Page 40 of Want You

If this was what it would be like after a long road trip, he may learn to like them yet.

CHAPTER 20

OCTAVIA

“Do you want to go out for dinner or order something?” Nathan asked, playing with Octavia’s hair while she rested her head on his chest. The man couldn’t go three seconds without touching her, even if it was just her hair. Not that she was complaining. She had never felt so desired in her entire life.

Octavia stretched her deliciously sore body and thought about what she’d rather do. The whole leaving part was probably a good idea, but the idea of it didn’t thrill her. She was quite content with how their day had progressed. Nearly two weeks of nothing but watching one another through a screen had led to the most sexually explosive day of her life. Octavia wasn’t so sure she was ready for it to end.

“Well, there’s what we should do and what I want to do.” She purred, looking up at him, her chin resting on his pec.

“And what do you want to do?” he asked, sliding his hand into her hair at the base of her skull. She released a little moan when he tightened his grip, enjoying the slight sting.

“You, me, dinner, and no clothes,” she whispered.

He made a thoughtful sound, pretending to consider what she said. “I think that’s a better idea”—he leaned in, his lips a breath away from hers—“than dinner with clothes.” He gave her a quick kiss and jumped out of bed, raising his arms, clasping his hands, and stretching tall.

Octavia sat back and openly admired his body. He’d come home with more bruises, including a particularly nasty one on his lower back. She’d done a full examination of his body in the shower after he’d fucked her senseless in the kitchen and commented on how he should be taking it easy with his body looking like that. He’d laughed, kissed all the oxygen from her lungs, and told her he had been taking it easy. Then he told her she’d see what he meant after the season was over. It was an equally exciting and terrifying thought.

“Like what you see?”

She blinked several times and focused back on the man in front of her. “Have I given any indication that I don’t?”

Nathan held his hand out and hauled her to her feet. “Well, at the beginning I had my doubts.” He grinned down at her, smoothing her hair behind her ear in a moment of quiet tenderness.

“Honey”—she took his face between her hands—“I’ve always liked what I saw when I looked at you. It wasn’t the look of you that was holding me back.”

“You thought I was a big, meathead jock.”

“I thought you may be a big, meathead jock.” She laughed, rising on her tiptoes to kiss him. “Turns out you’re a big, smart jock who can use that mouth for more than making me come. Do you know how hot it is that you don’t say ‘ah’ or ‘um’ in interviews? I could get off listening to you.”

Nathan threw his head back and laughed. “My dad’s biggest pet peeve was athlete interviews, specifically men. I wanted to make him proud.”

“Oh, was becoming a professional hockey player not good enough?”

“He wouldn’t have been surprised by where I’ve ended up. It was expected of me.”

“When did he die?” Octavia asked, watching a serious expression darken Nathan’s features.

“Sixteen years ago.”

She brushed her finger over where she knew the hockey stick on his arm was. Realizing now what the dates there meant. “Right before⁠—”

“I got drafted, yeah. Kinda cast a shadow over the entire thing.”

“I’m sorry,” she murmured into his chest as she wound her arms gently around him, careful not to squeeze his bruised body too hard even though she wanted to.

“It’s okay.”

“My dad is dead too.”

“I’m sorry,” he breathed, his lips resting on the top of her head.

“It’s okay,” she assured him. “We weren’t that close.”

“I’m sorry about that also.”

“Why did you insist on ordering sushi if you don’t like sushi?” Octavia asked Nathan who was pushing around a deconstructed tuna roll on his plate.