“I had to get your attention somehow.”
Irritated, I turn around and go to walk away, pissed that he would trick me into thinking he was hurt. There’s a firm grip on my wrist, and I’m spun around. He hasn’t taken his skates off yet and is so tall and menacing as he looks down at me.
“I can’t go back to the game now that I’ve gone for medical attention.” His grip doesn’t leave my wrist. “I just wanted you to talk to me. I wanted to talk to you.” I tug my wrist away, but he doesn’t let me leave. “I’m sorry,” he says softly.
“For what?” I ask.
“Can we sit?”
I huff slightly but sit next to him. He’s only taken off his gloves and helmet. He looks larger than life like this. And I hate how much I like it.
He grabs my hand, and I let him. He stares down at my knuckles as he toys with them. His touch feels so fucking good. Damn, do I hope this apology is good.
“I’m sorry for only thinking about myself and how I felt and not giving you a chance to explain. I’m really fucking sorry for my journal entries and how they hurt you.”
“They did hurt,” I say softly, and he squeezes my hand. I take a deep breath. “I’m sorry for taking the journal.” He shakes his head and squeezes my hand again, then shocks me with his next sentence.
“I’m glad you did. I think we needed it. I was angry, frustrated that you left, just like everyone else. Mad that you didn’t give us an explanation and disappeared. I know Eli and Anders care about me, but you were mine, and I was yours. I’ve never felt so intensely for someone in my life, and you leaving just made what everyone always said about me feel true. That I was a piece of shit and not worth it. I went back to my old self, and I put that blame on you instead of thinking about what you went through, only how I felt. I want to do better.”
My eyes are watery, and I nod my head. “I watched her die.”
He grabs me and puts me on his lap. He feels huge with his pads still on, and I wrap my arms around him. His campfire scent is so thick after sweating during the game.
“I’m sorry,mon doux.”I can’t help but give a tear-filled smile at his use of the term of endearment and hold him tighter. “I’m going to be a better Alpha. I’ll prove that I should be a part of this pack, if you’re willing to forgive me. I want to be here for you. Whenever you’re ready I’m ready to listen to everything. I’m sorry I wasn’t listening before, I was being selfish.”
I lean back, looking at his face, and I can see the honesty there. “I’m sorry for leaving you, Mikael. I was just in such a bad place.”
“You promise if anything happens again, we will stick together? No more running?”
“No more running.”
Mikael looks up at the left corner where the game is streaming, and he looks back at me and grins before taking a fist full of my hair and crashing my lips against his.
Chapter forty-four
Icheckthefeedof the game in the left-hand corner of the room. Eight minutes, which will probably turn into twenty. Charlotte on my lap feels perfect. Why I was so hard on her and myself doesn’t seem to make sense as her blue eyes connect with mine. I can’t hold back anymore. I grip her soft hair at the base of her head and bring her lips to mine.
She tastes sweeter than I remember, her soft lips pressed against mine. It hurts, but I welcome the pain as she kisses me back with just as much intensity as I’m giving. I shuffle her on my lap, wishing I didn’t have all this gear on. She perfumes, and I groan. The idea of my teammates scenting her makes me growl, and she gasps as she parts from the kiss. I place her down next to me, quickly ripping off my jersey, shoulder pads, and elbow pads, and tossing them into the locker.
“Mikael, what are you doing?”
I grab her hand and drag her to the showers, stopping by each stall and turning on the hot water. The steam billows into the air, and the fans automatically turn on.
“Like I’d let anyone smell what’s fucking mine.”
She moans, and I grab her by the thighs and ass, hefting her so that her back is pressed against the brick wall. She moans when I knead her ass.
“I fucking need you,mon sucre d’érable.”
“Who do I belong to?” she asks breathlessly.
“You’re mine. So fucking mine.”
“That’s all I ever wanted,” she says, her lips next to mine as I capture her mouth again, putting everything behind the kiss. My apologies, my insecurities, how much I need and want her. Showing her that we’re fate, we were meant for each other and I’m never leaving.
Her teeth drag along the busted part of my lip, and I groan.
“Don’t ever pretend to be hurt again.”
