God, he was a wuss.

All the tension left her body, and she leaned against him, wiggling that naughty little butt against his length before turning in his arms to look up at him.

“I’m sorry, too. I want us to find the perfect house, because I don’t plan on ever leaving it,” she said, looking up at him.

“Baby, any house will be perfect as long as you’re there.”

She bit her lip, running her hands down his arms, then around to his ass, putting her hands in his pockets.

“I love you, Shea,” she said, kissing his chin. He smiled.

“I love you, too.” He slid his hands down to her ass, lifting her up onto the island before capturing her mouth in delicious need. Her hands came up his biceps, to his shoulders, before going around his neck as he moved in between her legs. She scooted to the edge of the counter, her hot center warming his.

When she pulled back, he tried to reclaim her mouth, but she just laughed.

“Shea, come on. I gotta cook,” she said trying to get away.

“I’m only hungry for one thing, baby,” he said against her collarbone as he nipped and nibbled.

“Well that one thing isn’t gonna happen until you have clearance, mister.”

He pulled back, grinning at her, “I have clearance. Today was my appointment, I play tomorrow night.”

Her eyes lit up, “It hasn’t been six weeks yet!”

“I’m ready to play,” he said, shrugging his shoulders, “On the ice, and with you. So hush, come here.”

Of course, she went willingly. It was easy to assume that there would be no cooking that night.

Elli had missed the arena so much. Sitting beside Harper, a beer and hot dog in hand, being decked out in her Adler gear, it was hard to contain her excitement.

She was ready for some hockey.

“It’s so great for both guys to be back,” Harper gushed as she took a hearty drink of her beer. Jakob had come back two weeks earlier and apparently missed Shea a lot, which Elli thought was so cute.

“I know, I have missed watching the games live so much,” Elli gushed as she took a bite of her hot dog, looking around the arena. She tried not to think about the last time she sat in her seats, since every time she did her heart hurt. Shea was healthy, he had proved that the night before. Everything was fine.

“So we are completely moved in and the interior decorator is coming tomorrow so Jakob can look over everything and approve everything I’ve picked out.”

Elli smiled over her, “You think he will?”

Harper giggled, “Of course. He wants to continue getting laid, Elli. Be realistic here.”

“Duh,” Elli laughed. Harper joined in, a big grin on her face. Every time Elli saw her, she was always smiling or giggling. It was weird. But hey, Harper was happy. What more could Elli ask for?

“We still haven’t found anything, nothing is appealing to me.”

“It takes time, El. I mean, I looked at 1000 houses it seemed, until I found the one, and it still didn’t feel like the one until y’all came to look at it,” Harper said, sounding older and wiser. Elli didn’t let it bother her, she just nodded.

“I know, but Shea is getting impatient. He said I’m subliminally not picking a house.”

“Is he right?”

“Really, Harper?”

“I’m just asking. Y’all have looked at a lot of houses, but your damn list of requirements is a mile long!”

“It’s four things I want!”

“Still, lower your standards. Shea was hoping to be in something before he had to leave again for the road. He’s leaving for three weeks next week, and y’all don’t have any prospects. I don’t blame him for being angry for you.”

“Whatever, whose side are you on anyway?” Elli glared at Harper before looking out at the ice. Was she being too picky? Was she subliminally not picking something because she truly didn’t want to commit to Shea?

No.

She loved him, wanted to be with him. But like she said, she just wanted the perfect house for them, and damn it, she would find it!

Shea sat on the bench in front of his locker, lacing up his skates. It had been a long five weeks. A good five weeks, but long. He was ready to get out on the ice, even though he knew coach wouldn’t play him like he had before. It was going to be at least two weeks before he was staying on the ice for his normal 40 minutes. But hey, just being able to play was enough. Knowing Elli was in the stands made it even better for him.

Jakob sat beside Shea, a grin on his face as he strapped his elbow pads on.

“Ready?”

“More than ready,” Shea said, making sure his skates were extra tight.

“Good, let’s do this.”

“Hell yeah.”

After they were done, they headed for the ice, ready for the warm up. Shea was ready to hear the roar of the crowd. After all the blog sites announced his return a week early, fans went nuts, posting encouraging comments for him. It was great, and he was ready to show his fans that he was ready to win for them.

Shea’s heart raced when he heard the roar of the crowd. The JumboTron must have been showing them walking down the hall. Shea closed his eyes, thanking the Lord above for all the blessings he had been receiving. He then asked for Him to protect him on the ice. Shea took a deep breath before walking through the opening that led to the bench and onto the ice. When he hit the ice, the crowd went nuts. Fans held up their signs, wishing him luck and welcoming him back. Shea was convinced Nashville had the best set of fans. He skated around the rink once, even along the visitor’s side, holding his stick up as a thank you to his fans before he saw the most important sign.