“Did I catch you off guard?” I twist so I can look at his face in the moonlight.
“That phrase just…it hit home to me. Playing without my dad there to cheer me on comes with an emptiness I face every time I take the ice. So, to answer your question—yes, I love hockey. Since I was an innocent kid shooting pucks to a professional athlete fighting to make it to the championship series…it’s all been a crazy ride that I wouldn’t change for the world. But my feelings about hockey are complicated. And they’ve changed over the years.”
I can’t imagine my career, something that I do every single day, reminding me so much of a person I’ve lost. Liam gives his all to his career, but carrying that grief around with him…I shudder at the pain he must feel.
“Do you know when you’d like to retire?” I clap my hand over my mouth. “I just went twice! Your turn. Don’t answer the question.”
“Truth,” he says, surprising me.
I get the feeling we’re wading into deep territory where the game has been all but forgotten.
“I think about retiring every damn day.”
I sit up straight and stare at him. “You are surprising the hell out of me tonight, Mr. Storm.”
His lips quirk up with a ghost of a smile.
“How long have you been thinking of walking away?”
“Ever since Lulu was born. I worry about not being there for her if, God forbid, I get a life-threatening injury during a game. Hockey is a violent game. Every time we step onto the ice, we know we could get hurt. I know what it’s like to lose a parent. I don’t want Lulu to feel that pain until she’s grown up and fully independent. I was technically an adult when I lost my dad, and I still wasn’t prepared.”
“You love Lulu so much.” I kiss his cheek. “She’ll always have that love as a foundation for the rest of her life.”
“My turn.” He tugs gently at my ponytail. “How come you ran away the second time we met in Montana?”
I bring my knees to my chin and wrap my arms around them. “I want to take the dare, but that would be the coward’s way out.”
Liam studies my face. “You’re scared to tell me?”
“Yes. Because the truth is, I was so attracted to you that I freaked out and fled.”
He reaches for one of my hands. “It scared me, too. The connection I felt with you was unlike anything I’ve felt before.”
Not with your ex-wife?
“Not with anyone,” he says like he’s reading my mind.
I swallow hard.
This impromptu game suddenly feels all too real.
Liam leans in and drags his mouth along my jawline.
I break out into shivers.
“I think truth or dare is over,” he whispers as he reaches for the straps on my tank top and drags them down my shoulders.
My bra straps are next, and then he lowers my tank to expose my breasts. He dips his head and takes one taut nipple into his mouth.
I bite back a moan as I claw at his hair with my hands. “We’re outdoors,” I get out. “Public. This is…risky for you.”
His response is to lift me in his arms and carry me the three feet to our tent. He lays me down on the air mattress Victor was kind enough to provide, and then he zips closed the tent flap.
“Take off your shorts,” he says in a bossy tone. “We’re both wearing too many clothes.”
He peels off his shirt in one motion, and then kicks off his jeans and boxer briefs. When he tosses them aside, they catch on the flap zipper and hang in the air.
I would laugh if I wasn’t so turned on. But right now, I don’t care about much except being naked and intertwined with Liam.
