Page 72 of One Shot

All the anger in my heart takes a momentary back seat to a rush of pure bliss hearing her say those words.

Without opening her eyes, she leans in to kiss me. It’s not hungry and greedy. Instead the kiss is light, pure, and wholesome, yet the spark between us still brings intensity with it. It’s not lust-filled like our first kiss. It’s love. I grab the back of her head deepening our kiss as if to show her I’m all in, whatever that means to her. I’m all in.

She pulls away and says, “You are not quitting hockey. Never say that again, Lucas Donato. You love hockey. I love hockey. We love hockey. It’s not an option. And I love you.”

She doesn’t even wait for a response as she leans in to kiss me again.

“I love you too, Lauren Bellinger,” I mutter against her lips as my fingers tangle in her hair. She grabs the back of my neck, deepening our kiss further, showing me she needs me. I would let her crawl into my skin to protect her if it was possible. She shivers from the winter chill and lack of jacket. I pick her up, and her legs wrap around me. She breaks the kiss.

“I’m just getting you inside; you’re freezing,” I say. “I promise I’m not trying to take it further.”

“Well, why not?” She croons and starts to giggle. I’m sure she can sense the shock on my face. My eyes widen in unexpected disbelief. My girl is hot as fuck.

I open the door, still holding her. She directs me to the stairs and tells me her room is the second door on the left. She’s still shaking, probably from more than just being in the cold air outside. Instead of heading up the stairs, I head to the kitchen.

“What are you doing? My bedroom is upstairs. You do not follow directions well, Captain,” she hisses at me, with a mischievous look in her gaze.

God, I love when she calls me Captain when I know she wants me to pleasure her. I put her down and slip off my sweatshirt.

“You’re freezing, Lauren. You need tea or something.”

“You could probably warm me up much better than tea, Captain.”

She winks at me as I go through cabinets, and she pulls on my sweatshirt. My sweatshirt engulfs her, hanging almost past her knees.I can’t help but think about how sexy it would be if she wore only my sweatshirt with nothing underneath.

She moves to the other side of the kitchen and pulls out hot chocolate.

“Fine, if you aren’t going to play nice, I suppose you can make me hot chocolate.”

She throws three packets at me. I find a pan, fill it with hot water and put it on the stove to boil.

“You have no idea how badly I want to, Laur. I just—We just had a serious conversation, and I don’t want it to be because of that . . .” I drift off.

“I know it wouldn’t be. But thank you.”

“For what?”

“For being such a gentleman. Even when I didn’t want you to be.” She pouts playfully.

“Trust me, when you call me Captain like that, I don’t want to be,” I admit. “Why did you give me three packets?”

“I need at least one and a half packets, Captain.”

I groan at her use of Captain but try to keep my cool. “That’s so much sugar.”

“It’s exactly what I need. Sweet now, and naughty later.”

My eyebrows raise with surprise causing her to giggle. This girl has caught me so off guard with her promiscuous talk. I’ve easily fallen more in love in the last five minutes.

“Do you have whip cream to go with this?” I wink at her.

She goes to the fridge and laughs. “Actually.” She pulls out a can of whip cream followed by a bottle of bourbon from the counter.

“Technically, my special cozy hot chocolate recipe calls for a shot of bourbon too.”

My eyebrows arch with skepticism.

“What? It’s my comfort drink!”