Page 30 of Puck Off, She’s Mine

He pulls back, his dark blue eyes intent on my face. One big hand cups my cheek, his palm cool. "You're perfect, you know that?"

"You aren't so bad yourself," I whisper, blushing.

"I mean it. Every fucking thing about you drives me wild." He groans again, shaking his head like he can't figure out how I do it. Except I'm not doing anything, not really.

I'm just me, the same person I've always been.

Apparently, he's seen my social media. He knows what awkwardness lingers in my past. There's a lot of it. I've never felt particularly special until now. I've always been a little overlooked, able to fly beneath the radar because of my size. In school, no one was in a rush to date me. I wasn't crazy popular. I was just the chubby girl who loved hockey and was a little too nosy for her own good.

I tried to turn it into my superpower. But the truth is, big girls are always underestimated, especially in male-dominated fields like sports reporting. And I've been underestimated so much that I think I got used to always being the odd one out. But the way he's looking at me? The way he touches me? The things he says to me?

Yeah, that's pretty damn special. For the first time, I don't feel like I have to try. I just get to be.

"Same," I whisper, my mouth bone dry. It's the truth, though. Everything about him is quickly becoming my favorite thing. I could lie and pretend I haven't spent most of the last few weeks going a little nuts over him, but what's the point? I have been going nuts over him. I am falling for him. And I don't really want to stop now.

The last two nights in his bed have been the best two nights of my life. Talking with him, laughing with him, letting him hold me... God, I never imagined those little moments would be every bit as magical as when he's inside me, making me forget my own name. But they are, for a thousand different reasons.

He isn't Phoenix Michaud, hockey superstar, when we're alone. He's just Phoenix. He feels like mine in a way nothing and no one ever has.

He slides his hand to my nape, tilting my head to kiss me again. This one is hotter, and a little wild. I anchor myself to his big body with my hands wrapped all up in his shirt, moaning his name.

"You want me, gorgeous?" he asks, slipping his hands beneath my jersey. His cool fingers brush my waist, making me moan again.

"Yes."

His hand drifts higher, his fingertips brushing my ribcage below my breast. "You going to let me have you here?"

At this point, he could have me anywhere, and I wouldn't object. "Yes," I gasp, arching into his touch. My legs wobble beneath me, and I remember I'm still in skates.

He seems to remember at the same time. "Come on," he murmurs, practically carrying me off the ice. As soon as we clear the boards, he kneels, pulling my skates off one by one.

I breathe a little sigh, happy to be back on my feet instead of the death blades. And then I catch sight of the way he's staring up at me, and my heart skips a beat.

He looks damn good on his knees, his cheeks flushed, his hair a mess, his eyes all wild and awed at once.

I sink my hand into his hair, tugging gently. "I want you," I mouth.

His eyes light up and then darken. "Show me how much. Show me how brave you can be for me."

I hesitate for a split second before placing my hands on the hem of my jersey, ready to rip it off over my head and be as brave as he wants me to be.

"Before you two get buck naked and fuck," Corey drawls from the shadows, amusement lacing his tone, "you should probably know that I'm here."

I spin around, gasping.

Phoenix growls at the same time, rising to his feet. I feel him shift behind me, the blades of his skates clinking, and then he's in front of me, his entire body tense.

Corey steps out of the shadows near the cave in practice gear, grinning between us. He still looks a little like he went three rounds with a bear. His lip looks better, but his eye is still a little swollen and bruised.

"How long have you been creeping on us, you prick?" Phoenix growls.

"Calm your tits, Michaud. I didn't see anything I haven't seen before." Corey waggles his brow. "Actually, I didn't see anything I haven't done before."

Phoenix mutters a curse, taking a step toward him. I immediately grasp the back of his jersey, trying to halt him. This doesn't need to be another fight. It doesn't need to be anything.

He glances back at me.

"Let's just go," I murmur, my voice soft. "Please."