Six. Nick
Six
Nick
Nick didn’t know it was possible to want another person the way he wanted the woman he was holding. His fingers dug into her hips and her rapid breaths filled his ears as he kissed his way back up her body until he reached her closed eyes. He smiled at the blissful expression, pressing a kiss to each eyelid.
When he continued to kiss her, over her delicate cheekbones, down the line of her jaw, all the way to her mouth, she came back to him bit by tiny bit, her eyes opening, her fingers digging into his arms, her body pushing against his.
Nick changed the angle, moved his hand to her ass, and yanked her against his fully clothed body. Maisie kissed him back as her hands began to roam. Together they pushed off his jacket, let it drop. Her fingers shook as she undid the buttons on his dress shirt, revealing his chest. She pulled her mouth away to look and the appreciation in her gaze nearly undid him. He’d never felt so grounded and unearthed by one person
“God, speaking of perfect,” she whispered, trailing her lips along the lines of ink dancing across his chest. They removed his shirt, his heartbeat ramping up to a dangerous speed. When her hands went to his belt, he put his over them and stilled her movements.
“If your room is like mine, it probably has a bed,” he said, his voice husky as he tried to lighten the need he felt with humor.
Maisie shook off his hands, worked at his belt, his zipper, and pushed down his pants. “Next time.”
The two words lit something inside of him; the kind of burn he’d never felt. Before his pants hit the floor, he grabbed his wallet, tugged out a condom, and then tossed the wallet, rid himself of the rest of his clothing. She was incredible. Every fantasy he’d never imagined having, right there, reaching for him. It shocked him to feel his hands shake as he covered himself, lifted her into his arms, and pressed her body back against the wall, growling in delight when her legs cinched around his waist.
Then, there was nothing but Maisie. He was completely and utterly consumed.
Next time , they made it to the bed. And it was every bit as fucking fantastic as against the wall. Maisie’s hair tickled his chest where she rested her head, her arm wrapped tight around his waist. His own was tucked under her, curled around her, and it didn’t escape him that he wished she was closer. Maybe it was the wedding, the champagne, or just this woman, but he felt like he was under a spell. One he didn’t want to break.
Maisie’s nails tiptoed up his side, across his chest, down the center to his abs, lightly tracing over each one.
He laughed. “What are you doing?”
“Counting your abs,” she said with an adorably sexy and sleepy voice.
He grabbed her hand, still laughing. “Stop.”
Pulling her hand away, she lifted her head. “You stop. You’re the one with ridiculous muscles, Nick…? Oh my God. I don’t even know your last name.”
And he didn’t want her to. She hadn’t recognized him yet and maybe she wouldn’t, but if he said his name, what if it rang a bell?
Worry scrunched her brow. Nick reached up and smoothed it. “Hey. That’s okay, you know.”
She didn’t look convinced.
Unexpected tenderness swamped him. Nick cupped her cheek, took a deep breath. “King. My last name is King.”
Maisie’s eyes narrowed. “Are you messing with me?”
Shit. She recognized it. Would she treat him differently? People could be weird about celebrities and he knew part of what drew her to him was that she just looked at him like a man. Like he wasn’t just hockey . It’d been a long fucking time since he’d been just Nick King to anyone other than his family.
“No. That’s my name,” he said, caution creeping into his tone.
“You have abs like that and your last name is that cool? That seems unfair.”
Wait. What? He smiled. “What’s your last name?”
“Smart.”
“That fits since you’re obviously so smart,” he said.
She arched her brows. “My underwear is still by the door. You don’t have to compliment me out of my clothes.”
Nick arched up and reversed their positions. When she was looking up at him, really seeing him, he told her the truth. “I already told you I don’t play games. The way you talk, your humor, the way you interact with others; your intelligence is almost as noticeable as your gorgeous body and beautiful face. We both came into this room knowing tomorrow we go our separate ways. We had sex twice. Why the hell would I say something just to have words come out of my mouth?”
In that instant, a look of vulnerability flashed in her gaze and Nick’s heart muscles squeezed so hard it hurt.
She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. Nick used his thumb to remove it, then kissed her until her body went soft underneath him. He lifted his head and stared down at Maisie.
“The rest of my family isn’t just smart, they’re brilliant. I’m talking two doctors, a vet, and a lawyer.”
Nick smiled. “So? They went to school for a really long time. That makes them smarter than you?”
She shook her head, her hands curling around his back to hug him close. He liked it way too much.
“They are smarter than me, Nick. I love what I do but I went to college for a semester and it was not for me. Like, at all. It was really hard.” She whispered the last four words.
Nick shifted them so they were both on their sides, facing each other. There was something about Maisie that unlocked a part of himself he thought he’d lost. For years, the only person whose happiness mattered was Ellie’s, his sister. Then his nephew, Asher. His teammates mattered too, of course, and his friends. But there were only two people in the world he’d try to move the world for. That wasn’t what he felt for Maisie—it was way too soon—but he knew she was someone who’d be part of him. They might only have tonight, but she’d live in his mind and a little corner of his heart for good.
Nick tucked a lock of her dark hair behind her ear. “Having money doesn’t make you rich, being surrounded by people doesn’t make you popular, and having a degree doesn’t make you the smartest person in the room. You shouldn’t let the success or attributes of others diminish all that you are. There were hundreds of people at that wedding. You’re the only one whose smile wrapped itself around my lungs, making it hard to breathe. You stand out in a way others never will; you have a vibrant energy that makes the person standing next to you feel like they can do anything. And I’ve only known you half an evening.”
“What are you bad at?” One of her hands was tucked beneath her cheek. The other was resting on his arm.
“Living a bigger life,” he said, surprising himself. He didn’t talk about shit with anyone. What was the point? He had a job to do, some days it was hard, he had a life to live and some days that wasn’t all that easy. But he got to do something he loved every single day, so why the hell would he complain?
“What do you mean?” She shifted closer, the fronts of their bodies aligning.
He focused on his finger tracing its way down her neck, along her collarbone, instead of looking in her eyes.
“I keep myself contained. I don’t let a lot of people in. I’m suspicious and deliberate about who I allow into my life. It’s like I put all my ability to risk anything into one area of my life and it means I have to play it safe everywhere else. And no matter what I do, I overthink it.”
“Then I guess it’s a good thing I knocked on your door tonight,” she said with a teasing smile.
“You didn’t knock,” he reminded her, moving his hand down over her hip.
She laughed. “Because I thought it was my room.”
Nick leaned in, kissed her cheek. “Sure. You stick with your story.”
She shook her head, wound her hand around his neck, and arched in to another kiss.
When she nudged his shoulder, he lay back, his fingers flexing against her body as she slid over him.
Maisie lifted her head, her black hair curtaining her face. “How about we make it a choose-your-own-adventure-style story?”
Nick groaned, closed his eyes as she kissed him. His thoughts scattered when her tongue touched his before she whispered his name, then trailed her lips to his jaw, along his neck, sliding her body seductively downward as she touched each of his tattoos. His hands went to her hair, and he pulled her back up, fused his mouth with hers, wondering how one night would ever be enough.
Maybe it didn’t have to be.