Page 43

She was feeling the pressure—I understood that.

Kirk had been an absolute shit, and I’d laid into him for that.

But I also knew the impending conversation she was going to have with her father about us was weighing heavily on her.

And now this had fucking happened.

Even though the PR crisis team was doing their thing, statements had been released, and a new piece of celebrity drama had hit the press, causing Kirk’s story to lose some momentum, Jolie was still stressed as fuck.

I didn’t know how to fix things for her.

I didn’t know how to drain the worry from her body.

My tongue worked, but the result was only temporary.

Same with my dick. Because once she came and I held her in my arms or carried her to the shower, I could feel the tension slip right back into her muscles. I could hear the anxiety in her voice.

There was only one thing I could think to do, one way to get her refocused.

So, when we left Vegas and played New Jersey and had a two-night stopover before we flew to Calgary, I planned an evening that was all about us.

I didn’t want us to leave for dinner and run into any of the guys in the hotel—not before we told them about our relationship—and I definitely didn’t want to be seen by any unexpected paparazzi, so I had my assistant organize a date in my suite.

Once Jolie got out of her meetings and the marketing team was free for the night, I told her to come to my suite.

When I opened the door for her and she walked into the base of the living room, lit with candlelight from a table in the center, covered in rose petals, the smile on her face was unlike anything I’d seen since the controversy had gone down.

Even if it was just for this moment, I had my Jolie back.

“You did this?” She glanced from the living room to me, still grinning.

“I made it happen.”

She laughed. “That’s as good as doing it in my book.” Her head tilted back a little as she stared at me. “I cannot believe you went through all of this trouble.”

I pressed my lips to her cheek. “Why? Aren’t you hungry?”

“I just assumed we were going to order room service, like we’d been doing.”

“I’ve had enough cold fries and stale bread.” Even though the room was dimly lit, I swore there were tears in her eyes. “What’s wrong, baby?”

She flattened her hands against my chest. “I was just thinking … this is our first date.”

It hit me then; she was right.

“I didn’t even think of that.”

“And in the best possible way, you made it beyond special.” She looked past me. “Look at this room. I can’t get over it.”

I grabbed her hand and led her over to her chair, waiting for her to sit before I pushed it in. “You once told me you loved Charred.”

She smiled. “I did say that.”

“And it was where your parents took you for your birthday.” I moved to the other side of the table and sat.

“I can’t believe you remember that.”

I lifted each of the metal plate covers—there were a total of four on the table—and I set them on the floor.

“Since there isn’t a Toro here, which I know you also love, I went the steak route.

Walker would probably be extremely disappointed in me with the way I’m about to describe this”—I chuckled—“but what I got you was a filet, cooked medium, sliced, with a mushroom rub and a burgundy sauce on top, accompanied by a salted baked potato, wild mushrooms, and broccolini.”

“Also known as heaven on a plate.”

I gave her a smile, pleased that she liked what I’d chosen. “And since I had no way of keeping the main course warm, we’re going to eat the appetizers at the same time. I ordered a few of my favorites—the shrimp cocktail and the tuna tartare.”

“You’re not going to give me their descriptions? I’m gutted.” She winked.

“You’re funny—but I’ll play your game.” I pointed at the plate of tuna.

“Here’s our signature tuna tartare, over a bed of avocado, sliced ginger, and crispy tempura flakes with a wasabi aioli drizzled on top.

The fried wonton crisps are used for dipping, and the chef recommends you soak those crisps in the ponzu sauce, which you’ll see rolling around the plate, as the combination of the savory avocado and tangy sauce is mouthwatering good. ” I paused. “How’d I do?”

“I think Walker would be very proud. Also, this looks amazing.” She lifted her whiskey sour, smiling—I assumed because she knew I’d gone light on the sour mix. “Beck, you can’t possibly understand how happy I am right now.”

“I can. Because I am too.”

“Yeah?” She clinked her glass against my bourbon.

“Fuck yeah.” My eyes dipped down her face, the candles flickering a warm glow across her skin. “I got the girl.”

She let out an adorable laugh. “You did, for sure.”

I took a drink and set my glass down. “Tell me why you’re the happiest.”

“I’m here. With you.” Her eyes were so fucking full of love. “A man I’ve been completely obsessed with for years. And I get to watch you play in person rather than on the TV, and I can’t even express how much I love that. And I get to work with you. Travel with you. Spend each night with you.”

Within an instant, the love and happiness completely fell from her face.

Fuck. This was exactly what I hadn’t wanted to happen.

“Jolie, stop worrying.”

“I can’t help it. I have no idea what’s waiting for me when I get home. What if I have to make a choice? What if it’s you or the Whales?—”

“Don’t even put your head there until you’re faced with that decision, which I don’t think you will be.” I nodded toward the food, encouraging her to start eating. “I don’t want you dwelling on this tonight. That’s why I set up this date—to get your mind off things.”

“I adore you for that.” She gave me a weak smile. “But it’s impossible. It’s all I think about.”

“We don’t have to talk about it.”

She shrugged. “Even if we try to talk around it, somehow, we’ll end up discussing it. It’s the kind of topic that’s unavoidable.”

She was right.

Aside from hockey and The Weston Group, it was the biggest thing in both of our lives.

“Then let’s talk about it.” I hoped I didn’t regret this. “What’s going on between you and your dad? What does he say when you talk to him?”

She lifted a shrimp and dipped it into our new version of cocktail sauce—one we recently introduced to all Charred restaurants worldwide. Instead of offering the traditional ketchup and horseradish mix, it was now a tangy sweet and sour sauce with a bit of a kick.

“ Mmm , delicious,” she said behind her hand as she chewed. “Dad’s been short with me. We talk when we absolutely have to, and each time, I can hear the disappointment in his voice.”

“It’s not getting better?”

She huffed, “No.”

I picked up a wonton and dipped it into the tuna. “Do you think it’s because you two haven’t hashed it out yet?”

“I feel like he’s waiting for me to get off the road before he questions me. In the past, whenever there was a mishap with one of the accounts I worked on, I was always in the office, so the interrogation started immediately.”

“Sounds like he’s a face-to-face guy.”

“Insert more anxiety.” She fanned her face.

I reached across the table, over each plate of food, and put my hand on hers. “We have two more stops after this, and so far, we’re undefeated. I want you to celebrate that because you have a huge part in our wins.”

“Me?” She shook her head. “I’m not on that ice. I’m the marketing part of the machine. I have no part in anything you guys do during the games.”

“Let me tell you why you’re wrong.” I released her and picked up my fork.

“During that meeting in the conference room in Vegas, you could have said a lot of things to the team. You could have fucking shredded us. Morale would have nose-dived, and we would have gone into the New Jersey game feeling like total shit—even worse than we already did. But you didn’t do that. ”

She finished chewing a piece of steak before she said, “Are you kidding? I wanted to look at Kirk and tell him he was the biggest moron and ask him how he could do that in public annnd how he could do that without a condom. Hello? Gross. You don’t even know that woman.

” She picked up a mushroom with her fingers and popped it into her mouth.

“But we’re always the toughest on ourselves.

If he felt bad about the situation, I didn’t need to make him feel worse.

And if he had no regret at all, then nothing I said would have changed his mind, and I didn’t want the team to be verbally punished for his mistake. ”

“Which is funny because I tore his fucking face off before you and your crew walked in.”

She smiled. “We’ll call that balance.”

I laughed. “I need you to eat up.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because there’s a surprise waiting for you in the bedroom.”

“ Daaamn ,” Jolie moaned. “I had no idea you were so good at this.”

I chuckled. “You think eating pussy and playing hockey are the only talents I have?”

She leaned up a little to look at me over her shoulder; the view of her profile and nakedness of her back was a sight even an author couldn’t describe. “I certainly never thought that.”

“I’m playing with you.”

She smiled before she turned back around and lay flat on the massage table.

I added more oil to my hands and ran them down her bare thighs, concentrating on the muscles, rubbing into them, away from them, kneading their center.

This was the other part of the surprise—set up in the bedroom, lit with more candles and rose petals.

I didn’t know how my assistant had arranged to get a massage table into my suite, nor did I care.

Once Jolie and I had finished dinner, I’d had her strip and get on top of it, face down, doing everything I could to ease that mind of hers.

“It’s really this simple: I know your body, and I know what you want.”

“Sexually, you do, yes.” She groaned as I slid up her spine, gently thumbing each groove and disc. “But usually only professionals are this skilled with their hands.”

“I get massaged at least once a week. Sometimes more if I’m home. I know what I like, and I know the techniques that are used. Plus, I can feel what you like—the same way I can when I’m fucking you.”

“How?”

I moved behind her head and focused on her neck. “I listen to you. I read your body, your reactions. Your breathing. The noises you make. If you tense or tighten up. If you completely relax into my hands.” A grin moved over my lips. “Like you’re doing right now.”

“This is the best night I’ve had in a really long time. Honestly, like the top three ever.”

“Impossible.”

“I’m serious. I hope you know how much all of this has meant to me, everything you’ve done tonight, it’s been perfect.”

“I’m glad.” I pulled my hands back, eyeing her ass and how sexy and slick it looked. “Flip over for me.”

She slowly rolled onto her back, and I walked toward the foot of the table, wrapping my hand around one of her feet. There was a spot right at the bridge of my foot’s arch that made me fucking groan every time my masseuse grazed it. Once I found Jolie’s, I carefully swiped my thumb across it.

“ Yesss .”

I laughed.

“What are you?” she asked. “Because, for real, this is next-level wildness right now.”

“Listen, there are a lot of things I could do, but the most important is showing you just how far I’d go to take care of you.”

She leaned up on her elbows while I got to work on her ankle. “I’m feeling all the feels right now.”

“I bet you are.”

As I glided to her knee, she let out a loud moan and followed that up with, “Tell me something, Beck. If you can read me so well, what is my body saying to you right now?”

“Oh, I hear exactly what it’s telling me. I’m just ordering it to be quiet for a little while longer until I finish this massage.”

“Yeah?” She smiled. “So, what is it saying?”

My hand skated up the rest of her leg, curving toward the inside of her thigh, and hovered over her pussy, keeping only a few inches between us. “It’s saying it wants my mouth right here.”

Long, wavy red strands fell into her face. “And what do you want?”

“I want that too.”

“Then don’t make me wait.” She sat up and bent her knees, pushing the heels of her feet into the table. “Please, Beck, give me your mouth.”

I was sure she still didn’t know how beautiful she was, but what had changed since I’d met her was her sexual confidence. Her ability to lock that light-blue stare with mine and communicate exactly what she wanted from me.

There was nothing hotter.

And nothing I wanted more.

“Come here,” she whispered, and she pointed at her mouth. “Kiss me first.”

I moved in from the bottom of the table, kneeling onto the sheet-wrapped cushion, but instead of diving to her mouth, I went straight to her cunt. With my lips positioned over her clit, I said, “I’m going to kiss you. But my lips are going here first.”

I slithered my tongue from the base of her pussy all the way to the highest peak, wedging it in and flicking that tender spot.

“ Ahhh !” she screamed.

I glanced up her body, most of it slick with oil, just like my finger, so when I aimed it at her pussy, it slid right in.

“Dear fucking God,” she cried. “I’m about to … come.”