Delay of Game

by Amber Lynn

  He saw her looking at him and smiled, leaning down to give her a sweet kiss on the lips. After the kiss, he rolled them on their sides, so their connection didn’t separate. The twitching had resided, but he was still swollen inside of her.

  “You want to sleep here today?”

  Hope wasn’t sure what sensations were going through her body, leaving her with little idea if she was tired or would be able to go to sleep. She needed to get at least a few hours before heading to the bar, so sleep had to happen at some point.

  “Right this second I can’t think about moving.”

  “Then don’t. I’ll set the alarm for you and make sure you get up in time.”

  Hope hummed as she thought about the option. She wasn’t kidding about not being able to move, so she figured she’d make an official decision after they’d separated and she felt her legs were a little more stable. While she waited for that to happen, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of Jason’s naked body all around hers.

  Chapter Thirteen

  There were very few things Jason hated more than the sound of an alarm trying to wake him up. A goal horn for an opposing team, his coach telling him he had to skate a million sprints and his ex-wife’s voice where the only things he could think of as he tried to tune the alarm out. A body fidgeting in his arms told him ignoring the alarm wasn’t the best idea.

  He took a deep breath and inhaled the scent of Hope’s shampoo. Having her in his arms was enough to make him forget the alarm and smile. The woman was amazing. That was the only word accurate enough to describe her.

  Well, that wasn’t totally true. There were plenty of synonyms that could work in a pinch. Really none of them were strong enough.

  Nothing described what it was like to feel himself wrapped around her. Or the way she felt everything so completely that he could feel it through her. Every time he touched her there was a reaction. Whether it was vocal or physical, he could tell what his touch did.

  “Can you get that thing to stop? You said you’d set an alarm, not bring in a heavy metal band.”

  Jason laughed as he took an arm and reached behind him to hit the button that would make the music stop. He preferred the loud music over an annoying beeping, but he still hated anything that woke him up unnaturally. The absence of the noise left an odd vacuum, but it was better than the drums he’d shut up.

  He tucked his arm back around Hope and kissed the top of her head. Between her body being spooned into his and waking up, he was almost as stiff as he was before he’d fallen asleep. He remembered Hope falling asleep right after he’d asked her to stay over and his quick trip to the bathroom to clean up, but he didn’t remember falling asleep.

  “The alarm means it’s five. You fell asleep before you could tell me what to set it for, so I played on the safe side.”

  Hope had to eat and shower before she went to work. He knew her day was supposed to start at seven, so he hoped two hours was enough. Since neither of them were moving quickly, it was likely to only be an hour and a half she had to get ready.

  “Five’s good.” Hope said with sleep still in her voice. “Thankfully you put me in a coma, so I slept better than I ever remember.”

  “I will take that as a compliment.” Jason kissed her head again. “What are the chances you’ll call in sick to work?”

  Jason already knew the answer, but he asked anyway. She’d mentioned something about quitting the bakery, so there wasn’t much chance she’d start slacking off her other job.

  “I think I have to wait to answer that until I’m able to see if my legs give out when I stand up.” Hope laughed as she wiggled in his arms so she could roll over to face him. “I know it’s night, but good morning.”

  Rather than saying the words out loud, Jason said them with action, risking her running from his morning breath by putting his lips on hers. There was a lot more at risk than just morning breath, because he knew how easy it would be to move their bodies enough that he could slide back into her. She needed a hot bath to relax whatever muscles they’d worked out, not another full assault.

  “As proud as I am about making sure you were satisfied, I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to walk. I’d recommend a bath if you’re usually a shower person.”

  “Hmm. I suppose that means I should head home and get the water running.”

  “Or call in sick and stay in bed with me until morning.”

  At some point they’d need food and bathroom breaks, but Jason was game for seeing how long they could stay in bed. A shower would also be nice to work into the game. He’d worked up a little sweat that he could still feel on his body.

  “What would you think about me trying to take tomorrow off so I can come see you play?”

  Hope seemed unsure whether she should ask the question. She kept a smile on her face, but she spaced the words out like they were taking a little too long coming to her.

  “The full day tomorrow or just the night?”

  It was another question he already knew the answer to. They’d spent enough time together to get to know about family life and who each other was as a person, and Jason loved who Hope was. He’d almost been stupid enough to use that word when Hope caught him staring down at her after sex.

  He’d honestly thought that he would never fall in love after Kate. It wasn’t the fact that she was his first for everything or that she was the only person in the world that would ever understand him, because that had clearly been proven the furthest thing from the truth. His heart was just too broken after losing both his wife and a child he thought was his to open back up to another person.

  Hope did something to patch up all the little cracks and somehow was gluing him back together. It caught him off guard to be thinking about how much he already loved Hope. Telling her that just after she’d given him her virginity seemed like a recipe for trouble, so he’d bit his tongue. The chances of her believing that it wasn’t just said in a moment of passion were slim.

  “Obviously I have to go to the bakery in the morning to tell Mom her gift was greatly appreciated, so I was thinking just the night.”

  “You are not telling your mother we had sex, ever. If we decide to have kids, she needs to think they were conceived via immaculate conception.”

  The words were out of his mouth before he thought them through. Telling her his feelings was probably less dangerous than bringing up the idea of kids. He hadn’t let his mind go down that road, and he did his best to make sure his errant words didn’t let him dwell on the idea.

  “I’m not sure I like the way your face just went totally blank.”

  Hope’s eyebrows lifted as she tilted her head to the side, bringing it off the pillow slightly. When he didn’t change his expression, she put her head back down. Jason reached up and smoothed her disheveled hair. Her brown curls were a little unruly, but not too bad for just waking up.

  “It’s probably a little early to talk about having kids, but I wanted to reiterate the idea that your mom should be left to her imagination when she thinks about whether we’re having sex.”

  “Oh, I’m totally with you on that point,” Hope said as she nodded her head. “I was just surprised to hear you mention having kids. Do you want to have kids?”

  Jason weighed the different options for replies. It took him long enough to think about what to say that Hope jumped back in to clarify.

  “I meant that in a general sense, not whether you want to have kids with me.”

  After Jason leaned down to give Hope a kiss he meant to be reassuring, he came up with an answer he thought would smooth his mistake over. There was a thin line between soothing fears he created and scaring Hope off.

  “I’ve always wanted to have kids, and I stand by the fact that if we ever have any, I am never talking to your mom about how they came to be.”

  “I’m not either. There’s part of me that has to keep joking about what she did because it sounds better if I’m laughing about it.”

  Parents buying con
doms for their kids wasn’t a new concept, but as far as Jason knew, they didn’t generally do it for their adult kids. It was weird. There wasn’t really anything other than that to say about the situation.

  “I’d tell you to tell her that I can buy my own condoms, but that goes against keeping our sex life our own business.”

  Hope nibbled on her lower lip, telling Jason she wasn’t comfortable with whatever she was thinking. If she said something about wanting to share the news with someone, she was in for a spanking. Jason hadn’t considered her claim to have no time for friends a good thing, but he liked the idea of not having other people giving him knowing looks when they shouldn’t know anything. There had been certain times when Kate’s friends let it slip that they knew more than they should about his body.

  “Speaking of condoms,” Hope said as her teeth continued to dig into her lip. “Next time, do you think I can touch you before you put the condom on?”

  Jason chuckled a little as a smile spread across his face. “Is the lower part of your body numb after your nap?”

  It was tempting to take her hand and move it onto him, but they were pushing the time she needed to get ready for work. He’d already promised himself to let her rest a little to make sure they didn’t over do things.

  “You know what I mean. You’ve used your hand and mouth on me, and I haven’t even touched you yet.”

  “You don’t have to ask to touch me, Hope. I don’t recommend it right this second. At least not if you’re planning on getting to work on time.”

  “I am. Which means I need to get going, but I still need to know if you want me to come to the game.”

  Jason knew she watched at least part of the games on TV, but he hadn’t thought about what it would be like to have her in the crowd. Kate had gone to some games because she liked to be seen, but she never paid much attention to the game itself. There was no doubt in his mind that Hope would be tracking everything.

  “The thought has me frozen in fear, but I can make sure you have a ticket.”

  Hope shook her head. “I can get my own ticket, especially if you’re worried about people associating us together.”

  Jason’s brow furrowed as he tried to figure out what he’d said to make her think that. It was the furthest thing from the truth.

  “I announced to your mother we were dating. I don’t have a problem with people knowing about us.”

  “But you said you were scared.”

  The statement caused Jason to roll his eyes. “That was not what I was scared about. I’m worried about hearing your critique after the game. And I’ll get you a ticket. One of the perks of being a player is that I get a couple tickets each game if I want to use them.”

  Hope’s lip had to be about raw. She was thinking awfully hard for just waking up. Either that or she was nervous about being in bed naked with a guy. Both options made a certain amount of sense.

  “You sure it’s okay?”

  “I’m pretty sure the fine print doesn’t say the tickets are good for everyone other than Hope Nacin.”

  “We should probably verify just to make sure. I’d hate to show up and find out I can’t get in.”

  Jason softly swatted her bottom. The squeal that escaped her lips sounded erotic to his ears. It was a sign he needed to get her up and on her way home before he decided to barricade the doors.

  “Just for that, I’ll see how close I can get you to the bench. I have a feeling I should keep an eye on you.”

  Hope stopped biting her lip so she could pout. Jason realized there wasn’t a way she could move her mouth that didn’t make him want to kiss her lips.

  “I’m not saying I would be a distraction, but I don’t want to be. So, maybe an upper tier corner would be a better option.”

  The tickets he got were for the bottom of the bowl. Whether she was joking about wanting to sit in the nosebleeds or not, she wasn’t going to be.

  “I can’t show off my girlfriend if the guys need binoculars to see you.”

  “Maybe that’s the point.” Hope closed the space between them so she could brush her lips against his. “I’m afraid the bath you mentioned is already out of the question, which means I need to get out of here before a shower becomes impossible too.”

  It was Jason’s turn to pout. He knew they were treading on borrowed time, but that didn’t make it any easier to let her go. Her lack of movement to jump out of bed even after her words told him that she wanted to stay just as much as he wanted her to.

  “Fine. I suppose I should probably go to the bathroom anyway. You need to go before you head out?”

  Jason rolled on his back and pushed himself up and off the bed. The wood floor was its usual chilliness on his bare feet. It didn’t help to make walking across the room and out into the hall any less hard.

  One of the things he missed about the house he’d left behind was the master suite with an attached bath. The distance from bed to toilet wasn’t much different, but it didn’t feel like you were leaving the room with the attached bath.

  When he’d moved to town, he’d considered buying a new house or condo. The thought of living in a huge house when it was just him was daunting. Since he only had the season left on his contract, it hadn’t been important to start roots.

  “I’ll just get dressed and head downstairs. Am I going to see you tonight?”

  Jason had meant to address his plans for the night, but they’d gotten off topic before he could bring it up. He took care of his business before he headed back to the bedroom to respond. He could hear Hope moving around as she tried to find where he’d thrown her clothes and shoes.

  She’d managed to get her bra and jeans on and was down on the floor pulling her shirt out from under the bed. She was a tempting little minx, with the creamy skin of her thin torso begging him to sink his teeth into it.

  Hope got her shirt and straightened up so she could put it on. She saw him watching her and smiled as she pulled it over her head. Jason waited until she smoothed the shirt down to share his thoughts about her question.

  “You know how I like staring at you as much as I can, but I think I get a little jealous that you aren’t my personal bartender.”

  He’d been watching her for a year and the feeling had always been there to some extent. Even when he didn’t do any talking, he wanted her to spend more time in front of his bar stool than anyone else’s. With what he’d gone through emotionally, he didn’t want to admit that fact.

  “You’re jealous of me serving drinks to other people?”

  Hope looked skeptical as she snatched her shoes and socks from the floor and sat on the bed to get them on. Her pink sneakers were cute, but they didn’t look exactly comfortable for spending the night on her feet. He hadn’t really noticed her shoes at the bakery or the bar, but he hoped she had something with a little more cushion.

  “Yes,” Jason answered her question, nodding his head as he did. “I’ve heard guys propose to you before. If I’m not careful, the man of your dreams will walk in and sweep you away from me before I can blink.”

  Finishing tying her left shoe, Hope looked up at Jason. The smile on her face was big enough her cheekbones were on full display.

  “I’m confused. Are you going to not come in because you get jealous, or are you coming in to make sure I don’t accept any marriage proposals?”

  Jason had confused himself, so it wasn’t surprising Hope didn’t follow his train of thought. She stood up and smoothed her shirt down before making her way over to where he stood blocking the door.

  “I’m going to stay in tonight, if that’s okay with you.”

  Hope nodded. “I wouldn’t want you to get tired of seeing me.”

  Growling at her, Jason reached down to pick her up off the ground. She scrambled to wrap her legs around his waist when she figured out it wasn’t just a quick hug. Walking towards the door, he kissed her chin and then both cheeks before landing his lips on hers.

  They let their tongues play together f
or a minute or so, up until the point Jason sighed and pulled his head back. He didn’t want to put her down, but they had made it to the door and she needed to leave. Loosening his hold on her, she slid down to the floor.

  “Just so you know, I’m never going to get tired of seeing you,” Jason said as he opened the door for her.

  Hope stared at him for a second before turning away so she could walk out to the hallway. She turned around for a second so she could give one last parting comment.

  “And just so you know, I think I’ve already found the man of my dreams.”

  She didn’t wait around for him to come up with a reply. Jason stared after her as her hips swayed down the hallway to the elevator. He waited until she was in the elevator and could see his smile and wave as the doors closed. It was going to be a long night of sitting around and thinking about what she was up to, but it was going to be easier than sitting in the bar watching her work her magic.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Hope hadn’t considered how different she’d feel after becoming a woman, as some called what she’d spent the afternoon doing. Maybe it wasn’t so much the sex. Maybe it was just the fact that Jason made her feel special, and that made her smile a little wider and walk with a greater sense of confidence.

  Whatever it was, she was unbelievably happy. She didn’t want to get her hopes up, but he’d already brought up the topic of kids and that made her think he was at least considering some kind of future together, instead of how quickly he could get what he wanted from her. Her insides got tied in knots just thinking about it.

  He simply had to mention kids and all she could think about was her belly growing full with his son or daughter. It wasn’t something she’d considered before. Her work environment didn’t exactly bode well for carrying a child around, but if they got to that point, they could figure something out.