Chapter 14

The moment I step off the jet, I pull my phone out of my pocket. For the last three days, I’ve been texting back and forth with Lili. We’ve been talking about everything and anything. I’ve been purposely thinking of random questions to ask her just to give her a reason to reply.

I really like this chick. I don’t want to talk to anyone else but her. I’m supposed to be going to see my parents today; instead, I’ve asked Lili to meet me at my place. I sent my mother a message, making up some bullshit excuse about being tired and telling her I’d catch up with them tomorrow. Right now, I just want to see my girl.

Except, when I walk into my apartment, it’s not her who I find waiting for me. It’s her father.

“Where’s Lili? Is she okay?” I drop my bag, barely registering the sound it makes when it hits the floor. I should be wondering why he’s standing here, how he got in. Fuck, I should probably be looking for the closest exit. But the first thing that comes to mind isn’t my own safety or well-being. It’s Lili’s.

Her father is standing in my foyer, his hands in his pockets and his head slightly tilted. Assessing me. “She’s fine,” he finally says, and I exhale my relief.

“Want a drink?” I offer before walking past him and farther into my apartment.

“No.”

“Okay,” I say and turn back around to face him. “I’m assuming there’s a reason for your visit. I don’t get the impression you make house calls to all of your daughter’s friends.”

“Friends? Is that what you are? Friends?” he asks.

I take a second to consider his question. Lili might be the first girl I’ve actually enjoyed getting to know. Does that make us friends? Sure, but it’s more than that too.

“We’re friends,” I tell him. “Without friendship, there isn’t much of a relationship, is there?”

“My daughter likes you, Mr. O’Neil,” he says.

“And I like her.”

“What exactly are your intentions with Liliana?” He doesn’t move a muscle, and there’s no hint of emotion on his face. I have to remember never to play poker with this guy. He gives nothing away.

“I want to get to know her. I don’t have anything but good intentions when it comes to Lili.” I have no idea what her father wants to hear, what the right thing to say is. I also have no idea how much I should put my cards on the table. I don’t think saying I intend to keep her as mine is going to go over too well with a guy who’s used to maintaining control.

“You know who our family is?”

“I’ve become aware.”

“And you’re not worried?” Mr. Valentino’s lips tip up slightly with the question, like he finds it amusing.

I shrug. “She’s worth whatever bullshit comes my way.”

“That is something we can agree on,” he says. “You should know… if you do anything to hurt her, if she so much as sheds a single fucking tear because of you, I’ll enjoy tearing you apart bit by bit. And I do mean literally.” He pins me with a hard glare before adding, “Do you know how long someone can be kept alive while their body is cut to pieces? Because I do. Down to the second.”

“I have no intentions of hurting her, sir,” I tell him.

“Good. And this…” He gestures between us. “Never happened. I was never here.”

“Noted.” I nod my head and watch as the scariest fucking man I’ve ever met walks out the door, clicking it closed behind him.

I take a breath, grab my bag, and carry it into my bedroom. Checking the time as I go. I’m anxious to see Lili. Her family can continue to dish out threats. It doesn’t stop me from wanting her.

When there’s a knock on my door a few minutes later, I walk back out to the foyer and open it. My arm snakes around Lili’s waist, pulling her inside, and my lips slam onto hers. “Fuck, I missed you,” I say into her mouth before pushing my tongue inside.

“Mmm, I missed you more.” She smiles against the kiss. When she pulls away, she looks me up and down. “What he say to you?”

“Who?”

“My father. I know he was here. So what’d he say?”

“How do you know he was here?”

“I ran into him downstairs, and he looked like he’d just been caught sticking his hand into the cookie jar. What’d he say?” she asks again.

“Nothing much.” I shrug. “I want to take you out. To dinner. But, fuck, I really want to fuck you too.” I step back and really look at her. She’s wearing a tight little pencil skirt and a light-pink blouse that shows me the outline of her bra. “That’s how you dress at the office?” I shake my head. “Damn, if this hockey thing doesn’t pan out, I need to come work for you, babe.”

Lili laughs. “I think the hockey thing is working out just fine for you. So dinner? Where are you thinking?”

“Anywhere you want?”

“Mmm, do you like Italian?”

“I like eating you. You’re Italian.” I smirk.

“I’m also Russian.” She laughs.

“So fucking hot.” My hands find her waist again and I tug her forward.

“We can order in,” she says. “Eat naked, in bed, between orgasms.”

“That sounds like a great fucking idea, but you deserve better than that. Come on, let’s go.” I grab Lili’s hand and open the door before I’m tempted to take her up on her offer.

Lili sits across from me as her eyes bounce around the restaurant’s interior. “Have you eaten here before?” she asks me.

“No, but I’ve heard it’s good. Have you?”

“A lot. My family owns it,” she says.

“So I’m guessing the food’s good?”

“Very.” Lili nods.

“Then why do you look like you’d rather be anywhere else?” I lift a questioning brow before adding, “We can go somewhere else. I don’t mind.”

“No, I like the food. And we’re here so we may as well stay. I just… My family can be insane, as you’ve seen, and I don’t want anyone jumping out of the shadows and scaring you off.”

“Babe, I already told you I don’t scare off so easily. And your family loves you. That’s not something you need to apologize for,” I remind her.

“What’s your family like? What was it like growing up as an only child?”

“Lonely, but my parents are great. The typical middle-class family.” I lift a shoulder. There really isn’t much to tell.

“You were lonely?”

“It comes with being an only child. That’s why when we have kids, we’re making our own hockey team of boys.”

“I’m not breeding a hockey team, and I don’t think that’s the way biology works. You can’t just proclaim you’re having boys.”

“That’s not a no to having my babies.” I smile at her, and she shrugs.

“What can I say? You’d make stupidly good-looking babies.”

“Nice to know you like me for my personality.” I laugh.

“I think you’re the complete package,” she says. “By the way, I heard something yesterday.”

“You heard something? What’d you hear?” I ask her.

“That you’re a free agent and other teams are looking to acquire you.”

“I am.”

“So if another team snaps you up—because, let’s be honest, you’re good and someone is going to want you—you’ll have to leave New York,” she says.

“Something like that is months away, Lili. But now that you mention it, what are your thoughts on Canada?”

“The country?” she attempts to clarify.

“Yes, the country.” I laugh.

“It’s… Canada.”

“Would you live there?”

“Are you telling me you’re moving to Canada?” She narrows her glare at me.

“I could be. I mean, I’ve wanted to play for the Knights my entire life, and my people have been in discussions with them,” I tell her. “If I move to Vancouver, I’m going to want to take you with me.”

“Vancouver?” she parrots as her eyes widen.

“You don’t like Vancouver?”

“No, I do. It’s just… Never mind. Are you really asking me if I’d move to a whole different country with you?”

“Yes.”

“But we barely know each other.”

“We know each other plenty,” I tell her.

“But to live together? That’s a big call,” Lili says.

“Let’s give it a trial run then. Move in with me here. See if you like it.” I grin, and she laughs.

“You really do have a death wish.”

“I have a being with you wish, babe.”

“Mmm, how about we start with baby steps? I’ll leave a toothbrush at your place.”

“I’ll take it. But the offer still stands. If I’m home, I want you there with me, Lili. Scratch that. I want you there even when I’m not. I like knowing you’re at my place. In my bed.”

“I was thinking of getting my own apartment,” she says, instead of answering me.

“Why? Mine’s big enough for both of us.”

“Because, one, I want to keep you in one piece. And, two, I’ve never lived on my own, and I want to know what that feels like before moving in with someone else.”

“Okay. Well, there are plenty of available units in my building, and I’ve heard you have connections with the owners, so maybe you should look there first,” I suggest.

“You’re not used to not getting your way, are you?”

“No. I’m an only child, remember?”

“Well, now’s a good time to start.” Lili laughs, and as much as I hate that she’s turning down my offer, I also admire her independence.