Chapter 21

Ivan

Finding Chey asleepin my hotel room after getting back from the game was the best possible thing I could have imagined. Even better than another win on the ice. Her flight from Atlanta had been delayed, so I'd left her name at the desk, and she'd come straight to the hotel instead of the arena. It was now almost one in the morning, so I didn't bother her, taking a quick shower and brushing my teeth before sliding in beside her.

"Hi," she murmured, nestling against me.

"Hello, sweetheart." I kissed the tip of her nose. "It's good to see you. Sleep. We'll talk in the morning."

"Mmkay." She dozed off immediately, apparently content to be in my arms.

The next thing I knew my alarm was going off and an incredibly beautiful woman had my dick in her mouth. A low moan escaped me as she sucked me as deep as she could, her hair tickling my stomach as she moved over my groin.

Fuck.

I couldn't think of a better way to wake up in the morning.

Except maybe being buried between her legs.

"Jesus, that's good," I whispered in a raspy, sleep-addled voice that didn't sound like my own.

My words seemed to encourage her to suck harder, take me deeper, and then crawl up to straddle me.

"Condom," I groaned, taking in her beautiful body.

"I'm on birth control," she said. "I'm good if you are."

"Fuck. Yes." I thrust up deep and we moved together, her body instantly syncing with mine, as if we woke up this way every day. And being bare inside her was another level of pleasure. It had been a while since I'd gone without a condom—since before Marina left—and I squeezed my eyes shut as pleasure washed over me.

I gripped her hips, controlling our rhythm and slowing things down because I'd been on the verge of getting off while I'd been in her mouth, so I wanted to give her a chance to catch up. It didn't seem necessary, though, because her orgasm came on so quickly, I barely had a chance to realize what was happening. It was strong enough to make her wail, her cries filling the room as I pumped in and out a few more times and fell right over the edge with her.

"Damn." I huffed out a breath. "That was fucking amazing."

"I think so too." She draped herself over me, finding that spot in the corner of my shoulder that she liked.

"I have a morning skate," I said gruffly.

"Now?"

"I'm supposed to be down at breakfast in…" I grabbed my phone and sighed. "Four minutes."

Without a word, she rolled off of me and onto her back. "No worries. I'm going to shower and order room service. I'll wait for you to get back."

"It'll be a couple of hours," I said regretfully.

"It's okay. I might take a nap after breakfast. Or go to the hotel gym if it's empty. I have email to catch up on and phone calls to make, so I have plenty to do. I'd just be home in L.A. doing it by myself instead of getting to wake up with you."

I smiled as I swung my legs over the side of the bed. "I think we're flying out tonight right after the game."

She wrinkled her nose. "Oh. Well, that sucks. What should I do?"

"I don't know yet. Let me talk to Coach, see if there's a way I can travel without the team."

"I don't want to get you into trouble," she said quickly. "I'm perfectly capable of traveling by myself."

"I know, but if you go to the game tonight, then you may not be able to get a late flight. Ours is a charter so it's different."

"Oh. Yeah." She chewed the inside of her cheek. "Let me see what the latest flight is I can get. Then maybe I can go to the beginning of the game but leave for the airport before the last flight."

"This is a lot for you," I said gently, brushing my knuckles across her cheek. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have made you come."

Her eyes widened. "You didn't make me do anything. For people like me, who spend most of their life on planes, this is just another day. I'm a little tired, but I slept ten hours last night, and I woke to a mind-boggling orgasm. I have a vibrator at home that's okay, but it's nothing compared to having you inside me."

I smiled, leaning down to kiss her, anxious to feel more of her even though I was already running late.

She ran a hand over my semi-erect penis and chuckled. "None of that, mister. You have to go to work. Don't worry. I'll be here when you get back." She disappeared into the bathroom, and I took a minute to get out my clothes, grateful I'd showered last night. This might have been the first time in my life I didn't want to get to work. To hockey. My friends. My life.

A life that had taken on a different meaning now that Chey and I were together, and I really needed to find out what was happening.

It wouldn't be today, not with my schedule, but I'd make a point of us sitting down to have a conversation once we had a minute of downtime.

* * *

The next twodays were insane, with travel delays, weather issues, and taking a puck to the shoulder just below my pads. Not only did it sting like a bitch, it was going to leave a hell of a bruise and would undoubtedly leave me struggling to perform at my normal level. Our head trainer wanted me to check in with him before tomorrow's game, and I worried Coach would bench me for the night.

We'd been playing well as a team, on a six-game winning streak that might have never happened in the history of the Phantoms. It felt good to be winning, though, so the last thing I wanted was to miss out on a game and potentially change the on-ice chemistry.

"Let me see," Chey demanded the moment we got back to the hotel.

"It's fine," I told her, with a smile. Then I winced as I pulled off my jacket.

She folded her arms across her chest. "Let. Me. See."

I obligingly appeased her, unbuttoning my shirt and letting it fall away.

"Oh, babe." Her eyes softened as she put gentle fingers on the puck-shaped bruise that had already formed. "Does it hurt?"

"Yeah, a bit, but I'll take something before bed and doc gave me an anti-inflammatory."

"I nearly covered my eyes," she admitted, leaning over to press a soft kiss against the skin next to the bruise. "I hated seeing you go down."

"It happens. Our equipment keeps us pretty safe, but once in a while something shifts, or a puck gets through. We can't wear head-to-toe pads, or we wouldn't be able to move."

"Still." She hugged me. "I don't like seeing you hurt."

"Just wait until I lose a tooth. There's usually a lot of blood."

She looked up, making a face. "Have you lost many?"

"Two. I have a permanent bridge. Once I retire, I'll probably get implants since it's my front two teeth."

"Oh." Her eyes widened. "You can't tell."

"We have access to really good dentists."

She chuckled. "I bet."

"Anyway, tomorrow we fly home. You leave for Vancouver Monday, right?"

"Yeah."

"For how long?"

"My part should be done by Friday."

"We play there Sunday. Do you want to wait for me to get there or is that just more misery for you?"

"None of it is misery," she said, shaking her head. "And staying an extra couple of days so I can see you doesn't bother me at all."

"We've had very little quality time together," I said quietly.

She frowned, a look of surprise on her face. "You think the time we're spending together isn't quality time?"

"I don't mean it that way," I said quickly. "Just, you know, we're always on the go, always at a different hotel, sneaking in a couple of hours here and there."

"Would you rather I didn't?" she asked quietly.

"No. That's not what I mean." I sighed. I wasn't doing a good job of saying what was on my mind. "I just mean, it's a lot. For you. It's great for me, I wake up with a beautiful woman in my bed, all the sex I could possibly want, someone cheering me on at my games… but what about you? I feel like it's very one-sided."

"If I didn't want to be here, I wouldn't be. And believe me, when it gets to be too much, I'll tell you." She turned and went into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Shit.

I was somewhat thrown by the odd turn our conversation had taken.

Thiswasn't the conversation I'd wanted to have.

I'd been trying to convey that I wanted more for her, for us, but had somehow bungled it.

I waited a beat and then followed her into the bathroom, knocking lightly before going in. To date, we'd never closed the door when using the bathroom when we were together, so this was new and I didn't like the emotional barrier it reflected.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry."

We both spoke at the same time, and she quickly moved into my arms.

"I didn't mean that I don't want you here," I said, stroking her hair. "Because I do. I just… well, it's hard."

"I told you it would be hard if we started dating."

"Is that what we're doing?" I asked.

It sounded ridiculous saying it out loud.

Of course, we were dating!

"Aren't we?"

"Yeah. I'm just trying to figure out where we are as a couple."

She didn't move, burrowing deeper against me. "We're so new, Ivan. I don't want to give it a label or try to read too much into it. But that's why I'm here. So, we can be together, see what there is to see. The chances we're going to make it are slim, but I want to try. I feel like… you and me… we're at least worth a try."

I thought so too.

But I hated hearing that she didn't think we could make it.

She'd warned me of that from the beginning, that she had a plan and wasn't looking to get serious.

Despite that, she was here, trying.

It wasn't fair of me to ask anything more of her, no matter how much I wanted it.

"I'm crazy about you," I whispered against her hair. "I just don't want it to become too much, and for it to overwhelm both of us."

"I'm too much," she whispered back. "For almost everyone. I always have been."

"Not for me, sweetheart. You're never too much. In fact, you're just right."

"I keep telling you what a sweet talker you are."

"Just for you."

"I'm so afraid this will go sideways, Ivan."

"I know. Me too."

"I don't know what to do to stop it… in my experience, eventually, the distance and travel and everything about my life will get to be too much. How I don't eat like a regular person. My workout routine, which you haven't really seen yet. My life is regimented to a point that I'm afraid you'll eventually get tired of me."

I rumbled out a laugh, despite the fact that nothing she'd said was funny.

In what universe would I ever get tired of her?

I didn't think such a thing was possible.

"Sweetheart, you don't have to worry about that because it's the same for me. I eat a lot more quantity than you, but I stick to lean chicken and fish most of the time. Carbs right before games, but healthy food the rest of the time. And believe me, no one is more regimented about working out than I am. But trust me when I say I'm not going anywhere."

"That's what they all say," she said.

It was so soft I almost didn't hear it.

But I did.

And somehow, I had to prove to her that I was nothing like the men on her past.

If I had anything to say about it, I would be her future.

She just had to give us a chance.