Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 97767 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 489(@200wpm)___ 391(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97767 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 489(@200wpm)___ 391(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
Then.
Several seconds later Austin comes, too, lowering herself and burying her face in the crook of my neck. Her breath is warm, her skin slick against mine, and the weight of her feels perfect.
My arms go around her, pulling her close, holding her as her body relaxes into mine.
Neither of us speaks.
We don’t need to.
“Are you awake, too?”
Her voice breaks the stillness of the dark, soft and hesitant, carrying across the quiet space between us. My eyes open, and I turn my head toward her.
I shift my arm beneath the covers, sliding it closer until my fingers find hers. Her hand tightens around mine, and the small gesture feels like an invitation. I take it, rolling onto my side to face her.
Raising my other arm, I glance at the watch on my wrist. The faint glow of the dial reads three.
“Yeah,” I whisper back, my voice low, barely louder than hers.
“Can’t sleep.”
The bed shifts as she mirrors my movement, turning onto her side and curling her body toward mine. I feel the faint brush of her breath against my shoulder, warm and steady.
We lie there for a while, our hands tangled beneath the covers. The silence isn’t heavy—it feels peaceful, like we’re sharing something unspoken. Her breathing slows and deepens, and I wonder if she’s drifted off.
Just as my own eyes start to close, her voice breaks the quiet again, soft and unexpected.
“Tonight was the most fun I’ve had in forever.”
I smile into the dark. “Same.”
“I still can’t believe you talked the guy into letting you drive the Zamboni,” she says, and I can hear the smile in her voice.
I chuckle, the memory fresh and vivid. “It wasn’t that hard. You just have to find the right bribe.”
Cash.
“I’ve never been in an ice rink with no people. It was surreal.”
It was.
“Yeah,” I say, my voice softer now. “It’s not often we’re in there alone. There’s always a crowd—teammates, coaches, someone. But tonight…” I trail off, letting the memory fill the space between us.
“Tonight, it was ours,” she finishes.
I tilt her chin up with my fingers, just enough to find her lips in the dark. The kiss is slow, tender, the kind that says all the things we don’t have to say out loud.
When we pull back, she doesn’t move far, her forehead resting against mine. Her breath is warm, mingling with mine, and for a moment, I think the night can’t get better.
Then she speaks.
“You know what the best part of tonight was?”
“Obviously the Zamboni,” I tease, the corners of my mouth tugging upward.
She laughs, soft and genuine, and her hand playfully smacks against my chest.
“No,” she says, her tone light but steady. “The best part was you. Just being with you.”
The words hit me harder than I expect, settling deep in a place I don’t think I’ve let anyone reach before. I don’t answer right away because I’m not sure I can. So instead, I pull her closer, wrapping my arms around her as though that will somehow show her what I can’t quite put into words.
We kiss again, her hands caressing my chest, the light touch skimming my pecs. Fingers trail over my flesh, giving me goosebumps.
I can’t help but move, rolling us so I’m over her, bracing myself on my forearms as I lean down. My lips already know the shape of her body in the dark…the curve of her shoulder…the dip of her clavicle.
It’s a map I’ve memorized without even realizing it.
“You’re beautiful,” I tell the darkness.
And yeah—my cock is stiff, so what?
Her hands slide down my back, fingertips tracing the lines of my thick muscles—when she leans toward the side table, her hands fumbling to find the drawer, I know she’s going to thank me for the compliment by fucking me.
A slow…
Lazy…
Fuck.
16
austin
“You cannot keep getting hard.” I yawn, rolling the wrong way—of course I do—and it only makes things worse. Gio scoots closer, spooning me tighter, and I swear his dick wedges itself even more firmly between my thighs. “Oh my God, Gio, I won’t be able to walk today.”
My words are muffled against the pillow, but I know he hears me because his laugh rumbles low and soft against my back.
Thank God I don’t have a class.
I would be limping.
His mouth finds the space between my shoulder blades, his lips warm and soft against my skin. The sensation sends a shiver down my spine, and I burrow deeper into the comforter, snuggling down into the mattress.
Most comfortable.
Bed.
Ever.
I could live in here.
I hum, drowsily. “Never leaving.”
“Good,” he murmurs, his hand slipping under the comforter to rest on my hip.
His fingers are warm, his touch gentle, with the undercurrent of possessiveness in the way he holds me. I don’t have to look at him to know he’s smiling.
I can feel it, the curve of his grin against the back of my neck.