Page 67 of Playoff

That’s okay.

The only place I want to be at nine o’clock is in bed with Rowan.

“We have hours until three o’clock,” I say.

Her eyes meet mine. “I plan to go work out.”

I make a face. “Ew. Why on earth would you want to do that when I could be eating that awesome pussy of yours?”

She rolls her eyes, though she’s chuckling. “I do love when you do that, but workout first. You can come with me—invite Bodi. We’ll do a light workout at the hotel gym. That way, no one will think anything of us hanging out. Then we’ll come back here, get naked, shower again, and get ready for the meeting.”

I pretend to sigh heavily. “Fine. We can work out.”

“For a guy who wants to be a personal trainer, you aren’t overly fond of working out.”

“Doyoulike to work out when you’re not working?”

“Actually, I do. I like the rush I get from pushing myself.”

“Who are you and what happened to sweet, laid-back Rowan who preferred cuddling on the couch with a movie?”

“She grew into a woman with a very physical job. Now eat your breakfast and tell me about your life in Phoenix.”

“It’s super boring,” I say. “Bodi and I have a two-bedroom, two bath apartment in a decent part of town. There’s a few of us on the team who hang out a little, we watch football at a local sports bar sometimes, occasionally go axe throwing.”

“I love axe throwing!” she says, grinning. “That would be fun to do as a group.”

Of course she does.

We’ve always enjoyed most of the same activities, though I wouldn’t have pictured her axe throwing.

“Yeah. Last summer we bowled in a league, which was pretty fun, but this year I’m planning to work more hours at the gym.”

“That’s it?”

I shrug. “Like I said, I’m boring. What about you? What do you do that’s exciting?”

“I don’t know about exciting, but I keep busy. Obviously, during hockey season I’m pretty swamped, but I do a bit of traveling in the summer. I go home and spend time with my dad. Last summer we went to the UK. We did a bunch of touristy stuff in London, but then we went hiking in Scotland, golfed at St. Andrews, stuff like that. It was really fun.”

I feel a wave of envy.

“I haven’t done any traveling that isn’t related to hockey as an adult,” I admit. “Just can’t afford it.” It kills me to admit that out loud.

She doesn’t seem upset by that information, though. “Well, there’s lots of cool stuff to do both in California and Arizona that doesn’t cost a lot. Maybe we can do a road trip when the season’s over… oh! Have you been to the Grand Canyon? It’s so beautiful—I’d love to go back. It wouldn’t cost us much if we drive, and there are cheap hotels if we don’t stay on the grounds.”

“That sounds fun,” I say. “And I can afford a decent hotel for us once I get my bonus for this round.”

“It’ll also give us a lot of quality time to talk and get to know each other again,” she whispers, rolling on top of me.

“As opposed to non-quality time when I’m inside you?”

“That’s quality time,” she murmurs, nipping at my lips. “Just a different kind of quality.”

“It’s a good thing you’re already naked,” I say, palming her ass.

“Yeah?” Her eyes twinkle. “How come?”

“Let me show you.”

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