Page 15 of Well Played

“This is scary to me,” I whispered. “It hurt so much last time.”

“Not gonna happen,” he said firmly, crushing me to him.

“Coffee cup,” I choked out, managing a breath when he released me.

“Sorry,” he said sheepishly, pulling my clothes right. “We got time to get you some breakfast before we go in?”

I stared at him, my mouth falling open. “But you have training this morning. Then practice. And a commercial at nine.”

He grinned at me. “Beautiful, you know my schedule better than I do.”

I shrugged. “I kind of know the whole team’s schedule. It’s my job.”

He frowned, and I hurried to remove it from his face. “No, it's not that I don’t stalkyourschedule. I do.. Actually, I always have. And your stats. You know, when you beat Newtown? That was your best game of the season. We were trounced. Seventeen saves, Solace. That put you at a .937, you know that? I mean youguys were coming off a buck’s night, and Coach was furious, but whatever. It made you top of the league, saves percentage wise. You still can’t be beat.” I stopped rambling when he stared at me, bemused. “What?”

“Why aren’t you my PA? Or on our management team? Why are you wasted running over whatever the fuck you do hiding behind paperwork all day long?” His soft voice rocked my world on its axis.

I nibbled my lip. “You really mean it, don’t you?”

He didn’t have to ask what I meant, knowing I wasn’t talking about work. “Yeah, Hallie. I do.”

My eyes shuttered as I sucked in a long breath. “Okay. Let’s try this thing.”

“Yeah?” The way his voice lifted left me grinning.

I pushed his shoulder with my thermos. “Breakfast, Solace. I’m talking about breakfast.”

His laugh stayed with me all the way to his car, his hand wrapped around mine. In the end we got drive through with sparkling tea and egg and bacon wraps that I drooled all over, knowing it wasn’t part of his nutritional chart.

Solace threw the whole schedule out the window literally, driving us to the point that overlooked the bay and the ships coming around the top of the headland.

His arm slung around my shoulder, we ate in relative silence, me snuggled into him, picking cat fur off my bottle green skirt when I ran out of things to do with my hands. After a while he sighed and covered my fingers with his, stopping my incessant picking.

“You know, I have to take you shopping,” he said in a tight voice.

“Why?” I frowned at him and down at my skirt. “I like this one.”

“Yeah, so do I,” he said ruefully. “But if I have to watch the team stare at your bare legs today, I’m not gonna be much of a defender for them, beautiful. Just you.” He kissed the tip of my nose, then my cheeks and finally my mouth, long and slow and deep, laying the seat back until his body covered mine and his hand slid beneath my skirt.

I moaned softly into his mouth, digging my nails into his arms. “We need to get to work,” I murmured, gasping as he flicked my panties aside.

“Yeah, in a bit.” He frowned down at me. “I spent the whole fucking night in this car, you know,” he said slowly, running his fingers through my pussy lips, collecting the copious amount of moisture there. “Worrying about you.” He kissed me hard. “Desperate for you.” Another kiss. “All I wanted was to fold you in my arms, kiss the shit out of you, and know you were safe. Mine,” he added, a taste of his darkness descending over his eyes.

I opened my mouth to object that his discomfort wasn’tallmy fault, but that was as far as I got.

Two thick fingers speared straight inside me, working fast and hard. Fluid coated the insides of my thighs as I cried out into his mouth that crushed mine. My hips bucked up, and I arched, knowing I’d come for him in less than a seco–

His hand withdrew and he gripped the inside of my thigh painfully, pulling the tender flesh up, then released and smacked me.

“Don’t leave me wanting you like that. Scared for you. Fuck, beautiful,” he muttered dangerously. “I spent the night with a broken heart not sure you’d want me again.”

“Me too,” I whispered, wincing when he slapped the inside of my other thigh, spotting how far down his finger marks would be. “Whoa, stop,” I panicked. “They’ll see.”

“No,” he ground out. “Today you wear my marks. Today you’re mine, Hallie. If they see, then they fuckingsee.” He slapped me again, this time right on my pussy.

I screamed, arching back as his hand clamped around the stinging, swollen flesh. “Solace, please?—”

“Is that what you want, Hallie, for me to give you relief?” Dark eyes glittered above me as his fingers sank deeper into my swollen, tingling flesh. “Beg for relief, Hallie. Beg for Solace.”

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