Page 56 of The Hard Hitter

“My stutter can come back when I’m emotionally distressed. When my ex broke off the engagement, called me horrible names, it came back with a vengeance, and it honestly took days for me to pull myself together.”

My fingers curl into fists. “If I ever meet him—”

“It’s okay, I’m over it. I try not to let my emotions get the best of me like that anymore.”

“It’s okay if you stutter, Sam.”

“Justin wanted the perfect minister’s daughter. He never heard me stutter until the night I asked for rough sex, and he degraded me for it. I think the stutter sealed the deal for him walking, but like I said, in the end, I’m better off for it. I can only be me, and if he didn’t like me for me, then so be it.”

“It was definitely his loss.”

“I agree,” she says with a lift of her chin.

“Atta girl,” I say, and give her chin a nudge with my fist. In that moment, something passes between us, some deeper understanding of one another, empathy…a stronger friendship.

I tug her down beneath me, and press a soft kiss to her mouth. She opens for me instantly, and we taste the depths of each other. I remove her clothes, slowly this time, memorizing every inch of her curvy body. I kiss her from head to toe and back up again, and before I know it, her mouth is on my body, kissing and licking, savoring every inch.

“I need to be inside you,” I say, and flip her over onto her back, desperate to see her face, her eyes when she comes for me. I push into her in one hard thrust, but then with unhurried movements, I slide in and out, a tender, intimate joining.

We move together, our two bodies becoming one, and even though our lovemaking is slower this time, it’s every bit as profound—maybe even more so—than the last times.

Wait!

Lovemaking?

17

Sam

Daisy sits on my lap and wiggles as she watches her daddy effortlessly go from one end of the ice to the other, the puck on the end of his stick.

“Daddy, Daddy,” she calls out, but he can’t hear her as he races the long length of the rink, his eyes latched on the net. A couple of local teenage boys and girls who were at the rink have joined them, and I can just imagine how excited they must be to play with these NHL superstars.

“I can’t believe you’ve never watched hockey before,” Quinn says.

“Me neither, it’s kind of fun.”

Quinn laughs at me and opens a juice pack for both the kids. She hands one to Daisy, and Daisy climbs from my lap to settle into the seat next to me like a big girl.

“You’re not cold, are you?” I ask her. We packed hats and mittens and are in our heavy sweaters, but I can’t remember the

last time I’d been in a rink, and really had no idea what to expect.

“Dad is seriously going to freak out when he meets Zander. It’s going to be embarrassing, I can tell you that much.”

“No worries. Zander takes everything in stride. He won’t let the situation become embarrassing. He’s good at that.”

“He’s good at a lot of things,” I say, very impressed watching him protect the puck. “How does he even do that?” I lean forward, my eyes on the Hard Hitter as he shoots and scores. His teammates clap him on the back, and Jonah skates around him, shoving him up against the boards. Today they’re on opposite teams, and it’s quite funny to watch them compete.

“He has a way with people.” I nod, and Quinn continues, “Your Dad, he’s doing okay? I was so sorry to hear about his accident.”

I nod. “Mom went in early this morning, and he’s home now resting.” I chuckle. “He’ll milk this injury for all it’s worth and have Mom running her feet off. I’ll be by to help out as well.”

Her smile is soft, warm when she says, “It’s nice that you guys are all so close.”

“It really is,” I say.

“Zander has always wanted that for me and Daisy. But I think he forgets that it’s something he wants, too.”

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