Page 88 of The Pucking Date
“Good,” I echo, flipping us so she’s sprawled on top of me. “Because next time Wes knocks, I’m answering thedoor naked. That’ll really give the team something to talk about.”
Eventually, we surface. Barely.
What’s left of breakfast is cold by then. Her skin’s flushed. Her eyes are glassy.
She lies across my chest for a while, fingers tracing the ink on my ribs, lips brushing my jaw when she thinks I’m not paying attention.
And then, when I think she might fall asleep on me again, she shifts.
Pulls the sheet around her, sits up, bare back to me as she reaches for her phone. My heart stumbles reflexively. That gut-clench panic that maybe she’s about to ghost again.
I stay quiet. Watching.
She dials and then waits. Someone picks up.
“Hey, Joy, it’s Jessica… Yeah. Listen, I need you to ask Travel to rebook my flight. And Finn O’Reilly’s.”
I arch a brow and sit up.
“No, not tomorrow,” she continues. “Push it to Sunday. Tell Rothschild, Vanderbilt is running additional sponsor-facing events. I want to keep Finn in the spotlight a little longer.”
“Nope. No need to tell Coach.”
She ends the call and sets her phone down casually.
I sit up, propping myself on one elbow. “So…sponsor events, huh?”
She shrugs, eyes on the ceiling. “Figured Rothschild would want you out shaking hands. Flashing that smile. Flexing those insane abs.”
I narrow my eyes. “That’s funny. I don’t remember ‘abs’ being on any of the official player profiles.”
Her mouth curves. “Well…I didn’t want to cut your weekend short. You’ve been very committed to your role as my personal sex toy.”
I huff a laugh, shaking my head. “High praise, Novak.”
She stretches, smug as hell. “No batteries required. And definitely no warranty necessary.”
I toss the sheet off her. “Bold talk from someone who was begging thirty minutes ago.”
Her eyes spark. “That was purely performance testing.”
“Oh yeah?” I press a kiss to her inner thigh, and murmur, “Good thing I run on espresso alone.”
She laughs and swats at my shoulder. “And the occasional protein shake.”
I nip at her skin, then pull back, still grinning. “Guess we need to check you out of your hotel room…so we can continue testing your sex toy’s performance.”
She props herself on her elbows. “You can come with me and help. But if you swipe another pair of my underwear, I’m calling hotel security.”
I climb out of bed, letting her look her fill. “Lead the way, Novak. And as long as I’ve got the real deal in my bed, I promise I’ll let you keep your red excuse for panties.”
The afternoon sun dips low,slanting amber light across the hotel bed where she lies tangled in my arms, a goddess in nothing but a twisted sheet and a freshly fucked smirk. I bury my face in her hair, inhale deep.
“Let’s go into town,” she says eventually, stretching like a cat.
“And let you out of my bed?”
She laughs, then stands up, swatting my arm as I try to pull her back. “We’ll be boring tourists. Walk around.Pretend we’re normal people who do things besides have sex.”
