“What scares me? Well, pretty much everything else.” She wraps her fingers with mine. “How your teammates and their wives are going to treat me. How my family is going to treat you. How we’re going to make things work over the next two months with you guys heading into the playoffs and me gearing up for graduation. There’s a lot that’s scary—but not the possibility of moving. That’s just life as the wife of a hockey player.”
“After all we’ve been through…can you picture yourself as my…wife?”
“You’re the only guy I’ve ever been able to picture as my husband—so yeah.”
Fuck.
I dip my head and kiss her, capturing her lips with a possessiveness I haven’t felt in a long time. I don’t just want her—I need her. I need to touch her, taste her, and feel her warm, wet pussy enveloping me. It’s been too damn long, and though I can’t say I haven’t had good sex since we’ve been apart, it’s never been the same. Not like it was with her.
I want her so bad it’s killing me.
Our tongues tangle as if she’s just as desperate for me as I am for her. I don’t want to rush, but I can’t seem to hold back either.
“Baby, tell me you’re ready.”
“So ready.” Her eyes are glassy as she blinks up at me. “But I’m not on any birth control.”
“That’s all right. I’ve got condoms.”
“What about Jude and Chloe?”
“What about them?”
“I don’t know. Will it be weird having sex in their house?”
“Well, I mean, they certainly do it. When I moved in we agreed I wouldn’t bring home one-night stands or anything. That’s more of a safety risk than anything else, but otherwise, I contribute to the household, so it’s my home too.”
“Okay.” She says it but there’s something in her eyes giving me pause.
“Talk to me, baby. What’s wrong? If you’re not ready…”
“No, I’m ready. It’s just…”
“What?” I put one hand on the side of her face. “Tell me.”
“Are we…” She bites her lip as if it’s hard to say what’s on her mind.
“Are we what?” I ask softly, suddenly cognizant of what she’s thinking. “Seeing other people?”
“Oh, well, obviously you can still read my mind. Yeah. That.”
“No. I don’t know where this is going but I haven’t been with anyone else since that night at the club, and I’m not planning to sleep around while we’re figuring it out.”
“I don’t have any right to ask for exclusivity at this early date but we’re not like other couples who’ve just started dating.” She meets my gaze worriedly. “Between our history and all the obstacles in front of us, there have to be boundaries. For me, that’s a big one.”
“What about you?” I ask playfully. “You really don’t have any boyfriends in the wings?”
She shakes her head. “No. There have been a few guys over the years but nothing serious. Nothing ever felt right.”
“It’s the same for me. I tried but I just never caught feelings. There were some nice girls too. They just weren’t…you.” I look away because this is a lot of raw emotion.
“I compared everyone to you. It wasn’t intentional but I couldn’t help it. And once I realized there was no comparison, I sort of gave up.”
“It’s almost like we were living parallel lives.”
“But fate brought us together again. And we can’t ignore that.” Her eyes bore into mine as she says, “Take me to bed, Jordan.”
Chapter 17
