Page 89 of Fall Wherever They May

“Yeah, well, his mom is stressed out about her son’s favorite player leaving the team. I just don’t know how I’m goingto break the news to the poor kid that ‘Callan Miles, the best center in hockey,’ is retiring. Whatever will I do? You’re going to break my son’s little heart.” I giggle as Cal tickles my side.

“But in all seriousness, is there any way I can convince you not to retire? Maybe stay on the team another year . . . or two?”

“Yep.” He answers too quickly.

My head jerks back. Wow, that was entirely too easy. I thought he might groan or say no.

“Blowjobs. Lots and lots of blowjobs,” he deadpans.

I snort out the most unattractive laugh and smack his chest. “I’m serious.”

He falls back on the bed, taking me with him, then rolls us over. “How about I agree to your terms if you agree to mine?” He runs his nose along my jaw, then whispers in my ear. “Move in with me, Angel.”

A slow smile spreads across my face. “This is extortion.”

He kisses his way down my stomach. “Please.” He pops the button of my jeans. “Please, move in with me. Be a good girl, say yes, and I’ll sign for two more years.” He stands and slides my jeans down my legs.

I think he just unlocked a new kink because I’m loving a begging Callan Miles. He lifts me up and then removes my shirt. I watch as he folds the fabric. He places the makeshift blindfold over my eyes and ties it behind my head, then lays me back down.

“You drive a tough bargain, Mr. Miles,” I breathe. A delicious sensation washes over me when he gently blows a trail of light air up one leg and down the other. His breath mixed with sensory deprivation is driving me insane. I’m writhing underneath him.

“You don’t want to let your team down or leave your boss in a bind scrambling for a new player, do you?” I moan out as he tastes me.

He chuckles low under his breath as he moves up my body. “You brat. Your heels are pressing into the mattress, sweetheart. Your pussy is throbbing and begging to be filled. All you have to do is say one little word containing three little letters, Aspen, and I’ll give this tight little pussy something to take that ache away. I’ll make you cum so hard and leave you so delirious, people will think you’re speaking in tongues for the next week. Say yes. Then and only then will I sign your two-year extension.”

He rubs the head of his cock along my entrance, teasing me, “Please, Angel. Please. Just say yes.” Hepushes his length inside me in slow, tantalizing strokes. I’m tired of being afraid. It’s time I took a real chance at something incredible. Something life-changing that we have decided on together.

Cal has stepped up time and time again. I want this. More than anything, I want him. There’s no more room for hesitation. “Yes,I’ll move in with you.”

His fingertips lightly trail up over my ribcage, the side of my breast, and my collarbone, leaving a trail of goosebumps along my skin. His featherlike touch slides up my neck in slow, sensual movements until he’s lifting the fabric from my eyes and tossing it onto the floor.

There’s so much vulnerability in his gaze that it makes my chest physically ache. “You mean that?”

“Yes,” I whisper against his lips. “I love you. I want to spend my life with you. Of course, we’ll move in with you.” My arms wrap around him, and I cling to him like a lifeline.We take our time making love, worshiping, and unraveling each other well into the early morning hours.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Cal

FOUR MONTHS LATER

Carter spots River walking out the back door with a casserole dish in her hand. Jumping up from the patio chair, he walks over to her eagerly. “Here, let me take that for you. You need anything else?”

I snort and grab a beer, popping the top. I hand it to Aspen before grabbing another one for myself.

“Dude’s laying it on thick, isn’t he?” Aspen mutters in that sexy-as-hell southern drawl.“By the way, you still owe me one hundred smackeroonies.”

I bark out a laugh. “Smackeroonies? I’ll give you some smackeroonies.” Trailing my hand up her ribcage, I lean in and speak low into her ear, “Listen, Angel. I have much better ways in mind to pay you back for that little bet, and none of them involve money.” I peck her lips, keeping it PG in front of our company. Her laughter trails after me as I stroll to the lounger by the pool.

If you had told me a year ago that I would be back here, in this very spot with the love of my life . . . well, I would’ve probably grunted and told you to fuck right off. It’s crazy how life changes in the blink of an eye.

I’ve always thought of life as a road with a million different turns along the way. Every single decision made is a turn in the road, which is met with obstacles and more decisions. Part of me also believes in events so random and so incredibly coincidental that they couldn’t possibly be anything other than fate. Sometimes, I wonder if Puck wouldn't have been in the middle of the road that day, and if I hadn’t run into the back of Aspen’s car, if we’d be where we are right now.

I believe every single occurrence in my life led me to this stunning woman. I would walk through the fiery depths of hell, suffer through every single heartbreak, and endure the trials and tribulations in my life one hundred times over if it led me to her. She brought me to the surface when I was drowning in grief.

We’ve been through four months of counseling, and though we’ve worked through so many of our individual traumas, we still have a way to go. Through the process, our relationship has grown so much stronger. Aspen and her therapist have been going through the journals her father left behind, and together they’ve been working through her abandonment. As for me, I’m learning how to communicate instead of shutting down. I’m also learning that no matter what I do, I can’t control everything around me. Now, that was a hard lesson to learn.

Carter saunters up beside me. “How’s the foundation coming along?”

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