Page 81 of Breaking the Pucking Rules (LA Vipers #1)

KODIE

I will never forget the glassy, wide green eyes staring up at me as those words spill from my lips.

They’ve been teetering on the edge for days, desperate to be released.

But this time, I couldn’t hold them back.

She looks so beautiful under the soft light of the fairy lights I’ve covered my truck in.

I shake my head, unable to believe where I am and what I’ve done.

All for her.

Everything is for her.

“Kodie,” she whispers, bringing me back to the here and now. I flinch when her warm palm covers my cheek, her thumb grazing my skin tenderly.

“I’ve been falling for you from a distance for years. But nothing could have prepared me for how hard I’d fall when you were right in front of me.”

I exhale as if her words are like a physical blow to the chest.

“Casey.”

“It’s crazy,” she whispers.

“Yeah,” I agree. “This, you…none of it was a part of my plan, but now that you’re here, I can’t imagine anything else.

I want you by my side, Casey. I want you in my bed.

I want you sitting front ro w at my games, wearing my jersey, and I want to have you waiting for me when I’m done.

I don’t care whether we win or lose; knowing I get to go home with you every night means I’ll be celebrating.

"You’re perfect, everything I didn’t know I wanted or needed in my life. And you’re mine. All.” Kiss. “Fucking.” Kiss. “Mine.”

Her hands slide down my sides until she grips my hips, tugging me closer. Or at least, she tries to.

“Please, Kodie,” she begs, arching her back to get us closer.

A smirk kicks up the corner of my lips.

“Here?”

“Yes. Right here.”

I drop my weight onto her, and she instantly wraps her leg around my back, pinning us together.

“I need you, please.”

“Anyone could see you out here, Trouble.” I mean, it is possible. We are in public woods, but I’m confident that the chances are slim to none.

“You won’t let them,” she gasps as I roll my hips, letting my erection graze her clit. “Oh god.”

“Too fucking right, I won’t let them. You’re mine, Casey. Mine.”

“Yes, yes,” she cries as I push up the fabric of her jersey, my hands splaying across her stomach before sliding up to cup her breasts. “More.”

“So fucking sexy when you beg, baby.”

She whimpers as I lean forward, sucking her pebbled nipple through the lace of her bra.

“Kodie, stop teasing me.” I smirk. I might be just as desperate for her, but I fucking love this. Hearing her pleas for more, feeling her body tremble with need...

“Love how hot for me you are.”

“Years of pent-up lust right here,” she laughs.

“Fuck, I hope it never runs out,” I groan as my fingers find the waistband of her jeans. “What did I say about skirts?”

“Just take them off,” she demands impatiently, lifting her ass to allow me to pull the fabric down.

I chuckle, my cock weeping with need as I do as I’m told.

“Good boy.”

My eyes shoot to hers as shock rocks through me.

“Now, rip my panties off and put your dick inside me. I’m so fucking wet for you already, Rivers.”

My chin drops, but I can’t deny that her dominating tone does things to me.

I’ve always wanted to be the one in charge. It allows me the control I need. But with Casey, everything is different.

Of course, I love telling her what to do. But this…I can get on board with this as well.

“What are you waiting for?” she asks when I don’t move.

“Fuck, you’re so perfect.”

“Prove it.”

“Damn, controlling Casey is something else.”

Doing as she said, I twist my fingers in the sides of her panties and tug. The sound of ripping lace mingles with the rustling of the trees, and she gasps the second cool air rushes over her heated skin.

“So pretty,” I muse as I push my sweats over my ass, pulling my cock out.

“Oh god, please. Please,” she cries as I drag myself through her folds, coating myself in her juices. “Kodie, now. Please.”

Shuffling forward a little, I press against her entrance.

Her hands grip my forearms as I hold her hips, her nails digging in hard enough that I know I’ll be left with little crescent indents later. Bring it on. I’ll proudly wear any mark that Casey wants to give me.

She whimpers as I push inside her. The sweet sound combined with the feel of her wet heat sucking me in is too much.

My hips punch forward, desperate to be as connected to her as possible.

She cries out as I still, fully seated inside her.

“Fuuuck,” I groan as her walls ripple around me. “Baby, you feel so fucking good.”

“Move, please. Fuck me, Kodie. I need you. ”

With my hands planted on either side of her head, and my eyes locked on hers, I give her exactly what she’s demanding.

I set a punishing pace, which I’m sure has my entire truck rocking with the force.

Casey whimpers, mewls, and cries out my name.

It is fucking everything.

Gritting my teeth, I force myself to hold back. I’m there. I’m right on the fucking edge. But I can’t come. Not before she does.

“Touch yourself. Show me how you tease that pretty little clit when I’m on the road.”

Without hesitation, her hand snakes down her stomach before two fingers begin to rub hurried circles on her swollen bundle of nerves.

“I need you to come, baby. I’m there. I’m right fucking there.”

“Yes, yes. I am. Fuck, Kodie. Fuck.”

Her pussy clamps down on me so fucking tight as she falls into her orgasm that I don’t stand a chance of holding back any longer.

I throw myself off the cliff with her, freefalling, but confident that we’ll land together.

“Fucking hell,” I groan, dropping over her body and tucking my face into the crook of her neck, breathing in the sweet scent I’m so obsessed with.

“Yeah,” she muses.

It takes me a few seconds before I find the strength to roll off her, not wanting to crush her small body into the bed of my truck.

Tugging my sweats up, I reach for one of the blankets to cover us. It’s not cold out here, but there’s a chill in the air, and the last thing I want is for her to be cold.

“This is nice,” she says, snuggling into me.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. You did good for your first date. I hate to say it, but you’ve set the bar pretty high.”

I groan lightly. “I didn’t think about it like that. I guess I shouldn’t tell you about the champagne, strawberries, and melted chocolate I’ve got in the basket then. ”

“Umm…no. You can always tell me about those.”

Kissing the tip of her nose, I reach for the picnic basket Sutton helped me prepare.

“Whoa, there’s a lot more in here than you just suggested,” she teases.

“I wasn’t sure how hungry you’d be or what you’d fancy, so…”

“You brought everything?”

“Something like that. I wanted to make you happy, make our first date special.”

“Kodie, you’ve already done that. The food is just a bonus.”

“I love you,” I blurt, the words coming easier now that I’ve said them once.

Her eyes soften and this sappy smile that I can’t get enough of appears on her lips as she starts shaking her head.

“What?”

“I just can’t believe it. I always hoped that dreams could come true, but I never really believed it. But you’re proof they do.”

“Casey,” I whisper. “I’m no dre?—”

“You are so much more than you know, Kodie Rivers, and I love you too. So much.”

Unable to stop myself, I abandon unloading the basket and drag her in for another all-consuming kiss.

“The only thing we need to figure out now is how we tell the rest of the world.”

“You mean your dad?” I correct.

“Yeah, that,” she muses.

W e won tonight, another epic shutout game for Handsy. He’s fucking killing it this season and is well on his way to a shot at the Vezina Trophy this year. I’d fucking love to see him win it. It would mean everything—not only to him but also to our entire team. Our family.

It may have only been a few days since Casey and I finally exchanged those three big words we were both holding back, and it might sound like a cliché, but I swear, everything has changed.

I’m happier.

Even happier than I was when we started hooking up.

Multiple people have commented on it, but mostly my teammates.

I’m playing better, too, which is a bonus.

Everything is just better.

Every laugh feels lighter and more genuine. Every conversation flows better. It’s fucking bizarre, but I’m here for it.

But while I’m flying higher than I ever have, Casey is struggling.

Tomorrow is her mom’s birthday, and she’s dreading it.

I get it. Dad’s birthday earlier in the year ripped me to pieces.

I just wish there was something I could do to make it easier for her.

I’m glad we’re getting a red-eye back home tonight so at least I can be there when she wakes up in the morning.

We’ve got almost two weeks’ worth of home games ahead of us once we land back in LA, and Casey and I have agreed that once she and Coach have got over these painful few days, we’re going to tell him about us.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. I’m fucking terrified. But we can’t keep our relationship hidden anymore.

I want Casey to be a part of my life. To be a part of our family. Not my dirty little secret. She deserves so much more than that.

Sunday…Sunday is going to be the day. Coach and I both have a day off.

Casey is going to invite him to breakfast with her, and if it all goes well, I will then join them for dinner later in the day.

Or if it all goes wrong, I may be packing up my house and getting ready for my trade to the East Coast, as far away from Casey as Coach can get me. Only time will tell…

The second my cell buzzes on the table, I leap up, swiping the screen as I go, running out of the noisy hotel bar so I can hear her properly.

“Hey, baby. How are you doing?”

Her pained sigh on the other end tells me everything I need to know.

Finding a couch in the corner of the quiet lobby, I block everything out and focus solely on her.

“I wish I was there,” I say honestly, hating the miles separating us.

“Me too. What are you doing?”

“Been having a drink with the guys. You know, for a bunch of assholes, they can be fun.”

She laughs. “Don’t let Linc hear you say that.”

“Casey?”

“Yeah.”

“I just want you to know that you make me a better person.”

“Kodie,” she whispers, her voice cracked with emotion.

“It’s true. Everything in my life has gotten better since the night of the ball.”

“I agree. Stealing Dad’s ticket was the best decision I ever made.”

E xhausted from our overnight flight, I silently slip into Casey’s apartment. I planned to go home to see Sutton and take her to school. But Casey needed me more.

I messaged Mom to make sure she was okay doing the school run should I not return in time. She didn’t ask why, but I can assume she knows.

I don’t want to wake her, but she’s going to need support today, and I’m more than happy to slip into her bed and hold her until she feels strong enough to get up.

There’s a niggling awareness that something is wrong as I pad toward her bedroom. I figure it's just her sadness making the apartment feel cooler than usual. But the second I step into her room, I discover the reason.

“Casey?” I call as my hand slides across the wall to find the light switch.

I blink back against the brightness, but I find what I already knew as my vision adjusts.

Her bed is empty, and Casey is nowhere to be found.

But there is only one place she could be.