Pucking Sweet (Jacksonville Rays, #3)

by Emily Rath

“You gonna tug on his leash a little, Pop?” I slip the lanyard around my neck. “If I have to.” She leans against the wall by the door. “You gonna call him a ‘bad boy?’ Make him crawl?”

“Don’t even tempt me, bud. You’re that good. You’ve got way better technique than old Hotdogs-for-Hands Avery over there.”

“This is not a date, Lukas. This is business. Be in my office Monday morning, or I will assign you to Claribel and watch as she runs you over with the Zamboni.”

Compton spreads his arms wide. “Just call me Buddy the Elf because I’m in love, and I don’t care who knows it.”

Love the throw back to book 1!

Moments. That’s all I get with Poppy St. James. These little moments that are nothing. But to me, they’re everything.

“What’s your name, honey?” “Don’t tell her anything,” Lukas mutters. Raven glances between us, lips slightly parted. “Uhh…Flash. Flash Gordon…ma’am.”

Her smile brightens again, and I add something else to my running list of facts about Poppy: lights up when praised. Very useful fact to know.

“You’re my person here, Poppy. My one. I told you.” A moment stretches between us, pulled tight like the string of a kite caught on a gust of wind. Her eyes flash with need, and then I’m pressing my lips to hers, tipping her head back with urgency, desperate to taste all of her. Both her hands are at my shoulders, and she’s pulling me closer. Her mouth slants with mine as she returns my kiss. My kiss. I’m kissing Poppy St. James.

“Bold of you to assume you have my attention now,” I say, faking a wave at someone out on the ice. Stupid fucking Walsh. He sees it, and now he’s looking over his shoulder and waving back, confused. I snort a laugh.

Poppy fumes as she looks from them back to me. “Go ahead. I don’t care. But know this, Lukas: You stick your pretzel in any of that cheese dip, and all you’ll get is herpes!”

Lukas glances down at me again, his hand bracing my hip. There’s a fire in his eyes like I’ve never seen before, and it’s not just this sultry light show. He looks like he’s ready to peel his skin off and morph into a dragon. It’s hot and scary and my brain feels like jelly as I take any opening I can find.

Would you like me to stimulate your clitoris with my phalanges again?” “Don’t be a jerk.” “Hey, you’re the one who started getting all medical with talk of your vagina.” “I’m about to stimulate your scrotum with my fist,” I mutter, digging my hands into his tawny hair and giving it a tug.

“Oh, goddamn it.” Slapping my drink down, I shove it away. The man has the voice of a freaking angel.

Crossing my arms in this stupid beaded top, I hold her gaze. “Actually, I gave two.” “Dude, awesome,” says one of the surfer bros. “I can confirm, it was totally awesome,” says Lukas with a grin. To Olivia’s mortification and my delight, he bumps fists with her surfer.

I turn away to hear him add, “Just wait until she realizes I’ve glued her shoes to the floor…God, I hope she spanks me.”

“Nah.” He pulls my favorite cereal from the shopping bag, setting it on the counter. “When you’re ready to face her on your own, we both know you’re gonna fucking crawl.”

“Will you hold me?” he whispers. “Just for a minute. I just wanna try it out.” “Yeah,” I say on a breath. “Yeah, Coley, I’ll hold you.”

He lets out a breath with his whole chest, a flicker of relief passing across his face. “How do I fix this? How do we just go back?” “We don’t go back,” I reply. “We go forward. No going back, Lukas.”

“You’re just the sweetest thing,” I coo at her. “Yes, you are. Yes, you are.” Ducking down, I give her a few kisses. She flicks her fluffy tail in my face and my heart literally bursts. This cat is now my child. I’m convinced.

He’s quiet for a moment. “Fine. I trust you.” Fuck me, those three little words almost sound sweeter than the “L” word. As if the asshole can read my mind, he adds, “And I love you, Lukas.” My heart skips as I let out a breath. “Yeah.” “Say it back, or I’m not hanging up.” I roll my eyes, smiling like an idiot. “I love you too, Colton.” “Of course you do. I’m a damn catch.” With that, he hangs up.

“I was abandoned, Poppy. I know what that feels like. I know what it feels like to wish one person cared about you. Just one.” He holds up a finger. “Well, how lucky could this kid be to say he has three, right? I mean that’s…that’s a really lucky kid. And I could be part of that for someone. I could make someone feel wanted. I’ll figure out the other stuff like feeding it and holding it. But the wanting it? I know I can do that,” he says with a firm nod, tears in his eyes.