Page 117 of Defensive Zone

Chapter 21

He knocked on her door. It was cheesy as hell, but they were going on their first date, and even though they lived in the same house, he had wanted to get her flowers.

“Hold on,” she said before pulling the door open. He just about swallowed his tongue. “Max.” she gasped.

“Fuck, you look delectable, Gabi,” he said, handing her the flowers.

Her cheeks turned pink and her eyes sparkled with humor.

“Um thanks. You don’t look too bad yourself,” she said.

“Thank you,” he said, giving her a spin. He loved her giggle. It was fucking adorable.

He’d slicked back his hair, put on one of his more subtle game day suits, and had his full smile. And of course, he’d only used the finest beard balm on the market so it was smooth, luxurious, and ready for Gabi’s hands.

“Thank you for the flowers. I think I have a vase around here,” she said, heading toward her closet. She bent over and pushed things around on the floor, but his eyes were glued to her ass.

The way the pink fabric stretched across her curves made his mouth water.

“Like what you see?” she asked, looking over her arm and up at him, that twinkle in her eyes again.

“Yep,” he said. Then he lightly swatted her ass, loving how her eyes darkened as she gasped. “You did that on purpose.”

“I think there’s an empty vase in one of the kitchen cabinets,” she said.

He took the flowers from her and set them down on her dresser before pulling her into his arms.

“You don’t need to trick me to look at your ass, love. I’m usually mesmerized by it,” he said with a smirk.

“Like I would do that,” she said, outraged, her hand on her chest.

Now he was staring at her breasts, at her low neckline. She was dressed to torture him.

“We should skip dinner,” he said, leaning down and trailing his lips over her neckline.

“Nope. I’m hungry,” she said, a hitch in her voice.

“Me too,” he said, dipping his finger into the top of her dress and scraping his nail over her nipple. It quickly pebbled under his touch. Her soft gasp was music to his ears, and his cock hardened to steel.

Dinner was overrated.

“Max. We can do that later,” she said, tugging him toward the door.

“How am I supposed to walk downstairs like this?” he asked, gesturing to his cock.

She grinned. “Think about your grandmother.”

“Come on. Don’t bring Nana Marjorie into this,” he said.

“You’re ridiculous. Come on,” she said, grabbing the bouquet off her dresser.

He followed her down the stairs, teasing her about staying in, but he was looking forward to their date. Aside from bedroom—and laundry room—activities, they hadn’t spent any time alone together. They were either with Ava or the kids or his teammates.

Tonight was the perfect night for their date because the Strikers had beaten Calgary in five games, so they had a few days off before the next round. She might already be falling in love with him, but he was going to seal the deal with his wit and charm on their date. She might not know it, but he had that in spades.

“Don’t you two look nice,” Ava said when they walked into the kitchen.

“Don’t make this weird,” he said.

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