Page 53 of Puck Love

Iquietly openVan’s door.I shouldn’t be in here, but I’m freezing. Thanks to the draft in my room, I couldn’t get my fire started before I went to bed, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to ask him to be the one to light it. Lucky for me, he’s out cold and snoring. It’s not loud, but he’s definitely a deep sleeper—or at least, he is with the muscle relaxants in hissystem.

I creep into the room, wincing when my foot hits a creaky floorboard. I still, just inches from the bed, paralyzed by fear. When he doesn’t move, I slowly pull back the covers and slip beneath them, easing my head onto the pillow beside his. Van’s arm automatically wraps around me and pulls me closer. I don’t know if he’s still asleep, and I don’t much care because . . .cuddles. It’s toasty and warm in his embrace, and I snugglein.

Van takes a deep breath in through his nose. “There sheis.”

“This doesn’t meananything.”

“Sure it doesn’t,” he mumbles, in possibly the sexiest sleep-roughened voice I’ve everheard.

“My fire’s gone out. That’s the only reason I’m here rightnow.”

“Do you want me to come light itagain?”

I pause for entirely too long. “No. You’re wayhotter.”

He chuckles. “Thanfire?”

“Shut up. You know what Imean.”

“I’m not really sure I do. I think I’m going to need you to spell it out for me, snuggle bunny,” he murmurs, his warm breath ruffling my hair. Oh, I’ll spell it out, alright. I stretch my toes back and poke him with them. He jerks away, and I plant both of my feet on his warm legs and chortle as he shrieks like a littlegirl.

I snuggle closer, my body spooned by his much larger one, and a beat passes in silence. “Still doesn’t meananything.”

“If I say it doesn’t mean anything, will you shutup?”

“Yes.”

“If I say it doesn’t mean anything, will you blowme?”

“Oh my god, Van.” I attempt to squirm out of his grasp, but he pulls me closer and buries his nose in my hair. He sighsloudly.

“Relax, I’m just kidding. Sortof.”

“Go to sleep, hockeyhero.”

“You first,” he whispers, but his breathing deepens, and his whole body goes lax as he drifts off. I smile and close my eyes, pretending not to feel the way my heart skips several beats with his arms wrapped around me. I’m just a big fat liar, because though I could never admit it to Van, being here in his bed meanseverything.

I wake in the sameposition, cocooned in Van’s arms. My toes are sticking outside of our little blanket haven and the cold is biting, so despite the fact that we’re sweating under the covers, I burrow in closer. One thing I’m noticing now that I’m completely awake is that Van is hard. Really hard. And not just that, but his erection is pressed firmly up against my ass. I squirm. I’ve never found myself in this position before, and I have this insane urge to slide my hand back, slip beneath the waistband of his pants, and stroke him, but his voice joltsme.

“Keep squirming like that, country, and I’m gonna blow my load. Not that I wouldn’t like to come all over your hot body, but this isn’t how I think our first time should go.” My hot body goes ramrod straight. “Too early for sextalk?”

“Way too early,” I mutter, and I make a move to climb out of bed, but Van wraps his arm tighter around my waist and doesn’t letgo.

“I have to get up,Van.”

“No, youdon’t.”

“Why are youhard?”

“Because the hot blonde in my bed has been writhing against my cock for the last five minutes,” he whispers, his breath tickling the nape of my neck. “That’s not something I get to wake up to everyday.”

“What about the puckbunnies?”

“I don’t bring womenhere.”

“You don’t?” I attempt to roll over, but Van isn’t having any part of that either because his hand clamps tightly around my waist, and he throws a long, muscular leg over my thigh, pinning me inplace.

“No, my brother lives here. Those women are after one of two things: my dick or my money. I love Emmett too much to expose him to that kind ofbullshit.”