“Yes, I fucking am. And you belong to me, Nova. Now I have you, I’m never letting you go.”
48
NOVA
The display counted down the final seconds of the third period. Jay flew down the ice, sexy, strong, and determined, ducking around the player coming at him. He smoothly passed the puck across the rink to my brother, who was in the perfect position to slap it into the corner of the net. I jumped to my feet, cheering along with the rest of the fans in the home section as the buzzer sounded. The Cranham Kings were already guaranteed a win, 5–2, but my brother scoring in the final two seconds, assisted by my boyfriend? That was the icing on the cake.
I made my way down to the side of the rink to the home player benches and watched as Jay skated over to me. He came to a showy stop, ice spraying up beneath his skates, and tugged off his helmet.
Panting hard, his chest rising and falling, his appreciative gaze roamed over me. “Fuck, Nova. Look at you.”
“You like this?” I did a slow spin, allowing him to see his surname and the number twenty-six emblazoned across my back.
Dropping his helmet and stick, he leaned in, sliding his mouth over mine. “Very, very much.” Stealing another kiss, he lowered his voice so we wouldn’t be heard by any of the others around us. “You know what would be even better? You in just my jersey. Nothing else. Just for my eyes.”
“I think that can be arranged.” My cheeks were flushing at the heat in his gaze. I’d hoped that he would appreciate seeing me in his hockey jersey, but the way he was looking at me…
“Fuck.” Peeling off his gloves, he rubbed his hand over his face. “I can’t think of this now. Not while I have to go in there—” He jerked his thumb in the direction of the locker rooms. “—and be around the rest of my teammates.”
I laughed, breaking some of the thick sexual tension between us. “Okay, I get it. We’ll behave for now. Think of unsexy things.”
“That’s a bit difficult with you standing there looking like that,” he muttered.
“Um…your sister texted me. Something about her sending a photo of us to your nani, who apparently thinks we make a lovely couple.”
“Mention my relatives. Yeah, that’ll do it.” He grimaced, but it quickly turned into a smile. “Alright. I’m gonna go and shower as quick as I can. Wait for me?”
“Of course.”
He brushed another quick kiss over my lips before leaving to join his teammates. When he reached the doors, he turned back, flashing me a bright grin, and butterflies erupted in my belly. This gorgeous man wasall mine.
I was still smiling when my phone lit up with another text.
Alek:
I know you said you were fine but I was thinking of you, and I wanted you to know my offer to come and see you still stands. If you need me, just say the word. I mean it
Me:
I’m fine. I promise. Better than fine. I love you for offering and you know how much I miss you, but uni comes first. We’ll make up for it in the holidays
Alek:
OK. Text me if you need anything. I miss you too
Me:
I will. Same goes for you
I’d been keeping Aleksi up to date with everything that had been happening, and it had taken all my persuasion skills to stop him from rushing straight back to Cranham when he heard the news about Igor Volkov. But it was clear to me that he was happy in Alstone, happier than I’d ever known him to be, and there was no way on Earth I’d ever drag my best friend back here into the twisted mess of my world. As much as I missed him, he was better off far away from Cranham. We both had a chance at happiness now, and I wanted him to make the most of it, just as I was.
I slipped my phone into the pocket of my jeans and made my way through the rink to the main entrance, greeting several of my friends and acquaintances as I passed. It all felt so…normal. It was weird to think that only two weeks had passed since my kidnapping, and life was continuing on as if nothing had ever happened. I couldn’t complain. My life had been turned upside down in the best way. My parents hadn’t even shown any indication that they cared when they’d discovered Jay and I were together. In my father’s eyes, I’d lost my use to him as a pawn in his business schemes, and the only comment I’d received from him was that at least I’d chosen someone useful to the syndicate. My mother had muttered something about expecting the clinic to give her discounted treatments from now on. Even rich people loved a bargain, apparently.
It was a far better outcome than I could have imagined. The fact that I got to be with the man I loved, with no strings attached… If my parents were apathetic about our relationship, that was good enough for me. My only worry was that my twin would somehow get caught up in it and be expected to make a match that would strengthen the Thorpe Syndicate’s position. I knew Ryker was expected to marry someone suitable, but I just hoped he wouldn’t end up in the same kind of situation I’d been stuck in.
Speaking of my brother…his head appeared above the crowd of students and locals milling around, his eye catching mine. “Hi.”
“Hi. Want to do brunch on Sunday? And then cross-country running? I need some quality time with my twin.”
