Blindsided: Renegades 7 (The Renegades Series)

by Melody Heck Gatto

  Grabbing her gently by the wrist, he pulled her towards him, then pinned her against the wall. His signature panty-dissolving smile worked on her every time, even after being together over three years now. “You mean to tell me I’ve been missing naptime-nooners all this time?”

  She shrugged, playing it cool. Even though her insides were trembling and she craved his touch. “Maybe.”

  Their summers before Willow were filled with sex. Lots of it. And it was hot. Like rattle the windows hot. After Willow, they still had a great sex life, but it was just harder to fit that time in, between having a family and his hockey schedule.

  Sam leaned down towards her so his lips were only centimeters from hers, his breath hot against her face. The smirk that sat on his lips was her undoing. The house was silent. She gulped under his suggestive stare. Waiting for his lips to be on her was pure torture.

  Then he spoke. “Maybe we should get a nanny.”

  She shook her head, unsure if she heard him right, at first. What in the damn hell? What an odd thing to say. A nanny? What? He asks that right NOW? All the heated desire instantly drained from her.

  Wide-eyed and confused she asked, “Excuse me?”

  The sinister and sexy smile still sat on his face, and she never could resist that. He obviously had ulterior motives, asking that right now. With her back still pinned against the wall, her lady parts tingled again as her handsome husband towered over her.

  “Babe, we’re wasting precious time talking about a nanny right now. Wouldn’t you rather be—” She pulled at his elastic waistband.

  “Oh, absolutely. But that’s my point. A nanny might give us just a bit more free time for that. Not that I don’t love our little sunshine, but if we’re going to start trying for another baby, we need all the time together we can get. I mean, that’s the only way to accomplish that task. Right?”

  His hot lips touched her neck, causing her eyes to close and her body to melt against the wall. Instantly she was revved up and ready to go again.

  “Practice…makes…perfect,” he said, in between dropping kisses on her neck.

  He had a point. A very good point. Before she could speak, his mouth covered hers. Sam’s warm lips caressed hers before his tongue took over his heavy seduction. His arm wrapped around her waist, and he guided her backwards into their bedroom.

  Trina ran her hands up his chest and along his shoulders until his flannel shirt dropped to the floor, then also helped him discard his pants. Sam followed her lead, pulled off her shirt and slid off her pants, before crawling on top of her. His strong thighs surrounded her, while his skilled hands ran over her body, unhooked her bra and slipped off her underwear. She wasn’t quite sure when he had kicked away his boxers, but his naked body covered hers, and his hard-on teased her while he sucked at her waiting nipples.

  Taking over her lips, probably to muffle her cries of pleasure, he pushed gradually into her. Little by little, he went deeper and harder, until he filled her completely. Picking up speed, Trina begged into his lips for more. Sam responded, driving harder. No longer able to muffle her moans, she bit his hand in an attempt to not wake the sleeping toddler down the hall.

  Sam knew what it took to get her there. Bracing himself on the headboard, he thrust deeper and deeper until she couldn’t take any more. The sensation started to build in her middle, until it overtook her body. Trina shook under him, as he continued to drive into her.

  She didn’t want him to stop; she needed more. Riding him until he grunted in pleasure, she was almost at another orgasm. Needing just a little more, she didn’t let up until she was muffling a scream.

  Rolling to her side, she pulled him with her. Not wanting to be separated yet, she needed him close. Her body was spent and satisfied, but her love for this man was endless. His half-lidded blue eyes made her heart flutter. She kissed his lips and then mumbled against them, “I wish we could stay in bed all day.”

  Over the baby monitor she could hear Willow stir. Then her talking. “Oh well, and on that note, afternoon fun is over. I’ll get her, you rest a little.”

  “Nanny. Think about it.” Sam grinned with intent.

  With a giggle, Trina shook her head slipped out of bed, and pulled on her clothes. She had almost forgotten he’d ever had that injury. He seemed so okay, so perfect. So normal.

  Turning to Sam, she expected a tap on her hip, or a sexy smile. Anything to get her back into bed.

  Instead, what she saw was Sam leaning over towards the night stand and popping another pill.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Sam

  Popping his second pain pill of the day, Sam swallowed it and closed his eyes a moment, as though he could feel the pill taking effect. He knew he was taking more than he should be. And he probably shouldn’t even be taking these pills. They weren’t meant for these headaches.

  But they made him feel normal, and right now, that was good enough for him. He never would’ve been able to play in the snow with his baby girl without a pain pill earlier this morning. The migraine pills helped, but not like these did. They made normal life bearable. He wasn’t stuck in a dark room, alone and angry because every little sound bothered him.

  Maybe it was selfish to use a pain pill that he knew wasn’t approved for this type of injury pain. But without it, he was missing time on the ice, and more importantly, he’d be missing valuable time with his girls.

  With any luck, he would be able to stop using them and just live on the prescription migraine pills soon enough. That hit couldn’t have caused too much damage, could it? I’ve taken hits before…and I was always fine.

  Trina would catch on soon enough; she wasn’t easy to dupe. She was smart and street-wise, and that’s what he loved about her. She wasn’t just a puck bunny, she was a strong woman who had gone through Hell and come out the other side. He didn’t want to keep hiding it from her, because he knew, sooner or later, she would figure out what was going on. I will stop as soon as I can.

  As he popped the pill into his mouth, he sensed movement in the doorway. His heart thudded when he felt Trina’s eyes on him as he swallowed.

  “Migraine?” Her voice was high-pitched in question.

  “It helps with the light sensitivity. If I take them before the pain gets too strong, then it completely goes away.” He was okay with his answer because it wasn’t necessarily a lie. As okay as he was going to be. The pills did help with the pain and the issues. It’s just that they weren’t his migraine pills.

  “I didn’t think you were having light sensitivity issues?”

  “I don’t when I take the migraine pill in time.” Dammit, I hate lying to her.

  “Oh, yeah, okay. Well, you rest. I’ll go get Willow. I’ll give you a pass on the grocery store, too. After that performance, I’ll let you catch up on some rest.”

  Sam propped himself up on one elbow. “Babe, I don’t need to rest. It was my pleasure to, well, to give you such pleasure.”

  “Alright, lover boy. But remember that you aren’t one-hundred percent yet. You need to take care of you.” Trina sat down on the bed and ran her thumb along his chin. “I love you so much and just want you to get back to being you. Not that I don’t love having you here. Because I do, so much. But I know you want to be back out there with the team.” Her eyes looked sad. Sam didn’t like seeing her sad.

  “I like being home, too. Speaking of that, how about I make dinner tonight?”

  “Oh no, you don’t have to do that, babe.” She waved him off. “That’s my job. I’ll take care of that.”

  “Nope, I won’t hear of it. You make dinner all the time.” His offer was partly out of a sense of wanting to help out, and partly from being bored. He was used to a heavily scheduled day. Having no schedule was difficult to get used to, despite it being barely a week yet. Even during the summer breaks, he had workout sessions with teammates, and training.

  After Trina and Willow left for the store, Sam sat in the living room, surrounded by nothing but quiet. The
dogs were asleep in the corner by the heating vent. He was supposed to be resting. Kicking his feet up onto the coffee table, he spread his arms out on the back of the couch and let out a hard breath. Closing his eyes, he tried to relax his body. He wanted to enjoy the quiet. If he cleared his mind, maybe he could doze off for a nap.

  I’m bored.

  Sam groaned and opened his eyes, glaring at the uninteresting ceiling.

  He’d been feeling good for a few days now. If I sit around here much longer, I might start to climb the walls.

  Just then his phone buzzed with a text message. It was from the team trainer, Brownie. He noted that the team doc, Rob, wanted Sam at the arena first thing Monday morning for a light workout in the gym and a checkup.

  He was on concussion protocol, due to the hit he had taken to the head, and this was the best news yet. Next, he’d hopefully get on the ice. Not with the team, but getting to be on the ice was better than nothing.

  Suddenly, his mood was lifted. Kicking his feet up on the coffee table, he leaned back against the soft cushions, and this time he relaxed, taking in the noiseless, quiet house before he started to work on dinner. Because there was some light at the end of this tunnel.

  Sam plated the burgers, placing them each on a bun. Trina took the plate of lettuce and tomatoes to the table, and Willow carried the ketchup. Sam brought the last plate with the hamburgers over to the dining room table. “Dinner is served!”

  “Yay, Daddy!” Willow clapped and cheered from her seat at the table.

  Burgers for him and Trina, and a slider for Willow, sat before them. Toppings and condiments were neatly arranged on the table, as well as a bowl of salad tossed with fresh greens and vegetables and dressing made from scratch. Willow grabbed a piece of grilled asparagus. She giggled as she ate it.

  “Sam, dinner looks wonderful. Thank you for cooking tonight.” Trina gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

  His face warmed. “No thanks needed. It’s just burgers.” But it was nice to sit around the table with his family. He adored his summers for this reason. Quality family time.

  “Just burgers?” Trina said, her mouth full of burger, and mumbling her words as she spoke with her hand covering her mouth. “Just the best burgers ever. Seriously, babe, I should have you cook more often.”

  Taking a bite, he agreed with her. These are pretty damn good. His leg bounced, and his foot tapped on the floor. He couldn’t wait to tell his wife the good news. Even if he couldn’t play yet, getting back into his normal routine would mean the world of difference to him.

  “So, what’s up?” Trina raised an eyebrow in his direction.

  “What do you mean?” He didn’t want to just blurt it out, but he didn’t know any other way to say it.

  “You look like a kid with a secret. So, spill it.”

  Yep, my baby is a smart cookie, very perceptive. God, I love her. “This afternoon, while you two were at the grocery store, I got some good news.”

  “Oh yeah? Well don’t keep us in suspense,” Trina said, in between bites.

  “Rob said since I’m feeling okay, he wants to see me early Monday morning, do a quick check-up, and then get me started on some off-ice workouts. You know, concussion protocol type stuff. Light gym workouts.”

  He couldn’t stop thinking about how great it would be to get back into a routine. Looking at his girls, he realized he’d be back to work soon, and he wanted to make every moment count until then. As soon as he stepped back into that arena, getting back on the ice would be his sole focus.

  Trina had a smile on her lips and was nodding, but her eyes weren’t happy, not happy the way he felt. “Well, that is good news. So, Monday, huh?”

  “Yep. Monday. But until then, I’m all yours.” He knew she wasn’t thrilled. But by Monday, she’d have had him for about a week. It wasn’t long, but longer than she usually had him during the season. He surely wouldn’t be cleared to get back into the game for at least another week.

  The sun wasn’t even up yet when Sam woke the next morning. The bright alarm clock glared through the dark room. It was five o’clock. Trina was curled up on her side of the bed, snoring. Belle, his Siberian husky, was sleeping in a ball at the foot of the bed, also snoring. Toby, Trina’s golden Labrador, sat beside him, panting. The goofy look on Toby’s face, the way his tongue hung out the side of his mouth, would’ve been amusing if Sam’s head hadn’t been hurting so badly.

  It throbbed from the inside out. Every sound echoed through his brain and made his stomach toss. Toby’s panting shot through Sam’s head like daggers. The snoring from Belle and Tri left him raw. He needed a pill. Now.

  After quickly grabbing a pill from his bedside drawer, he quietly sneaked down to the dark living room. Toby followed, and the tapping of his claws on the hardwood floor had Sam wanting to bang his head against the wall. The dog ran right to the kitchen and sat by his bowl.

  “Toby dog, you hungry, boy?” Sam was used to getting up about five o’clock for morning skate, which is why he was probably awake at this hour. Toby always got up with him and was ready for breakfast, but Belle liked to sleep in with Tri.

  Sam grabbed a bottle of water and downed the pill before he did anything else. Taking a moment, he closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, waiting to feel the pill take over. He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination or not, but he could feel the numbness work its way through his body.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Sam

  Sam needed to get out of the house. There was only so much cooking he could do to stay occupied. And sex was only an option when Willow was asleep. Sled riding at the local park sounded like a great alternative to being cooped up and would tire little Willow out at the same time. The snow was perfect for sledding, and in Pittsburgh you could never be too sure if there’d be another good snow or not.

  The park was filled with families with little kids. Probably almost a foot of snow on the ground. The noise wasn’t bothering him, not the giggling or happy yelling or excited squealing. He kept his sunglasses on, protecting is eyes from the glare of the combination of sun and snow. But he was feeling good today.

  Willow’s cheeks and nose were rosy and her eyes were watery from the chill in the air. She was noticeably slowing down, but just like a Morris, she was trying hard to push through the tiredness.

  “She missed her nap,” Trina whispered to him. “I think we should get going soon.”

  “Mommy? Slide again?” Willow cooed.

  “Hey sunshine, how about we take a hot cocoa break?” Sam offered. Willow looked like she might fall asleep standing up, but she wasn’t giving in to it.

  The little girl squealed. “Hot cocoa! Yeah!” She ran ahead of them over to the covered snack bar, although her little legs didn’t carry her very far ahead of Sam and Trina, so she wasn’t hard to keep up with.

  “You guys go grab a table. I’ll go get the hot cocoas.” The bright snow was starting to bother Sam’s eyes. A dull throbbing began in his skull behind his ear. Slowly, the pain crept towards his temple. He’d never be able to take a pain pill sitting across a table from Tri, but his back would be to them while he was in line.

  Trina led Willow over to the tables. When it was finally Sam’s turn to order, he got the hot cocoas and a few piping hot cookies. Before retreating with the snacks to find his girls, he popped a pill into his mouth and tucked it into his cheek. The cocoa would be hot, hence the name, but he didn’t have much choice. The pill was starting to dissolve, and the bitter medicine taste was hitting his taste buds.

  Willow waved and yelled, “Daddy! Here, Daddy!”

  Sam smiled and nodded at his little sunshine. He needed to swallow this pill, now. The horrific gritty taste was starting to fill his mouth. He grabbed his cup by the cardboard sleeve that saved his hands from being burnt, and took enough of a mouthful to wash down the pill. Quickly, he swallowed the pill with the scalding hot liquid, and then gasped in the hope that the cold air would cool his burnt mouth and throat.

/>   Holy shit, that was hot!

  “Isn’t that hot?” Trina asked as he reached the table. “I can see the steam from here.”

  Obviously she’d seen his manly, yet stupid, gulp of piping hot cocoa. “It really is, so be careful.”

  Trina shook her head before she handed Willow a cookie. She blew on the little cup of cocoa. Giving up, she took the lid off for a few minutes to cool Willow’s cocoa. Trina wrapped her fingers around her own cup, sighing with relief at the heat. “Wow. That really is hot, and it feels fabulous. My poor fingers are frozen.”

  “Yeah.” Sam chuckled. “I’m surprised you’ve lasted this long.” His wife hated the snow and cold. But very occasionally, she braved it for Willow to have some fun.

  “Me, too.” Trina smirked. “I think someone is ready to call it a day. Well, someone besides me.”

  “Yeah, I agree.” Sam watched his daughter. She was fighting hard to stay awake. He remembered being a little kid and not wanting to stop playing to go rest, but she was still so little. If she didn’t take a nap, she’d be asleep before dinner and then wide awake in the middle of the night. He had a hard enough time sleeping at night; a crabby and wide-awake Willow wouldn’t be a pleasant addition.

  He was done with his cocoa by the time Willow started to fuss and get bored with sitting around.

  “Hey kiddo. How about one more slide down the hill, then we get Mommy home? Look at her. She’s freezing. Her lips are blue, and I think her teeth are chattering. Poor Mommy.”

  “Two more?” Willow asked.

  “No honey, one more. We can’t let Mommy turn into an icicle. She needs to get home and snuggle under the electric blanket.”

  The way Willow giggled, she obviously found that hilarious. “Okay. One more. Mommy? Wear my coat?”

  “No baby, but thank you. You keep your coat. You need to stay warm, too.”

  Trina’s lips really were turning blue. Sam’s heart warmed, and as he watched his wife, he forgot about the bitter taste in his mouth left behind from the pill. Trina was so cute in her knit hat and gloves, big fluffy winter coat, and matching boots. If it were up to her, they’d be home in front of the fire, but she would do just about anything for Willow.