Epilogue
ADAN
Six Months Later
I groaned as I lowered myself into the hot, soapy water. Every single muscle in my body hurt, including ones I hadn’t even known I used while playing hockey. Thank fuck for the deep, massive bathtub in my new apartment in Detroit, one I shared with my now-official boyfriend.
“Feel good?” said boyfriend asked, sitting down on the floor next to me.
“Fucking amazing.”
Nils brushed my cheek with a tender gesture. “You have some colorful bruises on your legs and back.”
No shit. Playing in the NHL was definitely a whole different game than playing in college.
These guys were bigger, meaner, and stronger, and I’d had to fight to keep up.
But tonight, I’d played my first minutes in an actual game against Boston, and I’d never been more proud of myself.
No, I hadn’t scored, but I’d also not fucked up, and that was all I’d set out to accomplish for my first appearance.
My parents had watched from the stands, both beaming with pride.
“They’ll heal.”
“I still hate to see it.”
I chuckled, too tired to open my eyes. “Don’t tell me you never got banged up at Rideau.”
“Of course, but it’s different seeing it on you.”
Aw, he was such a softie underneath.
I’d been worried about what he would do with me being in Detroit, but he’d adapted easily.
His contract with Millard had ended, and he’d ended up not renewing, even though Coach Brennan had offered it.
He’d known Nils wouldn’t take it, but he still wanted him to have the choice, which spoke volumes about him.
Instead, Nils had become a hockey coach with a local hockey club for talented players, and he was deeply content.
No, it wasn’t at the same level, but he didn’t care.
He loved the game, and he enjoyed working with young players to help them improve.
And since it was a part-time position, it left him with plenty of time for his royal duties and to spend time with me.
He rarely missed a Red Wings game, even when I wasn’t playing, and he made sure I had everything I needed. He took care of the apartment, of grocery shopping and meals, allowing me to focus on training and growing as a player.
The first few weeks had been brutal. The team had not taken it easy on the rookie, nor should they have, and I’d fought to earn their respect. They’d definitely taken me down a peg or two, though Nils still called me a cocky bastard from time to time. He wasn’t wrong.
“When are you flying to Sweden?” I asked sleepily, the warm water and the stuff Nils had put in there doing its job to relax me.
“Two days from now. I’ll be back in a week.”
I sighed. “I don’t like it when you’re not here.”
Did I sound like a whiney child? Absolutely. Did I care? Nope, not even a little bit. I did miss him terribly whenever he was gone, and the only consolation was that he didn’t seem to fare much better.
He chuckled. “I’ll miss you too, ?lskling.”
He still called me that, and I loved it.
My own Swedish was basic, but I was practicing every day, and it wasn’t as hard as I had expected.
Nils said it was because I was already bilingual.
He, in turn, had started to learn Spanish, which had made my mom crazy happy.
My parents loved him, period, which was a massive relief.
Even better was that his parents had been very accepting too.
We’d flown to Sweden before the season started, and Nils had introduced me to them.
I’d apologized for keeping their son in the States, but they didn’t seem to mind.
His father had assured me that all they wanted was for Nils to be happy.
Yes, he did have some royal duties, but they were light, and he tried to keep his travel schedule limited.
The press had been an experience. Of course, our relationship hadn’t stayed a secret long, and as soon as it had come out, rumors had started flying about us being coach and student.
Surprisingly, Coach Brennan had made a firm, almost blunt public statement that nothing inappropriate had ever happened and had staked his reputation on it. The media had backed off, thank fuck.
In Europe, tabloids still published the occasional picture of the two of us. I had no clue why people would be interested in seeing us grocery shopping, looking determinedly bored as we picked out avocados, but what did I know? Things could be far, far worse.
“Are you asleep, ?lskling?” Nils asked softly.
“No?”
“That sounds like you’re not sure. Come on, let’s get you dried off or you’ll drown.”
I needed his help to get up, my body too weak by now. But he tenderly dried me off with a fluffy towel, then nudged me toward our bedroom, where I slid under the cool cotton sheets, moaning with the relief of being horizontal.
Nils said something, and then his warm lips touched my forehead. “Sleep, my ?lskling.”
I was out like a light.
When I slowly came to, morning light was streaming in through the blinds. I half-turned, stifling a groan, and came face to face with Nils, who lay there, watching me with a soft smile on his face.
“Hi.”
“Hi.” My voice was still thick with sleep. “How long did I sleep?”
“Twelve hours. You were exhausted.”
I stretched, groaning as my muscles woke up in protest, then let out a huge yawn. “I needed that.”
“You did.”
I leaned in for a morning kiss, and his lips were soft and warm against mine.
People were always complaining about morning breath, but I didn’t get that.
I loved kissing Nils first thing in the day, when his hair was all messed up, his cheeks showed creases from his pillow, and his eyes were still heavy-lidded.
And the sounds he made… Like now, when he was doing these little moans that almost sounded like purring. I deepened the kiss and rolled on top of him. He knew exactly what that meant. Yup, I was always in the mood in the morning.
“Adan… Aren’t you too sore?”
I snorted. “Too sore for sex? Not fucking likely.”
“But—”
I cut him off with another kiss, simply sliding my tongue into his mouth until he was writhing underneath me. “I want you inside me.”
“Adan…”
“Are you gonna make me beg? Because I will. I have no pride when it comes to you.”
His smile made my heart skip a beat. He was so damn handsome. “I do like hearing you beg.”
Yes, the first time I’d bottomed for him had been a little weird, but I hadn’t hated it, and the second time had been much better.
By now, we did whatever we were in the mood for, which was about a seventy-thirty ration of me topping versus bottoming.
Like everything else between us, it was perfection.
But every now and then, I craved that closeness with him, that unique connection, and I wanted him inside me. Like today.
With one last kiss, I rolled off him and onto my stomach, then looked at him over my shoulder. “Please?”
For extra effect, I batted my eyelashes at him, which always made him laugh, but it rarely failed to get me what I wanted, and today was no different.
“I’ll do a massage first,” he said, already reaching for the massage oil.
Hell, yes. He had magic hands, and my muscles needed it. I obediently rolled onto the thick towel we had next to the bed—Nils hated getting the sheets dirty with oil and I happily accommodated him—and closed my eyes.
He started with my shoulders, his touch gentle as he warmed up my muscles. But within minutes, he found the first knots and started massaging them, pressuring them until they dissolved.
Lower and lower he traveled, doing my shoulders, my upper back, then my biceps and triceps, continuing on to my lower back. He was clearly avoiding the bruised areas or only touching them lightly, and god, it felt amazing.
Finally, he reached the area I wanted him to focus on. His touch was firm as he kneaded my ass cheeks with both hands, causing me to groan. That edge of pain and pleasure never failed to turn me on, and he damn well knew it.
He went for the big muscles first, then gentled his touch as he started caressing rather than massaging.
My heartbeat quickened, and I instinctively spread my legs.
Apparently, he wasn’t gonna make me beg even more, because his slick fingers trailed a path down my crack.
Gah, how could something so light feel so damn good?
He massaged the fattiest part of my ass cheeks, then slipped between them again, rubbing my hole. And on and on it went, massaging and caressing, kneading and teasing, and then a finger slid inside me. I sighed with pleasure, closing my eyes and focusing on his touch.
His finger stroked, slid, pumped and pushed, then became two. He knew how to curl them by now, to brush against that spot inside me that made me see the whole goddamn galaxy right behind my eyes.
By the time I was prepped and wide open for him, I was rutting against the towel, my cock leaking. He lowered himself on top of me, his slick cock sliding home without any effort. We’d ditched the condoms as soon as we’d both been tested, and I loved that there was nothing separating us.
A deep intake of breath from both of us, and then he found my entrance and pushed.
That first breach was still a bit of a sting, but it ebbed away quickly, followed by nothing but the exquisite fullness of his cock. So hard, so smooth, so warm and wet and perfect. He braced his arms on either side of me, even now conscious of my sore body, and set a gentle pace.
He nibbled on my ear, his warm breath as much of a turn-on as his teeth and the Swedish words he whispered to me.
“Du ?r s? vacker, min ?lskling.” You’re so beautiful, my darling.
“Du ?r s? perfekt.” You’re so perfect.
“Jag ?lskar dig s? mycket.” I love you so much.
My eyes grew misty for some reason, my heart soaring at the love in his voice. “Jag ?lskar dig ocks?, baby.” I love you too, baby.
He made me sing, body and soul, and I surrendered to all the sensations flowing through me. My orgasm was gentle, almost like a sigh, an exhale. His was more violent, his body shaking as he came inside me. He stilled on top of me as soon as the aftershocks had subsided.
This was the part I hated, and he knew it.
Him pulling out always left me feeling strangely bereft and empty, so he immediately rolled me over and wrapped his arms around me to cuddle.
With my head against his chest, his lips against my skin, and our heartbeats synchronizing, I breathed out… and closed my eyes.
“Love you,” I mumbled, already halfway asleep again.
“Love you too. Sleep, ?lskling. I’ll be here when you wake up.”
Yeah, he would be. Always and forever.