Page 21 of One Goal in Mind

“Which we’ve dealt with these past few months. What are you really afraid of?” He brushes my cheek with his thumb, grounding me.

“I haven’t been with anyone since the night we spent together. I… I don’t want anyone else, Russ. I’m not like Rachel, who can detach herself emotionally from sex. If we sleep together, it would be more for me. I don’t enjoy one-night stands.”

Leaning in, he brushes a soft kiss to my cheek and whispers, “You’re my favourite person, Red. Nothing about you and me is temporary.” My breath catches at his admission. As he pulls back, I’m lost in his chocolate brown eyes. “I haven’t been with anyone since you either, but you could never be a one-night stand. I only had a night with you, and I’ve been yours ever since. I’m more interested in having something real with you than sleeping with you. You want to come? You know I’ll be on my knees in a second to taste you again. But I’ll never push for more if you aren’t ready.”

He’s my person, the one I trust more than anyone. It’s about time I trust him with my heart. A lump forms in my throat as I will back my tears.

“Come on. Let’s get your ‘thinking shower’ started.” He tugs his shirt off by the nape of the neck and tosses it to the ground, then turns the knob for the shower. He’s so damn beautiful, I can’t stop staring. “When you walked in, you said you wanted to take a shower alone. My worst fear is you’ll step inside and realise I’m not worth the trouble. But this isn’t about me—it’s your choice.”

“Russ,” I breathe. “You’re absolutely worth the trouble. I’m scared of losing my best friend, but also if we shower together, then you’ll see me naked, and I certainly don’t look like…” I gesture up and down his body.

Russ barks out a laugh. “I certainly hope not, but you’ve forgotten, I’ve already seen you naked.”

“No, you haven’t.”

“Maybe notallof you, but you’re acting as if I haven’t had my face between your legs. More than anything, I want you to be comfortable here, so if you want to shower solo, I’ll leave you to it.”

He takes my hand and presses a kiss to my palm. My heart swells as my breath hitches and any excuse I’ve come up with is utterly pointless. He told me I’m his favourite person, but he’s also mine, and there isn’t a single part of me that can deny how much I want him. I slide my hand down to his chest and walk him backwards into the shower. The water is the perfect temperature—not scalding but hot enough for steam to fill the space. I don’t give a fuck that I’m still wearing my clothes, taking his face in my hands and kissing him, loving the feel of his expertly trimmed beard under my fingertips. He chuckles against my lips, and I can’t help smiling against his.

“What do you want, Red?”

“You,” I whimper, dropping to my knees and hooking my fingers into his now-soaked sweatpants. I don’t tug them down, wanting his permission.

Russ brushes my hair away from my face then covers my hands with his. “If we do this, I get to keep you after.”

“Keep me?”

“Yeah,” he laughs. “Keep you. We can figure it out together when my cock isn’t aching for you to touch me, but I need you to admit we’re not just friends. I won’t be your fuck-buddy, Red.”

It would be difficult, but not impossible. “We’re friends,” I carefully admit. “But I want more too.”

“Then I don’t want you on your knees.”

“One of my players smacked my ass tonight. You didn’t hesitate. Mere seconds later, you were on him, ready to defend my honor. In that moment, you were on your knees for me. Now, it’s my turn.”

“That’s not how this works,” he groans.

“Why not? I won’t be shamed for wanting to see the elusive piercing you claim to have.”

Russ releases his hold on me, and I tug down his soaked sweats to find a single piercing through the tip of his cock. “Just the one for now.”

“Why just one?”

“You don’t remember? I told you I’ll get a piercing for every month I don’t see you. The minute you told me you were hired by Québec City, I checked the game schedule, then made an appointment.” His cock is long and thick and will probably breakme. Still, it has to be one of the most romantic gestures I’ve ever experienced. “I’ll be adding my ladder once you leave to cover the rest of the season.”

“If I say you have a beautiful cock, is that weird?”

“No,” he chuckles. “It’s healed, but my piercer recommends a condom for anal. Otherwise, every inch of me is yours.”

I’ve never had this kind of power. “Show me,” I breathe. He takes my chin in his hand and guides me to stand. “What are you doing?”

“Showing my girl she’s mine.”

Russ presses me against the shower wall and, in an instant, his lips are on mine. I whimper on contact. So many nights I imagined the next time I would see him. None of my fantasies could compare to feeling his hard body against me, or the rough claiming of my mouth. He tugs my shirt off me, and the thump of it hitting the floor echoes against the walls.

As he drops to his knees, he hooks his fingers in my waistband as I did for him moments ago, and with a shaky breath insists, “Tell me to stop and I will. I love you, Scarlett. We can stop at any time and it won’t change how I feel about you.”

He never calls me by my name. Ever. I do the work for him, dragging down my sopping wet pants to my ankles and stepping out of them. I unhook my bra and slip it off my shoulders, letting it join our mess of wet clothes.

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