Chapter 35
STELLA
“I wasn’t being entirely honest when I told you I’m falling for you.”
Jayden stiffens, hands on my waist in my bedroom. “Okay.”
“I’ve already fallen. Hard. I love you.”
His face softens and his eyes glow. He backs up toward the bed and sits, bringing me onto his lap so I straddle his hips. He sets his hands on my waist and meets my eyes. “I love you.”
He slides a hand up my back and into my hair to bring my mouth to his for a kiss.
I pour it all into that kiss, everything I feel, all my admiration and gratitude and love for him.
I slide my hands over his chest, his shoulders, the back of his neck as our mouths join in slow, clinging kisses of worship and promise.
He caresses my neck, his thumb sliding up in front of my ear, brushing the corner of my mouth, and I turn my head to suck his thumb.
He groans and nudges my mouth back to his again, opening me to him, licking inside to find my tongue.
Arousal moves through me like slow liquid heat.
Then he slides both hands into my hair to hold my head as we devour each other.
His hands move over my body, everywhere he can reach: my back, my waist, my breasts. He slowly pulls off my sweater, letting his hands linger on my shoulders and arms, and sucks in a breath at seeing my pink lacey bra.
“Gorgeous,” he rasps. “Look at you.”
He leans down to kiss my collarbone, then the soft upper curve of one breast. My breathing hitches and my nipples pucker.
“Beautiful. So perfect.” He eases me back so he can bend and kiss my breasts. He tugs the lace cup down and closes his lips over one tender tip.
I clutch his shoulders and gasp. “Oh God. I love that.”
“Yeah,” he mumbles against my skin. “So good. You taste sweet, Stella.” He tugs the nub into his mouth once more, then lifts his head and meets my eyes again in a long, wordless look of love.
He tips me lower until my back meets the mattress, and moves over me.
He unbuttons my jeans, draws down the zipper, then pushes them down and off my legs, leaving me in my pink bra and matching thong.
He nuzzles my throat, my breasts, sucks on my nipples.
Whimpers of pleasure fall from my lips he slides a hand beneath me to find the fastening of my bra and flick it open.
“This is pretty, baby, but I want you bare.”
I bite my lip, gazing up at as he pulls the lace garment away and tosses it aside. Then he gets rid of my panties too. His gaze is full of admiration as he looks at my stomach, hips and thighs. It makes me feel beautiful.
“There we go. All naked and gorgeous for me to touch. For me to taste.” He kisses my lower belly.
He stretches out beside me on the bed, licking my breasts, caressing them, and slides a hand down to my pussy. He cups me gently, his big hand over my pulsing core. I part my thighs for him and he rubs his fingers up and down, then slides them deeper into me.
“Oh yeah,” he murmurs. “So wet. Love that.”
I make a soft needy little sound, reaching out to touch his chest.
He leans over to kiss my mouth as he fondles my pussy, sliding one arm beneath me. My thighs fall open wider as he plays there, my back arching, my mouth clinging to his in long, hungry kisses. Electricity sizzles over my nerve endings.
I’m burning for him. Aching.
He scrapes his fingernails over the sensitive skin of my inner thighs and my entire body jolts. He smiles against my lower belly, licking me there then pushing my thighs apart and moving between them, sliding his tongue over my pussy with long, slow drags.
“Oh my God.” I fling my arms wide. “Oh my God.”
“Gonna taste you here now, sweet girl.”
He glides his tongue over my hip bone, finds my knee with one hand, and pushes it up and back.
His other arm slips beneath my hip to hug my other thigh.
He licks all over my pussy, slow surface strokes of his tongue that make me quiver and burn.
A coiling knot of need tightens low inside me.
Then he touches his tongue to my clit. Sensation ripples through me and my hips jerk and lift against him.
“Yeah, baby.” He uses one thumb to open me a little more to his tongue. “You taste so goddamn good.”
He rises up to open his jeans and shove them down his thighs then kicks them off. He reaches for a condom and quickly suits up, then moves back between my thighs, easing my legs wider for him. He grasps his cock and slicks it up and down through my slit, rubbing over my swollen clit.
I suck in a sharp breath and open my eyes. Our gazes lock as he continues to stroke me.
“Stella.”
My lips pull up into a slow smile, and I reach for him, grazing my fingertips over his chest and abs, all the way to his pubic hair and the root of his cock. His muscles twitch beneath his hot, tight skin.
He finds my entrance and pushes inside, all the while holding my gaze. We stare into each other’s eyes in an intimate connection that’s consuming. Powerful. Safe.
I lift my head to watch us join. He eases deeper inside me and reaches for one of my hands. Lacing our fingers together, he fills me with exquisite pressure.
Eyes still joined, he fucks me hard, deep, joining us in almost unbearable intimacy. I curl my fingers around his and hold on tightly as the bed shudders with his every thrust, my lips parted, eyes heavy-lidded.
He is strength and tenderness, courage and kindness. He’s everything I told myself I didn’t want.
My eyes widen as my orgasm builds, that coiling heat, sensation twisting up higher and I’m clenching and pulling and I’m so high, it’s almost piercingly painful and then I shatter and I’m flying, gliding, floating. He collapses on me, burying his face in my neck, pulsing inside me.
“Love you, Stella,” he gasps into the side of my neck.
“I love you too.” I wrap my arms around him and open my mouth on his shoulder in a long kiss. “God, I love you too.”
It’s exciting and terrifying and a relief.
I felt like I would be letting down womanhood if I fell in love with a man again.
If I wanted a relationship. Because we’ve gotten to the point where we don’t have to feel ashamed if we haven’t found a partner.
And we don’t have to feel ashamed if we’re not even looking for love.
But it’s not a weakness or a failure to fall in love.
I don’t have to feel guilty about it, like I’ve betrayed all my single friends.
Like Gracie said to me… there’s no shame in falling in love.
I’m in Troy’s office with the door closed. We’re sitting at the round table in the corner, next to the big windows. I ignore the gorgeous view of the mountains and harbour in the bright sunshine.
“You know I’ve been opposed to expanding our business to include sports betting.”
He leans back in his chair. “Oh, I know.”
“And you know I want to grow our business, too.”
“Yeah.”
“So what if I came up with another plan? Another way we could expand.”
He eyes me neutrally. “Sure. I’d look at it.”
“Okay, here it is. Women’s hockey.”
His eyes flicker. “Okay?”
I smile. “I’ve got a ton of data to share with you.
I’ll send it so you can take your time. I’ve also had some preliminary meetings with the league.
They do have access to stats, but not like we’re providing the NHL.
There are a lot of women players who don’t have a full picture of their play. And they should, like the men do.”
He nods slowly.
“Right now, the women players who get all the attention are the ones who score goals. But that’s not the only part of the game.”
He cocks his head and regards me thoughtfully. “Yeah. That’s true.”
“Women’s sports have a lot of momentum right now, and sponsorship is growing 50 percent faster than men’s league. The growing marketplace for women’s sports, along with scalable tech like AI, is making it a lot more accessible.”
“Right.”
“Obviously, women’s sports are important to me…
” I press my hand to my heart. “And in doing this, we can help grow women’s hockey.
They’ll have the data to tell their stories.
Show how the players and the teams perform.
Fans love it. Broadcasters can use it to make the game more inviting.
Players can use social media to post their stats.
Then there’s fantasy leagues and drafts. ”
Troy’s eyes are now glinting with interest although he’s not jumping up and down with excitement.
“I’ve talked to them about it. They know what we’re providing the NHL. And they agree that women’s hockey should have that, too.”
“That’s promising.”
“Yes.” I lean forward. “I think we can become an industry leader in analytics for the women’s game.”
Now he smiles. “Okay, you got me with that.”
“Yay.” I grin. “There’s more to do and you’ll want to have a look at the data I put together. But… I also have another idea.”
“Jesus.”
“I know. Someone lit a fire under me.” I pause. “Uh. You should probably know that I’m seeing someone.”
He does a “mind blown” motion. “Okay.”
“It’s Jayden Wood. From the Orcas.”
Troy’s got a good poker face, I’ll give him that. I have no idea what he’s thinking. “So… seeing him as in, having some fun dates? Or… is this serious?”
“It’s pretty serious.” I wrinkle my nose. “You have no idea how hard I tried to keep it light. But he’s a pretty amazing man.”
“Wow. Okay.” He shakes his head. “Wow.” He narrows his eyes at me. “You’re happy?”
I nod, my chest full of fizzy carbonation. “Yeah. I’m very happy.”
“Okay. That’s what matters.”
“Thank you.” I take a breath. “Anyway, back to my other idea. If we want to add new products and services to our current mix and expand market reach, what if we looked at companies like DDS. Data and Display Systems.”
His forehead creases. “In Anaheim?”
“Yes.”
“Tennis.”
I nod. “But big tennis. Wimbledon, the US Open, the French Open. Their hardware—LED screens, LCD panels, kiosks—and software could definitely be adapted to hockey.”
He taps his fingers on his desk. “After all that work we had Adam do for us, we’re going to dump it and tell him to start over?”