Page 48 of Skating to Him

“Oh.” With a smirk, he stood and skimmed his briefs and sweats up his legs and then sat next to me, twisting his torso to face me and winding an arm around my shoulders.

“Don’t you go after guys for me. You have too much at stake right now.” I pressed my lips together. He needed to hear me on this. He shouldn’t be playing any differently now that we were together.

“But I couldn’t let him get away with that shit.” He rested his hand on my chest, over my heart. “If it were an NHL game, I wouldn’t have held back.”

“Would you have left it alone if we weren’t seeing each other?” I ticked a brow. “You haven’t heard back from the scout yet, have you?” And if he made it to the Blackhawks, our time together would end at graduation in May. My chest pinched. Fuck, how was I only thinking about this now? I gritted my teeth for a beat. Because now it really mattered. I had feelings for him, and they grew stronger by the second.

His gaze left me for a moment and returned. “I don’t know, probably not. If the guy had started shit with Myles or Ace, I’d have done the same thing.” He rolled his lips. “Okay, maybe not as severe, but I’d still have gotten into the guy’s face.”

He was catching feelings too. With my heart flickering, I said, “Just watch yourself. I don’t want you getting suspended over me.”

“I won’t.” He huffed and played with the edge of the pocket of my hoodie. “He fucked up your knee though. What’s that going to do for your scouting chances if you aren’t even playing?”

“It’s only for a few weeks. I’ll be back out there in no time.” I caught his hand in mine and threaded our fingers together. “I want you to get this chance in Chicago. With your mom being ill, it’ll do you some good to have your home base there.” As an ache weaved through my chest, I kissed his knuckles.

“Rowan, where do you want to go after graduation?” He worried his lower lip. “Do you have an agent yet?”

“I do not.” I breathed in deeply. “My dad’s been working on it, but I haven’t heard anything yet.” What the hell would Dad think if he knew I was fooling around with my D-line partner? Holy hell, would he cut me off? I furrowed my brows and hung my head.

“Hey, what are you thinking about?” He kissed the top of my hair. “I could put in a good word for you with Dean. If he’s looking for a new client, he might pick you up.”

My gaze snapped to his, my heart lightening. “You’d, uh, you’d do that?” Tyler had serious connections all over the league.

“Of course.” He tapped the tip of my nose. “Wouldn’t it be cool if he could get us both signed with Chicago and we could continue our killer defense there?”

My eyes widened. He was thinking that far ahead? Like we might still be together? I wasn’t going to jinx this. “It would be wicked cool, Hodge. You and I would tear it up.” I leanedagainst his chest, his body heat warming me. “You’re making me think this thing between us is way more than lust.”

“It is.” He squeezed me to his chest. “I knew it when fucking Knight hit you. I’ve never been that heated over a bad hit. I’m usually pretty levelheaded.” He scoffed a laugh. “I’m not looking forward to the next games without you there.” He sighed. “I wonder if Coach will pair me with Burns.”

As my lips parted, I looked at him. He was all but telling me he was falling for me. Was he? Or was it wishful thinking on my part? I shifted, my knee protesting, and I winced.

“Hey, watch yourself.” He leaned over and checked my ice pack. “I think it’s been more than twenty minutes. We should take this thing off for now.”

I stared at him. He was going on about serious shit and not even realizing it. “Tyler, I’m falling for you.” My heart all but stopped. Holy shit, I’d said it.

He halted with his hands on the ice pack, and then he slid it out of the compression bandage and turned to me. Cupping my cheek with his gaze darting between my eyes, he said, “Same. I’m falling hard here, Mackenzie.” His throat dipped with a long swallow. “I don’t know what it is about you, but I can’t help myself.”

“Good. Don’t fight it. I’m not.” Wrapping my hand around his nape, I pulled his lips to mine, slanting my mouth over his and claiming him in a deep kiss. My heart swarmed with warmth. Tonight, nothing else mattered. Not the end of the season, not Chicago, and not what anyone else thought of us. We’d work things out. We had to.

As the kiss broke, he planted his forehead against mine and said, “Let’s watch a movie and cuddle. What do you think?”

“I think that’s a fine idea.” I wanted to make the most of our night together. I held my hand out toward my discarded beer on the coffee table. “And we have some beers to drink.” I gave him a wide smile.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

TYLER

Ifluttered my eyes open to sunlight streaming in between the blue blackout curtains over the window and wrapped my arm tighter around Rowan. He was pressed to my front, and I was pretty sure our bodies had gravitated toward each other all night. God, I’d slept well with him beside me. It was like his presence calmed something in my soul.

Nuzzling my face into the back of his neck, I breathed him in and pressed my morning wood into his backside. We’d confessed our feelings last night, and it had felt right. Everything had just clicked into place at the game, and I’d realized I wanted him by my side…always. When they pulled Rowan from the game, it was like my own heart had been ripped from my chest and left with him. I couldn’t wait for the game to be over so I could get to him. Jesus fuck, I had it bad. Would he go to Chicago with me if given the chance? I had the connections to at least get him into a minor league there. Would he do that for me? We had time. We’d figure things out. Who knew if I’d even end up there?

“I can hear you thinking from here.” With a soft chuckle, he rolled in my arms to his back, his sleepy gaze winding to mine. “Shit, what time is it?”

“No idea, but we have nowhere to be.” I rocked my hips, pressing my now-aching dick into him. Would he be open to more this morning?

“Damn, someone is very awake.” He rolled again, facing me, grabbed my hips, and slotted his hot, hard cock next to mine. He fussed with a lock of my hair on my forehead. “You know you always have perfect fucking hair? Even in the morning.”

“What?” The corner of my lips curled. That was a weird but nice thing to say. The pressure of his dick against mine shivered heat over my skin.

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