Laughing, I push back so I can see him properly. He’s wearing a Team USA jersey, a team USA hat, and the biggest smile.
“I see someone went shopping today.”
Scoffing, he holds out his arms and turns in a circle. When I seeLangfieldon his back, my heart stutters. “I had this made. Though after today, I have a feeling everyone is going to want a Langfield Team USA jersey.”
I roll my eyes, even as excitement floods me. “Right.”
With a huge smile on his face, he shakes his head. “You still don’t get it. Adeline. The whole country isn’t just proud of you, they’re in awe. Just wait. You’re the talk of Salt Lake.”
I bite my lip, my face, which has only begun cooling after the game, heating. “I can’t believe you’re here. Aren’t you supposed to be playing tonight?”
His expression turns sheepish. “Sidney’s playing.”
I smack him and gasp. “JJ.”
Chuckling, he pulls me back into his chest. “Like there was a shot in hell I’d miss this.” He peers down at me and cups my jaw. “I’ve been waiting too damn long to do this. Can I finally kiss you, baby?”
“I’m a sweaty mess,” I mumble, my insides quaking more than they have during a single Olympic game.
He shrugs. “Kiss me anyway.”
“Everyone’s watching.”
He grins. “Kiss me anyway.”
My heart is lodged in my throat, making it hard to breathe. “This is going to change everything.”
JJ ghosts his mouth against mine. “Kiss. Me. Anyway.”
So I do. I wrap my arms around him and press my lips to his, and finally, after what feels like a lifetime of waiting. I kiss JJ Hanson.
It’s not like fireworks. Those would be shocking and loud.Something for others, a show. This is slow. JJ takes his time. It’s gentle, not exactly tentative because I don’t think the man has a tentative bone in his body, but it’s reverent. And when I get greedy and slip my tongue into his mouth, he growls and buries his hand in my hair, and then he ravages me. Gone is the softness, and in its place is this fire. It consumes me. It’s like he threw gasoline on top of kindling that had been burning for years beneath the surface, and now an inferno has overtaken me. My heart races as I wrap my arms around him, pulling him closer. “I want,” I mumble, breathless. “I need.”
His blue eyes are fathomless as he pulls my mouth to his again. “I need to get you alone.”
“Oh my god, I’m gonna be sick,” Finn groans from somewhere off to the side.
I pull back from JJ, eyes wide. We’re surrounded by reporters, my family, and about a hundred thousand spectators. Fuck.
JJ doesn’t spare anyone else a glance. His focus remains on me. Cautious. Waiting. Like he expects me to push him away. Or disappear right in front of his eyes. Silly man. I’ve been waiting my entire life for him to look at me this way. There isn’t a chance I’m going to let him go. Though I do need to do something. “I need to shower,” I say with a smile.
JJ groans, his hands fisting my jersey. “Fine. Shower. Then you’re mine.”
If only he realized that I always have been.
“So this is your room,” I mumble as he leads me into the fancy suite.
“Yup.”
I doubt JJ has felt awkward a day in his life, so as he removes layer after layer, tossing his hat, gloves, scarf, and jacket onto a nearby chair, he does it like a fucking model. Smoldering at me the entire time.
I, on the other hand, take an awkward step back and trip over my own two feet, landing on the couch, still in full winter clothes.
A smirk plays on his lips. “You okay there?”
Cheeks burning, I roll my eyes. “Yeah. Obviously I meant to do that. I’m tired.” I’m rambling, but I can’t stop as nerves sweep through me. “I just won an Olympic medal and dealt with my parents, not so subtly trying to avoid the topic that is now trending online—you kissing me—while we had, like, a ten-course meal.”
He chuckles like he finds me endearing. It’s infuriating. “I thought dinner would never end.”
