Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 46792 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 234(@200wpm)___ 187(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46792 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 234(@200wpm)___ 187(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
“We can’t.” I practically jump off the bed, knowing I’ll change my mind if I don’t get out of here right now.
“We can.” She gets into a sitting position. “I know this won’t be a promise of anything else. It’s what we both need right now and nothing more.”
I want to go along with it. My cock is still throbbing with need for her. But that’s not the man I want to be. Fucked up emotionally or not, I’m still decent enough to put what’s best for her ahead of my raging desire for her.
“You deserve more, though. And I can’t do this until...I mean, I won’t...” I sigh heavily. “I’m sorry, but I have to go, or I won’t be able to...I have to go.”
I can’t think straight while looking at her in that sexy bra, her lips swollen from our frantic kissing.
She grabs her shirt as I turn to leave the room. “You don’t have to go. Please don’t. You don’t even have a car here.”
“It’s okay. I’ll walk.”
She jogs to catch up with me, putting a hand on my shoulder. “At least let me drive you home. Please.”
I grab my coat from a chair, my laugh unamused. “I don’t trust myself not to ask you to pull over so I can fuck you in the back seat.”
Her jaw drops slightly. “I wouldn’t say no to that.”
“Exactly.” I head for the front door.
“Stop, Rowan. It’s freezing.”
“I’ll get a ride. I’m sorry about all this.”
“You don’t need to be.”
I can’t even look at her. My evening of spying on her coffee date to make sure Harrison didn’t lie his way into her pants has taken a dramatic turn.
Turning the dead bolt, I unlock the front door and leave, the frigid winter air hitting me square in the face. I slide into my coat, pulling the collar up to cover my neck and part of my face.
I’d normally call Dom for a ride, but not this time. If he finds out I was at Cam’s house, he might try to run me over instead of giving me a ride.
Instead, I text my location to the only teammate I know will pick me up and take me home with no questions asked: Sergei.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Rowan
“What day is it?” Arthur asks as I approach him at the nursing home.
He’s sitting in a chair in the common area, just looking out the window. With no family visiting, I sometimes wonder how much time he spends just sitting like this, with nothing to do.
I set down the cup of coffee and donut in a brown paper bag I brought him. “Wednesday. I couldn’t come yesterday because I was dog tired after my road trip.”
He nods and glances at the bag. “What’s that?”
“I brought you one of those maple bacon donuts you like.”
His heavy white brows shoot up. “That beats the hell out of the watery oatmeal I usually have. Thank you.”
I have to be at practice at nine this morning, so I’m visiting Arthur at seven. Practice is a long one today, and then I have a Zoom meeting with my agent and Duke has a vet appointment.
“Did he get you anything?” Arthur asks Duke.
I set Duke’s favorite bed down next to my chair and he slowly settles into it. With his arthritis, it hurts him to lie on a floor with no cushioning.
“He had scrambled eggs at home,” I assure Arthur.
“So what’s new?”
Cam and I haven’t spoken since I left her house last week. I had a busy road trip and Dom told me she came down with Tate’s flu. We texted a few times, but she was down for three full days and behind on everything when she felt better.
So things between us aren’t “new,” but it’s still the only thing that’s been on my mind since that night.
“We won three out of four games on our road trip. And today’s the anniversary of my dad’s death. Always kind of a shitty day for me.”
Arthur takes a tentative sip of his coffee and nods with satisfaction. “I’d forgotten what good coffee tastes like.” He sets the cup back on the table. “How long has it been since your dad died?”
I’ll never forget the night before it happened. He put his hand on my shoulder and told me how much he loved me and that I should keep working hard in hockey and in school. That my mom would be proud of me and want me to be happy. I had no idea why he was saying those things, but it was because he had a plan in place.
“Thirteen years.”
“It’s been more than fifty years since my late wife and I lost our baby girl.”
I meet his eyes, surprised. “I didn’t know about that. I’m sorry, Arthur.”
He nods. “She passed away in her sleep at one week old. My wife...I think she knew. When we woke up that morning and Annette hadn’t cried all night long, Mabel... she flew out of our bed.”