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Boone taps his lips with a finger, glancing up at the ceiling. “Okay… I have it. Here’s to us having a fun night where you can relax, and to our man Aiden, who is bravely battling and kicking cancer’s ass!”
“I’ll drink to that,” I say and our bottlesclink.
Setting his beer down, Boone claps his hands and rubs his palms briskly. “Now for the magic. I’m going to cook an amazing meal while we talk. Then I’ve gotParanormal Activityqueued up to watch.”
I can’t help but suppress a shudder, which Boone notices and laughs. “Hey… you chose the movie,” he points out.
“I know,” I groan while shaking my head. “It’s the one that will probably scare me the most since I think that stuff could be true.”
“I’ll protect you,” he assures me with a wink.
Boone and I chat about Aiden first while he puts on an impressive display of knowing his way around the kitchen. He’s confident in his movements as he prepares seasoned chicken thighs wrapped around cream cheese-stuffed jalapenos, all while asking questions about Aiden’s progress during the team’s away games in Buffalo. It’s been slow but steady improvement. The marrow continues to take root and is starting to produce more white and red blood cells.
While the chicken cooks, we talk about the playoffs. Boone is playing at a stellar level and scored the only goal in game four, which led the Titans to sweep the series.
“It’s funny,” Boone says as he puts fresh green beans in a bowl and seasons them with olive oil, salt and pepper. “No matter how well I’m playing, I feel like all this can be taken away at any moment.”
I frown because I’ve never seen Boone show anything but the utmost confidence in everything he does. “Why do you feel that way?”
He shrugs. “Not sure. Maybe it’s because the prior team was obliterated in a plane crash and it’s just always front and center how fleeting things can be. Maybe it’s because I don’t think I belong here, and this is all”—he waves his hand around—“merely luck. It’s why I’m still renting an apartment my second season here with two more years on my contract.”
“Yeah… but the way you’re playing isn’t luck. That’s not a fluke. That’s you being handed an opportunity that lets you rise to your potential. And now that you’ve tapped into it, you’re the type who will never let that go.”
“Oh yeah?” Boone asks, his eyes twinkling as he pushes the bowl of beans aside to lean his forearms on the counter, putting him closer to me.
“Yeah,” I say with a firm nod. “You’re a man who gets things done and that includes being your best self on the ice for your team. You should go ahead and buy a place.”
For a long moment, Boone studies me, to the point I get a little hot in the cheeks. Straightening, he walks around the counter. My pulse quickens and my skin prickles with anticipation because I can see it—his posture, his slow stride, the glimmer in his eyes—he’s going to kiss me.
I sit up a little straighter because I want him to.
Boone reaches my stool and I tip my head to look up at him. His fingers brush through the hair at my temple, tucking it behind my ear as he studies my face.
When his eyes meet mine, his thumb brushes over my cheek and then he bends to brush his lips against mine. I sigh at the sweetness and then my breath clogs in my lungs as his fingers tighten around the back of my neck and his tongue plunges into my mouth. My heart starts a mad hammer in my chest, responding to the passion Boone seems to be testing on me.
Even though my head spins, I manage to find strength in my legs to rise from the stool. My hands slide up his chest, lock behind his neck, and I kiss him back in a way that lets him know I’m not put off by this and he doesn’t have to treat me as delicately as he has before.
He must feel my acceptance because his hand presses against my lower back, drawing me closer to his body. A wave of pleasure hits me as our tongues twine more desperately, and I have crazy thoughts of dragging Boone to the kitchen floor and… and… I’m not sure what, but I want something that doesn’t seem definable.
I only know my body wants to feel more of him, so I step into his frame, relishing his every hard muscle against my body. I can’t help the tiny gasp that whispers into his mouth when I feel his erection against my stomach.
Boone practically rips himself away, his chest rising and falling as he stares at me with wild eyes. “We have to slow this down.”
I nod mutely, my finger touching my lips.
“I didn’t mean for it to turn hot like that,” he says, reaching out to slide his hand along the side of my neck.
Frowning at him, I ask, “It sounds like you’re apologizing. You didn’t do anything bad.”
Boone smiles and it’s part teasing, part predatory. “Yeah… but I want to do bad things to you and this is only our second date.”
I stare at him a minute, trying to process he wants to do bad things to me and even more processing that I’d be totally okay with that. “I get it’s only the second date, but we know each other better than two people who have only been on two dates.”
“I don’t want to presume anything with you,” he explains as he slides his hand from my neck, down my arm. He lifts my fingers to his mouth and brushes a kiss over my knuckles. He’s done that to me before and I know it’s supposed to be a show of chivalry, but damn… it turns me on even more. “I like you, Lilly. This isn’t about a hookup for me.”
“I know that,” I assure him. “I trust you. And you didn’t do anything to me tonight that I didn’t want you to do. Let’s not worry about time lines. Let’s just do what feels right and natural.”
I see that takes Boone slightly aback but not in a turned-off way. I can tell he’s mulling that over, and then his lips curl in a sly smile. “So we can make out after the movie?”
