Page 43 of One Pucking Heart

She laughs. “I know. Sucks for you, but anyway, it is what it is.”

Standing from the couch, I walk over to her and hug her. “That’s all good news.”

“Yeah, it is, but there’s more.” She puckers her lip in a smirk.

“More?” I take a step back. “Do tell.”

“Well…” She steeples her hands in front of her face. “I got the MRI results back from your test yesterday, and based on the results and your performance in PT, you’re cleared to start full-day practices with the team!”

“Fuck yeah!” I pick her up and spin her around. “That’s better than any fortune.”

The team’s lower-intensity training months are over, and come Monday, we’re back to full days of practice, skills, and lifting to prepare for the start of the season. I wasn’t sure I’d be ready to go back, so I’m beyond relieved that I am.

I set Elena down. “I knew you’d be thrilled. I’m excited to start working with some of your teammates. The only one I really know is you.”

“First, I’m the only one you need to know.” I pin her with a stare, causing her to giggle. “Second, you only work with injured guys, so let’s hope you don’t get to know any of them because we have a Cup to win this season.”

“I know. Of course I’m not hoping for serious injuries. I can guide players to make healthy choices and in the development of practices that will keep their bodies in top shape. That’s what I meant. Anyway, this is the best day, and we should celebrate.”

“Agreed. What did you have in mind?”

The air in the room changes. It grows heavy, stuffy with desire. I feel it, and there’s no doubt she does, too.

She swallows hard and takes another step back from me, putting distance between us. She runs her hands up and down her arms. “Um… I don’t know. We could go out to eat or something? Maybe see a movie?”

I suppress a chuckle. Is she serious with this see a movie shit? She knows exactly what she wants. The need is pulsating from her body. It’s visceral, weighing heavily on us both.

The way I see it, this could play out one of two ways. I can play nice, go along with her charade, and look up movie times, or I could cut through the bullshit and take what I want. This week has been way too lonely without her, making my choice clear.

Besides, I can’t remember a time I haven’t gone after what I want, and I’m not about to start now.

In three quick steps, I close the gap between us. Threading my fingers through her hair, I pull her face toward mine and kiss her—hard and unrelenting, exactly how I’ve wanted to for a week now. My lips have craved hers. I’ve missed her touch, her moans of pleasure, her body, and her soul. She’s given me a fraction of herself this past week, the “forced smile-everything is fine” version. I can’t survive on that, not when I know what the real Elena is like, the woman I got to have in Vegas.

She pulls her mouth from mine. “Beck, we can’t.” Her words hold no conviction.

“Why not?” Hands against her head, I keep her face close to mine.

“Because it’s not real. We have to… have boundaries.”

My tongue sweeps out to wet my lips. “We’ve been over this. We’re consenting adults, Elena. There is nothing wrong with enjoying the perks of this arrangement. There’s no deceit here. We know where this is going and where it’s not. No one is taking advantage of anyone else.”

She breathes heavy. Pupils dilated, she holds me in her stare but doesn’t respond.

“Tell me you don’t want to feel me inside you, Elena. Tell me you don’t want me to make your body writhe with pleasure. Just say the word, and this will be over. I’ll look up movie times. Say it.”

She bites her bottom lip and gives me a slight shake of her head. “I can’t.”

“Tell me what you want,” I order, done with being the one always chasing her. Her desire is equal to my own, and she needs to own it.

She remains quiet.

I drop my hands and take a step back.

“Wait,” she calls out. “I want you. I want you to fuck me. Is that what you want to hear?” Her words sound angry, but I know it’s the lust that weighs heavy on us both that makes her sound that way.

I smile. “That’s exactly what I want to hear. Take off your clothes.” We make quick work of disrobing. In a matter of seconds, we stand naked before each other. I nod toward the sofa. “Turn around. Bend over. I’m going to take you hard and fast.”

Elena whimpers, her mouth falls agape at my words. She hurries toward the sofa and does as instructed. I snatch a condom from the drawer of the coffee table and slide it over my length.

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