Page 59 of Bad Pucking Roommate

“I would’ve liked that.”

“Maybe someday.” My fingers sift through the soft curls at the nape of his neck. “When it won’t make things more complicated.”

“They’re already complicated.”

I pull back to look at him. “It could get worse. We’ll have to lie to our closest friends. Our families. Is that what you want?”

Justus’s Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows heavily. “I’d rather do that than lie to myself, or to you, about what this is.”

“What is this?” I stroke his cheek with my thumb.

“I… I think I’m falling for you.”

A tiny smirk tugs at the corner of my lip. “You think?”

“I know,” he amends. “I…love you.”

Justus holds his breath, waiting for my reply, and it’s so fucking adorable I can’t stop myself from leaning forward to graze my lips over his. “I love you too, Justus.”

He sucks in a gulp of air and pulls back to stare at me, eyes wide with awe. “You do?”

“That surprises you?”

“I mean, I hoped you did. I suspected you did. But this happened pretty fucking fast, and...” My laugh cuts off his thought. “What?”

“This is overwhelming for me too.” I drag my thumb over his cheek again.

“How did you—”

“You just dropped the forbidden f-bomb.”

Somehow his eyes grow even wider. “I did?”

“You did.” I grin broadly. “And there’s nothing I’d rather do more, if you’re ready.”

Gazing at me from under his full lashes, Justus traps the corner of his bottom lip under his teeth and nods bashfully.

Linking our fingers together, I lead him toward the bed, stopping at the foot so I can pull him into my arms. I bring our mouths together in a slow yet needy kiss, hoping it expresses the depth of the feelings I don’t know how to put into words.

Sure, we said the ‘L’ word, but even though that’s supposed to be the summit, the pinnacle of anything you can say to express your emotions, it doesn’t seem big enough for what I feel for Justus.

This man savedme. Not just professionally but personally. And I know it sounds dramatic, but it’s true. When I was at my lowest, he picked me up, never judging me for my irrational needs. When I had trouble seeing myself under the uniform that’s become my identity, he’s the one who helped me realize I was there all along. That the qualities I thought took away from my character actually added to it, making me more real than I gave myself credit for. And when I thought the end of my career was rushing forward to greet me, he stepped in to stop the ticking clock, and in the process, he gave me a glimpse of life after hockey. A life with him.

We haven’t put that into words either, but the more I think about it, the more I want it. The more I want to spend life after hockey with the man who helped me hold onto it a little longer. And who makes me smile more outside the rink than I think I ever have.

Eventually.

Until then for the sake of the sport we love, I’ll settle for having him in secret if that’s the only way I can get him. And since I don’t know how to vocalize all that, I’ll just have to show him.

Chapter twenty-two

Justus

Luca’s fingers clutch my hips, holding me against him as his tongue plunges into my mouth with a heady moan. I echo it with one of my own as my hands find the back of his head, grappling desperately at his hair as if the silky strands could ground me.

I’m kissing Luca Daniels.

I’m kissing Luca Daniels.

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