Page 63 of Puck Sweat Love

We say our goodbyes before Tank and I head out the front door, while Stone and Justin move toward the parking lot in back of the still busy pub.

Outside, the breeze has calmed down, leaving the air feeling warmer than it did before. Tank and I wander back to my apartment, our fingers intertwined.

“You okay with all this?” he asks after we’ve gone a block or so.

I squeeze his hand. “I’m okay with anything that helps you keep what you’ve worked so hard for. I just hope it works. And I hope they don’t get caught. I don’t know Garcia well enough to know if he’s a gullible guy, but if he’s not, this could still end badly. At least for Justin.”

Tank nods thoughtfully. “Yeah, but Garcia wouldn’t be able to fuck with the team captain. He’d have to suck it up and makenice.” He shrugs. “And knowing that someone is on to him might be all it takes to get him to back off the quest to ruin me.”

I growl softly beneath my breath. “That still makes me so mad! How dare he lie about something this serious? Your sobriety should be sacred.”

He sighs. “I don’t know. I mean, he’s an ambitious, scheming little asshole, no doubt. But maybe he doesn’t realize what overcoming addiction is really like. How fucking hard it is. He might just be ignorant, not an evil turd crapped out of Satan’s asshole.”

I snort, then sigh, loving that he’s funny, as well as brave and driven and sexy as ever-loving heck.

Andmine.

I really love that he’s mine…

“I’m so glad you’re coming home with me,” I say as we near my front steps.

He pauses on the sidewalk, his hands coming to frame my face, as gentle, but intense, as always. “I’m glad you invited me, beautiful. And I’m glad I get to say I love you tonight before we go to bed without worrying it’s too soon.”

“Nope, not too soon,” I whisper back. “Not even close.”

Back at my apartment, Mr. Sniffles greets us with his usual enthusiasm, circling our feet and snorting happily. Tank scoops him up, giving him the kind of deep, thorough ear-scratching he loves, until my snuffly old man is practically melting in his arms.

And I’m a little jealous…

“I would also like to be petted, you know,” I say breezily as I amble toward the bedroom. “I mean, if you have any pets left to give.”

Tank’s eyes darken as he sets Mr. Sniffles down. “I have anything you want, Teach.”

I bite my lip. “Good. Then, you’d better get in here and close the door before Mr. Sniffles tries to come in and watch. Youknow I don’t believe in exposing his sweet eyes to the filthy things you do to me.”

“And you do to me,” he echoes prowling across the room with a predatory grace that instantly has my blood pumping faster.

He shuts the bedroom door behind him before backing me slowly against the wall. “What do you want, baby?”

My breath catches as he presses against me, solid and warm, his cock already hard against my stomach. “I think just some basic missionary, actually,” I whisper, tilting my head back to meet his gaze. “Sweet and slow, with lots of you kissing me like you mean it. Is that too boring?”

“Nothing’s boring about you naked and under me,” he rumbles, just his voice enough to make me throb. “And that sounds perfect. I’ve been wanting to make love to you like that for a while, actually.”

There’s something so vulnerable in his admission, a touching honesty that makes my heart ache in the best possible way. I rise onto my tiptoes, pulling him down to me, claiming his mouth in a kiss that’s as sweet and real as it is steamy.

His hands span my waist, lifting me until we’re eye to eye, my back pressed against the wall for support. I wrap my legs around his hips, gasping as he grinds slowly against me, the friction delicious even through our clothes.

“Naked?” I breathe, my nipples tingling for his mouth, his hands. “Now?”

He doesn’t need to be asked twice. A beat later, we’re on the bed, his body covering mine, his mouth finding all the places that make me gasp and arch and beg. We move together in a dance that’s becoming beautifully familiar, but still so magical it isn’t long until we’re both trembling, on the verge of spiraling out together.

“Yes, baby,” he whispers against my neck, his voice strained as his thrusts come faster, deeper. “Fuck, Steph, I can feel youabout to go for me. Can’t wait to feel your pussy squeezing my dick, angel. I love making you come, love you so much.”

“Yes, oh yes,” I cry as my inner walls begin to spasm. “Love you, God, I love you.”

Later, as we lie tangled together in the quiet darkness, I find myself thinking about the future. Not just the sting operation or camp or the beginning of the season, but the bigger future.

Our future…

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