Burner Account, page 23
“More.” I was almost sobbing now. “Baby. Oh my God.”
Oh, he gave me more, and I almost choked on my own breath every time he slammed himself home.
“You like that?” he panted.
He picked just that moment to thrust back in, and all I could do was moan. From the soft laugh, he got the message: you’re damn right I like it.
He kept fucking me like that, but steadily shifted to hard and fast, and before long, the bed was shrieking and we were both moaning and swearing in between gasps.
“That’s so good.” I sounded on the verge of tears. “Fuck, Isaiah. Oh, God…”
He groaned from low in his throat as a shiver went through him, and… Jesus fuck, I didn’t think anyone had ever looked sexier than he did in that moment. Sweaty. Flushed. Falling the hell apart because…
Because of me. Because he was fucking me. I was doing this to him.
Oh, hell, that was a rush. My head spun, and I didn’t even know what nonsense was tumbling off my lips, only that I hoped it was egging him on.
Isaiah’s rhythm faltered for half a stroke. When he recovered, he gritted out, “Can you come like this?” He sounded like he wasn’t just asking—he was begging me to come.
“Y-yeah,” I choked out. “I’m… Ungh… Baby, you’re gonna make me come.”
He swore and somehow managed to drive into me even harder, and he growled an order for me to come. My whole body responded as if his voice were hardwired into my brain, and I cried out as I came and he pounded into me and then he was coming too, his roar drowning out my voice as he tried to push even deeper inside me.
With one last shudder and a long sigh, he slumped over me. I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him all the way down, and he buried his face against my neck as he held me tight and trembled.
“Oh my God,” he moaned against my shoulder.
“Uh-huh.” I stroked his hair with a shaking hand. “That.”
He kissed my shoulder, then pushed himself up and gazed down at me. “You are so damn fun to fuck. You know that?”
The comment caught me by surprise, and I laughed, which brought the most beautiful smile out of him. A little bit sleepy, a little bit smug—but seriously cute and sexy.
Do you have any idea how hard I’ve fallen for you?
I kept that to myself, though. I didn’t know why. I wanted to tell him, but I was afraid of doing it too soon. Or at the wrong moment. Or—
“Hey.” He touched my face. “You still with me?”
“Yeah. Yeah.” I took his hand and kissed his palm. “Dizzy.”
The grin came back. “Mission accomplished.”
We both chuckled, then gasped as he pulled out.
“Shower?” he asked.
“Good idea.” I winced as I straightened my leg. “Ow.”
Alarm widened his eyes. “You okay?”
“I’m good.” I lifted my head to kiss him, then carefully sat up. “Hip cramp.”
He grimaced. “Sorry.”
“Eh, it was worth it. Don’t know if I’d be able to skate tomorrow,” I slurred. “But even if I needed to…” I grinned. “I am not complaining.”
Isaiah laughed and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Good thing you don’t have practice then, isn’t it?”
“Mmhmm. Definitely.”
I flexed and straightened my leg a couple of times to make sure the hip cramp was really gone. Then we got up and shuffled into the en suite bathroom for a shower.
Once the hot water was running, I found myself in one of my favorite places in the world—wrapped up in Isaiah’s arms with my head under his chin.
“I’m gonna fall asleep like this,” I murmured.
He laughed, stroking a hand down my back. “I’m not carrying you to bed.”
“What?” I pulled back enough to look up at him. “You’d just leave me on the floor?”
“Well, I mean…” He shrugged. “I’d prop you up against the wall.”
“Would you at least turn off the water?”
“Of course I would.” He kissed me lightly. “Don’t want to waste water.”
I snorted and gave him a playful shove. “Oh, so it’s not about keeping me from drowning. Just not wasting water.”
“Well. Yeah?”
“Asshole.” We both laughed, and he pulled me into his arms again.
Sighing happily, he kissed my forehead. “I think I needed that.”
“Me too.” I closed my eyes, leaning into his chest and just savoring his warmth. I did need it, too. Not just the sex, but the closeness. The utter bliss in his eyes and his voice.
I still couldn’t wrap my head around anyone thinking that just because I got paid a bunch of money to play hockey, I was too good for this man. Did they even know him?
I gazed up at him again. He smiled, a mix of satisfaction and sleepiness in his gaze. My God, he was so beautiful.
I love you so much, I wanted to say, but it stuck in my throat. I wasn’t sure why. Not the right time? Not the right place? I was so bad at this. None of my relationships had ever made it this far, and I’d never felt like this before, and I was terrified of doing the wrong thing. Or doing the right thing at the wrong time.
So instead of speaking, I cupped his face, lifted my chin, and kissed him. It didn’t seem like enough—it wasn’t all the feelings crashing around in me—but it did feel right. Like it was enough for right this minute.
The rest? We’d get there.
Mark my words, baby. I pulled him closer. I’m going to show you every single day how hard I’ve fallen for you.
And one of these days, I swear I’ll work up the courage to tell you.
Chapter 27
Isaiah
It was still early in the evening, so neither of us was ready to call it a night. We lounged around in bed for a little while just because we could, and then meandered out to the kitchen to figure out something to eat.
I didn’t feel like cooking, and I was pretty sure my brain was still fried from sex with Tanner, so we decided to be lazy and order in. I was thrilled to see that one of my favorite Mediterranean places was on one of the delivery apps now, and Tanner was totally game to try them.
“They’ll ruin you for Greek food,” I told him as I submitted the order. “Nothing will ever beat them.”
“Pfft. I highly doubt it.” He draped his legs over my lap and leaned against the couch’s armrest. “Because there’s a gyro place in my hometown that will blow anything else out of the water.”
“Mmhmm.” I put my phone aside. “We’ll see about that.”
He met me with a cocky smile. “Yes, we will.”
I chuckled and slid a hand between his calves, which were bare since he was only wearing a pair of gym shorts. Sex was amazing and all, but I hadn’t realized until him how much I’d missed casual physical contact. Cuddling in front of a movie or in bed. Affectionate touches as we showered together or navigated around each other in the morning. Once Tanner and I had become physical together, this kind of contact had become easy to the point of effortless. He didn’t get annoyed or think I was clingy; in fact, he gravitated toward me as much as I did him.
How the hell have I gone without this for so long?
“So.” Tanner’s smile was softer now. “We should start planning our trip to Hawaii.”
“Ooh, right. That’s coming up fast.”
“Mmhmm.” He gently laced our fingers together. “Anything you want to do while we’re there?”
“I have no idea, honestly. I’ve never been there. Have you?”
“I’ve been to Maui, but not Oahu.” He shrugged. “I guess we should take a look at TripAdvisor and see what there is to do.”
“Good call. We could—” I hesitated. “I was about to say we should sneak off some night and fuck on the beach, but…” I made a face. “Sand.”
Tanner laughed. “Well, and cameras.”
“Cameras?” But then I caught up. “Oh. Right. Especially if people know there are some hockey players in town.”
“Yeah.” He scowled. “I know that kind of puts a damper on things, but…”
“To be fair, I have to be careful of my career too.”
“Sure, but you don’t have cameras following you around. Or, well, you didn’t before you started dating me.”
I shrugged. “It hasn’t been that bad. Hockey players aren’t quite as high profile as, like, football stars or A-list actors, and I am a hundred percent okay with that.”
He chuckled. “Me too. Believe me.” Running his fingers along my arm, he added, “But we probably shouldn’t chance someone snapping a picture of us in public without our pants on.”
I gave a melodramatic sigh and echoed a snarky remark he’d made a while back: “Well, you just take the fun out of everything, don’t you?”
Tanner grinned unrepentantly. “I do. I’m such a buzzkill.”
“Absolutely. The worst.”
Laughing, he swung his legs down to the floor and slid toward me on the couch. “So we can’t have sex on the beach…” He drew me in closer and brushed our lips together. “But we will have a swanky room in a resort. I’m sure there’s plenty we can do in that bed.”
“Ooh, now you’re talking.” I nudged him onto his back and settled my hips between his amazing thighs. “Should we get one with a jacuzzi tub or something?”
Tanner grinned against my lips. “Hell yeah.”
“Yeah?”
“Are you kidding?” He wrapped his arms around my neck. “That would be hot as hell.”
“It better be. No point in a jacuzzi tub if it’s cold.”
Tanner’s laughter sent ripples of both affection and desire through me. I was so far gone for this man. Right now, the part of my brain that usually chimed in with why I shouldn’t pin too much hope on this thing between us was uncharacteristically silent. Those voices that never failed to remind me of my place in the world didn’t say a word.
Or maybe they did, and I just didn’t hear them over Tanner’s soft sighs and moans as we made out and wound each other up. All I knew was that this—everything we were and everything we were doing, here and now—was perfect.
The room we were staying in now was far from a luxury suite in a Hawaiian resort.
But as Tanner and I segued from laughing and kissing to something much hotter…
As we made our way down the hall to the bed we’d been sharing…
The guest room suited me just fine.
We meant to fly in two days before the wedding, but thanks to some delayed flights, we wound up coming in the day of the rehearsal. That was fine—we were going to be occupied with wedding activities for the next couple of days, and after that, we could explore the island on our own. I was so looking forward to that. Hawaii had been on my bucket list since forever, and I’d spent hours poring over TripAdvisor to see what we could do while we were here. The wedding was on Oahu, which had a ton to do, and we were going to Maui for a few days at the end of the trip. I couldn’t wait.
First things first, though—the festivities we’d come here to attend.
Emily and Buckley’s wedding was late in the afternoon, and I was genuinely amazed the tuxedoed half of the wedding party didn’t collapse and die in the first five minutes. The tropical heat and humidity had already settled in this morning when Tanner had gone for a run, and it was thick and heavy now. The reception was, mercifully, being held in a banquet hall with industrial-grade air conditioning.
The minute the ceremony was over, we all trooped into that banquet hall, and not a moment too soon, either.
“Holy shit.” Tanner fanned himself as we walked into the cold building. “I’m telling Coach to make him bag skate for a week when practice starts up.”
“Ugh.” I unbuttoned my jacket. “Make it two weeks. Just for me.”
“Deal.” We fist-bumped over it and laughed even as we wiped away sweat.
Fortunately, we all cooled down pretty quickly. Some cold drinks and appetizers helped, as did peeling off jackets for a little while. I suspected once the deejay started up the dancefloor, everyone would be ready to cut loose and work up a sweat, but for now, we were all enjoying being out of the heat.
Now that I was more comfortable and we were all starting to socialize instead of focusing on the ceremony, I took in my surroundings a bit more. Not the banquet hall, but the people who were here with us.
And… whoa.
Post-game partying with his teammates had been one thing. Everyone had been fairly casual those nights, and it had felt a lot like I was just hanging out and having beers with some regular guys.
Here? Oh, fuck. I was seriously out of my element. It was a wedding, so obviously everyone was dressed to the nines, but most of Tanner’s team was dating or married to actual models. Every woman attached to a hockey player at this function looked like she’d strolled off the cover of Vogue or something. Perfect hair and makeup. Perfectly fit. Perfectly fitted dresses.
Here I was in a suit from Men’s Wearhouse, and every other man in this building was probably wearing something that cost more than my car. Including my own boyfriend. There were times when I could ignore those persistent feelings of inadequacy, but this was very quickly becoming not one of those times. I genuinely felt like the pimple-faced kid tagging along with his friends to prom in his dad’s outdated tuxedo. At least I had a date, right?
Anyone who notices us is probably wondering why the fuck Tanner is with someone like me.
And Tanner wondered why I didn’t want to hang out with the other partners during games? I wanted to enjoy watching hockey and watching him, not spend the whole time hoping no one was waiting for security to come boot out the riffraff. Because even on days when I felt okay about how I looked, I was not in the same ballpark as the women Tanner’s teammates married or dated. Or the men, for that matter—I met Aston’s husband before the ceremony, and he looked like something off a Hollywood red carpet.
Yep, I was way out of my element. That open bar was so tempting. I knew it was a bad idea—drinking when I already felt like crap was asking for a miserable night and a worse morning after. Plus I wouldn’t embarrass Tanner like that. Apart from a glass of champagne during the toast, I very pointedly did not drink despite the siren’s call of the open bar.
I tried to shake that off as we socialized and ate hors d’oeuvres. Everyone had been nice, and I was here with Tanner, so I was going to have a good time. The lingering stench of my ex could fuck off.
At one point, Tanner’s teammate Bens and his wife, Cecilia, caught up with us. As we chatted, Cecilia gestured with her glass at me. “You know, when the season starts up again, you should join us in the partners’ suite. I can definitely get you an invitation.” She chuckled. “I think Aston’s husband will be thrilled to not be the only man in there.”
I forced a laugh, hoping my sudden discomfort didn’t come through. “I, uh… Maybe? Honestly, I like sitting down by the glass. I can see better. And I usually go to games with a colleague, so…”
She seemed to accept that, but I could feel Tanner’s gaze on me. There were questions in his eyes, and the way he subtly squeezed my hand and raised his eyebrows asked, Is everything okay?
I nodded and smiled.
He didn’t buy it.
Fortunately, he had the good grace to wait until we had a moment alone. Keeping his voice down, he asked, “You don’t like the idea of going to the partners’ suite, do you?” I had no idea what had given it away, but I shouldn’t have been surprised he’d caught on to my discomfort. He always did.
“I, um…” I chewed my lip. “Not really, no?”
Tanner studied me, his forehead creased. “Why not? I mean, you don’t have to go if you don’t want to. I don’t want to push you. But if something about it is making you uncomfortable…”
I stared down at the marble floor beneath our dress shoes, rubbing my thumb along his as I gathered my thoughts. “I guess it’s…” I swallowed. Then I laughed, the sound so soft, the noise from the reception swallowed the sound. “I don’t know. I’m probably overthinking it.” I met his gaze through my lashes. “I just think I’d rather stay in the stands.”
That eyebrow arched. Oh, yeah, he saw right through me. But he either recognized a plea to leave it alone, or he didn’t want to dig into it here and now. Either way, he nodded. “Okay.” He pushed himself up to kiss me softly. “Just, if you change your mind, I’ll let Cecilia know. But I like having you in the stands, so I won’t complain.”
That unwound some tension in my shoulders, and I loosened my grasp on his hand. “You do?”
“Yeah.” He grinned up at me. “I didn’t used to pay much attention to the scenery, but now I have something to look at, so…” He half-shrugged.
I laughed with a little more feeling this time. “I should start bringing signs to warmups again. See if I can make you laugh.”
Tanner gave me a playful shove. “You just want me to fall on my ass.”
“No, I want you to take good care of that ass so it’s not bruised when we’re in bed.”
He almost tripped right then and there, but I kept him upright.
“Learning to walk, are we?” I asked with a grin.
He rolled his eyes, but he was smiling.
On our way back to rejoin the party, I said, “No, I don’t want you to fall on your ass. But you could toss me some pucks.”
“Uh-huh. How many pucks do you have, anyway?”
“Probably too many.”
“Eh, you can never have too many pucks.”
“Exactly.” I elbowed him. “So you gonna toss me some?”
He just laughed, and we continued socializing.
Maybe ten or fifteen minutes later, Tanner stepped away for a moment to get a drink, but when he came back, he gestured over his shoulder. “Buckley wants to get some pictures down on the beach with all the Yellow Jackets that are here.” He gave me an apologetic smile. “It should only be a few minutes.”
I laughed and kissed his cheek. “It’s okay. We don’t have to be joined at the hip every second.” I gestured in the direction his teammates were walking. “Go. Have fun.”
