Inwardly, I roll my eyes, knowing that this is his game. But I’m here to let go of the past.
And I need to figure out what he wants before he turns the tables on me. Again.
So I tell him yes.
My father beams and turns to Cam. “What are your plans for the future?” he asks him in far too casual of a tone.
“Keep winning,” Cam says in a clipped voice.
“Maybe I can offer you some advice?” Daddy asks him. “Coach to player? Join us for coffee.”
Cam’s expression shuts down in that way it does when he’s asked about hockey. But he keeps his hand on my back when he says, “Sure. Let’s go.”
So Cam and I go have coffee with my father.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“That was…interesting,” Cam says as we leave the coffee shop and climb into his truck.
I let out a relieved breath of air. “I’m sorry you got dragged into coffee. That was unplanned. I just…”
“You don’t trust him.” Cam turns on the engine and backs out of the parking lot. “I could read it all over your face.”
I glance down at my father’s business card still in my hand. “No. I don’t. He’s always got a reason.”
“No argument here. But I’m proud of you for standing up to him.”
“I have no idea where that came from. Ever since I met you, it’s like you said—I have this stick at the ready.”
Cam reaches for my hand. “You always had that stick, Savannah. That’s all you.”
“It was strange seeing him after all this time. He’s older now, and I guess I wasn’t prepared. And he says he’s taking some medication to even him out.”
“That’s a good thing.”
“Yes. It’s hard to imagine him becoming a father again, though.” I glance over at Cam. “I’ve never introduced someone to him before. It was just weird.”
He abruptly pulls off to the side of the dark, quiet street. He shifts closer and lifts me into his lap.
“I’m worried about you,” he whispers as he kisses me softly.
I tilt my head so he has better access to my neck, and he nibbles the soft skin. “Can I stay over tonight?”
“I’m not sure,” I murmur. “I’m in a bad place, and I don’t want to drive you away.”
He trails kisses down my collarbone. “Let me in, Savannah. Please.”
My body is burning up with need for him. My heart craves him. And I want to feel like I deserve Cam’s kind of love. The good kind.
“Yes. Come home with me,” I say.
I’m afraid Molly’s going to be lying in wait for me in the living room, but when we walk in the front door, the house is dark.
“They’re both in bed.” I take Cam’s hand and lead him down the end of the hall and into my bedroom. “I guess we should have gone to your house if we didn’t want to worry about making noise.”
Cam’s mouth is on mine right away. “Kissing is quiet,” he murmurs.
“True.” I laugh as he reaches for the hem of my sweater. “I’m still kind of chilled.”
“I’ll warm you up.”
He lifts off my sweater and shirt, and I take off my pants and grab a t-shirt and sweatpants before climbing into bed.
Cam takes off everything but his boxers and gets under the covers with me. The bedside light casts a dim glow on the room, and the house is completely quiet.
“Are you cold?” I ask him. “I could lend you something. Not that it will fit you.”
He puts his arms around me. “I’m good. As long as I’m with you.”
Our eyes catch and hold. And I want him so much it hurts. But it’s more than lust. I feel so much for Cam Wild, and I don’t know how to tell him.
Like he knows what I’m thinking, Cam lifts off my t-shirt until we’re skin to skin.
“You’re so sexy,” he says to me as he drags my sweatpants off my hips.
As we kiss, the pain of tonight fades, and I can’t focus on anything other than this moment. And I love that. I love him. But I know it’s too soon to say those words. I think. I really have no fucking clue when you’re supposed to say it.
Cam slips off his boxers and grabs a condom out of his pants pocket. “You’re in charge tonight,” he says, urging me on top of him. “It’s all you, Savannah. You decide how much, how deep, and how fast. Okay?”
“But…” I freeze. “I don’t know what I’m doing. I’ve never done this…”
“I’ll love every second of it. I promise you.” His eyes darken even more until they’re liquid with heat. “You could get me off by just rocking back and forth.”
I shift until he’s sliding inside me slowly. “Okay,” I say in a soft voice. “I’ll try.”
“That’s my girl.”
As always, Cam knows exactly what I need. To take back the feeling of control I always lose when I’m around my father. To feel empowered, and feminine, and wanted.
I clutch at Cam’s shoulders, and he grips my hips as I start to move up and down on him jerkily. He lets out a low curse and, in halting tones, he tells me how sexy I am, how good I make him feel, and how beautiful I am.
Gradually, I find a rhythm, and Cam’s groans drive me into a frenzy. When we reach release at the same time, I fall onto his chest and cry out his name into his neck.
“Thank you,” I say as I look into his eyes.
Cam’s gaze is smoldering. “Savannah, you are the best part of my life. Don’t ever think you need to change who you are for anyone.”
Cam and I pass Mama in the kitchen the next morning.
“Hello, Mrs. McMann. How are you?” Cam says.
She smiles. “Hi, Cam. Would you like some breakfast?”
“I’d love some, but I’m late for work.”
Mama insists on fixing him a bowl of hot cereal for the road.
After I kiss him goodbye at the door and return to the kitchen, Mama’s busy putting out my cereal and orange juice. And coffee.
“Thanks, Mama.”
She takes a seat with me. “How are you?”
I cover my neck with my hands, afraid I have a large hickey. “I’m fine.”
“What happened last night?”
It’s unlike Mama to be so direct.
“The Cannons won, and we’re in the playoffs.”
“That’s wonderful, sweetheart. I know this means a lot to you.”
“I’m excited. The first game is at home, and Cam’s cousins are coming.”
“That will be nice.” Long pause before she brings up the elephant in the room. “And did you see your father?”
I hate seeing the pained look on her face. But I can’t lie to her. “Yes. We saw Daddy. He looks older. Molly and Celie…” I stop myself from speaking on my sisters’ behalfs. “They argued with Daddy and left early.”
“Did he apologize to you?”
I shake my head. “Not even a little. But he said that Watts is leaving the team after this season.”
I don’t mention that my father asked me to move to Colorado because I don’t plan to ever accept his offer. And I don’t want to raise alarm bells with my mother who will worry over me nonstop.
I put my hand on hers. “I’m doing okay. I’m moving forward. Finally.”
She squeezes my hand. “I’m glad.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
When I arrive at work, a big note is taped to the outside of my office door.
“I’ve got a meeting off-site until noon,” Craig’s handwriting says. “But get in touch with Cam and make sure he’s here when I arrive. I don’t care what he has to cancel—make sure you’re both ready to meet me.”
“Shit.” I unlock the door silently and wait until I’m inside my office before I curse more.
Then I reach for my phone to call Cam.
“He knows,” I say as soon as Cam’s closed my office door behind us. “He knows about us.”
Cam kisses the top of my head. “I’ll take care of it. You won’t lose your job. I promise.”
I cross my arms. “How can you take care of it? He must have seen us after the Cannons game. Maybe when we held hands walking out of the rink.”
Cam’s gaze drifts to the window. “Who would care enough to tell him? What would they gain?”
Chills shoot through my body. “My father.”
“He said he didn’t care,” Cam says. “Is that the type of thing he’d do?”
“Only if he had something to gain. And he does.”
“What? I don’t get it.”
“He has me.”
“You mean if you lose your job here, you may be more likely to move to Colorado to work for him.”
“Yes, technically. But I’m just a pawn. He really wants someone much more valuable.”
“Who?” Cam looks closely at my expression. “Shit. You mean me?”
“Think about it. His current star is leaving him. He needs fresh blood. You’re the biggest thing going right now because you’re so freaking good. If Craig fires me or drops you, either way my father wins.”
Cam’s expression turns hard. “Plus, if either of us leaves the team, he thinks he’ll have a better chance of winning it all this year.”
“Exactly. Especially if you don’t play. That’s probably his first hope, that Craig will bench you for the playoffs. He thinks Craig’s a rule-abider, unlike himself. What I still don’t get…” I stare at the pair of hockey sticks against my wall. “Is why he contacted me before he saw us together. He couldn’t have known we were together before he came out here for the game. And yet, he sent me that text.”
“He knows you work with new players. He knows how involved you are in the workings of the team. He probably just wanted to see how much he could get out of you. See if you knew if I was happy here, what my future goals were—pretty much everything he grilled me on last night.”
“You stayed good and vague with him, though, no matter how much he pushed you,” I say, remembering the coffee shop conversation. “He was frustrated.”
“We just have to be honest with Craig.” Cam puts his arms around me. “I’m sorry about this, Vannah. Your dad is…” he trails off with a shake of his head.
“I know. There are no words, really.”
Cam turns in a circle, taking in my entire office. “Did you stay here just because of him?”
“Maybe. You know, it’s comfortable. It’s familiar.”
As a way to avoid eye contact with Cam, I begin to tidy the packing slips on my desk.
“You think if you keep his office just the way he wanted, he’ll forgive you for the fact that the Cannons lost that game? Have you been doing penance all these years?”
I stop straightening and raise my eyes to meet Cam’s.
“I just wanted him to be happy is all. But I also was angry, and maybe a small part of me stayed for revenge.” I’ve never even thought that last part to myself, but as I say it aloud, I realize it’s true.
“How so?”
“I think I’ve always fantasized about beating him.”
“We did that last night. So you must mean in the finals.”
Our eyes catch.
“I suppose that would be the cherry on top, yes,” I say slowly, turning over the concept in my mind.
“Hmmm.” Cam grins at me. “So if we win, you’ll quit?”
I widen my eyes. “Quit? The Cannons?”
Cam catches my hands in his. “Yes.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” I try to pull away, but he laces his fingers with mine.
“It is a good idea.” He gestures to my dance bag in the corner. “I know you want to. I’ve seen the way your face changes when you look at my Montana pictures. I know you want to dance out there. And you deserve the best, Savannah.” Now his mouth is on my lips, and he kisses me so softly I stop resisting him. “You’re going to get your dreams. I know you are.”
At noon, Cam and I walk into Craig’s office and take the two seats across from his desk. Craig watches us with a stern look on his face. I fidget while Cam keeps his hard gaze firmly on Craig, and for a few moments, nobody speaks.
Then Craig pulls out the handbook from his top drawer. “As the handbook states, and as you two are both well aware, no fraternizing between players and other employees.” He points between us. “Are you two having a fling?”
“No,” we both say immediately.
“No?” Craig frowns. “I’m not sure I believe you.”
“Look, Coach,” Cam says. “This is none of your business, but because of some stupid rule I have to explain myself. So I will. Savannah and I are together. And I’ll leave the team before I leave her. I’ll do anything before I leave her. This isn’t a ‘fling’ and it’s not ending.”
Craig’s mouth drops open. “So you two are serious.”
“Right,” Cam says firmly. “And you can either take us as is, and ignore the handbook, or I quit. You’re not going to fire Vannah. That’s not an option. You can’t do anything in this place without her, and you know it.”
Craig bangs his desk in frustration. “Fine. Rules were made to be broken, I suppose. I didn’t make up the damn rule, anyway. I’m just kicking myself that I missed this. You two seemed so close. Too close. But I ignored my gut. Until I got the anonymous tip.”
“Coach,” I say. “Do you have any clue who the anonymous tip was from?”
Craig gives me a second look. “Do you?”
I tilt my head in the general direction of the rink. “You do realize who we played last night, don’t you? And we’re in the playoffs, Craig. People can’t ignore us anymore.”
He braces both hands on the edge of his desk. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
I just raise my eyebrows.
“Well, Jesus Christ.” He bursts out laughing. “He’s fucking threatened by us? Us?”
“Because we’re going to win.” Cam stands up. “We’re going to win, and there’s not a damn thing he can do about it.”
Craig looks between us, and his smile grows wider.
He pumps a fist in the air. “If you two stay together, invite me to your wedding!” he calls out as we leave his office.
Cam and I walk down the hall, and then we shut the door to my office and start laughing.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Savannah
The time leading up to the Cannons first playoff game goes by in a blur. I work nonstop alongside the coaches to make sure we’re ready to play the New York Empires.
In addition to our long hours in the rink, Craig decides it’s best if Cam and I are open with the organization about our relationship. Craig tells the owner the whole story, who says the handbook should be updated with “someone else’s rules other than those of the previous coach.” Craig cheerfully says he’ll take on that task right after the season.
Cam and I stand together and tell the team after practice one day. McLain starts cheering, which starts a full-on ovation, until Cam tells everyone to shut up.
Bruce pulls me aside afterward. “You and the new guy, huh?”
I smile. “He’s not exactly new anymore.”
He tugs on his beard. “I like him. More importantly, I like him for you. I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks, Bruce.”
“And if we go to the finals…” The sentence hangs unfinished in the air like the way the Cannons’ season ended six years ago.
“Cam swears we’re going to win,” I say with a smile.
“Hell, I’d bet on him.” Bruce’s eyes crinkle at the corners. “This is gonna be fun.”
Cam and I spend every night together. Except for one, when Molly, Celie, and I go out for drinks.
“I wish you’d told us about this woman you like,” I say to Molly.
“Me too,” she says as we share a group hug.
“Our family.” Celie shakes her head.
“So what now?” Molly raises her glass.
I raise my glass to meet hers. “To a happy future. For all of us.”
/> The next day, Nadine, pregnant and dragging two toddlers, comes into town with Brad from Chicago. Nadine can’t wait to meet Cam, and she and Brad happily hand their kids off to an equally-willing Mama so my three sisters and I can attend the game together.
“What’s Cam like?” Nadine asks as we make our way to our seats right before game time.
We’re sitting directly behind the team bench this time, so Craig can easily talk to me about any mid-game adjustments. I went over the game plan with him last night for hours, and I have a really good feeling about this game.
“Cam’s awesome,” I tell Nadine. “You’ll like him.”
“You will,” Celie says as she leans past Pru. “Savannah did good.”
Nadine squeals. “I’m so excited! My baby sister finally met someone who deserves her.”
Cameron
The arena is packed with wall-to-wall fans, and the roar of the crowd is deafening as I lead my team onto the ice for the Cannons first playoff game in a long time.
I’m pumped. I woke up feeling ready to go, and the energy of the crowd gets me going even more.
From the moment the puck is dropped, I can tell our opponent doesn’t want this game as much as we do. And that’s often all sports is—who wants it more. After meeting Savannah’s dad in person, my desire to win this title for her is off the charts. And it inspires me like nothing I’ve felt before.
I can hear her cheers through the rest of the noise. It’s not as easy as when the place was half-filled, but she promised me she would let out a big cheer when the rest of the crowd was quiet.
And she doesn’t disappoint.
“Get it, Cam!”
As soon as I hear her, I break into a grin, hip-check my opponent into the boards, and pass the puck down the ice to McLain who slots it in easily for a score.
I also hear my cousins. Shit, they’re loud. Brayden and Jenson coach football and know how to project to be heard. And Dylan has to shout to his teammates in sold-out stadiums for a living. Once they all get going, they’re like a pack of barking dogs.
Cameron (Wild Men Book 7) Page 17
