I pleasure her with my tongue tracing her folds. She tastes sweet, exactly like I remembered. Her body tenses, and her breath comes in quick gasps. She’s close, but I’m not ready for her to climax yet. She groans in frustration when I pull back.
She watches me, her eyes wide with desire. “You taste so fucking good, Antonia,” I say, my voice low and husky. “I could do this all day. You taste so sweet it makes me want to let you climax just to start again.”
“Max, please, it’s the honey,” she pleads, her voice trembling. “I need to climax.” She attempts to stimulate herself with her fingers, but I restrain her hands above her head. “Not yet, baby,” I say, my voice firm. “You’re not ready yet.
She’s writhing on her back, legs spread as far as they can go as she breathlessly murmurs, “Get back down there and finish me.”
“Nuh uh uh, I’m in control here. Do you trust me to make this like nothing you’ve ever experienced?” She purses her lips, then nods enthusiastically, and I kiss her, letting go of her hands.
I continue to tease her, pushing her to the edge and then pulling back. Each time, I can see the frustration in her eyes, but also the trust. She knows I’m in control, and she’s willing to let me guide her.
After what I’m sure feels like an eternity, I decide it’s time. I lean in. “Are you ready, Antonia?”
She nods, her eyes brimming with desire and anticipation. I smile and say, “Then come for me, baby. Come hard.” I lean in and my tongue finds her clit. My sucking and licking cause her body to tense up. Her muscles tighten, and I can sense her orgasm intensifying. Then, her body convulses, and her pussy pulses. Her inner walls spasm around my fingers, and that sweet honey squirts onto my tongue. As she rides the waves of pleasure, I hold her close in my arms. Her heart races, and her breath comes in short gasps as I whisper in her ear, “That’s my girl. You’re so beautiful when you climax.”
She gazes up at me, her eyes brimming with trust and contentment. I lean in, kissing her, letting her taste herself on my lips. She moans, her arms wrapping around me, pulling me closer. I’m feeling a strong urge to release myself. I reach into the bedside table drawer and pull out a condom. I tear it open and roll it onto my cock. Antonia watches me, with lust. I climb back onto the bed, my body covering hers. “Are you ready, baby?” I ask, my voice low.
“I’m always ready for you.” She nods, her eyes shining with feeling.
A rush of emotion takes over me as I guide my cock to her entrance, feeling her heat. She moans, her hips moving in time with mine. Sitting back, I watch my cock sliding in and out of her, so fucking hot. Her body responding to mine, her hips moving in rhythm with mine. She tightens around meand I follow her over, shuddering as I pulse inside her. My body spent and my heart full, I collapse on top of her.
We stay wrapped around each other, panting and sweaty. As the last echoes of our climax fade, we lean our foreheads together, our hearts still racing. “Max,” she says, her voice soft. “That was... incredible.”
I smile, my heart swelling with pride. “It was. We're just getting started, baby.”
Wednesday she leaves a protein bar on the training room table before our session. Oat and dark chocolate. She’s gone before I get there. No note. She knows I’ll know. I eat it before the guys see it. Tuck the wrapper into my jacket pocket like evidence.
The boys on the ice are beginning with edge drills on the ice. I think about theotherkind and grin.
That night she texts at eleven forty-seven.
Toni: The report went through. The supervisor said the Boston data was thorough.
I’m on the couch with the game film running on mute. I stare at the text for asecond.
Max: Told you I kept a good log.
Three dots. They hold longer than the sentence needs.
Toni: You kept a great log.
I set the phone face down on the cushion and let the game film run. Sitting with the dark, muted hockey, I feel the weight of something small, new, and mine. I don’t examine it too closely because things this new don’t withstand scrutiny. Things this new don't survive examination. They survive protein bars left on tables and texts at eleven forty-seven that mean more than they say.
Three days.
I don’t know that yet.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Max Stevens
The first thing I notice is the silence on Friday morning. Locker rooms aren’t silent. Ever. There’s always noise—tape ripping, music blasting, Fuze running his mouth like it’s a full-time job. Even after a loss, there’s sound. Controlled, low, but there. Today? Nothing. I push the door open, bag slung over my shoulder, and the room shifts. I see the way conversations cut off mid-sentence, the way heads turn and then don’t turn fast enough away. Fuze is the worst liar on the team. He’s staring at his phone like it personally offended him.
“Morning,” I say, dropping my bag onto the bench. No one answers. That’s when I know. “Alright,” I mutter, dragging a hand through my hair. “Who died?”
Anthony struggles to suppress a laugh. Trey doesn’t laugh.He is already three steps ahead of whatever this is. “Check your phone,” Trey says.
I don’t like the way he says it. I pull my phone out of my pocket. Notifications stack on the screen. Texts. Mentions. Missed calls. My stomach drops before I even open anything. The first thing I tap is the team group chat.
