Page 29
"Bull shit. Your brothers told me it happens all the time. Especially for older players."
"No." I step forward, eyes locked on hers. "I didn't think this would happen. That you would happen. We would happen."
She blinks, stunned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means…” I take a shaky breath. “I didn’t plan on falling in love with you, Emma. But I did.”
The silence lands between us like a bomb. One that leaves both of us standing in the fallout, blinking through the dust of the words I just said to another human being for the first time since my mother died.
“You’re in love with me?” Her voice cracks, just slightly.
I nod. Fuck it. There’s no going back now.
“Of course I am. You're the most incredible person I've ever met. How could I not be in love with you?”
I take another careful step forward, voice quieter now, but more certain than it’s ever been.
“That’s why I show up at your door every damn day. That’s why I fix your shelves and cut out freaking bookmarks for kids who's parents will only throw them in the trash while they're sleeping. That’s why I carry your groceries and make stupid heart eyes at you in the middle of the damn pet parade.”
Emma’s lips part, but nothing comes out.
“I’m in love with you, Emma Carter. I didn’t see it coming. I didn’t plan for it. But I know it now, and it’s the only thing I’ve been sure of in months.”
Emma sucks in a breath like it’s the first one she’s taken in hours.
Then she punches me.
Well, not punches .
She slaps my shoulder hard and mutters something under her breath that sounds suspiciously like you emotionally constipated Neanderthal , but right now, I’ll take it.
A tear slips down her cheek, but she doesn’t wipe it away.
I try my luck and take her face in my hands.
"You’re it for me, Emma. I didn’t see it coming, but now that I have you, I can’t go back. I won’t."
She leans into me, just a fraction.
"Then don’t ever leave me in the dark again," she whispers.
"Never," I promise.
And when I kiss her, it’s not soft. It’s fierce and desperate and full of every ounce of regret and hope crashing through my chest.
Because this is our turning point.
This is us choosing each other… no matter what comes next.
I pull back and Emma stares at me for what feels like an eternity, her eyes shining with unshed tears.
Then something shifts in her expression. Determination replacing hurt.
"You know I love you too, right?" she whispers.
I gasp for air. "You do?"
She shakes her head, smiles and grabs me by the collar. "Of course I do."
Her lips crash into mine, hungry and desperate.
She kisses me like she's breathing me back to life, like I'm oxygen and she's been drowning. My arms wrap around her waist, pulling her flush against me as I back her toward the bed.
We fall together onto the mattress, a tangle of limbs and half-shed clothing. My hands shake as I peel her shirt over her head, revealing the soft skin I've memorized over these past weeks.
But this is different.
This is us. Us finally broken open, raw, and a real fucking mess.
"You're mine," I growl against her throat, tracing a path down to her breasts with my mouth. "You're it for me. I'm not going anywhere so long as you're around."
Emma arches beneath me, her fingers threading through my hair. Her skin tastes like salt and sweetness, and I can't get enough.
I strip away the last barriers between us, positioning my cock at her warm, silky entrance, watching her face as I push inside.
"Logan," she gasps, her fingers tracing my jaw, brushing away tears I didn't realize had slipped out. "I need you. All of you."
Her legs lift, wrapping around my waist, allowing me deeper.
I thrust into her, slow at first, then building to a rhythm that has her crying out beneath me. Her pussy clamps around my cock, her walls fluttering as she climbs toward release.
"Yes, baby. Come for me," I whisper, angling my hips to hit that spot right at the back of her wet cunt. "Let me feel you."
She shatters, pulling me over the edge with her. We collapse together, breathing hard, sweat-slicked and trembling.
After, we lie tangled in the sheets, my arm curved protectively around her. I press a kiss to her hair, inhaling the scent of her. All of her.
"No matter what happens... I'm choosing you. It always you, baby."
Emma rests her head against my chest, her fingers tracing idle patterns over my heart.
For the first time since my mother died, I feel like I've finally forgiven myself for the past.
Because now, I'm building something that lasts. Something beyond hockey. Something that won't just chew me up and spit me out when I'm too old.
Emma runs her hands through my messy hair, whispering "I love you" like it's a secret meant only for me. Soon, she falls asleep with my hoodie pulled tight around her slender frame, her breathing soft and even.
I watch her, memorizing every freckle, every curve.
If this is what love feels like… no game, no title, no ten-year contract could ever compare.
Not when she’s the only thing I want waiting for me at the final buzzer.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29 (Reading here)
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44