Chapter 20
Levi
Last night was . . . unexpected.
But also fucking amazing.
I hadn’t come that hard in a long time. Actually, come to think about it, I’d never come that hard before.
Arizona might be a bossy little thing, but inside the bedroom, she obeyed my every command beautifully. Like she was born to submit to me and only me.
Walking on air, I stepped into the kitchen, only to stop short when I saw Maisie frantically tearing her backpack apart at the island.
When she heard my entry, my daughter lifted her head, and I caught sight of her wild eyes. “Have you seen my permission slip?”
My brows drew down. “The one you left out for Arizona to sign a couple of days ago?”
“I swear I put it in my homeroom folder, but now I can’t find it and the due date’s today!” Her chest was heaving; my girl was on the verge of a panic attack.
Crossing the distance between us, I rubbed a soothing hand down her back.
“Okay, let’s take a breath. If it’s not in your backpack, it’s possible you never put it in there.
Half the time when I misplace my keys, I am certain I left them in one spot but end up finding them in another.
Usually happens when I get distracted mid-task. Maybe that’s what happened.”
She looked up at me, a heartbreaking amount of sadness written across her face. “I can’t be the only one in my class who misses the field trip.”
“I won’t let that happen. Promise.” I kissed the top of her head. “Let me go check with Arizona to see if she knows where it ended up, while you sort out this mess and get it put away.”
Maisie began reorganizing her books and folders while I jogged out of the room and up the stairs.
The bedroom I shared with Arizona was empty, but I could hear the shower running.
I rapped on the closed door to the ensuite with my knuckles. “Arizona?”
No answer.
Cracking the door open, I raised my voice as I called her name through the opening.
Still nothing.
Fuck it. I’d more or less seen—or licked—every inch of the woman last night, so theoretically, she couldn’t get mad for me walking in on her while she was bathing.
Steam curled in the air, fogging up the mirror, as well as the glass door to the shower.
“Arizona?”
There was a hum, then a breathy “Levi.”
“Hey, do you happen to know—”
“Yes! Right there!”
My eyebrows hit my hairline.
Without thinking, I grabbed the gold-plated handle and pulled, only to be met with the sight of my wife with the detachable showerhead positioned between her thighs, her face screwed up in pleasure.
“A lesser man would be insulted after the night we shared, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love a woman with a high sex drive.”
At the sound of my voice, Arizona’s blue eyes sprang open. She let out a shriek, dropping the showerhead so that the high-flow spray coming from it soaked us both.
Her hands covered her breasts. “Levi! I’m in the shower!”
My smirk was automatic as I reached out to turn off the water. “Yes, I can see that.”
“Oh my God! Get out!”
I was about to do just that when my gaze dipped lower—amused that she hadn’t thought to shield me from a view of her bare pussy—and locked on something that hadn’t been visible in the dark last night.
Almost as if drawn by a magnet, I extended a hand, my fingers skimming along the raised keloid scar that spanned from one hip to the other.
She sucked in a sharp breath at my touch.
“Is this from a surgery?”
“Mm-hmm,” Arizona hummed in the affirmative.
Like a lightbulb going off in my brain, it hit me. “This is why you can’t get pregnant, isn’t it?”
With a thick swallow and a sniffle, she nodded. “Yeah.”
“I’m sorry.” While I’d never planned to have children, that option had always been open to me should I ever change my mind. I couldn’t imagine what it was like to have that choice taken away.
My wife averted her glassy eyes. “It was a long time ago.”
“Just because it happened in the past doesn’t mean it hurts any less.”
She looked at me as though she hardly recognized me, breathing, “Who are you, and what have you done with that playboy who was only interested in getting me into bed?”
I couldn’t blame her for being confused; I was reeling from the sudden switch myself.
Taking her wet hand in mine, I gave it a gentle squeeze. “For so long, I only cared about myself—”
Arizona snorted. “You can say that again.”
After a sharp glare in her direction, I continued, “I refused to form attachments—with women, with my teammates—because I wasn’t capable of being part of a reciprocal relationship.
Then a girl with my eyes and my sister’s face showed up, and she needed me.
Me, of all people. And the moment I knew she was mine, it changed me on a molecular level.
I realized I would rather die than let her down.
So, I created this crazy little blended family with a group of people I’ve come to care about and want to take care of.
All three of your well-being has become directly tied to mine. If you’re sad or hurt, so am I.”
“Empathy.”
I cocked my head to the side. “Huh?”
“What you’re describing. You’ve developed empathy.” A huff of laughter sounded. “Better late than never, I suppose.”
“Oh.” Heat flooded my face, and I dropped my gaze to the floor.
Arizona tipped my chin up, forcing me to meet her eyes. “I’m proud of you, Levi.”
“I—”
“Levi!” Maisie’s shout from nearby popped the bubble of our tender moment, and we broke apart.
Plastering herself against the far wall of the shower, Arizona hissed, “Shut the door!”
With one last look at my naked wife, I sealed her inside and went to meet my daughter where she stood on the threshold of the owner’s suite.
Maisie stared at me expectantly. “Did Arizona know where it is?”
Fuck. The little masturbation performance I’d walked in on made me forget the reason I’d come looking for Arizona in the first place.
“Uh.” I gripped the back of my neck. “I haven’t had the chance to ask her yet.”
My daughter eyed me with suspicion, having no doubt noticed my wet clothing. “What have you been doing all this time, then?”
The truth? Developing feelings for my wife.
“He was waiting for me to get out of the shower.” Arizona glided out of the ensuite, dressed in a plush robe.
Accepting that explanation at face value, Maisie eagerly asked, “Have you seen my permission slip for the field trip?”
“You know what? I think it’s on the desk in the home office.”
My girl visibly sagged in relief. “Thank you.” Then she was gone.
By the time my daughter yelled up the stairs that she’d found it and both kids had shouted their goodbyes as the front door slammed shut, Arizona had disappeared into the walk-in closet.
Stripping off the wet T-shirt plastered to my chest, I followed her into what amounted to our personal dressing room.
My wife was seated at the vanity, wearing only a black lace bra and matching panties as she pulled on a pair of pantyhose that I wanted to shred with my teeth.
“Crisis averted?” she asked, eyes firmly fixed on her task.
I leaned against the doorjamb, a rumble vibrating through my chest in response.
Arizona stood to adjust the waistband of the sheer tights, a corner of her lips twitching. “You owe me an orgasm for the one you stole from me in the shower, but it’ll have to wait until later. I have to get to work.”
Shucking my shorts, I stalked toward her naked, forcing her backward until I had her pinned against the built-in dressers lining the wall. My lips found the side of her neck. “I only need two minutes.”
Fingers carved a path through my hair as she clutched at my head. “Tempting.”
I nipped her earlobe, tugging on it with my teeth. “Fuck tempting. Let me make it a reality.”
Her grip tightened on my hair before releasing, and she shoved at my chest with both hands. “Trust me, if I had the time, but I don’t.”
Reluctantly, I withdrew. “Tonight, then?”
“Tonight,” Arizona agreed before turning her back to me and selecting a sexy-as-sin black number off the rack.
Stepping up behind her, I pressed one last kiss to her bare shoulder. “I’ll be hard all day thinking about it.”
I might be a married man instead of a playboy these days, but I still loved to fuck, and I had months’ worth of pent-up sexual frustration to take out on my wife.
“Take one and put it on your right wrist.” Coach walked around the locker room with a basket of what looked like fitness trackers, passing them out to each player.
“What are these?” Jagger asked, affixing the band around his wrist as instructed.
An evil grin curved on Davenport’s face. “Shock bracelets.”
“The fuck?” Dylan shouted. “Like the shit they put on dogs so they don’t leave the yard?”
Coach snapped his fingers. “Exactly.”
Crew’s hand hovered over the basket. “But why?”
“Because I’m sick and tired of watching you fools chase after the puck at the same time instead of remembering your positioning.”
I waved the device. “How are these supposed to help with positioning?”
Now that each player had one in their possession, Coach moved to the center of the room, careful not to step on the Surf logo imprinted on the carpet—he might be a hard-ass, but he respected the superstition.
“These are programmed a little differently than what you’re picturing.
Instead of going off when you go past a set perimeter, these will give you a little zap when you get too close to two or more of the others.
I’ll turn them on for a minute, so you can give them a try.
” When all we did was stare at him like he’d lost his damn mind, he clapped. “Now!”
Everyone hustled to strap on the shock bracelets.
Pulling out his phone, Coach let his finger hover over the screen. “Ready?”
A few grunts sounded, and he took that for a yes.
As soon as he turned them on, a strong vibration emanated from the unorthodox training aide. It wasn’t sharp enough to be incapacitating as you’d expect from a taser, but it was definitely uncomfortable, and after only about thirty seconds, I was ready for him to make it stop.
Coach noticed a few guys squirming in their seats and chuckled. “Unpleasant, isn’t it? I want you to avoid having these go off at all costs. Two of you battling for a puck against the wall or defending the crease is fine, but we don’t need four of you on top of each other. Ever.”
He hit the button that turned them off, and several guys groaned in relief.
“The sooner you remember how to play the game properly, the sooner I can stop trying to beat the bad habits out of you by any means necessary.”
With another wicked smirk, he turned on his heel and left us to finish getting dressed.
Never a dull day with Davenport at the helm.