Hockey Holidays Read online

  She would catch her breath later.

  And then she was flying, her second orgasm catching her off guard as he rolled his thumb over her clit in time with his thrusts inside of her. She clenched around him, her hands on his chest, holding herself up as she came.

  “Yes, Alex. Oh god, yes,” she screamed as waves of passion overtook her.

  He continued pumping his hips, but she was useless above him. She rocked against him, but her body wasn’t listening to her. Complete satisfaction had taken over, and when he shifted her back underneath him, she pulled his face down to kiss her again, her hand moving down his spine, her nails digging into his ass.

  She couldn’t give him anything else.

  But it was all he needed, and he thrust one last time and came, her name a growl on his lips.

  Fuck. He was sexy as hell and had only gotten better with age.

  “Pretty sure you killed me, Mags,” he said, his voice low as he collapsed into her arms. She welcomed the weight and squeezed her legs around his hips. He shuddered again.

  “For a minute there, I think I lost the ability to breathe,” she murmured in a desire-fueled fog.

  He shifted his weight. “Sorry. I’m crushing you.”

  She held on tight. “No. You don’t have to move.”

  They held each other for a minute before he pulled out of her. She couldn’t stop staring at his ass as he walked into the bathroom to dispose of the condom. She wanted to lick those perfectly tight muscles.

  “See something good?” he teased when he walked back into the room in all his naked glory.

  He was even more ripped than he’d been years ago. Like photoshopped ripped.

  She ignored him, ducking into the bathroom to clean up.

  When she returned to the bedroom, he’d pulled down the comforter and slipped under the sheets. He held one corner up. “No clothes allowed in bed.”

  She grinned. “Works for me,” she said, sliding under the cool sheet and pressing her cheek to his chest, her leg draped over his thigh.

  “Get some rest, because we have a lot of time to make up for,” he murmured against her hair. She sighed.

  Yes. They. Did.

  Chapter Six

  Alex: Can’t wait to see you in my jersey tonight at the game.

  Maggie: I hope I can make it. I’m so buried today.

  Alex: That’s what you said about the last game.

  Alex watched the text dots pop up on his phone. They vanished, and a few seconds later popped up again. He hated that he was basically begging her to spend time with him. The last week had been insane with their schedules. He’d had a quick two-game road trip at the beginning of the week, and as soon as he was back, she’d had an overnight shift at the hospital.

  But she’d told him she was going in late tomorrow, so tonight’s game was perfect. They could spend the night together. That’s all he wanted: to spend time with her.

  And maybe more. But he’d start with that.

  He was beginning to wonder if she was pulling away from him.

  He shook his head.

  They’d been here before. He’d thought they’d moved past that.

  The text dots popped up again.

  Maggie: I’ll try my best to get out of here on time, but I’m too exhausted to go out for drinks after.

  He barely resisted the urge to pump his fist in the air.

  He knew she was exhausted. Hell, she’d almost fallen asleep on top of her plate of spaghetti the other night when he’d shown up at her house with takeout.

  Alex: Can’t wait to see you tonight.

  Later that night, he looked for her in the stands during warm-ups, but she wasn’t there. Probably stuck at work. He went on to get an assist in the third period, and the Strikers won two to one, but Maggie never showed up.

  It pissed him off. It shouldn’t. He should understand how busy she was. But this was important to him, and he hated that he didn’t know where they stood. After last week, he’d thought he’d been clear.

  He took a quick shower and then grabbed his cell from his locker, turning it on.

  Maggie: I’m so sorry I couldn’t make it to the game. I got held up waiting for some test results for Henry and then my boss needed to meet with me. I promise I’ll be there for the next game. Kick ass tonight. I can’t wait to see you soon.

  Fuck. Why did it sound like a brush-off? Why had she said soon instead of tonight? Jesus. How much overanalyzing could he do?

  Alex: I get it. Hopefully the results for Henry were positive, and maybe you’ll be able to come to the next game. You still up?

  Maggie: Yeah, but I’m exhausted. Can we skip tonight?

  Alex: I promise we will just sleep.

  Maggie: It’s never just sleeping when we’re in the same bed. I had a shitty day.

  He couldn’t imagine having her job, the day in and day out of sick kids and bad news. But he wanted to help her get through her awful days, to unwind with him. He wanted her to know she could rely on him to help her de-stress from her shitty days.

  Alex: Just sleep. I promise. I sleep better when you’re in my arms.

  The text dots popped up, then vanished again. He took in a deep breath when they danced across his screen again.

  Maggie: Okay. I’ll see you soon.

  He set his phone aside and finished getting dressed. After giving a few sound bites, he was back in his car and driving to her house. They had a lot to talk about, but he wouldn’t spring it on her tonight. Tonight they would sleep, and tomorrow they would figure out what the fuck was going on between them. He hoped she was as invested as he was.

  Thirty minutes later, he knocked on her door. It swung open before he could pull his hand back.

  “Hi,” she said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. The rest of it was piled up on her head, and she had already put on her pjs. The shadows under her eyes were dark. He tugged her into his arms.

  She sighed against his chest, her shaking breath washing across his throat.

  “Hi, Mags. You look exhausted.”

  She huffed out a laugh. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

  He guided her back into her house, shutting the door behind him and leading her toward the kitchen table.

  “What can I get you?” he asked.

  “Nothing. I’m just glad you’re here. I’m sorry I missed the game, but it looked like a good one.”

  “I played like shit, honestly. My good luck charm wasn’t there,” he said, brushing a kiss across her nose.

  She laughed softly. “You know that’s all in your head, right? It was a good game.”

  “Tell me what happened today,” he said, twining his fingers through hers. He needed to touch her constantly. It settled him.

  “Camilla’s test results came back. She is having too many side effects from the clinical trial, but her results look slightly better than the last time. I wanted to give her mother that news as soon as I heard anything. And Henry has to stay in the hospital longer.”

  “So good news and bad news today. I’m sorry about Henry, but that kid is amazing and he’s going to beat it.” But he knew his reassurances did little to ease her frustrations.

  “I know I shouldn’t get so emotionally involved…”

  “I wish I could help. You didn’t pick an easy, low-stress career.”

  Her mouth quirked up at the side. “No kidding. But I love helping people. I just wish I could cure all of them.”

  “It’s one of the things I love the most about you, Mags,” he said.

  Shit. He hadn’t meant to tell her that already. Not that it wasn’t the complete truth, but her shocked expression made him wish he’d kept his damn mouth shut.

  Right now was not the time for the conversation, but they needed to have it.

  Holy crap.

  He’d said it. Of course, she’d already assumed how he felt since she’d never stopped loving him, but this was way too fast. They had so much going on in their lives and it’d been less t