Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

COREY

O liver Sutton might be ten years younger than me, but tonight, the black dress shirt he wore and dark jeans screamed all man.

Or was that my once dormant libido?

Either way, distraction mixed with attraction on top of whatever had been building between us had my body and mind on high alert. When he leaned close and offered his hand to help me out of his Jeep, the clean scent of soap mixed with pine made me swoon on the inside.

Fine, I hid the swoon with a glare. Liar , I thought.

The waitress placed a plate in front of me, but I had no memory of ordering because my body was hyperaware of every move Oliver made. When he pulled out my chair, the back of his hand brushed my back as I sat down. His forearm muscles flexed, because of course he rolled up his sleeves and showed off the veins and muscles along his arm. When the waitress came to take our order, his dimples popped when he smiled at her.

My evil side popped and threatened to come out and body check her.

"Do you miss it?"

Oh, shit. He asked me something, and here I was, staring at his lips. Oliver smirked, like he knew.

Caught.

"Do you miss it? Playing hockey?"

I shrugged and took a bite of the steak with a green cilantro lime jalape?o sauce. At least I picked out something good in my Oliver-induced haze. "Sometimes. But it's different now."

"How?"

Oliver's attention was addictive after how many years of Jackson catering to everyone else but me. "When my dad and I spent those hours watching all those games, it was like a puzzle to solve. Find weaknesses and strengths. How to improve the game." I wrinkled my nose. "Hurts less, too."

He glanced at the table, where my knee bounced beneath the table. "How…does…"

"Most days, it's fine. If I don't miss my workouts, I'm fine. And the scar tissue loves the dry needling, which helps, too. You can barely see where they sliced me up anymore."

Five years seemed more like a lifetime. That girl was worlds away and she never let herself live. Who I was now was trying to.

But not enough. I set my fork down. "What did you mean, you want me to teach you…everything, Ollie?"

Oliver mirrored my actions. Utensils barely made a sound as he set them on his empty plate. "Truth, Blue?"

The nickname made me squirm, not because it made me uncomfortable, but because…I liked it. "Always." Maybe it was the three glasses of white wine I downed, or the nearness of Oliver, but I didn't want to play anymore. I wasn't ready for anything beyond that moment.

Seven years of marriage didn't go away overnight. Or even in a year and a half. A year and a half since I walked out the door, realizing I needed to take care of myself because no one else would. The divorce had only been final for a year.

Hockey had been my life for almost twenty years. Discovering who I was, and how hockey still fits into my everyday life filled the void now? A relationship, or even friends with benefits, didn't fit into what I needed right now.

Maybe ever.

But, I couldn't deny the attraction between us.

"I meant it, Corey. I want you to teach me. Everything."

I swallowed. The air felt thick and hot and my breathing increased. "About hockey?"

He shook his head, his eyes daring me to look away.

I didn't.

"Then, what?"

He moved closer and reached across the table, and took my hand in his. "Corey, I want you to teach me…how to please a woman."

I released the breath I didn't realize I had been holding. "Have you…"

"I'm a virgin, Blue. A clean slate for you to mold and teach. And there's no one else I'd rather be with."

My brain stopped braining, and my lady parts took over. I pulled my hand away from his. Oliver's expression went from take-me-home to crestfallen. I slid my chair back and placed my hands on the table. "Then we should leave."

"We should?"

I nodded. "For what we're going to do, Sutton, I don't want an audience."

The waitress chose that moment to come up, and Oliver stood, took out his wallet, and handed her a wad of cash. "This should cover it. Keep the change." Then, he took my hand, and tugged me behind him, through the dining room, passed couples and friends eating and talking, through the parking lot to his Jeep. He opened the passenger door, scooped me up, and put me in the seat. Buckled me in.

And my panties, which were thin and useless, and soaked.

Sweet Ollie and his dimples were one thing. But the little moments when he took over?

Swoon. Take me now.

Except that he wanted me to teach him how to take me now.

The radio started playing "Call Me Maybe" and God help me, I burst out laughing. Next to me, Oliver's hands gripped the steering wheel like he needed to hold on to keep his hands occupied. He let out a groan.

"Fucking Noah," he muttered, but a smile teased his lips. My lips twitched in response, either from wanting to giggle or kiss him.

The giggle won.

"Call me-"

"Yep. Noah has a thing for playlists, and he sends them to me at least once a week."

I squinted at his phone, trying to read the title of the playlist. "#HOCKEYGODDESS?"

"He knows who you are." Hands tightened on the wheel. "Hockey is kinda our thing, too."

The next song came on, and I shrugged. "At least he has good taste. Drive me home, Cyclone."

He glanced over at me. "Your place or mine, Hockey Goddess?"

"Yours. Lucy might need to go out. And this way, you won't worry about her. And I like Blue better."

A look I could only describe as decidedly not virginal at his look. I narrowed my eyes. "Why do I feel like you don't need to be taught everything, Sutton?"

"Just because I haven't been in the playoffs doesn't mean I don't know how to make an assist."

I don't think I've ever been scooped out of a vehicle faster, and most definitely no one has ever tried to carry me up a flight, let alone more than one, of stairs. He grinned as he set me down in front of his door. Whimpers and puppy barks sounded from inside, and when he opened the door, the volume of the barks increased.

"Lucy, Daddy's home."

Shit. There went my ovaries. Not that I wanted kids or anything with Oliver, or even a relationship, but seeing a big hockey player cooing and holding a puppy might be the cutest damn thing I've ever seen.

"Let me take her out, and I'll be right back up. Make yourself at home." Lucy squirmed in his arms, her little pink tongue darting out and giving him puppy kisses.

I stepped into his space, unable to resist the cuteness. "She's-"

"Right? Hale brought her over, and I was done. Be right back," he murmured and planted the softest kiss on my forehead.

Swoon level up.

The door shut with a snick, and all the bravado and lust fueled confidence I had faded. Alone in Oliver's home but unable to bring myself to care anymore, I wandered around the open-concept living area. A large kitchen island and gorgeous black cabinets lined one side of the apartment. The other featured a slate tiled floor to wall fireplace. Trailed my fingertips along the picture frames. Family pictures on a shelf. Noah LeCavalier and Oliver from college. And an X-Men comic.

Of course he had a comic. And one of the best to have.

Also, I had a thing for Wolverine. And pretended he was taller. Like Hugh Jackman sized.

"See anything you like?" A voice came from behind me.

I spun around. "What do you think?"

He smirked. "Oh, Blue." A predatory gleam entered his green eyes that thrilled me, but as he stepped in close, heat radiated off both our bodies. Enveloping me in a sensual haze. "I stopped thinking from the first time I saw you. It all faded away. All I wanted from that moment on?"

Words failed me, because this man who was years younger than the one I had been living with while dead inside lit me up to where I was sure my skin would burn the building to the ground any second now.

"To know what you liked."

"Glampfire Trail Mix." My lips twitched, even with desire tingling along my skin.

Oliver closed the distance and whispered against my lips. "Ben and Jerry's?"

I nodded. "Strawberry lemonade."

"Noted."

"And," I said as I rubbed my nose along the line of his jaw, "kisses. Everywhere."

My breath hitched as his hands went along my rib cage and he lowered his mouth closer and closer until we were breathing the same air. And I never wanted it to stop. Soft at first. Learned what I liked. Hands searching and exploring with painful deliberateness. Sweeping tongues. The taste of him, the sharp planes of his chest hard beneath my fingertips.

Kisses like this weren't supposed to exist. And if they did, how did I not know about them before now? I sighed into his mouth as the kiss deepened, the fire growing inside me until I thought I would turn to ash if we didn't stop.

Breathless, I pushed against his chest gently. I searched his gaze with my own, green eyes darkened to the color of the moss that dotted the forest floor back home.

"I'll teach you, but that's all this can be, Oliver."

He opened his mouth to protest, but I stopped him with a finger against his lips. "Ten years is a lot. And I'm not sure I ever want to be…with anyone."

His warm hand covered mine. "Ten years is nothing."

"Your career is just getting started-"

"Thanks to you."

"-and you're going to change, your game is going to change. But me? This is what you get. And I'm too-"

His lips crashed into mine, kissing me until the room spun. When he pulled back, he said two words.

"Teach me."