“Naomi, baby,” I said, covering her hands with mine. This woman had my whole fucking heart. “God,Ilove you. You must—"
“No, shh, please.” She smiled, her watery brown eyes pulling me in like a damn magnet. “You inspired me. I knew I needed to confront that part of my past to be with you. It wouldn’t be fair for me to hold onto these thoughts and blame hockey. You’re going to be such a fine coach, and I can’t wait to see you grow and mentor players. You lead with your heart and soul. But it was your openness and willingness to have tough conversations that helped me find the strength.”
A ball formed in the back of my throat at her words. I’d been praised on my leadership, my charisma, my looks, but Naomi’s affirmation hit me in my soul. “Are you alright?”
“Am I okay?” she asked, recoiling. “You’re asking me if I’m okay when I was the one who fucked this up?”
I couldn’t wait anymore. I had to have her, hold her against me and kiss her like I’d thought about every second of every day since she left. I cupped her face, dropped my mouth to hers, and kissed her. I hoisted her up and wrapped her legs around my waist, sliding my tongue into her mouth so I could taste her. Breathe her in. Be with the woman who loved me back.
“Michael,” she said, grinning against my mouth.
“Shh,” I said, mocking her from earlier. “Let me kiss the woman I love.”
“I was groveling though.” She kissed my neck and ran her fingers through my hair over and over. She pulled back and looked down at me with love all over her face. “I want to be with you, Michael. Please, am I too late?”
“No. No more groveling.” I walked her toward my bedroom and kicked the door shut with my foot. Feeling the weight of her words, her hands on me… I was turning into putty. “You’re not too late. I’ve fucking missed you.”
She pulled back, cupped my chin with her small hand, and stared at me. “I’m sorry I hurt you. I was so worried you’d pick hockey over me that I ended up doing it to you.”
“You were scared,” I said, kneading the dimples in her back. “You’re not anymore. Why?”
“Because not loving you wasn’t an option. Because my issue was never about hockey. And because…“ she said, stopping to kiss me slowly. She slid her tongue into my mouth and groaned, sending all my blood below my belt.
My heart felt put together again, and this sexy woman ground her hips against me. I wasn’t going to last long at all once I had her naked. I cupped the back of her head and deepened the kiss, showing her without words that all was forgiven. We all had our baggage, and if she was willing to communicate about it more, then we’d work through our hurdles together.
She pawed at me like she couldn’t get close enough, and when I set her on the bed, she looked at me with flushed cheeks and a pretty smile. “I never finished my thought.”
“I’m not stopping you.” I winked as I reached for her button. She wiggled her hips as I slid her pants off her body and moaned as I ran my hands up and down her thighs. “Fuck, I love your body.” I kissed her inner thigh. “And your heart. Your mind. I love all of you Naomi, baggage and all.”
She squeezed her eyes shut and pulled me back up to her face. “I won’t mess this up again. I need you to know that. I might be an idiot sometimes, but I never want you to question how much I care for you.”
I kissed her, softly, before running my hands under her shirt and placing one over her heart. It beat fast under my palm, matching my own erratic pace. “I never doubted how you felt about me. I saw it every time you laughed with me. Every time you held my hand in yours and rubbed your finger over my palm. Every time we shared things with each other that were hard. Love isn’t enough sometimes, which is a scary truth. But I know it was your fear holding you back, not your emotions, and I’m so proud of you.”
“Of me?”
“Yes.” I grinned at her and let my hand wander toward her nipple. I pinched it, and she bucked on the bed. “For fixing things with your sister. For standing up for yourself with your dad. For giving us a chance…love is terrifying, but I want to try, with you. We each have our own shit to deal with, but we can do it together. That’s all I wanted. I’ve suffered a lot of loss, which makes finding joy rare.Youare my joy, Naomi Fletcher.”
She sighed and gave me a huge, heart-stopping smile. I scooped her up, intent on kissing her. She had her own ideas though. She crawled onto my lap and traced her finger over my chest. “Your relationship with Ryann inspired me to be a better sister and maybe even a better daughter. You have such a good heart, Michael. I want to prove to you I’ll take care of it.”
I kissed her, hard, and she let out a deep moan. Her words took root right in soul, where I wanted to keep them there forever.Thisfeeling had to be what life was about. Two puzzle pieces that fit together, that formed a team. After being a lone wolf for most of my adult life, her words were reassurance, promise, and hope. My throat felt tight and rough as I stared down at her, unsure how to relay how much she meant to me.
“You are my person, by the way.” I kissed her softly. “If you weren’t sure, you are.” I pressed my lips against hers again. “Damn, I missed your mouth.”
“What about your sister? She must hate me,” Naomi said, trying to scoot away from me. I traced the outside of her damp panties, and she stilled.
“She’d never hate anyone I loved.” I ran a finger down her slit, watching how her pulse raced. “And I’ve been talking about you for months, Naomi. Now, enough chatting. I want to devour my girlfriend before they come back.”
“Your girlfriend?” she squeaked out, her eyes going wide again.
“Yes.” I slid her panties to the side and inserted one finger into her. She panted and wet her bottom lip before I nipped at it. “We’re together. Exclusive and together. You and me. You got any problems with that, Fletcher?”
“No, none at all.” She gave me a breathless smile as I added another finger. I was going to get my girlfriend off twice before finally having her again, and after, we could go hang out with the other two people in my circle.
It wasn’t large, and yeah, the thought of getting hurt again worried me, but life wasn’t filled with guarantees. I knew that the hard way. So, I was going to enjoy every second I could with the woman I loved, the one who had snuck past all my damn walls. The girl who saw the real me, the grief and sadness and happiness all mixed into one and wanted me anyway.
She said she was going to prove to me that she deserved my heart?
Well, game on, Fletcher. I would prove tousthat we were meant for each other.
