Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 119680 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 598(@200wpm)___ 479(@250wpm)___ 399(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119680 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 598(@200wpm)___ 479(@250wpm)___ 399(@300wpm)
And so much else has happened over the past five years. My mom completed her GED. Seeing her graduate was amazing, and then she took classes at a community college to become a personal care aide. She’s working at the Lavender House now, which Clover and Maverick run with the help of our amazing hockey family. It’s a place where battered women and their families go to get back on their feet. They help with everything from housing and therapy, to accompanying women and their families to court dates, or retrieving belongings from their homes so they can start fresh. It’s exactly the right place for my mom, and she couldn’t be happier.
I hope one day she’ll find love again, but the good kind. The kind that builds her up instead of breaks her down.
I catch BJ’s gaze from across the arena, and he presses two fingers to his lips and touches his heart, mouthing you got this.
A few seconds later, the whistle blows, and I’m back on the ice, heading for my teammate who has control of the puck. I see the opportunity, and so does she. She passes to me, and instead of taking the shot, I pass it back, skating behind the net and picking up the puck again as I come out the other side. Then I tap it in, the buzzer going off a few seconds later.
The roar of the crowd is deafening, and I’m swarmed by my teammates, my eyes lifting to the scoreboard as I watch our score move from two to three, giving Team USA the gold medal. Another goal accomplished. Another win. Another hope flower blooming.
BJ
Watching Winter kick ass on the ice fills my heart in a way no medal ever could. Making it to the Olympics was an uphill battle for both of us. But it’s been worth every grueling minute to see Winter shine so brightly.
It’s hours later before I can finally celebrate this huge win with her. And even more hours before we’re alone in our hotel room. For the first time in weeks.
“You were magical out there tonight.” I cup her face between my palms and kiss her, but don’t make a move to deepen it yet. I want to revel in the closeness for a minute. To soak up her presence like a balm. “I missed you so much.”
“I missed you too.” She wraps her arms around my waist. “I’m all for love professions and long conversations, but can we save them for pillow talk? We haven’t had sex in weeks, and I’m ready to explode.”
I chuckle. “So you’re saying you don’t want me to tell you one of my long, meandering stories with no ending?”
“Later, after you’ve given me several outstanding orgasms and I’m too tired and sated to complain, you’re more than welcome to tell one of your excessively long-winded, meandering stories. But for now, we have a lot of Tongue-Fuck Tuesdays and Sweet Spot Saturdays to make up for.”
“Stop talking and let me kiss you then.” I slant my mouth over hers and walk her backwards to the bed.
We kiss like the world is on fire, and Winter tries to tear the clothes off my body. “I’m not going anywhere, Snowflake.”
“I need you. I missed you. The only reason I made it through was because I knew eventually I’d be right here with you again.” She shoves my pants and boxers down and grips my erection.
We both groan as we climb onto the bed.
“What if I want to savor this experience? It isn’t every day I get to have hot sex with an Olympic medalist.”
“You can savor later. Right now, I need to fuck-ebrate.”
“Fuck-ebrate? Did you come up with that on your own or—”
My words get lost when she pulls me between her parted thighs and guides me to her entrance. She wraps her legs around my waist, tipping her hips up as she pushes down on my ass at the same time.
Everything changes the second I’m inside her. All my stupid commentary dissolves into grunts of desperation and moans of need.
The sex isn’t gentle or tender or sweet like I’d originally planned. It’s weeks of pent-up desire unleashed. It’s a frenzy of need, hot words, and promises of more groaned into each other’s mouths. It isn’t until we’ve both come twice that Winter finally takes stock of our surroundings.
She peels a pink rose petal off my chest and glances around the room. “Oh my God, you tried to make this all romantic, and I attacked you like a starved wolf.”
“I can’t really blame you, though. I’m hard to resist, aren’t I?”
She laughs. “Totally irresistible.”
I caress the edge of her jaw. “I do plan to make sweet, sweet love to you. Soon—”
Before I can say anything else, Winter puts a hand on my chest. “I have something I need to ask you first.”