Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 116597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 583(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 583(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
I didn’t know how the hell I was supposed to go back to just being her student.
Her friend.
Not when she’d given me this.
Not when every cell in my body was already leaning toward her, begging for more.
I’d had a taste of her, and instead of it making me feel confident to chase other women, it only made me desperate to chase her.
Which was a real fucking problem, since she’d made it more than clear that she didn’t want to be chased.
I dropped her off with a kiss on her cheek, hanging onto the little smile she gave me like a lifeline when she disappeared inside the high-rise building.
And I knew it. No questions asked.
I was well and truly fucked.
Bananas
Livia
“LET’S GO, OSPREYS!”
Clap, clap, clap clap clap.
“LET’S GO, OSPREYS!”
Clap, clap, clap clap clap.
The cheer rang out around the stadium, and I had no choice but to join in — mostly due to an elbow to the ribs courtesy of my best friend. She winked at me, clapping and cheering until I joined in, and then she celebrated the victory with a little shimmy of her shoulders.
Ava — Will Perry’s daughter — was next to her, snug as a bug between Maven and Chloe as we watched the final game before the team got some much-needed time off for the Four Nations Face Off. Grace was still in Antarctica and Mia was still on tour, so it was just the three of us tonight, along with our favorite kid.
Ava Perry was one hundred percent the biggest hockey fan I knew. She’d been into it ever since I’d met her — since she was born, I presumed — and now that Will and Chloe had her enrolled in a youth league, she was even more unhinged. Add in the fact that her favorite pop star had become one of the crew, thanks to Aleks wife-ing her up, and you could say our little nugget was in heaven.
I watched her with a soft smile as she chanted louder than any of us, small hands cupping around her mouth to serve as a megaphone. When the chant ended, Ava screamed wildly and added, “Come on, boys! Take it to the net!”
Maven and I shared a grin at that, and then all our attention turned to the ice.
And mine went straight to Carter.
Lord help me, the sight of that man in his element tapped into the most feral side of me.
There was something about watching him play his ass off, something about how focused he was, how well he performed, how he seemed more on his game than ever that had me wanting to get on my knees and crawl to him. He was different tonight. He’d been different in every game this week.
He was locked in, his game effortless, his confidence beaming.
And I knew why.
It had been nearly a week since our exploration at The Manor — a week since I’d taken his virginity, plugged his ass, and led him through every wicked corner of that sultry mansion. I’d watched him shed the weight of shame and perfection, seen the relief in his face when he realized he didn’t have to get everything right, that he was allowed to explore, to stumble, to laugh at himself.
It had been freeing for him.
And for me.
I hadn’t realized how much I’d needed that night until it was over — the rush of guiding him, the way he’d thanked me like I’d given him something more valuable than an opponents’ playbook. After all the drama going on with my family trying to force me into attending my sister’s wedding, it had been a reprieve for me just as much him.
It had also surprised me.
I knew what we were walking into. I knew the play we’d witness, knew the way everyone would dress, knew that by the end of the night, I’d claim Carter’s virginity. But I hadn’t known the way I’d feel when he swept my hair back before kissing me, slow and reverent one moment, playful and grinning the next. I didn’t expect him to make me laugh when I didn’t think I had it in me. I certainly hadn’t foreseen how I’d feel jealous of the first person to ask to touch him, that I’d mark him as my territory like a fucking dog.
That night had been on my mind all week.
He’d been on my mind all week.
And I heard a smothered voice deep within my soul screaming how much of a problem that was.
I’d convinced myself it was nothing more than the second payment hitting my account. It had gone through on Monday, another large chunk of change for me to add to my savings, another part of our contract complete.
Surely, that was the reason I’d been so fixated on him. I saw that paycheck and zeroed in on our goal, on the job I still had to fulfill.