Page 16

Blair

The global series had been a bust. Florida kicked our boys all over the ice, and it was a somber flight home for everyone. We landed at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport jetlagged and dejected. Coach Mack debriefed the guys on the tarmac before wishing them a restful week off, reminding them to get their training in and “for fuck’s sake, make sure you fly under the radar.”

He’d been pissed about the photo of Cian and me, but it had been for similar reasons to Cian and Dante. The public was a necessary evil, but they were assholes who shouldn’t have a say in how the players spent their spare time. Especially because eating at a diner wasn’t the scandal it had been made out to be.

“Can I come over tonight?” Cian muttered in my ear as we waited for our bags to be unloaded.

“Aren’t you exhausted?”

His grin was devious, and I rolled my eyes, feigning annoyance.

“You’re just going to turn up anyway, aren’t you?”

He chuckled. “This way you get a lift home.”

I grinned at him, quickly hiding the expression when I noticed Dante watching us.

Shit.

It looked like I should give her an update, if I wanted to keep my promise.

“I’ll meet you outside,” I said, giving his hand a subtle squeeze before I moved through the crush of players to get to my mentor.

“Status change?” she asked without preamble as I reached her side.

“Friends,” I said firmly, glancing around to see who was in earshot.

“With benefits?”

I’d promised her honesty, but still felt a little like a schoolgirl talking to her principal as I gave a sharp nod.

“Hey.” She grasped my elbow, ducking her head so she could meet my eyes. “As long as you’re both happy, that’s all we care about. We’ll plan for the worst, but make sure you enjoy the ride. Okay?”

I let my shoulders drop, giving her a thankful smile.

“Yeah. Yeah, I will. I just… yeah.” I ran out of words, unable to express how much I wanted this thing to work for as long as it could. Dante’s unwavering support made me feel less like an idiot for even trying.

“Hey, Disney princess,” Chet called.

“Fuck off, Doyle,” Cian replied, yanking his bag off the trolley.

“I mean, you got the hair for it, Beauty.”

“Give it a rest, Doyle,” Mack warned.

Dante sighed, murmuring about asshole players under her breath as she retrieved her own bag.

“Just wanted to wish him well, maybe warn him against trespassing in any beast’s castles.” He sniggered, swinging his gaze to me, as if anyone could misinterpret the implication.

“How the fuck do you know so much about cartoons, Doyle? You rubbing one out to the tune of Be Our Guest or some shit?” Oscar asked, eliciting laughter and jeers from the rest of the team.

He winked at me as we made eye contact, and once again I was reminded why the giant winger was one of my favorite people. His wife was awesome, too.

Dante and I left the banter behind as we headed for the parking lot.

“Enjoy your time off and ignore all the stupid coming from the peanut gallery, okay?”

I gave her a quick hug and headed toward Cian’s truck, Dante’s advice ringing in my head.

I knew what I was getting into. The good, the bad, and the ugly. And I wasn’t talking about myself because I’d promised Cian I’d make a conscious effort to challenge my negative thoughts. I’d also Googled therapists in my area while we were away and booked a time to meet with one later in the week to see if we were a good fit. It was about time I started claiming my life instead of whining about my past and things I couldn’t change.

I threw my bags into the truck bed and climbed into the passenger seat, letting out an embarrassing squeak when Cian immediately pulled me into a hard kiss.

“I’ve wanted to do that for two days,” he murmured against my lips.

“Then you’d better get us home.”

He released me immediately and cranked his engine while I strapped on my seat belt.

The drive took longer than I wanted it to. Every traffic light in between the airport and my apartment seemed to be in on some kind of plan to teach us delayed gratification, to the point where I considered ordering Cian to pull into an empty parking lot so I could get some relief.

The only thing that stopped me was the fact I wanted him inside me, and Cian was the kind of guy that would nix any plan to have our first time in the back of his truck.

Finally. Finally , we pulled into the parking lot of my apartment, and the truck was barely in park before I opened my door and slid to the ground.

“Let me just… Nope, she’s gone.” Cian’s chuckle followed me to the front door where I waved him into the building impatiently, squirming in my wet panties. He lugged both of our overnight bags up the three flights, and the second we stepped into my apartment, I threw myself at him. He was right there to catch me, lifting me onto his hips as his tongue drove into my mouth.

Without further direction, he carried me down the hall and into my bedroom, crawling up the bed until my head hit the pillows beneath his hard body.

“Should we shower?” I asked. We weren’t exactly fresh after a ten-hour flight.

“Don’t care. I need you.” He kissed me, then slipped my jeans and panties off, following the fabric down until he settled between my legs.

“Fuck, you’re soaked for me,” he murmured, dragging a finger over my opening and holding it up.

“Will you let me eat this sweet pussy, Blair?”

None of the men I’d had sex with in the past had wanted to go down on me. The nicer ones made me come with their fingers, but this was something else. It felt more intimate, somehow.

Cian sucked his wet finger into his mouth, letting out a pleasured hum as he licked over the digit like it was a candy apple.

“Please.”

Why did that word always make me want to give him anything he asked?

“Okay.”

With a growl, he buried his face in my folds, sending sparks of heat through my whole body as he licked and sucked my clit the same way he had my breasts last time we were together.

“Oh, shit,” I whimpered, overwhelmed with sensation. The scrape of his beard on my sensitive flesh, his tongue spearing into my opening then laving over my clit. He shifted his weight, pushing two fingers into my pussy as he lapped at me in hard strokes. Without conscious thought, my hips lifted to meet his mouth, a silent plea for more.

He hummed, and the vibrations ratcheted up the heat pooling in my belly. “You taste fucking amazing. I knew you would. Fuck, I’m going to need more of this.”

He crooked his fingers, sucking on my clit as I came so hard my voice broke on a scream. My heart thundered in my chest. Chills of pleasure sparked through my body as he gentled the strokes of his tongue, fingers moving lazily in and out of me, prolonging the sensations until I was so sensitive I had to push his hand away.

I cursed, my body continuing to shudder as he lifted himself back over me and took my lips in a sinful kiss. I could taste my release on his tongue, a primitive part of me loving the fact I’d marked him in some small way.

“Ohh, shit. I need you.”

I locked my ankles around his hips, rubbing my wet pussy against his dress pants. The fine woolen texture made me pant, but it wasn’t enough.

“Then take me,” I ground out, tugging at his clothing, wanting nothing more than to have him naked above me. In me. Taking us both up to that edge that was sweet pain and completion.

He kneeled up, pulling his wallet from his back pocket and retrieving a condom.

“Thank God,” he muttered, like he wasn’t sure he’d had one.

He stripped out of his shirt, pants, and boxers, and rolled the rubber over his thick head while I took in his immaculate body. The training regime players were subjected to, combined with the hours of game time during the season, had crafted his body into over six feet of pure muscle. His chest and abs looked like something carved by classical artists, while his ass was so round and firm I barely resisted the urge to bite it. The thought that I didn’t deserve his attention tried to surface, but I gave it a vicious shove as he settled between my thighs and positioned himself at my opening.

“Are you ready?” he asked, keeping eye contact and pushing in on a slow thrust at my nod. He was big. The jaw ache I’d had the day after our first hookup was testament to that, but I was so wet, so ready for him, that he slid in easily and we both breathed a sigh as his hips nestled in against mine.

“I’m going to live here,” he murmured, pumping his hips in tiny pulses so he stayed seated deep inside me.

“Do you mean in my apartment? Or my pussy?”

“I wouldn’t invite myself to live in your apartment, but it may happen as a consequence of wanting to stay inside you forever. Might be a difficult sell to the team for the rest of the season, but I’m sure we’ll manage.”

I laughed at the boyish grin he shot me, the noise transforming into a moan as he pulled almost all the way out and pushed back in slowly.

I never thought Cian would be a playful lover. Powerful, considerate, dominating, yes, but playful?

“Fuck, you take me so well,” he gritted out, grasping the headboard for leverage as he picked up his pace. I whined in reply, reaching between us to rub the building ache from my clit.

“Oh, shit, yes. Rub your clit. I want you to make yourself come on my dick.”

He shifted to his knees and palmed my ass to drive in deeper while giving me room to get myself to the edge.

“I can feel you clamping down on me so tight. Come for me, Blair. Make my cock wet with your juices so I can lick them up and we can start again.”

My eyes rolled back in my head as his words took me over the edge, and I felt, as much as heard his groan when he gathered me into his chest and held me through my shuddering release. When my body settled, he pulled out and scooted down the bed.

“Oh, God. Cian.” I whimpered as his tongue smoothed over my lips, dipping inside before moving up to tease my clit.

“Hmmm, I’ve been dreaming of this. Can you give me one more? I want to finish inside you, but I want you to come on my tongue again first.”

“Damn. Athletic. Endurance,” I panted, rocking my hips against his mouth as he nipped at me. I felt his grin against my pussy as he took me past the point of no return again.

When I was nothing more than a puddle of over-pleasured Blair, he pushed back into my swollen pussy once more and finally let himself come with a shuddering moan.

He rolled to the side, pulling me in toward his body so that my head rested against his pec. His heart thundered beneath my cheek and I couldn’t suppress the grin that spread across my face. I’d fought my demons tonight, and had the best sex of my life as a reward.

It didn’t matter what came next because Cian had awoken something in me that I thought my family had killed a long time ago.

I was ready to take control of my life.

And fuck the haters.