Chapter 23
TWENTY-THREE
LIAM
Gathering her in my arms, I pull Ruby’s body close to mine. Lowering my head slightly, I touch my lips to her forehead. “I have to leave,” I murmur against her skin.
Her eyes open, finding mine, and then I watch as her lips curve up into a small smile. “You have to leave?” she asks softly.
I hum, shifting my face back slightly so that I can look into her eyes. She doesn’t seem upset, but more concerned and maybe a bit confused. Tightening my muscles around her, I pull her body a little closer, feeling her tits press against my bare chest.
“I have to go to practice—I can’t skip it. It’s an early morning weight training session before we head onto the ice.”
Her eyes widen, then her lips twitch into a smile. The expressions of concern and confusion vanish, and I’m met with understanding. It’s hot as shit, just like her. Leaning forward, I touch my mouth to hers, sliding my tongue along the seam of her lips, tasting her before I shift backward again.
“I wish I had more time,” I murmur.
“Me too,” she breathes. “But I should get up for work soon, too.”
Reluctantly, I release her before I roll out of bed. It’s the last thing I want to do, but I don’t have a choice. Standing, I walk toward the bathroom, but stop when I reach the door.
Turning my head, I look back at the bed, but I shouldn’t have. Seeing her with the sheets pulled up to her chin, her eyes lazily focused on me, her hair messy from my hands… I don’t think I’ve seen a prettier sigh in my entire life.
“When do you close up today?” I ask
She frowns, then presses her lips together before she responds. “It’s an early day. I actually close at two.”
I don’t ask her why. I don’t even care. All I know is that she’ll be finished early enough to come and see me. “Come to the practice arena. I have to be there until three. We’ll go out to dinner with the team.”
My words spill out, but for whatever reason, they are not met with the excitement that I think they should be. I open my mouth to tell her to forget the whole thing—that I’ll just come over—but then she sits up. I watch as she leans her back against the headboard, her gaze finding mine.
“Okay,” she says, dipping her chin in a single nod. “I’ll be there.”
“You don’t want to go out with the team,” I state.
It’s a guess, but I know I’m right. I watch as she sinks her teeth into the corner of her bottom lip before she arches a brow. She doesn’t respond immediately, and she watches me for a moment. Her eyes sparkle before she shrugs a shoulder.
“It’s not that I don’t want to meet them. It’s mostly because the whole thing makes me nervous.”
“Why? They’re like my family.”
Ruby stares at me for a moment, then she rises to her knees, the sheet falling from her body as she moves toward me. I find it increasingly difficult to concentrate with her naked body so close to mine, but I try.
She stops when she’s at the edge of the bed, her eyes searching mine, her lips curved up, but only in the corner. Damn, she’s cute as shit. Sexy too. And mine. I don’t know how it happened, or when it happened, but I’ve fallen for her. Head over heels.
“Liam,” she calls out. I jerk my chin toward her, waiting for her response. “I’m nervous because this is all so new. I’ve never done this before.”
I’m standing as naked as the day I was born, but that doesn’t stop me from moving directly toward her. Climbing onto the bed, I crawl toward her, wrapping my arms around her again, and pull her against me.
Lowering my head, I touch my mouth to hers in a chaste kiss. Once I break the kiss, I shift my head back slightly, look down into her eyes, and glide my hand up the center of her back.
Tangling my fingers in her hair, I search her gaze, my lips curving up into a smile as I take her in—soak her up.
I’m fucking falling for this woman.
No, I was falling.
I’m pretty sure I’ve completely fallen now.
There’s no getting back up either. Absolutely done for when it comes to her, and I’ve never been happier. Which is weird as hell, because I can’t remember a moment in my entire life where I even thought I might want to fall for just one woman, let alone that I would be happy about it if I ever did.
“Me neither, Ruby. But there’s nothing to be nervous about. They’re going to love you, and I’ll see you at three.”
She dips her chin in a single nod. “Okay,” she exhales. “Three.”
Touching my mouth to hers again, I begrudgingly release her. It takes every ounce of my self-control to walk away from her and into the bathroom to shower. I don’t want to wash her scent off my body. I wish I could carry it around all day long, but I need the splash of water to wake me up.
Once I’ve rinsed off, I step back into the bedroom and flick my gaze back to the bed. She’s fast asleep. Fucking beautiful. That’s how I leave her. Sleeping peacefully, gorgeously, and sated.