I’m not sure I can wait that long. But if those are naughty promises I see in her eyes, I’ll damn sure do what I have to. “You’re a dirty girl,” I tell her.
“You have no idea. I was thinking maybe we could make a bet on tonight’s game.”
I lift my eyebrows, waiting to hear what she has in mind.
“If you get a shutout, then we’ll have some fun with a few more of those toys you bought.”
“A few more?” God, she’s going to kill me.
“Yep.” Ellie brushes her lips against mine. “After all, it is your job to kinkify me.”
“True.” I lick her bottom lip, then nibble it with my teeth.
“And”—her eyes sparkle with mischief—“I fully intend to hold you to it.”
“And, baby, I fully intend to deliver.”
Bianca
“I can’t believe he spent the night,” Gabby whispers as we follow her mom through the halls, looking at all the wax figures everywhere. She’s definitely more excited about coming to the wax museum than me and Gabby are. But it’s a trip to San Antonio, and since she promised to take us to eat on the River Walk, we agreed to go with her.
Not that Gabby would’ve had a choice.
“He loves her,” I tell Gabby.
“I know. And it’s cool. I’m sorry for your dad, though.”
“He’s not upset. We went to dinner last night and we talked about it. He told me that he wants my mom to be happy and Kingston obviously makes her happy. I told him about how Kingston made her cry.”
“What did he say?”
“He told me that sometimes love makes people cry. It’s not always bad.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. I only cry when I’m sad,” Gabby counters.
“He said that love can cause all kinds of emotions. And he made me promise that I wouldn’t send any more messages to Kingston or tell him that my mom and my dad are going to get together, ’cause they’re not.”
“Well, I still think it’s cool that he’s moving here.”
I smile. “I do, too.”
“Did you ask him about calling him Dad?”
I shake my head. “Not yet.” I’ve been calling him James, and it’s starting to feel a little weird to me now, but I think calling him dad will seem weird, too. I wanted to ask him about it last night, but I was too chicken to do so. “But I will. When the time’s right.”
“Well, I’m happy for you. You’re gonna have two dads. One’s a famous hockey player and the other’s a hockey agent. And of course, your Uncle Optimus. God, everyone’s gonna think you’re cool.”
My heart swells as that sinks in. Gabby’s right…
I finally find my dad and Kingston’s going to be my stepdad.
That makes me … extremely lucky.
58
Kingston
“Just because you won last night’s game doesn’t mean you get to reap the benefits for several days after,” Ellie says as I pull the truck into the parking lot of the practice rink.
“No?” I give her my best confused face. “Are you sure?”
“What are we doing here?” Ellie glances around, probably noticing that the parking lot is completely empty.
I pull into the players’ lot and put the truck in park. I offer a smile but say nothing.
“What’s going on in that devious mind of yours, Rush?”
“Well, I happen to know that no one’s going to be here today. Plus, I’ve always had this fantasy...”
Ellie peers up at the building. “Don’t tell me you want to have sex in the locker room?”
“Yeah, no.” With a flick of my wrist, I unbuckle her seat belt. “But I do know another place…”
She nods toward the building. “Inside there.”
It’s not a question, but I nod anyway.
“You want to sneak into the practice rink and have sex while no one’s there?”
“Would you rather wait until someone is there?” I tease.
Color infuses her cheeks. “We could get in trouble for breaking and entering.”
“Not if we’re allowed to go in.”
“And how do you propose we do that?” I can see the intrigue. She’s definitely turned on by the idea.
I reach into the cup holder and retrieve the key ring. “I thought we’d use these.”
I managed to snag a set of keys to the practice arena under the guise that I’d be coming in early on Sunday morning to get in some practice time. No one asked any questions, so I didn’t offer any details.
“I like this devious side of you,” Ellie says, then reaches for the door handle.
The second she opens her door, I do the same. I reach the front of the truck at the