Page 79 of Breaking the Pucking Rules (LA Vipers #1)

CASEY

S udden movement behind me startles me awake and has my heart jumping into my throat as my eyes fly open.

“We fell asleep,” comes a panicked, raspy voice from behind me.

“Oh shit.”

Blinking, I force my eyes to adjust, the digits on the alarm clock beside me coming into focus.

“Oh shit,” I repeat as I throw the covers off and sit up.

The bed shifts as Kodie rolls off and stands to his feet.

For the very briefest of moments, I’m able to appreciate his insanely beautiful naked form. But then reality comes crashing back.

“Sutton,” I whisper. “Fuck. I’m so sorry, Kodie. I didn’t mean to?—”

“Not your fault,” he insists.

Our plan was to set an alarm so I could leave before Sutton woke up.

I said it was okay for me just to go home originally, but after snuggling in his bed, talking into the early hours, we agreed I’d get up early and slip out.

“Fuck,” he barks, sinking his fingers into his hair and tugging until it has to hurt.

“It’ll be okay,” I whisper as I get to my feet and rush to him.

As I move, I swear every muscle in my body aches, but nowhere is as persistent as between my thighs.

Holy shit. Last night was epic.

“I know,” he says, although the panic in his eyes defies his words. “I’m just…I’m not…how do I even begin to explain this to a seven-year-old?”

I smile up at him as I cup his rough cheeks.

Honestly, I have no idea. The only experience I really have with kids is from when I was one. But Sutton is smart and crazily observant. She already knows. That doesn’t mean we should ambush her with it though. Kodie still needs to talk to her.

“Sutton is a smart kid,” I assure him. “Trust her to understand in her own way.”

His hands grip my hips as he leans forward, pressing a kiss to my forehead. His lips linger for a few seconds as warmth spreads through my naked body.

He takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

“Being a parent is really fucking hard,” he confesses. “I didn’t think I’d have to deal with explaining adult sleepovers to my daughter for a few years yet.”

I chuckle. “She doesn’t need all the details. Right now, all she cares about is that you’re happy."

“I am,” he says quickly, cutting off whatever else I was about to say. “I’m so fucking happy, Casey.”

I don’t need to hear the words; I can see it in his eyes, in the curve of the small smile on his lips. Feel it in his touch. But still, the affirmation makes me feel lighter.

Right now, I am making this incredible man happy. It blows my mind.

“Me too,” I agree. “And Sutton will be too. She loves me.”

He groans, his smile growing.

“She sure does.”

I swear, my heart swells in my chest.

“I could just sneak out?” I offer, still feeling like I need to talk him down from a ledge.

“Your car is in the driveway,” he points out.

“She might not have seen it,” I reason .

“Have you met my daughter? She’d know if a house plant had been moved.”

I can’t help but smirk. “You have house plants?”

He shakes his head. “Last night didn’t really go to plan,” he confesses. “I was going to give you a tour, try to make you feel welcome.”

My smile grows. “We could have been anywhere, Kodie. You were there, and I’d have felt at home.”

“Fucking hell,” he groans, his grip on my hips tightening. “Okay, so how do you want to play this?” he asks, searching my eyes for suggestions.

T hirty minutes later and Kodie has his fingers wrapped around the door handle, but he hesitates opening.

“I can still try to slip out if you?—”

“No. Let’s go. Just…let me go in first and…yeah, just let me go in first.”

I slip my hand into his. Our fingers entwine, and I give a little squeeze of support.

Silently, we make our way toward the stairs. By the time we begin descending, Sutton’s soft voice floats up to us. Any hope that she might have slept in is squashed. Not that Kodie thought there was any chance of that.

Each of our footsteps sounds like gunshots, and my body trembles with nerves. It’s like I’m a teenager again, trying to slip out of the house for a party I’m not allowed to go to. Only this time, the adult is trying to give the kid the slip.

The front door is right there; I could easily disappear unnoticed. But I trust Kodie, and of course, I don’t want our relationship to be a secret forever.

Keeping it under the radar makes it seem like we’re doing something wrong. Okay, so we might be breaking a few rules, but ultimately, we’re just two people who are falling for each other. We’re both consenting adults, and being with Kodie makes me happier than I ever remember.

Kodie's breath rushes over my face as we hit the ground floor, and he presses a kiss to my cheek.

“Wish me luck,” he whispers before striding away before he can change his mind.

As he slips around the corner, I lower my ass to the bottom step and wait.

“Daddy, did you have a sleepover?” Sutton demands the second he walks into the kitchen, proving Kodie right. She saw my car.

“Uh…yeah, Peanut. I had a friend come over after you went to bed. It got late so she stayed here.”

“Yesss,” she hisses. In my mind, I see her pumping her little fists in victory like she does on the ice. “I knew it was Coach C.”

I suck in a sharp breath, trying to predict Kodie’s reaction.

“I’ve seen her car at the rink,” Sutton explains despite no one asking her to.

“Is it okay that Casey stayed over?” Kodie asks hesitantly.

“Uh…yeah. She’s awesome. Why wouldn’t it be okay?”

My heart pounds against my ribs and I lift my hand to cover it, afraid it might burst right out of my chest.

“It’s usually just us three here. I don’t want to do anything that you don’t like. This is our home.”

“Yeah, but it’s Coach C. Where is she, anyway? Don’t tell me she left already.”

“No, she’s just coming. Aren’t you, Casey,” he calls, making my heart rate pick up.

Am I ready for this?

Fuck. Yes. I was born ready.

Pushing from the step, I race toward the door with a wide smile on my face.

All eyes turn on me as I step into the kitchen.

“Coach,” Sutton shouts before jumping from her stool and racing over to hug me.

“Hey, Rivers. How’s it going? Did you have a good Thanksgiving?”

“So good. Gran made the best pumpkin pie. I wanted it for breakfast, but she wouldn’t let me. ’

“Well, it’s not really a breakfast food, is it?”

“It should be, the morning after Thanksgiving.”

Unable to argue with that, I release her and move closer to the island where Kodie and Kathleen are watching us with soft smiles on their lips.

“Good morning, Casey,” Kathleen says, her eyes twinkling. “I’m sorry to rush off, but I’ve got something that needs my attention now that you’re up.”

“Is everything okay, Mom?” Kodie asks, a frown tugging at his brows.

“Of course. If you need anything, I’ll be right out there.” She thumbs over her shoulder as she backs away. “Everything you need for breakfast is in the fridge. The coffee is ready.”

Before Kodie can get another word in, she’s gone.

“What the?—”

“She’s giving us space,” I say, hyper-aware that Sutton is watching closely.

“Right. Okay. So…who wants breakfast?”

“Can I have pumpkin pie?”

We both look at Sutton before glancing at each other.

“Screw it, pumpkin pie for breakfast,” Kodie announces.

“With ice cream?” Sutton adds, pushing her luck.

“Yeah, why not.”

The smile on Kodie’s face as he turns around is something I’ll never forget.

“So, what did you two do last night? Watch a movie?” Sutton asks, pulling us from our thoughts.

“Um…yeah. We watched a movie and played some games,” Kodie responds as he slides three pieces of pie onto plates.

“Without me,” Sutton whines.

“We’ll have a movie night another day,” I promise, but the second the words are out of my mouth, I panic. What if Kodie doesn’t want me here hanging out with them as if we’re a fam?—

“And a games night?” Sutton asks with hope in her eyes.

“Yeah, Peanut,” Kodie agrees. “We can do both. We’ll look at my game schedule and see when we can fit it in.”

I look between father and daughter with my heart in my throat and tears burning the backs of my eyes.

They’re the perfect little team, and the fact that they’re willing to let me join them blows my mind.

“Are you okay?” Kodie whispers as he places my breakfast in front of me.

“Yeah,” I agree, blinking back tears.

He studies me, not believing a word of it. Reaching for his hand, I give it a squeeze, trying to silently let him know how much being here right now means to me.

With a smile and a nod as if he understands, he turns back for his and Sutton’s plates.

“Yesss,” Sutton celebrates.

“Make the most of it. It won’t happen again for another year.”

“Worth it,” she mutters before diving in.

“I think you might have just created a new family tradition,” I tell Kodie as he takes his seat, his fork poised to cut off a piece of his pie.

He stills, his eyes lifting to meet mine. “No, Casey. We just created a new family tradition.”

“We’re going to do some practice in the yard, after this,” Sutton explains. “Do you want to be on my team, Casey? Girls against boys.” Her competitive smirk as she looks at her dad is everything.

“I’d love to. Your dad doesn’t stand a chance.”

W e spend hours in Kodie’s yard playing grass hockey. It might not be quite the same as being on the ice, but it’s a lot of fun. And by the time we finished, I was exhausted. Hockey was not what my sore muscles needed.

Kodie made us omelets and a fruit salad for lunch, and after gently declining an offer from Sutton to play in her room, I let Kodie grab my things and meet me at the front door.

“Please stay a little longer,” Sutton begs.

I’d love to. Hell, I’d happily stay here forever if I could. But Kodie doesn’t get to spend all that much time with his little girl during the season, and I’ve already taken up enough of it.

“Another day, I promise I will. I’ve got plans with my friend this afternoon.” I didn’t have any plans earlier in the day, but one message to Parker earlier and she insisted she needed to know every detail about my sleepover with Kodie. If I don’t get moving, she’s going to beat me to my apartment.

“Parker Donnelly?” Sutton asks.

“Yeah.”

“She’s cool. So is her brother.”

“Oh yeah?” Kodie asks. “I thought you were a Viper through and through.”

“I am. But Donnelly is good. Really good. I think your D line could definitely use him. I’ve mentioned it to Coach a few times now. Just waiting for him to realize it.”

“I’ll have a word too,” I offer.

Sutton lights up. “Really? You think I’m right?”

“Yeah. I think he’d be a good addition to our team. And I know Parker would love having him around.”

Sutton beams with pride.

“Sutton, we need to pop to the store; can you go and get your shoes on please?”

“Ow, really?” she complains.

“Really.”

Reluctantly, Sutton disappears up the stairs, leaving us alone for the first time in hours.

Kodie steps forward, pinning me to his front door with his hips, his forearms on either side of my head.

“She likes you,” he teases.

“I hope she’s not the only one.”

“Nope. I’m pretty sure Mom likes you too.”

“And what about you?” I tease, tilting my head to the side.

“Oh, Trouble. I more than like you.” The air between us turns charged and my heart rate increases. “I—I like you a whole lot, Casey Watson.”

“I like you a whole lot too, Kodie Rivers. ”

Our eye contact holds, our breaths mingling as desire crackles between us.

“We’ve got an early game tomorrow. Can I take you out after?”

“Like…on a date?”

“Yeah, Trouble. Like on a date.”

“B-but?—”

“I won’t take you anywhere someone can see us. You can trust?—”

“I do. I trust you.”

“So, is that a yes?”

“Yes, it’s a yes.”

He leans forward, and his lips just brush mine when footsteps race back down the stairs.

“Cockblocked,” Kodie whispers, making me laugh. “I’ll make it up to you tomorrow night,” he promises before taking a huge step back.

“I don’t doubt that. Enjoy the rest of your day.”

“I’ll see you at the game tomorrow, Casey?”

“Yep. It’s a date.”

Two dates with two Rivers in one day. What could be better than that?