Page 104 of Fake Out Hearts

Theo grins and lifts an eyebrow at me. “Is it working?”

“Doesn’t it always?”

He laughs, pulling me into his arms. “Yeah, princess. It always does. You ready to go?”

I nod and say goodbye to Margo and Callie before following him back to the car. We break down the best plays of the night during the drive, and come home to a very excited Milo, who jumps all over both of us.

“I think the poor guy has separation anxiety,” Theo says with a laugh as he pets Milo. He isn’t the only one, but I keep that part to myself.

“Maybe. I’m going to go shower and get cleaned up before bed.”

“Okay. Are you hungry? Can I make you anything?”

“There are enough leftovers in this house to feed a small army. I’ll nibble on those later if I get hungry.”

“Good idea. I don’t want that stuff going bad. Anyway, enjoy.”

I give him a quick kiss and head upstairs to use his shower. There’s nothing wrong with the one in the bathroom downstairs, I just like his big, open stall shower better. I let the water run for a few seconds to warm up, then strip down and climb inside.

My head is still a bit tender where I hit it in the fall, so the water cascading against my scalp is a little painful. I turn my back to the faucet and let the warm water stream down my back instead while I gingerly splash some onto my face. When I’m satisfied it’s sufficiently wet, I step out of the stream and blinkaway the water running down my face and find Theo standing outside the stall, watching me through the glass with a hungry expression.

“Are you okay?” I ask, and he nods but doesn’t say anything. His eyes just travel up and down my naked, exposed body as steam billows around it. Desire pricks to life inside me, and although I know he already showered before we left the arena, I think this might be the chance I’ve been hoping for, so I push the stall door open. “Come on in, the water’s fine.”

Theo laughs and pulls his shirt over his head in one fluid motion, then drops his pants. He’s already semi-hard, which I take as a good sign, but when he climbs into the stall with me, he reaches for my face to cup it while he examines the bruise on the top of my head.

“Looks like it’s healing nicely,” he says and kisses the tender spot, then reaches for the bottle of shampoo on the shelf built into the wall. He lathers the creamy liquid in his hands, then starts to wash my hair, being careful not to touch the wound. He massages my scalp with his fingertips, just like they do at the salon, and it feels amazing.

“Itishealing nicely. I have you to thank for that,” I say as I look into his eyes.

A warm smile appears on his face. “Nah, princess. It’s me who should be thanking you.”

“For what?”

Theo takes the detachable shower head off its hook and rinses the shampoo out of my hair before he answers.

“For helping me find my way again,” he says when I’m finished blinking away the water that’s dribbling down my face. My heart lurches, both because it means a lot to hear—and because I’m not sure I believe it.

“That wasn’t all me.”

“Okay, you’re right, I had something to do with it too. But if it weren’t for you coming into my life, encouraging me to be better just by being here, I don’t know that it would’ve happened. I was solost before you.”

My throat tightens as I try not to cry because it’s sweet but also heartbreaking to hear.

“Theo…” I trail off, completely unsure of what else to say.

“I’m serious. The only thing that used to matter to me was proving everyone wrong. I had this fucking chip on my shoulder, and I was pissed off at the world. The way I played hockey showed it. It was more of a fight than a game. But I found a new fuel. A new motivation. You.”

My heart expands so much and so quickly that it aches. Theo cups my face in his hands and leans down to kiss me, softly and sweetly, but I have so much pent-up desire for him that I add some intensity in the way I kiss him back.

He pulls away, still holding my face. “Not until you’re ready, baby. I don’t want to hurt you.”

I rest one of my hands on his and push it down to my breast, leaving it there so he can feel the thudding of my heart.

“Please,” I whisper without taking my eyes off his. “I’m ready. I’vebeenready, Theo. I need you so much.”

Something lights in his eyes, and he kisses me again with the kind of hunger I’ve been craving but that he’s been withholding.

I feel his cock hardening between us, pressing against my thigh, so I reach down and take it in one soapy hand to give it a soft stroke. He moans into my mouth, and I realize that as much as I’ve been craving this, it must have been driving him crazy not to be able to touch me the way he’s gotten used to.

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