“You do both like a pro,” I mumble back and rock my hips. I need him to get me there. I need to come now. This whole night has somehow turned into a bit of an emotional roller coaster and I need the release.
We go at it like wild animals on the floor of the front hallway. I’m pretty sure the wood floor is about to put splinters in my ass, but I don’t care. I just care about him—the way he feels on top of me, inside me, the way he is sending sparks of pleasure shooting through my body, the way he’s looking at me like I’m the reason he’s alive. No man has ever looked at me like Jude does. “You’re going to get on birth control,” he pants into my ear as I teeter on the edge of what is about to be an earthquaking orgasm.
“O…” My mouth is trying to say “okay” but all I get out is the O, and then I fall into the heavenly abyss of orgasm.
I hate the pill. It’s annoying and makes me moody, but I will do anything for this man. Because I love him. I bite my lip as my orgasm ebbs, because those three words want to explode from my mouth and I can’t—not here on the floor while he chases his release. But soon. Soon I’ll tell him, and I have a feeling he’ll say it back.
26
Jude
“I can’t believe you bailed! What a bitch thing to do!”
If Eddie doesn’t stop ragging on me about last night, I swear I’m going to “accidentally” skate into him tonight, even though he’s my damn goalie. Ever since he walked into the locker room he’s been harassing me about leaving him last night. I really don’t want to hear it, for a multitude of reasons, one of which is that we’ve got our first official preseason game tonight, which should mean no pressure, because it’s preseason, but Zoey is here so I need to impress.
I pull on my pads and look over at Eddie, annoyed. “Did you get laid?”
“Fuck, yeah.”
“Then shut the fuck up,” I retort and look over to Levi, who has just waltzed into the room, although clearly he’s been at the arena for a while, because he’s already wearing Under Armour and his shoulder pads. He was probably with the trainer getting his shoulder taped.
He must have caught what I just said and glances over at Eddie. “What’s wrong, Rollins? Braddock steal the woman you wanted? Again?”
Duncan chuckles from his locker, and Eddie flips him the bird while he answers his captain. “Nah, the bitch bailed and went home before one set of panties got dropped.”
Levi’s dark eyes fly so quickly to mine I feel like there should be the sound of tires screeching to accompany them. “You didn’t stay out?”
I shrug and keep my eyes on my skates. “Called it an early night.”
He drops down next to me and reaches for his own skates. “Could have swung by.”
“I had other people to see,” I say and finally look up. He’s got a small but knowing grin on his face, and it radiates approval. He knows I went home to her, and he likes it.
“It’s different.” He says it low for only my ears, and it’s a statement, not a question.
I hate feeing vulnerable and admitting my feelings for Zoey to anyone. It makes me feel like I’ve opened my own chest and am offering my heart up for people to fondle. He’s the only one I ever let in, and that still feels like a mistake, so it’s uncomfortable when I nod. “Yeah.”
Everyone in the room starts to clap and cheer. Worst timing ever. My head snaps up, and I see Elijah Casco, Levi’s little brother, walk into the room. His eyes are as big as saucers and he looks as skittish as a deer, but he’s trying to hide it under a big smile. I turn to Levi. “He’s playing?”
“He got called up from the AHL last night. He’s going to back up Rollins tonight since Noah is out with a tight groin. See what he can do.” Levi is beaming like a proud dad, which is great, because the Casco brothers don’t have one of those.
I stand up and walk over and bear-hug Eli while the team all bellows different words of welcome. Elijah is only twenty-four. He was the hottest goalie at the college level. I thought he wanted to finish his degree, but at the beginning of his senior year he suffered a life-threatening injury during a game and dropped out of college shortly after, and the Thunder immediately signed him to their AHL team, the Storm. Goalies usually spend a couple years on the AHL team because there are only two spots on every team. But Eli is the best of the best, and if any goalie was going to jump the line it would be him. Especially with our backup being Rollins. Eddie is a good guy, but he was never a great goalie, and at almost thirty-five he’s definitely reaching the end of his career. He knows it too.
“Good to see you in here,” I tell him as we break apart.
“Good to be in here,” he replies and grins. He’s so much more laid-back and, well, fun than Levi.
“Good to see ya, buddy!” Eddie stands and greets what is sure to be his replacement one day—and sooner rather than later. “Sorry that I’m going to play so well you never leave the bench.”
“Ha!” I bark out with a teasing grin. “Eli, you’ll be in by the end of the first period.”
“Nah, it’s a mean-nothing game. Rollins might actually play well,” Levi chirps, which is unheard of. He never joins in our childish taunts. Everyone roars at that except Eli, who is fiddling with the neck protector attached to his helmet, his face serious. I don’t even think he heard us. My eyes slip to the still angry-looking scar across his neck.
Dixie breezes into the locker room, not a care in the world, even though a couple guys are still in nothing but their jocks. If she notices, she doesn’t act like it. “Boys! Listen up!”
“Hey, Ms. Wynn,” I call out because some part of me can’t turn off the brother mode no matter how hard she wants me to. “Maybe knock before entering or something!”
She finally glances around the room and sees the various states of undress. Her eyes linger the longest on Elijah, who is actually fully clothed. “I’m not the Virgin Mary, Braddock,” she tells me, her eyes taking an awful lot of time to move from Eli to me. “Nothing I haven’t seen before.”
