“Jordan, here’s the thing: I really like you, really like us, and I am so scared of ruining it. I don’t want to rush any of this. I feel like that would be incredibly easy for me to do because I have an overwhelming desire to be with you every second of every day, but I want this to work so I don’t want to push it too far too fast.”

  The sincerity in his voice and words whisked away all of my self-doubt and feelings of rejection. “I think that is the nicest thing a guy has ever said to me. Even though I want nothing more than to be in your bed again, I think you’re right. We should take this slow, or at least try to.”

  “Fuck, I am so relieved you agree. I didn’t want you to think too much into it. I am just happy and don’t want to fuck that up for either of us. I’m in this, Jordan, and I will do my best to prove it to you every damn day that you’ll let me.”

  “I’m in this too.”

  Chapter 13

  Jordan

  The next morning, I was woken up by my doorbell ringing. I glanced at the clock on my nightstand: it was nine in the morning, but it felt like six. I grabbed my robe up off of the floor and trudged to see who the hell would be so rude as to come over at what felt like the ass crack of dawn.

  Groaning, I opened the door to find no one standing there, just a bouquet of a dozen long-stemmed white roses with a handwritten note from Will.

  Good morning gorgeous.

  I hope you slept well. I have a surprise for you tonight.

  Meet me at the arena after practice.

  Dress casual and bring a jacket.

  I have everything already taken care of.

  See you later.

  Yours, Crosby

  I thought it was adorable that Will had signed the card with his last name. Even though I had been calling him Will for a long while, it felt so much more natural to call him Crosby. It was most likely because all my friends did, and in conversation it was easier to call all the guys by their last names.

  I snapped a picture of the beautiful flowers and sent it to Crosby along with a text.

  Me: You’re amazing. They’re beautiful.

  Crosby: I’m glad you like them.

  Me: I like you…the flowers are a nice touch though.

  Crosby: So, you are free tonight, right?

  Me: I’m all yours, sir.

  Crosby: I love the sound of that.

  Me: Me too.

  Crosby: Practice shouldn’t get out too late. Do you want me to send a car for you?

  Me: I think I can manage.

  Crosby: Just let me know if you change your mind.

  Me: About seeing you or the car?

  Crosby: Don’t toy with me little girl. You know what happens to bratty girls, don’t you?

  Me: Yes Daddy.

  Crosby: Good girl.

  Crosby

  It was our Monday morning routine—Gavin, Brayden, and I all went to the gym together before heading to a greasy diner for lunch.

  “So, how’d it go last night? The Bates clan eat you alive?” Gavin asked, placing the weights in the squat rack.

  “Actually, I had a great time and it wasn’t until the end that her dad threatened to have his sons break my legs. All in all, I would call it a win in my book.”

  “I got off easy when meeting Myla’s family,” Gavin teased his brother-in-law as he put the straight bar up on his back.

  “Oh, shut up dude. I was ready to kill you when I found out.”

  I remembered that day in the locker room like it was just yesterday. I was sure Brayden was actually going to knock Gavin’s teeth in. “But look at the two of you now, fucking bromance of the year.”

  “Myla had it bad meeting my folks for the first time, but I don’t even get along with them so there was no surprise there.”

  “Oh to be a fly on the wall that night when Coach had to break bread with his arch nemesis’s spawn. He must have damn near had a heart attack.” I couldn’t even imagine how awful that must have been for everyone at that table.

  “I think my mom was worse than Dad was—fucking ice queen.”

  “She should become best friends with Jordan’s sister-in-law, Janet. They can scowl at each other awkwardly as they sigh all night long. You know I spent hours at that house last night and I have no idea what the woman’s voice sounds like.”

  “I told you man, she’s fucking awful.” Gavin was up.

  “Thankfully, Myla, Karla, and Jordan are all normal chicks. I don’t know how some men deal with their crazy bitchy wives,” Brayden remarked before taking a swig of water.

  “I think denial comes into play for most guys. I have a crazy ex-wife, but up until the rose-colored glasses were ripped off my face, I thought Mindie was God’s gift to the damn planet.”

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right on that front.”

  “Lunch time?” Gavin threw the weights down as Brayden and I agreed.

  “A greasy burger is calling my name.” I was practically salivating thinking about the carnivore’s dream I was about to sink my teeth into: a half-pound burger with a fried egg, bacon, and ham on top. It was nothing short of incredible.

  Me: Lunch time! How is your day going?

  Jordan: It’s going. Barely started yet. Welcome to the weeks of me being off in between consulting gigs.

  Me: I am so jealous.

  Jordan: You get an entire off season.

  Me: Touché.

  Jordan: So where are you boys heading for lunch?

  Me: Gino’s, our usual spot for Monday.

  Jordan: Oh, of course. I should have known.

  Me: Gavin likes watching the bikini carwash across the street.

  Jordan: I’m sure it is only Gavin that enjoys the view.

  Me: I need my girl.

  Jordan: What, the eye candy isn’t enough for you?

  Me: Not in the slightest. They’re nothing compared to you.

  Jordan: You know I am only joking, right?

  Me: I am just speaking the truth, little girl. I kind of think you’re the bee’s knees.

  Jordan: Oh really?

  Me: I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean it.

  Jordan: I like you.

  Me: How much?

  Jordan: More than I can really admit. It’s more than what can fit in the parameters of such as small word as ‘like’.

  Me: What word would you use instead, then?

  I was nervous waiting for her text to come through. I knew we were trying to take this whole thing slow, but fuck it – I just couldn’t. I was already falling hard and fast and that one little word was on the tip of my tongue. Four letters that I was scared shitless of putting together. Jordan played it perfectly, though.

  Jordan: Admire, esteem, treasure, canonize, cherish—just a few that popped into my head.

  Me: You’re killing me, Smalls!

  Jordan: Really? It’s because I used canonize, isn’t it?

  Me: How’d you know?!

  Jordan: Lucky guess. Enjoy lunch and say hi to the guys for me. I don’t want to distract you too much.

  Me: You’re always a welcome distraction.

  Practice seemed to drone on more than usual. Part of it was because it was leg day so my morning workout had worn me out, but it was mostly because I couldn’t wait for Jordan to get there. I was so proud of myself for coming up with our date, and I was pumped to see the look on her face.

  “Crosby!” Coach Hayes bellowed.

  “Yeah Coach?”

  “What the fuck has gotten into you? It’s like you’re not even trying today.”

  I shook my head, hitting the cross bar with my stick. “Sorry Coach.”

  “Snap the fuck out of it or you will not be starting tomorrow night.”

  Fuck. I must be really pissing him off tonight. That was a big threat, telling your starting goalie you might not play him on the first night of the playoffs. It was a fucking low blow, and I knew I hadn’t been messing up that badly.

  Once I started playing closer attention, I realized it wasn’t me in particular that was stinking up the joint—the entire team was. Gavin threw his hands in the air as Harding missed another one of his signature slap shots, not even getting it close to the net.

  “All right guys, what gives?” he yelled as his father threw his clipboard down on the floor. “We can’t be psyching ourselves out because of the playoffs.”

  It was overwhelmingly apparent that that was exactly what was happening. We were all letting our insecurities and anxieties get the better of us.

  Gavin continued with his speech. “We played our hearts out all season and it fucking paid off. We can’t go in and choke on game one. That is not the Otter way!”

  All the guys yelled in agreement.

  “Are we going to let a chance at the cup slip through our fingers because we’re a little scared?”

  “No!” we all answered in unison.

  “Fuck right we’re not. We’re the goddamn New York Otters, the best hockey team in the NHL. Never forget that, gents.”

  Chapter 14

  Jordan

  I had no idea what to expect when I got to the arena that night, but it was really exciting to be going there after hours. Breaking the rules can be quite thrilling.

  “What are we doing here?” I asked Crosby as he took my hand, leading me down some back hallway.

  “You’ll see.”

  He walked me into what looked like a souped-up garage and I gasped. We were standing in the Zamboni room.

  I gripped his hand tighter as I skipped a few steps. “This is so awesome.”

  “Just wait, it’s going to get better.” He dug the keys for the machine out of his pocket. “In high school, I worked at the local rink driving the Zamboni over the weekends, so I talked the guys into letting me borrow the keys for a night.”

  My eyes got wide. “We get to ride it?”

  “Well, I figured we could skate for a while and then hop on this bad boy and take her for a spin or two.”

  “I don’t have skates with me.”

  Will held up one finger, going into the corner of the room to grab a duffle bag. “I took the liberty of calling Myla and getting your shoe size. She said these were the best ones to get.” He pulled out a brand-new pair of figure skates and handed them to me. “I had to guess if you would want a pair of these or hockey skates, but I felt like these were just more practical.”

  “They’re amazing.” I was elated as I took them from him. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome, baby. Now get them on and let’s have a little bit of fun.”

  Crosby got his skates on too and then we were off to enjoy a little bit of time in the quiet rink.

  “It’s so weird to be here when no one else is.”

  Crosby gripped my hand. “I love it at times like this. It reminds me of all the times I lay in bed at all hours of the night dreaming about something like this. It helps remind me how hard I’ve worked and how far I have come.”

  “Thank you for sharing this with me.”

  He kissed the back of his hand. “Thank you for coming here tonight. I want to share everything with you.”

  “Aren’t you tired of skating after practicing for so long today?” I asked, trying to not look like a complete klutz.

  “This is different. Practice is work, this is fun.” He pulled me closer to his side. “You need to loosen up a little though. How long has it been since you skated?”

  “God, fucking years. As kids, we always skated, but as I got older, I guess life kind of got in the way of stuff like that. I work too damn much.”

  “I love how hard you work, but I hate how hard you have to work…if that makes sense.”

  I looked over at him, and his kind eyes locked on mine. “Yeah, it does. Hopefully I will be able to save enough to invest in my own bar some day and then I can slow down.”

  “Why don’t you get an investor? You would be an amazing bar owner. It would be rough at first, but then once it was up and running smoothly, you’d be able to step back and reap the benefits.”

  “That is easier said than done. Finding an investor for a bar in Manhattan is not as easy as it sounds. The turnover rate and loss ratios on investments are enough to send any financial backer running for the hills.”

  “What if I backed you? I’d be completely a silent partner and I know how amazing you are, so I know my money would be safe.”

  “I don’t know.” I loved that Crosby wanted to help me see my dream come true, but it felt like too much for me to ask of him. “We’ll talk about business crap later. I don’t want to spoil this night.”

  “Fair enough, princess. Your chariot awaits.”

  Will led me over to the bench to change out of my skates then we climbed up onto the Zamboni where I sat in Will’s lap.

  “Now, I have never driven one of these with someone on it with me, and it has been a hot minute since I have even been behind the wheel.” The engine roared to life and we were on our way.

  I started giggling. “This is amazing.”

  “You’re amazing,” Will whispered in my ear before kissing my cheek.

  I could feel his desire for me building as he gripped the top of my thigh. I shifted a little to be able to kiss his neck and nibble on his shoulder a bit.

  “I missed you,” he growled.

  “You saw me yesterday,” I teased.

  “It’s not the same when I don’t have you all to myself.”

  He parked the Zamboni in the middle of the rink before starting to unzip my jacket. I followed his lead, pulling his flannel shirt up over his head and shifting so I was straddling him. It was fucking cold as shit, but I pushed that to the side and let my lustful desires take control.

  “There are too many layers between us right now,” he complained as he yanked at the rest of my clothing. Within seconds we were both naked, hungrily kissing and biting each other’s shoulders and neck.

  His fingers traveled down my stomach, all the way down to my clit. I was already swelling with passion as his thumb drew small circles over my tender skin.

  “I love the way you feel, Jordan.”

  “I love the way you make me feel.”

  I gently took the head of his dick between my fingers, softly teasing it as I played with the tiny bit of pre-come that had bubbled up at the tip.

  “I can’t wait another second.” His voice was lust-filled as he grabbed my hips and forced me down onto his thick shaft. I gasped from the sheer force of him filling me so quickly. It was white-hot pleasure that seared into every vibrating cell in my body.

  I moved my hips and Crosby quickened our pace as I cried out. He tenderly bit down on my shoulder as he started to shudder under me. “Holy fuck, little girl. This pussy is mine.”

  “Only yours, Daddy.”

  He thrust into me harder. “Good girl.” He breathed into my neck before letting his teeth dig into my tender flesh. The bristles of his beard tickled my skin as his teeth sank down. Thank goodness for playoff beards. They really were my weakness. “I need you to come for me, princess. Let me feel that perfect cunt collapse around my cock.”

  His words triggered me and within seconds I was shaking and moaning in his arms. Right as my orgasm crashed around me, Will’s was coming on strong, filling me as I came harder than I ever had before. Even though it was freezing in the rink, our bodies were covered in a thin layer of sweat.

  “That was phenomenal.” I panted in his arms.

  “You’re telling me.” He let out a long breath before kissing me quickly.

  “I don’t want this night to end, but I think one of us has a very big day tomorrow.”

  His head dropped to my shoulder. “Yeah, you’re right. Will you at least sleep over tonight?”

  “You don’t even have to ask—of course I will.”

  “Good. I’ll sleep better knowing you’re right there.”

  We put the Zamboni back and made our way through the busy city streets to Will’s apartment. Even though I had only spent the night there once, it felt so much like home to me, and it was the first night I truly understood what the saying home is where your heart is actually meant.

  Chapter 15

  Jordan

  The weeks passed by and the playoffs were in full swing. I knew Will was going to be busy during them and I tried to be the least selfish with his time as possible, but it wasn’t easy. I had practically moved into his apartment and we were spending every spare second he had together.

  I hated when Will was on the road, but I loved it at the same time. His sexting game was on fucking point and it drove me wild.

  My eyes flickered open when I heard the text tone chime from the nightstand. It was way too early in the morning, but it didn’t matter because it wasn’t easy for me to sleep when he was away. My body was fighting me to just ignore the message and go back to sleep, but I couldn’t. The excitement of knowing who it was from won out and I hastily grabbed my cell.

  Crosby: Good morning beautiful. Just left JFK.

  Me: Babe, I miss you already.

  Crosby: Thank goodness for wifi on planes. I miss you too, princess. I’ll be home tomorrow though.

  Me: That seems like forever away.

  Crosby: Craving you, incredibly bad! I hope your day has been nothing short of fantastic.

  Me: With a few more hours of sleep, it will be fantastic. I haven’t left your bed yet.

  Crosby: Want me to let you go back to sleep?

  Me: No. I want to hear more about you craving me.

  The thought of Will crammed on a plane with the rest of his team, horny as hell and not able to do anything about his frustration other than type it out to me was thrilling, to say the least. Ever since the first night we spent together, he consumed my every thought and kept my mind in the smut-filled gutter.

  Sitting up, I yawned and stretched, hoping for more texts from my sexy goalie. I grabbed my fluffy blue robe from the floor and made my way into the kitchen. Black tea on his balcony had become my morning ritual on days he wasn’t there. I heated a mug of water until almost boiling in the microwave and popped in a teabag to let it over-steep—the darker and stronger the better. Right as I took a seat in one of the Adirondack chairs on the balcony, my phone vibrated with another message.