels. “Don’t fucking stop.”
“Not until you come down my throat,” she promises. “Every drop.”
Jesus . I thread my fingers through her hair, needing something to grip onto. “You’re making another one of my fantasies a reality.”
She smiles around my cock in her mouth before swirling her tongue around the tip. My balls tighten, and I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be able to stave off the load primed to explode into her mouth.
Her hand on my balls squeezes gently as she sucks down my shaft, tip hitting her throat over and over. With every gag, I get closer and closer to spilling into her mouth.
“You sure you want every drop?” I pant.
She nods, her mouth bobbing up and down my slick cock faster and faster. I fist her hair, keeping her from standing or scrambling away when she realizes every drop means swallowing every...fucking...drop.
Sienna tightens her grip on my balls just enough to drive me wild and I don’t get the chance to warn her before my cock is spurting into her mouth, hot cum hitting the back of her throat. She gags, lurching and eyes widening with surprise, but she takes it like a good fucking girl, swallowing every fucking drop I spill down her throat.
My chest heaves, heart pounding as I come down from the height of my orgasm. She rises slowly with a smug smile, and I’m like a pathetic, horny teenage boy panting in front of her. “What other fantasies of yours can I make come true?”
Just hearing the words from her mouth makes blood pump to my cock again. I grab her ass and tug her to me so our naked bodies are pressed flush together, her pointed nipples against my torso. “Let me take you here.”
I give her slick ass cheek an echoing smack in emphasis.
Her eyes round, and I expect her to reject the idea immediately, but she chews her lip. “I’ve never done that before.”
“I know, sweetheart. That’s why I want to do it. I want to make you feel good everywhere.”
She spins, pressing her palms against the opposite wall as her soaked hair falls down her back. “So make me feel good.”
I push off the wall and grab her hip, reaching around to work her clit and prepare her for me. She moans at the contact. Music to my fucking ears.
Fisting my cock, I slide nearly every inch into her pussy, taking my time and letting her acclimate. “ Oh my god ,” she breathes.
Her walls clench around my shaft and I rub her clit harder until her muscles relax. We moan together as I thrust into her, slow and deliberate. When her walls start to clamp around me again, I slide out of her. She whimpers.
“I know, sweetheart. But you’re going to love this next part.”
I drag the arousal from her pussy up, swirling and dipping a finger in. She immediately tightens around me, bracing herself.
“Relax.” I taunt her ass, fingering her gently while I rub her clit with my other hand, driving pleasure through her every limb again.
Finally, she starts leaning back into my thrusts. “Please don’t stop.”
“I’ll never stop fucking you.” I pull my finger out and nudge the tip of my cock at her entrance, still working her clit. “I’m going to take your ass now, sweetheart.”
“ Yes .”
I slide my tip in, her ass heaven around that sensitive underside, and groan. Her sharp moan echoes off the shower walls. “You okay?”
“I...I think so.” Her uncertainty has me ready to back off until she adds, “Keep going.”
“That’s my girl. You can take it.” My cock pushes deeper into her ass, and her moans turn shrill. I rub her clit hard and keep my thrusts slow until she’s pushing back against me again. “Tell me you love this.”
“I love this,” she moans.
“Tell me you love me.”
She freezes. “What?”
My heart thunders, and not just from fucking her. I turn her head so she’s peering over her shoulder to face me. “Tell me you love me, Sienna. Just like I love you.”
I need to know. Need to hear it from her lips. That it’s not just me who’s fallen head over fucking heels.
Sienna reaches back to stroke my cheek, her eyes tender. “I love you, Luke. Just like you love me.”
My chest squeezes so hard it hurts. I tighten my grip on her. “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to hear you say that.”
Feels like a fucking lifetime.
“Me too.” A seductive little smirk plays at her lips. “Honestly, I expected you to say it a while ago.”
I thrust hard into her, making her gasp. “You’re going to hear it all the time now, sweetheart.”
My breaths turn ragged as I fuck her slow and hard. She turns back to face the wall, bracing her palms flat against it until they curl into fists as her muscles tighten and the pleasure approaches the summit. “Oh god. Luke?—”
That’s my only warning before Sienna unravels in front of me, screaming as her clit pulses beneath my fingers and I pump hard and fast into her ass, needing to come with her.
The orgasm sweeps over me to the symphony of her moans, the pleasure making my eyes sting. I keep driving my cock inside her until I collapse against her and groan in her ear, her soft, wet body writhing with pleasure beneath me.
When we’ve both come back down, trying to catch our breaths, she pants, “Holy shit. We have to do that again.”
I laugh and finally unstick myself from her, heart still hammering. “We will, sweetheart. We’ll do whatever you want every day, for the rest of our lives.”
Her legs shake as she turns around, leaning back against the wall to keep herself upright. Concern lines her green eyes.
I smirk. “Need me to carry you home?”
“Yes. But let me get dressed first.”
“Obviously. No one gets to see you naked but me.” I follow her out of the shower, both of us drying off and dressing.
She’s mysteriously gone silent, chewing her lip.
“Ready?”
She only nods and follows me toward the door until stopping in her tracks. “Are you him?”
Her question throws me. “Who?”
“Ten.”
My stomach drops.
From her pocket, Sienna pulls out the camera film and examines it. “The night we met, you gave me that disposable camera. After I had just told Ten that I wanted one. You knew about my dad only sending me cards and calling me on my birthday. You had my phone number without asking me for it. You and Ten both play hockey and wear masks and lost your dads. You even chose the same major. You both told me it wasn’t my fault that my parents split up. When we first started talking, Ten randomly messaged me out of the blue—around the time our parents dated the first time. In that hotel room, you kissed my bruises like you already cared about me.” Her eyes start to glisten as the words choke her up. “You kissed me and touched me like you’d already known me for a long time. You said I knew this is how it would be with you. You were obsessed with me, when I thought we’d only just met. But I wasn’t sure how you’d been texting me from a California area code until Finn told me the number is from an app.”
My fists clench. Fucking Finn. The guy who never fucking talks had to pick this as the one time he opens his fucking mouth?
“The only thing I’m not sure about is why you lied. Why did you lie about your name? About living in California? And why did you keep lying to my face? Why did you abandon me too?” Her lip wobbles, and my heart breaks with hers.
I’ll fucking lose her if I tell her the truth now, that much is clear. But I can’t lose her. She finally loves me. She’s finally mine, and I can’t stomach the loss, even if that means lying to her forever.
I close the space between us, lifting her chin to force her shiny eyes to meet mine. “I told you to forget about Ten. He’s an asshole for ghosting you, and he doesn’t deserve you. You don’t need him anymore, Sienna. You have me.”
“I know you’re him, Luke,” she whispers. “Why can’t you just admit it?”
I shake my head, hating myself even though I know this is what’s best for us. This lie will keep us together. The truth is what would tear us apart. “I’m not. I know you miss your friend, but you love me . I’ll treat you better than he ever has. Than he ever could. Forget him, okay? You’re better off without him.”
Silence falls between us, Sienna’s uncertain gaze never leaving mine. My pulse hammers. She doesn’t believe me. She knows I’m lying through my teeth, and now I’m not sure what will piss her off more—that I lied in the first place or that I still am.
Finally, she nods. Every taut muscle in my body relaxes when she wraps her arms around me. She believes me. This stupid secret isn’t going to drive us apart.
I squeeze her back. “I love you, Sienna. So fucking much.”
My heartbeat echoes in my ears with every second that ticks by in silence.
At last, she murmurs, “I love you too.”
Thank fuck . I squeeze her tighter. I’ll never let her go again.
Outside the rink, the crowd is going nuts. This is the worst game we’ve played all season, and I’m only partially to blame. Sienna was right—I’ve been pushing too hard. My head is light, vertigo tilting the whole world on its side.
Cheers and jeers echo from the stands while Wes and Coach bark orders. Knox shouts to Damien who yells to Finn. But the blue and white jerseys of our opponents dart across the ice too fast, taking control of the puck.
Damien’s face is tomato-red beneath his helmet. Ready to kill to win. Wes is pissed, shouting about our failures. Even Knox wants to crack his stick over somebody’s head.
What the hell is wrong with me? I shouldn’t have gone so hard in the gym before the game. Should’ve reserved my energy for the ice when it really mattered. I’ve let our opponents sail the puck into my net four times already. I’m letting my team down.
My pulse drums in my ears, throat parched. I need water. Need to sit. Need to shut my eyes?—
Skates roar across the ice as our opponents race toward my net, our defense failing to stop them.
The Devils shout my name. They’re counting on me. I can’t let them down again.
I try to track the puck darting between our opponents, but my head is swimming.
When I drop to my knees to protect the net, my vision goes dark.