Page 49

Calm down.

Calm down.

The words repeat in my mind like a mantra as I hold her trembling body against my chest. Every muscle in my body is coiled tight with the need to fucking kill. I have the insane urge to hunt down the piece of shit who destroyed her and make him pay for every tear she’s ever shed.

But I can’t. I can’t go off and kill her ex-boyfriend because I’ll just end up in prison, away from her, away from everything I’ve worked for. And then who would protect her?

Calm down.

My heart feels like it’s being crushed as I watch her crumble in my arms, but underneath the rage and pain, something else is building.

Understanding. Everything about her has finally clicked into place—how she didn’t want to sleep with me, how she kept her walls so high, never allowing me in completely.

And suddenly, a rush of triumph runs through me despite everything. Because she’s here. She’s clinging to me like a fucking lifeline, and this is exactly what I’ve needed. My demons seen, and now I get to see hers. Now I understand so much more about what makes her tick and what she needs from me.

I would do anything to make sure she’s taken care of.

I know now that I would lay my life on the line to make sure she’s safe.

An idea starts brewing in my mind, one that I don’t know if I can pull off.

But I’m determined. First, though, I need to make sure my hockey career is still intact because I’ve missed practice all week.

“I got you, baby,” I murmur into her hair once her sobs have quieted to occasional hiccups. “You’re safe with me.”

I run my fingers through her hair, gentle and soothing. “Look at me.”

She pulls back, her eyes swollen and red from crying. My heart aches at the sight of her pain, but there’s also something beautiful about seeing her this vulnerable.

“No more pills, okay?” I cup her face in my hands, needing her to hear this. “I’ll tell the drug dealer to fuck off. And as for us, we’re good, baby. You don’t have to worry.”

“Promise?” Her voice is small, fragile.

I grab her face more firmly, making sure she sees the truth in my eyes. “I love you so fucking much, Sage.”

Tears fill her eyes again, but these are different—not tears of pain, but of relief and joy and something that looks like hope.

She nods, then hugs me tightly. “I love you too.”

I hug her back, my mind already working through what I need to do. Because I have a plan forming, and it requires her to not question a single fucking thing.

“I’ll be back, okay?” I say, shouldering my gym bag. I have to go in to talk to the coaches, and I know I’m missing a ton of fucking homework. But I needed this past week with her.

“I’ll be here,” she promises, and that simple statement makes me smile.

“Be back soon.”

I slip out of the house and head to the arena.

When I get to the rink, my coaches are waiting with stern expressions and barely contained frustration. They demand an explanation for my absence, and I give them just enough truth to satisfy them—mental health break, personal issues, but I’m clean and ready to play.

They make me take a drug test on the spot, which comes back clean just like I knew it would. I swear that I just needed time to get my head right, and I’m down for the game tomorrow. We leave first thing in the morning for an away game.

The coaches excuse me with a warning, and I take to the rink, running drills on my own. I skate until my muscles burn, until my skates kill my right hip, until it’s fucking screaming at me to stop, until I’ve worked out the elaborate plan that’s been forming in my mind.

When I get back to my house, Sage is there on the couch with dinner waiting. The sight of her in my kitchen, in my space, making herself at home, hits me right in the chest.

I drop my things and reach for her, kissing her deeply.

“Dinner. Is. Done.” She kisses me between words.

“Thank you, baby,” I say, my hands already wandering. “But my dinner’s right here. Open your legs.”

“Slater,” she scolds, but I can see the heat in her eyes as she obeys anyway.

I pull off her shorts as she rests back on her elbows on the couch.

“Seriously? It’s already getting cold waiting for you.”

“Seriously,” I say, wetting my lips.

Her pussy is so fucking pretty. I grab her thighs and force her off her elbows.

“I’m fucking starving. Thank you for dinner.”

I lick her pussy, tasting her. Fuck, she’s delicious. Her back arches, so I run my hand up to her waist.

“Slater,” she breathes.

I enter my fingers inside of her and curl, and her moans swell my cock.

I work faster, harder against her. My fucking hip bothering me again, so to mask the pain, I pull my pants down and fuck my own dick with my palm.

Her moans get louder as she rides my face.

This.

This right fucking here.

Is my heaven.

Later, she grabs my dinner plate and we settle on the couch watching Love Island. Her legs are draped across my lap, and I rest my hand on her stomach, feeling the rise and fall of her breathing.

Everything about her is fucking perfection. I love the hell out of this—this domestic shit with a girl I love. It feels unreal, like something I never thought I’d have or even want.

“You’re staring,” she says without looking away from the TV.

“Can’t help it. You’re beautiful.”

She turns to look at me, her eyes soft with contentment. “This is nice.”

“Yeah, it is.”

“I never thought I could have this,” she admits quietly. “Feel safe enough to just... exist with someone.”

I squeeze her ankle gently. “You can have whatever you want with me.”

When we finally head to bed, she follows me into my room without hesitation. There’s no discussion about where she’ll sleep—we both know she belongs here, with me.

In the darkness, I hold her tight against my chest, her back pressed to my front, my arm wrapped around her waist. It’s intimate and genuine in a way that has nothing to do with sex and everything to do with trust.

“Slater?” she whispers into the darkness. “Thank you. For listening. For not running when you found out how fucked up I am.”

“You’re not fucked up,” I say firmly. “You’re perfect, baby. Just the way you are.”

I kiss her ear. “I have an away game tomorrow. Are you gonna be okay?”

She turns and kisses me. “I wish I could come.”

“Me too, baby. But I’ll be back the next day.”

She nods. “Okay.”

She relaxes against me, and eventually her breathing evens out into sleep. But I stay awake, staring at the ceiling, refining my plan. Because tomorrow I leave for an away game, and when I get back, things are going to be very different.

All walls are broken now. We’re stronger than ever. And I’m going to make damn sure nothing threatens what we’ve built.