Page 168 of Hat Trick

“Sorry,” I whisper. “This is a lot for me to process. You… you have the day we met tattooed on your body. All those times I looked at it during our sessions, and I had no idea.”

“Now you do.” He wipes my tears away with his thumbs and smiles. “And it’s not just about you, Armstrong. It also represents the day I became a professional athlete. Let’s not forget that.”

“Ass.” I nudge his shoulder, but he grabs my hand. He kisses my knuckles then my wrists and puts my palm against his cheek. “Sorry for being selfish for a minute.”

God.

Is this what love feels like?

Like the first bit of sunshine peeking through the clouds after a rainstorm? Like a warm blanket on a cold day? Like a million stars lighting up a night sky? Like I might not be able to breathe if he isn’t around, and like I’m taking my first deep breath in years when he’s close?

I’ve never felt anything like this before. I’ve never tried to define it, never tried to wrangle it in so I could accept it, but here I am. Rushing toward it with open arms, desperate to yell outI think I want to give this a chance!

“Lexi.” Riley kisses me again and brushes his nose against mine. He cups my face with both of his hands, and the world shakes with his heavy exhale. “How did I get so lucky to find you?”

I don’t know how to answer that, so I kiss him back. I let him pull my shirt over my head and lay me on the mattress. When he holds himself above me, I tug off my underwear and look up at him. It’s like I’m seeing him for the first time, shimmering and bright, and he’s the most beautiful thing in existence.

“I want you to fuck me,” I whisper. “Like I’m yours.”

“Yeah?” He drags his fingers over my breasts then dances his touch down my body. “What else do you want?”

“I want you to use the ropes. I want to you to have complete control over me.”

“Are you sure?”

I nod. “Positive. There’s not anyone I trust more than you.”

“I hate to make you do this, but it’s going to be much faster if you get the rope.” Riley gestures at his lower half. He took his prosthetic off when we got back to his place, and his crutches are on the other side of the room. “Do you mind?”

“Not at all.” I slip out from under him and grin as I pad over to his dresser. I pull out the rope and walk back to the bed, handing it over. “Here you go.”

“I’m only going to use it when I get you off. I want your hands to be free when I fuck you,” he says.

“Okay.” I climb back on the bed and hold out my wrists, smiling when he makes quick work of wrapping them together with a single column knot. I tug on the rope to test the resistance, a soft groan leaving me as he guides me onto the pillows and spreads my legs. “Fuck, Riley.”

“Don’t move,” he tells me. “I won’t let you come if you do.”

I bob my head and close my eyes, resisting the urge to lift my hips the second his knuckles graze over my entrance. He’s teasing me, testing me, and I have a feeling I might fail miserably.

Riley grips my knee and pushes one finger inside me. A louder groan escapes me this time, and it takes everything in me to not squirm on the sheets.

“Stay still, Lexi baby. You want to come, don’t you?”

“More than anything.” I whine when he adds a second finger, the stretch blissful and perfect in a way only he can manage. “I can’t believe you’ve been looking at me for years.”

“Looking and looking and not touching. But I’m touching you now.” A third finger, and an even more delicious stretch. I’m full,needy, and the thumb he presses on my clit almost makes me lose my mind. “Because you’re mine.”

“I want more, Riley.”

“What do you want? Use your words.”

“Your tongue,” I blurt, not caring how desperate I sound. He’s never shamed me for being so vocal, and I want him to know I’m happy for any and all of his attention. “Please.”

“So polite.” The weight on the mattress shifts, and I open my eyes. I find Riley between my legs, his other thumb stroking my knee and his mouth trailing hot kisses up my thigh. “You know I’ll give you anything you want.”

I cry out when his tongue flicks my clit, and the heavy arm he drapes across my stomach only makes me want to move more. I’m trapped with nowhere to go, nothing to do but sink into the bliss I know he can bring me.

He buries his tongue inside me and my mind goes blank, the slick glide of his fingers matching the rhythm of his mouth, and I can’t take it anymore. I know I don’t stand a chance of lasting long, and I pull on the ropes so hard, I know my wrists are going to be red for days.

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