Page 121

“So you’re right. Iammad. I’m mad he doesn’t deserve you but gets to keep you. I’m mad you touched me. I’m mad I can’t get you out of my head. I’m mad your smile makes the rest of my life seem bleak. I want you more than this job, but it’s all I have. I’ve done everything right my entire life, played by the books. Then, fuck, you come along, and all I want is to break every hard-earned rule. All for you. Just to be close to you.”
I attempt to withdraw, feeling vulnerable and foolish, but she refuses to let me go.
Her arms encircle my waist, and she peers up at me with glassy eyes. “I’m sorry. For what it’s worth, I loved your company.” Her voice breaks. “I needed you, and you were there for me.” She swallows hard. “You deserve more than just being close to me.”
I weave my fingers into her hair, cradling the back of her head. “What if this is enough for me?”
I’ve lost my damn mind. Despite my denial, it’s obvious I want more.
“What? Being friends? Being my guard? Hugs? Holding hands? All the while being jealous of someone else? You can’t want that. No one wants that.”
Tell that to the idiot in my chest. Sex is great, but have you ever had your entire body light up from holding hands? That’s a total mindfuck and I’ve been lost ever since.
“I want what we used to have. I want you hugging me, talking to me, letting me care for you.” Jesus, I sound desperate. “Tell me you feel nothing for me.”
She must have some interest in me. She lets me touch her and care for her. I’ve observed her around hockey players who she has known as long as Jackson. She doesn’t show them the affection she does me. I was with her when she was barely pregnant, before she found out Ethan was Jackson’s coach.
“No, I’m not saying that. I did...” She bites her lip, unwilling to betray them. “I thought we were close, but you lied to me. I want the friendship we had, but I’m afraid it was a figment of my imagination. I don’t even know your real name.”
“It’s Reece. My name is Reece.”
“Reece,” she says softly, the word hanging in the air.
An icy chill erupts across my skin. Damn, I love how my name sounds on her lips.
“I like that better, but not as much as Viking. It suits you.”
I’m not a Viking—I’m a straight-up Carolina country boy who just lost some of his accent in the military. I initially disliked that she’d adopted Jackson’s nickname for me, but...
“The Viking and the Princess. Perfect.” My smirk is impossible to hold back.
“Stop that. No flirting.” The snow continues to fall, and she draws her jacket tight around her. “You don’t even know how long you’ll be with us.”
I grasp the front of her coat and zip her up. “Come on. Let me feed you for real this time.”
“Can we walk instead?” she asks with those pleading eyes I can’t refuse.
We walk to Bryant Park, where she’s mesmerized by Winter Village and the half-frozen fountain, which continues to spray water, creating massive icicles. The park is not as pretty during the day, and I make a mental note to bring her at night, when it’s lit with Christmas lights.
“I didn’t know this was here.” Her excited gaze bounces from one thing to the next. “You can eat in those igloos?”
She’s dated a wealthy professional athlete and traveled the country over the last year, but she still hasn’t lost that curious innocence. Everything is new, exciting, and fascinating to her.
Between deployment and undercover ops, I’ve been surrounded by the worst of humanity. Being with her is like taking that first breath after drowning.
Like being knocked on your ass by a brick wall of sunshine.
“You have to reserve them, but yeah. You want me to get a reservation?”
She gives me a pointed look. “Forallof us?”
“Yes, princess, for your entire harem.” I chuckle and dodge the smack she tries to land on my arm. “How many seats do you need? Are we including the twins?”
“Shut up.” Her face flushes, but she grins along with me. “How do you know about harems anyhow?”
“Reverse harems, you mean?”
She stares at me in disbelief, her eyes widening as if she doesn’t recognize me. It’s comical.