prefer this stretch,” she said, lying flat on her back, her head resting on her hands.
Anders grunted as he moved back and forth over a firm foam roller, which helped release his IT band. “Yeah, I prefer you in that stretch too.” In fact, he focused on her as he rolled, wincing when the roller reached a particularly tender spot.
She moved to her side to watch him, and like a fucking teenager, he had to bite back the urge to flex his muscles just to get a reaction from her.
“Want me to go make a start on breakfast?” she asked.
He slid the roller out from beneath his thigh. “I’m done,” he said. “Let’s go make it together.”
Olivia was first to her feet and offered him her hand.
“You think you can pull me up, kämpe?” He reached for her.
“Of course,” she said, leaning back to brace herself.
He laughed as she pulled once, then tried again. With a swift tug, he pulled her down on top of him, both of them letting out winded gasps as they collided. He adjusted her so she was lying flat on top of him.
“You’re an ass,” Olivia cried.
“Maybe. But I’ve got you where I want you.” He slid his hands down her back to the curve of her butt.
Their mouths met, gently at first, before becoming heated. It happened each time they came together. Too little control, too much spark. Anders gently pushed her face away from his.
“As much as I love the idea of rolling you over on these mats and seeing what you’re wearing beneath these leggings, I promised you breakfast.”
He rolled her away and then stood before pulling her to her feet with one hand. “You did.”
Anders glanced at the clock on the wall. The one she’d insisted he buy at Target, and that he’d been convinced he’d never use, until he did. Every time he worked out down here. “I need to leave in an hour for the training center, so we need to get moving.”
He tapped her ass as she walked up the stairs ahead of him, encouraged by the playful smile she threw him over her shoulder.
Ten hours later, he thought of that smile as he and Wyatt let themselves into their room. And it wasn’t just her smile. It was the way they’d worked seamlessly together making breakfast—not that omelets and ham were hard. She’d chopped, he’d cooked. She’d made coffee while he squeezed fresh orange juice. It hadn’t felt like work, hadn’t required any effort.
And it had felt better than he’d imagined. He hung his coat in the closet but left his case by the door. He’d deal with it later.
“You coming down for dinner?” Wyatt asked as he threw his coat onto the bed by the window.
“Just got something I have to take care of. I’ll see you down there.”
When the click of the door confirmed Wyatt had left, he reached for his phone.
“Hey, sweetie,” Liv said as she answered. The soft tone of her voice settled him.
“Hey, yourself. How was your day?” He sat back on his bed, rearranging the pillows behind his head.
“It was a good day, actually. I had a meeting with the architect and builder for the renovation. I think I told you Christopher was an old family friend. It makes it so much easier when you don’t have to second-guess whether you are being screwed over or not. How was your day?”
A year ago, if someone had suggested that the thing he’d wanted to do most when he arrived in a different city the night before a game was to lock himself in his room and talk with a woman, he wouldn’t have believed it.
“Morning skate went well. Was nice and loose after all that rolling earlier. Good team meeting about the road trip. Slept on the plane. I’ll be heading down for dinner in a little while.”
“How does that happen when you are on the road?”
“It all depends. There’s food on the charter. Food in the hotel in a private dining area. Sometimes the team chef cooks something in a private kitchen. It’s always the same kind of food. Chicken, fish, steak. Pasta. More salad than anyone could eat in one sitting.”
Olivia laughed. “I ate leftovers from dinner at Emerson’s last night.”
Anders had a thought of Olivia’s goals to lose weight. Perhaps he could find a food delivery company to send her meals. “What do you have planned for the weekend?”
“Nothing big. Natalie and I are going to find a movie