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CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

Marissa

“I can’t believe you came,” I say for probably the thousandth time as we get to Dozer’s hotel room. We didn’t stay for much longer at the party, just long enough to introduce Dozer to my family and say our goodbyes, using the excuse that he’s had a long day of travel to duck out early. We stopped at my parents’ house to pick up my things, where I texted my mom that I’d stay with Dozer while he’s here but come back in the morning to spend the day with them. I sent my siblings the same message in our group chat. Since Gabby and Jonathan leave the day after tomorrow, we’ll probably leave soon after that as well, but I’m reserving judgment until after tomorrow.

Mom won’t be happy about that, but at this point, I’m really over doing things to make my parents happy. I’ve never succeeded in making my dad happy—the chance for that went out the window the moment I was born a girl—but Mom was usually easier to win over. It’s just that, as time has gone on, the things that make Mom happy are things that make me less happy. And while I’m willing to compromise on certain things, I don’t think I’m going to let her talk me into going to my ex-boyfriend’s milestone parties ever again.

I just want to get back to the happy bubble I share with Dozer where my parents’ judgment is two thousand miles away.

After closing the door behind us and throwing the deadbolt and safety lock, Dozer pulls me into his arms. “Of course I came.” He kisses me gently on the lips. “You needed backup.” He lifts one shoulder. “I guess I’m so used to that being my job on the ice that it carried over into real life.”

My grin is huge and cheesy, but I don’t care. “I like having you be my backup,” I whisper, wrapping my arms around him and hugging him close.

“Always, Marissa. I’ll back you up any time you need.”

I kiss him, and it quickly turns heated, his tongue sweeping into my mouth, one hand holding the back of my head and the other roaming freely. “You look so sexy in this dress,” he murmurs against my lips.

“Thank you,” I whisper back, giving myself enough space to push the jacket off his shoulders. He catches it as it falls, draping the jacket over the back of an armchair in the sitting area next to the bed. “This suit is cut to perfection,” I tell him, stepping back and making a show of checking him out. “You look amazing in it.”

He flashes his teeth in a grin. “It’s one of my game-day suits.”

I look him over appreciatively again. “I see why they make you wear suits. A whole team of muscular men with tight asses and thick thighs dressed like this?”

His grin grows wider. “I’m glad you approve.” His hands sweep my back. “Now how does this come off?”

I laugh lightly. “And here I thought I looked sexy in it?”

He grunts. “You do. But you look even sexier out of it.”

Turning, I sweep my hair over one shoulder, revealing the zipper. My breath hitches when he steps close and presses a kiss to the back of my neck, his lips soft and warm, and I gasp when he follows it with a sharp bite, his teeth scraping lightly over my skin. Then the dress loosens as he slowly tugs the zipper down. I feel like a Christmas gift he’s unwrapping slowly, taking his time to savor each second.

Once the zipper’s down, he urges me around to face him, and I let the dress slip from my arms, leaving me in my favorite black lace bra and matching panties that I picked out tonight as a sort of psychological armor for going to that party. I’m extra glad I wore them now as Dozer’s eyes flare with appreciation.

“God, Marissa. You’re so fucking gorgeous,” he breathes, pulling me close.

I reach for his tie, pulling it loose and tossing it aside before setting to work on his shirt buttons. Grinning at me, he leaves me to my work, rubbing his hands over my hips and ass as I go. Once I get it unbuttoned to the bottom of his sternum, he steps back and pulls his shirt and undershirt off over his head in one unbelievably sexy movement, leaving him shirtless, the lamplight highlighting the ridges and valleys of his well-defined torso. A fading bruise blooms on one shoulder, another on his rib cage, and I must make a soft sound of dismay as I notice them because he shrugs. “Comes with the territory. You should know that by now.”

Tipping my head from side to side, I grudgingly agree. “Sure. But it’s one thing to hear you talk about bruises. It’s another thing altogether to see them with my own eyes.”

“I wouldn’t be upset if you decided to kiss them better.”

Smiling at him, I press a gentle kiss to the bruise on his shoulder, but before I can do the same to the one on his ribs, he cups my head and brings my lips to his again. He crushes me to him, his hard cock grinding into my belly, and my own arousal rockets higher at the evidence of how much he wants me.

“God, you’re perfect,” he whispers, and while part of me is like, Uh, no , it also makes me melt that he thinks so. That he touches me and kisses me and talks to me like I’m precious and perfect because he genuinely sees me that way, even if he’s the only one who ever has.

He guides me to the bed, reaching up and unhooking my bra before dragging the straps down my arms and letting it fall to the floor. Stepping back, he eyes me hungrily as he undoes his pants and shoves them down, his earlier care with his suit jacket totally forgotten with his pants.

“Come here,” he murmurs, climbing on the bed and reaching for me.

Wanting to get on the same page, I quickly get rid of my underwear and join him, both of us naked, touching each other with a reverence I don’t think I’ve ever experienced with anyone before. So many encounters have been almost perfunctory in comparison, even if they felt passionate at the time. Nothing I’ve experienced before has prepared me for the reality of being on the receiving end of Dozer’s intense focus, passion, and worship.

I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of it.

He rolls us onto the bed, him on top, starting at my mouth and kissing his way down my body. It doesn’t take long for him to find his way between my thighs, diving in like a man given a deadline for eating his last meal. It takes almost no time for me to start gasping out my orgasm, and I almost come again when he rises over me, grinning as he wipes off his face and reaches for a condom from the night stand.

Once it’s on, he pulls me up, arranging himself against the headboard and guiding me over him. I sink down onto his thick cock, gasping as he slides inside, loving the way his eyes close and his jaw clenches at the sensations he’s feeling. The sensations I’m making him feel.

His arms wrap around me, and he crushes me to him, holding me in place as he rocks up into me. When I try to move with him, he stills me with a hand on my hips. “I’m gonna finish so fast if you move. Just let me be in charge this time, okay? Next time it’ll be your turn.”

“Okay,” I whisper, giving myself over to him, letting him give me pleasure while seeking his own.

One hand plumps my breast, and he lifts me up slightly, still rocking up into me but at a shallower angle like this, kissing and sucking my nipple and making me gasp. When he releases me, letting me sink down fully again, he hits me in the exact right spot, and I can’t stop myself from grinding onto him like this, seeking out the angles and speed that’ll take me over the edge again.

This time he doesn’t try to stop me, just continues rocking up into me, letting me move freely, my hands on his shoulders, my head thrown back as I ride him over the edge, shattering into a million pieces as I dive into orgasm number two.

His fingers tighten their grip on my hips, and he doesn’t hold back, prolonging my orgasm as he follows me into bliss. I collapse onto his chest, breathing hard, enjoying the way his fingers sweep up and down my back, still caressing me like I’m precious and delicate.

After a moment, he kisses me and moves me to the side so he can get up and clean up before coming back to cuddle.

“Thank you,” I say quietly, kissing his chest where my head is pillowed on it.

He kisses the top of my head, toying with the ends of my hair. “You’re welcome. But what are you thanking me for?”

“For coming, even though I didn’t ask. For taking my wishful thinking statement and deciding that was a good enough reason to fly down here so I wouldn’t have to face my ex and his fiancée alone. For caring about me enough to do that without getting jealous or feeling worried I might not be over my ex or something.” Lifting up, I meet his eyes. “I am over him , for what it’s worth. Once I ended it, I didn’t want him back. It’s just taken a long time to get over the pain he caused me.”

He pulls me in for a kiss. “I know. I can tell from the things you’ve said about him before. I’ve never been under the impression that you missed him or regretted breaking up with him. More like you regretted not breaking up with him sooner.”

I grin. “Exactly. A lot of people seem to have trouble making that distinction.”

He shakes his head, smiling back at me. “I also know you waited for him to decide he was ready to get married for a long time. So I can only imagine that it feels like a slap in the face to see him not only engaged, but to be forced to attend his engagement party and act like he didn’t do anything to you at all.” He cups my face, his gaze soft as he looks at me. “I couldn’t let you face that alone. Not if I could do something about it. The hard part was wondering if I’d make it in time and worrying that you’d think I was way overstepping.”

“God, no. I’m so glad you came. Honestly, though, it wasn’t as hard as I was afraid it might be. He’s a supercilious dick, and I’m so glad to be done with him. More than that, I’m glad I don’t live here anymore and I won’t have to see his stupid face all the time. Even after we broke up, even after I quit working at the shop, I’d still see him from time to time. The fact that I didn’t even know he was dating anyone until Mom announced his engagement makes me think this relationship hasn’t been going on very long, either.”

Dozer shrugs. “While I don’t want bad things for his fiancée, let’s hope she wises up and leaves his ass too, and he’ll be lonely and miserable forever.”

Laughing, I give him a kiss. “Too bad we left before the toasts. You could’ve made that one.”

He laughs too, miming raising a glass. “To Peter. May he have a lifetime of misery and failed relationships.”

I clink an imaginary glass against his. “And may we have a lifetime of happiness and successful ones.”