Chapter Sixteen
Beau
My nose hurt like a son of a bitch, but the painkillers they gave me were helping.
They made me feel all floaty and free. I was pissed that I had lost a tooth, though.
Thirty-eight years on this earth, thirty-three of them playing hockey, and this time I finally lost one.
It didn’t look so great either. Jax said it gave me character.
I thought it made me look stupid. Asher laughed and told me I looked like a NASCAR driver, while Wyatt told me I could get it fixed in the off season.
I told the both of them to get their shit together and stop making goo-goo eyes at one another while they thought no one was looking.
That shut Asher up really quick, but Wyatt, well, he was another story all together.
We all knew he had been pining for Ash for months, and it wasn’t going to end the way he wanted.
I might have felt bad for him if I wasn’t high as hell on these pain meds.
“You good?” Jax asked once I was settled into my hotel room.
The stupid doctors had wanted me to stay overnight, but I refused.
I’d had a broken nose before. It hurt, but the drugs were working, and I could already feel sleep calling my name.
I wanted to speak with Dean, see his pretty face, and then go to bed.
I was rooming with Jackson tonight just to make sure I was going to be okay.
I nodded. “Perfect. Now let me call my boyfriend.”
“Boyfriend, huh? You’ve progressed to that stage?” He chuckled when I gave him the finger.
I sighed. “I mean, what else is he? Cole figured it out really quick.”
“You let the man sleep in your bed. What else was he supposed to think when he found him there? At least he wasn’t mad about it.” Jackson stripped off his shirt as he headed to the bathroom. “Let me know if you need some alone time.” He made a jerking motion with his hand.
I rolled my eyes. “Not tonight.” I reached for my phone to call Dean. He answered on the first ring, and when I saw his hair was green, I smiled. He looked good. Gorgeous. “Hi, Pink.”
“How are you feeling?” Dean was in my bed, pillows propped up behind him. He was also wearing my shirt again.
A sense of yearning filtered into my stomach. Sure, I got homesick when I was on the road, but it had never felt like this before. I wanted to be there now. My arms wrapped around him, Dean’s head on my chest.
I shrugged. “Like someone hit me in the face with a hockey puck.”
“You shouldn’t joke about it. It’s not funny.”
“I’ve been hurt worse. One time a guy hit me so hard I was out for a nearly a whole day.”
Dean stared at me for a second before he spoke again. “Cole was so upset,” he whispered, his eyes scanning my face. “Is it painful?”
“I’m glad you were there for him. He told me that you comforted him.
He likes you, Pink. Told me that he’s happy we’re seeing one another.
” I smiled when his cheeks turned crimson.
“And it hurts, but the pain meds help.” I glanced over when Jax stepped back into the room.
“Say hello to your future brother-in-law.”
Jackson grinned. “Hey.” He leaned forward into my phone. “Good to see your hair is back to its normal color. Sam did a fantastic job.”
“I think she’s my hairdresser from now on.” Dean dragged a hand through his green tresses. “You two are sharing a room now?” he asked.
I nodded. “Just to make sure I’m okay. Which I am,” I assured him before he got even more worried. “And thank you for staying with Cole tonight. I know he could stay with Sam or his grandparents, but he’s comfortable with you. And I trust you with him.”
“I miss you.” Dean looked surprised that those three words tumbled from his lips. He dropped his chin. “I... I do, though. And I’m glad you’re okay. And thank you for trusting Cole with me. He’s a great kid. I like spending time with him.”
My stomach filled with warmth. “Dean, look at me.” When he did, my skin blazed with a fire I hadn’t felt in years. “I miss you, too. When I get home, we’re going to talk about whatever this is between us, okay?”
“I’d like that,” he whispered.
I wished Jackson wasn’t here. I wanted to make Dean touch himself again. Jerk off in my bed and fall apart, moaning my name. But that would have to wait for another night. At least I would be home tomorrow.
We said our goodbyes and hung up. I was asleep before I even realized it.
DEAN WAS WAITING FOR me when I got home.
He gave me a shy smile when I walked in the door and then I yanked him against me, inhaling his familiar scent of leather that came from that jacket he was always wearing.
My nose was broken, but it still worked.
He gave a soft, content sigh as he held onto me, his strong, lean body pressed against mine, before he pulled back to stare at me.
“I want to kiss you, but your nose...” He touched my cheek gently with the palm of his hand.
I smiled. “As soon as it’s healed.” Which would be in about three-to-six weeks.
“Well, that sucks.” Dean rolled his eyes. “Not even a little one?” he asked. I leaned down and ghosted my lips over his. “That’s better.”
I hooked my arm around his waist to pull him against me. “Did you help Cole this morning and make sure he got to school on time?”
“I mean, I guess. He had practice this morning. He was up at the god-awful time of four in the morning. He’s a teenager, Beau.
Why do they do that to kids? But I got up and made him breakfast, which he said was, and I repeat, ‘wicked’.
He texted me when he got there, because I asked him to, and then—”
I cut him off with a kiss because this was very boyfriend-like, and it was doing things to me.
Things I was scared to admit that I liked.
A kiss that I shouldn’t have given him, but I couldn’t stop myself.
Dean moaned into my mouth, his hands gripped the front of my shirt, and then his tongue found mine.
All the blood in my body rushed south when I felt the flick of his tongue piercing, and if I could have, I would have stripped all the clothes from Dean’s body, taken him to my bed, and had my way with him.
“Your nose!” Dean pulled back. He reached up like he might touch it but stopped right before he made contact.
I grabbed his hand and kissed the tips of his fingers. “You, Dean Frost, are someone I never saw coming. What am I going to do with you?”
“Keep me?” he whispered.
His bluntness surprised me. Just like how he’d told me he missed me last night. “Is that what you really want?”
Dean nodded.
“And your fans? Are you okay with them knowing we’re together? A couple? That you’re dating a man who has a son?”
“Is that what you’re afraid of?”
I shook my head. “No.” I’d had a lot of time to think. Over team breakfast. On the plane ride home. On the drive to the apartment. “But if we come out, we have to be serious. There will be paparazzi everywhere we go. Alone. Together. On Cole.”
“Cole?” Dean’s brows shot up. “Why?”
I moved to sit down. “Because he’s my son, and he’s going to be a huge part of our relationship. That’s why I don’t date. I don’t want people watching him. He doesn’t deserve that. You’re a huge star, Dean. The second we come out together, Cole will be the first thing they attack.”
“Shit.” Dean chewed on his bottom lip. “And if we stay together but don’t come out?”
I touched his soft, green hair. “Cole stays safe. Although, the pictures the two of you have posted are probably already attracting a lot of attention. I mean, you’re Maverick’s brother, and he’s with Jackson, so it probably isn’t as big of a deal as I think it is.”
“I have to go back to California and then I have to go to South Korea.” He leaned his head on my shoulder.
He reached for my hand to lace our fingers together.
“There are a few interviews and photoshoots I have to do. I tried to get out of them, but I couldn’t.
It’s not something I want to do. I like it here. ”
I tipped his head up. “How long will you be gone?” I didn’t like the thought of him leaving, even for a short time.
“A month.” Dean tried to smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Maybe a little longer.”
I dragged my thumb over his bottom lip. “And you’re going alone?”
“Uh, no. Blake is going with me.” He sucked the tip of my thumb into his mouth, and his pupils dilated. I didn’t like the thought of being apart from him for so long. Which was new for me.
I groaned softly. “But we can talk and text.”
Dean nodded. “Every day.”
“And you’ll be good for me, Pink?” I whispered, watching the heat flash in his eyes.
Dean reached down to adjust himself. “I’ll be so good for you, Daddy.”