“Sure. But I’ll stay hard all day.”
I bite my lip. “I think I can handle that.”
“I’m sure you can.” He pulls me closer, stealing a kiss. “I want all of this. But if we do this, if we actually try, it has to staybetween us. No one can know. Not Addison, not anyone. Are you sure you can handle being my secret?”
“Yes,” I say.
“Until my contract is negotiated,” he adds. “If they pay me what I want, there is no way the owner would consider trading me.”
“After playoffs,” I tell him. “It will be easier to tell my parents in the offseason. I’ll have you join me for dinner, and my mother will shut down my dad so fast if he tries to interfere. We have options,” I tell him. “But I agree with waiting.”
“I’m sorry.” His jaw tightens.
“Don’t be. We have to be strategic because …” I swallow hard. “I won’t let you ruin your career to be with me. I know my father too well. He’s protective to a fault, and he’s never trusted any hockey players around me, not even the ones he respects.”
He traces his finger along my collarbone. “I’ve never done this before.”
“What?”
“Wanted someone enough to risk everything.”
The confession makes my heart flutter. “Patterson?—”
“I’m serious.”
“I don’t want you to risk everything,” I say, kissing him.
“I already have,” he says.
When I pull back, his eyes are still closed. I run my fingers through his messy hair.
“I have too,” I admit.
He rolls me onto my back and settles between my thighs, his weight pressing me into the mattress in the best way. “Do you think we’re bad for one another?”
“Want my professional opinion?”
He drops his mouth to my neck. “Please.”
“Yes, but in the best way.”
I laugh, and he swallows the sound with a kiss that turns heated fast. His hand slides down my body and into my pajama shorts. He works me slowly, two fingers curling inside while his thumb draws lazy circles along my clit. I’m embarrassingly close already.
“Tell me something.” His lips trail against my throat.
I gasp as he adds pressure. “I was scared to come back to New York.”
He speeds up his hand, then slows, changing his pace. “Why?”
“Because of you. Because I knew when I took this job, I wouldn’t be able to stay away from you.”
“You were right,” he says, nearly bringing me to the edge before pulling away. “And now look at us.”
He returns to me, picking up the pace, and I’m falling apart, allowing myself to let out my moans as I ride his hand. He continues until I’m shaking and oversensitive.
I pull him closer and push down his boxers. Then he’s on his back, and I’m sliding on top of him.
His thumbs are digging into my hips. We move together slowly, finding a rhythm that’s more intimate than anything we’ve shared before. I lean over and kiss him while he’s inside me. This sensation is what I’ve always dreamed of having.
