by Piper Rayne
Though when I think back on it, I guess she didn’t outright say that. Though she didn’t dissuade me from thinking it either.
He leans back in his chair. “I don’t know what to tell you, Aid, but don’t do too much damage when she’s in charge of your superstition. We have a few more weeks before trade deadlines. You need her until then at least.”
I wave him off. “I’m out. I’ll call you later.”
I leave Joran and sit on the stairs outside his house before calling an Uber. Saige lied to me. Why? I can’t think of one reason why she would unless she wanted to play games with me. Regardless, I’m getting to the bottom of it.
I’m at my desk, pissed off. I haven’t heard from Aiden at all, and he had some random guy from the team come and pick up his bag, saying it would travel back with them on the plane. No mention of where Aiden was, and he hasn’t returned a call or a text I’ve sent him.
“Tweetie says he wasn’t on the plane,” Tedi says, trying to make me feel better.
“I don’t really care where he was.”
I was all ready to tell him about Joran and explain why I kept the truth to myself for weeks. I wanted to tell him how scared I was, but then when we were together last night, it all felt so right and made my fear dissipate.
“We’re having a girls’ night tonight. Raunchy reality television, ice cream, and wine.”
“Not white,” I say.
“Only red. White is dead to me now.” Tedi pushes back from her desk and she’s about to stand when the office door opens. “Out!”
Aiden stands there. “Tedi, where is she?”
“Not here for douchebags like you.” She jumps up when he doesn’t leave and tries to stand between him and me, raising her small fists as though she’d punch him.
“You’re kidding me, right?” He stares down at her. Pulling cash out of his pocket, he throws some on her desk. “Go buy yourself some shoes or something.”
“That’s so insulting. Why do you assume I want shoes? Maybe I want to go buy a new scope for my gun, huh?” She puts her head right in front of his, standing on her tiptoes. She’s truly the best friend a girl can have.
“Buy whatever you want. I need to talk to Saige alone.”
Tedi stops and turns around, looking at me. I nod. “You’re lucky I didn’t go all apeshit on you.”
Aiden chuckles skeptically.
“I told Tweetie to slam you into the boards.” She picks up her purse and the cash he left on her desk.
“He’s my teammate. That’s not how it works. Unless he messed around with Saige, I wouldn’t touch him.” His eyes lock with mine as he says it, and I ignore the swooning feeling in my stomach.
I need to remember that he left me high and dry after having sex with me.
“I’ll just take my lunch early,” Tedi says to me.
I wave her off and don’t bother standing from my desk. Once the door shuts, Aiden locks it before stomping over to me.
“Have a seat, Mr. Drake.” I motion to the chair on the other side of the desk.
Apparently he prefers to stand with his arms crossed as though he has some reason to be pissed at me. “I’m fine like this.”
“Suit yourself. Are you here to talk about your social media? Everything seems good on that front even though you left the girl you fucked in a hotel room and now she’s pissed off.” Okay, so my whole indifferent act didn’t last.
“First of all, I didn’t fuck some girl in a hotel room. I slept with you. The one woman who’s been driving me crazy since I met her. The one woman who kept giving me the hand and saying she was dating someone else. But come to find out, that was all a lie.”
I straighten in my chair. “What are you talking about?”
“I went to Joran’s to apologize for sleeping with you and tell him I wanted a chance with you and that I felt I was the better man for you. Imagine my surprise when he had another woman there. How do you think I reacted, Saige?” He slides his hands into his pockets and rocks back on his heels. “For me to think he was cheating on you… what do you think I did to my agent of ten years? The guy who’s had my back over and over again.”
I close one eye and wince. “Did you hit him?”
“Hell yeah, I did.”
Okay, do not swoon over that. Remember what it was like in that hotel room when that strange man came to ask for his bag and made you feel like a random hookup.
“I’m sorry,” I say.
“Sorry? Why did you lie to me all these weeks? Is this some type of game to you?”
I sigh and stand, looking out the window even though there’s only a view of the parking lot. At least if I don’t look at Aiden, I won’t chicken out of this. “I felt as though if you thought I was still dating him, it would keep us from crossing lines. I thought it would be enough. But I was wrong.” I let my head fall forward.
“Do you not want to be with me?” The anger is gone from his voice, but it’s replaced with insecurity. I’ve never heard that tone in Aiden’s voice before.
“I’m scared. So scared,” I admit, tears pricking my eyes. “I’ve been here before and I wasn’t enough. Who’s to say I’m enough now?”
His hands land on the glass above my head and he cages me against the window. “You’re all I think about. It’s been torture having to be with you but not being able to touch you. I’m not the man who hurt you in the past.” He runs his cheek along mine. “You’re the girl for me.”
“Maybe it was just lust and now that you’ve slept with me—”
“Then why am I here now?” His mouth dips to my neck, kissing me. “I’m not going to hurt you, Saige.”
I swivel around and stare at him. Genuine care looks back at me. I run my hands down the stubble just starting on his cheeks, then up through his hair. “Promise you won’t break me?”
“Promise,” he says softly. “As long as you don’t break me.”
I insert my finger into the waistband of his jeans and tug him toward me. “I’m sorry for lying.”
“I’m sorry for leaving you at the hotel. I thought I was doing the right thing by handling Joran so you wouldn’t have to. Then after I found out the truth, I just… needed a minute.”
“I have a question.” He steps forward and I unbutton his jeans. We both watch my hands. “Am I your first relationship?”
“Sadly, yes.”
“Rule number one—a text can do wonders. Just a text to say what you’re doing and to no longer expect you, and I won’t get mad.”
He nods. “Texting is my friend. Got it.”
“Rule number two…”
“Should I get a notepad?”
“No.” I laugh, and my two fingers take hold of his zipper. “We do things together. I’m not a damsel in distress. We’re a team.”
“Okay.”
“Rule number three…”
He inhales a deep breath. “What?”
“You can fuck me whenever you want now.”
I look up and his eyes smolder with unbridled need.
“That’s my favorite rule.” His hands fall to my hips. “And can I just say, I like the skirts.” He pulls the fabric up, circling us around so I’m at the edge of my desk.
“I’ll have to remember that.”
I push his jeans and boxer briefs down to his ankles, and he tugs my skirt up to my waist and pushes my thong aside, his finger running the length of my folds. “Soaked.”
I nod and grab a hold of him. “Hard.”
We laugh, until he bends me back and puts the tip of his dick right at my entrance. “I swear tonight you’ll get slow and loving, but after all the drama, I need you something fierce right now.”
“Me too. Take me however you want.”
He thrusts into me. “Fuck, you’re a perfect fit.”
I grab the edge of my desk to anchor myself so he can thrust in and out of me. “Aiden.”
His finger goes to my clit and he circles it, stirring a hunger inside me I want to savor, but my orga
sm is barreling to the forefront like a raging animal and I can’t control it. I shatter under his hand and he continues to glide in and out, all the way to the hilt, until he grunts and collapses on top of me.
I’m a trembling mess on my desk when he straightens, grabbing a few Kleenex to clean up the mess. After we’re both clean, he takes me in his arms, sitting in my office chair.
“Thank you.”
“For what?” I say, listening to his heartbeat start to return to normal.
“For trusting me.”
“The same could be said for you.”
He looks at me, obviously not understanding.
“Frankie told me about your niece.”
“She did?” He turns his face away from me, but I nudge him with my hand to look at me.
“She did, and we don’t have to do any social media if you don’t want to. You could’ve told me.”
He puts his finger to my lips. “It’s fine. You’ve done nothing but be professional on there. Although I will post a picture of the two of us at some point.”
I shake my head. “You will not.”
He tightens his arms around my waist. “You don’t understand. I want the whole entire world to know you’re mine. Look, I punched my agent, who’s had my back for years. Can you imagine what I’d do to a stranger if he hit on you? It’s for the public’s best interests really.”
I laugh and stand, sliding my skirt down over my ass.
“Ditch and come home with me. We can have a bonfire and sex on the beach,” he says.
That does sound nice. “I should work.”
“Come on. I have a game tomorrow night and I want at least one full night with you in my bed.” He rests his chin on my stomach.
I stare down at him, my fingers moving through his silky strands of dark hair. “Okay. But this cannot happen all the time. I do have work.”
He stands and towers over me. Picking up discarded clothes, he puts them back on. “Let’s go. Are you gonna tell Tedi she can come back?”
I straighten my desk because Tedi will never let me live it down if she knows I had sex on my desk. “She’ll come back on her own. You were really angry when you showed up here, huh?”
“I could say the same about you. It turned me on.” His dark eyes sparkle.
“So we’re in agreement that make-up sex is awesome then.”
“Not enough to start a fight over, but I do like the idea of stripping your clothes off.” He grins at me.
We leave my office and head down to his SUV. After a quick trip to my place, he drives us to his house that overlooks the gulf. This is something I could definitely get used to.
If someone had asked me where Aiden Drake, center for the Florida Fury, lived, I never would’ve guessed here. The house isn’t huge by any standard, but it’s on the beach with its own pool and hot tub in the back. He has neighbors, but none of them are too close, allowing him enough privacy to do as he pleases.
“Go ahead outside, I’ll get us some drinks,” he says.
I walk through the house to the sliding glass doors and the patio that overlooks the Gulf of Mexico. It’s a beautiful sight. I imagine myself enjoying the sound of waves crashing on the sand when I wake up in the morning.
“What do you think?” he asks, stepping outside with a beer for him and a glass of wine for me.
“It’s beautiful.” I accept the glass and he stands next to me, staring at what I assume is his stretch of private beach.
“Took me forever to find. I saved for my first two years in the league, living with Maksim. I was close to buying land and building until this popped up on the market. I’ve had to do a lot of renovations, but I can’t beat the seclusion. And the view.” He tips back his beer.
“I agree. Have you always played for the Florida Fury?”
“Yep. They drafted me and I’ve been here ever since. Another reason I don’t really want to go anywhere else. I’ve made my life here. I mean, look at this. What if I end up in some high-rise in New York? I know I’d hate it.”
I walk around the pool and sit on his lounge furniture. “Well, you wouldn’t have to give this up, but your seasons are pretty long.”
He nods. “I’m still holding out hope Gerhardt doesn’t trade me. He’s been off my ass since I started playing well, so hopefully it continues that way.”
“Less than three weeks.” I hold out my wine glass and he clinks his bottle against it.
“I really don’t wanna talk hockey with you,” he says, sliding closer to me on the sofa.
“What do you want to talk about?”
“I don’t wanna talk. I wanna make out like a couple of teenagers.” He nuzzles his head into the crook of my neck, kissing and licking his way up until he reaches my mouth. When his tongue plunges inside, I almost drop my wine glass—he’s that good of a kisser.
When he closes the kiss, I say, “You could show me the rest of the place.”
He sets his beer on the table and takes my wine glass, putting it next to it. “Deal.”
Picking me up and lifting me over his shoulder, Aiden carries me into his house, up a flight of stairs, and down a hall to a master bedroom most people would give their firstborn to have.
He drops me on the bed, and I soak it all in. It’s decorated very minimalistic with a wooden-frame king bed and white bedding. It’s the view that makes the room what it is, and the floor-to-ceiling sliding windows that look out over the gulf has my jaw on the floor.
“Tell me what it’s like to watch a storm coming in from here. It must be amazing.” I imagine a lazy morning in Aiden’s arms, hearing the thunder roll in and watching it from bed while we make love over and over.
“You’ll find out one of these days. Promise.”
I hope so, because for a minute there on the drive over here, I wasn’t so sure this is reality and not some dream I’ve conjured up.
He opens all the windows, letting in the ocean smell and sounds.
“Can I move in?” I ask without thinking it through.
“That’s better than me kidnapping you.”
I laugh and he walks over, stepping into my open legs, tilting my head back and running his thumb over my bottom lip. “I’m so happy you’re here with me.”
I hold on to his wrist, looking into his mesmerizing eyes. “Me too.”
“When I thought you were playing games, I had no idea what I was gonna do because I knew I’d never get you out of my head. You’ve captivated me since the first time I met you.”
It does seem crazy when you think about it that only last month we were walking Mr. Gerhardt’s property during that New Year’s Eve party.
“You can have all the midnight kisses you want,” I say.
He dips his thumb into my mouth and I lightly nibble on it while running my tongue around it. He groans and watches me intently. My fingers unbutton his pants and tug them down over his hips until they fall to his ankles. He steps out of them and I palm his hard length, loving that I have this effect on him. That I’m the one who turned this man on so much.
“Step back,” I say, and he does as I ask. “The first time I saw your cock in the locker room, I about died.”
“Too big. I get that a lot.” He laughs as if it’s a joke, but he shouldn’t be.
“It took every ounce of willpower not to jump you.”
“I wouldn’t have complained.”
I fall to my knees in front of him and pull the front of his boxer briefs down under his balls. His breath hitches as he watches me intently. I’ve never been this turned on before, but the look in his eyes as I watch him anticipating me taking him into my mouth is my undoing.
“You’re gorgeous.” He runs the backs of his knuckles down the side of my face. I’m starting to love the fact he’s not shy in telling me what he thinks at every moment.
I wrap my hand around his base, twisting my hand up to his tip. His hand snakes around to the nape of my neck and I lean forward, my tongue swirling around his tip, tasting the b
ead of precum. The groan that erupts from his throat undoes me, and I swallow down his length and pull him back out.
The tightening of his fingers in my hair tells me he likes it, so I do it again and am rewarded with the sting of my scalp from him tugging my hair. From that moment, I follow his nonverbal cues. I want to find out what he likes because suddenly, pleasing this man in the bedroom has become a quest I can conquer.
His hips push forward, so I take him as deep as I can, choking, and his growl bounces off the wall. I hope no one is walking by on the beach.
“Fuck, it should be illegal that you’re so good at this.”
I almost laugh but contain myself until he’s circling his hips, swearing and praising me all at once.
“I’m coming,” he warns seconds before he bursts into my mouth, the salty taste of him sliding down my throat. “Fuck, you’ve ruined me.”
I laugh, falling back on my heels and licking my lips clean. “I’ll take the compliment.”
He urges me up until he can lift me and toss me on the bed. “Payback time.”
His show of brute strength only makes me wetter. I slide up to the top of the bed, more than eager to have his mouth on me again.
“First we need to get you naked.”
I undo my blouse while he works on my skirt.
After we’re done, he stands at the foot of the bed, staring at me. “Do you have any idea how many times I’ve visualized you right here, in my bed, naked and waiting for me to pleasure you?”
I shake my head.
His fingers run over my ankles gently. “Tell me you’ve wanted me as much as I’ve wanted you.”
“Aiden, I’ve wanted you inside me since New Year’s Eve. Every day being near you but not able to tell you I wanted you was excruciating.”
He grins. “That’s what I wanna hear.”
“It’s why I couldn’t always watch you skate. It turns me on so much, and knowing I might never get to experience this…”
He tugs me down the bed by my ankles and goes to his knees in front of my center. “Experience what exactly?”