Page 46

FORTY

Ellie

L eaning my forehead against his chest, I inhaled deeply. He’d always smelled like mountains and clean air—like the ice , and like man. The scent comforted me, steadying me.

The Seals won their game against D.C. tonight, and I was pressed against Owen in the back of the hotel bar, because the guys had decided they needed to celebrate their win. I wasn’t complaining, but I was desperate to be alone with him.

Sophia was across the booth from us, stuck in between Maverick and Rhodes, the latter of who hadn’t stopped looking at my friend. Her dad had been surprised when she’d called, but apparently, Owen had been in such a shitty mood over the last few games that he had immediately agreed to let us fly out. Apparently, team morale depended on it. Considering they’d won tonight, I was trying not to question that.

“Are you having fun, baby?” Owen murmured in my ear. He’d ordered me a whiskey sour when we got here, the same thing I’d ordered whenever we went to the Penalty Box, because he never forgot anything when it came to me.

“Yeah,” I agreed, though I’d stopped paying attention to the surrounding conversation over twenty minutes ago. His hand was wrapped around my middle, resting on my stomach, and I’d been doing my best not to squirm for the last few minutes. Truthfully, every brush of his skin against mine was setting me off.

Owen pressed a kiss to my neck. “Whenever you’re ready, we can go back to the hotel.”

I practically sprang out of my seat. Yes. I was definitely ready to go. Owen chuckled as he slid out behind me. “We’re heading out. Y’all have fun.”

Sophia winked at me.

“You good here, Soph?”

She looked at the guys—though I noticed her eyes lingered on Rhodes’ for a beat longer—and then nodded. “Yeah. I’m fine. Have a good night.”

“Thanks. I couldn’t have done it without you.” Truly, without her, none of this would have been possible. Sure, I could have gotten on a plane, but this went way beyond tickets. “I owe you one.”

Owen slipped his hand into mine, interlacing our fingers and guiding me towards the elevator. Once we got inside, he picked me up, lifting me onto the rail.

I wrapped my legs around his waist and slid my hands up his chest, resting them on his shoulders. “Hi,” I whispered.

“Hi.” He traced a finger over my cheek. “I missed you.”

“You said that before,” I said, unable to hold back my smile.

He huffed. “Doesn’t mean it’s not true.”

“I missed you too. All of you.” I let my eyes flick down lower, showing him just what I meant by that .

Owen’s eyes darkened, and he pressed his cock against my crotch, giving me just the smallest hint of friction that I desperately needed.

“That’s mean ,” I said, letting out a ragged breath, trying not to moan. “You know what you do to me.”

“You started it,” he groaned against my skin .

Luckily, the elevator opened, and he carried me the rest of the way to the room, letting me stay wrapped around his front. I nuzzled my face into the crook of his neck, enjoying his freshly showered scent. There was something about watching him on the ice tonight. He’d been unstoppable.

My man wasn’t a top goal scorer—he was a solid defenseman and did it well—but he’d been like a beast out there. Not even halfway through regulation time, and my panties had been soaked .

And he’d scored a shorthanded goal for me in the third period.

I knew it was for me, because he’d kissed his tattoo after it crossed the line and then looked directly at me. God. I’d been ready to straddle him right there and then.

He was mine.

“ Owen ,” I whimpered, rubbing my nose in his neck. He had the lightest amount of stubble, and I loved the feeling of it against my skin. “I need you.”

“I know, my Daisy girl. I’m right here. I’m going to take care of you.” He rubbed his hand down my back, opening the door and not setting me down until we were in front of the bed.

It was a pretty standard hotel room—one king bed, with Owen’s suitcase in a corner. I wandered to the window, looking out at the lights in the city.

When I turned back, he was staring at me with an expression of awe. Like he couldn’t believe I was here.

“I wanted to do something big. Order you a room full of daisies. Tell you how much I loved you and that I couldn’t live without you. Ask you to move in with me permanently, not just as my roommate, but as my girlfriend. As the love of my life. If soulmates exist, I know you’re mine.”

I smiled. “Yeah?”

He nodded. “But you beat me to it. ”

“I didn’t want you to think I didn’t value you, Owen. Or our relationship. Like I told you before, I don’t want you to worry about me leaving. I never should have in the first place. If I could get us those five years back, I would.”

He shook his head. “I wouldn’t.”

“No?”

“Come here,” Owen murmured, holding out his hand.

I took it, stepping in close to him.

He held me in his arms, swaying us slightly, even though there was no music. “I’m grateful for every moment with you. It might not be perfect, but this is our story, and I’ll always love it because of that.”

“Owen…” I choked up. God, did he have any idea how perfect he was?

His hand threaded through his hair, and then his mouth met mine, tongue tangling as we gave each other everything. His lips moved against mine like it was the single most important thing in the world to kiss me. And I felt the same. There was nowhere I’d rather be than right here, right now, being kissed by him.

When Owen spun me around, I knew he was looking at his name on the back of my jersey. His fingers traced down my spine until he was tugging up the hem, slipping his hands underneath and up my bare stomach. He cupped my breasts, squeezing lightly. I let out a low moan, unable to hold back when he pulled the cups down, flicking his thumbs across my nipples.

“Thank fuck I don’t have a roommate,” he said as I whined again, pushing my hips back against him. “Now be a good girl and sit on the bed, El.”

The bossy tone in his voice made the heat rise in my body, and I quickly complied, sitting on the edge and looking up at him expectantly.

He kneeled down in front of me, unzipping my heeled boots before pulling them off my foot, tossing them across the room before repeating with the other one. My socks followed, and then he was tugging my skinny jeans down my legs, my blue polka dot panties following until I was bare in front of him.

Owen pushed my legs apart, dragging his tongue up my entrance without preamble. Like he would die if he didn’t taste me. Like he was starving, and I was his last meal. He sucked and licked at my clit and my pussy, until I was begging him to let me come, his tender strokes with his tongue driving me wild. I dug my hands in his thick blond strands, pulling him tighter against me.

“Please,” I cried. “ Owen .”

He finally pulled back, his mouth wet, coated with my juices, and I practically orgasmed on the spot just from the sight.

I sat up, pulling off the jersey and my bra, and then wiggled backwards on the bed until my head hit the pillows. Owen quickly divested himself of his own clothes before joining me on the bed, draping his body over mine.

“I love you,” he murmured, tracing his lips down my skin, taking his time like he was memorizing every inch of my skin. His tongue circled over one nipple, and then the other, before kissing down my stomach, sitting up and staring down at me. His hair was messed up from my fingers, and his eyes were dark as his gaze roved over me. “You’re so beautiful, Ellie. Like every dream of mine made into a reality.” He shook his head. “I’m so fucking lucky that you came back into my life. If you hadn’t come chasing after me, I’d never have gotten this opportunity. I’d never be this wonderfully happy.”

Sitting up, I practically launched myself into his lap, hugging him tight. “I love you so much. I’ve loved you as long as I can remember, honestly. From the very beginning, you always took care of me. Looked out after me. I remember when I was learning to ride my bike, and I fell and scraped my knee. I was crying, and do you know who came out with a bandaid and stuff to clean me up?”

He did his best to look bashful. “Me?”

I nodded. “You were always like that. I remember watching you when you started skating, too. I think I told you once that was why I asked to learn. Because I watched you out there, playing peewee hockey, and I was entranced. God, it was mesmerizing. And then we got older. Every day, I fell in love with it a little more. With you, a little more. And then I blinked, and there you were. This older guy who I had this massive crush on. My best friend’s older brother, who was the hottest guy in High School, and then you know what he did?”

Owen popped a little smile. “What?”

“He asked me out on a date. He asked me to go to prom with him. And god, I was enamored. Like, me? He liked me?”

“Ellie.” He laughed. “I was the one who couldn’t believe you wanted to go out with me.”

“Luckiest girl in the whole damn school, that’s what I was. Everyone was jealous of me when I wore your jersey at your games. I used to get death glares when we walked out to the parking lot together.”

“No way.”

I nodded. “Yes way. But I didn’t care. Because you were mine, and we were Ellie and Owen, and I knew we were gonna make it.”

“Making out with you in my truck probably helped, too.”

“Oh yeah.” I smirked, poking him in the arm. “I think we’re gonna need some repeats of that.”

“You might have mentioned that before.” He smoothed a piece of hair over my ear. “I’ll get another one.”

Closing my eyes, I let a feeling of calmness wash over me. “I love you and I don’t want to lose you. I never should have tried to keep things from you. You were scared, and I knew it. You’d told me that. And I still kept such a big secret.” He opened his mouth to say something, but I shook my head and kept going. “I promise, from now on, that I will always be honest with you. I’ll be open about how I’m feeling and where my head is at. That way, we don’t have to get into another stupid fight ever again.”

“We’re going to fight.” Owen’s finger brushed under my chin. “But I never want to go to bed mad at each other. I never want to leave the house upset ever again. Leaving you behind made me feel like shit , baby. You were so far away, and I couldn’t come home. It wasn’t a conversation I wanted to have on the phone, and I was just miserable.”

“I know. That’s why I came to you.”

A smile touched his lips. “You’re fucking amazing.”

Owen scooted us farther on the bed, letting his back rest against the headboard and stretching his legs out underneath us. I stayed happily on his lap, my arms wrapped around his shoulders.

“I still can’t believe you’re here. That you did this.” He kissed me, and it quickly grew passionate, until I was rubbing against him, every rock of my hips making my clit brush over his hardened cock.

I moaned, and he dropped his head, his mouth claiming my nipple. Lifting my hips, I wiggled until the tip of his cock pressed against my entrance, and then I sank down, taking all of him inside me.

It felt right. Like he was home.

Because I was home with him.

“Ellie,” he whispered, running his fingers over my cheeks. That was when I realized I was crying. They weren’t sad tears at all. Owen rubbed his hands down my back. “Baby.”

I shook my head. “I love you.”

He pressed his lips to mine, holding me tightly to his body until neither of us could hold back, moving in tandem. It wasn’t fast or hard, but slow and tender .

We made love to each other as he held me tight, and I knew it was what we both needed right now. The reminder that we were here.

Together.

And I’d never let him go again.