Page 53 of Pucking Forbidden

“I know.” He tugs my hands to his lips, brushing a kiss across my knuckles. “We’ll look as soon as we get home.”

Chapter Thirteen

Jordan

The ride from the arena to the house is completely silent. Sutton opens her mouth four different times like she wants to say something, only to snap it closed again. I can only guess where her mind is at, what she’s thinking.

I can’t fucking believe he actually told the truth. I don’t think I will believe it until I read that statement for myself. But I want to be at home when we do it, behind closed doors. I don’t want her reaction spread all across the world…and I damn sure don’t trust Charles not to do exactly that.

Sutton may have hope for that prick, but I don’t. He’s burned my team one too many times already.

I pull into the garage and kill the engine before circling around to lift her out of the truck. She trembles against me as I carry her inside, not stopping until we’re in the bedroom.

I settle on the chaise, pulling her down onto my lap. My iPad is still on the table beside the chaise. I leave it there for a moment, focused on Sutton…on making sure she’s ready for whatever we’re about to read.

I tip her head back, scrutinizing her beautiful face. She’s still trembling faintly, but her eyes are clear.

“I love you,” I remind her, needing her to hear that before we start picking at a wound that’s barely started to heal.

“I love you, too,” she whispers.

“No matter what it says, that doesn’t change.Wedon’t change.”

Her brows furrow. “You think we will?”

Do I?

“No,” I say carefully. “But I know what it’s like to be in the middle of a media shitstorm. If he really told the truth about what he did and why I put him in the hospital, that’s what’s coming for him. It’ll probably come for us, too.”

Once they find out we’re together, there will be no avoiding it. Maybe we could have flown under the radar before Jamison came clean, but now? Hell no. Even if Montaque doesn’t out us, someone will. People will be all up in our business. I mean, I got booted from the team because of him. And now I’m dating his sister? Oh yeah, they’re going to talk.

I don’t really give a shit what they say about me. But what they say about her matters to me. A whole helluva lot.

“I don’t care,” she whispers vehemently, placing her palm against my cheek. “I don’t care what they think about us, Jordan. I don’t care what they say about me. They can point fingers and say I chose you over him. They can question my loyalty. I don’t care. Iloveyou. That’s worth any sacrifice to me.” Her lips quirk into a tiny grin. “Besides, the sooner they know about us, the sooner everyone knows you’re off the market. That’s not a bad thing.”

A short bark of laughter rumbles from my lips as she gets all territorial and possessive. As if she has anything to worry about. Other women don’t exist to me. It’s always been her. “You jealous, baby?”

“No.” Her thumb sweeps along my bottom lip. “I’m just glad the whole world will finally know that I’m yours and you're mine. If they want to follow us around for a while and say stupid shit, let them. I don’t care so long as it’s still me and you when the dust settles.”

I haul her closer and kiss her breathless. “It’ll always be me and you.”

“Good.” Her lips curve against mine. “Then let’s read this statement and deal with it. You promised me orgasms when we got home.”

“Yeah, I did, didn’t I?”

“Mmhmm,” she hums, making me chuckle.

I shift her around until she’s sitting in front of me just like she did when she talked with Vanessa earlier and then reach for the tablet. It doesn’t take me long to find her brother’s statement. It’s all over the goddamn place.

Jamison Peters has announced his retirement from the Bucks!

New York – Jamison Peters, captain of the New York Bucks, has announced his retirement after eight years with the team to seek rehabilitation for alcohol addiction.

“I’ve been selfish and hurt a lot of people over the years,” he said in a statement released by the Bucks organization just a little while ago. “More importantly, I’ve caused damage that I can’t undo.

Five years ago, my former teammate, Jordan Silvestri, hospitalized me in the middle of a game. I let management, our fans, and the people closest to us believe he attacked me over a woman, but I left out the most important details, the ones that told the whole story. Jordan didn’t attack me without provocation. He hit me in defense of someone we both cared deeply about after I took intimate videos of her without her consent or knowledge and shared them with others.

I deserved what he did, and I deserve your condemnation now.

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