Page 88 of Hockey Nanny

“Is it okay if I call you Grandpa?” he asked, tilting his head. “I never had a grandpa before.”

The room quieted for a fraction of a second, just long enough for my dad’s eyes to mist over. And then all of our eyes did the same.

“Guess what?” My dad’s voice was thick with emotion. “I’ve never had a grandson before, so I think that’s an excellent idea.”

Henry wrapped him in a killer bear hug that almost sent them both toppling from the chair, my dad laughing his deep, belly-rolling laugh. This time though, that laugh I’d grown up with seemed to crack with something that sounded a lot like tears.

Boone and Gage, sitting on either side of me, reached out under the table, each taking my hand and giving it a squeeze. My chest felt like it was expanding in every direction at once. Bursting with love.

I leaned back in my chair for a second, taking it all in: Henry’s little body wriggling with excitement, my dad’s laughter echoing across the table, and the men, my men, coming together out of love for this crazy family we’d built together.

“You know what will make this celebration perfect?” I announced, sitting up straighter and giving them all my most conspiratorial grin. All eyes turned to me, and I drew out their anticipation until Henry looked as if he would explode from curiosity. “A helicopter ride. Your grandpa wants to take you.”

Henry’s reaction was instantaneous; he shot out of his chair, punching the air with both fists.

“YES! YES! A HELICOPTER RIDE!” His shriek of excitement bounced off the walls, and I had to laugh, scooping him up so he didn’t knock over any more pizza boxes.

Boone was already standing, closing up the boxes, while Gage took Henry from me, and spun him in a wild circle.

“You’ve lost your minds,” Dawson muttered, though I could hear the warmth in his voice.

My dad, still grinning, shook his head. “Makes for the best kind of families. Come on, grandson.”

We said our goodbyes, and then they were gone. Everything felt so quiet without Henry in the house. Peaceful, though.

“Well,” Dawson said, “what are the rest of us going to do?”

Gage snorted. “You act like you don’t already know.”

“Already know what?” I asked.

Boone narrowed his eyes at me. “What we intend to do to you.”

A shiver ran through me. “And what exactly do you intend?”

The three of them smiled wolfishly.

Epilogue

~

Carissa

They didn’t tell me what they intended. They just moved as one, leading me into the bedroom like three hockey players guiding a puck across the ice.

The dim glow of the bedside lamp cast long shadows across our bedroom, cutting over the hard lines of Gage’s jaw as he pushed me down to the bed and held me steady beneath him. His grip anchored me just firm enough to let my body move where it wanted.

My lids drooped as his mouth traced my neck, each kiss landing with purpose. When his lips reached my collarbone and continued down, my breath stuttered, anticipation tightening low in my belly. I arched when his mouth closed around a nipple, the pull sharp enough to make my hips lift on instinct, a quiet sound slipping free before I could stop it. His tongue flicked the already hardened bud, and heat rolled through me in a wave that made my fingers curl against the sheets.

I opened my eyes to him watching me, hair fallen into his eyes, mouth busy with one breast while his fingers worked the other. He knelt above me, careful not to sink his weight down, giving me space to react, to move. His cock stood flushed and leaking between his thighs, and the sight of it sent another shiver through me that had nothing to do with the cool air againstmy skin. When his gaze locked with mine, something inside me loosened, eager and open.

“You have the best ideas,” he said against my skin, the words broken by his mouth returning to me. He circled his tongue around my left nipple again, fingers tightening on the other just enough to make my back bow.

I dragged in a breath that shook on the way out, my body already chasing what he was giving me. “Thanks for stating the obvious.”

His mouth curved into a smile I felt more than saw. “I can’t get enough of you, Carissa. Never enough.”

The way he said it settled deep, and I arched into his touch, hips lifting in answer.