Page 18

Chapter 18

Red lace today

Jayna

I’d been at Braydon’s before, for the party, but I hadn’t seen much of the place when it had been packed with hockey players.

Braydon paused at the door and apologized. “Luke is kind of a disaster when he packs to play away. And, um, we’re not exactly neat.”

I shrugged. The walls were a generic beige, with no artwork. The couch was well worn, dipping down where two heavy hockey bodies would sit in front of the TV. Remotes for video games were scattered on the table, along with some glasses and the remains of a snack? Meal?

On the other side of the entranceway was a kitchen. A blender, still with the remnants of a power shake, sat beside the sink. A protein powder container, lid off, was near the base of the blender. Some cupboard doors were partly open.

Braydon’s gaze swept over the kitchen and he shook his head. “Luke.”

I closed my eyes for a moment. “I don’t care. Your bedroom?”

He folded his hand over mine. I followed him up the stairs and into the room on the right. His room was what I expected. The bed wasn’t made, just had the duvet pulled up. There were hockey posters on the walls, and blinds on the windows, no curtains. A desk on one side with photos of what looked to be his family on it.

He paused, just after we crossed the threshold. “So, did you want a drink or anything?”

I wanted out of my head. “Nope.” I twisted to face him and pulled my hand free to reach for his belt buckle.

“Just a moment.”

I blinked and he took my hand again, pulling me over to the bed.

He sat down and tugged me down on his lap. “Frank is an asshole, but I’m not. Let me prove that, okay?”

I relaxed against him. For once, I was ready to let someone else take over. He spent long moments brushing his hand up and down my back, soothing and comforting. Gradually the stress leached out of my body. I tilted up my head and kissed him.

The kiss started slow, an expression of gratitude for his support. One of his hands moved up, weaving into my hair, and I opened, let him in. The kiss grew heated, tongues entwined, and I turned to straddle his lap. He let our bodies drop back onto the bed, our lips still locked together.

Underneath me, I could feel his erection. But when I ground against it, he flipped us over. I blinked up at him, vision hazy with lust.

“Let me take care of you, okay?”

I’d always been an active participant when it came to sex. It seemed unbalanced to just take without giving.

But Braydon cupped my cheek in one hand. “Let me make you forget.”

I nodded. Letting go was risky and indulgent, but right now I wasn’t strong, take-charge Jayna.

He kissed me again, hands carding through my hair. Time halted. When we were both short on breath he pushed up and rolled over, pulling his shirt off. He rose onto his knees and tugged on my hands till I sat upright. He grabbed the hem of my shirt and flipped it up before throwing it…somewhere.

Red lace today. His finger traced the edge of my bra. He liked my sexy lingerie, and it was nice to be appreciated. Then those big hands moved me farther up the bed, settling me on his pillow. He lay down beside me, brushing his fingers over my bra. He dropped his head and sucked on my breast through the fabric. A whimper escaped. I reached for his chest with my hand but he pushed it back.

Lifting his head, he repeated, “I’ll take care of you. You just enjoy.”

So I did. While he teased my nipples, finally unlatching my bra and putting his mouth on bare skin. I lost track of how long he spent on my breasts before his mouth moved down toward my waist, and then my pants were sliding down my legs. I kept my eyes closed, feeling the air on my heated skin as he removed everything. His warm body slipped between my legs, and then his lips were on my pussy.

Licking, sucking, fingers inside me moving till they found just the right spot and I came with his name on my lips. More kisses, over my hips and up my body. His weight held me down as he leaned across me, and then I heard the wrapper of a condom being opened.

He turned me over, tucking a pillow under my hips, and pressed kisses over my back. He ran careful hands over my knee and I nodded. It felt good. All of me felt good. Then his cock slid in, my pussy wet enough to make the entry smooth.

Kisses on my neck, tongue behind my ear, his hips pistoning his cock in and out and finally he groaned into my neck as he came. My body was relaxed and sated, moving more effort than I could manage at the moment.

He kissed my shoulder. “Be right back.”

He pulled out of me and I almost protested. I needed that closeness right now. But he was back soon, pulling his duvet up over our naked bodies as he held me close.

* * *

Braydon

Sex with Jayna was phenomenal, but this time it felt like more. Was there any chance we could make this real? If we weren’t tied together in this dating arrangement, I’d push for it…but I couldn’t when she wasn’t able to walk away. Today was because of what Frank had said to her. I checked her expression for regrets—maybe once her first reaction was over, she’d think this had been a bad idea?

She cuddled for long moments and then rolled onto her back, pulling the duvet down, and sighed.

“Was that okay?” I kept my voice soft, trying to maintain this bubble where we were two people together, not a media disaster and his handler. I’d taken over, but I hoped in a good way, not an asshole way.

“It was perfect. I just needed a break, and that was exactly right. Thank you.”

She glanced at me, and I kissed her. “Anytime. Really, I’m happy to help like that anytime.”

She rolled her eyes.

“It was my fault, so I owed you.” She raised her brows. “I asked you to come with me to meet…you know.”

Her gaze moved to the ceiling. “I can’t let assholes like that get to me.” She winced. “Sorry, that’s your father.”

“Don’t be sorry. In my mind, he’s not my father. He provided DNA, but my real dad is the one who raised me. Who loves me and my mom and makes us a family.”

“That’s a really healthy attitude. You’re lucky to have parents like that.”

I was. There’d been times growing up when I was envious of the kids who could afford expensive hockey equipment and sports camps and extra coaching. The ones who didn’t have to worry about price tags. That was what I’d resented about Faith. She’d been able to get that coaching and go to a great hockey college, but she’d had to deal with Frank all her life.

“I wish your parents were that way too.”

She turned, propping her head on her hand. “They are. For Wayne, my brother. A lot of the time I used his hand-me-down hockey gear because they’d invest in hockey equipment for him. My dad wouldn’t miss one of Wayne’s games.”

I reached over, squeezing her free hand. I fought to keep my eyes from wandering over her naked body.

A frown creased her brow. “I think if I’d been more like my mom—watching hockey, not playing it—that we’d have been okay. Dad would have still focused on my brother, but I might have resented it less.”

“You wanted to play though.”

Her shoulder shrugged, jiggling her boobs, and I couldn’t resist a quick look. I moved my gaze back to hers as quickly as I could. I caught a grin on her face and she dropped her own eyes to check me out.

“Sorry,” I muttered.

She leaned over and kissed me, making my heart lurch. “It’s flattering. You know, when I think about it, I probably started playing because I thought my dad would pay attention to me. And once I started I wanted to keep going.”

“How do you handle that?” I’d had to fight to get to where I was, but I’d always had my parents behind me. They still were my biggest fans, even though they didn’t like my sport.

“I see them as rarely as possible. The first few years it hurt, when a couple of months would go by and I wouldn’t hear from them unless I reached out first. I mean, I actually tested it one time, waiting to see when they would message or call to see if I was okay.”

That was so wrong.

“But I made a new family. Growing up, I had a friend named Mattie back in Brandon. She has a similar problem with her sister, so we propped each other up when our families were particularly bad. Since I left home, my support group is my teammates. We’ve all had to struggle to play, and we all have that drive. It’s a little twisted when we play for our countries and suddenly are playing against each other, but still, my closest people are on the team.”

I should do something nice for my parents. Maybe we’d take a trip somewhere in the offseason. I would be working at home for most of the summer, on a project I’d been pulling together with some college friends and guys on the Inferno, but I could fit in a break. Mom wasn’t going to want to come back to Toronto anytime soon. “So, next season you’ll be playing again. How long is your contract?”

“I was lucky to get a two-year deal, and it runs to the end of next season.”

With the way Jayna played, that was shortsighted. “They should have locked you down for more.”

“Thanks, but that doesn’t happen, not in our league. We only got one-year contracts initially.”

She didn’t know how long she’d be playing for Toronto. The team was her family, and she might not be part of them anymore. I wanted to be part of her support group. But I was also tied to my contract. I could be traded. Sometime, if I was good enough and old enough, I might be able to add a no-trade clause, and pick and choose teams when I was a free agent. But that wasn’t certain, and wasn’t yet.

Would she even want that kind of offer from me?

“Is Faith one of the people you’re close to?”

Jayna nodded. “Megan is the sister I never had. Faith, Anna and a couple others have been the core of the team for a few of years now.”

“Tell me about them.”

I wanted to distract her from her uncertain future, and her parents. And I was curious about these women, especially Faith. For half an hour we lay there, naked, talking. About teammates, places we’d played—just talked. I didn’t care what we talked about. I just wanted it to continue. To see her expression moving, hands shaping ideas as she spoke. Learning more about Jayna.

This wasn’t fake for me anymore. But since I couldn’t ask for more, or end things, all I could do was enjoy what I could while she was with me.