by Kendall Ryan
I sprint to catch up with him, checking him hard into the corner. “Can’t let you make me look like a punk in my own house. Especially not with my wife watching in the stands.”
“I’m not going to go easy on you.” Asher grunts, freeing himself from my hold.
“Never asked you to.”
I focus my attention on getting down the ice, crossing the blue line as I snap off a pass to my new teammate, Arvi Cedrik, a funny-as-hell guy from Finland. I get into position and he slaps it back to me, and with a one-timer Arvi and I practiced over and over this week, I find Owen’s five-hole, scoring the first point of the night, and my first ever goal as a Rebel.
The Vancouver crowd goes wild, and the air horn gives a sharp blast.
Fuck yeah.
I can’t deny how good that felt. My team surrounds me, thumping me on the back and helmet in congratulations.
“I’m going to kick your ass for that, Covey!” Owen shouts over to me.
“Keep dreaming, Parrish!” I call back, grinning like an idiot.
Just as play gets back underway, I’m checked hard into the wall by Jordie. “Hey, fucker, how’s Canada?”
“Cold,” I say with a laugh. I’m still grinning as I make my way down the ice.
“Red looks terrible on you,” Asher says at the next face-off.
Teddy nods his agreement. “Awful.”
“I don’t know,” I say with a chuckle. “I’ve been told I pull it off.”
Next up, Grant slams into me with the force of a semi truck. “We’re not friends on the ice anymore, rookie. But it’s fucking good to see you owning the ice up here.”
“I was taught by the best.”
He shakes his head before stealing the puck from me and skating toward Justin.
Bastard.
A minute later, I skate back to the bench, ready to give our second line a shift and to catch my breath. When I step over the wall, my gaze finds Aubree in the stands. She’s smiling huge and chatting with Arvi’s wife and their six-year-old son.
That’s when everything becomes crystal clear to me.
It doesn’t matter what color jersey I’m wearing, or what team I’m playing on, or where I’m living, because wherever Aubree is, that will always be my home. And just because they’re not my teammates anymore doesn’t make these guys any less my friends. It’s hard to wipe the smile from my face after that.
After the game and a quick shower, I give an interview to the waiting media before rushing to my car. I haven’t been able to stop smiling, and I’m feeling really damn good about our win tonight.
After climbing into my car, I dial Aubree.
“Hey, baby,” I say as soon as she answers.
She squeals into the phone. “I’m so freaking proud of you!”
I laugh and wave at the security guard Len as I pull out of the arena’s parking garage and then out onto the streets of Vancouver. “I’m not going to lie, that goal in the first felt really fucking good.”
“You’re incredible, babe,” she says, her voice soft and sultry. “I can’t wait for you to get home, because I have a surprise for you.”
As if I needed any more incentive to get home. “Be there in ten.”
We’d looked into buying a house in the suburbs where a couple of my married teammates live, but ended up buying a condo in the heart of the city instead. It’s only a ten-minute drive to the arena, fifteen from our training facility, and Aubree can walk to her office from our building.
Plus, since I travel so much during the season and have to leave Aubree for chunks of time, I like the extra security we have at our building with the doorman, and secure access to our floor. Knowing she’ll be safe when I’m not home makes it a tiny bit easier to leave for away games.
Our place isn’t extravagant, but we have two bedrooms, so if and when our family of two expands, we have the space. And it’s something we’ve been talking about more lately.
When I arrive home, I toss my bag onto the entryway floor and go off in search of Aubree. “Bree?”
There’s a lamp on in the living room, but otherwise the only light is courtesy of the city itself—twinkling headlights on the cars zipping down Highway 1A in the distance, and glittering lights from the nearby high-rises. It’s a pretty city, and I haven’t tired of the view.
“I’m starving, babe. Where are you?” I call out.
“Back here. In the bedroom,” she says.
I turn down the hall just as Aubree emerges from the master bedroom. She’s dressed in a pair of gray boxer shorts, tall fuzzy socks, and a red Rebels sweatshirt.
“Sorry, I wanted to get comfortable. You made it home quick.”
“Absolutely no need to be sorry; you look sexy as hell. Now, get over here. Your husband needs a kiss.”
With a giggle, she steps toward me, and I pull her into my chest. She lifts up on her toes to treat me to a warm kiss.
“I’m hungry,” I murmur against her mouth. “Is my surprise food? Please say it’s food.”
She laughs. “I got you a double serving of ramen. You didn’t see the takeout bag on the counter?”
“Nope. I focused on finding you.”
She shakes her head as her cheeks flush pink. “Come on, let’s feed you. But, no, it’s not the surprise.”
“Hmm, now I’m intrigued.” I follow her into the kitchen, still wondering about what her surprise could be.
“It’s a shame the guys were traveling back to Seattle right after the game,” she says as I help myself to a pair of chopsticks and dig into a gigantic bite of noodles and broth.
“Yeah, I know. It would have been fun to have them over.”
She nods. “Speaking of having people over . . .”
“What?” I give her a questioning look.
“My parents RSVP’d for Thanksgiving. They can come.”
I nod. “That’s great, right?”
She tilts her chin. “And so did your dad.”
“Oh.”
“Yup.” She laughs.
“So we’re doing this? Hosting, I mean?” I say around another mouthful of food.
Shrugging, she steals a shrimp from my steaming bowl of noodles. “It appears so.”
“It’ll be a good thing,” I say, smiling at her.
We’ve been wanting our families to meet for a while now, and have been trying to find a way to make that happen—while also coordinating an international move, the start of the hockey season, and Aubree starting a new job. My mom came up to Vancouver the weekend we moved to meet Aubree for the first time and help us unpack. As I expected, she immediately bonded and fell in love with Aubree. I couldn’t wait for Dad to meet her in person, although they regularly chat on the phone when he calls.
I finish my dinner while Aubree fills me in on her plan for the Thanksgiving meal. Apparently, she’s already recruited Arvi’s wife to help her prep, and there’s something about needing to order new sheets for the guest room.
“Well, that’s some surprise,” I say, placing my now-empty takeout container in the trash.
“Babe, that wasn’t the surprise.” She smiles, her eyes twinkling with happiness.
“It wasn’t?”
She scurries out of the kitchen to retrieve an envelope from the coffee table, which she hands me with a huge grin. It’s from the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia.
“Okay . . .” I turn the envelope over in my hands.
“Open it!” she says excitedly.
I wander into the living room and Aubree follows, plopping down onto the couch beside me wearing a massive smile.
Inside the envelope, glued to a piece of paper, is Aubree’s new Canadian driver’s license. It takes me a minute to understand why she’s so excited about me seeing her driver’s license.
Then I see it, and my heart nearly bursts with happiness.
“Fuck, baby,” I murmur, my eyes meeting hers. “But why?”
She smiles and scoots in closer to me. “For you, my husband. I wan
ted to give you this.”
I run my thumb over the letters of her new name. Aubree Covington. She changed her name for me. Pride swells within me.
“I thought you weren’t going to.”
We talked about this. Aubree’s an independent woman, and I totally respect that. It was her decision. And now that she’s made it, a different one than I was expecting, my heart feels three times the size it did earlier.
“I like the idea of us having the same name.” She touches my hand, and I open my palm so she can slide her hand into mine. “I always thought I’d be giving something up by changing my last name, but then I realized I wasn’t giving up anything. I was gaining so much in return. Plus, I want to share the same name as the love of my life and the father of my future children. I want us all to have the same name.”
“Mrs. Covington,” I murmur.
The twinkle in her eyes beams bright. “Are you happy?”
“This is the best surprise ever,” I say, leaning over to kiss her.
I’m just so damn happy she chose to do this. I can’t believe we’re the Covingtons. It sounds so official. My brain starts spinning with all kinds of things guys probably aren’t supposed to think about, like monogrammed towels and matching luggage.
Aubree leans in too, planting her hand on my chest, and treats me to a slow, sweet kiss. “Do you know why I love you?”
“Because of my ability to make you orgasm with my tongue, my fingers, and my cock?”
She laughs, shaking her head. “Impressive, but no. I love you because you’ve always accepted me just as I am. You let me be me, and figure all this out in my own time.”
I nod, touching her cheek. “We’re in this together. I knew you were going to be my forever from the moment I met you. There’s just one problem,” I growl.
“What’s that?” she whispers.
“I think your surprise had an unintended consequence.” My gaze drops to my lap, and Aubree’s follows. “I suddenly feel really fucking horny.” I feel slightly territorial too, but she doesn’t need to know that part.
One of her eyebrows lifts in a challenging smirk. “My driver’s license made you horny?”
“Very.”
She crawls from her spot next to me and into my lap. “Then I might be able to do something about that.” With a sultry look, my wife kisses me. And it’s the perfect kiss. Slow and hot and wet.
“Shit.” I shift her in my lap.
Aubree meets my eyes with a look of concern. “What is it?”
“Just let me brush my teeth first.” All I can think about is the fact that I just ate, and my breath is probably terrible.
She laughs but motions for me to go ahead. “If you must.”
Hoisting myself up from the couch, I adjust the front of my pants and head for the master bath. At the sink, I grab my toothbrush and get to work, trying not to laugh at the fact that my Fleshlight is resting on a hand towel on the counter where I left it after washing it.
We rarely use the toy anymore, but last night, Aubree was feeling frisky and asked if she could use it on me. Which led to her stroking it up and down my shaft with a ton of lube, which led to me begging her to stop and ride me instead, which then led to the hottest sex ever.
My pulse spikes at the memory. My wife is better than your wife—FYI.
I finish brushing and rinse my mouth. One last quick glance in the mirror makes me smile, because the light catches the platinum of my wedding band. Even though I’ve been wearing my ring every day since Aubree surprised me with it, I haven’t gotten tired of seeing it on my hand. I don’t think I ever will.
“Lovey,” Aubree calls from the living room, sounding impatient.
I smile and call back, “Coming, babe.”
I’ve got a hot date on the couch with my wife, the woman of my dreams. Life doesn’t get any better than that.
• • •
I hope you enjoyed Down and Dirty! Up next is Grant and Ana’s story in Wild for You.
He’s growly. Grumpy. Stubborn.
And now, my new roommate.
Walking away from my disastrous last relationship was an easy decision, but moving in with a friend-of-a-friend hockey star who’s rarely home? Not quite as simple, because Grant makes me feel things even I don’t understand.
One thing’s for certain, though. I definitely shouldn’t have crawled into his bed that night.
• • •
There’s a brightness to her eyes I can’t seem to look away from.
She’s beautiful. Smart. Tempting.
And a little fragile.
I’ve never been anyone’s knight in shining armor, but when Ana needed a place to stay, it was easy to move her in with me. Not so simple, though, is keeping my hands—or my mouth—to myself. And the night she crawls into my bed and shares her body with me has me conjuring up all kinds of ideas about our future.
Until a big surprise I never saw coming changes everything.
Get your copy here.
Acknowledgments
A humongous bear hug to my editor Pam Berehulke. You’re the best editor in the whole wide world. I can’t believe it’s been, what . . . five years? Six? Time flies when you’re having fun!
To Alyssa Garcia, thank you for putting up with me. I know I’m forgetful and a little crazy, but I want you to know I appreciate the heck out of you, and I’m so thankful we’re on this journey together. Rachel Brookes, your enthusiasm for this series and your editorial eye have been so appreciated. I’m grateful for you and your friendship. Thank you to Stacy Garcia for your unending excitement and support of my stories. You always bring a smile to my face.
A heartfelt thank-you to all the readers who have followed this series. I have so enjoyed writing about these tough, yet sweet jocks and the strong women they fall for. I also love hearing which hot jock was your favorite, so please consider leaving a review at the retailer where you purchased the book, and/or joining my reader group, linked on the next page, so I can hear your thoughts!
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Other Books by Kendall Ryan
Unravel Me
Filthy Beautiful Lies Series
The Room Mate
The Play Mate
The House Mate
Screwed
The Fix Up
Dirty Little Secret
xo, Zach
Baby Daddy
Tempting Little Tease
Bro Code
Love Machine
Flirting with Forever
Dear Jane
Finding Alexei
Boyfriend for Hire
The Two-Week Arrangement
Seven Nights of Sin
Playing for Keeps
All the Way
Trying to Score
Crossing the Line
The Bedroom Experiment
Down and Dirty
For a complete list of Kendall’s books, visit:
www.kendallryanbooks.com/all-books/