Chapter 40

Chapter Forty

Niko

"I thought she'd never fall asleep," Chloe whispers as I press into her back, my hands circling her waist and my lips coming to rest on the side of her neck. She shivers, and I turn us both toward the hallway on the opposite end of the house—the one with the guest room.

It has been two hours since I came home to find Chloe's Bronco in my driveway and her sitting on my couch. At first, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. My intention had been to come home and talk to Ayana first before driving over to Chloe's duplex to confess my feelings—and idiocy. But fate—and my daughter's meddling—had led her to me instead.

"We must be quiet," I murmur into her neck before tasting the skin with the tip of my tongue. Sweet, just as I remember. I cannot believe I have her with me again, and this time, I get to call her mine.

"I'm not sure if I can." Chloe groans and almost trips, so I hoist her up in my arms to carry her the rest of the way to the guest room. At the sudden movement, she yelps in surprise before slapping a hand over her mouth. "See, I told you," she whisper-hisses, so I give her lips another purpose by kissing her hard while I take us the rest of the way and lock the door behind us.

I waste no time depositing Chloe on the bed and divesting her of her tight shorts before climbing on after her. My mouth goes straight to the spot on her inner thigh that makes her squirm while my hands smooth up her thighs to cradle her soft hips. I am not disappointed when she gasps and wiggles under my hands. But when my lips trail farther up her inner thigh, she jerks her hips off the bed and I pull back to frown at her.

"Stay still. I am working here."

Chloe giggles and spears the fingers of one hand into my hair. "Your beard tickles."

"Hands over your head, malish ."

Since laughter is not my goal at the moment, I pull her thighs roughly apart and drag the flat of my tongue up her inner thigh to her panties, covering the gusset with my hot mouth. Her laughter dies, replaced by another gasp as her fingers leave my hair and she does as I asked. That is more like it.

Chloe's panties are gone seconds later, and she is coming on my tongue within minutes. She is a feast for my eyes, laid out on the bed panting with her cheeks pink and her sex pinker, swollen and pulsing from my attentions.

"Now you can sit up." My voice is tight and low, my entire body tense with desire. I gently pull her to a seated position and remove her sweatshirt before resting back on my heels to gaze at her gorgeous body.

"So beautiful," I murmur, watching my finger trace along the edge of her bra, my touch causing her nipples to tighten under the lace.

Chloe's hand comes up to cup my cheek, and my eyes shift to meet hers. They are liquid pools of desire and emotion. "Nikolai." Her voice cracks.

We look at one another for a long moment before I lean forward and kiss her, hoping she can feel everything I mean the kiss to say. But it is not long before the kiss goes from reverent to frantic, each of us desperate to devour the other. I unclasp her bra while she lifts my shirt, and then I quickly shed the rest of my clothes until we are skin to skin. When her teeth graze my nipple, I hiss and press her back to the mattress so I can close my lips around one of her gorgeous breasts.

After tasting my fill, I stand by the bed and drag her hips so they are poised at the edge, giving me the perfect view of her flushed body. I quickly apply the condom I took from my room earlier and bring her legs up so one ankle rests on each of my shoulders. Then I finally press into her slick pussy, my eyes falling shut for a few seconds as I savor the feeling of being enveloped by her tight heat. Her hand at my hip has my eyelids lifting again.

"Hands above your head, malish ," I remind her.

"But I want to touch you," she says, almost pouting.

"And you will. Later," I promise. But I want to focus on properly fucking her right now, and I want an unobstructed view of all of her while I do. To that end, I pull back and thrust into her again. She whimpers in response, and I begin to establish a rhythm, my eyes intent on her pussy taking my length over and over.

Chloe's back arches, moans falling from her lips as I continue powering into her, sweat soon dripping from my temples as I fight to keep a hold on myself. With each drive forward, my hips slap into her ass cheeks, filling the air with the primal sounds of our bodies connecting.

Her heels dig into my shoulders while my hands clasp her legs so hard I need to remind myself not to hurt her. I adjust her position to seat myself at a slightly different angle, and the woman begins speaking in tongues as her inner muscles contract and flutter around my cock. It is all I can take, and I curse myself as I piston in and out at a brutal pace, allowing my climax to overtake me as Chloe comes apart before me.

When we are both completely spent, I allow her legs to fall to the sides and I collapse on top of her, careful to put my weight on my forearms on the mattress to either side of her. Choe immediately wraps me in the cocoon of her soft thighs and warm arms, and I decide right then that this is where I want to stay for the rest of my life.

"But, Da-ad !" Ayana pleads, doing her best to sound as pathetic as possible.

"No buts!" I insist. "The punishment for lying is no television, and that includes baking shows."

We are on our way to youth hockey practice the next evening, and it feels fucking amazing to be able to reach over for Chloe's hand–or thigh–whenever I feel like it. There is no more hiding, and it is more liberating than I ever anticipated.

Chloe laughed when I said I wanted to drive them both to practice instead of meeting them at the facility, but I insisted. Her argument that I would be there already for goalie practice did not matter. I have a driving need to take care of both her and Ayana–and I do not think that will ever go away. Nor do I want it to. I just need to follow Coach and Katya's advice about balance and happiness going forward.

"Chloe?" Ayana tries my woman next.

Chloe throws her hands up. "Don't look at me, kid. I agree with your dad."

Ayana harrumphs from the back seat, and a glance in the rearview mirror shows her crossing her tiny arms over her chest. "I can't believe this is the thanks I get for planning your big HEA."

"HEA?" Chloe asks over her shoulder.

"Happily ever after," my daughter explains over her pout. "Kara is into romance books, and she says all great romances end with an HEA."

"Ah, well if Kara says so." I shake my head and Chloe snickers into her chest. Kara might be popular with Ayana, but I do not know that I will trust such an impulsive person with my daughter going forward–even if her scheme had its intended effect.

By the time we arrive, Ayana has moved on to other topics, specifically her teen idol, Tara Swanson, and how she is dying to go to one of her concerts with Chloe. I grab the gear bags from the back of my vehicle and follow the two females into the practice facility.

The first person I see after dropping the bags rinkside is Benny.

"I thought you left already?" He furrows his brow.

Without hesitation, I drop one hand on Ayana's shoulder and throw my other arm around Chloe, unintentionally startling her and causing her to fall into me.

"Take it easy there, brick house," she says with a laugh, but I only draw her closer as I keep Benny's eyes.

"I had to go get my girls."

He glances back and forth between Chloe and me before his lips spread in a shit-eating grin. " Nice ! I'm gonna get so much hea–I mean, hugging !—when I tell Kaitlyn about this!"

"Banks!" Chloe scolds, but he is already striding for the doors, so she twists in my arm to look up at me. "I have to get things ready for practice."

"That is why I am here," I tell her, stating what I believe to be obvious. "To help you with practice."

Her expression turns soft, but her eyes light with fire. "You can't fool me, Nicolai Drugov. You're a marshmallow under all that gruff."

"Go put your skates on before I do something about that look in your eyes," I whisper so that my daughter cannot hear.

Parents and children start to filter in as Chloe and I line up gear and place cones on the ice. Matt arrives and begins helping kids with their skates and helmets. When I hear a familiar voice call Ayana's name, I glance up to see Peyton hurrying over to hug Ayana where she balances on her skates by the bleachers.

Peyton called earlier today to tell me she would be here to watch our daughter practice. It is taking time for my ex-wife to get used to our daughter not being with her all the time. She has even expressed some empathy, saying she is getting a taste of what I have experienced over the years. While she has not gone so far as to apologize, it gives me hope for a smoother future co-parenting Ayana.

My Storm Chasers teammates, who were running drills before the kids took over the rink, duck their heads in to chat with a few parents and youngsters. The season is almost upon us, and I face it with so many mixed emotions. It is my final season and the conclusion to a major chapter in my life. But when I consider what I have waiting for me on the other side, it is impossible to have regrets.

"Come on out on the ice when you're ready, guys!" Chloe calls to the kids, some of whom are lurking just outside the rink, others already gliding across the ice.

"Do not forget your helmets!" I yell when one boy steps onto the ice with nothing covering his head. He quickly scampers off, tripping on the rubber mats as he hurries back toward the bleachers.

"Wow," Chloe says as she skates up beside me. "I don't think I've ever seen Evan move that fast. But maybe take it down just a notch, yeah?" She does a terrible job at hiding her smile, but all I can do is shrug in return.

I push off to help a group of struggling kids near one of the nets but plow to a stop when I see Roadie blazing across the ice toward Chloe, a mischievous smile on his lips. I reverse direction, pointing his way. "She is mine, Roadie, and do not ever forget it!"

Mine . The notion feels so natural and right, I do not even have the slightest temptation to punch Roadie in the balls for his stunt the other day.

Roadie throws his head back and laughs, gliding by Chloe without even pausing. "Relax, man! I wouldn't dream of it." He continues across the ice, only stopping when he reaches a boy around Eli's age on the other end.

My eyes find Chloe again as I close the distance between us, and her smile is more dazzling than I thought possible. "What?" I ask, reaching out to pull her toward me on her skates.

"Nothing at all," she responds as I bend my head to capture her lips in another of her addictive kisses, not caring one bit who might be watching.