Page 112 of The Final Faceoff
It hits the back of the net.
Goal.
The arena detonates. Leif’s teammates swarm each other, the goal horn blaring, the fans on their feet, screaming.
But me?
I’m not watching the celebration.
I’m watching him.
Leif skates forward, watching the final seconds tick down, his entire body coiled and unshakable. The puck drops at center ice, a last-ditch effort from the other team, but the Vipers shut it down.
The buzzer sounds.
They win.
And right away, Leif looks for me. His mask tilts up slightly, just enough for me to catch his eyes through the cage. Even from here, even with an entire arena screaming around us, I feel it—the connection. It’s just us for one second.
Then, just before his teammates mob him in celebration, Leif does something so small that no one but me would ever notice.
He taps his chest once, then points—right at me. Like always. Like he’s telling me,This? This is for you, for my girls.
And I swear, I fall in love with him all over again.
ChapterThirty-Eight
Leif
After the Big Game . . . There’s a Bigger Game to Play
The second we step into the penthouse, I’m done waiting.
I barely get the door shut before I’m on her.
My hands slide under her hoodie, pushing it up, feeling the heat of her bare skin beneath my palms. I need her. I needed her the second I saw her in the stands, the second she stood on her seat and screamed for me, the second she pressed a hand to her belly and let me know she was watching me. Rooting for me. Loving me.
And now?
Now I get to have her.
I back her into the wall, my breath ragged, my body still humming from the adrenaline of the game. She’s looking up at me, lips parted, cheeks flushed, and fuck if that isn’t the best sight in the world.
I brace a hand beside her head, dragging my knuckles down her cheek, then lower, tracing the slope of her neck, feeling her pulse flutter under my fingertips.
“You were loud tonight,” I murmur, my voice still rough from shouting on the ice.
She blinks up at me, smirking. “You were good tonight.”
I shake my head. “No, baby. You were loud.” My thumb brushes her bottom lip. “Standing on your damn seat, screaming about how I’m yours. Got me all worked up before I even stepped off the ice.”
She shifts against me, her belly pressing into my abs, her body soft and warm and so fucking perfect against mine.
I drag my mouth over her jaw, nipping, teasing, feeling her squirm. “You got any idea what that does to me? Seeing you in the crowd, screaming for me like that?”
Her breath hitches.
I slide my hands down to her hips, gripping tight.
