Page 34 of Playing for Keeps (Seattle Hawks Ice Hockey #4)

“Hey, you’re taking my job,” Jade says, plonking down on the floor beside me with a thud. We’ve just finished up dinner and her folks are clearing up all the pizza boxes. Tanner and Deb are reading Luca a bedtime story in the adjoining room next door, so it’s just us for the first time tonight.

“Sorry, but Robbie specifically asked for a belly rub the way he likes it,” I explain.

Jade pulls a pouty face and rolls her eyes to the heavens. “There’s no way. He loves the way I do it.”

“Oh, yeah, and how do you do it?” I chuckle. “I might need a demonstration, but not on Robbie.”

“Jay!” She scolds, slapping me on the arm, quickly looking around to check if anyone heard.

“What? Everyone is in the next room. Only Robbie knows, and he says our secret is safe with him.”

Robbie mewls right on cue and I laugh, scruffing him even more with my free hand that isn’t working over his belly. “Oh, is that right, Robbie dog?”

“Seems he is quite taken with you.”

“Well, we’re both quite taken with you. Fuck, I’m dying to kiss you,” I whisper.

This time, her hand connects harder to my shoulder in a shove/smack. “Jay! I mean it!”

“I mean it too!”

I rub the area with my palm exaggeratedly, like she hurt me. “Brutal much, Little JJ?”

“I have to keep you on your toes.”

“Oh, trust me, you already do. It was torture at the airport with only that lame ass hug to offer you. I wanted to give you so much more.”

“Shhh.” She’s laughing, but holding her forefinger to her lips, anyway. “Stop it!”

“Stop what?” I poke her in the ribs. “Trust me, they’re all far too wrapped up in the wedding plans to worry about what we’re doing.”

“Should we meet up later and have that chat?” she whispers behind her hand.

The pulse in my neck ticks the same way my dick just started to throb. Okay, she said chat, nothing else. But hell, I’ll take it. “Now you’re talking my language, Kiddo. Let’s hope we can sneak off soon. Please don’t tell me you don’t have an adjoining room as well with the rest of your family?”

She laughs, shaking her head. “Nope, but I’m in one of the smaller cottages across the way. Let me guess, you’re in the penthouse?”

I give her my best version of a withering look.

It’s not like she actually came to my room when we got to the hotel.

I dumped my stuff down in the cottage, took a look over the water and admired the mountain view before I went over to see Billy and Ellen where we ordered pizzas, and made sure Luca got his double scoop of ice cream.

“Actually, no. I have a cottage. One of the presidential suites.” I don’t miss her eyes rolling into the back of her head.

“Of course you do.”

“I couldn’t miss the views of Red Rock Canyon and the mountains. It’s breathtaking. I may just never wanna leave, Little J.”

“Are you sure you have enough nicknames for me?” she giggles.

“Not quite. But I like to mix it up.”

“You sure do.” My eyes skim down her throat as her hands reach to that pink love heart around her neck, I think it’s a crystal, maybe rose quartz.

Dainty fingers tug on it idly. “This is gonna be a fun weekend. It’s really beautiful here,” she says with a thoughtful sigh.

“You kinda forget you’re still pretty close to the Vegas strip. The beach access here is amazing.”

“Literally a second from your doorstep,” I say.“It’s pretty cool, even if the beaches here are man-made. Have you ever seen much of Vegas?”

She shakes her head. “No, I’ve only been here once with a couple of girlfriends. We had a spa weekend and got pampered at The Paris, we didn’t do much gambling.” She laughs at the memory, my eyes glued to her face, that sweet sound I’ve fucking missed in the weeks she’s been gone.

“That’s good to hear, I’m not a big gambler myself,” I sigh. “I’d rather give it to fucking charity than lose it to a casino, but walking around and checking out the games is pretty cool. I’ll have a bet here and there, but nothing crazy.”

“I know, I hate giving money away like that,” she says. “Maybe we could have a little flutter?”

“As long as you packed your dancing shoes, a flutter could be on the cards.”

“You better have been practising your dancing steps, Mister!”

I hold up my palms like I ain’t got nothing to hide. “Hey, I showed up on those Skype calls, didn’t I?”

“Isn’t Markus the best?”

“He is if he can get me dancing to a different rhythm than hockey.”

“I hope we remember the steps,” she giggles.

“Maybe we need to practise?” I suggest.

She tilts her head, eyes narrowing. “Are you just trying to work your way into my suite?”

I blow out a laugh and swipe my face, the one that isn’t still diligently stroking Robbie’s belly. “Umm, is that a trick question?”

“We seriously need to talk,” she whispers.

“That doesn’t sound good, J. Are you regretting that thing in the car?”

My eyes don’t miss the catch of her lip with her teeth as she looks down at her hands, lacing them together and squeezing them tight.

“J?” I press, my heart hammering like wild horses just came thundering through it.

She shakes her head and blinks up at me, those beautiful eyes framed by the most gorgeous, long lashes. “No, it’s not that.”

“Are you sure?” I don’t want this to be over before it’s even begun. I know it could be bad timing with her whole family here and more of them arriving tomorrow, but it’s all that has kept me sane these past few weeks, knowing this weekend was coming around.

“Yes,” she whispers. “I don’t regret anything with you, Jay.”

And just like that, she fucking ignites my soul. It’s like I can feel it temporarily leave my body before floating back down and settling inside me again. The warmth radiating off her is like nothing I’ve ever felt before.

That sense of belonging envelopes me, and while my natural instinct is to run from anything that feels remotely too close to me feeling too much, it’s like I can’t stop this. I can’t stop what’s happening, or how I feel about her.

It’s an exposing feeling for me, as though I’ve been rendered helpless and have nowhere else to land, except with her. And I don’t fucking mind it one bit.

She feels like home.