Page 42 of Pucking Obsessed

I glance out the window, watching the trees blur past as we drive and I take another sip of the float, letting the sweetness flood my mouth before I offer him a sip.

“Thank you,” I finally say, because I need him to know how much this thing, that probably seems so small to someone like him, really means to me.

He shifts slightly, his hand brushing against my thigh, “Anything for you, princess.” His hand stays on my leg, his thumb brushing lightly over the fabric of my jeans as he drives.

“You really mean that, don’t you?” I manage, my voice barely above a whisper.

“I don’t say anything I don’t mean.” His hand moves to the back of my neck, his fingers tangling in my hair. “You’re mine, and I’m not letting you go.”

Hayden pulls down a side road and I’m surprised that the scenery outside the car is breathtaking. The towering pine trees are blanketed in frost, the frozen pond glints in the fading light, and the mountains standing stoic in the distance are something you can’t see from campus, and certainly not from the town I lived my whole life.

“What is this place?” I ask, my voice softer now as I look back at him.

He leans back slightly after he puts the vehicle in park. I make a mental note that his hand never left me. “Callum found it, to be fair, even though I don’t like giving him credit for anything,” Hayden says, rolling his eyes and I can’t help but find the petulance a little endearing.

“He searched until he could find a place where he could see the Falls,” Hayden points to the mountains. “But the three of us come here sometimes to skate without any of the annoyances of people on campus. I wanted you to see it for some reason, because I like it here.”

Hayden moves the bag of half-eaten food off my lap and scoops me up, pulling me effortlessly over to his seat. I shift on his lap, trying to get my legs sorted, but all I manage to do is grind against him, and the sharp inhale he takes tells me exactly what I’ve done.

His hands tighten on my hips, holding me in place as he looks up at me with hooded eyes. “You keep moving like that, princess, and we’re not leaving this car anytime soon.”

I reach up and press my hand against his chest, feeling his heartbeat under my palm. He covers my hand with his own, holding it there as if to make sure I don’t pull away.

“This shouldn’t feel this good,” I murmur, more to myself than to him.

“But it does,” he counters. “Because it’s right.”

His lips brush against mine, soft at first, but then he deepens the kiss, his tongue sliding against mine with a hunger that makes my toes curl. I melt into him, my hands gripping his shoulders as his fingers press into my hips, pulling me closer, holding me down on him.

When he pulls back, his forehead rests against mine, his breath warm against my lips. His voice is softer now but no less intense, “There’s no version of this life where we’re not together. Do you hear me?”

I nod, unable to find the words, and he brushes his thumb over my lower lip, his gaze locked on mine. “That’s my good girl,” he says simply, before leaning in to kiss me again, and just those few words in the low rumble of his voice has heat pooling between my thighs.

“I don’t know how you managed to get me to drop my guard down, but you did,” I tell him, smiling as I lean in to give him a quick kiss.

His voice drops, as if what he’s about to say is a secret meant just for me. “I am in love with you. I don’t want you to say anything. Not until you’re ready, because I already know you do.” His hand cups my cheek, and his thumb brushes over my jawline. “I didn’t understand any kind of love, let alone romantic love, before I laid my eyes on you. Once you were mine, I knew I’d move heaven and hell just to be with you. I’ve never felt this before, and I know I’ll never feel it again. So your mother can marry my father, divorce him, poison his brandy and bury him under the maple tree in the backyard, I don’t give one single fuck what anyone else is doing. All I care about is that you’re safe, and you’re mine.”

I feel the pressure build behind my eyes, tears threatening to spill, but I force them back, biting down on the emotion threatening to choke me. I know I love Hayden, but the words won’t come out.

Instead, I take a shaky breath and say, “I am yours, Hayden. I think… some part of me has known that from the night you followed me into the woods.”

He grins, a little cocky, a lot endearing. “The nightyoukissedme, you mean.” He is such an ass, but not really. I know he’s trying to lighten the mood so I don’t feel any pressure.

I giggle, leaning forward to kiss him softly and suddenly, he shifts in his seat, reaching into the back, and pulls out a large box.

“Hayden, you’ve done enough… Benji’s and bringing me here was everything I could have ever asked for in a date.”

He shakes his head, sliding the box toward me. “This one’s for me.”

I glance at him, puzzled, before tugging the lid off. Inside is a hockey jersey, his number emblazoned on it in soft pink. But instead of his name across the back, it saysPrincessalso in pink.

I stare at it, my chest tightening as I run my fingers over the stitching.

“Anyone can buy my jersey from the school gift shop,” he says, his voice quieter now, “but no one has my number with the pet nameIgave them.”

It’s my turn to lighten the mood, so I say, “And when your rivals notice and start calling me princess?” I swear I see seven different emotions pass over Hayden’s handsome face and none of them are nice ones. He’s short-circuiting and I’m the reason.

To make amends, I lean forward and kiss him. Softly at first, but he deepens it, his hands gripping my thighs and then my hips as if he can’t figure out where he wants to be touching me.

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