Chapter 48
Josie
I didn’t care how late it was. After seeing the TikTok video Grayson had posted, I left Sharon’s apartment and drove straight to the airport. Only when I arrived did I realize the team plane wouldn’t land for another three hours.
I rewatched the video on my phone. This time, alone in my car, the tears flowed freely.
By the third viewing, I was ugly-crying.
I fell asleep in my car, woke up in a panic, then fell asleep again. I was awoken by the fleet of team cars arriving, along with some of the other player families. They were all driving over to a gate that led right onto the tarmac, so I started my car and got in line.
But they checked my ID at the gate and shook their head.
“You have to let me in,” I insisted. “I know I’m not on your list, but I need to see Grayson Steele.”
“Oh shit!” one of the other security guys said, peering into my car. “You’re that girl, right?”
“What girl?” the other guard asked.
“She’s the girl from the video. The video. Shit’s all over the internet right now.”
The first guard took a closer look at me. “Oh, shit. You’re right.”
They waved me through. I drove onto the tarmac and parked next to the other families as the team plane landed in the distance.
I got out and tried to join the other women, but they kind of blocked me out of their little clique so I awkwardly stood behind them.
Every so often, they glanced over at me like they were surprised by my presence. Like I didn’t belong there.
Because I don’t, I thought.
Whatever. I didn’t care. I wasn’t going to let a bunch of jealous hockey groupies scare me away from seeing Grayson.
My pulse quickened as the team plane taxied on the runway, coming to a stop a hundred feet away.
Soon they were disembarking, suit-clad assistants and coaching staff first, followed by the players themselves.
I’d watched enough games to recognize most of them by this point.
There was the backup goaltender, Hunter Callahan, with long black hair and a permanent scowl.
Then Mason Calder with a cluster of others, laughing and joking.
Then the starting goaltender, followed by the right wing—
And there he was.
I felt myself tearing up as Grayson himself appeared at the top of the boarding staircase. He paused to scan the crowd, disappointment shining in those pale emerald eyes. He started descending…
Our gazes locked.
He froze on the stairs, shocked and surprised. Then he took the rest of them two at a time, hurrying down, tossing aside his bag and practically running toward me. I shoved through the other women and ran to him, throwing myself into his wide arms.
“You’re here,” he breathed into my hair.
I pulled away and stared into his eyes. “I’m here.”
He smiled, then kissed me.
There were a few cheers from his teammates, and several joking comments about TikTok, but the only thing I cared about was the way Grayson’s mouth felt against my own.
“Your video has three million views already,” I told him.
“Is that, um, a lot?” he asked.
I playfully smacked him on the chest. It was like hitting a brick wall. Or a steel one. “That is a lot of views, yes.”
“Cool. There’s only one view I care about, though. What did you think?”
I stroked his cheek, feeling the scruff of his playoff beard underneath my thumb. “Technically, I’m responsible for half a dozen of those views.”
“Wow, stalker,” he muttered.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “But it was everything I was hoping to hear from you.”
His chest rose and fell against mine as he hugged me again. “I was hoping it would do the trick. I meant every word.”
Mason popped up next to us. “I helped!”
“No, you didn’t,” Grayson replied.
“Well, I provided moral support.”
“Also no.”
“I was adjacent to you while you filmed!” Mason insisted. “That counts for something!”
I patted him on the arm. “Thanks for talking some sense into this stubborn asshole.”
Mason gave me a boyish grin. “You’d better hang onto this one, captain. She’s smart.”
Grayson glared at me. “You’re the asshole.”
“You’re a bigger one.”
“More famous, maybe,” he replied.
I raised an eyebrow. “I thought you didn’t care about your fame?”
“No, but it’s intensely satisfying that the first TikTok video I posted has already gotten more views than anything you’ve ever done.”
“First video? Implying you’ll publish more?”
He shrugged. “I might try my hand at becoming an influencer if this hockey thing doesn’t pan out.”
We drove straight to his place. His condo was about as nice as I expected, several tiers above my own apartment. But I was too tired to tease him about it.
“Don’t make too much noise, you two,” Mason warned us while he went into his room. “I need to get my sleep.”
“Fuck off,” Grayson growled at him.
“Yes! Exactly. Fuck off. No other fucking.”
The look Grayson gave Mason could have melted ice.
But when we climbed into bed together, we didn’t fool around. I cuddled up against his hard, warm body and closed my eyes.
We were both too tired to do anything else. It had been a long day. For now, we were happy to just be together.
“Three million views,” I whispered in the darkness. “I can’t believe it.”
“I guess I’m a natural,” he replied. “Hope that doesn’t bother you. Me being more popular on your own social media platform, that is.”
“You’re an arrogant ass,” I replied.
He gently caressed my arm. “Fuck you, too, pussycat.”
Tucked against Grayson’s body, I slept like a corpse. The next thing I knew, light was peeking through the corner of Grayson’s blackout curtains, and he was shifting in bed. I let him roll me over on my side, and then he spooned me from behind.
I closed my eyes and savored how safe I felt surrounded by him.
I drifted back to sleep while we snuggled, and was awoken by his lips kissing the back of my neck. I let out a happy noise, grinding my ass against the hard length I felt through the fabric of my panties.
“I was enjoying cuddling,” I whispered.
“Me too,” he growled into my ear. “But I’m going to enjoy this a lot more.”
He pulled my panties aside, then guided his cock up into my lips. I was already drenched, and he slid into me easily from the side. He sighed happily, while I let out a long, ragged moan.
“Shh,” he whispered. “Don’t want Mason to hear.”
I closed my eyes and drove my hips backward, begging him for more.
And more was what he gave. He gripped my leg and fucked me steadily, rolling his muscular body against mine.
Tangled there in the morning sheets, we gasped and kissed, moaned and squeezed.
And just when it was too much, when the pleasure overwhelmed me and I bucked and cried out, Grayson clamped his broad palm over my mouth to muffle my frantic screams.
He dragged his teeth across my earlobe and exploded inside me moments later, gasping and hissing like he was completely coming undone. His arms wrapped around me and clung tightly to my body for a long time, until he eventually began to relax.
“Good morning,” I said.
His laughs vibrated through his chest and into my spine. “Good morning to you, too.”
“That was delightful,” I said. “But now what?”
“Now,” Grayson rumbled, “I need to prove you’re not a distraction.”
“I meant with regards to food—if you wanted to get breakfast now, or wait until brunch,” I replied. “But after you feed me… how are you going to prove I’m not a distraction?”
“By winning the next two games,” he replied confidently, “and taking this series from the Oilers.”