Page 42 of Broken Promises

“Just snuggling,” I say against her lips. “When I take you, Willa, it will be to make love to you. Not just sex. But you’re not ready for that yet. I’ll wait for you to catch up to me. I’ll wait an entire lifetime for you, Princess.” I kiss her forehead, quickly strip down to my boxer briefs and climb into her queen size bed. “Let’s get some sleep.”

She stares at me for a moment, the frustration and confusion warring in her features. Finally, she quickly strips down to just her black lacy panties, but her back is turned so all I can see is her perfectly round ass. I stifle a groan, reminding myself that I want to do this right and not just pounce on her like a horny idiot. Willa knows what she’s doing though, because she throws a smirk over her shoulder before grabbing one of my shirts out of her dresser and pulling it on.

“How many of my shirts did you steal?” I laugh when she shrugs innocently. “Come here.”

Willa gets in and snuggles next to me. I pull her as close to me as possible. Her bed would be the perfect size for mostpeople, but I’m a hockey player. I’m tall and broad naturally but add in all the work I put into my body, and I’m taking up most of the bed by myself. Luckily, Willa is small enough to fit right against me, otherwise she might have to sleep on top of me.

Wait.

Maybe I should get a smaller bed.

TWENTY-THREE

willa

“Can we talk?”Declan’s eyes go wide, and I see the panic flash across his face. “It’s not bad,” I add, trying to hide my laughter when he relaxes so quickly it makes him look like a balloon that sprung a leak.

“No one ever asks that question for a good reason, Princess,” he points out, frown showing his disapproval.

I walk up to him where he’s standing by the front door and wrap my arms around his waist. He was about to leave for practice before I decided I couldn’t wait to talk to him. “I was thinking it’s probably time to go public.”

“Yeah?” His smile is so bright it’s blinding.

“I’ve been thinking about it, and I think it’s a good idea. Bethany was at the San Diego game waiting to sink her claws into you. The New York game was dangerous for you. Then Jo tells me the internet thinks I’m sleeping with Gideon.” I bite my lip and look into his eyes. He’s smiling down at me, like he’s just happy to be here. “I also kind of hate all the articles trying to guess who you’re making heart eyes at during your games.”

Declan chuckles. When he dips his head and kisses me, I melt into him. “You’re cute when you’re jealous.” I scowl, but hejust chuckles again and kisses my scrunched forehead. “Fucking beautiful.”

“I need to get to practice, but we can go over the plan to announce to the world you’re mine,” he says, giving me a chaste kiss before letting me go.

“No need. I have a plan.”

He raises his eyebrows. “Do I get to be in on it?”

“Nope. But you’ll love it.”

Declan shakes his head, but he’s smiling. “I’ll be back for lunch.”

I watch him walk out the door and to his car; his jeans hugging his ass perfectly while they stretch tightly around his thick thighs. Ever since we decided to be more than just friends, I’ve been noticing how attractive he is. Not that I wasn’t aware before, but I wouldn’t let myself look or even think about it. Between his tattoos and all the muscles, my underwear is never dry.

I’m still terrified of us not working out and losing him. But I’m hoping that he’s my next adventure. The kind that lasts a lifetime.

“Where’s Declan?”

“Hi, Callahan. Please come in,” I say sarcastically as he lets himself into my house.

“Is he here?” Cal looks around, his face eager like an excited puppy.

“He has practice. He’ll be back soon, but he has a game tonight, so he can’t play with you today.”

Cal and Declan met two days ago, and they’re already inseparable. It’s something I knew would happen, but I’m not asupset about it as I thought I would be. It’s actually been kind of nice to have the two parts of my life come together.

“I know he has a game. I wish I was going,” he says, plopping himself down next to me and crossing his arms with a pout.

I roll my eyes. “You’re over here trying to get tickets, aren’t you?”

“No, but if you have some you’d like to give me, I’m sure Kai and I would find good use for them.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” I laugh. Cal is as subtle as an explosion.

---