Page 97 of Puck to the Heart
I didn’t turn around. Hearing the smirk in Dante’s voice, I knew the gossip would spread through the team like wildfire, but I didn’t care. Olivia wasback, and I led the team through a tough game for a win, surprising no one more than me.
And okay, maybe it was partially that I wanted what she was offering, but it was… her. I’d give her anything she wanted, and I wanted anything she’d give me.
I loved her. Still. Despite our distance and differences and the walls we’d both thrown up.
Realization sank in again, wrapping itself around me like a warm blanket on a chilled night as I sped through the arena to my car.
Every red light in the city conspired against me. Nothing else explained how I kept catching every light I came across,andthey lasted ten times longer than usual. I was too fixated on getting home to check the mirror, but I would’ve put money on my looking like a wild animal.
As I neared my driveway, I slammed the garage door opener, praying the damn thing didn’t crash on the hood of my car.
Inside, I found Olivia, perched on a stool in the kitchen, waiting for me.
When I approached, she deliberately set her phone down with an audible clack, turning the entire intensity of her gaze on me. Something inside me cracked and came back together, reforged. The way I needed her consumed me, and if we didn’t hash things out now, before our clothes came off, we might never make it to that point. “You wanted to talk?” My voice held the longing of the past few weeks. The hurt of missing her and the way we left things.
It ached; the moment condensing between us.
Reaching for the end of her ponytail, Olivia twisted the brown strands around her the tips of fingers as she began to talk. They climbed higher, twining around the length of her fingers as she told me about Alex’s offer (seriously, fuck that guy), meeting with her mentor who helped her find a jobandgave Darren a place to live where Olivia wouldn’t be frantic with worry. Everything seemed to tie itself up for her with a neat little bow.
“And I’ll start at PSU in two weeks.” Excitement flowed from her in waves, bringing a sparkle to her aquamarine eyes I’d rarely seen when she spoke about work.
I loved seeing her so excited. “That’s amazing, Barnes.”
“Mmm. All that’s left is…” She trailed off, glancing down at her hand and the hair she’d knotted with her fidgeting. Releasing it, she looked back up to meet my eyes. “I guess what I’m asking is if you still want me around. I know what we said at the game, but I wanted to be sure. I mean,I’msure, but I wanted you to be. Sure, that is.”
Her babbling turned her cheeks pink in an adorable flush. “I’m sure I love you. I’m sure I want you to stay. I’m sure I want everything with you. Is that what you meant?”
The nod she gave was slow and deliberate. “Good, because otherwise this would be really awkward.” When she rose and sauntered toward my bedroom, I realized she wore my jersey and nothing else.
It was sofucking hot.
The mostly hidden curve of her ass drew my eyes down as I followed her in a trance through my bedroom to the stone shower, where she pulled the jersey over her head and tossed it to the floor.
“Holy fuck.” This was new, so much of our time together passed too quickly, I’d so rarely been able to take her in and savor her.
I knew she’d usually hate the attention, but the weight of her gaze in the mirror as I studied her was a monumental thing.
“Your turn,” she said, turning away to turn the water on.
Steam quickly flooded the room, erasing all the hard edges and creating a soft, sensual cloud. I stripped faster than I had in my life. My hands clenched and unclenched, wanting to reach for her, but afraid the time apart might make me too…aggressive. Too intense, needing to bury myself inside her while I buried the hurt.
Olivia might like it, but I wasn’t ready, needing to readjust to our newly bridged canyon. As if she sensed it, she stepped forward, her fingertips grazing the looping trail of the vines in my tattoos.
“You first,” she said. The look in her eyes promised heat. “Sit on the ledge.”
Following instructions was one of the first things I learned as an athlete, so I did, my excitement and dick growing.
One of the jets sprayed on the stone seat inside the massive shower, warming it, and I sank onto it. Water sluiced over my body, easing tension and exhaustion from the game, but ramping up my anticipation at the same time. Each drop left a burning trail as it slid along my over-sensitive skin. Reluctant to avoid Olivia’s gaze but needing a reprieve from my spinning thoughts, I tipped my head back beneath the deluge, letting it course over me. Besides, after all the times she’d compared me to a statue, I might as well look like one.
A pleased humming sound announced her enjoyment of the scene, and my mouth curved into a slow grin.
“Like what you see, Barnes?” Leaning up to peer at her through the steam and water, I matched her gaze along my body with my eyes on her.
“Shut up. It should be illegal to look like that.”
“Like what?”
“You know exactly what you look like, Ash Wilder.”
