Chapter 26
“Wait, so you’re telling me that Connor is afraid of feet?” Sophia and Niko are both keeled over the table laughing hysterically. I nearly had wine come out of my nose when Sophia let me in on that little secret.
Niko wipes under his eyes that are now wet with tears from laughing so hard. “Yep. You should see how uncomfortable he gets in the locker room. It’s fu—freaking hilarious.” Niko stops himself from cussing. He’s already had to contribute three dollars into the swear jar during dinner.
The thought of Connor, an arguably extremely handsome, grumpy hockey player, being afraid of bare feet is something I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around.
He’s so quiet. Picturing him screaming and running away from bare feet in a locker room has me joining in on Sophia and Niko’s laugh session.
“I need to see it with my own eyes. Can we please make this happen somehow?”
Sophia looks over at her dad. “Maybe Uncle Connor can come over for dessert?”
“Nice try, sweetheart. But it’s already past your bedtime.” He ruffles Sophia’s hair, and she groans.
“Is Miss Sadie sleeping here tonight?”
The question causes Niko and I both to pause. It’s such an innocent question. A valid one too. I agreed to move into the apartment attached to the garage but Niko and I haven’t discussed the details yet.
I reach over and grab Sophia’s hand. “Not tonight, Sophia. I still need to pack up my things. But I’ll be here tomorrow to hang out with you during your dad’s game. How does that sound?”
Sophia seems to think it over for a moment, tilting her head back and forth as if she’s undecided. Niko pretends to scratch his face, doing his best to hide his smile.
“That sounds good. Can you read me a bedtime story tonight?”
“Sophia.” Niko’s tone is firm. He has the whole “dad voice” thing down, I’ll give him that.
“I don’t mind. If it’s okay with you.”
Sophia’s eyes are pleading and her hands are clasped under her chin as she silently begs her dad to say yes.
“Fine. One story tonight, Sophia.”
She bounces her head up and down and jumps out of her chair. I stand and start to clean up my place setting but Niko stops me.
“I got the dishes. You get the girl. Deal?”
He makes his way over to me and when he grabs the plate, our hands brush ever so lightly. The small amount of contact is enough to quicken my pulse.
“Deal.” I give Niko a smile and then follow Sophia up the steps.
Hopefully I can calm these fraying nerves by the end of one bedtime story.
I did, in fact, have enough time to calm down. Sophia must’ve asked a hundred questions to prolong bedtime, and a half hour later I’m just now closing the door to her room.
“She picked Eloise didn’t she?” Niko’s voice startles me, and I bring my hand to my chest, my heart pounding vigorously against it.
I find him leaning against the opposite wall, arms across his chest, feet crossed at the ankles, his crutch leaning beside him. He is so effortlessly handsome I still can’t believe Claire let him get away.
“Goodness gracious. You scared the crap out of me!” I whisper-hiss at him.
Niko laughs quietly and then grabs his crutch before pushing himself off the wall. “Sorry. I was going to tell Sophia to move things along but I was enjoying listening to you two. Hope she wasn’t too much trouble.”
“Not at all.”
We stand together in the hallway, the silence stretching between us. I really don’t want this night to end so I don’t make a move to go down the stairs to leave. Niko scratches the back of his neck, his only tell that he might be feeling nervous right now. That makes two of us.
“I know bedtime took longer than expected, but I was wondering if you’d still like to join me out on the patio for that glass of wine? We can talk about your plans for moving in and get everything squared away before I travel with the team in a few days.”
Oh, thank god.
“Yes!” It comes out louder and more excited than I intend, and Niko laughs. “I mean, I’d love to.”
He places his hand on my lower back and ushers me to lead the way down the steps.
When I walk outside to his back patio, I’m in awe of the scene that greets me.
The patio is lit up by Edison bulb string lights and there’s a giant fireplace in the center of the space that Niko must’ve lit.
An outdoor couch is placed directly in front of the fire with the comfiest looking knit blanket just waiting to be snuggled up in.
On the coffee table in front of the couch are two glasses of red wine.
“You were pretty confident I would say yes, huh?” I tease.
Niko shoots me a devastating smile. “Not confident. Hopeful.”
There go the butterflies that have taken residence in my stomach these days. Constantly fluttering about whenever I’m near Niko. I bite my lip to try to hide my smile.
Niko’s hand brushes the small of my back. It’s barely there, the lightest of touches, but enough to make my skin ache.
I make my way to the couch and sit down first. Niko hands me a glass of wine, and I’m pleasantly surprised when he sits down next to me so close that our knees brush. The warmth of the fire is nice, but it’s nothing compared to the heat I feel being this close to Niko.
He grabs the blanket and throws it over our laps, cocooning us into an already heated space. Niko leans over to grab his glass of wine. He turns toward me and lifts his glass in the air.
“To you, Sadie.” My heart bottoms out at his sincere tone and the way he says my name.
I hold my breath in anticipation for what comes next.
“Somehow, in no time at all, you’ve made both Sophia and me feel like we can breathe a little easier. That’s no small thing, let me assure you. So here’s to you—for being exactly who we didn’t know we needed.”
We clink glasses and Niko brings his glass to his lips.
I’m frozen in place. His eyes never leave mine as he slowly drinks his wine.
With a shaky hand I finally raise my own glass to my lips.
I barely taste my wine, too caught up in the slow curve of his mouth as Niko sips his.
I can’t stop watching him. I can’t stop wondering if he knows what he’s doing to me.
Does he feel this too?
Niko lowers his glass, eyes still locked on mine. He reaches over to put his glass on the table before taking mine and doing the same. He scoots closer to me and it takes everything in me not to climb into his lap.
His hand reaches out and he tucks my hair behind my ear. I inhale a sharp breath at the contact and Niko’s lips tip up at the sides. He drops his hand but it doesn’t go far, resting on my leg just above my knee.
He knows exactly what he’s doing to me. He feels it too.
The confirmation makes me confident. His thumb starts moving in small circles on my thigh and I move my hand to rest on his shoulder that’s leaning against the couch.
The air between us is charged, the thread between us being pulled tighter and tighter. Both our bodies lean into each other’s, closing the space until our faces are inches apart.
Are we really doing this? Should we be doing this?
Niko’s eyes move down to my lips, staying there for a breath. He slowly moves them back up to my eyes. The fire cracks but the real heat is in his stare. His blue eyes are searing. Hunger burning so hot it makes the fire feel weak in comparison.
I don’t know who moves first. All I know is that suddenly our lips collide. Niko’s mouth crashes against mine, urgent and unrestrained. Every ounce of tension we’ve been holding back pours out into one breathless moment.
His hand moves to the back of my head as his tongue claims mine, fierce and unrelenting. I melt into the chaos of heat and desire that runs between us, my doubts disappearing into thin air.
My hand grips his shoulder while my other hand moves to Niko’s head.
My fingers run through the hair I’ve been dying to feel and I grip it tight.
Niko moans into my mouth and the sound has desire dripping out of me.
My body moves on its own accord, and the next thing I know, I’m straddling his lap.
I can feel his size below me, pushing against my center.
This time we both moan into each other’s mouth.
Niko grips my hips like he owns me and I gasp.
“Niko!”
Something inside of me snaps. I want him. All of him. I start grinding against him, the pulsing between my legs intensifying as I move myself over his hard length. Every nerve in my body is screaming for more. Every thought erased except for him.
But…wait. No. Not every thought.
My job. The Bobcats. Sophia. The fear that this won’t last.
Nothing ever lasts. How can we jeopardize everything for something that will inevitably end because I won’t be enough somehow?
I force myself to pull back, hands slipping from his shoulder. My body and mind are at war. My chest heaves and my lips ache from missing his. My brain is telling me to stop but my body lingers, shivering with need.
Niko’s breathing is ragged, his eyes molten with heat. He squeezes my hip. “You okay?”
“We can’t do this.”