Page 46 of Conner

She snuggled back into him, and they watched the rest of the game. By the time the game was over, in which Florida had shut out Montreal—which he wasn’t happy about—the pizza came. They were eating and Conner thought about the next couple days and the logistics of everything. They could go to and from the rink together. On road trips she could stay with him. He could keep her safe, but that wasn’t a permanent solution, and it was all up to her.

“So, I know you are going to talk to Hillary tomorrow, but how do you want to handle this?”

She sighed and set her pizza down on her plate. “I’m still not sure, but I do know that I'm not running. So, the only thing to do is face it. And maybe I do need to talk to the organization and see what they think is best, since he is contacting me through the teams page.”

Conner nodded. “I think that's a good decision. I'm here for any of it you need me for.”

“Thanks, for now you focus on the ice. I’ll talk to Hilary tomorrow and tell her what's going on and get a game plan with her.”

He reached for her hand. She felt so right. This was going to be his life. And he would stop anyone who tried to hurt her. He knew that deep in his bones the same way he knew hockey. He was good at hockey all the way down into the depths of his soul, and he would protect this woman with that same energy.

26

Sasha

Afew hours later Sasha went into the guest room and slipped on her pajamas. Was she really supposed to sleep in here? While she wasn't feeling as afraid as she was last night, she still didn't want to be away from Conner. Surely, he didn't mean for her to sleep in here, right?

Her bare feet padded down the hallway to his door and knocked. He answered, wearing only a pair of boxers and she was ready to jump him right then and there.

“So, am I supposed to sleep in the guest room?” she asked as she bit her lip and looked up at him.

“You are supposed to sleep wherever you feel comfortable,” he said as he opened the door and let her in.

“Well, your bed is objectively more comfortable.”

“It is.”

“And it's bigger.”

“Much bigger,” he agreed with hungry eyes.

“And I mean you're in it, so that makes it better in every way possible,” she said with a coy smile.

“Sasha Maloof, get your ass in my bed.”

She looked over her shoulder and grinned at him. With a wide grin stretched across his face, he pounced on her, grabbing her by the waist and pulling both of them onto the bed. She landed on top of him in giggles. Those giggles were burned away when he managed to get her on her back, kneeling over her, his thighs bracketing hers, her wrists in his hands and pinned them above her head. She gasped and bit her lip.

He claimed that lip and kissed her deep. Sasha had never been kissed like this before. That is not to say she was chaste by any means, she'd had her share of relationships and random encounters, but none of them ever undid her quite like he did. So, she just kissed him back, knowing he was in control, and she could trust him to stay that way. That was a new feeling for someone as curated as Sasha was, but it felt amazing.

All the sudden their perfect moment was interrupted by the piercing sound of Conner's house alarm going off. Sasha's eyes filled with terror and her hand flew to her ears. Conner sprang into action, jumping up off the bed and grabbing a hockey stick from his closet.

“Stay here,” he ordered.

She sat in the bed, her heart pounding. This couldn't be happening. Had he followed them there?

There was a loud thud and the sound of bodies falling to the floor. “Dude, what the fuck?” she heard another voice call.

“Dylan? What are you doing here?” Conner asked, his voice filled with irritation.

Her heart was still pounding away in her chest, but she was starting to breathe a little easier.

“I’ll be right back, dumb ass,” she heard Conner say as he started back up the stairs.

Conner came through the door and looked at her. “No need to worry, it's just my drunk brother. I'm sorry he scared you. I'm going to get him set up on the couch and I’ll be right back,” said as he put the hockey stick back in his closet.

“Are you okay?” he asked as he walked over to the bed. His hand cupped her jaw gazing down at her.

“So, you just keep a hockey stick in your bedroom closet?” she asked with an amused expression.

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