32. Do I Need to Tell You How to Hold Your Stick?
”Good morning.”That sweet voice confirms I wasn”t dreaming last night. I”ve been awake for a few minutes but too scared to move in case she wasn”t really here. I didn”t even dare open my eyes until a few seconds ago. But now those two words are all the conformation I need, so I roll over to face her.
Her hair is in a bun on top of her head. Or it was when I took her to my bed last night. There are strands hanging loose all over now. I sweep one away from her forehead and tuck it behind her ear. Then I just stare at her. The amazing girl I”ve fantasized about for the last month is inches away. And she”s wearing one of my old t-shirts. She”s only a few inches shorter than me, so it doesn”t hang like a dress the way it would on some girls. But that makes it so much hotter because it shows more of those amazing legs. ”Good morning.” I hear the smile in my voice, and it would be embarrassing if it didn”t make her smile too. I would do anything to make her smile. This has to be the afterglow people talk about. I always assumed it was bullshit, but this feeling is far from it. ”How”s your ankle? Do you need more ibuprofen? Water? Anything?”
”Didn”t you get enough of that yesterday?”
Enough taking care of her? I don”t think that”s fucking possible. ”I just want to make sure you”re comfortable.”
She kisses me. A quick press of her lips against mine that doesn”t last nearly as long as I wish it would, but the way I”m feeling this morning, no kiss would be long enough for me. ”Thank you, but I”m fine.”
I wish she really were fine because there is so much I want to do to her once she is. I knew once I started last night, it would be hell to stop. Maybe a couple of years ago, I wouldn”t have stopped. But I won”t be the one to make her ankle any worse than it already is. Even if it meant a night of agony for me.
Every time she shifted even a centimeter on the sofa last night, I felt it. All the energy from that movement went straight to my cock, and I was hard all damn night. I tried everything I could—I even mentally replayed the show I watched last week about how sauerkraut is made, for fuck”s sake. But nothing worked. I did my best to hide it from her, and I even thought at one point she didn”t notice it pressing just above the crack of her ass. Then she reached back, slipping her hand between us, and wrapped her fingers around me. She worked me for a few seconds before I stopped her. If I didn”t, I would have come right then, and I don”t want my first time with her to end up making a mess in my shorts like a fucking teenage boy who can”t control himself. Shit, I”m hard from just remembering it.
Lily props her head on her hand and watches me. The morning light brings out all the shades of brown in her tattoo. The tattoo that breaks a little of my heart every time I see it. ”Will you tell me about that?”
She goes still when she realizes what I”m looking at. ”What is there to talk about? I”m sure you already guessed why I have it.” She pulls in her lower lip and bites down.
I reach for the hand, and she lets me take it. Her head settles back on to the pillow as I pull it closer to me. I kiss the inside of her wrist and then work my fingers between hers. I need her to know that I”m here. Really here. ”You don”t have to tell me. It”s your story, so you get to choose who you tell it to. I just wondered why it”s a snake.”
Her eyes flick to our joined hands and then back to me. ”Because snakes symbolize rebirth. I obviously didn”t die, but it kinda felt like I was given a second chance maybe?”
”I”m very glad you didn”t die.” I pull her hand up and take the tip of her finger between my lips, pulling it into my mouth before letting it go. ”I don”t know what I would have eaten yesterday if you weren”t around.”
And there it is, her eye roll. ”You are both gross and stupid.”
”You didn”t think that last night.”
She shakes her head, but she smiles. I do too.
I kiss her wrist again. My lips move along the length of the covered scar. ”Why a rattlesnake?”
”People are scared of them because they don”t understand them. Rattlesnakes just want to live their lives, but when they feel threatened, they stand up for themselves. They can be fierce when they need to be. So it reminds me I could be fierce too, if I need to be.”
I look up and into those dark eyes that captured me the instant I saw them. I want to tell her she”ll never have to be fierce with me. As long as I”m around, I”ll be her fierceness. But is it too much and too soon for her? Is it for me?
”What about you?” she asks. ”Where are your tattoos? I”ve never seen them.”
”I don”t do tattoos. Hockey is the only thing I”ve ever wanted to be with me forever, and the bruises I get from being in net are enough tattoo for that.”
Under the sheet, her hand glides against my stomach until she finds the waistband of my shorts. ”Not even something you keep hidden from every one else?” She teases a finger under the elastic band.
Fuck me.My dick is so hard it hurts. ”I need a shower.”
”Want some company?” she asks.
A low moan slips out before I can stop it. I would love to soap down that body of hers and work on this erection together under a stream of hot water. I”ve certainly imagined it enough. ”You”re still supposed to stay off your foot today. Nice try.”
She flicks her hand at me.
”Don”t blame me. I didn”t twist your ankle.”
”You didn”t do a lot of things last night. Or let me do them. You don”t have to treat me like I”m broken, you know.”
”It”s not that. I just want to be careful. There will be time for everything.”
”I would have had you pack my vibrator if I knew you were a tease.”
Christ.Imagining that pretty face of hers all scrunched up as she holds the vibrator between her thighs is more than I can take right now. ”Shower.” I bolt out of the bed, keeping my back to her and my hands low so she can”t see what she”s doing to me. I think I hear her growl behind me, but I choose to believe it”s Silver, even though I just saw that he”s sound asleep in the recliner.
When I get into the shower, the water is so cold it takes my breath away, but it does nothing for the erection between my legs. It”s still throbbing, begging me to let her touch it. That won’t happen, though. Not today. I let the water pour over me until I”m shivering, and I think of everything I can to drive those images of her from my mind. Puppies, gardening shows, that damn Modern Canadian Literature class that put me to sleep every single time, no matter how much I”d slept the night before. Finally, my dick compromises. It”s still on a hair-trigger and ready to go off at the slightest provocation, but it”s no longer so hard that pulling on a pair of underwear would be like trying to force a twin-size fitted sheet onto a king-size mattress.
After I dry off, I wrap the towel around me and head back out into my bedroom. I try to keep my head down until I have both underwear and pants on. I don”t want to tempt my cock until it”s firmly held in place. But that plan goes out the window when I see her sitting on the edge of my bed. Silver is crouched in front of her. Growling. This time it really is him, and for a second panic causes my pulse to skyrocket. But then I see Pinky gripped tight in his teeth while Lily is bent over trying to take it from him. They”re just playing. My heart settles. I watch them for a minute. It seems like neither one of them wants to give in, but then Silver whips his head side-to-side, trying to shake Lily”s grip. He accidentally slams the side of his head against her injured ankle. She yips and lets go of Pinky, and I”m at her side before Silver even knows that he”s won.
”Careful. You need ice. And put that leg back up on the bed. It”s important to keep it elevated.” I lift her leg and set it on the mattress before smoothing the blanket over the top.
”Hey.” She takes my hand to still me, and her eyes work down to my waist and back, a reminder I”m only wearing a towel. ”Do I need to tell you how to hold your stick?”
I open and close my mouth several times as I try to answer her, but everything I want to say will cause me to be late for practice. If this were any other day, I wouldn”t mind, but this is the last practice before opening day. And I”m already on Coach”s list.
”Don”t look at me like that. I meant when you”re on the ice. Do I need to tell you how to do your job? No. So don”t tell me how to do mine. I”m the expert in things like this.”
I sit on the bed beside her. My hand is still in hers. ”In other words, I should keep my mouth closed?” I joke.
”I would never say that. But I will say there are better things you could be doing with that very skilled mouth.”
”Is that right?” I kiss her. It”s been less than twenty-four hours, but doing this feels so natural. Breathing, heartbeats, kissing her. They”re just things I do. And based on the way her lips open to let my tongue slip inside, it”s natural to her too.
She presses her palm flat against the center of my chest and holds it there. I know she can feel the things she”s doing to my heart. Maybe Coach wouldn”t even notice if I came in late. It”s partially his fault for that ridiculous obstacle course. But then I imagine sitting on the bench all season, watching Milo in net. ”I have to go.”
”I know.” She doesn”t drop her hand, and I don”t move.
”It”s the last practice before the season opener,” I tell her like she”s not already aware. ”I have to be there.”
”I know.” Finally, she lowers her hand, but she doesn”t take it from me. She trails it down my bare chest and stomach to my lap. It burns like she dropped a hot coal on me. ”You know you can”t tell anyone about this, right?”
I nod. ”I promise you won’t lose your job because of me. I”d never let that happen. Never. Now, let me help you downstairs and get everything set up for you. I won”t be gone long. I won”t stay for cooldown or any treatment afterwards. Right home.”
”You”ll actually let me walk this morning and not carry me like some arrogant caveman?”
I stand and hold out my hand like I”m going to help her up, but before she can react, I lift her and fling her over my shoulder. ”Good point. It”s much safer for you this way.”
”I hate you!” She screams as she slaps my back. ”I am so going to get back at you for this.”
”You can try.” I carry her down the stairs to the sofa. Her face is red, but it”s from laughter. I give her the run through of where everything is. It”s a short day today for me and I hope I”ll be back before she needs anything, but I want her to feel comfortable helping herself while I”m gone. Once she assures me, again, that she”ll be fine, I set the crutches beside her, and I run up the stairs to slip into a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. When I head back down, I grab Silver”s leash and lead him out to the car. I figure she doesn”t need to worry about him today, so I”m taking him to the arena with me. He can watch practice, and I”m sure one of the trainers or someone from the office will take him out for a bathroom break halfway through.
As soon as I walk through the door to the dressing room, everyone looks up at me, demanding an update on Lily. Then they all turn to Silver, and he laps it up. I drop his leash, and he struts from stall to stall getting pets and love from one person before moving on to the next. It reminds me of a king visiting his subjects and expecting them to adore him. Everyone does.
”Hey, is it alright if I take Lily”s dog out real quick?” The Princeling asks once Silver has made the rounds. ”He might need to use the bathroom, you know.”
”Dude, you”re already dressed,” Kayden says. ”And we have to be on the ice in like thirty seconds. Besides, as captain, I should be the one who gets to spend time with Lily”s dog.”
Elijah finishes helping me stretch, and I lean back against the concrete wall. ”You”re both idiots,” I say. ”We all need to be out on the ice. Elijah?” I hand the leash to him. ”Would you take care of Silver during practice? He just went potty before we came inside, so he should be good.”
He beams like I gave him an award, and then he takes Silver outside like he didn”t just hear me.
The rest of the team grumbles because I didn”t pick them, but one by one they head out to the ice until it”s just me and Kayden. I finish strapping on the last of my pads and look up. He”s standing over me, so I know he wants to say something. ”What is it?”
”Just never seen you like this before.”
”Late to practice and slow to get on the ice?” I shouldn”t have gone back inside to give Lily one last kiss goodbye after I loaded Silver into my car.
”Happy. You were humming as you laced your skates. Does this mean what I think it means?”
My cheeks burn, and I wish I could pull my mask down without that making it even more obvious. ”Kayden,” I warn him off with my growl.
”Holy fuck, dude!” He grabs the front of my jersey and shakes me. ”You and?—”
”Shut up! I mean it, Kayden. She could lose her job if the wrong person found out.”
He shakes his head. ”You know she wouldn”t. No one here would care. We”re not like that. But I won”t say a word. If you don”t get that stupid ass smile off your face, though, they”ll all know whether I tell them or not.”
Fuck. I try to make myself scowl. It takes more concentration than it should, and when I look at Kayden to see what he thinks, he just laughs and heads out to practice.