Page 73 of Puck'n Bully
“I could eat you up for breakfast too,” I mumble, swallowing a delicious bite.
“What? Did you say something?” he asks, glancing up at me from the counter where he’s filling a mug with coffee.
“Nah, nothing,” I say quickly, wolfing down the food.
“There’s bananas and melons too, if you’d like,” he says, coming back to the table.
“Thanks,” I say, devouring everything in sight as my ravenous hunger overtakes my senses.
I eat everything he puts on the table. Pancakes, eggs, chopped melons and pineapples. I even drink three mugs of hot black coffee.
An amused look comes over Liam but he doesn’t say a thing. He just sits on a chair by my side and watches me eat.
His presence sends warmth washing over me.
I never knew how much I craved someone’s attention like this. I spent so long looking after myself, so long expecting nothing from anyone, that I hadn’t realized how much I longed for someone’s company.
For the first time in my life, I’m starting to understand what it feels like to be at home. And to belong with someone.
Liam, I’m never letting you walk away from me again, I silently vow, gazing into his warm blue eyes.
25
Liam
I stare at the nearly empty breakfast table, struggling to process what just happened.
Hayden looked so pale and exhausted when he stumbled into the kitchen this morning, I was worried his fever was coming back to torment him like last night. His body felt cool but I still couldn’t be at ease.
It was only after Hayden sat down to eat that I realized my big, ruthless hockey player was fine, after all.
The moment I put a plate of food before him, heinhaledeverything on it.
At first, I didn’t realize just how much of an appetite Hayden had. I was too focused on the look of genuine enjoyment on his handsome face as he ate the pancakes and eggs I made for him.
Only after he left the kitchen, saying he wanted to lie down on the couch, that I become aware of the aftermath of Hayden finishing his breakfast.
I stare with stunned eyes at the remains of the meal I cooked this morning.
The dozen eggs I’d scrambled? Wiped clean off the plate.
The dozen or so breakfast sausages I’d fried? All gone.
The platter of chopped fruit? Empty.
Even the coffee pot is empty!
The man devouredeverything.
The only thing that’s left is a single pancake. A mix of amusement and exasperation comes over me as I roll it up and stuff it into my mouth.
Feeling like I absolutely cannot function without coffee, I move to the counter to brew another pot. While the water boils, I start clearing up the table.
So, this is what a hockey player’s appetite looks like, I realize, turning on the tap over the sink.
Ice hockey is a brutal game, requiring equal amounts of a player’s strength, speed, and focus to go after a puck that slides at blinding speed over the icy surface. And while he’s chasing that black disc, he needs to maneuver around the bulky opponents who come at him with murderous intentions.
No wonder Hayden ate like he survived an apocalypse.
