Easy Puck

by Belle, Melissa

  “We’ll see,” is all I say. “I’m pretty sure your all-world captain’s got it locked up.”

  “Who, Wild?” Max shrugs. “Declan Wild’s already won it three times in his career. Besides, everybody around the league knows that—despite your recent little wobble—” He flashes me a grin—“your play this season is a big reason why New Orleans has a shot to make something happen in the playoffs. And the league loves to give it to somebody new. That could be you, man.”

  “Back to the previous topic,” Liam says to me as we finally move up the line and snag a table near the sidewalk. “The one that’s the name of this glorious season we’re currently in.”

  “Jesus, Liam.” I glare at him. “Give it a rest, will you?”

  But our oldest brother never did learn to keep his mouth shut. “What do you expect us to think? You and Winter Allen have always been…combustible.”

  “I know that,” I say curtly.

  “And if you fuck her,” he says in a tone that edges on concern, “It will end badly.”

  I roll my shoulders and wait until we’ve all ordered our beignets and café au laits before I speak. “It’s different now,” I say.

  “How?” Liam asks curiously.

  “It just…it is.” I choose my words carefully, but I can’t keep the emotion out of them.

  Last night with Winter pushed every single one of my buttons. The way her mouth felt on mine, and then when she wrapped her lips around my dick—I nearly came right down her throat.

  But that would have been the wrong thing to do. She wasn’t acting like herself. And I could tell. Despite how little blood flow was in my head, I knew she was acting differently. Off. And it was a sucker punch to the gut when I found out the truth. If I could destroy that fucker who assaulted her, I wouldn’t hesitate for a second.

  “What do you mean?” Liam presses me.

  I suck in a breath. “You’re testing the absolute limits of my patience. Back the fuck off.”

  “What’s up with you and Cath, Liam?” Jared pipes in. “She seemed pretty pissed last night when we got back to your place.”

  “Save it.” Liam’s eyes turn to stone. “She’s tired. You try taking care of a kid all day long.”

  “Hey, I wasn’t criticizing Cath,” Jared says as he and I exchange a glance. “I just meant—are you two okay?”

  “Fine.” Liam nods thank you to the waiter as he delivers our drinks and beignets.

  And then, we all shut up so we can eat. That, and to potentially avoid a fistfight.

  The four of us love each other, no doubt. We’d have each other’s backs in a knife fight without question. But we don’t communicate all that well. Okay, we communicate pretty shittily.

  Not having a mother around since we were all under ten probably didn’t help us in the emotional expression department. Not that all dads are closed off, but ours was. Mama was the nurturer. She wanted to know about your day and if anything was going on that you wanted to share. Dad was the most supportive father a kid could ask for, but his idea of a heart-to-heart was to grunt, hand you a deck of cards, and tell you to start shuffling because we were about to play a game of poker.

  My brothers and I stuff our faces and chat a bit more about the season, and then Liam and I say our goodbyes to Max and Jared. It’s hard playing on opposing teams and even harder living so far apart. The four of us have been tight our whole lives, and after Dad was killed, we just got closer.

  “By the way.” Liam reaches out to stop Max and Jared from hopping into a cab. “I may have news soon. The detective contacted me last week.”

  “He did?” I spin on him. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell anyone?”

  “Telling you now,” is all he says, and Jared curses.

  “He’s considering reopening the case.”

  The three of us stare at Liam.

  “Why?” I say. “That must mean…”

  “He said there may be new evidence. And they have a couple of suspects.” Liam’s voice is so low I have to strain to hear him. “We may need to look at another lineup.”

  I clench my hand into a fist. “Those lineups haven’t done us any good so far.”

  “I still think we’re going to find him,” Max says. “I’ve always thought that. Maybe this is the time.”

  Maybe. Or maybe we’re going down another dead end.

  * * *

  Practice feels like another game. Between Liam’s news and what happened with Winter last night, I’m amped.

  I score on a breakaway, flicking the puck into the net like the goalie’s not even there. Wyatt’s a great goalie—he’s been an all-star the last three years, and he rips off his mask and stares at me. I reach past him to grab the puck, trying not to make eye contact.

  But he punches my shoulder. “Hey. Storm. Everything all right?”

  I toss the puck toward center ice. “Yeah. Fine.”

  Wyatt’s nearly-black eyes assess me. “A woman, huh?”

  I give a short laugh. “Among other things.”

  “Huh.” He looks at me a moment longer before pulling his mask over his face. “Next time, don’t go for my head. I get enough of that in real games.”

  “You two done screwing around?” Liam shouts from the midline. “Let’s go!”

  I nod at Wyatt. “Sorry, man.”

  I take his warning to heart and dial back my aggressiveness for the rest of practice. But, that doesn’t stop me from scoring another two goals. Today was supposed to be a light scrimmage, and eventually, Coach tells me to sit on the bench.

  “Save it,” he snaps. “You looked good out there last night, Storm. We’ve got a road trip coming up this week. I don’t want you leaving this newfound energy on the practice ice.”

  I won’t. But as soon as practice is over, thoughts of Winter pervade my mind.

  When I’m showering and changing in the locker room. When I decline Murph and Dean’s invitation to grab dinner. When I hop into my truck and pull out of the parking lot.

  And as I walk up the front steps of my house and see Winter napping on the porch with Theo on her lap, my heart feels far more involved than I’m comfortable with.

  Winter and I can’t be anything more than friends. We can’t.

  That’s what I tell myself as I drop my bag quietly on the floor.

  She opens her eyes. “Hi, Hunt.”

  “Hey.” I bend over and brush a stray hair off of her cheek.

  “How was practice? And your brothers?” She sits up and adds with a smile, “They bugged you about us, didn’t they?”

  “Of course they did,” I say. “But don’t worry. I shut them up and told them nothing.”

  “Thank you.”

  We stare at each other for a beat.

  “Look…” she says.

  “Do you…” I start.

  We both laugh, and I shake my head. “You go first.”

  “Actually, I have something to ask you,” she says.

  “Shoot.” I take a seat on the porch swing with Theo between us.

  He’s happy as can be, purring loudly while Winter pets him.

  “I have a proposition for you,” she says.

  “Okay.” I cross my ankle over the opposite knee and shift to face her fully.

  “I want to heal while I’m home. Completely heal.”

  “Right. I agree. You deserve that.”

  She nods. “So…one way I need to heal is physically.” She pauses. “Sexually.”

  I stare at her. “Okay. I’m not sure…”

  “Will you help me?” she says so fast those four words almost sound like one.

  I freeze. “Help you how?”

  “Help me to enjoy sex again.” Her cheeks go pink as she keeps her eyes fastened to mine. “To feel safe being with someone. To be touched. Everywhere.”

  And…my dick twitches.

  But I keep my expression blank. “You haven’t been with anyone since…”

  She shakes her head. “I’ve felt completely asexua
l since it happened. Until I saw you.”

  I reach for her hand. “Princess, you’re going to need to spell this out for me—what exactly do you want me to do?”

  “I want you to fuck me.”

  Chapter 13

  The air on the porch just got a hell of a lot thicker.

  I tug at the neck of my sweatshirt like I can somehow cool myself off.

  “Do you want to date? Because I—” Suck at that. Can’t imagine doing that with you and then watching you leave for New York in six months—“I don’t normally do that.”

  “No. I just want to have sex. No strings attached, hot, sweaty sex. As much as possible.”

  Jesus Christ. She’s going to kill me.

  I run my thumb over her soft palm. “I’ll do anything for you, Winter. But this? This is a big deal. I don’t know that we can do what you’re asking and not get in too deep.”

  “Because…”

  “Because it’s us, Win. We’re two people with history. A lot of history. And we’ve never tried a friends-with-benefits arrangement before. Is that what this would be?”

  “I guess so.” Her face flashes with vulnerability, and for the first time, she looks totally unsure. “I’m not really sure what it would be. I just know that you’re literally the only man on the planet I can imagine getting naked with right now. And that has to mean something, right?”

  Right. I don’t want to dip too far into what exactly that could mean.

  So, I stand up.

  “Let’s get ready to go to Liam’s for our night with Lulu,” I say. “If you still feel the same way later, we’ll talk some more.”

  “Are you—”

  I know where she’s going with this, and I cut her off at the pass. “Not turning you down.” I lean in and give her a firm kiss on the lips. “I just want you to be sure, Win. Because once we…” I lock eyes with her. Her blue eyes are swimming with emotion. “Once we take that step, it will change everything between us. Even if it’s just sex.”

  Just sex.

  I nearly scoff at the very concept. I already know without a shadow of a doubt that sex with Winter is going to alter my universe. Permanently.

  * * *

  Winter

  Liam greets Hunter and me at his front door. “A two for one babysitting deal, huh?” he jokes as he kisses me on the cheek.

  “I used to babysit as a teenager,” I say. “I doubt I remember anything though. Being an only child didn’t give me a lot of experience with little kids.”

  Cathy’s in the living room with Lulu in her arms. “You’ll be fine,” she says to me as I hug her hello. “I don’t know what I’m doing half the time either.”

  “She’s adorable,” I say as I smile at Lulu, who tries to lunge out of her mama’s arms toward Hunter behind me.

  “She does that every time Hunter comes over,” Cathy says with a laugh.

  Hunter appeases his niece by taking her into his arms and kissing her cheek. She squeals with delight.

  And my heart damn near melts in a puddle right on the floor.

  Because Hunter’s guard just drops around Lulu. He’s so relaxed, so…happy. His expression is open and filled with love as he snuggles Lulu into his chest.

  Cathy leads me into the kitchen and shows me where everything is. As she’s pointing out where the plates and utensils are, I notice Liam and Hunter in deep conversation in the living room.

  Hunter’s eyes flash with anger, and Liam puts his hand on Hunt’s shoulder like he’s urging him to calm down.

  And then, Cathy finishes her tour, she and Liam say goodbye, and they’re gone.

  It’s just Hunter, me, and a baby.

  I’m happy for the distraction after the way I made a fool of myself earlier when I propositioned him—literally. My cheeks burn at the memory, and I force those thoughts out of my mind and smile as Hunter swings Lulu into the air, making sure to never let her go.

  “I’m starved,” he says to me. “Are you?”

  “Sure. But you know how good I am at cooking. Shall we order a pizza?” I ask.

  He glances over at me. “Like old times.”

  I smile. “You remember.”

  “Of course I remember. It was our first kiss.”

  “Yes.” I smile back at him. “It was.”

  We were at a classmate’s party, and everyone was drinking. Hunter and I were the only ones who admitted to being hungry, and we were desperately craving a pizza.

  All the restaurants we tried were already closed for the night or didn’t deliver. Finally, we lucked out with the last place we called.

  We smuggled that pizza like a secret treasure into an empty bedroom where we sat on the floor and devoured every slice. And yes, we kissed. A lot.

  Over Lulu’s head, Hunter’s eyes fix on my mouth.

  I’m so turned on I have to avert my gaze. “I’ll get my phone.”

  * * *

  An hour and a half later, the pizza box sitting between us on the living room couch is empty, and Lulu is sound asleep on Hunter’s chest. I reach for the remote.

  “You want to watch a movie?”

  “Sure. You pick.”

  I laugh. “Right. Let’s see how long that attitude lasts.”

  Hunter smirks. “It’s not my fault your taste in movies sucks.”

  “My taste? I seem to remember you have a penchant for horror flicks.”

  “I do. I’m a guy. We like that shit. And you girls like chick flicks.”

  “Oh my God—you’re so stereotypical. Not all females like Ryan Gosling movies. I, for one, am not a fan.”

  “What do you like then? I’m not sure I ever figured it out.”

  His statement hangs heavy between us, and I flick my gaze to his. “I’m pretty sure you did, Hunt. More than once.”

  He moves the pizza box to the coffee table and, with Lulu still sleeping on his chest, he shifts closer to me so that our thighs are touching.

  I can smell his aftershave, and the minty scent is so heady my lower belly clenches. Oh God. I’m so attracted to this man it’s ridiculous. I take a moment to thank God that at least my body’s not permanently broken.

  “I’m starting to think you’re the main reason I came home,” I murmur.

  “Because I can get you off?” His words are a whisper in my ear.

  “That hasn’t been proven yet.” I press the remote’s “on” button and start flipping through the options. “You haven’t accepted my offer.”

  “That’s true. I haven’t.” His free hand snakes over to my thigh. “But I’m pretty sure I will.”

  “You…are?” My voice comes out so hoarse I’m not sure he understood what I just said. I’m flipping through the channels without even seeing what’s on, but I can’t stop because I don’t know what the hell else to do with my hands.

  “When have I ever turned you down?” His tone is serious.

  I swallow. “Let’s focus on picking a movie for now. We have little ears in the room with us.”

  “Sleeping ears.” His hand drags slowly up my thigh, and I let out a small moan. “I vote on that movie right there.”

  I refocus my glazed eyes. Hunter’s choice is a feel-good romance set in the winter backdrop of the Colorado mountains.

  “Why this movie?” I ask him. “So not your style.”

  “True. But I’m in the mood for a happy ending tonight.”

  As the movie starts playing, I sneak a peek at him. “Is everything okay?” I ask him. “You and Liam seemed to be having a tense moment earlier.”

  Definitely a tense moment. At the very mention of it, Hunter’s jaw tightens.

  “It’s not my business, of course,” I say. “I didn’t mean to put you on the spot.”

  “You didn’t.” He gives my leg a quick squeeze. “I’ll tell you about it when we’re back home.”

  “Okay.” I look at him a moment longer, and then we settle in to watch the movie.

  Like Hunter, I’m in the mood for a happily ever after, and thi
s film fits the bill perfectly.

  By the time Liam and Cathy return, Hunter and I have put Lulu to bed, cleaned up from dinner, and are nearly asleep on the couch.

  “You two look like an old married couple,” Liam comments as Cathy goes to check on Lulu.

  I stand up and grab my coat. “Your teasing hasn’t eased up since you got older,” I say to him.

  “Hey, it’s called being the oldest.” He grins, his smile so similar to Hunter’s and his green eyes flashing with mischief.

  All the Storm boys are hot as hell, but I’ve always only had eyes for one.

  I pat Liam goodbye on the arm. “Thanks for introducing me to your daughter.”

  “Thanks for coming over.” He shoots a look at Hunter over my head. “Maybe you’ll stay in town permanently, huh?”

  I fidget with the zipper on my coat. “Last I checked, Broadway’s zip code wasn’t in New Orleans. You know Broadway—where my career is?”

  “Last I checked, you didn’t need Broadway to be a success.”

  When I gawk at him, Liam just winks at me and then walks us out.

  Chapter 14

  Hunter and I drive home in a comfortable silence broken when I ask if he’s exhausted from his game yesterday.

  “I slept well last night, that’s for sure,” he says.

  I flush, remembering his arms around me when I woke up this morning.

  Like he’s reading my mind, he adds, “I liked having my arms around you, Winter.”

  “Me, too.”

  “It sure beats living with Murph in a hotel room.”

  I laugh. “Are you two always roommates?”

  “Not always. We don’t get a choice in the matter, but Coach often puts me with Murph. He tries to pair guys who won’t kill each other by morning. Speaking of, I’ve got a ten-day road trip starting tomorrow.”

  “That’s right.” I’d completely forgotten it was coming up so soon. “I saw your schedule on the fridge.”

  “Will you miss me?” he asks.