Page 28 of Hat Trick (Titans Hockey #1)

Chapter twenty-five

Gabe

I can't sleep. The adrenaline from today's game still hasn't worn off, and while my body's exhausted and sore, my brain won't shut off.

I'm thinking of Emily and what she said.

How she doesn't feel she's good enough for us.

How she doesn't want the gossip rags and blogs to make fun of her appearance.

But none of that matters to me. She's stunning to me. Fuck what anyone else thinks.

Wearing only sweatpants, I head to the kitchen to get the melatonin from the medicine drawer, but Emily's already there.

I watch her for a moment, before she knows I'm there.

She's got on cute as fuck sleep sorts, with the baby-monitor tucked into the waist of them, and a matching sleep shirt.

I bet she's not wearing a bra. I watch as she pours hot water into a cup for tea.

I watch the smooth sheen of her skin under the moonlight, her hair that's always back in a messy bun, the curve of her waist and hip.

I have no idea why she thinks she's not stunning. She absolutely is.

I step silently into the kitchen and behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist and pulling her back to my front. She must not have heard me because she jumps and squeaks.

"Fuck, Gabe. You gave me a heart attack."

I laugh, pressing my face into the curve of her neck. She smells like lavender. Always like lavender.

"Couldn't sleep?" She asks.

I make a low noise in confirmation.

"Insomnia or nightmares? "

"Insomnia, I guess. I'm still so amped up from the game I couldn't sleep."

"You were amazing tonight." She says, dipping a tea bag into the mug.

I can't help myself. She opened the door to be physical with her.

I kiss her neck, experimenting with how far she'll really let me take it.

Our conversation yesterday has been playing on repeat in my head.

Fuck buddies. No strings attached. But I want the strings.

I want all the strings. I want her heart and mine connected by a thousand strings.

I want her soul so tied to mine we can't tell where one of us ends and the other begins.

But right now, I need to know she meant what she said.

She hums a sound low in her chest before leaning back against me. I smile, satisfied. She wants this. She wants this almost as much as I do.

"I can think of one thing that'll help us sleep." I say, low and gravely, pressing my erection into her lower back. She freezes. This is it. The moment I get to make my girl come, or back off until she's more comfortable.

She spins to look up at me, her large eyes wide.

"Luca and Carter won't mind?" She whispers. Game. Fucking. On.

I smile at her and wrap my hand around the back of her neck. "No, Princess. We talked about it at the arena today. No one gets their feelings hurt. No jealousy, no hidden agendas. This won't work if we aren't all completely open and honest to each other."

She licks her lips and bites her lower one. I pull it out from under her teeth. Only I'm allowed to bite this fucking lip. Well, me and the guys.

She looks up at me and gives me a tight nod .

In one move I snag the baby monitor from her waistband, crouch down, and fireman lift her onto my shoulders. She squeals and giggles, pounding my back with her tiny fists.

I stomp down the hallway, open Carter's door and chuck the baby monitor at him. "You've got Annie." I bark. Carter sits up, wiping the sleep from his eyes.

"What? What's going on? Is Emily okay?" He looks up finally and sees Emily and me.

"She's fine, she's just going to be busy the next couple of hours." I say, before spinning on my heel and walking to my room.

I toe open the door to my bedroom toss Emily on my bed and shoe the door closed behind me gently. I shove down my sweatpants and stand in front of her in only a pair of tight black boxer briefs. Emily's eyes go wide before she licks her lips and bites her lower one again.

Yeah. My girl likes to look.

I flex my abs more just for her benefit and she looks like she's stifling a groan. I kneel on the bed and lean over her, caging her in with my hands on either side of her head. She reaches out and trails her fingers lightly over the ridges of my abdomen, causing me to clench again.

"My eyes are up here, sweetheart." I tease.

Her eyes shoot up to mine, but I don't give her a chance to spiral.

I drop my mouth to her breast and wrap my lips around her fabric-covered nipple and suck.

Her hands shoot to the back of my head while she arches off the mattress.

I gently drag my teeth over her tight nipple before she groans.

I love how receptive she is for me. I've barely touched her and she's ready to go .

"Are you wet for me Princess? If I reach my hand down into your panties am I'm going to find you soaked for me?" I growl.

She lets out a delicious little whimper and nods her head.

There's so much more than dirty talk I want to do with her, but I don't know how far I can push her our first time.

From what Carter's said she doesn't have a ton of bedroom experience.

And he made it seem like the dude was a real douche canoe.

I slide one rough palm along her stomach and up under her sleep shirt.

I pause, waiting for her permission or rejection.

Her stomach and ribs thump rhythmically with her fast breath.

She's damn near panting. I cup her breast, loving the full feel of her, finally.

I've dreamt of her breasts, of doing just this, of squeezing and biting and coming all over her tits.

I lift her shirt above her breast, ready to worship it, when she shimmies away and turns off the lamp on my nightstand.

In an instant I know what's going on and I'm furious.

"Emily." My voice is strained, a warning. There's only one reason to fuck in complete darkness - and I know it's not because she doesn't want to see me.

"Yes?" Her whisper is almost so low I can't hear it.

"Why did you turn off the light?" I'm trying to keep my voice steady, but my body is vibrating with anger.

"I...I thought you'd..."

"Goddamnit, Emily!" I shout before slamming the light back on. I kneel between her legs, chest heaving, as I stare down at her. I'm angry as fuck but not at her. Or maybe at her - for letting someone have so much power over her .

Carter and Luca bust through the door; no doubt concerned for her safety. She pulls my sheet up to her chin to cover herself and the look of fear on her face instantly kills my boner.

"What? What happened?" Carter asks, his brows pinched together with worry.

"Apparently, our little Princess thinks I want to fuck her in the dark so I can pretend she's someone else." Her chin quivers a little and her eyes water.

She looks down, tears filling her eyes.

Part of me feels bad for going all Hulk on her but this is unacceptable. I can't stand thinking that my woman doesn't know how beautiful she is. That she thinks I'd rather imagine fucking someone else. That I don't belong to her; body, mind and soul.

Alright, fuck it. We need a new approach tonight.

"Come in and shut the door." I command the other two. They do, more curious than anything. Carter leans back against my dresser while Luca takes a seat at my desk, spinning the chair around to face the bed.

"You always fucked in the dark with your ex?"

Her sad eyes look at me while she nods.

"You realize he was a piece of shit?"

She pauses before shaking her head 'no'.

"You keep calling yourself ugly, you keep calling yourself a 'five on a good day'. 'Not WAG material'. Do you think we're hot?" She nods, briefly looking at the other two boys. "That we can have anyone we want? That we have had anyone we want." Another nod.

"Take off your clothes."

"What? "

"I'm sick of you being down on yourself. You're our woman now, and you think our woman's so ugly I'd only fuck her in the dark. You need to be punished."

Her eyes go round. "What? N-no! I-I'm sorry! I-I didn't know..."

I grip her chin in my hand. "You'll take your punishment like a good girl and you won't ever doubt how much we want you again. Understood?" Fear and tears are right there on the edge, but she looks deep into my eyes and nods. I lean back against the head board and watch her.

"Take off your clothes."

With shakey hands she compiles. She's nervous, scared, and insecure.

But I'm going to make this good for her.

Her shoulders fold in on herself as if that will help her hide from our eyes.

She takes off her shirt first, covering her chest for a moment and looking at Luca and Carter.

I don't know what she's done with the other two, but I can't imagine either of them standing for her to turn the light out.

They may not have punished her for it, but we would have heard about it.

"Your shorts." She angles herself so that none of us have a direct view of her pussy or her ass and slides her sleep shorts down her long legs. I think about it for a moment but crawling to me might be a step too far.

I recline against the headboard, spreading my knees wide.

"Come here." I say, patting the bed between my legs.

"Sit here and face them." With one arm covering her breasts and the other covering her pussy, she crawls awkwardly onto the bed and sits between my legs.

I gently grab her shoulders and pull her down against me, her back to my chest. Her legs are tight together and her hands are still trying to cover herself.

She's looking down at her knees, avoiding eye contact. That won't do.

"Look at them. Look at Luca. What do you see?"

She doesn't move. "Look at Luca or I'll turn your ass a beautiful shade of pink." She gasps and her head shoots up. "Good girl." A full body shiver runs down her and I'd bet my last paycheck she's wet at the praise.

I run my rough hands slowly down the length of her arms and back up. "What do you see?"