Page 92 of Icebound Hearts

Chapter 30

Violet

“Does this look okay, Ms. Violet?” Jake asks over his shoulder with a crayon in one hand. He’s been working on coloring a picture of a hockey player in one of the many coloring books he’s got lying around the house.

“It looks great, buddy! But why did you give him a cape?” I ask, pointing at the drawing he added.

“Because he’s a superhero hockey player like my dad!”

“That makes perfect sense,” I say with a smile.

“Thanks. I’m gonna give it to Daddy before he leaves for his game.”

“I bet he’s going to love it. You know what? I should probably go check on him and see if he needs any help. Will you be okay down here by yourself for a second?”

“Yeah. I need to finish this.”

“Okay. Be right back,” I say and rub his head affectionately before I leave him at the kitchen table to head upstairs where Sawyer’s getting ready. He’s in his bedroom, but he left the door cracked. I peek through it and see him standing at the foot of his bed with his back to me wearing nothing but the towel wrapped around his waist after a shower.

I sneak in behind him, careful not to make any noise, and slip my hands around his waist, making him jump.

“Jesus, you scared the hell out of me. Where’s Jake?” he hisses, looking around me at the door I left cracked.

“Don’t worry, he’s downstairs working on a surprise for you. I thought I’d take the chance to come up here and wish you good luck for the game tonight,” I say and kiss the sensitive skin where his neck meets his shoulder.

Sawyer groans and spins around to face me, hunger flashing in his eyes, then leans forward to kiss me. I feel his cock stiffening under the towel, pushing against my leg, and while I’d love to send him off to the game withthatkind of good luck, I wouldn’t dare risk it with Jake downstairs.

“Jake’s not the only one with a surprise for you,” I tell him when our kiss finally breaks.

He raises his eyebrows, adjusting his cock under the towel so it’s not so prominent. “Oh yeah? I’d say this definitely counts as a surprise.”

“No, not that.” I swat at his chest, then reach for my wrist to pull off the dark blue hair band I’ve been wearing, holding it out to him. “I wanted you to have this. For good luck. It’s one of my favorites.”

Sawyer hesitates, his expression shifting as he glances down at the hair band. I spin the band between my fingers, suddenly wondering if this is a bad idea. He’s a professional athlete, for fuck’s sake. He’s got more money than I could ever dream of having, and he can afford the finer things in life—and my big surprise for him is an elastic hair band?

“Never mind,” I say, shaking my head quickly. “I just wanted you to have something for luck, but this is?—”

I start to draw my hand back, but Sawyer catches my wrist, stopping me. He gently tugs the hair band from my fingers, then slips it over his own wrist.

“It’s perfect.” He leans in to kiss me. “Thank you, heartbreaker.”

“You’re welcome,” I murmur, my face hot.

I can’t tell if he actually likes it or is just being polite, but either way, it’s very sweet of him to accept what in retrospect seems like a pretty lame gift. But I can’t deny the little thrill of pride—shot through with a hint of possessiveness—that fills me when I look down and see the hair band wrapped around his wrist.

When I glance back up, Sawyer is watching me. He takes a half step closer, his mouth opening as if he’s thinking about saying something but isn’t sure he wants to.

“What?” I ask curiously.

“I want you to wear my jersey to the game tonight.”

My stomach flips, a mix of nerves and something else rushing through me. I’ve almost always worn Reese’s jersey to Aces games, if I’ve worn anything team related at all, so wearing Sawyer’s instead would definitely stand out to anyone paying attention.

“Are you… are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Won’t it be a bit too obvious that there’s something going on between us if I suddenly start wearing your number when I usually wear Reese’s?”

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