Page 133 of Pucking Strong

“Does it bother you? You have very little hair by comparison.”

He spins around to face me, grabbing my wrists before I can drop my hands away. He presses my hands back to the flat planes of his chest, smiling like he has a lantern glowing inside him. “I have some hair. See?” He moves my wrists, letting my palms brush over the fine, soft hairs of his chest.

“I have more hair,” I remind him. “Does it bother you?”

Still smiling, he drops his hands to the bottom of my T-shirt and slips them up and under. It’s my turn to stifle a gasp as he glides his hands over my stomach and up to my chest, lifting the hem of my shirt as he goes. I feel my skin heat under his smooth palms. His thumbs brush circles against my coarse chest hair. “It doesn’t bother me, baby.” He leans in, his lips by my ear. “It turns me the fuck on.”

Before I can respond, Karro’s voice comes from the bedroom, shouting in Swedish. “Teddy, Morbror, look, it came, it came!”

Teddy and I break apart as Karro comes scooting into thebathroom on the new walker/rider toy we ordered for her last week. It’s purple and shaped like a puppy and will let her zoom around the apartment using just her weight-bearing leg. Her smile is dazzling as she shoots forward three feet, almost hitting the side of the tub.

“What are you doing?” she says in English, glancing between us.

“Nothing,” I say in Swedish, stepping away from him.

With a laugh, Teddy pulls two sweaters off the shelf. “Morbror was just helping me get dressed for our big date.” He holds up the sweaters for me. “Blue or tan, babe?”

I can’t help but smile as, from the bathroom, Karro shouts, “Blue!”

“This is so weird.” I let Henrik take my hand as we make our way towards the restaurant. Trust Jake Price to find an authentic, Japanese-style izakaya in Jacksonville, Florida. It smells good, even from the outside. And it looks cute. A string of red lanterns glow above the door.

“What’s weird?” says Henrik. “You don’t like Japanese food?”

“Are you kidding? I love Japanese food. No, I’m saying it’s weird that I’m here, going out with your teammates.”

He holds me back, searching my face. “Why?”

I shrug. “I don’t know.”

“Teddy …”

“Okay!” I brush his hand away. “I guess part of me feels like I never really shed the label of ‘the intern,’ you know? I still feel like that lanky kid who tripped over my shoelaces and fumbled with ice packs. Going out to dinner with ‘the guys’ feels a little like sitting at the big kids’ table. Am I crazy?”

“I think you’re giving Novikov entirely too much credit.”

“But he still has a seat at the table. He’sin, Henrik. He’s an assistant captain. And I’m just … me.”

He smiles. “Chin up, mitt hjärta.”

“Well, just cover for me, okay?”

He leads the way inside the loud, bar-like restaurant. “Cover you? Like pay for you meal? Of course I will.”

“No, coverforme,” I say, raising my voice to be heard over theJapanese pop music. “Deflect attention. You know, ask questions and stuff. And keep them from teasing me.”

“All will be well.”

As we weave between the tables, I look around for our voyeur. Poppy said a guy would come by with a camera and maybe even ask for a sound bite. They’re posting this to all the team’s social media accounts tonight.

The photos from our first date night went even more viral than Henrik’s press conference speech. Fans freaked out at the pictures and video of us dancing on the beach. Not gonna lie, the pics are fucking swoon-worthy. Not as great as the actual memory of slow dancing in the surf. But I definitely saved them all to my phone, showed them to a squealing Hanna and Karro, and set one as my phone screen saver.

I’m curious to see what tonight’s action will bring.

“Hey, there they are,” Novy shouts, waving us over.

All the guys get up to greet us. Caleb and Jake dragged Mars along. Novy sits with Morrow on the other side of the table. Henrik and I make seven. All the men shake my hand, with Morrow adding a sideways, one-armed hug.

“Fucking finally,” says Jake, climbing back onto his stool. “We started the first round without you.”

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