Page 62 of Defensive Desire

She bites her lip, but a smile sneaks through. “You’re making it really hard for me not to fall for you.”

Something clicks in my chest, like a goddamn trap snapping shut. I cup her face, kissing her deeper, slower this time, like I need her to feel every word I’m not saying out loud.

When I pull back, her cheeks are flushed, and her fingers are still tracing patterns on my shoulders.

“Good,” I whisper against her lips. “It’s settled then. You’re coming with me. I’ll teach you to fish, even if it takes all goddamn weekend.”

She laughs, but there’s a sheen in her eyes that wasn’t there before.

“Okay. But I still have one condition.”

“Oh yeah? And what’s that?”

She crosses her arms, mock-serious. “We finish every last detail of the community program before we leave. You're cutting out two-hundred bookmarks, mister. No excuses.”

"Two hundred?!" I huff out a laugh, brushing my nose against hers. “Fine. You've got yourself a deal.”

She gives me one of those sweet, slightly crooked smiles that makes my chest feel too small. I can’t resist running my hand through her messy bun, loosening her hair until it spills over her shoulders.

She giggles, swatting at me. “Now you’re just distracting me. Maybe you should start cutting now.”

“Maybe.” I give her hip a squeeze. “But I like seeing you like this. Comfortable. Happy.”

Emma’s laughter fills the tiny kitchen, something tightens in my chest. A knot I haven’t untangled in years.

She’s going to meet my brothers. Spend the weekend with us.

Withme.

The realization slams into me harder than any check I’ve taken on the ice.

I’m not just letting Emma in.

I’m giving her a piece of my world. Of myfamily.And that part of me that still aches, still remembers the sting of losing my mom and not even being able to say goodbye, clenches tight.

Her smile softens, and she rises on her toes to kiss me, quick and sweet. “I like seeing you happy too.”

Christ.

For now, I don’t want to think about trades or locker room tension. I don't want to think about what allthismeans.

I just want Emma.

Her warm, cozy space. Her soft lips, and her laughter.

Our own little world, just how we want it.

She pulls back, giving me a cheeky grin. “Now, are you gonna help me cook, or just stand there looking pretty?”

I chuckle, grabbing a spoon and giving the sauce a stir. “I can multitask.”

She rolls her eyes, and we fall into an easy rhythm, cooking together in her tiny kitchen.

It’s messy and imperfect, but it feels like home.

Chapter Fifteen

Emma