Page 20 of Hot Stuff
“True.” Dropping a quick kiss to her temple, I lean back and reveal more than I probably should. “You settle me. I can’t explain it. I just feel as though after months of upheaval, the ground beneath my feet is finally steady.”
“It’s probably more the job you’ve accepted than me.”
“No. That’s part of it, sure, but it’s you. And at the risk of diving deeper than either of us will be comfortable with, I have to tell you this—us, together—is the most right thing I’ve ever felt. And that includes when I strap on skates and hit the ice, and I feel pretty damn right doing that.”
“Your injury, the shift in career focus makes that feel less right.”
“Again, no. This here, you and me, feels far more right than hockey ever has.”
Her body goes taut against me.
Fuck.
I shouldn’t have said that.
Except putting that out there also feels right.
I know it’s fast, I know we barely know each other even though I’ve had my dick in her. We’re connected on a level I never expected, a depth that should scare the shit out of me, and it does.
There’s a healthy dose of fear skating through my veins right alongside the knowledge that I’m meant to be here, with her.
This woman, she has me tied tight. Even with the fear of what’s to come, I’m not unhappy.
Less than twenty-four hours ago I would have said nothing could make me happy.
Not a woman.
Not a job offer.
Nothing short of being told I’d play again at the same level I did before Blanchett slammed me into those boards would have made me happy.
Hours.
It’s taken a measly few hours for the woman in my arms to change everything about my life.
This morning everything I’d worked for had been ripped out from under me and I had no clear view of where to go next until she walked out from behind those blinding lights and my body went on hyper alert.
I hadn’t recognized it then. I should have. I’d never reacted to a woman like that in my life, but I’d put it down to the numbness my relationship with Kristina had left me in.
It took one look at Oakley James for my body to realize I wasn’t dead.
It took a bit longer for my brain to catch up.
And while it’s too early to talk about my heart, I’m positive it’s involved here.
I can’t put it into words. Don’t want to. Not yet. There are too many things that need to be dealt with first.
But for now, I’m going to enjoy the woman in my arms and this night before either of us has to face the world outside this suite.
Bending my head, I bring my lips to her ear and whisper, “Talk to me.”
“This is big.”
I hear her hesitation. Her fear. “It is.”
“It could get complicated.”
“There’s nocouldabout it. It’s going to get complicated as fuck.”
