Page 30 of My Pucking Valentine

She has it

Whatever she wants.

She’s got it, and I’m going to give it to her.

Everything.

Every fucking thing is Clara’s to have.

“Can this really work?” she asks.

I shift my head forward until my lips are touching hers again. I can’t seem to get enough of her taste, and I wish to fuck she were completely naked right now, and I could worship every fucking inch of her body.

“Not only can it work, Clara, thiswillwork. The world doesn’t know who we are or what we have. They are not part of our world, and they can all go fuck themselves. It will blow over, and in the end, the world will not be in our bed at night. The world will not hold us when we’re sick.”

It will only be us.

Tears stream down her cheeks, and she leans forward, her forehead pressing against my chest as her shoulders shake. I run my fingers up and down her spine. I wish I could eat her out right now. I’m sure this is supposed to be some kind of pivotal moment, but I want to show her just how much I fucking want her.

When she lifts her head, her eyes meet mine, and she gives me a watery smile. “I love you so much, Luke.”

I let out a grunt, my hand slides down to her ass, and I grab a handful. “I love you, too, baby. Let’s go home and celebrate properly.”

TWENTY-SEVEN

CLARA

The celebration takes place,but not in bed between the sheets, as we leave the locker room to the sound of applause, much to my complete and total embarrassment. My face heats as we walk hand in hand through the men who are on either side of us,clapping.

Turning my head, I look up to Luke, who isn’t embarrassed in the slightest. In fact, his chest is puffed out, and he seems proud as shit. I open my mouth to say something, to ask him what the hell is going on when he stops and turns toward them.

“That was your one fucking shot,” he announces. “Don’t be assholes.”

I’m not sure if I should smile at that or not. Actually, I’m not really sure what’s going on at the moment, so I just stand next to Luke, no doubt appearing like a deer in headlights. Luke’s hand releases mine as he slides it around my waist and tugs me against his side.

“She said yes,” he roars. “Clara and I are going to get married.”

The room erupts in applause again, but this time, I don’t feel like I’m on display, a spectacle, or embarrassed. This time, I’m full of excitement. The entire Cleveland Vortex are cheering for us. None of them are eyeballing us or judging us. They aren’t disgusted by us—they’re happy.

And in turn, my bliss fills me from the inside out. It overflows and threatens to spill onto the floor in front of me. My whole world is at peace in this moment. Luke’s lips touch my temple, then he shifts his lips to my ear.

“It’s all going to be okay, baby. I fucking swear.”

When the cheering dies down, I hear one of the guys call out that we’re going toMidnight Hour.My body freezes at the thought of going back there. It’s only been a week, and the idea of walking in there after what happened makes me want to vomit.

“MaybeErie House,” someone suggests, and the breath I’d been holding whooshes out on an exhale.

I flick my gaze over to the man who suggested it and give him a small smile. He meets my smile with a wink, and the whole group agrees. Together, we exit the locker room, and I pause at the sight of both Sarah and Barbara standing across from me.

I’d forgotten that they were still out here. Sinking my teeth into my bottom lip, I give them a smile. Barabara arches a brow, but then she grins at me. “Did I hearErie House?” she asks.

“You did, and you’re both invited, of course,” Luke says.

Sarah beams at him, almost starry-eyed, but I think that’s more because she’s thinking about everything. Specifically, the men who are going to be at this bar with us. The hot hockey men. I don’t blame her because I’m a bit starry-eyed myself, and I'm just thinking about going out in public with Luke.

“Shall we?” Barbara asks as she turns toward the exit sign.

I start to follow her, but Luke tugs me back slightly. Turning to face him, I tilt my head back as I look up into his eyes. His gaze searches mine silently for a moment, and then he lowers his head and touches his mouth to mine. He doesn’t deepen the kiss, even though I’m inwardly begging him to do just that.

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