Thank God, though, Simon snarled something at Anthony… and then left.

  The slamming door made me jump out of my skin, but the relief that washed over me made my knees unsteady. I sat on the couch and let Lily lean against me as I caught my breath. I was shaking as the adrenaline drained away, and she was shaking a little too.

  “I’m sorry, baby,” I murmured to her as I stroked her short coat. “I’m so sorry.”

  Her tail wagged and she licked my face. God, I did not deserve this dog. I was glad I’d put Simon in his fucking place, even if it meant hitting some of my mental tripwires, but I hated that it had come at Lily’s expense.

  Anthony sank onto the couch beside me and rested his hand between my shoulders. “You okay?”

  I nodded. “Yeah.” I turned to him. “What about you?”

  He dropped his gaze. “I’m… It’s been a rough morning.”

  “Did he really tell the tabloids?”

  Wincing, Anthony nodded. “Yeah. Tandy had it posted before I’d even sat down with the club, so…”

  My heart sank. “So you didn’t have a chance to tell them the way you wanted to.”

  Eyes still down, he shook his head.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered.

  “It’s not your fault.” He rubbed my back gently. “I’m the one who’s sorry. Especially because I had no idea he was going to come here and…”

  “That’s not your fault.” I met his gaze and slid a hand over his thigh. “He’s a dickhead. I’m glad he’s fucking gone.”

  “You and me both.” Anthony leaned back against the cushions and rubbed a hand over his face. “God, what a shitshow.”

  I twisted toward him. “What happens now? With the team?”

  His pained expression made my chest hurt. Shaking his head, he whispered, “I don’t know for sure. I mean, I do. I know what’s…” He closed his eyes and sighed. “No one’s come out and said it, but I’m not stupid. I’m getting traded. Or waived. Something.”

  I squeezed his leg gently. “But he’s the one who outed the two of you.”

  “Doesn’t matter.” Anthony sounded absolutely exhausted, and he stared up at the ceiling with unfocused eyes. “We knew the deal when we came out as a couple. The club wanted to avoid a media shitstorm, and now that they’re getting one, it doesn’t matter who pulled the trigger. They’re going to separate us to keep the peace, and there’s no way they keep me over him.” His eyes welled up a little. “I love this team. I love this city.” He shook his head. “But Simon’s the better player. One of us has to go, and it’s not gonna be him.”

  “I’m so sorry,” I whispered.

  “No.” He met my gaze again. “You’re about the only thing in my life that isn’t fucked up.” He found my hand and laced our fingers together. “You’ve got nothing to be sorry about.”

  That didn’t seem quite true to me. Rational or not, I still felt guilty and ashamed for how all this went down. As if I could have done something differently or made things easier for him. But I couldn’t articulate any of that.

  A quiet chirp turned both our heads.

  Moose peered in from the hallway.

  Anthony exhaled, and a small smile formed on his lips. “Hey, buddy.” He patted the cushion beside him. “Come here.”

  Moose trotted across the room and hopped up on the couch beside Anthony, where he purred and kneaded. A moment later, Bear tentatively poked his head into the room before joining his brother.

  I reached across to pet Moose. “They cleared out when Simon started in on me.”

  Anthony winced. “I’m sorry, guys.” He scratched both of their backs, making them arch like Halloween cats. “We’re gonna change the locks, okay?”

  That much was a relief. Not just because it meant Simon couldn’t come barging in anymore, but because it was Anthony taking another step toward moving on. The more space he put between him and his ex, the more he moved on, and that seemed like the healthiest thing for him.

  He deserved so much better than Simon. I had no idea if I was, overall, much of an upgrade—I sure as shit wasn’t as rich or hot as Simon—but I damn sure treated Anthony better than he did.

  With his name all over the tabloids and his career up in the air…

  I wondered if that was anywhere near enough.

  Chapter 43

  Anthony

  What a fucking day, and it was only like three in the afternoon.

  Any minute now, my phone would ring and my agent would break the news about my future as a professional hockey player. My ex-boyfriend was no doubt feeding some more bullshit to Cole Tandy just to be a vindictive dickhole. There was nothing I could do to stop any of the wheels currently in motion. All I could do was wait.

  Beside me on the couch, Wyatt studied me. “So what happens now?”

  I considered it. I was so tired, so utterly wrung out from facing down my team’s management and now having a confrontation with my ex, I couldn’t even think. I rubbed my forehead and sighed. “I don’t even know. I mean, I just have to wait for my agent to let me know where I’m being traded, or if—”

  “Anthony.” Gentle fingers grasped my wrist and tugged my hand from my face. When I looked up, it was into those soft hazel eyes. His voice equally soft, he said, “I don’t mean that. I mean, what happens right now? Just… you. Here. With me.” He caressed my cheek. “Everything else is out of our hands, but what can I do right now so you can relax?”

  Oh, God, I was falling so hard for this man. All damn day, through all this bullshit and chaos, no one had asked how I was doing or what I needed.

  But here was Wyatt, watching me with a gentle expression, ready and willing to help me even after my ex had come in here and stomped all over his trauma.

  “I…” For a moment, I chewed my lip.

  Wyatt ran his thumb along my arm, still silently waiting for me to speak.

  “Honestly?” I let my shoulders drop under the weight that had been trying to push them down for months now. “I kind of just want to get drunk and not care about anything for a while.”

  I fully expected a patient sigh followed by a comment about how self-medicating wasn’t healthy or something.

  Instead, Wyatt smiled. “Yeah? So… just lock the doors and get shitfaced?”

  “You don’t think that’s weird? Or unhealthy?”

  “Oh, I’m sure it’s unhealthy.” His smile turned to a wicked little grin. “But you’re talking a former soldier, my friend.” He lifted his chin to kiss me softly. “I’m not going to judge you for getting fucked up as a coping method.”

  I managed a laugh as I wrapped my arms around his waist. “As long as I share the coping juice, right?”

  “Well, yeah.” He shrugged innocently. “Therapeutic drinking is way more effective when you do it with someone else.”

  I laughed with a little more feeling. “Oh really?”

  “Mmhmm.” He draped his arms around my neck. “Scientific fact.”

  “Amazing the things scientists get paid to figure out.”

  “Please.” He brushed his lips across mine. “They just tossed a couple of kegs into a group of soldiers and took notes.”

  I tried to kiss him but burst out laughing instead. From the way he grinned, that was the effect he’d been going for.

  God, he was so good for me. Somehow, he always knew exactly what I needed in a given moment, whether it was a gentle touch or some levity. After three years of walking on eggshells, I’d found a man who let me feel what I needed to feel and also offered up whatever I needed to stay sane.

  I reeled him in, and this time I did kiss him. Amazing how quickly I could go from worried and feeling like shit to happily losing myself in Wyatt’s arms. He was afraid he wasn’t good enough for me? Here I was, wondering how in the world I deserved someone as good as him.

  Maybe I didn’t need to get shitfaced after all. Maybe all I needed was… this.

  I touched my forehead to his. “You know, if it wouldn’t be too disappointing to skip the booze, I’ve got another idea.”

  Wyatt drew back to meet my gaze, one eyebrow arched. “Yeah?”

  “Mmhmm.”

  If he was disappointed about skipping the booze, he sure didn’t let it show. As we tumbled naked into bed, he kissed and touched me like this was all he could ever want. Long, sexy kisses. Deep, hungry ones. Letting his lips skate up and down the sides of my neck and along the underside of my jaw.

  His hot skin against mine had me dizzier than the alcohol ever would have. When he crawled down and took my cock between his lips, teasing and tonguing me until I couldn’t think anymore, I almost cried from pure bliss. Everything he did was magic, and I didn’t think I’d ever craved that magic more than I did right then.

  “Jesus, Wyatt,” I moaned, tangling my fingers in his hair. “That’s so damn good.”

  He hummed around my dick and kept at it, somehow driving me absolutely out of my mind but keeping an orgasm well out of range. As if he just wanted to take his sweet time and let me enjoy the ride. As if he were enjoying the ride, too. From the sounds he made, I was pretty sure he was. He always did. Christ, but this man loved giving head, and he could go on for ages without ever seeming to get tired of it.

  When he did finally stop, he loomed over me, lips swollen and eyes on fire.

  “Tell me what you want,” he whispered. “I will blow you within an inch of your life, fuck you into the mattress—whatever you need.”

  A whimper escaped my throat and I dug my fingers into his ass cheeks. As much as I loved the things he did with his mouth, the promised of being railed was too much to pass up. “I want your dick.”

  “Yeah?” He dropped a light kiss on my lips. “You want to suck it? Or you want me to fuck you?”

  Both of those sounded amazing, but more than anything—

  “Let me get on top and ride you.”

  Wyatt groaned softly and kissed beneath my jaw. “Fuck yeah. Let me get a condom.” He grabbed one out of the nightstand, and as he lay back to put it on, I got up and straddled him.

  Oh God, he was gorgeous. He was so damn sexy, especially when he was gazing up at me like he wanted to eat me alive.

  He fingered me a little just to make sure I had on enough lube, biting his lip and moaning the whole time as if the anticipation were driving him out of his mind. I could relate. Even with his fingers inside me, I needed his cock so bad, I was going to lose it.

  “That’s enough,” I breathed. “Get… I want your dick. Now.”

  Wyatt didn’t hesitate. He slid his fingers free, and then he guided me down, and we both swore as I took him inside. I didn’t think I’d ever get over how perfectly we fit together; he wasn’t big enough that we had to worry about him hurting me, but he was absolutely packing plenty to rock my damn world.

  And oh God, he rocked my damn world.

  After a few slow strokes to make sure I was taking him easily, we fell into a frantic, hungry rhythm. He matched me stroke for stroke, thrusting up into me every time I came down, and holy hell, he felt so damn good. When I could actually keep my eyes open—a challenge with how intense this was—the view was utterly spectacular. I loved the way he looked beneath my like this, running his hands all over my thighs and abs as he seemed to drink in the sight of me. Of us moving together.

  All the while, the upheaval and uncertainty in my world were there, making themselves known like someone in the next room playing their music too loud, but I just didn’t care. I could deal with all of that later. Right now, the only thing that held my focus was this gorgeous man who somehow couldn’t get enough of me. Every brush of his fingertips or his lips, every stroke of his dick inside me—it all just made everything else seem a million miles away. It all became unimportant compared to moving with Wyatt and watching his pleasure play out across his face.

  I rested a hand on the headboard, and with the other, I started jerking my cock.

  “Ooh, yeah,” Wyatt growled. “That’s it, baby. Oh my God, that’s hot.”

  “You want me to come like this?” I panted.

  He groaned low in his throat and arched beneath us. “Yes. Fuck yes.”

  I squeezed my eyes shut and pumped myself for all I was worth. Wyatt swore under his breath and thrust up harder, driving himself as deep as he could and sending me hurtling toward that edge.

  “C’mon, baby,” he murmured. “Let me see it. Let me feel it.” He was as breathless as I was, his rhythm falling apart as we took each other higher and higher.

  “Oh, yeah,” I murmured. “Fuck, I’m almost there. I’m almost…” I trailed off because I forgot how to speak.

  Wyatt gasped, his whole body tensing under me, and the realization that he was on the edge sent me right over it. I cried out, gripping the headboard for dear life as I came on my hand and his stomach, and a few erratic strokes later, he shouted with the force of his own release.

  And just like that, we were still.

  I slumped over him, and he pulled me the rest of the way down. I didn’t care about the cum or the sweat. I just let myself be wrapped up in his hot, trembling arms as we rode out those last few aftershocks.

  “I think you’re right,” he slurred. “This is way better than getting shitfaced.”

  I laughed, ironically sounding a bit drunk. “Sex with you is way better than a lot of things.” I lifted my head to find his mouth with mine, and added, “A lot of things.”

  He chuckled, too, and we kissed lazily for a moment before we finally separated to clean ourselves up. When we returned to the bed, we collapsed in the middle in a tangle of shaky limbs and sleepy kisses. My bare foot grazed his prosthetic, but I was so used to that now, the touch of cold metal only vaguely registered. It was, if anything, just a reminder of who was in bed with me.

  As if I could forget. No one had ever held me like Wyatt did. The sex was incredible, but he also had this way of holding me close that was comforting without being suffocating. I missed being next to him when I was on road trips, and I missed this part even more than the sex.

  It was like I’d been miserable for so long, I’d forgotten what it felt like to be loved.

  I closed my eyes and smiled to myself. Yeah, I’d forgotten it for a while. I sure remembered now, though, and I was happily making up for lost time whenever I got into bed with Wyatt.

  After a while, he loosened his embrace and pulled back enough to meet my gaze. “Listen, to be serious…” He carded his fingers through my hair. “Are you okay? After everything with Simon?”

  I thought about it, and then I nodded. “Yeah. I think so.” I trailed my knuckles down his arm. “I’ll still have hockey one way or the other. I’ve still got you and my boys.” I half-shrugged. “The rest will shake itself out.”

  “You’re not stressed about being traded?”

  “Oh, I am.” I laughed halfheartedly. “I hate it when things are up in the air like this. I hate not knowing when or where I’ll be playing hockey again. But it’s… I mean, this is also a huge relief, you know? I don’t have to pretend Simon and I are happy together anymore. I don’t have to room with him on the road anymore. Yeah, there’s a lot going on that’s stressing me out, but I feel like I can breathe again for the first time in ages.”

  He kissed my temple. “I hope it works out. You’ll be able to breathe even better when this is all over.”

  “Yeah, I will.” I caressed his cheek and held his gaze. “Listen, if they do move me—when they move me, because it’s probably a done deal—will you come with me?”

  Wyatt’s eyes widened. “You’d want me to?”

  “Yeah. I know we haven’t been doing this for very long, and maybe we shouldn’t move in together right away in a new place, but…” I swallowed. “This thing we’re doing—this is the best I’ve felt in a long, long time. I don’t want to rush into anything, but I also don’t want to give it up.”

  He studied me for a few seconds, and then his expression softened. “I’d… Yeah. I’d love to. I like this, too.” He paused. “But I also don’t want you to feel like you have to take me along, you know? We can find a way to do it long-distance.”

  “We can. But like… we already have to spend so much time apart because of my job. Maybe it’s a little selfish, but I want to spend my time at home with you.” I winced. “Okay, that sounded better in my head than it did out loud. I don’t want you at my beck and call, or trapped with me, and I don’t want to pull you away from your family, especially right now. If we end up on the other side of the country or something, I’ll make sure you can spend as much time as you need to in Portland, too.” I touched his face. “I just want to be with you. So we can give this a real try, you know?”

  His smile made my toes curl. “I hear you. And… yeah. I want to give this a real try, too.”

  “So… take it a day at a time?” I caressed his cheek. “See where things go?”

  “Sounds perfect to me.” He kissed me softly. God, I was so hooked on the way he kissed. Hell, I was hooked on him. Whatever happened in the future, wherever my career sent me, I was doing everything I could to make this man happy.

  Wyatt broke the kiss and grinned. “We can start that one day at a time thing with tonight and getting your mind off everything.”

  “I’m game. What are you thinking?”

  He pretended to give it some serious thought. “Why don’t we go order some unhealthy food, pour ourselves too much wine, and see what’s on Netflix?”

  That sounded absolutely amazing to me.

  As the sun rose and poked its way through my bedroom blinds, my world was still full of chaos and uncertainty. The Seattle Bobcats front office had been radio silent since yesterday’s meeting. I hadn’t heard a word from Simon since I’d booted him out. I was steadfastly avoiding the articles that were now spreading like wildfire thanks to Cole Tandy’s exposé.

  Here in this room, though, everything was quiet and peaceful. I’d woken up with my arm slung over Moose and his head on the pillow next to mine. Wyatt’s body heat warmed my back; he too was on his side, probably with Lily curled against his chest like Moose was against mine. Judging by my inability to move my leg, Bear was in his usual place at the foot of the bed.