"I want you all the time." My voice was a wreck. "I haven’t stopped."
Her laugh was bitter. "What about Nate? The press? TheNHL?"
"Fuck the NHL." The words tore out of me, rough and honest. "Fuck all of it. I just—" My throat burned. "I want you."
She swallowed. Her hands were still on my arms, her grip tight enough to bruise. "As what?"
Her voice cracked.
And that was the part that destroyed me.
Because I didn’t have an answer. Not one that made sense. Not one that fixed anything.
I was a man who’d spent a lifetime burning bridges, and here she was—asking me to build something.
"As…" The word stuck in my throat. "As all of it. Everything. Whatever you’ll give me, I’ll take."
The air between us was thick. Heavy. Full of all the things we weren’t saying.
I’m scared.
I don’t know how to do this.
I think I’m in love with you.
She didn’t answer.
But she didn’t walk away, either.
Just stood there, her breath warm against my lips, her heart pounding under my hands, her eyes searching mine like she was trying to decide if I was worth the fall.
And then, she kissed me.
Chapter 27
Billie
Ikissed him like I was trying to memorize the shape of his mouth.
My hands fisted in his shirt, yanking him closer, my body pressing against his like I could merge us into one person—no more secrets, no more lies, no morewaiting.His breath hitched, just for a second, before his arms banded around me, crushing me to him. His mouth was hot, demanding, his tongue sweeping against mine like he was starving and I was the only thing that could feed him. I bit his lower lip, hard enough to make him groan, and then soothed it with my own, my teeth grazing, my lips bruising. He tasted like coffee and frustration and something darker, something that belonged only to him.
His hands slid down my back, palms rough through the thin fabric of my hoodie, his fingers digging in just shy of pain. I arched into him, my nails scraping down his chest, feeling the way his muscles jumped under my touch. He made a sound—low, guttural, like he was losing control—and then his hands were in my hair, tilting my head back so he could kiss me deeper, harder, like he was trying to brand me from the inside out.
I gasped against his mouth, my legs trembling, my entire body alight with the kind of heat that didn’t just burn—itconsumed.His teeth closed over my bottom lip, tugging just enough to make me whimper, and then his mouth was on my jaw, my throat, the pulse point beneath my ear that made my knees weak. I clung to him, my fingers twisting in his hair, my hips pressing against his, feeling the way his body responded to mine, the way he was just as wrecked as I was.
"Billie—" My name was a warning in his voice, rough and strained, like he was trying to hold onto something and failing.
I didn’t let him finish.
I kissed him again, my lips crashing into his, my tongue sliding against his, my teeth nipping at his lower lip until he groaned, his hands tightening on my waist, pulling me flush against him. There was no space between us, no air, no thought—just this, justus,just the way his heart pounded against my chest and the way my breath came in ragged gasps and the way his mouth moved against mine like he was trying to say everything he couldn’t put into words.
I wanted to drown in it.
I wanted to let it ruin me.
His hands slid down to my waist, fingers hooking into the waistband of my leggings. I barely had time to breathe before he lifted me like I weighed nothing, my back hitting the cold wood of his desk with a thud. Papers scattered, a pen rolled off the edge and clattered to the floor. I didn’t care. The only thing that mattered was the way he looked at me—like he’d been starving for this, like he’d beendreamingof it.
"Fuck, Billie," he growled, his voice rough and low. "You have no idea how many times I’ve imagined you right here. Just like this." His hands slid up my thighs, pushing them apart, his thumbs hooking under the fabric of my leggings and dragging them down, taking my underwear with them. The air hit my skin, cool against the heat of me, and I shivered, my body arching up toward him.
