40 - Grayson
Grayson
I roll over, scraping a hand across my face and immediately flinching when I pass over the bruise darkening half my jaw.
God, that fucking hurts.
That’s exactly why I don’t get in fights on the ice. Well, that, and the fact that being suspended is my worst nightmare. A nightmare that I have to face today when they pass down my ruling.
Three games or more.
I’ve spent my entire career preaching discipline and composure to my team, and then I lose my mind in the middle of one of the most important games yet.
A groan slips out of my lips.
Last night had started out as one of the worst nights of my life. And yet, somehow, even with my impending suspension, it had ended as one of the best.
I peek an eye open, watching the morning light spill through the gap in the curtain and paint Avery in a soft golden light.
She’s curled against my side with one arm thrown across my stomach, the same way she’d wrapped around me last night when we went to bed.
I love you.
She’d said it, but the words still don’t feel real. I don’t think they will for a while.
Carefully, I lift her arm and start sliding out of bed, but I hardly make it an inch before she makes a sleepy sound.
“No.”
A smile tugs at my mouth.
“No?”
Her eyes stay closed. “Stay here.”
“I was going to make breakfast.”
“You’re not allowed right now.” She blindly reaches for me and catches my wrist. “You’re comfy.”
I try to pull out of her grasp, but it’s surprisingly strong for someone who’s barely awake.
“I wasn’t asking.”
“Neither was I.” She opens one eye, then sighs dramatically. “You can’t look like that when you just woke up. It pisses me off.”
“My face is bruised.”
“I know. But with the glasses and the bed head, it just makes it hotter. And you’re not allowed to be hot right now.”
I chuckle, and she scowls.
God.
I’m so fucking gone for this woman.
I settle back against the mattress.
Immediately, she climbs halfway on top of me like she’s worried I’ll try escaping again. Her cheek presses against me, and I wrap an arm around her automatically.
She groans in annoyance, and I lean down to kiss her forehead.
“What’s going on in that head of yours, Chaos?”
She tilts her head up to look at me, glaring. “I’m supposed to be mad at you.”
I quirk an eyebrow at her. “Oh, really?”
“No. I am mad at you.” Avery reaches up and traces her thumb across the bruise on my jaw, then she leans forward and kisses the corner of my mouth. “You outed us to our friends without talking to me. That’s not okay.”
My grip tightens around her. “You’re right.”
“I’m furious.” Another kiss along my jaw.
“Uh-huh.” I swallow.
“And you told them about Damon.” She kisses the tip of my nose. “You shouldn’t have done that.”
My head bends toward her to kiss her, but she pulls back and smiles.
I bite my lower lip. “You’re right, Chaos.”
She leans forward, kissing my neck. “And you got in a fight when you shouldn’t have.” She trails another kiss further up my neck. “I’m so angry.”
“You should be,” I say, trying again to find her lips, but she doesn’t let me. “You’re right.”
Her eyes glint as she sits up further, now straddling me as my hands shift to her hips. “Say it again.”
I roll my eyes, then immediately freeze when she pulls the shirt off over her head. “You’re right.”
A smile stretches across her face, but she shakes her head. “The other thing.”
My face mirrors hers.
“I love you,” I say, the words coming easier every time I say them out loud.
“I’m so mad at you,” she says, digging her fingernails in as she drags them down my chest.
“And I love you.”
“I’m absolutely livid.”
She shifts to slide her panties off one leg at a time, and my cock might’ve already been hard, but now it’s practically painful as it strains against my boxers.
“And I love you.”
“Just irate.” She slides my boxers down my legs.
“And I love you,” I growl when she wraps her hands around my length, tugging just enough to make me desperate.
“You love me,” she says, stroking me again.
I nod my head, a whimper slipping from between my lips.
“I love you, too,” she says, shifting up and lining herself up with my cock, before sliding down torturously slow onto me.
I’ve never loved hearing those three words more in my life, my entire body thrumming at the way they fall off her lips.
Who knows what the hell is going to happen with hockey, but I already know getting Avery Holt to love me is the biggest achievement of my life.
She lifts her hips and slides back down onto me, and I almost come right then and there. She purses her lips. “Grayson, baby, you don’t get to come until I do.”
Then she does it again, harder. I’m so fucking close it’s unreal. I close my eyes, head shifting back on the pillow, and she stops moving altogether.
“Fucking hell, baby,” I murmur. “Are you trying to kill me?”
I slide my hands up her sides, cupping her breasts as she starts moving again.
She licks her bottom lip. “Maybe I’m just teaching you a lesson.”
I shift up, sucking a nipple into my mouth while she rides me at a pace just slow enough to keep me on edge.
“Feels more like a reward,” I tease, wrapping my arms around her and flipping us in one fluid motion.
Her eyes widen, but her hands dig into my shoulders, pulling me closer. My hips move on instinct, thrusting into her at the rhythm that never seems to fail at getting her close.
“You’re so fucking perfect,” I groan into her neck.
She moans, pulling my hair until my head tilts back far enough that our lips finally find each other, tongues frantically twirling together as we move together. It’s always like this with us; a delicious push-and-pull that I’m positive I could never possibly tire of.
“I need you,” she mumbles in the breaks between kisses.
I kiss her again, thrusting into her harder. “You have me. All of me.”
Her eyes open, focusing on me with a softness that I couldn’t have fathomed having been directed my way only months ago.
“I love you,” she says, her palms sliding to my cheeks, holding my face.
I slide my hand between us, fingers working her clit in slow circles until I feel her tightening around me.
“I love you, too,” I whisper, kissing her again.
The orgasm rocks through her, and I thrust once more, following right behind her.
I collapse onto my side, but she turns with me, our bodies still pressed together as we kiss lazily. Our hands venture out in a lazy exploration of each other’s skin as if we can’t resist the contact.
She stays tucked against my side, tracing lazy circles over my ribs with the tips of her fingers. They’re absent-minded movements, but they’ve become my favorite kind. The kind that doesn’t ask for anything. The kind that simply says she’s here.
“So,” she murmurs.
“So?”
Her fingers still. “Are you okay?”
I don’t have to ask what she means.
Hockey.
The question hangs between us longer than it should.
“No,” I finally answer, staring at the ceiling. “I’m pissed. I let everyone down. I keep replaying it in my head, wondering why I didn’t just walk away."
Her hand finds mine beneath the blankets, threading our fingers together.
“But,” I continue, squeezing her hand once, “The damage is already done, so I can either feel sorry for myself or accept the consequences and do better next time.”
She kisses my shoulder, her eyes watching me with an openness that’s new. “They’re lucky to have you.”
I huff a laugh. “They might disagree after yesterday.”
“They don’t.”
The certainty in her voice settles somewhere deep inside my chest.
The suspension will come, and headlines will be tragic, but Avery’s looking at me as if none of it matters, and I push myself to borrow a little of that perspective.
“You know,” she says thoughtfully, “I actually think we have a much more terrifying situation to deal with.”
Every muscle in my body tenses. “What?”
She blinks innocently. “We have to face our friends.”
I stare at her, exhaling loudly. She bursts into laughter, the sound filling the room.
“They’re going to be a pain in the ass,” I say.
“Unbearable.”
I groan dramatically, throwing my forearm over my eyes. “I can hear Liam already.”
“Oh, he’s going to be unbearable. He’s going to think you’re kidnapping his soulmate."
“I’ve already kidnapped his soulmate.”
She gasps. “Grayson Shaw. Did you finally admit to kidnapping me?”
I snort. “I’ve been kidnapping you for months.”
She laughs harder as I make a face.
I add, “Other than Liam, Nathan will be fine, and Wyatt will pretend he doesn’t care.”
“Wesley’s going to demand a complete timeline.”
“Sloane’s never letting us live this down. She’s been like a dog with a bone since I met her.”
“And Harper’s probably already planned our wedding.”
I peek at her. “A wedding?”
“Don’t you get a single idea.”
I laugh, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want exactly that eventually.
She bites the inside of her cheek. “They’ll be completely insufferable and equally thrilled.”
That makes me smile despite myself.
She watches me for a second before brushing her thumb over the bruise on my jaw again. Finally, I throw the blankets back and swing my legs over the edge of the bed. She immediately wraps both arms around my waist from behind.
“No.”
I laugh. “Chaos.”
“Five more minutes.”
“If I give you five minutes, it’ll become fifty.”
“...Correct.”
I turn, hooking an arm beneath her knees and another behind her back. Before she realizes what I’m doing, I lift her clean off the mattress. She lets out a surprised squeal, instinctively wrapping herself around me.
“Grayson!”
“What?”
“I wasn’t done.”
I gasp dramatically, eyes widening. “Damn, I must be doing that kidnapping thing again.”
Still carrying her, I walk into the bathroom and flick on the shower. The pipes groan before water begins cascading against the tile, steam slowly curling through the room. Avery rests her chin on my shoulder, watching the water.
“I really don’t want to deal with hockey today,” I admit.
“I really don’t want to deal with our friends either,” she echoes.
The shower continues to fill the room with warmth. I watch the steam blur our reflections in the mirror before turning toward her, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. I lean my forehead against hers.
“We could hide here a little longer,” she whispers.
“For the last time,” I murmur, “before we let the rest of the world in.”
She nods once.
And for a little while longer, it’s just us.