Page 24

Chapter Twenty-Four

“Richland’s local roller derby team moved into the former sports training facility occupied by the Renegades. Is the organization sponsoring roller derby now? Or the Pendleton family? I’m not an investigative reporter, but this accommodation stinks of familial favoritism.” Renegades Rinkside Report

Novy

I arrived at the new home of the Richland Killbillies twenty minutes early. I wanted the extra time to explore, to let it soak in. We’d been in the old rec center for a hundred years. We wouldn’t know what to do with ourselves in a place as fancy as Fernbrook Center.

I pulled my phone out and snapped a quick selfie with the big blue and pewter sign behind me to send to Boh.

With the events of last night, everything had changed. Not just the sex, though holy crap, the sex was incredible. He’d shared more than I ever would have expected the grumpy man to ever share. Getting words out of him was usually like squeezing water from a stone.

His honesty slayed me. Left me with no doubt that I wanted a relationship with the wounded hockey player. Being so close to him the last couple of days demonstrated what I was missing out on. I liked sharing my thoughts with him and asking about his.

Since graduating school, my life had evolved into a series of commutes from one place to another. I had Scout and derby, but none of the intimacy of a lover. None of the connection of a partner, someone I could trust to see me, understand me, support me. And now that I’d had a taste with Boh, I wanted more—a million times more. I wanted love, intimacy, a future. I wanted the full package.

I recognized Kitty’s yellow Charger in the lot and the old metallic gold muscle car that Berry drove. She’d kill me if she heard me call her car “old”. She drove some sort of classic, one she spent all her spare time fixing up and keeping shiny. Scout pulled into the lot just as I reached the door, so I waited for her to catch up.

“This place is amazing!” She loped past me into the building, her excitement palpable.

Once inside, we took turns oohing and ahhing over the technology and extra comforts the sports complex had. We would be using the area that formerly housed the ice rink. Much bigger than we needed and a million times bigger than what we were used to. We had access to the locker rooms and fitness areas, though all the equipment had been cleared out and it would be a long time before we could afford to replace it with our own. There was even a pool and sauna, and a maintenance team to keep it all in good condition.

This place was a miracle. And ours, all ours, for the next year.

“Way to score the babysitting loot, Novy.”

I shot a quick wink at Kitty. “And all I have to do is room with a grumpy hockey player.”

We wandered the space, decided how we would set up future practices and speculated that we could even host bouts now with these new facilities. We would need to do a little research and find out about having paying spectators and how to handle a concessions area, but the possibilities had the girls excited and I couldn’t stop grinning.

Meeting Boh had made this all possible. I’d never been more grateful for a batch of spilled Mediterranean pasta.

We parted ways and I headed back to the apartment, but adrenaline was still coursing through my veins. It would have been nice to go upstairs and find Boh and work off all this extra energy in his bedroom. Or the couch. Or maybe even in the kitchen because God knew, he had some really nice counter space.

But Boh had a team meeting today and had driven himself to the Renegade training arena now that he was free of the cast, so I headed down to the apartment gym for a short workout.

I ran on the treadmill for twenty minutes, sorted through recipes and mentally planned out the next couple of videos I would shoot. The ones with the girls went over great, earning me my highest views yet. I’d had some great interactions with followers and one particular person had asked for a recipe for a smoothie to help with inflammation that didn’t taste like medicine and I had the best idea using blueberries. It might also be helpful for concussions. It certainly wasn’t going to hurt.

An hour later, I swiped a cloth over the island to mop up a bit of spilled almond milk. The security panel on the door chimed, signaling Boh’s entrance.

He stalked inside, no hint of a limp in his gait, his dark gray Renegades T-shirt taut over his chest, lighter gray shorts stopping just above the knee. He looked the image of the perfect athlete, an intoxicating mix of strength and power, confidence and swagger.

“Hey,” I said. Heat blossomed in my cheeks. Why in the world was I blushing?

He grunted a wordless greeting, leaning around me to grab a room temperature water bottle from the counter.

“Everything alright?”

“Yep.”

“Had a good meeting?”

“Sure. Bunch of scheduling crap, photoshoots and sponsor events. I thought I hired on to to play hockey. Instead, they’re talking about calendar shoots and designating charities.”

I wiped my hands on a clean kitchen towel and stepped up closer to him. “Calendar shoots, huh? Just what are you wearing for this shoot?”

He settled his hands at my waist. “A full kit, if I have anything to say about it.”

I made an exaggerated frown. “Well, that’s disappointing.”

His fingers tightened around my waist and then he was lifting me, settling me on the counter I’d just cleaned. “You ever made a calendar for your derby?”

He leaned in to kiss my lips and I put my hands behind his head as he pushed my knees apart to make a place for himself. I told Scout these countertops were perfect. They put me at exactly the right height with Boh.

“We have never done much of anything for fundraising. You raise a good point, Mr. Zacha.”

He trailed his mouth along my neck to my shoulder, pushing the strap of my top aside. “You in your derby gear. Those cute little shorts.”

As he spoke, he tugged at the waistband of my leggings, tugging them and my peacock blue panties out from under me and down my legs. The cold of the counter penetrated my rear, but before I could be distracted, he’d pulled me to the edge of the counter and his hands were exploring.

I wrapped my legs around his hips, locking my ankles behind him. “I made you a smoothie,” I said with a soft exhale as he thumbed my nipple through the thin fabric of my tank.

“I think I’ll make a meal out of you.”

He surprised me, with a gentle hand on my chest easing me down to my back.

“I’ve got to find the source of your sweet meruňka scent.” He shoved my shirt up, his hands hot on my skin. “You’ve been driving me crazy with it.”

“Mehrunika?” I massacred the Czech word, but he’d said it several times now and I was dying to know.

“Apricots. The sweet, delicious apricots my grandparents grew on a tiny farm in the Czech Republic.” He pressed a kiss on the plump curve of my stomach, right below the green gem on the loop in my belly button. “Beautiful.”

“You’ve been going around calling me an apricot all this time?”

He kissed lower, then tipped his chin to look up at me. “A sweet, delicious apricot I want to devour.”

He swept his arms under my legs, angling my body on the counter just the way he wanted me, his strong hands holding my thighs wide. He leaned down, then, and nibbled the emerald gem at my belly button. I sucked in a breath, eyes wide as I took him in—his wide shoulders, his dark head dipping and teasing as he pressed open-mouthed kisses to my stomach, my hips, wherever he could reach.

He gave me a slow wink and proceeded to draw a line from my belly button to the top of my sex with his tongue.

“Boh,” I whispered, my voice wavering as my core clenched.

“ Má meruňka. Patience. I’ve been dreaming of tasting this fruit for a long time. Let me savor the moment.”

I fell back, staring up at the sleek black geometric light dangling over my head. Breathe, Novy. Breathe.

He had no trouble breathing. I could feel his heavy exhales on the sensitive skin of my inner thighs. He blew lightly over my clit and my core spasmed. I whimpered, then bit off the needy sound when he closed his mouth over me. He pressed his tongue to my clit, then pulled back and delivered a long, slow stroke from my core up to my clit.

I writhed on the countertop, my hands stretching over my head, fingers grappling for something to hold onto. He reached up and flattened his big, heavy hand over my breast and I grabbed onto him, desperate for him to ground me as his tongue delivered rapturous sensation.

My core clenched. He needed to step up, make love to me. I needed him inside me.

“Not yet, má meruňka. You’re going to come on my tongue, first.”

Oh, god, I’d spoken aloud. Begged him. Lights sparkled behind my eyelids and I squeezed his hand at my breast in a death grip. “Please, Boh. Please now.”

He slid a finger inside me then, sucking hard at my clit, and I bucked against his hold. He chuckled and I felt the vibration at my very center. Every muscle in my body seized up tight and the pretty sparkles behind my eyelids exploded into silver and gold fireworks.

I moaned, shameless and uninhibited, low and long as he licked and kissed me through my shattering orgasm. When he slowly slid his finger from my body and tugged on my hands, I opened my eyes and stared down where he still bent between my quivering thighs.

He wore a satisfied smile, as if he’d just won a race I didn’t know we were running. He straightened to his full height and tugged me up. I slumped in a boneless mess against his chest. Emotions bubbled up inside me and I nearly said something foolish. Something that would surely push him away. It was too soon, too risky.

Every day more and more of the lighthearted man I’d first seen at one of the Pendleton spring picnics emerged. The tension around his eyes disappearing with each passing day.

We shared little touches in the living room as he watched his dramas and I played with videos on my phone or responded to comments on my nutrition posts. He’d twirl his finger in the ends of my hair. I’d lean up against his side.

Casual. Comfortable.

I dare not apply a label to what was happening between us. But I couldn’t stop the fragile little bud of hope in my heart. Building, growing and becoming harder and harder to ignore with his every touch.

We should talk. If not put a label on our relationship, at least confirm that we both wanted the same thing.

Why didn’t we? We should. I wanted to know. I wanted to know what was happening and I wanted him to know what was in my heart.

Because my heart was full of him. Full enough to overflow.

I thought about him constantly. In the middle of work I’d be ordering supplies for the residents and find myself staring into space as a picture of him drinking a smoothie formed in my mind. I’d picture the way his hair had grown long enough to curl around his ear. Or flash to the memory of his smile when his eyes sought me out in the evening when he returned from working out.

I was falling. Deep and fast and it was at once terrifying and exhilarating. I just hoped Boh felt the same.

I nagged Scout into joining me at the Puck’n Boards. Boh convinced me to tag along as he met up with some of his teammates. The summer break was winding down and the players who’d traveled abroad were slowly making their way back to Richland. I couldn’t believe so much time had passed. In another couple of weeks, training camp would be starting.

We arrived at the bar before Scout, but I waited outside for her. Her car pulled into the lot a few minutes later and she catapulted from behind the wheel with a burst of energy, her leg brace-free. “Hanging out with the Renegades! Without parental supervision, for once! This is exciting!”

I rolled my eyes. “You see these guys all the time. Your grandfather owns the team, if you will remember.”

“Exactly,” she said with a cute little pucker between her brows. “ Exactly . They always see me as the owner’s granddaughter. It will be a treat to see them in their natural habitat.”

“The Puck’n Boards is their natural habitat? I would have thought the frozen lakes of northern Minnesota or the Canadian Tundra.”

She rolled her eyes at me. “Canadian Tundra? Really?”

I laughed. “Whatever.”

“You look awful happy. The grumpy roommate must be growing on you.”

“Something like that.”

“Just answer one question. How’s the sex?”

I gave her a slow wink and with a grin said, “The man has amazing countertops.”

“No way!”

I nodded, perfectly serious. “Way.”

“Like I said all those weeks ago at Brightside: you have the best luck, Novy Dalton. The very best luck.”

She yanked the door wide and ushered me inside. We were greeted with a roar from the side of the bar where Shep and some of the players were playing pool. Beside them stood Boh, quiet, but with a hint of a smile pulling at his lips.

Shep pulled Scout into a bear hug before passing her to another teammate. “Scout, have you met AB yet?”

I moved to join Boh, but before I could get away, Shep pulled me into a hug, too. “Not so fast, Novy.” He held me a moment longer. “Hangin’ in there with my boy?”

I pulled back to see his face. “I am. You behaving?”

“Absolutely not.” He lifted his chin in Boh’s direction. “I’m in need of my own babysitter. One to keep me in line.”

Boh shoved between me and Shep. “This one’s taken.”

Shep laughed, clapping my man on his back.

“Oh, I see!” said AB, his eyes wide, a grin spread across his face. “I see what kind of ‘Designated Medical Guardian’ you have now.”

Boh smacked a kiss to my temple. “Brother, one of Novy’s derby fans cracked that joke weeks ago. You’ve already been outdone by an old woman.”

Laughter slipped from my lips and I leaned into Boh’s side like I’d always been there. Like he’d been designed just for me.

We moved to the bar where Boh drank water and I enjoyed a sweet mead. The night wore on, easy, uncomplicated. Insulated from the rest of the bar by the wall of hulking hockey players. Until suddenly, I realized we were surrounded by people, many of whom had their attention focused on the players, phones pointed in the direction of the players playing pool, laughing at the bar. People doing normal people things. But somehow, because these particular people donned hockey jerseys for a good part of the year, it warranted filming.

More Renegades players showed up, the men loud and laughing and demanding attention with their presence alone. Boh introduced me to a few. The captain of the team passed by and gave me a smile. A few I recognized from the events I’d attended with Scout, but we tended to stick to ourselves and do more people watching than mingling, so meeting them tonight felt different. More like meeting my boyfriend’s friends and co-workers.

Shep bamboozled Scout into a game of pool, so despite my best efforts, I ended up holding down a stool at the bar by myself. Boh made the rounds and seeing the lightness of his expression, the relaxed set of his shoulders, I was glad we’d come out. He looked up then, as though he could hear me thinking about him and I waved. He bee-lined to my side.

“Doing alright, meruňka?”

He used the nickname now as freely as my name, but he put a sensual flavor to the word and I couldn’t help the heat that filled my cheeks at the sound.

“OMG, do you have a girlfriend, Zacha?”

The voice came from a woman wearing a barely there mini and bright white triangle top with the Renegades logo over her chest. She smiled when she asked the question, her eyes bouncing between me and Boh. I grinned up at him, curious how he would answer.

Just then the captain of the team won the pool match. He snaked his way through the crowd, greeting each player with a handshake and a congratulatory slap on the back. He paused when he reached Boh and I. “Boh,” he said, his voice tinted with a hint of a Quebecois accent. “Good to see you, man.”

Boh and his captain drifted into the sea of hockey players, and I smiled, glad to see Boh having fun.

“Guess he would have said yes, if you were.”

I turned to face the woman who’d asked if I was Boh’s girlfriend. “Maybe so.”

“Aubrey’s been after him since last season,” she said, as if imparting important information.

“Is that right?”

“There’s a video, you know. It’s all over. Of them, together, here.”

“I’ve seen it. Ten out of ten for enthusiasm.”

Her eyes narrowed before she pasted on a fake smile. “Boh doesn’t do girlfriends, everyone knows it. He’s too serious about his game. Says there’s not enough time for both.” She took a sip from the bottle in her hand. “But if he was going to, it would be Aubrey.”

“I’m sure—” But she whirled on her heel and took off before I could finish my reply.

I wasn’t going to take the interaction seriously. I settled in next to Scout at a table she shared with Shep and AB now that her pool match had finished up, my eyes searching out Boh in the sea of big men. He stood beside his captain, nodding at something one of the others said.

He didn’t want to respond to a random in the bar, I could understand that. But why did his silence feel heavy? Portentous?