Page 206 of On the Breakaway

I nod. “Yeah, the one with real breakfast.”

40

Grayson

I roll over, scraping a hand across my face and immediately flinching when I pass over the bruise darkening half my jaw.

God, that fucking hurts.

That’s exactly why I don’t get in fights on the ice. Well, that, and the fact that being suspended is my worst nightmare. A nightmare that I have to face today when they pass down my ruling.

Three games or more.

I’ve spent my entire career preaching discipline and composure to my team, and then I lose my mind in the middle of one of the most important games yet.

A groan slips out of my lips.

Last night had started out as one of the worst nights of my life. And yet, somehow, even with my impending suspension, it had ended as one of the best.

I peek an eye open, watching the morning light spill through the gap in the curtain and paint Avery in a soft golden light.

She’s curled against my side with one arm thrown across my stomach, the same way she’d wrapped around me last night when we went to bed.

I love you.

She’d said it, but the words still don’t feel real. I don’t think they will for a while.

Carefully, I lift her arm and start sliding out of bed, but I hardly make it an inch before she makes a sleepy sound.

“No.”

A smile tugs at my mouth.

“No?”

Her eyes stay closed. “Stay here.”

“I was going to make breakfast.”

“You’re not allowed right now.” She blindly reaches for me and catches my wrist. “You’re comfy.”

I try to pull out of her grasp, but it’s surprisingly strong for someone who’s barely awake.

“I wasn’t asking.”

“Neither was I.” She opens one eye, then sighs dramatically. “You can’t look like that when you just woke up. It pisses me off.”

“My face is bruised.”

“I know. But with the glasses and the bed head, it just makes it hotter. And you’re not allowed to be hot right now.”

I chuckle, and she scowls.

God.

I’m so fucking gone for this woman.

I settle back against the mattress.