Page 5

Chapter 5

MICAH

I was dead on my feet. Fuck.

Tonight’s game had been brutal, with New York shutting us out four to zip. We’d won two nights ago against New Jersey, but coming home from a three-game road trip with only two points was nothing to fucking celebrate, and the mood on the plane had been tense. Haldy had ended up going down the tunnel again halfway through the third and was looking at probably a month out of the lineup. New York had had our number tonight, and I felt like I’d left Tucks out to dry in net by not stopping that final goal.

I dropped my bag just inside the front door and toed off my shoes as I made my way down the hall to the bathroom. It was four in the morning, and I couldn’t wait to collapse in my bed. At least we didn’t have practice or anything tomorrow.

No, wait, today.

Shit, I was tired. I finished up in the bathroom, stripping down to my boxer briefs, and padded into the bedroom, not bothering to turn on any lights.

I pulled back the top sheet, slid into bed, and was met with a warm body.

I jumped out, flipping on the light on my nightstand. Josie was blinking up at me, her eyes squinting in the light.

“Oh, fuck. Shit, Josie, I’m so sorry,” I exclaimed, trying not to think about how her sleep-tousled purple hair was currently making my gut tighten, and my fingers itch to sink into the strands. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips parted, and fucking hell, my cock chose that moment to start waking up. Hopefully, she wouldn’t notice, but in the current position, with me standing over her, my dick was in direct line with her face.

I willed my brain to think of anything instead of her in my bed. Could I manage to take a step back without her noticing my hardening cock? No. So, I stayed put.

“Micah.”

Her soft voice was doing nothing for my cause.

She sat up, the covers falling to her waist, and my dick was a fan. She was wearing a threadbare T-shirt and obviously no bra. At least her nipples weren’t visible. What would they look like?

Fucking. Hell.

I glanced at the ceiling for a brief second to collect myself.

“Um, sorry,” she said, and I met her gaze again, refusing to look down at boobs again .

“I didn’t expect you to be home tonight.” She pushed a loose strand of that luscious purple hair behind her ear, and her shirt pulled against her chest.

Yeah, my gaze had traveled down because, apparently, my cock was in charge of my brain right now.

What would it be like to cup her breasts in my hands? They would fit perfectly.

Shit. I was going to need a pillow or something to cover myself.

I cleared my throat. “Yeah, we left right after the game. I thought I’d mentioned that.” My voice sounded gritty.

“Sorry, I must’ve forgotten.”

“It’s fine. Yeah. Um, I’ll just go take the couch,” I said, needing an escape.

“What? No. This is your bed, and you had a rough game and late flight. Sorry about the loss. I’ll take the couch. You need your bed,” she said, revealing her bare legs as she pulled the covers back even more.

Was she naked under that shirt? Maybe just a small pair of panties.

I sucked in another breath. What the fuck was my problem?

“No, you’re already in bed. Stay here. I’ll just grab a pillow and take the couch,” I said.

“Absolutely not,” she argued.

“I’m too tired to battle you, Josie. Just stay in here,” I said.

“We could share the bed? I mean, it’s a big bed. A nice pillow wall down the center, and it’ll be like two beds,” she said.

“I don’t have that many pillows,” I said.

She laughed lightly. My dick was an asshole.

“Blankets. Whatever. Just get in the damn bed, Micah. It’s one night.” Then she slipped her body back under the covers—thank god—and put her head on the pillow.

My entire room smelled like her.

“Oh, is this your side?” she asked when I still hadn’t moved.

Then her eyes darted down, and I swore her cheeks turned a deeper shade of pink. I practically ran around the bed and slid under the covers, ignoring her little gasp.

I should definitely be on the couch right now.

“Good night—or good morning, Micah,” she said, and then the room was flooded in darkness again.

I pulled the covers up to my armpits and tried to even out my breathing as my heart raced and my cock ached.

“Good night, Josie.” My voice was still rough.

I heard her shifting around, getting comfortable, while I stayed frozen in place. Her soft little noises were destroying me, but at no point did I get back out of bed and search for blankets or pillows to make a wall.

It would be fine. The bed was big, and there was plenty of space between us.

It would be totally fine.

Fuck. I was tired and hard. How the hell was I actually going to fall asleep?

***

Something was pressing against my dick. Something warm. And one of my arms was trapped.

My eyes flashed open, and all I could see was purple.

Last night came flooding back as Josie rocked her hips against me.

FUCK.

I was in bed with Josie, and my body was wrapped around hers.

And her sweet ass was tucked against my cock, making me harder than I’d ever thought possible. Dammit. I should’ve jerked off before climbing into bed with her last night.

Not that I’d known she’d be in my bed or had anticipated sleeping next to her.

My head was foggy from not enough sleep and a painful dick.

And my arm, the one not trapped under her body, was draped over her waist, my hand on her T-shirt-clad stomach. A few inches up, and I could have cupped her breast and scraped my nail over her nipple.

How would she respond?

My groan was louder than I’d hoped in the quietness of the room.

She shifted against me again.

“Uh, Micah? Um, do you have a sword in your boxers?”

“Fucking hell, Josie,” I bit out.

She twisted in my arms, her cheeks bright pink, her eyes glittering with humor, and a grin on her face.

“Good morning to you, too. Guess we drifted.” Her hand landed on my bare chest.

I should’ve put a shirt back on last night.

“It does that every morning. It’s just biology.” I scooted away from her and gritted my teeth as her fingers trailed over my skin.

“Sure, sure,” she teased. Was she really so unaffected by my hard cock against her body?

Nope. Not going to think about that. I needed to get out of this bed. But I was only in boxer briefs and didn’t have a shirt or anything else nearby because she was sleeping on my usual side. She’d just laugh at me if I tried to take a pillow or sheet with me.

You know what? Fuck it. If she was going to be blasé, so was I.

I tossed the covers back and got out of bed, striding out of the room and into the bathroom without giving her a second look.

Had she looked? Gasped? Chuckled, maybe? I thought I’d heard something as the bathroom door shut behind me.

Fucking hell. She had my brain doing spins and my body on edge.

I jumped into the shower and kept the water on the cool side as I silently jerked myself off.

I sucked in a few breaths as I came down from my orgasm.

Now, I had to face her again and not think about her hands on mine or the fact that I’d just violently come against the shower wall while thinking about her. I quickly finished washing up and stepped out of the shower to towel off, then stared at myself while the steamed-up mirror slowly cleared.

I could do this, could act like nothing out of the norm happened this morning. She was like a sister to me, and my best friend would string me up by my balls if I forgot that.

My brain was in control of my body, and as I wrapped the towel around my waist because I stupidly forgot to grab clean clothes when I bolted from my bedroom, I could only hope that Josie was not still wrapped up in my sheets.

“I’m making banana walnut pancakes, if you want some,” her voice called out as soon as I left the bathroom.

“Sounds great,” I replied.

See? I could act like everything was normal and that I didn’t know how soft Josie’s skin felt when I’d accidentally slipped my pinkie along the hem of her shirt this morning.

JOSIE

I turtled into my oversized coat as I did another lap with my newest client, Wally. It was freaking cold, and the snow was piling up, but luckily, Wally’s owners lived in Micah’s building, so I’d picked him up and taken the elevator up to the rooftop garden for a quick walk and potty break. A few laps up here, then we were heading back in for a little indoor playtime. My other three clients for the day had canceled, and I honestly wasn’t mad about it because the temperature was dropping quickly as the snow piles grew.

Of course, if I really needed to warm up, all I had to do was think about waking up in Micah’s bed yesterday morning with his gloriously hard dick pressed up against my ass. Holy crap, I’d been so blasé about it. Hell, I’d even done a little wiggle against him, and I was still surprised that my body hadn’t gone up in flames. I bit back a giggle at the memory of his face when I asked if he had a sword in his pants. Freaking hell, I couldn’t believe I said that to him, but setting him on edge was almost as enjoyable as waking up nestled into his big, strong body.

It was a shame that nothing else had happened after he’d escaped into the shower. We’d danced around each other all morning and talked about his away trip over a batch of my delicious banana walnut pancakes that had always been his favorite. Then I’d helped him clean up the condo and set up my bedding on the couch again before he’d disappeared into his zen room and I’d worked on some Etsy orders. He’d gone out to meet up with some of his teammates for dinner while I made myself something quick and spent a few hours working on some author branding illustrations. I was starting my first spicy drawing for one of my clients and trying not to make the image look like Micah.

Not that he wouldn’t make an exceptional model. All glowering and hot.

This time, my shudder had nothing to do with the winter temps.

“One more lap and we’re out of here,” I told Wally, quickening my pace for our final loop.

***

Two hours later, I stared at the image in front of me. It was almost perfect. The heroine was reclining on the dining table, similar to the one I was currently sitting at. She was naked and propped up on her elbows while the hero sat in a chair and feasted on her. I fanned my face with my hand. It was definitely hot, and I couldn’t stop my grin. Drawing this image had been challenging because I’d never sketched something like this before, but it had also been so much fun.

Way more fun than just doing illustrated headshots and logos. I could only hope the author, Elaine, would love it and want more.

I bit the side of my lip and tried to get the shading around their bodies spot-on.

“What is that?” Micah’s choked voice said from over my shoulder, and I jumped, smacking the top of my head into something hard.

Most likely his chin, judging from the grunt behind me.

“Shit,” I gasped, rubbing the top of my head, before I turned to take him in.

His cheeks were slightly flushed, his lips barely parted as he rubbed his chin. He smelled amazing, and his hair was still damp from the shower he must’ve taken after morning skate.

“Sorry for scaring you,” he said, his eyes darting between my face and the drawing on my tablet.

“I’m fine. You’re back already?”

“Should I even ask about this?” he asked at the same time.

I laughed. “Are you scandalized, Micahtron?”

He grimaced. “Are you ever going to stop calling me that?”

“Probably not.” I batted my eyelashes at him, and he shook his head at me.

“So, what do you think?” I gestured toward my illustration, trying to get a rise out of him.

He cupped the back of his neck, his shirt pulled against his broad chest, and I tamped down the heat in my belly. He was definitely the perfect inspiration for the man I’d drawn on my screen. Luckily, the hero in my client’s book looked a bit similar to Micah, though not as built as the man in front of me.

Dammit, he looked delectable.

“Uh. It’s, um, nice. Well drawn. Uh, what am I looking at?”

I snorted. “If I have to tell you, then I feel sorry for your lady friends.”

He narrowed his eyes at me again. “I know what it is, but what’s it for? Do you just like drawing racy pictures for fun?”

“Why not?” I shrugged.

“Is that my table?” he asked.

“It was handy. Actually, do me a favor. Can you go stand in front of the island. I just want to see how you line up?”

“What?”

I would not laugh at how the word came out of his mouth like a squawk.

“I’m messing with you. You’re so easy to tease, Micah.”

“And you’re annoying,” he muttered. “So, is this for an author or something?”

“You do listen to me.”

He rolled his eyes. “Of course I do. No matter how irritating you are.”

I put my hand on my chest. “Oh, be still my heart. Such a sweet talker.”

“If you’re done teasing me.”

I grinned. “Never going to happen. And yes, it’s for one of my authors. I did all her branding and illustrated avatars for her social media. These NSFW images are popular for newsletters and swag, so she asked if I would draw a few of her spicy scenes. It’s actually a lot of fun.”

“That’s, uh, great. Glad it’s working out and all,” he said, glancing at the image again, his cheeks darkening.

I tried not to think about spreading myself out on the kitchen table for Micah to feast on me. My nipples pebbled under my bra at the visual.

“I’m hungry,” he said, and my body heated. I hadn’t said my thoughts out loud, right?

But how would he react if I did?

I was playing with fire.

“For a sandwich. Yeah. I need to have a sandwich and then relax before tonight’s game. That’s great that you like drawing. Uh, do you want something to eat?”

His rambling was adorable.

“I’m good for now. I know you have your routine, so I’ll stay out of your way. Can’t wait for the game tonight.”

He moved into the kitchen and pulled out grilled chicken that I’d made the other night. “Can I have this?”

“Of course. I made extra for you.”

“Uh. Thanks. So. You’re coming to the game?” He grabbed lettuce and tomato from the fridge, setting up his sandwich assembly line. I swore he adjusted everything so it was in a perfect line.

“Yup. You going to get in another fight?” I forced down the shudder from just remembering how hot his last fight had been. I shouldn’t have found it sexy, but dammit, it was.

“It’s not like I’m trying to get into fights. Lisbon is a grade A dick, and he had it coming. Fucking took Sweets out for the night and went after Haldy. The refs weren’t making the calls, and I wasn’t going to let another teammate get injured and head down the tunnel. I’m not fighting just to fight.”

Freaking hell. Even hearing him defend himself was hot. He had always been the strong and silent type, so seeing him get fired up just talking about it was sexy. So freaking sexy. He had passion in him that he probably bottled up, but I knew it was there, and I couldn’t help but think about our kiss.

“Are Haldy and Sweets okay?” I asked.

“Sweets is fine. Haldy ended up injured during the next game and will be out for a month. I just fucking hate dirty players in the league, and sometimes I have to fight to protect my teammates. It’s something I always step up to do, and I know my teammates have my back, too. Clean hits are going to happen, but cheap and dirty shots should be stopped.” He paused, setting his sandwich on a plate. “I know it’s a bit over the top, but Lisbon is one of the few that really pisses me off. Fucking asshat. Glad we only have to play them a few times during the regular season.” He took a sip of his water. “You know, you don’t have to come to all of my games just because you’re staying here.”

“I love watching you play. I mean, hockey is a fun sport to watch. So much energy and the crowds are so loud. It’s awesome,” I said.

He chuckled. “I guess it makes sense that you love it, you know, since you’re a hurricane and all. You sure you don’t want something? You’ve been cooking for me. The least I can do is make you a sandwich.”

“Thanks, but I’m good. I want to get this finished so I can send it to Elaine. And don’t worry about me. You need to stick to your routine.”

“I’m not so bad that I can’t make you lunch.”

“I’m not messing with your superstitions. Go, go,” I said, waving my hand at him.

I didn’t miss that he took another glance at my drawing before he sat down at the island to eat.

Seriously. How would he react if I asked him to eat me?