Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 105679 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 528(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105679 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 528(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
I grip her hips as she owns my cock and my whole damn heart. Lust slams into me, obliterating my thoughts. I can barely speak. I’m so fucking turned on. “Baby, I need to come. Let me get you there,” I warn and beg at the same time.
She looks to me, her eyes wide and filled with passion and something brand new: a new openness, like she’s letting us in further. “Don’t hold back. Stefan will finish me.”
This woman has me by the goddamned balls. I shudder and come inside her, the world going black and mind-numbingly good.
After I empty myself, she eases off me. Stefan’s ready, cock out, and then she’s taking him inside her then using his dick for her release.
It’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen, watching her reach new heights as she comes on my friend on a Zamboni.
Later, after we’ve cleaned up everything—rink, Zamboni, and ourselves—and headed for the exit, she stops at the door, looking back with affection and maybe even the start of nostalgia. “That was a bucket list item for sure.” She turns from me to him. “Or a dream come true.”
As she makes for the car, I hang back with Stefan, giving him a look that says Operation Win Her Over is working.
It’s also making me fall even more in love with her.
The next day, I invite my dad and Cora to my hockey game. Then I take them out after it for a late dinner. When she goes to the ladies’ room, he checks to make sure the coast is clear. “I’m asking her this weekend.”
“That’s great, Dad.”
I mean it this time.
I might not connect with him the way I do with my granddads. I might not love hanging out with him. I might have put up walls when I saw him hurting when I was younger. But my mom left, and he didn’t, and that has to count for something.
Mostly, though, I think I finally understand him a little more. Sometimes you’ll just risk your whole damn heart for a woman.
49
THE SWEETNESS OF LIFE
Ivy
In the morning, I sit on Stefan’s back deck, with a cup of coffee and my legs tucked under me, watching my dog roam the yard.
She sniffs every blade of grass like she belongs here. I tilt my head, studying the little lady. What would it be like to feel so at home here? Like this place was mine, with the guys and with Roxy?
They treat me that way. But doubt still chases me, nagging at the back of my mind.
What if I could let go of some of it? Would I feel like Roxy, raising her little face to the November morning, embracing the sunshine on its own terms? She’s not thinking of her past in Florida. She’s not remembering the sad days. She lives for the here and now. Rolling in grass, bathing in the sun, soaking in the sweetness of life.
My planner lies on the table, but I don’t open it. I sip my coffee and stare at the yard, but my thoughts are elsewhere. They travel to the great and terrifying unknown of the future until the door slides open, bringing me back to now.
Stefan emerges, but he’s not alone. Hayes is with him in a rare morning appearance. They both look sleep-rumpled and sexy as they join me at the table.
“Hey there,” Hayes says in a gravelly morning voice I don’t hear often.
“Why are you awake at this early hour?”
He scratches the back of his neck. “Going to work out soon. Gotta stay hockey ready.”
“And I have to make sure he lifts all the heavy weights,” Stefan says on a yawn.
I smile, loving that they look out for each other on the job. And for me, since Stefan asks what I’m up to today. I tell them about a piece I’m working on for Birdie. She’s been sending me a story a week to write for Your Runway, and I’m loving all the pieces I get to pen for her.
When I’m done, Stefan taps the planner. “We added something to it. Our next date. This coming weekend. Sticks and Stones with the crew.”
I love that they organize dates in my planner. They usually write “TOC night out,” for Throuple of Convenience. I imagine this weekend they’ll pull out all the stops like they did the other night at the rink. “You guys are doing so much for me,” I say, but my tone’s a little heavy, like my heart this morning. “Why?”
The question feels vitally important, but Hayes scoffs like it’s nonsensical. Maybe it is. “I like doing things for you,” he says adamantly, then he glances at Stefan. “We both do.”
He says it like there’s no two ways about it. It’s just an is.
“You’re worth it. You have to know that,” Stefan says, just as emphatic and certain. This isn’t our usual flirty vibe. It’s weightier, more emotional.