“That should never have been in question.”

  “Walker.” A small smile tilts my lips when she says my name again. I love the sound of it on her tongue.

  “Shh…” I press my mouth to hers hard, then pull back. “Tonight we forget about everything outside of this suite. It’s just you and me and hours of alone time. Nothing to worry about but each other.”

  “We should⁠—”

  “The only thing we should do is hop out of this tub and get back to what we were doing before I carried you in here.”

  Putting action to words, I stand and offer her a hand. Once we’re both on our feet, I don’t delay in grabbing a towel, wrapping it around her shoulders, and lifting her into my arms.

  “Are you going to make a habit of carrying me?”

  “I like you in my arms.”

  “I like being in them, but this can’t be good for your knees.”

  She’s right, it probably isn’t, but if I no longer plan on hitting the ice in a professional game I don’t need to take as much care. And as a non-sportsman, my knees are in great shape. “You don’t have to worry about that. It’s fine.”

  “Walker.”

  Her tone is chastising, and I have to laugh. “Is this what a relationship between us will be like? You telling me what to do?”

  “I’m not telling you what to do,” she huffs. “I am concerned about you hurting yourself.”

  Placing her on her feet, I wait until her gaze connects with mine before I tell her a truth only my doctors and I know.

  “My knees are fine. If I were anything but a professional hockey player, I would have been back to work and normal life months ago.”

  “But—”

  I press a finger to her lips. “The damage is repaired; unfortunately neither are or ever will be at the strength or stability they were before the injuries.”

  I don’t tell her the real reason for my need to retire. She’ll find out soon enough.

  “I still don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

  The fact Oakley isn’t concerned because she wants me to play again is refreshing. For months the only concern has been how long until I could be back on the ice.

  “I won’t push it that far,” I promise.

  “How will you know? You could trip because you can’t see something on the floor, you could bang into⁠—”

  “I promise to take care.” I can’t believe how close her comment is to the true issue. It’s probably the perfect place to tell her but I don’t. “I still want to be able to take to the ice, and I will, but you’re right, anything could happen and not just when I’m carrying you. I could get bumped on the sidewalk, slip down icy stairs, twist the wrong way, there are so many things that could set me back but I’m not going to live my life like I’m disabled. I’m not. Nowhere near it and you have to trust me to know when I’m pushing it too far.”

  She puffs out a breath and says, “Fine. You know what you can and can’t do.”

  “Ready for me to show what else I can do?” I ask, stepping into her space. I crowd her back toward the bed.

  “Oh, and what can you do, Mr. Alcott?”

  “Any damn thing I want.” I pounce, scooping her up in my arms again and dashing for the bed.

  With a laugh, I toss her on the covers still rumpled from earlier. Not giving her time to evade me, not that I think she will, I climb onto the mattress and cage her beneath me.

  We don’t speak for long moments, just gaze into each other’s eyes and communicate in a way I’ve never done before.

  This connection we have would be overwhelming if I thought too deeply about it. But when Oakley skims her hands from my shoulders to my groin, I’m not thinking at all.

  I’m diving into the woman beneath me with a soul shattering kiss.

  I touch her nowhere else; I want her like this.

  Mouth to mouth, breath to breath.

  I want to savor this contact before moving on to the next. Except Oakley has other ideas, and the hand she wraps around my cock makes it clear what they are.

  “Slow,” I murmur. “I want to go slow. Take my time getting to know every inch of you.”

  “We can go slow next time.” Her fingers tighten on my shaft. “We’ve got all night.”

  I grin against her mouth. “We do. But⁠—”

  She shoves her tongue almost down my throat before she pulls back with a nip to my bottom lip and a laugh. “Who knew it would be so easy to shut you up?”

  Soothing the sting with the stroke of my tongue, I study her. “You like the idea of being able to shut me up?”

  “Hmm…” Her hum is accompanied by a harder pull of her hand along my cock, and I can’t stop myself from groaning, from rocking my hips and shoving my dick through her fingers faster. “Nothing else to say, Mr. Alcott?”

  I smash the grin on her lips with my own. If she wants us to stop talking, we’ll stop. And if she wants things to go fast this round, I’ll oblige her. It’s not like it would be a sacrifice to take her hard and fast.

  Fuck.

  I did the minute I stepped into her suite.

  We might not have sealed that deal, but we will now. And tomorrow we’ll worry about the other deal we’re going to seal.

  For now, I want to get back between her thighs and sink deep. But when my hard flesh presses into her soft slick sex, I’m struck with a thought no man wants when he’s about to be balls deep in the woman he wants more than his next breath.

  “Fuck!” I gasp against her lips. “I don’t have⁠—”

  “What?” Her teeth nip my lip. “What don’t you have?”

  “Condom. I used the one from my wallet.” Another thought hits me. “Shit. I have no idea how old that thing was. It could be out of date. I haven’t had a need for over a year.”

  “We’re good. I’m covered. And I’m sure we’re both clean.”

  My gaze meets hers. “Yes. I had every test under the sun when I was hurt.”

  “Then we’re good to go.”

  Her words slam into me. “But⁠—”

  “IUD.” She brings her hands up to cup my jaw. “I trust you.”

  “Are you sure?” I’m not about to push this if she’s not. “We can wait.”

  “The hell we can!”

  Using some ninja move too fast for me to see, Oakley has our positions reversed before I take my next breath.

  Staring down at me she says, “I trust you.”

  “You can. But I don’t want…” I swallow hard. “Oakley,” I breathe out.

  “We’re doing this. We’re going to be together and we’re going to do it while we show the world the Rogues are a force to be reckoned with.”

  Before I can agree or disagree, she lifts up, one hand holding my dick still, the other on my chest. With her eyes on mine, she lowers her body until the tip of me is barely inside her.

  “I trust you, Walker.”

  Her words are like a fist around my heart, squeezing tight, holding on as though nothing could ever pull us apart.

  And as she takes me in, a slow slide of her slick flesh down my hard length, I know she means more than the fact we’re having sex with nothing between us.

  I’ve never been inside a woman bare. Never thought about it. In fact, I’ve turned sex down when a condom wasn’t available. I like that it’s Oakley I’m popping this particular cherry with.

  I can’t help the smile that stretches my lips or the chuckle that rumbles in my chest.

  “Something funny?”

  “Yeah.”

  She stops with an inch or two left to take and for a second I panic. Thinking she’s preparing to rise up, I slam my hands on her hips, shove her the rest of the way down. The puff of air that leaves her throat matches the one I suck in at the sensation of being fully inside her.

  “Sorry. I was thinking about you taking my cherry.”

  Blinking at me, her expression is full of confusion, and I laugh again.

  “I’ve never taken a woman bare,” I say before she can take offense.

  “Oh.” Then she’s smiling at me. Big and bright and I can’t stop myself from sitting up and pressing my mouth to hers.

  The kiss is slow and soft and sweet, and I want to keep doing it for hours, but Oakley has other ideas. Hands on my face, she pulls away and locks her gaze on mine.

  “I’ve never let anyone take me bare.”

  Her confession has my heart tripping in my chest. My blood rushing in my veins. My dick throbbing deep inside her.

  Every step of the way we seem to stumble into emotions neither of us are ready for or expecting.

  I know what this is, where it’s going. I can see it all laid out like a movie reel in my head.

  I’m going to grow old with this woman. No matter what happens with the Rogues, if we manage to handle me being head coach or not, I’ll be beside Oakley for the rest of my life.

  And right now, I want to show her how I’m feeling, because Lord knows we aren’t ready for the words.

  For me to say them.

  Or for her to hear them.

  But I can definitely show her. Speak to her heart in a language as old as time.

  Lying back, I take her with me and roll. Cradling her face in my hands, I drop my mouth to hers and take her mouth the way I intend to take her body.

  Slow and sweet and gentle, I rock us.

  With each thrust, I push a little deeper, a little harder but not faster.

  It’s a languid sweep of our senses, an easy stroll to the peak, and when we finally reach the point of no return with our eyes locked, mouths joined, my cock deep inside her clutching depths, we fly together.

  Oakley

  Before I open my eyes, I have a smile on my face.

  Yesterday had been the best day.

  And I’m not just smiling about KAW securing the National Hockey League’s newest franchise.

  No.

  The smile on my face has as much to do with the man currently curled around me as reaching a goal we’ve been working years to attain.

  I’m not normally a smug person but I feel pretty damn smug about the Rogues right now. Especially when we were told more than once KAW and the Baton Rouge Rogues wouldn’t get the green light.

  Walker’s fingers flex against my stomach before pressing hard for a fraction of a second then trailing over my skin in tiny circles.

  “Morning.” His voice rumbles along my neck and against my spine where his chest presses into me. “Regrets?”

  A bark of laughter leaves my throat before I can answer him. “Hell no. You?”

  “Not on your life.”

  The hand on my stomach moves upward. His fingers spreading wide, palm flat, he continues until he curls his fingers around my jaw. With a gentle tug, he tilts my head until I can feel his breath on my lips.

  Opening my eyes, my gaze meets Walker’s sleepy one. His eyes are more gray than blue this morning and I wonder if they change with his moods or the light.

  “What are you thinking about?” he asks.

  “Your eyes.”

  “My eyes?” He smiles. “What about them?”

  “They’re more gray today. Last night they were more blue. Yesterday at the studio they were a mix.”

  “Yeah, they change depending on the light.”

  “Not with your mood?”

  He shrugs. “Don’t know. It’s not something I’ve thought about. Except when someone points it out.”

  “Hmm…” Maybe we can do an experiment. Arching my back, I press my ass into his groin, wiggle a little to get his attention…

  And there. The blue is bleeding in. It’s fascinating to watch.

  “What are you doing?” he growls with a thrust of his hips.

  I grin. “They change with your mood too.”

  He stills. Pops up on his elbow and leans over me. “You did that on purpose to find that out?”

  I’m trying not to laugh at his fake affronted look. But then he pokes me in the side and I’m helpless to stop the laughter from breaking free.

  “Oh, it’s funny to play with me, is it?” He’s up on his hands and knees and flipping me to my back in a second. “Let’s see how you like it when I play with you.”

  I’m laughing harder and enjoying every second of this man’s play. This is a side of him I haven’t seen yet and I like it.

  When I finally manage to get some words out, it’s, “You can play with me whenever you want.”

  It’s his turn to laugh when I attempt an eyebrow waggle that I’m sure looks like a demented clown’s. Using his distraction, I use the same move I did last night and switch our positions.

  “You didn’t let me finish what I was doing last night,” I say, staring down at him.

  His hands find my waist. “You want to be on top?”

  “Yes.” It’s my usual MO. And even though I’ve let Walker take the lead so far, and enjoyed it, I can’t stifle the habits of a lifetime.

  “Oakley!” he snaps out my name, bringing me back to the moment. He’s eyeing me carefully. “You do that a lot.”

  “Do what?” But I don’t need him to explain. I know I spend a lot of time analyzing and overthinking things.

  “Don’t do that.”

  “Sorry.”

  “It’s okay. But don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about. At the risk of destroying the mood, I’m going to remind you I’ve had my fill of women who lie.”

  I close my eyes. God. I’m such an idiot. “Okay. No more deflecting.”

  “Attempted.”

  “Sorry?”

  “Attempted deflecting. I see you, Oakley James. And I’m not running.”

  “I—” My mouth slams shut.

  Am I deflecting?

  In a way, yes, but with Walker it’s more…a way to slow things down. I know he speaks the truth. He does see me. More clearly than anyone ever has.

  He strokes a finger down my nose and draws me out of my head again. “You think deep. I like that. It means the things you do are genuine.”

  “I’m careful.”

  “I get that. It’s why you’re that way that has my curiosity screaming to dig and find out all your secrets, but I won’t. Want to know why?”

  I nod.

  “Because we’re going to discover everything about each other soon enough. I’ll know you inside out before we’re done. The reverse will also be true.”

  I’m still nodding because I believe him—agree with him.

  “You and me are going to have an amazing life.”

  My throat constricts. I see the promise of his words in his eyes. Eyes that have gone completely gray, like a storm rolling in from the Gulf.

  “Hey.” Both his hands cradle my face. “We’re in this together. One day at a time.”

  “I’m sorry.” I sniffle. The threat of tears takes me by surprise. “I just…”

  “I’m with you. It’s been an emotional twenty-four hours.” He grins up at me and I lean forward to press my mouth to his.

  With our lips touching I say, “How has it been only twenty-four hours?”

  “Yeah, feels like a lifetime to me too.” His grin widens before he changes the angle of my head with his hands and slants his mouth over mine.

  The kiss is a sweet exploration, a slow meld of lips, stroke of tongues, mingle of breaths.

  A phone rings in the other room and I pull back. “What time is it?”

  He glances at the closed curtains. “I have no idea.”

  Neither of us wears a watch and we left our phones in the main room of the suite after we chowed down on a midnight snack. “Those things really block shit out.”

  “At a guess I’d say it’s at least seven.”

  “Oh?”

  “I’m usually up at six every day. Even when I can sleep in, I’m always up by seven.” He shrugs. “It feels like seven.”

  “Shit!” I spring up off the bed and race for the door.

  “Hey! Where are you going?”

  “I’m supposed to be on a call!” I yell as I throw open the bedroom door and rush across the outer room to my phone.

  Snatching it up, I see I’ve got three missed calls, a few messages, and it’s actually eight! “Double shit!”

  “What? What’s wrong?”

  My gaze swings to the bedroom doorway where I find a very naked Walker leaning against the frame. “Ah…”

  God, he’s beautiful. All of him. Every last inch⁠—

  “Hey! Eyes up, Oak, what’s wrong?”

  “Huh?” My gaze meets his. “Oh. Right. I’ve missed the call. It’s eight, not seven, and I’m starving.” That last I add for two reasons.

  One, I want to lick him up one side and down the other.

  And two, my stomach is rumbling.

  Our midnight snack wasn’t a substitute for the dinner we both missed last night.

  If we’re going to do this—work together and be together—we need to stop getting distracted. Or at least not let the distractions stop us from meeting our obligations.

  “My missed meeting is okay; it was only with Nat and Blake. I can call them later.” I mentally run through what’s on my list for today and realize the only other thing is trying to convince Walker Alcott to take the job of head coach.

  It seems I’m ahead even if I’m behind.

  Grinning, I head in his direction. “So, I’ll reschedule my call—it was just a check-in after yesterday, and then I’ll order us some breakfast. Unless you have somewhere you need to be?”

  “I do. But it can wait.” He pulls me into his arms. “I’d love to have breakfast with you. Spend a little more time just you and me without the world intruding.”

  I sigh. “That’s sounds so good.” My stomach rumbles again. “As you can hear, I’m starving.”

  “It’s all that energy you expended last night. You need to refuel.”

  “We both do.”

  “Yes.” His gaze is on mine, and I can tell he wants to say something else but before he does, he lets me go and taps me on the ass. “Go reschedule that call and order us some food, woman.”

  “Hey! You can order the food while I reschedule.”

  One side of his mouth kicks up in a cheeky smirk. “So I can. All right. Divide and conquer. I like it.”

  “What about that do you like?” I have to know if he’s thinking the same thing I am.

 

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