CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

N oah

The audience erupts, a wave of cheers and hollers as scattered voices shout my name. I scored another goal, we won another game, 3-1.

My heart is light. Last night I worried when I admitted to Evan what I was. I worried Finn might hate me.

But last night we made love. Even though I didn't say the words, it was all I could do to keep from shouting them to the world, or at least, however far Finn's well-constructed, well-insulated apartment building would let my voice carry.

I'm dragged out to discuss my goal with the media. I notice some of the journalists who interviewed Finn and me at his parents' house. Some of them give me approving nods, and my heart sings.

"You did good job," Dmitri says. "Boston is proud." He hesitates. "I am proud."

"Thank you, Dmitri. It's sweet of you to tell me that."

His eyes darken, and his customary irritation thunders over his face. "I am not sweet person."

He stomps away.

"I know!" I call after him desperately. "That's why the action was nice."

He whirls around, then nods. "I guess. You should come out to The Rinkside Pub to celebrate. If you can pull yourself away from fucking Finn."

"What do you have against Finn?"

"I meant fucking Finn." He makes a rude gesture with his hands.

"Oh." Though Finn has fucked me, I haven't fucked him. But now I'm thinking of it. Lust bubbles through me. "I see."

He laughs. "Sometimes I am English teacher not just hockey player."

I snort. "You're a Renaissance man."

He blinks.

"He means you're one of those men who used to wear tights and paint their faces white," Axel explains.

"I would never do that," Dmitri says.

"I meant you're good at many things," I explain.

"I would look excellent in tights," Dmitri concedes, then saunters off.

The team and I celebrate our win against Chicago, and we walk together into Cambridge. Puck bunnies swarm the bar, and they squeal when they see us approaching. From the way they're texting, more fans will arrive soon.

Fast-tempoed music plays in the pub, and the counters and tables are all dark wood.

"Noah! Finn!" Troy waves us over.

I sit beside Finn, his arm draped behind me in, while people retell my goal.

Joy bubbles in me as I laugh with my teammates.

I love my life. And I love Finn.

"You're grinning a lot," Finn says, putting an arm around me, and pulling me close.

"Just thinking about something Dmitri said," I say.

Finn glowers. "I'm far funnier. "

"Obviously, babe."

Finn gets that pleased smile he always gets when I use a pet name for him, even though we're speaking softly so he can't just be proud of my acting abilities.

Then I lean toward him. "I can go inside you tonight."

Finn's eyes widen, and his mouth drops open.

"Unless you don't want to," I say quickly.

"Why would you say something like that to me?" he asks.

"I'm sorry." My heart patters.

"It will take us thirty minutes to get back!" Finn whines.

"And that's...?"

"Way too long," Finn says, then he grabs my hand, sets my drink on a table, and we leave the sports bar. "We need to go now."

I laugh, and we brush past the throng of hockey players and fans.

FINN

Okay. I admit it. I didn't think I wanted Noah to fuck me. I didn't press the intercourse part of our relationship, because I didn't want to ask for something I wasn't sure if I wanted to have myself.

But when Noah says he wants to be inside me, it's a no brainer. Because that sounds incredible. Of course, I want to be as close to Noah as I possibly can be.

We run back to the arena and grab my car, then I'm flooring it to Seaport.

Once we're in the elevator, we're kissing .

"You're giving the guard a show," Noah warns me.

"I aim to entertain." I press the button for our floor, then kiss Noah some more. "That suit makes you look hot."

"I'm always hot."

I laugh. Noah's newfound confidence is so fucking sexy.

"That's right, my sturdy stick," I whisper to him, and I don't even regret it when he punches my stomach.

We kiss our way through the hallway.

A door opens, then rapidly slams.

"I think that was Mr. Greenberg," Noah murmurs.

"You getting to know the neighbors?" I ask.

"It's good to be polite."

"You are so from a small town," I say, scrambling for my key. I struggle to turn it. They need to give us pods. How are people supposed to be slipping keys into locks and doing the whole turning thing when they want to be kissing their super sexy spouses at the same time? This is a tragedy people don't give enough consideration to. "I love—"

Noah stiffens in my arms. I wasn't going to say that. Not in the hallway where who else might come out. Not when Noah is forced to be with me for most of this year, unless my dad's lawyer comes through, and I can get an annulment.

Part of me wants to cancel that process. But it seems unfair when the lawyer said there might be a way to do it quietly to halt it. I shouldn't force Noah to be married to me. Noah who is so wonderful. No, once I learn from the lawyer, we can talk about it together.

Until then, there's no reason to get his hopes up either way.

Noah's green eyes are on me, and I want to look into them forever and name every shade of green that flickers in his irises.

But then I remember I started a sentence with "I love."

"That about you," I finish lamely.

He nods and doesn't meet my eyes.

"Get inside me, sharp shooter," I say, and his shoulders relax.

He unlocks the door and pushes me inside. In the next moment, he hauls me over his shoulder like he's Thor and I'm, well, not Thor, and hurries us to our bedroom.

"This is undignified," I call out, as my face bobs up and down against his back.

"I can't help that you're a slowpoke, Carrington."

"Using my words against me," I grumble.

He sets me down in front of our bedroom. "I'm getting deja vue."

"You using fancy French words on me, Carrington?"

I snort. God, Noah's probably never been to France. Maybe he's never been to Europe. I want to take him there. I want to take him everywhere.

"I'll buy you a beret and a Breton shirt," I promise.

"Then I'll never have to leave the apartment."

"Sounds good to me."

We stare at each other.

"Do you still want me to..." His voice wobbles.

"Abso-fucking-lutely."