Page 17 of Hot for the Hockey Player
The kettle was at full boil.“Earl Grey okay?”I asked.
“Perfect.”
“Milk’s in the fridge.”
He went to the fridge and brought out vanilla soy, sidling up right next to me, until our elbows touched, and pouring a splash into each mug.I dropped in the teabags, then poured the water over top.
Picking up a mug, he turned it around in his palm, and held it out to me, handle first.I took it, and he picked up the other one.
With a playful smile dancing on his very full lips, he dipped his head a little.“To getting reacquainted with a family that meant so much to me.”
I swallowed.“To … getting reacquainted.”
He clinked his mug against mine, and we each took a sip.
“Gah!”he blurted out, setting the mug down.“Hot!”
I hadn’t actually taken a sip, because I knew better.
“Was it not too hot for you, iron tongue?”he asked, flicking on the faucet at the sink and sticking his mouth right under the cold running water.
“I didn’t take a real sip,” I said, stepping away from him because that incredible scent of citrus and forest that swirled around him like an invisible fog messed with my brain.“I knew it was going to be hot.”
He gave me a half-hearted glare before shutting off the water.“Well, aren’t you just on top of things,” he murmured.“I’m not going to be able to taste anything for a week.”
“The mouth is one of the fastest healing parts of the body,” I assured him, taking my mug out of the kitchen and sitting in my usual seat in the dining room.A table between us was exactly the space I needed.He followed me and sat down on my left, extending his legs out long beneath the table until his foot touched mine.I tucked my feet under my chair.
“Are there any other recreational classes I could take on the island?Cheese making?Is there a monger around?”
“We have nearly every artisan you could think of here; pottery, woodworking, glassblowing, an apiary, metalwork.You name it, we probably have it.”
“But do you have a cheesemonger?”he asked with cheek.
I rolled my eyes.“Yes, we have a cheesemonger.Fred Love owns and operates Fred’s Ched Shed, and I think he runs classes.”
His mouth dropped open.“Fred’s Ched Shed?”
I smirked and snorted.“This island loves its funky names.Beachin’ Ink Tattoos; One Fish, Two Fish; Dirt Flingers; That’s what I’m Taco-bout; Slice of Heaven Pizza; Go with the Flow Yoga; Hardwood Distillery.There are many.”
His chuckle was far too raspy and rough for a man not even thirty.And it made my body do all kinds of traitorous things.“I love it.It just adds to that small-town charm, you know?One weekend, when we didn’t have a game, I took a drive to the little town of Winter Harbor—which is just outside of Portland, like an hour or so—and they had loads of punny named stores too.I think my favorite was the florist:Thorn Dogs.”
I was blowing on my tea to cool it off, but snorted at the ridiculous name, thus jostling my hand with the mug.Of course, that caused scalding tea to spill onto my lap.
“Fuck,” I exclaimed, setting the mug down on the table.“God!Hot!”
Maverick was out of his seat, like he was ready to fight the boiling water for me.“What can I do?”
“Nothing,” I gritted out, standing up as my thighs screamed at me.“I just need to change my pants and put a cold cloth on the burn.I’ll be right back.”I didn’t look behind me before disappearing down the hall and into my room, closing the door.I gently peeled out of my soaked, loose-fitting trousers, terrified I’d take off a layer of skin if I did it too fast.I worked from home, but since it was a workday, I tried to get into the work-vibe and dress semi-professional.My cousins could work in their sweatpants or athletic wear—I could not.A holdover from my days in the office at the law firm.I glanced down at the tops of my thighs, which stung and were bright red, but thankfully didn’t seem to be lacking a precious layer of skin.
At least there was that.
“You okay in there?”Maverick called from just outside my bedroom door.
“Just fine!”
I did not have an en suite bathroom, unfortunately.So I was trapped in my room, with burning thighs and no way to get a damp, cold cloth without putting clothes back on.And I absolutely did not want to do that.
“Do you have a bathroom in there?”Maverick called.
