Chapter Sixteen
We arrive at the venue where the sponsor event is being held. Sometimes it’s at the arena, but this time Tom wanted to go all out and make sure there was enough room for everyone. Which is why we’re finding ourselves at a place with a valet that doesn’t look old enough to be driving.
“One scratch on my car and I’ll hold you personally responsible,” I threaten, throwing the keys to the boy.
“Y-yes, sir,” he stammers.
Lucia makes a clicking sound with her tongue and rolls her eyes. “I’ll pay you to knock off the side mirror,” she smirks, not looking away from me.
I arch an eyebrow at her. “I’m not sure you can afford it, bunny.” Her nostrils flare, but I ignore it and take her hand, lacing our fingers together. I watch the guy drive away, grinding my teeth while he grinds the gears. “Fuck’s sake,” I curse.
Lucia pats my arm. “It’s not like you can’t afford to fix what he damages,” she sing-songs.
“That’s not the point,” I retort. “If he can’t drive a fucking stick, he shouldn’t have a job parking cars. That would be like me trying to get a job at NASA without knowing anything about space.”
Her laughter stuns me, as in actually makes me come to a halt. It’s not the polite sound I’ve heard around the arena. No, it’s more like the cackle you’d expect from a Disney villain. I shake my head and ignore her little outburst, chalking it up to… yeah, I got fucking nothing. Nerves? PMS?
We slip through the entrance, and after handing over my coat, I help Lucia with hers. “Fuck me,” I praise when the scrap of a dress comes into view.
She runs her hands down the skirt. “You like?” she asks, her tone low and sultry.
“It’s alright,” I say, shooting her a glare and correcting my dick that just arrived at the fucking party.
Really, that dress is more than alright. It’s indecently fucking perfect. One of the sexiest things I’ve ever seen is Lucia naked; second sexiest was her wearing my number while riding my cock. But this… this is definitely sliding into third place. Her voluptuous tits and toned stomach are as impossible to ignore as the way her bubble ass sways with each step.
“Hey,” I snap my fingers when it becomes clear I’m not the only one noticing how sexy the siren at my side is. “Don’t fucking look at my wife like that,” I snarl at the guys manning the door. They both shrug and mumble half-assed apologies. Fuck… I didn’t mean to call her that.
“Let them stare,” Lucia says, shaking her ass a little. “It’s nice to know my hard work is being appreciated.”
I take Lucia’s hand again, squeezing it tighter than before. “What’s gotten into you?” I seethe under my breath.
“You,” she answers simply. “Your dick was in me, and that was quite the revelation.”
Smirking, I say, “Well, I can’t say I’ve been told that before.”
Lucia keeps her smile firmly in place, even waving at some of the people we pass. “It’s not a good thing, Sawyer. While your dick might be magic, you’re nothing more than an asshole looking out for himself. So I figured I ought to do the same.”
“Lucia—” I’m interrupted as we walk into the large room we’re occupying this evening.
Music fills the air, mingling with the chatter of guests as they mill about, all dressed to the nines for the occasion. It’s a stark contrast to our usual routine, but there’s an undeniable energy in the air that’s infectious. Lucia and I exchange a glance, our silent communication speaking volumes as we take in the scene unfolding before us.
“Time to behave, bunny,” I remind her, ignoring her answering hiss.
As we navigate through the crowd, I spot familiar faces among the sea of guests. The team sponsors and GM are here, along with a multitude of other attendees, all eager to shake hands and make small talk.
“Sawyer, glad you could make it,” one of the sponsors says, extending a hand.
“Thank you, it’s great to be here,” I reply automatically, returning the handshake.
“And who might this lovely lady be?” another sponsor asks, gesturing toward Lucia with interest.
“This is Lucia Carter,” I introduce her with a smile. “She’s my…” What the hell do I call her? Fiancée? Wife? “... mine.”
“Ah, so this is the lucky lady we’ve been hearing about,” the sponsor remarks, turning to Lucia with a warm smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lucia.”
“The pleasure is mine,” Lucia replies graciously, offering a polite smile.
We engage in light conversation with the sponsors, discussing the game, upcoming events, and the excitement surrounding the team. Despite the formalities, there’s a genuine warmth in the air as we mingle with the sponsors. Tonight, there are none of the disdainful gazes or strained smiles I’m used to from these people.
“Tell me, Sawyer, how’s the season treating you so far?” another sponsor inquires, leaning in with interest.
“It’s been great so far,” I respond. “The team’s been performing exceptionally well, and we’re all excited about our prospects for the cup this year.”
“Where are my manners?” the sponsor says, smiling widely at Lucia. “I’m Edmond—”
“Edmond Francis,” Lucia says, interrupting him with a charming smile. “Sawyer made me memorize everyone’s names, so I know who you are.”
“You didn’t,” Edmond laughs.
Lucia giggles and shakes her head. “No, he didn’t. But he did tell me about how important you guys are, and how much he looked forward to tonight. I hope you’ll forgive me for prying, Edmond, but I have to ask. How is your daughter doing? Sawyer and I were both so happy to hear the accident wasn’t serious.”
I try not to gape at the woman at my side, as she charms the old man with intimate knowledge about his family. Knowledge I have no fucking idea how she got or why she bothered remembering.
“It’s so sweet of you to ask. Yes, she’s doing much better. It was nothing more than a concussion.”
While looking like she’s listening intently as Edmond explains about his daughter’s fall off a ladder while cleaning her roof or what-the-fuck-ever, Lucia digs her nails into my hand. Right, I should probably say something. “Glad she’s okay,” I add, trying my best to sound like I care.
“Yes, Sawyer asked me to send a gift basket, but I forgot. I’m so sorry, Edmond. But maybe…” She trails off and opens her clutch, pulling out a small envelope. “…she’ll enjoy these once she’s on the mend.”
Edmond takes the envelope and opens it. “Oh my,” he says, his eyes twinkling with delight. “She’ll love those. How did you know Giselle is her favorite?”
Instead of asking what the fuck a Giselle is, because the only one I know is Bündchen, I pull Lucia closer and wrap my arm around her middle. “Don’t let her fool you,” I say jokingly. “This is all her. I don’t even know what Giselle is.”
While Edmond explains that the ballet is his daughter’s favorite, I pretend to kiss Lucia’s cheek. “What the fuck are you doing? You can’t buy the sponsors. You’re crossing the fucking line,” I whisper directly into her ear.
Her smile doesn’t slip once, that’s how good she is.
Before we can make our escape, another sponsor joins us. Jeffrey. “There you are,” he bellows, like he’s not standing right next to us. “I hear you and Lucia are making headlines. Who would have thought you even knew how to stick to one woman.” Then he laughs boisterously, not realizing no one else is joining in.
Lucia raises an eyebrow with a playful grin, but before she gets the chance to speak, I say, “Watch it, Jeffrey. You should show Lucia some respect.”
The jerk has the balls to leer at her tits. “Didn’t mean no offense,” he says, not even bothering to hide his lingering eyes.
I clear my throat and give a polite nod to Edmond and the others. “If you’ll excuse us, I promised Lucia a drink.”
When I look back, Jeffrey is staring at Lucia’s ass, while Edmond is busy showing the ballet tickets to anyone who will listen to him.
“What the fuck was that?” I hiss. “You can’t just—”
Lucia shoots me a glare and drags me over to the wall. Then she winds her arms around my neck, moving closer so it looks like we’re sharing an intimate moment rather than gearing up for a fight. “I can, and I just fucking did,” she hisses back. “Did you know Edmond and Daniels are the two sponsors who have been most vocal about not wanting to stand for your bullshit?”
I shake my head because no; I didn’t fucking know that.
“Now that they’ve seen you with me, they’ll buy the girlfriend story. And with the tickets and my knowledge, it looks like you give a shit about someone that isn’t you. So you’re welcome.”
A growl bubbles up my throat and I don’t even try to contain it as I look at the woman who’s more fox than bunny. “You’re not my fucking girlfriend,” I spit. “You’re my wife.” I have no idea why I’m getting hung up on that shit right now, but it feels important to clarify.
She sighs and opens her mouth, likely to argue. But instead of giving her the chance to say anything, I wrap my hand around her throat and pull her closer. Then I fuse our lips together, kissing her hard.
“Sawyer,” Lucia gasps.
I use the opportunity to slide my tongue into her mouth, stroking hers. Remembering that we’re in a room of people who I should care about, I spin us around so her back hits the wall, and she lets out a breathy ‘oomph’. I still have one hand around her throat, squeezing lightly, while the other is on her hip.
Lucia’s entire body is trembling as she returns my kiss with demanding strokes of her tongue. She isn’t surrendering; she’s meeting me stroke for fucking stroke. My cock is hard, straining against my suit pants and I fucking hate that I can’t bend her over something and fuck some sense into her.
“Well, well, well,” a familiar voice drawls. “Come have a look, Mickey. It looks like Lucia’s face—”
I rip my lips from hers and stare daggers at my friend. “Not another word about her face,” I growl.
“Dude.” Soren throws his hands up and chuckles. “Everyone is staring.”
Shaking my head, I repeat, “I don’t fucking care. Don’t talk about her.”
I ignore his eyebrows that shoot so far up his forehead they’re practically meeting his hairline. “You okay?” I mumble, only loud enough for Lucia. She looks up at me, her eyes hooded and her lipstick is smeared. If you ask me, it looks better this way, since I know it’s my handiwork. But I already know she won’t agree. “You should go to the bathroom and clean up.” My husky tone makes it sound suggestive rather than a suggestion.
“Will you meet me there?”
Taking her hand, I bring it up to my mouth and bite two of her fingers teasingly. I don’t stop until her breath hitches and she moans softly. “Do you want me to join you?” I ask.
“Y-yes.”
“We’ll be back,” I say, winking at my friends. “Hold down the fort while we’re gone.”
Lucia blushes as they howl and laugh boisterously, but I don’t care. Why would I when I’m about to play with the best cunt I’ve ever had.
No one pays us any attention as we weave through the throng of people. Luckily, the bathroom area is almost deserted, and I don’t think anyone notices us ducking in there. As soon as I have the door closed and locked, I push Lucia up against it, wasting no time before I claim her mouth in a hot, languorous kiss. While our tongues snake around each other, I move my hands under her dress and roughly cup her cunt.
“Look at you doing what I said,” I rasp into her mouth. “No underwear.” I punctuate the words by sliding two fingers inside her.
She’s already so wet no prep is needed, and the moment I curl my fingers, she breaks the kiss and moves her head to my shoulder to bury her moan. “I-I didn’t want lines.”
Her words make me chuckle. “Fashion over everything else, huh?” I taunt. “Not that I’m complaining. I love having easy access to your cunt.”
While my fingers piston in and out of her, she spreads her legs even more. “Please fuck me, Sawyer.”
I want to. Fuck, I want to so badly. But I’m not going to. “Not yet, bunny,” I rasp.
She tenses. “What? Why not?”
“Don’t worry, baby. I’m still going to get you off.” I hike her dress up around her hips so I can look down at what I’m doing. Though I really fucking want to get on my knees and introduce myself properly to her weeping cunt, I stop myself. This isn’t the time to push that issue. “Hold your dress up for me,” I command huskily.
Lucia does as I say, holding the skirt of her dress so it’s out of the way, and I reward her by fusing our lips together again. I swallow her moans, keeping them for myself while I use my fingers to fuck her.
As the heel of my hand grinds on her clit, her moans become deeper. She uses one hand to pull at my tie. “Sawyer.” Fuck, I love the determination in her tone. “Make me come all over your fingers.”
“Always, bunny,” I rasp while wrapping my hand around her throat. I tighten my grip and fuck her harder. Her breath hitches and her eyes widen, but she doesn’t try to stop me. “That’s it. Don’t fight it, just feel it.”
My thumb is on top of her pulse, which feels fucking amazing. Like I can do anything, especially when she looks at me like she trusts that I know what I’m doing to her. “Do you trust me, wife?” I ask, needing her to say the word.
“Y-yes,” she croaks.
I add more pressure, both on her throat and on her clit. She moans beautifully in response. Her tits heave as she tries to get the air her body is so badly craving, but that I’m denying it. Never looking away from her, I see it immediately when her eyes roll back in her head. Her cunt spasms, squeezing my fingers while sucking them farther into her.
When she lets out a strained whimper, I let go of her neck. Moving closer so my body is holding hers up against the door while she sags. There’s a goofy smile on her lips, one that comes from being thoroughly fucked.
After checking the lid is down on the toilet, I take her into my arms and sit down so I can hold her steadily. Her eyes are still closed, the lids moving slightly as her long, dark lashes fan across her cheeks. I never noticed how long her eyelashes are until now. I wonder if they’re real or fake. Yet another thing I want to know.
My heart beats thunderously in my chest while I hold her tight and watch over her. It’s at this moment I realize what the fuck is going on. Lucia isn’t my pretend anything, she’s so much more than that. I don’t know when or even how it happened, only that it did. And now… now there’s no escaping it. Lucia Carter is mine—all fucking mine.
“Sawyer?” As though she’s heard my thoughts, she slowly opens her eyes and looks up at me. “That was really something,” she breathes.
“You did good, sweet bunny,” I rasp, kissing the crown of her head.
“I’m glad,” she says. “I like pleasing you.” She snuggles closer and closes her eyes again. “Just give me a few minutes, and then I’ll clean up so we can go back.”
I want to tell her that she can take all the time she wants, but I don’t—I can’t. The words stay lodged in my mouth like a golf ball I can barely swallow around. I’ve never felt like this about anyone, so I’m not sure I know what it means. Not that it really matters since I have thirteen months to figure it out.
When Lucia no longer feels boneless, she gets up and I wait patiently while she fixes her hair, lipstick, and dress. But when she wants to wipe her cum away, I’ve had it. “No,” I growl, startling her. “When we go back out there, I want to know you have your cum leaking down your legs.”
To my surprise, she gives me a sly look. “Okay,” she agrees. “You know you don’t have to growl to get your way, right? You could have just asked and I would have done it.”
Shaking my head, I take her hand and pull her out of the bathroom. “I shouldn’t have to ask.”
As Lucia and I return to the party, Tom, the GM, intercepts us with an eager grin, motioning us over to the bar. “Sawyer, Lucia, perfect timing,” Tom greets us, his eyes bright with excitement. “I want you to meet someone.”
Intrigued, we follow Tom to the other side of the bar, where a man stands waiting. He doesn’t look like the other rich and stuffy assholes. His white hair and blue eyes makes him stand out. He’s shorter than me, but then again, at six-foot-five most people are. It’s not like he’s tiny or anything, probably around six-one.
“Sawyer, Lucia, this is Fabian,” Tom introduces, his voice filled with enthusiasm. “Our newest sponsor. It’s been a long time coming, but we’ve finally come to terms.” Fabian doesn’t speak. Hell, he doesn’t even acknowledge that Tom did. “Sawyer is our star forward,” Tom continues, oblivious to the fact that Fabian is ignoring us both. He’s too busy looking at Lucia like she’s a piece of meat. It takes every ounce of self control I possess not to snarl at him to back the fuck off.
“Pleasure to meet you both,” Fabian finally says, his gaze lingering on Lucia. “Especially you, Lucia. I already feel like I know you from all the nice things Tom has said.” I swear his accent changes slightly when he says her name.
“Yes… umm… you too,” Lucia rambles, not at all sounding like her usually collected self. Instead her tone is shrill and her words are a mess.
Hmm, what the fuck am I missing here? And why do I feel like I’ve heard his voice before?
I shake Fabian’s hand when he holds it out to me, and force myself to exchange polite pleasantries with him, but my attention remains on Lucia, whose reaction is far from normal. As Fabian extends his hand toward her, she stiffens beside me, her grip on my arm tightening as a soft whimper escapes her lips.
“You okay, bunny?” I ask, my concern evident as I meet her gaze.
Her eyes betray a hint of fear, and she instinctively seeks refuge in my embrace. Anger courses through my veins, demanding to be set free. But I can’t just start punching sponsors, especially when I don’t know why.
“I... I’m fine,” she murmurs, her voice barely audible above the noise of the party.
She’s clearly anything but fine right now. But with Tom and Fabian here, I can’t outright ask her what’s going on. I can, however, make sure the dickhead doesn’t get closer to her. Shifting her slightly, I make sure his hand doesn’t touch her when he moves closer, silently insisting on a handshake.
“Want to shake my hand again?” I force a laugh. Then I make a fist, awkwardly fistbumping his hand. “That’s how we do it on the ice,” I explain, doing my best to make it seem more natural. I fail. There’s nothing fucking natural about this interaction.
Fabian laughs. “I like you, Sawyer. From what I heard, I expected you to be a lone wolf, but you seem fine to me.”
I shrug. “What can I say, my bunny brings out the best in me.”
As I lean down to kiss the top of her head, Fabian’s eyes flash with anger. Interesting. I shoot Tom a questioning glance, but he just shrugs. Dick.
“Bunny?” Fabian laughs, echoing my fucking name for Lucia. “After everything I’ve heard about her, she sounded more like a wolf.”
What is it with this guy and wolf anecdotes?
“Oh, God,” Lucia whines. “I-I’m sorry… I think I’m… I don’t feel well.” One look at her, and it’s easy to see she isn’t lying. She’s paler than a fucking ghost. Sweat beads on her forehead, and she’s trembling.
Fabian shifts closer, his eyes glued on the wedding band on Lucia’s finger. “So congratulations are in order,” he says. His smile doesn’t reach his eyes.
“Congratulations?” Tom asks, frowning in confusion.
Nodding, Fabian moves closer and grasps Lucia’s wrist, causing her to cry out in surprise. “I know a wedding band when I see one,” he sneers, giving up all pretenses about being nice.
“What the? No, that can’t be right,” Tom says. But as he looks down at Lucia’s hand, he realizes just how right it is. “Sawyer?”
Holding Lucia tighter, I give him a strained smile. “We weren’t going to announce it until after Christmas,” I say, making it up as I go. “But yes, we’re married.”
Tom holds my gaze longer than he needs to, searching in the depths for… well, I don’t fucking know. Whether it’s a sham or real marriage shouldn’t matter to him. He’s the one who wanted me to date Lucia. “I see,” he finally says. Looking away, his eyes sweep over Lucia. “Perhaps it’s best if you call it a night,” Tom suggests, with a forced smile, his disappointment clear.
“Of course,” I reply smoothly. Though I note the tension in his voice, I don’t give a fuck about anyone else but Lucia right now.
As we turn to leave, I overhear Tom’s voice, his tone apologetic. “I’m truly sorry about that, Fabian. I hope it didn’t spoil your evening.”
Fabian’s response is a low chuckle, tinged with amusement. “Not at all, Tom. These things happen, and I’m sure I’ll get the pleasure of catching up with Miss Ru-Carter another time.”
Lucia doesn’t ease her hold on me, in fact, the further we get away from Tom and Fabian, the more she shakes. After getting our coats, I guide her outside. When she almost falls for the third time in just as many minutes, I give up and carry her to my car.