My balance wavered. Then he nudged me back a step, and when my shoulders hit the wall, I moaned into his hungry, breathless kiss.

  On the way into the condo, I hadn’t had a doubt in my mind that I loved him and I wanted him back. Doubts that he’d take me back? Absolutely. Doubts that I’d walk through fire for him? None.

  But holy hell, even I hadn’t realized until right now—as he pressed me up against the wall and kissed me while our cocks hardened between us—just how much I wanted him. If I’d had any second thoughts about leaving Emerald City, they were gone now, because Parker’s kiss alone did more for me than sex with any other man.

  And there was no reason we had to stop at a kiss tonight, was there?

  I broke the kiss and met his gaze, breathing so hard I was shaking. “Any chance you want to take this in the other room?”

  “That depends.” His beautiful eyes sparkled with mischief. “What will you do with me if I do?”

  “Only one way to find out, isn’t there?”

  Chapter 31

  Parker

  Touching Cole the first time had been overwhelming and exhilarating, but it had nothing on sinking into bed naked with him tonight. This was the difference between winning a college game and scoring a pro goal—it was a whole new level of spectacular, and I didn’t quite know if I could handle it, but I was absolutely sure I wanted it.

  “God, I missed you,” he panted, dragging his hands up my back.

  “Me too.” I bent to kiss his neck. “So much.”

  He moaned as he arched under me. “There’s so much I want to do. I don’t even know where to start.”

  “Hmm…” I kissed along his collarbone. “I swear I recall some wise man telling me that we don’t have to do everything in one evening.” I paused to lick where his collarbones met. “There’s time.”

  Cole pushed out a breath as he squirmed, rubbing his hard dick against mine. “There is. But I’m impatient because I know all the things you do to turn me on.” He ran his nails across my shoulders, giving me goose bumps. “And maybe it makes me a greedy bastard, but I want all of it. Now.”

  I laughed against his throat before I lifted myself up to kiss him. “How about if I start by fucking you, and we go from there?”

  Cole’s eyes widened. I was surprised the words had come from my own mouth. Hadn’t it only been a little while ago that I’d barely been able to articulate what I wanted? Especially without blushing?

  He licked his lips and grinned. “Condoms?”

  “I’ll get one.” I pushed myself up and gave his hip a light tap. “Turn over.”

  “Ooh, I like where this is going.” Cole rolled onto his stomach as I reached for the condoms. When I sat up again, I paused just to stare at him and watch my fingertips drift down the groove of his spine. He shivered, sucking in a sharp breath. “C’mon, baby…”

  “I’m getting there.” And I was, but getting a condom on took more concentration than I had to spare when there was a sexy man in front of me like this, waiting for me to fuck him.

  I did manage to get it into place, though. With some lube on my fingers, I started teasing him, and I had to bite my lip as he groaned into the pillow. Would the novelty of touching him ever wear off? Fingering him? Fucking him? I hoped it didn’t, because I loved being completely mesmerized by the sounds he made and the way he wriggled and tried to encourage me to press in deeper.

  “Damn it, Parker,” he whined. “Just… fuck me already.”

  I grinned, bending my fingers the way I knew would make him gasp. “What’s your hurry?”

  He made a frustrated sound as he burrowed his face into the pillow. I laughed, still teasing him and still savoring the sight of his gorgeous body. I loved watching his muscles quiver and tense, especially when his back and shoulders rippled.

  “Parker,” he gritted out. “I can take you. Come on.”

  On any other night, I probably would’ve kept teasing him, but after being away from him and thinking I’d never have him again—to hell with it. I wasn’t waiting.

  I withdrew my fingers, and as I started to lube up the condom, Cole asked, “You want me to stay like this?”

  “Mmhmm.” I put the lube aside and got on top. “I like it just like this.”

  “Me too. I love the—oh, God, yeah…” He shuddered under me as I pressed into his ass. He moaned something I didn’t understand, but it definitely wasn’t “stop,” so I kept going. As I pressed in again, it was my turn to shiver. Why did it feel like forever since we’d done this? Whatever. It did, and I was already wound tight with the need to lose it inside him because oh my God, I can’t believe you’re here.

  “Ungh.” I bit my lip. “This is going to be quick. I hope… I hope that’s okay.”

  “Quick is good,” he murmured. “Just… just means we can do it again…” He trailed off into a moan as I sank deeper into him.

  Before long, he was taking every inch of me, and as I rolled my hips, I was overwhelmed by the warmth of his skin and the tightness around my dick and the sheer relief that we were doing this again. I kissed the back of his neck, letting the ends of his hair tickle my upper lip, and I murmured, “You feel so good.”

  “Mmph, you too.” He kneaded the edge of the mattress like a cat, and as I pushed in again, he moaned and his knuckles turned white. “God, Parker…”

  I nipped his shoulder, grinning when he gasped. I started rocking my hips a little faster, and his delirious moans of encouragement made me dizzy with need. I needed him. I needed to come in him. I just… I needed everything, and I couldn’t take any more, and I wanted more, and—

  “We should… Now that it’s just us…” He rocked his hips to egg me on. “We can… Tests. Stop using condoms.”

  I squeezed my eyes shut, shivering just thinking about being inside him with nothing between us. I’d already been close, and now… Jesus.

  “Yeah,” I murmured into his hair. “God, yeah, we should.”

  He whimpered softly and kept kneading the edge of the mattress.

  I buried my face against his neck and thrust hard, reveling in his moans and gasps. Then, just before I was about to come, I bit his shoulder, and Cole clenched up and cried out, and I forced myself all the way in as I came with a low, shuddering moan.

  Cole sighed. I exhaled. We both stilled. He relaxed under me, and I held myself up just enough to let him breathe. Resting my forehead against his shoulder, my cock still buried in him, I just basked in everything about this moment. The post-orgasmic rush. The closeness. The relief.

  Less than an hour ago, I’d still believed Cole had blocked me on Emerald City.

  Instead, he’d given up everything that job offered him… for me. He’d come back. He loved me.

  I don’t know how this is real.

  I kissed the back of his shoulder.

  But I am so glad you came back.

  Chapter 32

  Cole

  Nothing had felt right since I’d walked away from Parker, but I hadn’t realized just how wrong it all was until I landed here with him in the middle of this bed.

  Wrapped up in his arms, body tingling and heart still racing, I had to fight back a surge of emotion. They say you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone, and that was true, but having him back made me profoundly aware of how close I’d come to losing how much.

  I closed my eyes and cuddled closer to him. I wasn’t making that mistake again, that was for sure.

  As long as you want me, baby, I’m not going anywhere.

  We lay like that for a while, just resting together and holding on. Sometimes he ran his hand up and down my back. Sometimes he rested it on my shoulder. Now and then, he’d comb his fingers through my hair. Between his soothing touch, his body heat, and the sleepiness after an orgasm, I was honestly surprised I didn’t doze off.

  Then again, maybe not so surprised. I was still edgy, still tense—like I didn’t think this was really resolved, or like he might suddenly change his mind and show me out. I didn’t really think he would, and I was pretty sure we were on the same page, but I didn’t have to be rational right now.

  Eventually, Parker shifted onto his side, and I mirrored him. As he ran his fingers through my hair—God, I’d missed that—he whispered, “I meant what I said. I’ve never done this before. I have no idea what we’re doing.”

  “Neither do I.”

  Parker’s forehead creased. “But you’ve done this before.”

  “Not with you.”

  He scowled playfully. “You know what I mean.”

  “Yeah, I do.” I ran my thumb along his lower lip. “But I’m serious. Yeah, I’ve had relationships, but they’ve all been different. We’ll have to learn each other the same way I had to learn all the other guys.” I leaned in for a light kiss. “Having some prior experience helps, but not as much as you might think.”

  Alarm flashed across his expression. “I can’t decide if that’s encouraging, or if it makes this whole thing ten times more intimidating.”

  “Nah, it’s nothing to be intimidated by. Honestly? The biggest thing is to talk to me.” I stroked his hair. “If you’re worried about something. If something’s bothering you. Even if everything is fine and you just want to touch base to make sure we’re on the same page.” I shrugged. “When in doubt, Talk to me.”

  “I can do that.” He looked in my eyes. “Just be patient with me. This is all really new.”

  “I know it is, and I will. And be patient with me too. Sometimes my cynicism from past guys gets in the way.” I laughed self-consciously, rolling my eyes. “Bryce used to get on me about that. I’d be worried he was doing something or thinking something, and he’d give me that look and ask, ‘Is this something one of your dumbass exes did?’ And he’d be right. Every time.”

  Parker chuckled. “Okay. I’ll keep that in mind. I guess we just kind of take it a day at a time? Figure each other out as we go?”

  “That’s about all we can do.”

  He seemed to think about it, but then he broke into a smile. “Sounds like fun!”

  I laughed, stroking his cheek. “It does, doesn’t it?”

  “Totally.” He slid his palm down my side. “It’s too bad we won’t be able to spend a lot of time together until the off season.” He smiled that adorably shy smile. “Being apart sucks.”

  “Yeah. Maybe we kind of got lucky that you were off the ice for a little while. I mean, not that you got hurt, but… You know what I mean. The timing, and all. We got to spend some time together.”

  “I know, right? And that wasn’t…” He bit his lip, avoiding my eyes. “It wasn’t just random luck.”

  I stiffened. “It wasn’t?”

  “No.” Parker laughed, his super cute shyness probably turning my eyeballs to little cartoon hearts. “I… may have been kind of distracted that night. Because of…” He gestured at each of us.

  “Are you serious?”

  “Yeah.” He scratched the back of his neck and, yes, he was blushing. “It’s so stupid, but I was just… I kept thinking about you. And during that game, I couldn’t focus.”

  “Oh. Well, shit. Now I feel bad that you got hurt because of—”

  “Don’t feel bad.” He shook his head as he reached for my hand. “The sprain sucked, but I liked the distraction.” He grinned sheepishly. “And the month or so of being in town so I could see you more often.”

  “Okay, that part wasn’t so bad.” I leaned in for a soft kiss. “But no getting hurt because of me!”

  “I’d tell you not to distract me, then, but I really like your distractions.”

  I rolled my eyes.

  Parker laughed and drew me all the way in for a kiss. “You can distract me any time you want,” he mumbled against my lips.

  “Mmkay, but maybe don’t get hurt this time?”

  “I’ll do my best. But…hockey.”

  We both chuckled, though we kept trying to kiss, which was a challenge when neither of us could stop smiling. Finally, though, he slid a hand up into my hair, and as he deepened the kiss, I shivered and melted against him. Another round? Hell yeah.

  As we made out and wound each other up all over again, I still had that profound sense of I almost lost this that I’d had earlier. That almost-panic as if I’d come way, way too close to some serious regret.

  And as I rolled him onto his back and he wrapped his arms around me, all I could think was:

  Whatever it takes to keep from losing you ever again…

  Baby, I’m in.

  Epilogue

  Parker

  * * *

  A few months later.

  * * *

  “Third row?” I sputtered. “How did you score those tickets?”

  Cole chuckled as he buckled his seat belt in the passenger seat of the rental car. “I know someone who knows someone. They hooked me up.”

  Something told me that meant he had a former client who had an in with the band. I couldn’t blame him for using the connections he had. I just envied him because oh my God, I wanted to see 7 Dragons live so fucking bad.

  I groaned as I shifted into Drive. “You are so lucky. How was the show?”

  He snorted. “It was amazing.”

  “Of course it was. Ugh. Jealous.”

  “Aww, c’mon, baby.” Cole squeezed my leg. “I promise—when you and the band are in the same city, I’ll pull strings and get you tickets.”

  “Promise?”

  “Hand to God.” He leaned across the console. “Your bucket list item is my personal mission.”

  I grinned into a light kiss. “Have I mentioned lately that you’re the best?”

  “Mmm, you have, but I like hearing you say it.”

  I laughed and kissed him full-on. When we separated, we grinned at each other, and then I returned to the driver’s seat and pulled away from his hotel. We’d both be staying here tonight since the team wasn’t leaving until tomorrow, but for now, we had dinner plans. It was just my luck that the Breakers had gotten in late last night, which meant that while someone had flown in early to go to the 7 Dragons concert—third row seats? Really?—I hadn’t been able to go.

  We drove for a little while, following the GPS’s instructions toward a restaurant where we were meeting Wright and his boyfriend, who’d also flown in.

  About twenty minutes out, Cole cleared his throat. “So, um… Before we meet up with the guys, there’s a little detail you should probably be aware of.”

  I glanced at him, eyebrows up. “Yeah?”

  “Mmhmm. I told you Luca and I are good friends, we used to be roommates—all that.”

  “Right?”

  “Okay. Well.” He shifted a little. “We also used to work together. Or, I mean, we didn’t work together, together. But we worked for the same place.”

  It took me a second to connect the dots, and I glanced his way again. “Wait, so he used to work for Emerald City too?”

  “Mmhmm. He’s just really, really guarded about that, which is why Ethan never told you. We talked on the flight over, though, and we figured if the four of us are going to be hanging out a lot, it would make sense to come clean to both of you.”

  “Huh. Wait, so Ethan didn’t know either? About you?”

  Cole shook his head. “No. I mean, he probably does now. I’m guessing Luca’s having this conversation with him too.” He paused. “Just, um… You know, keep it between all of us. I know that goes without saying, but Luca’s way more secretive about it than I am, and he and Ethan have been trying to keep the public from catching on about it.”

  “Oh. Yeah, I won’t say anything.” I furrowed my brow at the road ahead of us. “What about you?”

  “What about me?”

  “Well, I’m high-profile too. Maybe not as much as Ethan, but…” I looked at him. “It could come out.”

  Cole shrugged. “Yeah, I’ve thought about that, but it doesn’t really bother me.”

  “Doesn’t it?”

  “Nah. Especially now that I’m not doing it anymore.” He laughed. “In fact, my mom would probably just be like, ‘oh my God, Cole.’” He sighed dramatically. “And then she’d take one look at you and decide it’s cool because it scored me a hot boyfriend with a stable job.”

  “She would?”

  He seemed to think about it. “Okay, she might have a few more issues with it than that, but at the end of the day, she’s found out a lot of things I did after the fact, and she’s always figured there’s no point in getting mad at me for something I’m not even doing anymore.” He paused. “Unless it’s skipping class. Man, she was mad at me for ages about that.”

  “Moms, right?”

  “Seriously. But no, I’m not too worried about her finding out about my job. I mean, I’m not going to put it in my Christmas letter or anything, but…”

  Chuckling, I nodded. “Okay, I get that. So we won’t broadcast it, but it someone finds out…” I shrugged. “Damn. I still can’t believe my roommate on the road found his boyfriend the same way I did.”

  “And I can’t believe my best friend’s boyfriend is roommates with mine.” He stroked his chin. “Hmm, that could get kind of kinky if—”

  I burst out laughing, and so did he. I mean, yeah, Ethan and Luca were both hot, but all I wanted was Cole.

  Apparently all he wanted was me, too. He hadn’t been kidding about leaving Emerald City, and now he was giving some serious thought to going back to school. He hadn’t quite settled on exactly what he wanted to do, but there was plenty of time. Plus, we were looking at buying a place with a little more room. Nothing huge, but more than the tiny condo we were living in now.

  Once the season was over, we’d buy something and move, and after that, he could buckle down on school if he wanted to. By then, he’d probably know what he wanted to do. If he didn’t, well, that was okay too. I could pay our bills and then some. He had money saved from when I’d been paying him. As long as he was happy, there was no rush.