by Toni Aleo
His lips perk at the side. “Hey.”
We stand not even a foot apart, and I want so desperately to wrap myself around him. Really wish I had walls, not glass panels, for an office. “Come on in.”
“Thanks,” he says, walking in, and I shut the door behind him. When I look back at him, he is facing me, his gaze moving along my body. “You look incredible.”
My face warms with shyness. Wait. What? I don’t get shy! “Stop. You’re making me all gooey inside.”
He flashes me a naughty grin. “Inside, or between those sweet thighs?”
I hold up my finger. “No, sir. Not here. These walls are glass.”
His grin widens as he reaches out, handing me the rose. I take it, and I’m gooey everywhere. “I had fun last night.”
“I did too,” I admit, running my fingers along the petals, and when I meet his gaze again, he looks worried.
“I’m not good at putting myself out there, but I wish you hadn’t left. Though, if that’s your way—”
I hold up my palm to him. “I know what you’re thinking. I talked to Aviva, and that’s not the case. I left because you were knocked out and I didn’t want to disturb you.”
His eyes search mine. “You didn’t leave me a note or your number.”
“I didn’t want to go through your house looking for a pen and paper, so I figured I’d call you today after all my meetings and stuff.”
“Oh,” he says, nodding. “So, did you have fun?”
“So much fun,” I say, my voice low and dangerous. “I had every intention of seeing you again. Today, actually, was my plan. Before I left tonight to take Callie.”
He nods, and I love how his gaze never leaves mine. “I’m glad. I thought you were blowing me off.”
I give him a dry look. “I’m sorry, but I don’t come like that and not call a guy back.” He doesn’t seem amused, but he does smile slightly. “And please don’t listen to Nico. He doesn’t know me.”
“He doesn’t?”
“Nope, not the way I want you to know me.” He stares right into my eyes, and I swear, there is no bullshit when it comes to him. What you see is what you get, and I love that. “Where is Celeste?”
“With my neighbor. I wanted to spend time with you. Alone. So you can see I’m a cool dude and not just a cool dad.”
“I already know you’re a cool dude,” I laugh, smacking his arm. “Stop being weird.”
His eyes are a dazzling brown. “Can I take you to lunch?”
My lip quirks at the side. “I’d love that.”
“Good. Want me to wait—”
“We can go now.”
He inhales sharply and then reaches for my hips, bringing me into his arms. His eyes are dark, intense, as he looks down at me. I’m breathless, my heart pounding in my chest as I say, “Everyone can see us.”
His lips curve as his eyes go half-lidded. “Good. I want everyone to see I’m kissing the most gorgeous woman on this planet.”
Just as his lips meet mine, I feel every bit the most gorgeous woman on this planet. I have to admit, I may have no issue feeling that way any other time, but the feeling I get when Kirby says it…
Well, that’s a feeling I wasn’t prepared for.
Chapter Fourteen
Kirby
* * *
I love listening to Jaylin talk.
“I’m nervous, and she’s not even my kid!”
I also love the way she talks. Her lips are so thick and they stick together when she speaks, but they don’t get in her way. She’s extremely animated, too. She moves hands with each word, she makes faces, and then her laugh is so infectious, I can’t help but grin at her. This is the Jaylin I enjoyed so long ago, the one who took my breath away. The one who knocked me flat on my ass in the middle of a crowded bar.
“It’s insane. She’s eighteen, an adult and shit. Crazy, right?”
I nod. “Yeah, I can’t imagine how you two are feeling. I know you’ve been in her life a long time.”
“So long,” she gushes. “I remember changing her diaper and being there all the times her dad left. I was there when her mom died too.” She pauses, thinking that over. “That’s why I love Nico so much. He takes such good care of them and loves them with his whole heart.”
“It’s very obvious they are his world,” I say, knowing that it’s his truth. Aviva and Callie are his people. Oh, and the new baby. “I never saw him being a parent or a husband. He was really busy before he met Aviva. Never the family man type.”
Jaylin grins. “Eh, people change for the right people.”
I nod slowly. “Very true.”
I look away as I take a sip of my beer. We decided on The Market Place. It’s a cool spot, lots of neat things to look at. Not that I am; I’m completely enraptured by Jaylin. She moves her curls off her shoulders, leaning on her hand as she traces the top of her water glass with her finger. “So, busy day?”
“Not at all. Lazy day, actually. We start preseason next week.”
“Preseason is different from a regular old season?”
“Yeah. Preseason is to see who will make the roster and who won’t for the regular season. We got a new coach since ours couldn’t pull it out twice in a row. New general manager, all that. It’s actually a huge shitshow right now.” I really don’t like talking about it. Coach was a damn good man, took great care of us. I hate that he got blamed for the loss. We lose as a team, but everyone needs someone to blame. I’m actually okay with the GM change, though. Pete Dickerson was a dick, and I’m not making a play on his name. He really was a dick. “So, unfortunately, it’s going to be a rebuilding year.”
She furrows her brow, watching me intently. “What’s that mean?”
“We’re starting from ground zero. Unlike having a Cup-contending team like last season, we’ll have a team of brand-new dudes and a new coaching staff. Everything will be different. We’ll have to learn one another. And since we traded off a bunch of guys, we’ll be bringing in babies, so it’ll be interesting for sure.”
“That does not sound fun.”
I shake my head. “Nope, the thing that sucks is that a lot of my friends have been traded. It’s really only me, Chandler Moon, and Nico left. Makes me worry a bit. No one wants to be on a losing team.”
“Yeah, for sure,” she says, and I appreciate her pity. It sucks, but it’s also nice to have someone who agrees this all sucks ass. “So, basically, what you’re telling me is you’ll be the best player on the ice?”
I snort. “Nico is the best, followed by the newbie Owen, and then me, and maybe Chandler if he gets his balls from Amelia for long enough to play sixty minutes.”
She laughs happily, placing her hand on mine. “Well, you’re my favorite player.”
“Have you even been to a game?”
She thinks that over, tapping her chin. “I think I’ve gone to two?”
I lean toward her, my eyes challenging hers. “And who’s Number Zero?”
She beams over at me, fluttering those long lashes. “You, of course.”
I scoff. “Wrong. Nico.”
Her cheeks warm with color as she laughs me off. “I knew that. Your number?” Now, her eyes are challenging me, waiting for me to give her the answer.
My lips pucker as I watch her. “Eighty…”
“Eight…” she hesitates as I repeat, “Eighty—”
“Eighty-eight!”
I laugh. “Wrong. Eighty-one.”
She glares at me. “Well, it isn’t like you know what I do and not just that I’m a lawyer.”
“You’re a contract lawyer.”
She puckers her lips. “There is only one of me and like twenty of you on the ice! That’s not fair.”
We laugh together as our plates are set before us. I got the chicken piccata, and instantly, I can tell she regrets her salmon and rice pilaf. “Man, I knew I should have gotten the piccata.”
“Yeah, you should have,” I tease as I dig in. “It’s fabulous.�
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“Brat.”
“Don’t think ’cause you’re beautiful I’m gonna change plates with you. I love my food.”
She grins. “But I bet I can offer you something you can’t deny.”
My brow perks. “I may or may not be listening over the sounds of my moans as I eat this.”
She shakes her head, holding back her laughter. She takes a bite of her salmon, and it’s clear she likes it, but my piccata is way better. “I can offer you a very, very thick and juicy—”
I eye her, all about the possibilities here. “Thick and juicy?”
“Yes, a thick and juicy…” she draws out, waggling her brows. “Salmon. It’s quite tasty.” Her laughter bursts out as she shakes her head at my stunned expression. “You really thought it was going to be something nasty.”
“I will not admit that.” I throw back at her, and she giggles happily as I cut into my chicken.
“Fine, don’t. But can I have a bite?”
“Nope,” I tease, but then I hold out a piece of chicken to her. Her mouth covers my fork, taking the food with a dirty look in her eyes. “Stop.”
“Stop what?” she asks innocently.
“Being all bewitching.”
“Bewitching?” she asks with a little wiggle of her shoulders. “That’s my first time being called that.”
I scoff. “Everyone knows it’s true. Hell, you know.”
“Maybe,” she says around her fork, but then she waves me off. “We keep on like this, we won’t make it through this meal without getting naked.”
I grin. “I see nothing wrong with that.”
“Nor do I. But today, I want to get to know you.”
“Get to know me?” I ask, raising a brow. “I’m a hockey player, a dad, and I think you’re bewitching. Boom.”
She gives me a dry look. “Ugh. Are you one of those guys who don’t like to talk about themselves?”
“I’ve been talking the whole time!”
“About Celeste, about your career—I want to know you.”
“Why? What you see is what you get.”
She grins. “What’s your favorite color?”
“Red.”
“Movie?”
“Princess and the Frog. Tiana’s hot.”
She snorts. “Did you go to college?”
“I did. Michigan.”
“Nice. What was your major?”
“Computer science.”
“Super cool. Do you miss that, or was hockey always the goal?”
“Hockey was always the goal. It was my way out.”
“Way out of what?” she asks, and I realize I’ve said too much.
I shrug. “You know, same ol’ story, bad childhood, raised by my coach. Classic hockey kid story. You either had it great, or you had it bad and had to overcome. I was the latter.”
Her eyes are soft as her gaze moves over my face. “Care to share?”
I flash her a winning grin. “I’d rather not.”
She leans on one hand, lacing the fingers on her other with mine. “I’ve never been in a real relationship, but I told my mom I was seeing someone. I’m serious, so I hope you are.”
“Wow, Counselor. Pulling out the big wordage.”
She grins. “I know how to get what I want.”
“I see. But remember, Counselor, I know how to get what I want too,” I say, and her eyes flash with heat before I capture her mouth with mine. I can taste the salmon and the rice pilaf she ordered. I deepen the kiss, hoping to distract her, but she’s very strong-willed.
She pulls away, shaking her finger at me. “Give it up, Litman.”
I eye her, and she sets me with a look. I sigh. I know if I made it clear I really didn’t want to tell her, she wouldn’t push. I want to tell her. I am serious about this. As always when I talk about my childhood, my heart starts to race, not in a scared way, more like an “I hope she doesn’t pity me” way. “I didn’t know my dad well. He was a drunk and died when I was in college. When I was thirteen, real deep in travel hockey, my mom found a new husband with a set of girls, had more girls, and left me behind.”
“That’s rough.”
I shrug. “I wish I had a mom—hell, it would have been cool to have a dad—but I don’t. It is what it is, which is why I’m so adamant that Celeste has both, even if it’s just me.”
“Which is why Lilly running out on her sucks more than it should.”
I shrug. “I admit that I am taking that as a hit. I feel that if I had been good enough not to cheat on, she would have stayed for Celeste. I blame myself.”
“Don’t,” she says firmly as her fingers squeeze mine. “You can’t take the blame for shitty people. You’re amazing, and Celeste is so blessed to have you, Kirby.”
I nod. “I’m blessed to have her. She’s everything.”
“She is,” she agrees as her thumb moves along mine. “I think anyone who gets to know you knows you’re special.”
I flash her a goofy grin. “You’re just sucking up,” I tease, needing to lighten the mood. Shit is getting thick around here.
“Maybe,” she says with a wink. “I gotta get you to like me again.”
“I never stopped, even after over a year. I’ve always liked you.”
Her eyes brighten. “Same.”
I capture her jaw between my fingers and bring her to me. “So, I had a bad childhood, you’ve never been in a long-term relationship, Celeste is everything, and we like each other.”
“I think that’s a pretty damn good briefing of our lunch. Oh wait, the piccata was better than the salmon.”
I bring her in closer, our lips almost touching. “Right. I forgot. I was bewitched by you.”
She waggles her brows. “Same.”
We press our lips together, and everything fades away like always. The room, the food, the anxiety of telling her my story. Everything. The only thing left is my lips, her lips, and my heart.
Hopefully, it stays intact.
We don’t even make it to her bedroom.
I push her into the back of her closed apartment door, lifting her up and cupping her ass in my hands. She grips me by the back of my neck, our mouths dancing as we pull at each other’s clothes. I push her skirt all the way up, sliding her thong to the side before filling her completely. The back of her head hits the door hard as I nuzzle my mouth into her neck. I don’t move; I just relish the feel of her pussy around my cock. She’s so wet, so hot, and perfect. I run my teeth along her flesh, her jaw, before capturing her lips once more.
She cups my cheek, drawing the kisses out of me as her pussy and thighs surround me. I slowly start to thrust up into her, not wanting this to end but also trying to control myself from blowing my load so quickly. I just love the feel of her. I pull back, holding her up by my hips as I pull open her shirt, buttons flying, before I bury my face in her chest. I lick her, kiss her skin as she cries out, gasping out for me. Her breasts are firm, thick, and it’s incredible how her nipples look so real but they’re not. I don’t care. I don’t need nipples, or hell, even breasts.
I just need her.
I bite into her shoulder as I go deep inside her, feeling her body tremble against mine. I’m about to come—I feel it building, I feel my balls tightening, but she hasn’t come yet. I need her to come. I press my hand into the door, leaning back so I’m still inside her but I can get to her clit. I lift my fingers up to my mouth as her eyes watch me intently. Once my fingers are wet, I move them between us, finding her clit with ease. She cries out in such a beautiful, heavenly way as she leans back into the door. Her body squeezes me as I rub my fingers along her taut bud. I’m relentless, craving for her to come. She starts to rock against my fingers, which makes me go deeper inside her, and I realize very quickly that I didn’t think this through. I want her to come so fucking bad, I forgot she could make me come with just a rock of those hips.
I will fight it, though.
I speed up my assault on her clit, my eyes burning into hers a
s she gasps for breath, her eyes hooded and dark. I feel her tightening up, I feel her shaking, and when she explodes, her head falling onto my chest, I close my eyes, fighting back the need to come. She clenches around me hard, and I’m throbbing with the need to shatter myself. I can feel her heart pounding as she kisses up my chest, my neck, before taking my mouth with hers. I love her lips, I love her body…fucking hell, I can’t get enough. I start to move into her, ready to come, but she stops me.
Her feet hit the ground, and suddenly, I’m the one against the door. She removes me from her body before kissing down my chest and lowering to her knees. When she looks up at me from beneath those lashes of hers, I swear I almost come right then. She cups my balls and then fists my cock before kissing my tip.
I shudder.
I swallow hard, watching her, my vision shaky because my heart is beating so damn fast. She slowly moves her tongue along the head of my cock before lowering her mouth over me. This may be ungentlemanly, but I thrust into her wanton mouth. I can’t help it. I’m falling over the edge, and I need my release. She takes me like a champ, though, deep into her hot mouth. She sucks me while moving her tongue along my shaft. She plays with my balls with her fingers, and every single inch of my body feels her as she moves her lips up and down my cock. I lean into the door, arching up so that I go deeper into her mouth. I feel my balls tightening, I feel it coming, and I may be lost, but I warn her, “I’m about to blow.”
She only nods, sucking me harder, more vigorously, and I’m done for. I slam my fists into the door as I come so damn hard, my toes curl and I’m sure all my toenails pop off. A growl leaves my lips before I suck in a deep breath, feeling my body skyrocketing out of this world. She holds my hips as she sucks me dry. I slide my fingers into her hair, tangling in her curls as she kisses my hips, my stomach. She trails her lips up my body until she’s flush against me, and I wrap my arms around her as our lips meet. We kiss eagerly. Perfectly.