by Toni Aleo
“Is she worth it, though?” he asked and she shrugged.
“That’s up to you to decide. Either way, I support you, love you, and will stand beside you,” she whispered against his lips. “And when you’re ready, I’ll Spartan kick her in the face.”
Grinning, he shook his head. “That’s intense.”
“For you, I’d do an intense Spartan kick,” she promised. “Just to see that smile, I’d do anything.”
Closing his eyes, he gathered her in his arms and kissed her lips softly. “I love you, Kacey.”
“I love you too, Jordie,” she whispered, her fingers grazing over his neck. “Do you feel better?”
He nodded. “I do.”
More so than she could even fathom. Months of rehab and therapy and still the pain of his mother burned from one text. But all he needed was to hear Kacey say she loved him and that she’d Spartan kick his mom and the pain didn’t burn as bad. It still stung, but then he looked into her eyes, and he wondered why he even cared. That woman didn’t want him, but this woman—this beautiful, gorgeous angel—did.
And her love was way more than enough.
It was everything.
It was his saving grace.
“Is it okay to have sex now?” he whispered playfully against her mouth and she grinned.
“It was okay before, but I’m glad we talked.”
“Me too,” he admitted. “I honestly need you, Kacey. Really.”
“I’m here and I’m not going anywhere,” she promised as the room went dark from her turning the TV off. “I’m yours.”
And he was hers. But instead, he said, “All mine?”
“Every single piece of me,” she said roughly against his mouth.
“Even this piece?” he said, cupping her pussy, and she gasped against his mouth, arching up in his hand.
“Especially that piece,” she murmured against his lips and he nipped at her bottom lip, feeling utterly perfect. The text from his mom was forgotten, and all that mattered was this woman who lay beneath him. And nothing could change that.
Not a text from his mom.
Not another woman.
Not the bottle.
Nothing, because Kacey was it.
And as her mouth moved along his, her hand covering over his heart, he knew just as he owned every single piece of her, she owned every piece of him.
Especially his heart.
“Hey, JT,” Erik Titov called from the blue line, catching Jordie’s attention from where he stood by the bench. He sent the puck to him and Jordie stopped it with the front of his stick, his brows coming together. Titov wasn’t on his line, nor was it Jordie’s turn to go. He was supposed to be waiting for a play from Coach. Glancing at Coach Baxter, he saw that he was going over different plays with the offense coach, Brady, while Tommy, the defense coach, talked with Adler and Sinclair. That left Karson and Jordie to shoot the shit while they waited since Fontaine and Paxton were passing the puck back and forth, waiting for some direction too.
They were still working out the kinks with the new additions to the team.
The final lines had been announced the day before, and Jordie would be lying if he said he wasn’t surprised that the girl made the team and wasn’t sent down. Elli really liked her and believed in her. Coach was a little leery, and even some of the guys were too but, man, she could hold her own. Also, with a few trades, they had two new forwards and two new defense guys. They seemed okay, but Jordie hadn’t really gotten to know them much. He wasn’t one for change, and the team dynamic was certainly changing. Elli was building a team for the Cup, he could see that, and he was ready, no matter how much he didn’t like change. The team was full of some heavy hitters, and Jordie was excited.
But he still had no clue why Erik was passing him the puck. Looking back at him, he said, “Yeah?”
He smacked his stick to the ice, and Jordie shot it to him as he asked, “You and Kacey together?”
Jordie grinned as he nodded. “Yeah, why?”
“’Cause she’s been sitting there for the last week watching us practice, and she never did that before,” he said with a grin, moving the puck back and forth with his stick. “I wasn’t sure you knew.”
Jordie laughed as he looked up at where Kacey sat, her arms wrapped around her legs as she watched. When she saw that he was watching her, she smiled, which made him smile. She had been coming to practice all week, and he really liked that she was there. After killing him in the training room, she’d sometimes hit the ice with him before the rest of the guys did. It was fun, and soon, they had fallen into a routine. Morning sex, work, and then he would go to AA meetings or therapy, come home for dinner, playtime with Mena, chilling with Karson and Lacey, and more sex. It was great and easy, but today he was signing his contract before his AA meeting, and Kacey hadn’t said a word about getting a place together. He was a little worried, not that he’d let her know that.
“It’s weird seeing you two googly-eye each other,” Karson mentioned as he leaned against the boards, making a face, and Jordie laughed.
“It’s not like we are thinking about having sex as we stare into each other’s eyes, if that makes it any better.”
His troubled face deepened and he reached out, smacking Jordie’s arm. “Dude, no.”
Jordie laughed. “I like that she’s here.”
“So things are good? Seems that way,” he said and Jordie agreed.
“Things are great, really excited for our future.”
“Which is?”
“Marriage and kids and shit,” Jordie said, looking back at him, and Karson laughed.
“Never thought I’d hear you utter those words,” he said, shaking his head. “Well, not the word shit, you say that all the time, but those other two. Mind-blowing, especially with my kid sister. And what’s really surprising is the fact that I don’t want to kill you for it.”
Jordie grinned. “’Cause you know I’d die before I’d hurt her.”
“For sure,” he said with a nod. “So, you’re good? AA has been pretty uneventful. You haven’t been sharing much.”
Karson had gone with him all week since his mom and dad had left. Karl and Regina finally got an offer on their house, one that they couldn’t turn down, which meant they’d be moving to Nashville soon. Everyone was ecstatic about that too. It just felt right having the whole family in one state. But, other than that, Karson was right, AA had been uneventful. He wasn’t sharing much because he was trying to figure out how to approach the issue of not only his mom calling but also the fact that he wanted Kacey to move in with him. She’d asked him to ask his leader or therapist, and he figured he needed to do that today.
“Yeah, I’m good,” he said with a nod. “My mom did text me the other day.”
Karson’s head whipped around. “What the hell for?”
“She wants me to call her.”
“Did you tell her to fuck off?”
“I ignored her. She’s called twice since.”
“Keep ignoring her. She wasn’t there the whole time you went through your shit; she doesn’t deserve you now.”
Jordie couldn’t agree more, but before he could say that, Coach blew the whistle and practice was back on. As he rushed the net with Karson, he decided that he loved playing with Karson. They did it well and could really read each other. It sucked last year when Karson went up with Shea because Shea’s linemate Jakob retired, but Jordie was happy for him. Shea made you a better player when you played with him, which was why Sinclair was on his line. Rumor was that Sinclair was being molded into the next captain, and Jordie believed it. The kid was one hell of a team player, and Jordie had liked him the moment they met.
But being on the ice again, playing with his boy, really had Jordie flying high. It just seemed like everything was falling into place. He was about to sign a new contract for six years, over three million dollars a year. He was with the girl of his dreams, hoping to build a future with her, and he was healthy. He couldn�
��t ask for more. He had it all. He just hoped he could keep it.
Because the calls from his mom worried him.
It gave him anxiety and made him want to throw his phone against the wall just so she couldn’t get ahold of him. Kacey suggested changing his number, but that wouldn’t stop her. She’d start hitting him up on Facebook and then, knowing her, she’d just pop in. He was going to have to answer her call, and he needed to be honest that he wanted nothing to do with her. But his mom was one hell of a manipulative bitch, and he had a hard time saying no to her.
He just didn’t want to relapse. He didn’t want to go back to how it was, and she had the power to throw him back into bad habits. He had been doing so well—he wasn’t even craving anything to drink because he was so fucking happy. It scared him to think that his cravings, his need for the bottle, could come back as soon as the darkness started to creep back. That was why he had to cut all ties. Not matter how hard it was going to be, he had to let her go.
She was the darkness.
When the whistle blew, calling his line, he let his issues with his mom go and focused on what made him happy. The sound of his skates against the ice, the feel of the force of the puck as it hit his blade, and the unbelievable feeling when he scored on Tate. But the greatest feeling was when he looked up and Kacey was waving her arms in the air, cheering for him.
He had it all.
Rubbing his hands together, Jordie leaned on the edge of his seat as he waited for Elli to call him in. He wasn’t sure why he was nervous. This was cut-and-dried and already in the books. He knew his salary, he knew she was keeping him, so why was his heart pounding in his chest? Letting out a long breath, he leaned back in his chair and stretched out his legs. It had been a long, hard practice, which was why he was kind of late, not that Elli would mind. His agent wasn’t even there yet.
But why was he nervous?
When his phone dinged with a message, he pulled it out of his pocket to see that it was from Kacey.
Kacey: What are you doing after the meeting with Elli?
Jordie: AA.
Kacey: With Karson?
Jordie: Going alone today.
He waited for her to text him back, but to his surprise, it took longer than he thought.
Kacey: Are you coming back to the house afterward?
Jordie: Yeah, you’ll be there, right?
Kacey: Yeah, waiting on you.
Jordie smiled.
Jordie: Naked?
Kacey: Maybe, this is what I look like right now.
He grinned as a picture of her in only a thong came up in his thread.
Jordie: You really do have the best ass I’ve ever seen.
Kacey: Thanks ☺ I bought these from Lacey’s shop for you to tear off. I might start there.
His brow raised in confusion.
Jordie: Start there?
Kacey: Yeah, I don’t make that much with the Assassins and I only work in the mornings now. I’m kind of bored come the afternoon.
Jordie: You really don’t need that much money. I’m about to sign a huge contract.
Kacey: I know, but I can’t depend on you to support me.
His face scrunched up more.
Jordie: Why the hell not? You’re my woman.
Kacey: This is very true, but you know, what if it doesn’t work out? And then I’ve been depending on you and I have nothing.
He glared.
Jordie: Won’t happen. You aren’t going anywhere.
Kacey: lol. Okay, so this is a convo for later, I guess.
Jordie: I guess so. Have you thought about moving in with me?
Kacey: You’re killing me.
Jordie: I’ll take that as a no. Stop being a relationship staller and get it together, Kacey King. Be my woman, move in with me, and have lots of loud sex.
Kacey: Dork, I’ll see you when you get back.
Jordie: Fine, love your stubborn ass.
Kacey: Love your dorky ass more.
He smiled as he clicked off his messages and went to his Facebook. Hitting the status update section, he wrote:
My girlfriend is the most stubborn-ass woman in the world, but I wouldn’t be head over heels in love with anyone but her. Love you, Kacey King.
He posted it and then grinned. He wasn’t that big a Facebooker, but when he updated his status, it usually meant something. The world needed to know what he thought of his girlfriend, and he was sure to get some kind of response. Hopefully out of her. He also wanted to remind her that he cared. He may not have had to woo her like Lacey had suggested in the beginning, but he still thought that little things like Facebook posts and Snickers would keep her happy. She didn’t like flowers like a normal chick, so he fed her. It usually worked.
As he expected, his Facebook started to blow up, his phone dinging left and right, stealing his attention.
Hitting the comments, he laughed as he read through each one.
Lucas Brooks: I’m surprised she even dates a guy from Duck Dynasty. You should be happy she’s staying. BTW it’s not playoff season, do something about your face.
Erik Titov: Pansy ass.
Karson King: Loser, stop posting shit about my sister. But really, she is the biggest pain in the ass I know.
Kacey King: Shut up, Karson King. And don’t you mean you’re the biggest pain in the ass? And you hush too, Jordie, but I do love you too.
Shea Adler: Aren’t you in a meeting? Show some respect for my wife and stop Facebooking about your high school romance. Big dweeb.
Tate Odder: Cap, people don’t say dweeb anymore.
Shea Adler: Says the kid that doesn’t speak English.
Tate Odder: Yes, I’m a little delayed in your language, but at least I’m a kid and not an old ass.
Karson King: BUUUUUURRRNNNNNNN!!!! But he said it. Not me. Don’t hate me and get me traded.
Lucas Brooks: Good one, Tate Odder.
Shea Adler: I will kill you all, no trades needed.
Phillip Anderson: All of you are losers, especially you, pussy ass Jordie Thomas! No one Facebooks this girlie shit.
Reese Anderson: Yes, they do, he did it yesterday. Don’t listen to him, Jordie. I can’t wait to meet her.
Jordie was cracking up as the comments kept coming, but then Elli interrupted him as she said, “You can come in now.”
Looking up at her, he smiled. “Check out Facebook later.”
She returned the smile and nodded. “Shenanigans, I’m guessing?”
“Our team is full of crazies,” he commented as he walked past her.
“Ain’t that the damn truth,” she agreed as she shut the door. “Charles is running late, so we’ll go over the contract while we wait. But I wanted to talk to you about something,” she said and he paused before lowering down into the chair.
“Am I in trouble?”
She laughed. “No, actually, you’ve been doing very well. Everyone is extremely pleased. Coach is boasting about you every time I see him.”
He relaxed in the chair, nodding his head. “I’m working hard.”
“We can tell and we are thrilled,” she said, flashing him a winning grin. “Especially me since I kind of stuck my neck out for you.”
He laughed as he nodded. “Couldn’t let you down.”
“Yeah, that means a lot,” she said, letting out a contented sigh. “So while it’s on my mind, you’re welcome to skip the team party this weekend. It isn’t really a dry event, and I wouldn’t want to tempt you.”
Jordie shook his head. He had been preparing for the team party. He knew that there would be drinking and partying, and he had to get used to that stuff sooner rather than later. There was alcohol everywhere; it was his duty to resist it. “No, I’ll be there. No biggie.”
“You sure?” she asked skeptically. “I would make an excuse for why you can’t come.”
“Thanks, Elli, but I want to be there. I got a date,” he said with a wink and she laughed.
“I see that you and my trainer h
ave worked it out?”
“Yup.”
“Good, I hope it lasts a lifetime.”
“It will,” he said with a grin. “Was that what you needed to talk to me about? The party?”
She shook her head. “No, actually, I wanted to talk to you about Benji Paxton.”
His brows came together. What did the new defensive guy have anything to do with him? “Cool dude, what about him?”
“He’s a recovering alcoholic, eleven years sober.”
“Really?” he asked, surprised by that. “He seems so straitlaced.”
“Now he is, but he has one hell of a past. Though that’s not my place to tell you. And I would like to suggest that you and him room on road trips. He would be a good friend for you.”
Jordie shrugged. He could see why she would think that, but that wouldn’t work. “But I room with Karson, always have.”
“I know, but Fontaine is known to be a partier, and Karson won’t stand for Fontaine’s antics, you know? Can you try it out? For me?”
She batted her lashes at him and he laughed. He’d do just about anything for Elli and she knew that. “Sure. No problem.”
“You are awesome. Thank you,” she said, clapping her hands together. “Now, let’s get to signing some paperwork.”
Excited, Jordie leaned forward toward the contract, ready to add some more brick to the foundation he was building. Signing this contract ensured his future with the Assassins, and that meant it was time to move out of Karson’s house and get a place of his own. Now all he had to do was hope that Kacey would be on board to go with him.
Because he couldn’t leave her behind.
“You and your friends act worse than children,” Kacey accused as Karson laughed, looking down at his phone. As another notification from the “roast,” as the guys were calling it, came across her phone, she rolled her eyes. She almost wanted to tell Jordie to delete it, but if she was honest, it was sweet. Even if he did think she was stubborn. Which she was. But that wasn’t the point. He’d told the world that he loved her and that made her breathless.
Pointing at her, he said, “Shut up, this is awesome. Lucas just said that you are holding Jordie’s balls in your purse.”
