Page 144 of The Hardest Fall

When our eyes met, she smiled at me, and my arms involuntarily tightened around her. Years had passed since she’d first told me she loved me, and I still couldn’t get enough of seeing how much she loved me in her eyes without her having to say it.

“You don’t get to use that smile on me,” I said, my heart warming just at the sight of that sweet expression on her face.

“What? Why?”

“I still haven’t forgotten about John, Flash. You still haven’t made up for that.”

She snorted and her smile got bigger. I loved it, loved seeing her face light up, seeing her eyes sparkle when she looked at me with such open, endless love.

“He gave me his wife’s phone number. You were there, right next to me.”

“Yeah and thank God I was. I’ve never seen you smile that big at someone other than me or your dad.”

“Oh, shut up.” Her arms started running over my forearms, caressing, seducing without even noticing what she was doing. “I was just trying to be nice.”

“You don’t have to be nice to my teammates. Be nice to your husband.”

“I’m always nice to my husband, and that teammate just gave me his wife’s number so we could talk about a cute little shoot I’ll do for them when their baby is born.”

Husband—every time the word left her mouth, my chest puffed up, and I couldn’t help but feel proud. She was mine, my Flash, and I was the luckiest bastard to walk this earth.

Leaning down, I ran my nose along her neck and breathed in her scent. “Still doesn’t change the fact that you smiled at him like that. Admit it—I know you checked his ass out.”

“Are you kidding me? Have you seen your own ass in those tight pants? I mean, of course you have, but…do you know what I mean? It’s just hard to take your eyes away when someone walks right in front of you. I didn’t know where else to look.”

I stopped and lifted my head from her neck. “That’s not funny at all, Zoe.”

She laughed. Her body shook in my arms as she turned and pulled my head down for a quick kiss. “Then don’t ask me funny questions. Now go away so I can finish cooking, and don’t open the fridge—you don’t get to see the cakes.”

There was no way she could get rid of me that easily. Instead of getting out of her hair, I pushed her back against the kitchen island and trapped her between my arms.

“I like where I am.”

I tried to go for another kiss, but she arched away from me. “Everyone will be here soon and nothing is ready yet.”

“Relax. Everything is ready. I can barely walk into the living room with all the balloons,” I murmured against her throat.

“How was your workout?”

We were off-season, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t training. I was working every day to stay at the top and be the best I could. After New York, we had moved once, but it’d been three years with the new team and I was happy with the move. I’d be happy as long as I played, and that was the truth. We were happy.

I ignored Zoe’s question and sucked the skin on her neck to make her go crazy.

“Dylan,” she groaned, her tone a dead giveaway as to how close she was to giving in to me, but then again, she always gave in to me.

I stole another kiss, this one longer and filthier as I tasted every inch of her mouth and took her breath away. By the time I gave her a break, she was already standing on her tiptoes and reaching up for seconds.

Her eyes still closed, she swallowed hard and licked her lips. I pushed my hands under her silk shirt and caressed her back, smiling when I felt goose bumps break out over her skin.

“Did you get the Nutella?” she murmured.

I buried my face in her neck and grazed her skin with my teeth. “All four of them.”

“And did you get all the Reese’s, too? And M&Ms?”

I let my hands travel all the way up her back and couldn’t hold back my grin when she shivered and tried to plaster the lower part of her body against mine. I gave her what we both desperately needed—always—and lifted her up on the counter, pushed her skirt higher on her thighs, and pulled her legs around me until I could feel the heat radiating from her core through my pants.

“I got everything. Do we have enough time?”

“They—”

Before my beautiful wife could give me an answer, we heard footsteps rushing toward us, then my gorgeous little girl appeared around the corner. Her eyes got bigger when she saw me and her little feet quickened.

“Daddy!” she shrieked, arms open, ready for me to catch her. “Snuggles!”