Page 97 of Zero Pucks

Me: I’ll make sure he reads this. I’m probably changing my number tomorrow, so keep an eye out for my text. Love you.

Alessia: Love you too. See you soon.

That was the only see you soon I’d gotten recently that hadn’t made my skin crawl. Lying all the way back, I allowed my body to relax from my eyebrows down to the bottoms of my feet. It was easy to do, nestled in Tucker’s bed, surrounded by his scent. His blanket was heavy, and his room was the perfect temperature, and it wouldn’t be long until he was crawling in beside me.

* * *

I was half-asleep, dozing to the adorable cat videos on Tucker’s Instagram, when I heard the door open and shut. For a moment, I thought it was part of a dream, so I didn’t move. Then I heard the thud of his gait on the floor, and I started to drift back to reality.

“Oh, baby,” he said quietly. Him calling me that didn’t make me want to hurl the way it did when Bryce said it. I started to roll toward him, and he caught me with his massive hands. “No, don’t move.”

“Mm, but you wanted to fool around.”

He laughed. “You sound like a grandpa. Fool around, huh? Do a little necking?” I heard a couple of soft thuds, then Tucker used his arms to heave himself onto the bed and tucked beneath the covers. He was very warm and soft as he curled around me. “Can we save it for morning? I don’t have any lessons tomorrow, and I think I want to spend the day fooling around and necking.”

I laughed, sleep a heavy weight on my shoulders as I tucked into his embrace. He kissed my temple as I nuzzled against his neck. “Mmkay. Everything good?”

“I don’t know,” he said from behind a sigh. “But I don’t want to worry about that right now. I just want to hold you.”

“M’all yours,” I mumbled.

His grip around me tightened, and as his breathing began to ease, so did mine. I was safe. I was happy.

I was his.

CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO

TUCKER

Since Amedeoand I hadn’t established whether or not he was good with waking up via blowjob, I didn’t give in to the temptation to start licking his dick like a damn lollipop. Though the temptationwasintense. He was curled into me, and I could feel his morning wood throbbing against my hip.

Falling asleep in his arms had been exactly what I’d needed. The talk with Boden had gone exactly the way I expected: like absolute shit. He was angry and offended, but Ford and I could both see the truth in his eyes.

He knew he was fucking up. He knew he was putting his anger ahead of everything else, and it was going to take a toll on the team if he didn’t get his shit together. We both promised we’d never accept the C, but we also both knew that not everyone on the team had that kind of loyalty.

Everyone loved and trusted Boden, but there were a couple of guys who would have thrown him under a bus if it gave them the chance to show off a letter on their chest.

Boden didn’t say much after that. He’d stormed off, and Ford and I sat in the kitchen in silence for a good, long while.

“He’ll come around,” Ford said quietly.

Bowing my head, I shrugged. I didn’t know if I could agree with him. “This is a betrayal. This is like…like…” I shrugged helplessly. “Like if I caught one of you making out with my asshole brother.”

Ford wrinkled his nose. “That’s a little over-the-top, babe. No one would ever hurt you like that.”

“Hockey is totally Bodie’s evil twin,” I insisted, and Ford didn’t argue. “But I don’t know what else to do. I mean, we can be patient, but if he doesn’t get his head out of his ass soon, Hugo is going to pass the C to someone else.”

Ford rubbed at his face. “I still think he’ll come around. He just needs time to be angry.”

The problem was, I didn’t know what kind of time Boden really had. The favor his dad called in wasn’t without strings. He’d need to show Hugo that he wasn’t some punk-ass bitch with no self-control. That he belonged in the professional sector.

And he wasn’t doing a great job of that now.

Hugo was obviously a man of integrity, and while he wasn’t disabled or a hockey player, the game clearly meant a lot to him. It made me curious why, but not enough to go out of my way to find out. The only thing that mattered was convincing Boden to get his shit together before everything fell apart.

After that, it was a short walk to bed, where my not-quite husband was waiting for me. He was sleepy and soft and warm, curling around me like he needed me. I didn’t sleep right away, so as he dozed against my chest, I thumbed through my phone and caught the texts between him and his sister. I fell in love with her a little bit after that too.

I knew he needed that. Someone who was always in his corner.

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