Scoring Off The Ice: Ice Kings, #2

by Stacey Lynn

  “And it will never happen again. Take the time you need but I swear, and I mean it more than I have ever meant anything. Give me a chance to explain and make it right and it will be the best risk you have taken ever.”

  “Mikah—”

  “Think on it. I will give you time.”

  Oh God. My heart. For him. Angelo. I want to hear him out. I should. I deserve the reason for his sudden change in demeanor.

  “We’ll talk,” I say, and it’s barely a whisper because I’m quickly losing it.

  “Thank you. Angelo is okay? I need to get going but I had to see him and Viola not answering had me worried, so I called you…”

  “He’s fine, Mikah. See?” I hit the double arrow button on my phone to spin the screen around and move close to Angelo. Then I laugh to myself as Mikah talks to his son, his face probably overtaking the screen I have it held so close. Angelo smiles. His whole face lights up as Mikah says he loves him, and he’ll see him soon and to keep being a good boy. To sleep lots for me. Yes. Please, Angelo. Sleep a lot. Then I hear, “I am done being a fool on the phone for him. Can I see you again?”

  I flip the phone back to my face and Mikah is smiling. “Beautiful. Always so beautiful. We will talk soon.”

  The screen freezes, his face on a grainy smile as he disconnects. It disappears and I realize I’m smiling.

  Always smiling for him.

  The question is does it make me being the one who’s acting like a fool?

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Mikah

  * * *

  We win both games.

  I skate better against San Diego than I have ever skated in my life, ending the game with a hat trick, something I only accomplished a few times last season. My grip is tight, my feet are quick, and I imagine at any moment I will receive a call from my father telling me everything I’ve done wrong despite my success and my teams.

  We are off to a great start for the season.

  I don’t care about any of it. My foot taps on the long plane ride home on Monday. Thankfully, we leave early, but I still won’t get there until half the day has passed. I want to get my hands on Angelo and see him. I want to smell his clean baby smell and hear his giggle.

  I want to get my mouth on Paisley and hear her tell me she forgives me for being a massive idiot. For not trusting her. I want to show and tell her everything and then I want her to come into my arms so I can take her to my bed.

  I have never realized how impatient I am until I have people waiting for me at home. The elevator comes to a stop and I’m moving before the doors open, almost running straight into them. I’ve called Paisley this morning to tell her I was at the airport and she said that Viola showed up to take care of Angelo so she could go to school.

  Must have been a twenty-four-hour thing, because she looks great, she said to me on the phone.

  So I am expecting to open the door to my home and see Viola, but she surprises me at the door.

  “I think you want to go that way first,” she says.

  I will get there, but first, I am worried about her. About Angelo. She looks healthy. Her blonde hair with grays at the temples is pulled back into a ponytail and she is wearing the typical clothes she does at my house. Yoga capris and a short-sleeve shirt. She dresses simple, but it’s easy to see she was once beautiful. I would admit she still is if I was twenty years older.

  “How are you feeling?”

  She flips her hand in the air, smiling like she hasn’t been sick at all. Perhaps Paisley was right. I’m beginning to learn she usually is. About everything. “Oh, I’m great. Healthy and hale and Angelo is napping so if you want to go back and get your girl…”

  “I want.”

  This woman. I wish my mom could have been like her. Or maybe I wish for a cool aunt like Viola. I’m at Paisley’s door, lifting my hand to knock when Viola calls my name again.

  “Yes?”

  She coughs into her hand and winks, smiling behind her fist. “Have fun.”

  She disappears behind the door to my condo and it takes a second for what she’s done to register.

  That woman.

  She played us.

  I shake my head, laughing and knock on Paisley’s door. Nervous as the day I was when I signed my first contract with the Ice Kings, I swipe my sweaty palms down the front of my athletic pants.

  The door unlocks and slowly opens.

  “Paisley?”

  She only opens the door a few inches, enough for me to see her face, but I want to see more. I can’t read anything from her expression.

  Her cheeks are flushed, hair down, but it’s her green eyes that pull me in and make my nerves scatter wildly.

  “Mikah.” Her gaze slides to the left, toward the door of my home and back to me, and the top curves of her cheeks darken. “Hey.”

  She steps back, bringing the door with her and then I see why she only opened it a small amount.

  She’s dressed in a towel. And from what it appears, only a towel.

  I grab the doorknob, forcing her farther back, the door opens wider so I can finally enter and then close it behind me.

  “Do you need more time?”

  “No.” Her hand goes to the top of the towel where one end is tucked in, holding it up. I stop her before she can undo it.

  Her hands are trembling. She’s nervous, possibly scared. She has no reason to be either.

  “We will talk after. I will tell you everything.”

  “You will. And I’ll still end up forgiving you for acting like an idiot.”

  “You’re so sure of that?”

  She shrugs and her tongue brushes over her lip. “Yeah. I mean, I love you. So that’s what you do for people you love.”

  “You love me.” It hits me like a puck to the chest, slamming into me and stealing my breath.

  “Possibly from the first moment I saw you.” Her lips quirk and her hand swipes down the length of her body. “Dressed in something like this, if I remember correctly.”

  “You love me.”

  “I do.”

  I drop her hand I’d taken earlier and pluck the edge of the towel. It falls to the floor, but I don’t remove my gaze from her eyes. “I love you, too.”

  She flies at me and I catch her, falling back a step before I steady her. My hands settle on her ass and her breasts are pressed to my chest. I revel in the feel of her body in my hands once again for only a moment.

  And then I press my lips to hers. “I love you,” I say again before chasing my words with a kiss. “I mean it and I’m sorry for hurting you, skat. So very sorry.”

  “Sket?”

  I didn’t realize I’d slipped in language and I smile at her. “Close enough. Skat. It means, sweetie, or treasure.”

  “Oh.” She presses her lips to mine. They’re turned up in a smile. I didn’t think I would see that from her today. At least not yet. “I like that.”

  I’ve made it to her room, and I drop one hand from her ass to place it on her bed. She clings to me as I place one knee then the other on her mattress and move up until I can lay her down in the center.

  “I will show you other things you like more,” I tease, humming against her throat. My dick is already hard. Her nipples are too, light brown hardened points that raise and fall with every breath she takes.

  I want to make this good for her. Slow. I want to spend the evening and night showering her with my love through my body to begin proving how much I love this woman.

  She swept into my life when least expected and most needed.

  She’s been nothing but gracious and kind and loyal, and when I needed help the most, I turned her away instead of drawing her closer.

  It was a mistake I will never make again.

  I bring her to her first climax slowly with my fingers and mouth, and then I slide deep inside of her, fully seating myself in her before I realize what’s different.

  “Paisley.” Her name tears from me on a tortured groan. She’s tighter and warmer and
wetter than normal. “Condom.”

  “Birth control,” she whispers. Her fingers are on my ass, holding me against her as she grinds her clit to my pubic bone. “You know I’m on it.”

  “Are you sure?”

  She wraps her legs around my hips and hooks her ankles together. Grinning up at me, she gives me a jaunty wink. “Show me what you’ve got, hockey star.”

  Epilogue

  Paisley

  * * *

  “Mom. He wants to move.”

  “Oh that’s silly. He loves being with his grandma.”

  In my mom’s arms, Angelo kicks and squirms. His face is squished with frustration as he flails his arms. My mom is now a certified lunatic. At least I know where I get it from. From the moment she first met Angelo way back in October, a couple of weeks after Mikah and I got back together, I’ve seen her more than I have since high school. She loves having a baby to play with so much I’m not sure Viola is necessary.

  But I can tell Angelo wants to get down. He rolls all over the place nowadays and can sit on his own too. My mom refuses to allow him out of his arms which means he’s constantly wiggling in her arms.

  Even more strange is that when Mikah first met my parents, he introduced Angelo to them as their grandson. Their eyes widened briefly before grins broke out. I’m not sure there was a better way he could have let my parents know how serious we are outside of gifting them with that title from the get-go.

  But really, it makes sense… what else is he supposed to call them? Mikah’s already started calling me Angelo’s mom, which was weird the first few times until I talked to him about it.

  “You and I will be together forever. That is a matter of time. What else is he supposed to call you? Then we change it? Does that make sense?”

  Logically, I got it. But… “Mom?” I’d asked.

  Mikah cupped my cheeks with his palms and kissed me. “Someday, you will be. Yes?”

  Oh, I’d be that in a heartbeat. All Mikah has to do is ask. Still, it is soon… “Mikah…” Apparently, I can only say his name when I’m flustered. He doesn’t seem to mind.

  “Someday.” He seals his promise with a kiss and silences my fears and nerves by carrying me to bed. Hours later, I don’t remember what we were talking about.

  Now, it’s Thanksgiving. My parents are here and my mom, outside of stealing Angelo from the moment she walked in has also taken over cooking a massive meal in Trent’s apartment… which is now vacant except for when they visit.

  I haven’t officially moved in with Mikah, but all my things are at his house. It started slowly, then he cleared a drawer and space in his closets. The only time we go to Trent’s is when I need something or when we need a few more moments—hours—of privacy on date nights.

  It’s essentially our sex pad. We make sure the sheets are cleaned before my parents come into town.

  “No!”

  “I do not get the fascination.”

  This comes from my dad and Mikah who are camped in front of the television. It’s Thanksgiving after all. It’s the American way to watch the Detroit Lions game before a meal apparently. I think it’s the only time my dad pays attention to the sport but you don’t mess with the religion of a Turkey Day football game. Mikah is the one who now is confused. He wants to watch hockey, but that’s not until later.

  Tomorrow, he takes off to Minnesota for a quick overnight game before being back in town for five days.

  His schedule is insanely grueling and the more I get used to it, the more I respect everything he and his team does for a living.

  We only see each other a few nights a week and most of those nights are spent with Angelo. I’ve practically become a mom years before I was prepared and somehow, Mikah and I have done it all together, figuring it out with us being a team from the moment I saw Angelo on his doorstep.

  Except for that week we were separated, we’ve done it all together. And the day Mikah came back, and he told me everything, I only had the lingering anger to release before I fully forgave him. He still should have been honest with me. I would have stepped back until he figured things out. But I love him too much to hold it against him so it didn’t take long for me to forgive him.

  Angelo makes a fussy noise and I can no longer see him look so frustrated.

  “Mom. Hand me the boy.” I walk to her slowly as if she has a bomb strapped to her chest. Sometimes if you move fast, she whisks him away to spend hours reading to him. I mean, I knew my mom was crazy, but she’s taking being a grandma to a whole new level.

  “He’s fine.”

  In response, Angelo slaps her cheek and yells.

  “Oh, see, that’s just your way of saying how much you love your grandma, huh, isn’t it you perfect little angel.”

  She blows a raspberry on his covered tummy and squeezes him.

  “Mom.” She’s nuts. Absolutely nuts. I turn to Mikah for help, but he and my dad are having a beer, watching the game. I’m forgotten and on my own.

  “I think the turkey’s burning,” I say and it’s the only thing to get my mom’s attention. She swoops toward the stove and in her haste, I grab Angelo from her. She’s so worried about the meal being perfect she doesn’t remember she only put the turkey in the oven an hour ago.

  Still, with Angelo safe in my arms, I take him to the family room where I spread out the blanket and lay him down. He stretches with relief and promptly rolls to his stomach, starts doing an army crawl maneuver straight for my dad.

  I fill a glass with wine and head back to the living room. I don’t bother offering to help my mom cook. I already did and she let me know she doesn’t feel like calling the fire department today so I slide easily next to Mikah on the couch, curling my knees over his lap while he drapes an arm over my shoulder.

  “You rescued our boy.” He kisses the top of my head.

  I get a shiver of happiness every time he calls Angelo ours and not his. As the paperwork showed, Angela relinquished her parental rights. A couple months after that day, apparently Jaxon Hayes did a check up on her and let Mikah know she had moved to Michigan where she was originally from. Good riddance. Since then, it was easy for Mikah to have his parental rights declared.

  He’s officially been Angelo’s father for a full month, so I’m thinking we have lots to be thankful for this year.

  I hum with happiness at the thought.

  “What’s that for?” Mikah asks.

  I grin up at him. “Just thinking…we have a lot to be thankful for this year. Angelo. Us. The season you’re having so far.”

  “All good things.” He kisses my cheek and then my legs are being moved so he can slide out from beneath me.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Grabbing Angelo.”

  I glance to see he’s on his belly. His little fingers are fiddling with the laces on my father’s shoes. My dad keeps moving his feet away, making Angelo giggle and grunt and reach for them.

  Since Mikah is on the floor with Angelo, dragging him back to the blanket, it takes me a second to realize once he’s in front of me, he doesn’t get back to the couch.

  “Mikah?”

  He’s on a knee. Angelo is bouncing on the other knee, facing me, arms flailing and clasping together. And then…

  “Shut up,” I say.

  He’s holding a box.

  Mikah laughs. “I have not said anything yet.”

  “But…”

  Oh my God. Next to me, my dad has gotten off the couch. He’s now standing off to the side. My mom is next to him. Crying.

  “You’re… what is going on?”

  An idiot would understand faster than I am.

  Mikah reaches out and squeezes my thigh. I cling to his hand. I’m shaking. Hot. My heart might explode. Oh dear. It’s been a while since I’ve had these symptoms.

  “You are right,” he says, and his laughter has died and his face has gone somber. So serious. Such a deep, rough voice. “We have much to be thankful for this year. My team. A good famil
y,” his eyes flip to my parents and Angelo and then back to me, “and Angelo. Becoming a dad. But you… you are what I’m most thankful for.”

  “Mikah—” His name lodges in my throat. I can’t believe he’s doing this.

  He raises up Angelo’s pudgy arms still holding a small box. “There is only one thing that could make me more thankful, and that is marrying you. Will you be my wife? Become Angelo’s mom legally?”

  “Oh my God. Today?” I cry.

  Mikah laughs and takes the box from Angelo’s hand. It’s now wet from his drool. Apparently, he thinks it looks delicious. “I think we cannot do it today, but as soon as you want. As soon as you’re ready. I love you and as far as I’m concerned, our forever began the day you brought this boy into my life.” He pops open the box and I think my heart stalls.

  Oh dear. I really, really should have gone to the doctor to get help for this heart condition I have.

  “I love you, Paisley. And I want all of us to be a family. Forever. Marry me?”

  “Yes!” I cry, slide off the couch and tackle both Mikah and Angelo. My parents laugh. I’ve forgotten they’re here and I must look a fright, straddling and kissing Mikah and Angelo while wearing a dress.

  Fortunately, we’re all a little bit crazy. My mom cries. My dad whoops. And I keep kissing Mikah and Angelo, tears streaming down my cheeks until Mikah sits up and finally, finally slides a gleaming diamond onto my finger and kisses my hand.

  “I never knew I could have more in my life than hockey, but winning you feels better than any goal I have scored. Thank you for loving me every day. Every minute. I will always do the same for you.”

  Silly man. He’s done that since the day we first met. But I can’t wait to show him how good I’ll be at it for the rest of our lives.

  Thank you for reading Scoring Off The Ice! Hooked On Her, Jason Taylor’s story, will release later this summer. Want to be notified as soon as it releases? Subscribe to my newsletter by visiting my website: www.staceylynnbooks.com