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“Mommy?” Luca asked, his voice barely audible now. “Yes, baby.” “Love you.” My chest gave a painful squeeze. “Love you more than bees love honey.”
My hands slipped from the jack crank. “Mother frickin’ son of a biscuit-eating grandma.”
I stilled as the man turned to walk away. Even his walk was hot. Probably because his ass looked muscular enough to bounce a quarter off, even in those damn joggers. I needed to get laid.
I walked away from the woman with what felt like the first genuine smile I’d had in months, those hypnotizing turquoise eyes flashing in my mind. She was fierce, that was for damn sure. Fiery and more than a little determined. I respected the hell out of it. Even if I wished she’d let me help.
“I may miss a lot of things, but one of those will never be how fucking gorgeous you are. Doesn’t matter if you’re covered in grease or flour or have dark circles you’re drowning in. None of it will take away an ounce of your beauty.”
So why was it that the bad boy of hockey was the one to see through it all? Why
“Get your shit. Now. Luca’s, too,” Cope growled. My jaw went slack. “Excuse me?” Cope’s eyes narrowed. “You’re not staying in a place with no warm water. Not for one minute more. So, get your stuff. You’re moving in with me.”
“The color reminds me of your eyes. It felt like it was meant to be.” My gaze jerked to him. “My eyes?” “Turquoise. Like the Caribbean Sea. Could find a world of peace in those eyes.”
Arden’s mouth pulled into a half-smile. “Sometimes, those monsters seem worse simply because we haven’t turned on the lights.” God, was that ever true. “I’m tired of living in the dark.” Tired of feeling like I was running when I’d done nothing wrong. That half smile on Arden’s face grew into a full one. “Then maybe it’s time to step into the light.”
Lincoln’s face split into an outright grin. “Going to be fun as hell watching this one go down.” I stared as Linc turned and strode back down the hall. What the hell did that mean?
“Thank you, Warrior.” “I didn’t do anything.” Cope pulled back, his eyes shining. “You lent me your strength.”
Her friend? Sutton saying it out loud made me realize just how wrong that was. I wanted to be so much more than that. Tonight, all the reasons I’d been holding myself back seemed to evaporate in a single breath. Sutton had been slowly chipping away at my defenses, but seeing her in this dress? It had sent my remaining walls crumbling to dust.
“Sutton—” “No,” she snapped, cutting me off. “I’ve worked so damn hard to stand on my own two feet. I’m in charge of my life, Cope. And if you would’ve stopped long enough to ask me what I wanted, you might’ve found out it was you.”
“I never once said I didn’t want you. Fuck, Warrior. I think about you with every other breath. I dream about you. And when I wake up, I swear I can still taste you on my tongue.” Sutton’s eyes went wide. “You dream about me?”
Sparks flashed in those turquoise eyes, lighting them from within. “I want you, Cope. I want you to take me. I want to know what it’s like to lose myself in you and forget my own name. I want it all.” “About fucking time,” I muttered. And then I was on her.
Cope’s hand tightened in my hair, arching me back as he slid inside in one long, powerful thrust. My mouth fell open in a silent O as he filled me. The sensation fluttered along that line of pleasure and pain, the kind that only drove every feeling higher.
My chest heaved as I tried to catch my breath. Cope came into focus in snapshots. His hair wild now. His dark-blue eyes lighter. Color in his cheeks. He was more alive than I’d ever seen him. I never wanted to forget this moment either. “You’re beautiful.”
What was it about those rough commands? My body instantly obeyed,
“I’ll always take care of you. Always.” Sutton just cried harder. “Don’t promise me that.” “Why not?” I asked, my voice dropping low. “Because if I lose that promise, I’ll break.” “Fuck,” I muttered. I cradled her against my chest. “I’m afraid it’s too late.” “Too late?” she croaked. My fingers sifted through Sutton’s hair, tangling in the strands. “I’m already in love with you.”
My hand slid along Sutton’s jaw, tangling in her hair. “So fucking beautiful.” One corner of her mouth kicked up. “I’m probably covered in flour.” Sutton did come home with smears of flour in all sorts of interesting places. “I like finding out where it’s all gotten to.” Sutton’s breaths came a touch faster now. I loved watching how the movement changed, the way her body responded to my words, my touch. My fingers tightened in her hair, tipping her head back.
“I love you. With everything in me. All I am is yours. Brokenness and all.”
But something about seeing Holland had something lighting deep inside me: the need to see that name changed to Colson on the jerseys. Because I wanted Sutton and Luca to have my last name. To feel every bit a part of my family as possible.
“I love you. Now. Tomorrow. Twenty years from now. Fifty. It’s never going to end.”
Big bubble letters read, HOW ABOUT ADDING ONE MORE JERSEY TO THE TEAM, DADDY COLSON? And we’d drawn a jersey for Cope, me, Luca, and a tiny one for Baby Colson.
