Chapter 23
If someone had told me I’d be passing an English class with a B+ and getting regular naked time with my coach’s daughter this semester, I’d have assumed I’d been knocked unconscious during a game. After several weeks of living my best life, I had to accept reality for what it was.
Avery made everything better.
Case in point, after Henry woke us all up at four a.m. by quacking incessantly in the hallway until Eva let her into the backyard, I was dragging ass this morning. Until I walked over to Market Coffee and spotted a long-legged beauty with dark red lips sprawled across two patio chairs in the sun.
Warmish weather had returned after a couple of blustery, cold days, and I’d wanted to get some sun before I spent the rest of the afternoon at the rink for a game. I shouldn’t have been surprised to find her there. The café was closer to her house than mine.
I turned my ballcap backwards to get the full view of Avery tipped back in her chair, smiling, with her eyes closed. She was beautiful. Always—but especially right now with her guard lowered. It didn’t matter what she wore, I’d do anything to keep that look of contentment on her face.
A book lay open on her lap with two more stacked on the table, and earbuds peeked out from her dark hair. I wanted to grip the back of her neck and hold her still while I kissed her senseless, but we had to be careful. Our relationship—whatever it was—wasn’t public knowledge. She wasn’t ready to admit her feelings were serious, and I wasn’t ready to explain to her father how well I was taking care of his daughter.
I also didn’t want to startle her.
Instead, I pulled out the chair next to her and stretched out my legs to bump her knee. Avery gasped and sat up, then relaxed again when she spotted me. Her lips curved into a secret smile as she removed her earbuds.
I studied the faint flush on her cheeks and wondered if it was from the sun or if I’d interrupted something more interesting than I’d expected. “Fancy seeing you here, city girl.”
Her eyes narrowed at my innocent tone. “Yes, what a coincidence that I’ve been coming here for months and haven’t seen you once until today.”
I shrugged. “Weird.”
She picked up the book from her lap, and I read half the title on the cover before she set it on the table with the others. “The billionaire’s what?”
“Accidental bride.”
I chuckled as I turned the stack to read the other titles. “The True Story of Alex Little?”
“The alias of a lesser-known crime boss based in Dallas in the 1970s. There’s speculation he may have been a porn star as well as a hitman.”
My brows rose. “Wow. He needs to work on his porn star name. I thought you listened to romance.”
“I like true crime and smut.”
“I’m not surprised one bit. You’ve been solving non-existent crimes since I met you.” I nodded at the earbuds in her hand. “Which is that one?”
She grinned. “Smut.”
“Naughty girl,” I murmured. “In public and everything.”
“I’m a proponent of normalizing female sexuality in the world at large. One romance novel at a time.”
I grabbed the billionaire book and flipped through the pages absently until I landed on a sex scene that had my imagination going into overdrive. “Tonight, when you come over to study, bring your book.”
Her eyes flicked to the couple of lines I’d just read, then back to my face. “Why?”
I held her gaze, full of promise, and smiled slowly. “I want to practice with something more interesting.”
Wildcat hockey wason fire for the last few weeks, no thanks to me and my incessant need to search the stands for dark hair and darker lips curled into a smirk. Avery never sat in the same section twice, but I knew she was there, somewhere.
Coach didn’t mention my distraction in any overt way, but he raised a brow at me as I skated off the ice after the game, covered in sweat and already anticipating Avery coming over. I’d gotten used to the squirmy feeling in the pit of my stomach from talking to Coach while thinking about his daughter naked.
Reece bumped into me from behind, coming around one side to flank me with Gavin. My roommates didn’t say anything either, but they were at least aware of the reason for my suddenly inconsistent play. I should probably thank them for covering—both during the games and every time Avery came over.
Later.
With Eva coming to the games now, we’d had to start taking two cars, and today, I’d volunteered to drive on my own. Mostly because I didn’t want to wait for Reece’s slow ass to primp.
Avery stayed over most game nights, and to my surprise, Coach never asked about her. I could only assume she’d come up with an excuse, but I doubted she’d told him she was staying at our place.
Her car was already parked on the street when I got there. I parked behind her and got out with a smile I couldn’t contain, but it faded when I noticed her sitting on the stoop staring at her phone with a frown.
I left my gear in the trunk and hurried over to her. “Everything okay?”
Avery gave me a weak smile. “Spam texts. Annoying, right?”
Something in her tone was off, but I trusted her to ask if she wanted help. She stood, leaning into me for a soft kiss.
“Good game tonight.”
I rested my hands on her hips, desperately trying to keep things PG for Mrs. Lipnicki, who would definitely be watching. “But…” I prodded her.
She smiled against my mouth. “But if you keep looking at the stands the other team’s going to take advantage. Doesn’t matter how pretty your stick handling is if you can’t find the puck.”
I grunted. “Harsh but fair.”
“Story of my life,” she said. “Come on, farm boy, I have plans for your naked body that don’t involve your elderly neighbor calling the cops.”
Avery pulled away to open the front door, but I had a better idea.
“Hold on. I want to show you something. Stay here for a second.”
She sent me a confused look as I took her messenger bag and darted past her into the house. I did a quick circle of my room to drop off her bag, upstairs bathroom for towels, then back down and out the door. Avery hadn’t moved.
I caught her hand and tugged her off the porch toward the sidewalk. “This way.”
She frowned. “Cole, if you’ve waited this long to murder me, well done, but if you’re not suddenly revealing yourself as a serial killer, I can’t think of a single thing within walking distance more interesting than what your bedroom has to offer.”
She wasn’t wrong, but she was still all up in her head. “Ever been skinny dipping?”
“No…?” She dragged the word out into a question and stared at me suspiciously.
I chuckled. “There’s nothing like being naked under the stars.”
“Cole, it’s February.”
“It’s a warm February.”
“Not at night, it isn’t.”
I slowed to a stop as we came around the backside of our street to the pond in the center of all the houses. It was big enough for there to be a little pier for fishing, though I doubted there was anything more than guppies in there. A concrete trail circled the water, but a good portion of it was blocked by a copse of trees on the far side. There were no lights, though the moon was plenty bright.
She let me lead her to the pier, where I dropped the towels and pulled my long-sleeve over my head. “You don’t have to go in. I get that new things can be scary. No shame staying in your comfort zone.”
Avery narrowed her eyes. “No shame, huh?”
I grinned, knowing I had her at least half way. “I said what I said. This is where Henry’s duck friends live. I’m not sure why she’s never tried to get over here considering she can fly. Then again, maybe she doesn’t realize she can fly.”
Avery snorted out a laugh. “You need to get your duck in a row.”
“Can one duck make a row?” I countered, drawing her closer to the dark, murky water.
She eyed my naked chest. “I’m sure Henry would demand a row all to herself.”
“Henry knows what she wants.” I dropped my sweats and undies, and I might have flexed a little as her gaze traveled over me.
My muscles were sore from playing a grueling game before this, but I wanted to get her mind off whatever was bothering her. If that meant freezing my balls off in front of all my neighbors, I’d do it with a smile.
I jumped off the pier and tried not to cry like a baby when my entire body tensed up at the impact with the cold water. Skinny-dipping was a staple of my youth, but we’d been much farther south… and we didn’t go in February.
Avery choked out a laugh when I surfaced, but at least she was grinning. “Are you insane?”
“Your turn, city girl.”
She shook her head. “I’m not getting naked with you in questionable water.”
“You don’t have to get naked. I’d obviously prefer it for a genuine skinny-dipping experience, but your undies are good enough.”
“And when we put on a show for the neighbors because you can’t keep your hands off me?”
“Baby, your state of undress has nothing to do with me wanting my hands on you at all times.”
She straightened and gripped the hem of her shirt, then hesitated. “It’s safe to swim in?”
“It’s safe. I wouldn’t bring you here if you could get hurt.”
My answer must have appeased her because she shed her clothes and set them in a neat pile. I watched her, happy she was comfortable enough with me to not only try something new, but to do it naked. My chest ached with pride—and need.
“The water feels good,” I lied, beckoning her toward me.
We may have been in the middle of an unseasonal warm stretch, but the water was still fucking cold. If Avery was concerned about putting on a show for the neighbors, she had nothing to worry about. I wasn’t even sure I could find my dick at this point.
Avery grinned, mischievous in the moonlight, before running down the tiny pier and launching herself into the water next to me.
She surfaced with a sputter. “Fuck, that’s cold.”
I laughed as I pulled her against me, wet skin slipping and sliding until she wrapped her legs around my waist. My dick went from frozen to half mast, and I had to admit I was wrong. We were definitely going to put on a show for the neighbors.
Avery tucked her hands between us and rested her head on my shoulder to stare up at the smattering of stars above us. “You were right. It’s beautiful out here. Though I’m still not convinced we had to get naked in a freezing cold pond to enjoy it.”
“It’s about the experience.”
“Well, I wouldn’t want to experience this with anyone but you,” she said softly.
“Same, city girl.” I rubbed her back, content to hold her as the night settled around us. Water lapped at the shore, and an owl hooted from the trees.
We talked for a while about whatever crossed our minds, but when she started shivering slightly, I got her out of the water and over to the towels I’d tossed by the pier. Avery hopped from foot to foot drying off, then quickly put on her clothes. In a show of masculine strength, I tried to be chill about the goosebumps and blue lips, but Avery snapped her wet towel at me.
“Hurry it up, farm boy. You’re no use to me if you’re a popsicle.”
I pulled up my sweats, grabbed the rest of my clothes in a fist, and sprinted at her. Her mouth formed an O, and she hesitated a precious second before whirling to run for the house. I’d have caught her without the hesitation, but she barely made it four steps before I swept her up and over my shoulder with one arm.
“Cole, put me down,” she gasped.
“Not going to happen.” I spread my hand over her ass to keep her steady. “I’m about to show you how much use I can be.”
I took her through the gate into the dark backyard. The lack of gear meant the guys and Eva hadn’t made it home yet. Sometimes they went out to eat after, but I had no way to know since my phone was inside. Instead of going into the house, I made a beeline for the wrought iron table Eva had put out here.
When I leaned forward, Avery slid off my shoulder, but she didn’t go far. I caught her ass and set her on the edge of the table, stepping between her legs. The clothes and towels I carried ended up in the dirt because she was right—I couldn’t keep my hands off her.
I cupped the back of her neck and kissed her like I’d wanted to when I first got home. She devoured me back, nipping at my bottom lip. Despite the layers of clothes between us, I tilted my hips forward and rubbed my cock against her clit.
Avery whimpered with every slow stroke, and her eyes drifted closed as she shifted forward to add her own friction. I took advantage of the position to pay homage to the hard nipples clearly visible through the thin material of her shirt.
She hadn’t bothered to put on her bra or panties, and I told myself we’d go skinny-dipping again during the summer when I’d show her how fun the water could be. I’d take her to Grandpa’s farm and make love to her under the endless stars on the bluff at the edge of his land. I’d convince her to stay every night at my place so I could worship her body and sleep with her in my arms.
I’d keep her with me forever if she’d let me.
Avery was mine in every way that counted, and I wanted the world to see it. In my haze, I sucked hard on her neck, fully intending to leave a mark. She hooked a hand behind my head and held me closer, urging me on.
Even with my control all but gone, I had enough restraint left to offer her a choice. “Here or inside?”
“Here,” she breathed, without hesitation.
It didn’t take more than a second to get us naked again. I set her feet on the ground and flipped her around, gently bending her over the table.
“Face down, ass up, Avery.”
“Thought you’d never ask,” she teased.
I trailed my fingers up her bare back to her hair, then gripped a handful and pulled just enough to make her arch up.
“I’m not asking,” I growled into her ear.
She was soaking wet, and she let out a low groan when I slowly pushed into her. We’d ditched the condoms weeks ago after exchanging tests, and I never got tired of feeling her squeeze me from the inside skin to skin.
It was always like this with her. Soft, sweet, perfect, then we’d ignite and everything else would disappear except the flames. I came with her shuddering underneath me after two orgasms.
Avery started laughing as she straightened. “It’s a good thing none of your roommates came home early.”
I curled an arm around her, pulling her naked body against me so I could kiss her. “It wouldn’t have stopped me.”
“I know,” she agreed, resting a hand on my chest. “We should go inside, or at least put on some clothes.”
“I’m barely vertical over here. My legs keep buckling.”
“Poor baby,” she murmured. “We should get you upstairs and into bed.”
My dick twitched at the promise in her tone, and I quickly grabbed the pile of clothes at our feet. “For you, anything.”
Avery smiled like I was joking, but I was completely serious. She’d been my dream girl from the beginning, and the closer she let me get, the more I wanted. No amount of time with her was ever enough.
I couldn’t tell her though, not yet. She’d run the other way. But I was known for being relentless on the ice, and I could be patient until she was ready.