Page 39 of Hot for the Hockey Player (The Single Moms of San Camanez: The Vino Vixens #2)

Gabrielle

Snap!

My wrists were red and raw by three o’clock in the afternoon.

I’d never had such poor self-control in my life.

I rubbed the spot where the rubber band just snapped because seeing the cucumber on the counter, as I made myself some more tea, triggered another thought about Maverick.

True to his word, Damon was up early and did his homework at the table, with zero prodding from me.

I called Principal Wellington, discussed things with her, and then officially removed Damon from the list of registered students at San Camanez High.

She tried to get me to keep him enrolled, said that she’d tackle the “problem,” but I said if we saw some change, we’d revisit things.

However, I wasn’t going to keep him in a toxic environment as it sorted itself out, so he could be bullied for standing up to the incels in his school.

Together, we sat down and picked a homeschool program and enrolled him. He started the assignments as soon as he activated his account and I had to do a double-take when he walked past my office to go make himself some lunch because the kid was whistling. He was freaking whistling.

The front door opened and Laurel entered. She stowed her shoes, jacket, and backpack, giving me one of her “I’m hiding something” smiles.

Oh, crap.

Just when I thought I solved one child’s problems, the other one had one?

“What’s up?” I asked, just as the kettle beeped and I poured hot water over my fresh tea bag. “How was your day?”

“Nothing. It was fine.” That smirk of secrecy stayed on her lips as she went to the fridge and grabbed a yogurt cup.

I narrowed my gaze at her and added vanilla soy milk to my tea. “Something’s wrong with your face. Your smile is one of your secret smiles. Why?”

“Something’s wrong with your face,” she shot back with a teasing glint in her eyes before peeling off the foil for the yogurt. I handed her a spoon from the drawer. “I’m not smiling weird. This is my normal smile. The smile that you gave me. If it’s weird, it’s because you gave me a weird smile.”

Oh, she was definitely hiding something.

“Better tell me now, than lie and get in trouble for keeping it a secret when I find out. Because I will find out. Mama always finds out.” I stirred my tea and cradled the mug in both hands against my chest.

Laurel simply rolled her eyes and dove into her yogurt. “You’re so dramatic, you know that?”

“Right. I’m dramatic.”

Damon came into the kitchen, that similar bounce from his step earlier, still there. A giddy thrill ran through me as he went to the fridge and grabbed a yogurt for himself. Now I wanted a yogurt.

“I’ll have one,” I said to him, grabbing two spoons from the drawer.

He handed me a peach one—my favorite—and took a raspberry for himself.

Then the three of us stood in the kitchen, leaning against various counters, eating yogurt in silence. Damon was the first to smirk, then Laurel, and finally me.

“What?” Laurel said when her brother chuckled.

He shook his head, still smiling. “Nothing. We’re just all eating yogurt in silence. It’s funny.”

“I love it,” I said simply. “Eating yogurt with my darling babies.”

Their eyes rolled in unison.

“Mav’s coming over soon to take us to the metalwork workshop,” Damon said, getting serious and focusing on me. “That’s okay, right?”

I nodded, nearly choking on a small, soft chunk of peach. “O-of course. Why wouldn’t it be okay?”

He shrugged, finished his yogurt, then reached into the fridge to grab another one—blueberry this time. “I dunno. You’re just being weird about Mav lately. So I wanted to check.”

“I’m not being weird,” I said, way too defensively.

Laurel’s secretive smile was back, and her amber eyes gleamed like two cut gems. She glanced at her brother and her smile grew wider, but held that curious, alarming tilt at the corners.

What the hell was going on?

“You’re being weird, Mom,” she finally said.

“No. I’m not. Mav can come over. Mav can take you to metalwork, and woodwork, and watercolor. I’m not being weird.”

“She’s being weird,” Laurel said to Damon.

He nodded. “Yeah. Now you’re being weird.”

I glared at my offspring as I finished my yogurt and rinsed out all of our empty cups. “Go get ready for metalwork. Do you need to wear anything special? Like chainmail or plated armor?”

Damon snorted. At least he knew I was joking. “I dunno. Guess we’ll find out.” He disappeared into his room, but was only gone long enough to grab his hoodie. Then he leaned back against the counter.

Laurel was now eating an apple by slicing off pieces and dipping them into the jar of peanut butter. I couldn’t remember the last time the three of us spent this much time together outside of eating dinner—voluntarily.

“How was your first day of homeschool?” Laurel asked her brother.

His head bobbed. “It was great. Way better reading selection. I’m already halfway through the book I have to read for my book report. Math was good too. I like their workbook better.”

My throat grew tight with emotion at how happy he sounded.

He never talked like this about school before.

He’d put in the minimum effort, and it was like trying to bathe a cat to actually get him to do the work.

The fact that it was only day one, and he was already halfway through his reading assignment floored me.

A knock at the door made me jump.

The kids looked at me strangely as Damon went to the door. “Hey, Mav!”

Maverick stepped into the entryway, then followed Damon into the kitchen. “Hey, Laurel. How was school?”

“Fine,” she garbled, chewing a mouthful of peanut butter and apple, and tossing in a one-shoulder shrug.

I raised my brows at her.

Her eyes widened, and she pointed at her mouth. “It’s full.”

“And have you started homeschool yet?” he asked Damon, intentionally not looking at me, which just set me on edge and made my pulse hum through my veins even quicker.

“I did. Today was the first day, and it was great.”

The door opened again to reveal Austin and Marco.

“Hey, guys. Ready to go make some stuff out of metal?” Maverick asked them.

The boys nodded.

Laurel finished her apple and peanut butter, put it all away, waved at Maverick, then disappeared to her room.

Maverick handed Damon his keys. “It’s just a push-start button, but you need the fob in there to start it. Want to all go climb in and I’ll meet you there?”

Damon’s eyes sparkled with excitement as he took Maverick’s keys, slid into his shoes, and he and his cousins headed out the door.

My belly tingled and my heart hammered as we both waited for the door to close.

The moment it did, he only had eyes for me and stepped into my space. “So?”

I swallowed. “So?”

Ooh, that smirk. That smirk was going to be the end of me. “How many times did you think about me? About us? About … this counter?” He glanced at the counter—the exact same spot—where just yesterday, he lifted me up and kissed me like I’ve never been kissed before.

I tucked my hair behind my ears, but he didn’t let me drop my hands before grabbing my wrists. “What’s this?” He cradled my hands gently as he turned them over, taking in the redness of my inner wrists and the rubber bands I wore like bangles. “Are these … punishment for thinking about me?”

I jerked my hands away.

“Looks like you thought about me a lot .”

Of course I did.

“It’s nothing. Allergic reaction to … the rubber.”

“Then take them off.” He snorted. Without asking, he rolled the rubber bands off my right wrist, and dear god, that made my lashes flutter and between my legs throb.

Then he did it to the left side, before bringing my wrists to his mouth and kissing the tender spots.

With his lips on my skin, he glanced up at me. “I thought about you too.”

“Maverick,” I breathed.

“I still love the way you say my name. Everyone else calls me Mav, but you say my whole name like a sigh, and I love it.”

I swallowed as his mouth traveled up my arm to the crook of my right elbow. “Maverick …”

“We’d be really good together, Gabrielle. You know it. I know it.”

I shut my eyes and tilted my head to the side when he reached my neck, sucking in a deep breath before raking his teeth up my jaw. My breath stuttered out and my chest shook just as his mouth skimmed across mine. “We need to talk about what’s going on here,” I croaked out. “This … this …”

This man helped me with my son. Damon was drowning, and I didn’t even know it, and Maverick helped me see that my son needed me. That he needed my help. Not only that, but everyone on the island seemed to love him. The kids adored him. And I … I couldn’t get him out of my head.

Blinking open my eyes, I met his gaze. His brows rose a little in question as he held my wrists, and probably felt my insane pulse. “Don’t say no,” he whispered.

I swallowed again, but then I nodded. “Okay.”

I only caught his excited smile for a second before he grabbed me by the face with both hands and claimed my mouth with his.

I hung there, held by his hands like a rag doll, as he consumed me.

As he pried my lips apart with his tongue and showed me all the ways he could use that muscle.

My core clenched with need and I melted deeper into his kiss, fell further under his spell.

I’d never been so reckless before, and while in a lot of ways it felt like riding a motorcycle without a helmet, it also felt really … freeing.

The opening of the front door had me shoving him away and wiping my mouth.

“You coming, Mav?” Austin asked.

“Yeah. Sorry, kiddo. On my way.” Maverick’s rakish grin only galvanized my libido and desperation for an encore. “Come over tonight,” he said with a whisper as he headed to the door. “Please?”

I nodded. “I … I’ll try.”

Then he winked at me, and I nearly came on the spot.

And I think he knew it too.