She stirred slightly and I smiled. There was a faint drool stain on the corner of her mouth and I chuckled. She was adorable. I would have to tease her about it later.
When I reached my bed, I gently set her down. I sat on the edge of the bed, staring down at her. I didn’t want to seem like a weirdo, but I couldn’t help but be awed by how beautiful she looked in the moonlight. I reached out and pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear and let my fingertips linger on her skin.
At that moment, her eyes snapped open, freezing me in place. I felt my body fill with lust, with the desire to kiss her. The feeling was so strong that I had to reach out and grip the edge of the bed tightly so I wouldn’t give into temptation.
I didn’t have to.
Without saying a word, she sat up, locking her wrists behind my neck, and pulling me down on top of her. I shifted so my knees were on either side of her hips, and she reached up to kiss my mouth.
I hadn’t expected her to be so forward, but I appreciated it. It was nice to know she desired me the same way I desired her.
My lips probed hers. I wanted to take my time. I wanted this to be romantic and gentle, considering this would be our first time. I couldn’t have held myself back though, even if I had wanted to. She certainly wasn’t helping matters either. She was ripping my clothes off every bit as quickly and hungrily as I was hers. Her lips matched mine with the same amount of passion and fire. She was my equal in every sense. I didn’t have to win her over with sweet words; she was just as anxious and impassioned as I was.
Her nails clawed at my skin and I knew if the guys saw my back in the locker room, they would tease me. They knew Rose and I were over, and a scratched back would definitely mean that I was moving on.
It wasn’t long before I had her stripped completely bare. She let me, even hurrying me along to remove her clothes faster.
She was eager and enthusiastic. I missed how that made me feel, not that Rose was over our sex life or anything. It just felt as though there were times when the passion had faded, which made sense since we had been together for a while. Things would be the same way between Kira and I - if we decided to get together in the first place - because that was just how life was.
The difference, I hoped, would be that Kira would try. She wouldn’t let us get stale. And I would try too, because I knew that the disintegration of my relationship with Rose certainly wasn’t just on her.
When I stared down at Kira, I was left in awe. She was stunning, lovely, beautiful. These were all words that had been vastly overused by this world, by me, until I feasted my eyes on her body and realized what those words really meant.
She leaned forward, kissing my neck, wrapping her arms around me once more so she could remove my shirt, my sweats, my boxers.
My mouth found every inch of her skin. I didn’t want to leave any space untouched, unclaimed. I wanted to explore her, to know her in every way I could.
Her hands were fascinated with my stomach. She continued to run her palms up and down the ridges, gasping at how tight and toned I was. Each time my muscle involuntarily twitched, she kissed my neck, as though she was astounded by the power she had over me.
I couldn’t quite believe it either.
She touched me all over. When she grabbed my cock, I nearly exploded right there in her hand.
Jesus.
“Do you have anything?” she asked, her eyes hooded and filled with lust.
I stopped, blinking myself out of my haze.
Shit.
“Rose was on birth control,” I said. I hated bringing up any other woman’s name in the bedroom, before sex, but I needed to explain why I was unprepared.
“Oh.” She tilted her head. “So am I. Are you clean?” She clamped a hand over her mouth. “Sorry. That wasn’t what I meant.”
“Don’t apologize,” I told her. God, she was cute when she blushed. “I am. Clean, I mean. Do you trust me?”
She nodded. “Do you trust me?” she asked.
“You saved my dog. Absolutely.”
A slow grin tugged at her lips and she wrapped her legs around my waist, spreading her legs open just so. Without another word, I slipped inside of her. We both let out gasps, as though this was just what we had been waiting for.
I thrust in and out of her. I wanted to take my time, to make love to her rather than just fuck her, but she was so wet and so passionate, so tight and so beautiful, that I couldn’t help it.
“That was faster than I anticipated,” I told her.
I think I was actually blushing.
She smirked. “Luckily,” she murmured. “We have the whole night.”
18
Kira
I felt my eyes twitch as sunlight cascaded into the room. I let out a breath and turned my head. It felt like I had just fallen to sleep and yet my body felt more rested than I expected.
When I finally opened my eyes, I came in contact with Drew’s back. It was lean but muscled and I could see it twitch even in his sleep. I felt my cheeks turn pink at the sight of my nail marks up and down his back. I hadn’t kept my desire to myself. He seemed to enjoy it, if I remembered correctly. A dull numbness reminded me we had done it more than once last night as well, which was perfectly acceptable to me, especially considering I wanted to do it again.
I watched Drew shift so he was now facing me and his eyes cracked open slightly. The beautiful honey-brown hue was enough for my insides to melt. My heart swelled at the sight of him and I knew this was more than just the physical.
“Morning.” His voice was scratchy and sexy. It gave me heart palpitations and my core get wetter. How could he be sweet and sexy at the same time?
“Morning,” I murmured.
“So,” he said. “Last night.”
I nodded. I didn’t know how to respond to that, so I decided it would be best if I didn’t say anything at all. I didn’t think he was going to deny what happened or that there was something between us. At the same time, I didn’t want to make assumptions. I didn’t want to think we were more than what we actually were.
“Was amazing,” he said, his voice still low.
“It was amazing,” I agreed.
We stared at each other for a moment, not quite sure what to say. I wished I had the same confidence I had shown last night.
“This is stupid,” he said with a laugh.
I felt myself ease at the sound of his laughter. “I know,” I said. I cleared my throat. I might not have that same confidence, but I still planned to tell him how I felt. Simba was doing great, which meant he didn’t need to come in as often if he didn’t feel the same way. We could avoid each other with skill this way. “I like you, Drew.”
His lips curled up but his eyes were inquisitive, curious.
“I want to date you.” I closed my eyes and shook my head. This wasn’t coming out as smoothly as I had hoped it would. I gave up. I wasn’t going to be perfect at telling him how I felt, especially this early in the morning. “I like being around you. I want to -“
Drew stopped me by placing his lips on mine. The kiss was gentle, almost chaste. It reminded me that I needed to brush my teeth before we progressed to anything more passionate.
When we broke apart, he looked at me for a long moment. I kept my mouth shut, not wanting to say anything right away. I didn’t want to interrupt him if he had more to say.
“I like you too,” he finally said.
“Listen,” I told him. “I know you might want to take it slow, given that you just broke up with someone. I respect that. I can wait -“
He gave me another long kiss. This time, I felt his tongue glide along my bottom lip and I was tempted to open my mouth and let him slip past me, but I really wanted to brush my teeth first.
Instead, I distracted him by flipping him onto his back and sitting on his waist. Immediately, his honey eyes turned dark brown and they raked up and down my naked body like I was some kind of goddess. Nobody had ever looked at me the way Drew was looking at me
now.
“You want more?” he asked, his brows raised in surprise. “We did it three times last night.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, grabbing his hands and placing them on my breasts. “But not like this.”
—
After another round of hot, passionate love making, we took a shower together and scrubbed each other thoroughly. It felt good to be completely focused on, to be desired the way I felt Drew desired me.
I knew he had morning skate in an hour, which meant he would have to leave soon. Before he did, he cooked us a quick breakfast of eggs and bacon. We shared a few more kisses before we took the dogs for a walk. Drew couldn’t even go back to the house. He was already running late and apparently, Cherney was a stickler for promptness. He gave me a long kiss before he went to his car. As I watched him drive away, I couldn’t help hoping that the future would hold many more nights like last night.
I walked back into the house and made sure the dogs had their food. Neither seemed inclined to get out of the bed they were sharing and I couldn’t blame them.
Part of me felt that maybe I needed to throw on more than just his t-shirt. I might actually want to go home and change, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave just yet. Drew said he wanted to hang out when he finished with morning skate, and since I was pretty sure he would be hungry, I figured I would make him a big plate of spaghetti.
I turned on my phone and let it play some music as I started boiling water. I had never been terribly domestic. My mom was a single mother who worked a full-time job just to put food on the table. She didn’t have much time to cook and I never pressured her to teach me. I was just glad she would make an effort to be with me when she was home.
About halfway through cooking the meal, a knock on the door interrupted me. I stopped, tilting my head to the side. Drew wouldn’t knock on his own door and he didn’t tell me he was expecting anyone.
I padded over to the door, taking note that neither Simba nor Sherlock were barking, which had to mean that someone familiar was at the door.
When I looked through the peephole, I saw that my guess was correct.
It was Rose.
19
Drew
Morning skate was harder than usual. Coach Cherney pushed us. We needed it. We were so close to making the playoffs and we needed the extra motivation to really focus.
I could admit that my head was not all there this morning. Simba was still at the forefront of my mind. When I walked him in the morning, he looked good, much better than he had looked before. However, I knew that it would take a lot more than just walks and quiet to help him recover. I needed to ensure that I stayed on top of everything so he would not be relapse and have another stroke, especially with me traveling eight months out of the year.
More than that, I could not get Kira out of my head. I hadn’t expected to have such strong feelings for someone I had only known for a couple of weeks. I was almost afraid to call it love, even though that was exactly what it felt like.
Cherney was on me today, which I deserved. The great thing about Cherney was that he never lingered on anything. If I had a shit game, we moved forward the next day - unless I messed up so bad, he decided to bench me the next game which, up to this point, hadn’t happened, thank goodness. If I had a good game, we forgot all about it the minute the clock struck twelve. He only judged me based on what I gave him that day.
In the locker room, Brandon Thorpe came up to me. He was already dressed, ready to take off. It was highly unusual for our goalie to go out of his way to socialize with people. He was our captain, but he didn’t really seem to like people all that much. Even during games, it took a lot out of him to give an inspiring speech.
“Hey,” he said, nodding his head. I was lacing up my shoes and nodded my hello as he took a seat next to me on the bench.
The locker room was nearly empty, the majority of the team having already dispersed.
“Mind if I talk to you about something?” he asked.
I shook my head, setting my attention to my other shoe. “Everything okay?” I asked. I didn’t want to make it a big deal that he was talking to me, but the truth of the matter was, it was a big deal.
He nodded his head. “I know it’s been a couple of weeks since that bullshit suspension,” he said, his voice low. “I just wanted to check in and see how you’re doing.”
“Oh.” That was surprising. I wondered if this was coming from Seraphina Hanson, owner of the Newport Beach Seagulls, or if it was Brandon. Rumor had it that Brandon and Seraphina were together and I pretty much confirmed it when they asked for legal advice back in mid-February. “Yeah. I mean, it hurt. I’m going to be honest. I was really proud of that streak, but things happen and I need to move on.” I shrugged, trying to play it off like I didn’t care.
To be honest, I hadn’t even thought of my streak. Once that happened, though, it started a string of events that caused me to finally connect with Kira. Rose broke up with me, Simba had his stroke, and Kira woke up with her naked body around mine.
I would be lying if I said I hadn’t noticed her in the stands. She was beautiful in an earthy kind of way. Down to earth. Relatable. Fun. It was hard to focus even when I played my game. Even then, I felt guilty. I pretended that wasn’t the case. I pretended she was no one, just another face. I kept staring though, kept making it obvious.
“I think it’s bullshit, if you want my opinion,” Brandon said, shrugging his shoulders. “The hit was low and I’ve seen worse hits garner a fine at best. You were called on the ice.”
“Yeah, apparently their concern stemmed from how late it was,” I said, not bothering to hide the bitterness in my voice. “It is what it is. It happened. It’s done. Now, a new one will start and we can just go from there.”
Thorpe grinned. It was odd to see him grin. He didn’t have much of a personality which made it difficult for others to like him.
“I don’t give a shit what the league says,” he said. His eyes watched as the rest of the players trickled out of our locker room, hollering a quick goodbye over their shoulders. “I don’t give a shit what anyone else says, either. The Gulls are going to continue to honor your streak, Drew. You’ve worked your ass off, more than the majority of the players in this league.”
I felt myself smile at his words. They meant more to me than he realized. It hit me then, that Thorpe was right. Fuck what the league said. Fuck that my streak ended because of a technicality. I didn’t care what anyone said. My streak was still alive. My streak still mattered.
“Thanks,” I told him. “I didn’t really think of it that way.”
He nodded his head once and then clapped me on the back. The gesture was stiff. I could tell he wasn’t used to offering physical support, but I appreciated the gesture. I stuck out my hand and he shook it. It was actually a nice moment between us. If I told anyone on the team, they probably wouldn’t believe me.
“Anyway.” Thorpe cleared his throat and stepped back. His awkwardness had returned. It was actually amusing to witness his discomfort at simply being friendly. “We have a big game tomorrow. Big two points.”
I nodded. “Definitely,” I agreed. “We’ve got this though. I think we have a good chance this year.”
“Me too.” He reached out and I thought he was going to clap me on the back again but he stopped himself and dropped it.
I did laugh that time.
Right now, I was ready to go home.
20
Kira
“Oh.”
Rose blinked, taking in Drew’s shirt, my bare legs.
I felt my face burning. To be honest, it wasn’t any of her business if Drew was seeing someone else, and I had no qualms about seeing a client - not that I had ever done so. I could feel this guilt tear through my system though and I felt my body shudder.
“Hi,” I said after clearing my throat.
“I can come back,” Rose said. “I completely forgot Drew had morning skate.” She looked at me. “Right? He
’s usually sleeping in unless he has practice.”
It bugged me that she knew him that well, but it wasn’t her fault. It also didn’t feel as though she was saying any of this maliciously.
“You’re right,” I agreed.
“I tried calling Drew to check on Simba, but also because I still have some of my stuff here,” she said. “I wanted to pick them up today while I was in town...” She gave me a smile. “This is weird, right? I feel like this is weird.”
“It is,” I felt my body relax. “It’s so weird. Rose, just so you know, Drew and I never did anything while you were together. Wait, that implies - We didn’t really even meet until after you guys broke up.”
Rose shrugged. I could see the hurt flash in her eyes, but it didn’t last long. “It’s none of my business,” she said. “As long as you make him happy, then what’s done is done. Honestly, now that I’ve had a few days away from the situation, I think we always would have ended up this way. Apart. I’m just glad we’re still friends.” She sniffled. “Drew wouldn’t cheat. I know that for a fact. Anyway.” She shrugged. “Did he tell you about my stuff?”
I shook my head, but stepped away from the door. “Did you want to come in?” I asked. “I’m sure Simba would be happy to see you.”
“May I?” she asked.
My heart clenched at her surprise and I forced a big smile onto my face. “Of course,” I said. “Granted, this is Drew’s house and I’m not sure when he’s going to come home, but if you know where your stuff is, you can grab it.”
“Thanks,” she said, walking through the door. “I did want to come see Simba, but I didn’t want to put any unnecessary pressure on Drew. It’s coming down to the wire with playoffs and I know the whole Simba thing really upset him.” When she dropped her eyes to Simba on the bed, he wagged his tail. “He looks so much better, though.” She picked her eyes up to lock with mine. “Thank you... for everything you’ve done. I don’t know what Drew would do without you being there for Simba and for him.”
Seductive Suspensions: A Slapshot Novella (Slapshot Series Book 7) Page 6