Chapter 18
EIGHTEEN
ALEX
Lainey’s eyes shutter. She regards me warily the same as she did two weeks ago. I want to wipe that expression away. I’ll protect her from everything if she’ll let me.
“Look at me,” I urge. “I realized something last week. Do you like me?”
“What? I thought we were only pretending,” she says in a small voice that makes me want to wrap her in my arms and never let go. “Until you kissed me for real. But I’ve heard about your reputation, I thought—”
“No. That’s not why I kissed you.” I blow out a breath.
I have to tell her this to make her understand what I’m trying to say.
“At first, yeah. I just thought if word got around I was your boyfriend, people would leave you alone. I never made time for girlfriends because hockey is the majority of my life. I had no idea it was like this. I mean, I felt like I’d lost it because all I could think about was you. ”
Her lips part as I grab my chest. I’m not done.
“I like you. In case you didn’t notice, I’m kind of obsessed with you.” I release another unsteady exhale. “Do you remember when I spent a week at your place before summer training camp?”
“Yeah.”
“I got up in the middle of the night for a drink and you were in the kitchen. You had a book under your arm and an old Flyers hoodie on.” Her cheeks turn pink. I hold her shoulders. “I really wanted to kiss you then.”
Lainey’s eyes widen. “You did?”
“Hell yeah. God, you looked hot in nothing but that hoodie.”
“I didn’t know you were watching.” She ducks her head, then hesitates before resting her hands on my chest. “Why would you like someone like me?”
“I like you because we fit. Just like this.”
Dropping a hand to grasp her waist, I tug her against me. She emits a cute little noise of surprise. I brush my knuckles along her cheek.
“We might seem like opposites, but it’s what makes us click together like puzzle pieces.
I like that you get excited about your books and how hard you work.
When you’re shy and stick close to my side, I like being the guy who gets to be your buffer between you and the world.
It makes me feel good to protect you.” I take her chin between my fingers and hover my mouth over hers.
“And I really like the way you sound screaming my name when you come for me. That’s when you know how to be loud. Just for me.”
Air rushes past her lips and her lashes flutter. She sways against me.
“Alex,” she whispers thickly.
“Yeah, sweetheart?”
“I like you.”
“Good,” I say with the same conviction as earlier. “Because I want to be your boyfriend. No more pretending.”
Lainey gets what I mean this time. She grabs me by the lapels and pulls me down for a kiss. I smile into it, locking my arms around her. I could kiss her all night.
Her laugh breaks us apart. She hides her face against my chest.
I squeeze her nape, enjoying the easy access with her hair braided in a crown. “What is it?”
She shakes her head. I press my lips to the top of her head, finally taking in the room. The decorations are great and people are enjoying themselves.
“You’re amazing,” I murmur. “Look at this place.”
The praise gets her to peek up from my chest. “It came out better than I hoped.”
“You worked your ass off for this. Let’s go enjoy it.” Tipping my head to the dance floor, I lift my brows in question. “Dance with me?”
She blinks. “You know how to dance?”
An amused huff leaves me. “Don’t underestimate all the ways coach likes to make us train. We do all kinds of stuff to hone our coordination.”
Lainey slips her hand in mine and I lead her to the dance floor, giving her a twirl through the fog hovering above the floor. My girl looks stunning, the layers of her black gown fanning out. Tugging her back to me, I tuck her against me and rest my hand at the small of her back.
A warm ember burns bright within me, encasing my heart in light whenever she smiles. After dancing, we do the photo booth. She picks out a crown made of crystals. I lift her in my arms like a princess, enjoying the way she clings to me.
When the night winds down, I trace her spine and bring my mouth to her ear. “Want to sneak away?”
“I was going to help the volunteers that are cleaning up,” she says.
“Let them handle it.” She shivers when I kiss the spot below her ear. “I want to hear you say my name. Actually, I want to hear you scream it knowing you’re mine.”
She smothers a gasp. “Alex.”
“That’s a start.” My teeth graze her neck and my mouth curves at the tiny sound that escapes her. “We could hit up the library.”
“Oh my god. No.” She swats at me, then takes my hand to pull me toward the table with her flowers on our way out.
My chuckle echoes in the hall outside the room, the music muffled the further we move away from the dance. It’s a shorter walk to the hockey house from this side of campus, but I don’t want to bring her there for this. I want her all to myself with no chance of interruptions.
On the way to her dorm, I shrug out of my suit jacket and drape it over her bare shoulders. She flashes me a grateful smile that I have to kiss. She giggles when I do.
When we make it to her dorm I sit on the bed, watching her set her flowers on the desk before slipping off her shoes and gloves.
“Come here.” I pat my thigh. “Let me help you out of your dress.”
Lainey stops just out of my reach. She bites her lip.
“What is it?”
She sighs. “When we’ve fooled around before, I—You really want this?”
I shoot to my feet and snag her hand. “Yes. Fuck, you have no idea how much I want you.” I run my fingers through my hair.
“I’ve only ever had sex without strings.
I’ve never been so consumed by a girl until you.
I’ve been trying to go slow with you because I wanted it to mean something more when we did this. ”
The trepidation clears from her face and she lifts her small hand to cup my jaw. “Fresh start?”
“Yeah.” The corner of my mouth lifts. “I’m claiming more of your firsts tonight. They’re all going to be mine, baby.”
Her eyes gleam. “You can have all of my firsts.”
I capture her mouth in a kiss that starts slow, then heats up fast. Fumbling for the zipper on her dress without breaking away, I manage to drag it down while she loosens my tie and unbuttons my shirt.
She presses her body against mine and with a rough noise, I lift her by her waist and lower her to the bed.
Ditching my shoes and pants, I crawl over her until I’m settled between her luscious thighs. I watch her face when I grind my cock against her, only the thin barriers of our underwear separating us.
Lainey tips her head back with a gasp. “Oh.”
“Like that?”
She hums, giving me a little nod. “More.”
“I’ll give you everything you want, baby.”
Kissing a trail down her throat, I peel the cups of her bra down, closing my lips around a nipple. The noise she makes is my new favorite. I rock my hips into her while my tongue teases her tits. Her nails dig into my shoulders and she moves with me until she freezes.
“You come for me, sweetheart?” I rasp against her flushed skin, giving her other nipple the same treatment. “You get off with just my cock rubbing against your clit?”
Lainey wraps her legs around my hips. “Yes. I want to feel you for real.”
I lean up to kiss her, then get up to find a condom in my pants and strip off my briefs. When I turn around, I find her naked and waiting on the bed.
“Fuck, you’re beautiful.”
The flush I love so much spreads across her chest. I finish putting the condom on and stroke a wisp of hair that came loose from her braid off her face.
Once I’m in position between her legs, I thread our fingers and pin her hand to the bed beside her head. She looks so fucking gorgeous spread out for me.
“Hold on for me. Don’t let go.”
“Okay.”
I go slow, captivated by the look on her face while my cock sinks inside her pussy inch by inch. She’s hot and tight—fuck, her body grips me like a vice. It’s tighter than when I had my fingers stuffed in her last night, her body stretching to fit my length.
Her chest heaves and a wrinkle appears on her forehead. I want to smooth it away.
“You doing okay?”
“You’re just—big,” she pushes out with another gasp. “I feel so full.”
My head hangs and I restrain myself before I ram inside her. “Shit, babe. Don’t tell me that right now, or I’m going to come. You feel so good.”
I kiss her to distract myself from the heat shooting through my dick. When she gives me permission to move with a nod, I groan against her swollen mouth.
Keeping a slow pace, I drag my cock out, then make her take every inch again. She bites her lip and arches for me. I bury my face into her neck, finding all her sensitive spots while I fuck her with steady, sharp thrusts that make her breath hitch.
“That’s it, sweetheart. You take my cock so well,” I rumble.
She moans, thighs squeezing my sides. “Alex.”
The next snap of my hips hits her harder, my cock throbbing. “Again.”
“Alex,” she cries louder.
“Yes, baby. Scream my name.” Reaching between us, I stroke her clit. “Tell the world you’re mine.”
When she does, I bite out a curse and bury my cock in her pussy as my orgasm spirals through me. I keep moving my hips and petting her clit until she shudders again, then pull out and collapse next to her in the tiny bed.
I prop my head on my palm and trace her heart-shaped lips. She smiles, kissing my fingertips. Flashing me a devious glance, she flicks her tongue out to taste them.
“Careful, or I’m going to keep going until you’re wrecked.”
Her lashes flutter and her brown eyes flare with desire. “Did you borrow that line from the book?”
I smirk. “Maybe.” I tug on her lower lip with my thumb, then tuck the loose strands of her hair behind her ear. “Are you okay?”
“More than,” she says.
I give her a soft kiss before getting up to take care of the condom.
When I return to the bed, I pull her against me and spend a long time kissing her until she’s breathless.
My cock twitches against my thigh, but I’m not in a rush.
Drowsiness claims her first, her head resting on my shoulder when she dozes off.
Laying with Lainey in my arms, I make a change to the future I’ve been chasing. When I make it to the NHL, I know my girl will be with me.