Page 14 of Her Puck Daddies
By the time I get to his knees, my attention catches on the scarring—an inch and a half of raised tissue from the surgery he had to endure. A wound that wouldn’t heal by any other method. It should be what holds my focus, what keeps me grounded in professionalism.
And yet, my mind strays.
Regardless of the circumstances now, I still remember.Too well.The heat of his skin against mine, the way every ridge and vein of his cock stretched me just right, filling me to the edge of delicious torment. I remember the sharp gasp that tore from my lips when he slammed into me from behind, his length so deep I couldfeelit in my lower belly. The way he claimed me inch by inch, relentless, unyielding. It was that perfect balance of pain and pleasure—enough to leave me clawing at the sheets, begging for more, forharder, until he fucked me into complete submission.
But I shove that recollection aside.
Because this? This is just an appointment. A routine session with an athlete like any other. And as long as we don’t address the past, we can both pretend that nothing between us ever happened.
Even if my body remembers every single second of it.
I lift the corners of my mouth in a slight smile. “All finished.”
“What, seriously?”
I raise a brow at him. “Yes, seriously. It’s been 50 minutes.”
“You mean, you’re not going to give me a happy ending?”
And just like that, all the blood drains from my face.
Chapter 6
SVEN
Ava’s complexion fades to such a chalky white that I’m afraid she might pass out again. I raise my hands in surrender feeling like a jerk.
“Joking,” I say, chuckling to make my point even though the longer this goes on the less funny it gets. “Seriously. I just wanted to break any tension between us. But maybe that was thoughtless of me.”
Yeah, it was definitely thoughtless of me. So much for alleviating the tension. I think I just made it worse.
“It-it’s… okay,” she stammers, making me feel like even more of a heel.
“It’s not. I apologize. Really.” I sit up and reach out, fingers brushing her forearm, and—fuck—she’s just as soft as I remember. Her skin is like crushed velvet, a tease against my palm,and for a split second, the thought of ripping her scrubs off right here, right now, flashes through my mind.
Down boy.I mentally shove my cock and the urge down. This is not the time or the place.
Some of the color returns to her face. “Apology accepted.”
Several heartbeats pass in silence, and though I can stare down an opponent like nobody’s business, awkward silence grates on my nerves.
“You settling into life here in Denver all right?”
“It’s… different. I’ve never gone through such a long distance move before.”
“Moving sucks,” I agree. “When I was first drafted into the NHL, the Florida Panthers signed me on. But two years later I was traded to Detroit. When they traded me to the Avs, I thought I was jinxed, like I’d never have a home that last longer than a year or two.”
“How long have you been here?”
“This’ll be my eleventh year.” I grin at her, then drop my head a little and drag my palm along the nape of my neck. “I’m what is known as a veteran.”
“Must be nice to know that you fit in now.”
There’s something about the tenor of her question that tells me she’s asking not only for my benefit. “It is nice. I’ve been captain for ten of those years, and for me, the team is half undisciplined gang of troublemakers and half band of brothers. Except for Levi and Eric. They’re like my real brothers.”
“Speaking of Levi and Eric,” she begins, and I know what’s coming. “Are you aware that they skipped out on their massage sessions?”
This is the part of my captaincy that sucks. While Levi and Eric are team players when it comes to being on the ice, some of the interpersonal stuff that occurs off the ice is more difficult for them, especially Levi. And where Levi goes, Eric often follows, even though Levi is the younger of the two.