“For now, can that be enough?” Cormac asked, his expression yearning, willing me to accept.
“Yes.”
“Great,” he said with a sigh. “Now can we eat? I’m starving.”
I laughed as I stepped away. “Sure can. Let me get some plates.”
We ate, enjoying the meal and each other’s company. After dinner, he insisted on cleaning up, and I wouldn’t argue. Sure, I liked to load my dishwasher a certain way, but I liked not having to do all the dishes even more. I wiped the counters and table while he washed the skillet.
“All done,” he said, setting it in the drain tray. He turned around, catching me admiring his butt. He grinned.
“What can I say?” I fluttered my lashes at him. “All that skating clearly pays off.”
He sauntered toward me. “I have great stamina.”
Desire smoldered in my belly. “I bet you do.”
He placed one hand on the right side of my body and the other on the left, caging me between his thick forearms and chest, the counter at my back. I wiggled forward so I was plastered against him, one of his heavy thighs between mine. My chest fizzed with anticipation as I tipped my face up. He caught the back of my head with his hand, cupping my skull.
He was so big, so capable. So warm and safe. I never felt truly safe—not ever. I tried not to dwell on how much my dad’s rejection had messed me up, so when tears formed, I blinked them back. “Cormac?”
“Yes?”
“Will you…” I dragged my tongue along my lower lip. His gaze followed the action, and his eyes flared with heat. He pressed his thigh upward a little, lifting me to my tiptoes. More heat somersaulted through my core. “Kiss me?” I breathed.
His lips brushed over mine. He liked to tease, damn him. I caught his cheeks between my palms and turned my head, lips devouring his. He grunted, his fingers tightening against my skull I met his second thrust by wrapping my tongue around his and sucking hard. He growled. I pressed my chest tighter against him. He nipped my lips, and I rubbed my breasts across the thick slab of muscle that was his chest.
Each move and countermove inflamed me more. I whimpered into his mouth. Cormac deepened the kiss further. My panties grew damp as my need skyrocketed and my nerve endings sparked, sensitized to his touch. I tore my mouth from his, chest heaving. “I…”
He gathered me closer, shifting my body to press me against the bulge between his legs. He widened his stance and used his hips to grind us together. I gasped at the friction, fingers scrambling for purchase as my head fell back, my mind blanking of anything but how good he felt rubbing against me.
He set me down as he shook his head. “Too fast… I can’t think. I need…fuck.”
He stumbled back, somehow being careful with me. He rested his hands on his thighs and heaved a breath—like I’d seen sprinters do after an arduous run.
I wanted—needed—to know so much more about him, but I wanted to throw myself into his arms and beg him to make me his. The conflicting emotions swirled through me, causing my head to ache nearly as much as the tender place between my thighs. “I’m sorry.”
He lifted his head, eyes wild but mouth set. “Don’t apologize. If you need more time, you have it.”
Playing with a thick chunk of my hair, I didn’t look up. “It’s not so much about need as it is concern. I’m on the pill, but…but…what if… What if I got pregnant?” The words rushed past my lips.
Cormac rose to his full height and stared down at me. “If you were pregnant, I’d be happy. No,thrilled.” Sincerity radiated from him.
I laid my hand on his chest. “You don’t get it,” I whispered. For a long moment, I hesitated. “I grew up in a broken home. I don’t want to do that to my baby.” That’s as close as I could get right now to telling him about my father’s betrayal.
His hand clasped mine. “It’s a hypothetical right now. To be fair, I worried over this last weekend, but seeing you again has solidified something for me. I want you in my life, Keelie.” He smiled. “So I stand by my statement. I’d be thrilled to take care of our baby and you, sweet girl.” He pressed a kiss to my temple. Then he stepped back. “I’m going to go.”
I nodded, sadness coloring the edges of my consciousness because I wanted him to stay and cuddle with me on the couch. I wanted him to spend the night…and I didn’t. So fast. This was all happening so quickly. I couldn’t get my bearings, catch my breath. I tugged harder at the ends of my hair. “You’re sure you can’t stay? For a little while?”
He brushed my hair back from my forehead and kissed my hairline. “If I stay, I’m going to want to be inside you.”
I shivered, shocked by how pleased his words made me. He was gentle with me but also bold to the point of domineering. He didn’t cross the line, just toed up to it, and that side of him fascinated me. Cormac…was the alpha of the pack. As captain of a professional hockey team, I guess I should have realized he’d dominate most people in a room—heck, theworld. But he never pushed me, not even now, when I knew he wanted more.
He tipped my chin up. “You’ll come to my game tomorrow?”
“Oh. Oh…yes, that…wow.” I grinned. “That would be amazing. I’ve never been to a hockey game.”
“Do you have a friend you can bring? I don’t want you to be lonely.”
