Page 133 of Stick Side
The force of her relief was so acute she could practically feel herself deflating. She lifted her eyes to meet Ben’s and saw all the warmth she could ever hope for reflected in their gorgeous hazel depths. She hadn’t realized just how much she’d missed him until this very moment.
When Ben opened his arms to her, she didn’t hesitate to rush into them. Tears stung her eyes as she realized even more forcibly what she’d very nearly thrown away.
Seeming to read her as well as he always did, Ben cradled the back of her head and pulled her into his chest. Melody settled into his embrace and hugged him close.
“I’m so sorry,” she apologized, tears straining her voice.
“For what, sweetheart?” he asked as he stroked her unbound hair soothingly.
She leaned back and lifted her eyes up. She liked how she didn’t have to leave the supportive circle of his arms to do so. “I’m sorry for getting spooked and pulling away from you,”Melody explained, feeling embarrassed by her behavior. “The shock hit me hard . . . and I let my insecurities get the best of me.” She added in apology, “I shouldn’t have done that. I should have been better at talking to you and trying to work through things together.”
Ben smiled that beautiful smile that never failed to light her up from the inside out. He lifted one of his hands to her cheek and used his thumb to gently caress her jawline. “But you’re here now, aren’t you, sweetheart?” he said as he paused to tuck her hair behind her ear. “You’ve worked through what you needed to, and you came back.”
“I have. And I did,” she promised with a conviction that comforted her.
“That’s good,” Ben said, looking deeply into her eyes. “Because I love you and I can’t imagine another day without you.”
Melody suddenly understood what it meant to be choked up with emotion because that was exactly how she felt. “I love you, too,” she managed to articulate through the happy tears that had started to fall down her cheeks.
The force of her feelings for Ben had shone with crystal clarity when she’d seen him go down on the ice. She’d known she was falling for him for a long time, but in that instant, she’d known she had fully fallen.
Had she thought his smile was beautiful moments before? Well, that smile had nothing on this one. The smile currently gracing his heart-meltingly handsome face was the smile of a man who had just been granted everything he’d ever wanted in life. It was humbling to know she’d contributed to putting it there.
Ben used the underside of his thumbs to gently brush away her tears. “You don’t know how happy I am to hear that,” Ben said as his eyes smiled lovingly into hers. “This may still be fairly new,but I don’t need time to tell me what my gut knew from the very first: You’re it for me, sweetheart.”
His eyes twinkled into hers before he added with just the tiniest hint of the devil. “If I didn’t think it would freak you out, I’d ask you to marry me right here and now,” he confessed. “But seriously this time.”
Melody imagined she must resemble an exotic fish, slack-jawed and saucer-eyed. Was he serious?
Ben just chuckled, the rich baritone of his voice practically singing her a love song, before placing a gentle kiss along the hairline above her temple.
“I love you,” he repeated, quietly and with feeling.
“I love you, too,” she returned, suspecting he needed the assurance of hearing her reaffirm the depth of her affections.
Ben didn’t waste any more time before lowering his head and brushing his lips against hers. She relaxed into his kiss, loving the way his lips took their time exploring her mouth. There was something both playful and possessive about his touch. Goodness, but she’d missed him.
She moaned when he slipped his tongue into her mouth. It was a primitive reminder of just how strongly he affected her.
Melody was sliding her leg up the side of his body when a throat cleared. She sprang back reflexively, a gasp escaping her lips. She was grateful for the way Ben grabbed her hips to steady her. She’d like to think she would have been able to recover her balance on her own, but she was glad not to have had to put it to the test.
“Don’t mind me,” Dr. Simmons, the team physician, said as he walked into the room, eyes averted and a heavy dose of humor lacing his tone. “I just wanted to give you your test results,” he said after a beat, his eyes now landing on Ben.
Ben shifted their positions so that Melody’s side was pressed into his. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.
“You’re welcome to speak freely, Doctor,” Ben stated, “I’m comfortable with Melody hearing whatever you have to tell me.”
Dr. Simmons nodded his assent as he glanced down at the sheaf of papers he held in his hands. “As predicted,” he disclosed, “all your tests came back clear. No sign of a head injury or anything else of concern. You’re clear to play. Clear to ‘play’ whatever games you wish.” Dr. Simmons laughed softly at his own innuendo.
Melody blushed and hid her face in Ben’s chest but couldn’t really fault the good doctor for his comment when he’d walked in on her and Ben the way he had.
“Maybe just don’t let her father catch you canoodling, all right?” he warned Ben as he walked toward the door. “Second period is almost over and the team will be back in the locker room shortly.”
Melody felt her eyebrows rise in surprise when she heard the telltale click of the door closing behind Dr. Simmons. “What do you think that’s all about?” Melody asked as she turned to look at Ben, her expression perplexed. “He more or less just warned us to keep our distance from each other only to then go and close us in a private room together?”
Ben chuckled. “I think Dr. Simmons knows a man in love when he sees one,” Ben observed. “Or maybe he was trying to remind us that there’s such a thing as proper time and place—in case we’d forgotten.” Ben waggled his eyebrows.
Melody felt herself blush, remembering how she’d been the one to deepen the passion level of their embrace before Dr. Simmons walked in.
