Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 129323 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 647(@200wpm)___ 517(@250wpm)___ 431(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129323 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 647(@200wpm)___ 517(@250wpm)___ 431(@300wpm)
Aiden turns. Slowly. Eyeing me like prey. My eyes widen at the look I see on his face. I don’t have time to act, and he’s moving closer. His steps are slow, measured. And my heart is hammering in my chest.
There’s nowhere for me to go. No time to act. Not that I want to run away. It’s not fear that has my heartbeat racing or my body warm all over.
It’s the heat in his intense stare.
I tilt my head up to meet his gaze, and despite the sexual tension, he looks tired.
There are bags under his eyes, and his brown hair is ruffled from the cold water he dunks his head in after a game.
Another habit I’ve grown to love.
The scruffy version of Aiden is my favorite version of him. Right after a game is when he’s his most free.
It reminds me so much of when I was a kid, when I looked at him like he hung the moon from the sky, and he looked at me with eyes full of love, the type of love you would give a little sister or best friend.
Maybe that’s it.
Maybe the reason I keep silent is fear that when he knows he won’t just be mad, but he will also be disgusted. He only ever looked at me like a sister, and if he’s thought of me at all through the years, that’s likely how he’s remembered me.
Not like this.
Not like he wants to devour me on the spot.
A shiver runs up my spine, and I look down at the floor, breaking our eye contact.
He moves one step closer, and we’re chest to chest. No space separates us. I can feel the heat from his body. His breath tickles my face.
“What’s wrong?” His hand lifts, and the rough pads of his fingers touch my skin, bringing my head up. Once again, we are staring at each other.
I blink my long lashes, eyes roaming over his chiseled face.
“Nothing. Just tired.”
“It’s been a long week.” He drops his arm to his side and then grasps my hand. “Come with me.”
I follow, allowing him to lead the way. When he pulls us into the living room, he stops before tilting his head down, signaling for me to sit.
“If you don’t want me to fall asleep, I should probably not sit. After the day we’ve had, I’m not likely to make it long.”
He chuckles. “Just sit, Cass. You look dead on your feet.”
“That bad, huh?”
He smiles. “You never look bad.”
Despite my insistence I’ll fall asleep, I sit, and God, is it exactly what I need.
My feet ache, and I’m bone-tired, which leads me to wonder how he’s managing.
Aiden takes the seat beside me, his arms reaching out to place my legs over his.
“Comfortable?”
I turn to face him and find him smiling a small, contented smile.
A long way from where we were only hours ago.
Aiden needs hockey.
The release. The happiness. The control. This is something he can’t get anywhere else. It always has been and always will be.
I smile back, unable to stop my lips from spreading when I see him so relaxed.
“You played great today at practice, and yesterday…just wow,” I say, needing him to hear that from someone other than his coach and teammates.
Every one of them has a carload of family and friends at the games to support them. For Aiden, it’s only me. Well…and his legion of fans.
He bobs his head. “I really did, didn’t I?”
“Cocky much,” I tease, wrinkling my nose for effect.
“Not usually. But yesterday—yeah. I kicked ass.”
Coming from most other people, the words would sound arrogant, but not with Aiden. He’s not boastful when he says this. He’s matter of fact. And he’s right; in the time I’ve been with him, cocky isn’t a word I’d use to describe him.
A laugh bubbles up through my mouth. “You did. Kick-ass.”
I watch as his tongue moves across his bottom lip, and I want to lick his lip. Hell, I want to bite it.
“It’s because of you.”
I blink, having missed what he said. “What?” I was way too focused on him licking his lip and so many other impure thoughts that I won’t even acknowledge right now.
He reaches out, placing a loose strand of hair behind my ears. “I said…it’s because of you, Cassidy.”
My heart somersaults in my chest at his words, beating so fast, a part of me wonders if it will explode. “No, it’s not,” I whisper back because this feeling is too much.
Hearing Aiden say this is too much.
“Yeah. It is, Cass.” Lifting my hand, he brings it up to his lips and kisses my knuckles. “Ever since you agreed to this crazy plan, my life—my life has been better.”
My hand begins to shake in his grasp. “Aiden.” So many words rush through my mind, but all I can manage is his name.