the mattress with every thrust.
“Yes,” she starts, voice growing. “Yes, yes, yes.”
My teeth tighten together, cock straining inside her.
I don’t know how much longer I can hang on.
“Yes, yes, yes.”
And with that final acknowledgement she comes like a thunderclap, pleasure rolling through her, her body rocking and trembling against me.
I see her eyes clouded with longing and cannot hold back. I press upwards, dragging her down onto my cock and spilling myself inside her.
I yell aloud, fingers clawing into her ass, cock pumping wild and endlessly.
So ends the drought.
EPILOGUE
NOLAN
SIX MONTHS LATER
I check the clock. There’s thirty seconds left in this game and I’ll be damned if I’m going to hand it over to the Blackhawks.
The crowd starts to chant as I move into position, sweeping long and left, calling for the puck.
There’s no time to hesitate. It arrives and I dodge an attacker, swinging around the perimeter of the rink and lining up a slapshot.
Five seconds.
I’ve got all kinds of heat on me, but it’s too late to consider self-preservation now.
I draw the stick back and fire.
It’s a belter, sinks long and deep into the net.
A second later I’m charged hard into the glass by two Blackhawks, a stick driven into my side.
The buzzer goes and the place erupts.
The Blackhawks release and I go slumping to the ice. My fellow Bruins arrive to help me up. There’s a minor twinge from where I was stabbed, the scar tissue looking less and less gnarly each day. I try not to let it show as the boys help me up and the crowd gets to their feet. It’s taken Boston a while to come around to a country boy like me, but I’m making progress.
I have a word with Coach, sign a few autographs on my way over to where Linnea is waiting. I don’t know why she’s wearing earmuffs, she’s never really been good with the cold.
I open the gate and step through, security arriving to give us space. I take her in my arms and kiss her, never get tired of the taste of her lips, the feel of her against me.
The stabbing never slowed me down. I wasn’t going to let that bitch Rex get the better of me.
“You didn’t have to skate over here,” she tells me, smiling.
“And miss my post-game kiss? Hell, no.”
She looks around. “It’s a pity there’s a crowd. I’m not big into these public displays of affection.”
“You’d prefer something a bit more private?” I tease.
She nuzzles into my neck. “I would, but that can wait. Your fans need you.”
My cock’s starting to swell, pressing against the cup I’m wearing. It reminds me of our morning session at The Turtle six months ago, though it feels like a lifetime away now. It’s going to be awkward if I stay much longer. “You know I can’t be without you,” I tell her.
“I know.”
I pull in a breath and let go, start out onto the ice when she calls my name.
“Nolan.”
I turn and skate back.
She invites me closer and lowers her voice. “I heard from the commissioner this afternoon.”
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” I make sure my tone says curiosity, not criticism.
“I didn’t want it to affect your game, but they got an indictment. Rex is done for.”
I don’t know what to do. It’s been six months. I thought he was going to get away with it, that we’d always have this shadow looming over us. To say it’s a relief is an understatement.
“The commissioner is confident they’ve got enough evidence to make all charges stick and ensure he goes away for a long time. That’s even more likely thanks to that boneheaded goon of his testifying Rex ordered him to kill you.”
I bring my hand to my side where my wound has suddenly lit up.
“The list of charges expanded considerably from kidnapping and attempted murder once they started digging,” Linnea says. “He’s finished, baby.”
I’ll feel better about it when he’s actually behind bars, but I know this is a win, that for Linnea’s sake I need to show her what it means to me. “Honestly,” I tell her, “the guy is barely a blip of my radar these days.”
She smiles knowingly and kisses me once more before I skate off towards the other side of the rink and make my way for the locker rooms.
I wasn’t lying. I don’t think about Rex much, about what happened all those months ago. I’m busy doing what I love with the woman I love. I wouldn’t have it