AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I leaned in close, suddenly worried that she’d lost her mind. “Misty, can you even afford that?”
“No.” She stretched out the word, and then her lips formed a catlike smile. “That’s why Lucas is paying.”
I reeled back. “What?”
“You didn’t think he was going to let anyone else win, did you?”
In the end, Jax went for the most money at a whopping thirty thousand dollars. The auctioneer called the auction to a close with a beaming smile. “Thank you for your generosity. Before you start dancing, one of our guests has a special announcement.”
Lucas strode to the mic and tapped it once before leaning into it. “My name is Lucas Knight. Some of you may know me as the captain of the Huskies.”
“Go, Huskies,” a guy at the back shouted.
“Thanks, man.” Lucas chuckled, but his gaze turned serious. “Last year, one of the best men I’ve known passed away in a car crash.”
His eyes met mine, and I sucked in a breath, pressing my hand against my chest.
“He was so passionate about hockey that you couldn’t help but be swayed to play. Hell, he’s the reason why Ryder and I are here today. Marcus’s respect for the game transcended from standard teenage competitiveness to a true love of the sport.” Lucas sniffed, and my eyes welled with tears. I blinked furiously. “It’s because of that love that I’ve started the Marcus Adams grant. It funds underprivileged kids in the community to be able to play.”
He explained how the funding would go to gear and ice time. How there would be more accessibility to camps that were previously only open to those whose parents could afford them. My heart swelled in my chest until it felt like it would burst out of me. I loved this man so much.
There wasn’t a dry eye when Lucas finished his speech to a standing ovation. I wanted to go to him, but he ducked back through the curtain.
Music started playing, and people gradually got up to mingle or made their way to the dance floor.
The hockey player from the other night walked right up to Misty and held out his hand. “Will you dance with me?”
I glanced her way, knowing that not everything had worked out between the two of them, just in time to see her cheeks pinken. She laced her fingers with his and gave me a wink. “I’ll see you later.”
I was still watching them go when arms wrapped around me from behind, and I took a breath of Lucas’s spicy scent. I twisted in his arms, tears already streaming down my chin. “Thank you.” This man, this incredible man, was going to be the death of me. “You didn’t have to do that.”
He cupped my jaw in both hands and stroked his thumbs over my cheeks, wiping away the tears. “I wanted to.”
I wanted to.That wasn’t the first time he’d said those words, and they started to wrap around my heart. I searched his eyes, and all I saw was warmth before lifting onto my toes and pressing my mouth to his. “I love you. I trust you. Please don’t make us wait anymore.”
His eyes bored into mine, and his voice cracked. “I have loved you since the day you moved in next door. I’ve spent my time loving you when you weren’t looking, afraid that if I had you, I wouldn’t survive losing you.” His hands dipped into my hair and held me in place. “I will never do that again. You make me strong, Piper. You’ve made me see that life isn’t worth living without you by my side.”
I kissed him, but instead of the rushed, desperate kisses we normally shared, this one was tender, slow, and full of everything we didn’t know how to say. I sank into his touch, wrapping my hands around his neck. He dropped his forehead on mine. “Dance with me.”
But instead of leading me out onto the dance floor, his arm tightened around my waist, and he pulled me flush. We stayed like that, wrapped in each other, and swayed to the music, lost to each other as the party went on.
I ran my thumb over his bottom lip. “Take me home, Lucas.”
THIRTY
LUCAS
Piper turnedtoward the lobby but stilled when our arms stretched out between us. I tightened our clasped fingers and tugged her back to me, leaning down to capture her lips in mine. I smiled against her mouth. “I got us a room.”
Her lips curled, and she hummed in the back of her throat. “A little presumptuous of you.”
I rested my forehead against hers and cupped her cheek. “You’re worth the risk.”
Her fingers traced the buttons of my shirt and popped the first one through, revealing the hollow of my neck. She lifted onto her toes, running her tongue along the newly exposed skin, and my cock grew painfully hard.
There was a loud whistle from behind us, and Piper and I spun to see a grinning Alex. “Be safe tonight, kids.”
“Fuck off, Alex.” I bent down and hooked one arm under Piper’s knees and the other around her back before standing with her pressed into my chest.
