In the Crease (Assassins Book 11) Read online

  “I know,” Jensen said as he crunched down, running his hands through his hair. He had asked Kacey Thomas for a workout, and she wasn’t holding back. He was sweating everywhere, and he knew he was pushing himself to get rid of the crazy lust inside of him. He didn’t want to work out. He wanted to veg on the couch, but he had to do something, or he was going to lose his ever-loving mind. Wren was trying to kill him. For the last four days, he had gone to bed with the biggest boner known to man because his wife had decided she wanted to run around in basically nothing before bed.

  Those thongs and that bra were becoming his kryptonite.

  Watching her as she slathered her face in lotion with her sweet ass hanging out and those thighs… Jesus, those thighs for him to drink in was basically torture. She was killing him slowly, but he was staying strong. And killing Vaughn in the meantime.

  As he finished up his burpees, Vaughn fell to the ground once more and lay there, shaking his head. “I’m done.”

  “We have another round.”

  “I refuse. Let’s go get chicken,” he said before sitting up to meet Jensen’s gaze, his eyes hopeful. “You love chicken. Hot chicken. I’ll buy you all of it. Just for you.”

  Jensen laughed. “No.”

  “You’re mean.”

  “It’s for your own good.”

  “You’re just taking out your sexual frustration on me,” he accused as he stood up, slowly and with a groan. “It isn’t my fault you won’t put out. That’s your own issue.”

  Jensen laughed. “You know nothing, my friend.”

  “I know it all, because Wren was at my house bitching.”

  Jensen’s brow quirked. “What?”

  Vaughn set him with a look. “Yeah, she was at the house on Sunday, talking to her new BFF—which is very weird to me, by the way—and they were talking about how you won’t put out.”

  “She said that?”

  “Well, no, she said you wouldn’t do her because you aren’t attracted to her.”

  He scoffed. “That’s fucking bullshit.”

  “I know this, because you’ve had a boner for her for, like, ever, and I told her that.”

  Jensen’s whole body went cold. “You did? What did she say?”

  “She didn’t believe me, or Brie.”

  “I can’t believe you told her that.”

  “Does it matter? She didn’t believe me.”

  “But still.”

  “Dude, she thinks you’re doing this because you’re honorable.”

  Jensen brought his lip between his teeth as he shook his head. “I swear, that girl’s confidence is in the tank, and it’s fucking annoying.”

  “It is.”

  He sat there for a moment, thinking it over, and slowly he moved his head side to side in annoyance. How could she think that? “I don’t know what to do. Do I just give in? Or do I keep on? I mean, I seriously tell her daily that she’s beautiful. Tell her that I love the little things, her hair, her line thing she does to her eyes, I mean, everything. But because I won’t let her use sex as a way to feel something for me, then I’m not attracted to her? That’s not fair.”

  “I hear you, brother,” Vaughn added, holding his hand up. “But maybe she needs that.”

  “No, she wants to rely on it so she doesn’t have to feel anything else for me, and that’s bullshit.”

  “But if she thinks you aren’t trying to get her naked, how is she supposed to feel sexy?”

  “’Cause I tell her!”

  “You’ve said, ‘Damn, Wrenny, you’re sexy’?”

  Jensen snorted a bit. “Not like that, but I tell her she’s beautiful.”

  “Not the same thing.”

  Jensen grumbled as he thought it over. He understood what Vaughn was saying, but he didn’t know if he agreed with him.

  “Listen, bro, I got you. I hear what you’re saying, and I get it. Really, I do, but you know how she is. She’s used to one thing. Maybe that’s the way you two can connect, and it won’t just be about the sex for her. It will be more.”

  Jensen bit the inside of his cheek. “Says the person who’d rather fuck than talk.”

  Vaughn held his hands up. “But let me tell you, Brie and I had a very healthy sex life, and I fell hard for the girl.”

  “But you never had any intentions of falling for her. How do I know Wren will have feelings for me?”

  Vaughn shrugged. “You knew that from the rip, bro. This whole relationship has been like the moment in the crease—where the puck could go in, or you could block it. She’s the blocker, and you’re the puck trying to go in. It’s a gamble. A big one.”

  Swallowing hard, Jensen admitted he had known that from the beginning. He did, but hearing it once more made it even more real.

  And scared the living shit out of him because he didn’t know what to do.

  Should he stay strong, wait for her to feel something for him?

  Or should he just take her to bed and hope for the best?

  Fuck, this was complicated.

  Wren’s heart ached in her chest as she watched Tate struggle in front of her.

  He looked so wrung out. His shoulders were down, and his eyes were full of such defeat. She wished this wasn’t happening, and she hated her stupid hormones that were making her want to hug him and cry with him. As he looked up, meeting her gaze, she clutched her notepad as he tried to smile.

  “You’ve thought this through?”

  He nodded slowly, his eyes filling with tears. “Audrey and I have been talking since our last session. She started crying last night because I was still so unsure, and she just wanted me to be happy. She said that if I want to push myself and try to get back on the ice, she’d support me and she’d love me no matter what, even in a wheelchair. And that hurt me. I don’t want to do that to her or my kids. If I retire now, I can give my body the time it needs to heal, and I can be there for them.”

  “You’re right. And good for Audrey. You’re lucky to have such a great woman.”

  His lips turned up in a true smile. “I’ve loved her since the moment I met her. She’s so strong. So beautiful and the best woman I know. She loves me hard, and she loves our children with her whole soul. We’ve stood beside each other through thick and thin, and I couldn’t ask for a better partner for this life.” Wren’s heart shattered as he inhaled deeply, his lips quivering. “As much as I will miss the ice, miss being between those pipes, I miss playing on the floor with my kids more. Being able to lie with my wife the way she loves…sorry, TMI,” he laughed and she smiled. “But I’d rather be able to be there for my family and love them, like they’ve always loved me. The best thing for me is to retire.”

  “And that’s what you want?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good, I’m glad that we’ve all worked together to come to this realization. I think it’s for the best, but in the end, it’s what you want.”

  He nodded. “I know, and I do. I might not like it fully yet, but I know that if I keep trying to push myself, I’m not only going to hurt myself but my family too, and nothing is more important than family.”

  Wren’s lips started to quiver. She missed Wells. She missed him so much, but she was still so angry with him. It wasn’t only that; it was the fact that she knew, like Tate, Jensen would do the same thing for her and her child.

  And she wasn’t sure she would do the same.

  That hurt her.

  Pissed her off.

  Why couldn’t she be like Audrey?

  Reaching out, she took Tate’s hand and squeezed it. “I’m proud of you, Tate.”

  “Thank you,” he said, squeezing back. “I don’t want to stop our sessions, though. I think I still might need them.”

  Wren smiled, loving that he wanted to keep seeing her. She had been worried he would drop her since he had come to this decision, but she knew he would continue to need her. The pain was still so overwhelming for him, and not playing would take its toll. “I’ll always be here for you, Tate. E