Page 64 of Sweet Temptation (Men of Honor 2)
“EEEKKK!” she squeals again, “Oh gosh, don’t you drop me, Sawyer,” she laughs nervously.
“Wrap your legs around my waist, baby. Just watch your blades, I have enough scars on my back,” I say with a smirk.
Her laughter dies, and her expression turns sad. Well shit, that wasn’t my intention. “I’ll be careful,” she replies softly.
When her knees grip each side of my hips I begin long, smooth glides. Her smile returns, but her fingers clench tightly on my shoulders. “Relax, baby, I’ve got you.”
She looks at me a little unsure. “What happens if I fall?”
Not being able to resist I reach up under her long, silky hair and cup the side of her slender neck. “I’ll never let you fall, Grace.”
Her breath hitches just before she gives me a soft smile. Leaning down, she lets me have a small taste of her sweet mouth with a gentle kiss before letting go of my shoulders.
Raising her arms out at her sides, she closes her eyes, “Faster,” she whispers softly.
I quicken my strides, and the faster I go, the bigger her smile becomes. Her expression is soft, and her hair begins to blow gently around her face from our speed. And it’s in this moment, as I hold her sweet, warm body against mine, I know without a fucking doubt that God made this beautiful girl just for me.
For the next forty-five minutes I went back and forth from holding her, to teaching her how to skate. We laughed and had some major hot make-out sessions, one that has my dick hard and aching to be inside of her again. All too soon Joe is peeking in, letting me know our time is up.
“Sorry, Cupcake, that’s our cue,” I say, doing a final lap while holding her again.
Her smile softening, her warm amber eyes shine with something I can’t name. “Thank you, Sexy Sawyer, for bringin’ me here. It’s a memory I’ll cherish forever.”
“You’re welcome, Cupcake. You deserve to be happy like this, Grace, always.” She rests her forehead against mine. “You make me happy, Sawyer.”
I’m not going to lie about how fucking awesome that makes me feel. This arena holds some of the best memories of my life, but this one, by far, will always be my favorite.
That night, we’re at the kitchen table eating supper, when Jesse opens her big mouth, “So I heard you had quite the night last night at Overtime?” she says with a smirk.
“What happened?” Mom asks, worriedly. “Nothing.” I glare at Jesse to keep her mouth shut.
Of course Sam smiles and joins in, “Turns out Sawyer is all sorts of possessive over Grace. He didn’t like Jase Crawford talking to her last night.”
I swing my glare over to her and silently let her know I’m going to kick her tattletale ass when we leave this table.
“Sawyer Evans, you better not have been fighting!” my mom scolds.
“Leave the boy alone, Catherine. That kid needs to be taken down a notch, he’s a hot-head just like his old man.” Everyone’s gaze swings to my dad, shocked that he just stood up for me. He doesn’t look at anyone as he continues to eat.
Eventually my mom breaks the silence, “Well, I know another father and son with the same problem, and there’s no excuse for fighting.”
“I didn’t fight, Mom, so relax, the girls are just stirring shit up,” I explain, glaring at my sisters again.
The rest of our supper conversation flows with my mom and sisters asking Grace about Florida, and what living there was like. I had worried talking about this would upset her, so I tried steering the conversation away, but Grace assured me it was fine, and she did seem okay to talk about it.
After dessert I’m about to take Grace back to the guesthouse, for a night in the hot tub, when my dad asks for my help with something in the attic. Again I’m shocked as fuck, and I’m not really sure what this is about, but I agree.
“So, I heard you played quite the game last night?” he says, breaking the awkward silence as we make our way upstairs.
I shrug, “Not bad, considering I haven’t played in a few years.”
My dad nods, uncomfortable silence settling around us again. Once reaching the attic, he leads me to the back where there’s a whole shrine dedicated to all my hockey shit. Medals, every pair of skates I’ve ever worn, old Jerseys, newspaper clippings, pictures…
“I can’t believe you kept all this.”
My dad clears his throat, “Yeah well, these are memories to keep and be proud of. And who knows, if you ever have a boy maybe this stuff could be passed down to him.”
I stare at him in shock at the mention of kids, and I begin to wonder where this is going.
He expels a breath, “Listen, son, I know shit hasn’t been good between us for a while, and I know most of that is my fault. I just… I worked my ass off, Sawyer, to give you this,” he points to my hockey shit.
“Dad…” I say warningly, not wanting to get into this with him again.
“Just hear me out.” I let out a frustrated breath and let him finish. “I worked really hard so my kids could live a good life, so they could be the best they could be and, most importantly, so I could keep them safe. Then one day my biggest fear came crashing down on me, all because my only son, the one who was going to be something great, tells me he wants to join the Navy and fight for his country.”
I watch as pain and fear washes over my Dad’s face, something I have never seen on him before.
“Well, I don’t know what to say, Dad. I lived a good life, I still do, and I appreciate everything you gave me. I still love hockey and I’ll love it until the day I die, but at the end of the day it wasn’t something I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I’m sorry if that disappoints you…”
