Page 91 of Over the Line

“Uh-huh. Mark my words—one of these days…” He slid his hand along my thigh. “We are going to get back into the bedroom. And I’m going to dick you down so much, all this will be worth it.”

I shivered, biting my lip. “Well, there goes my concentration for a while.”

He gave a wicked little laugh. “You mean you’ll be distracted? By thoughts of us⁠—”

“I’m always distracted by those thoughts.”

I expected the devilish grin. I did not expect the murmured, “You and me both.”

I blinked. “Really?”

“Um, yes?” He stared at me. “Have you not picked up on that?”

“I…” My face heated. “I guess I’m still kind of amazed that you’re into me. That Liam St. Clair wants me.”

“Oh, he does,” Liam said in a playfully sultry voice. “Very, very much. And if not for”—he gestured at the icepack—“I’d be showing you exactly how much I want you right the hell now.”

All the air rushed out of my lungs, but I masked it with a breathless laugh. “Damn those hockey gods for sabotaging us.”

“I know, right?” He tsked. Then his expression softened. “But honestly, as frustrating as it is not to be able to do anything, I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me too.” I glanced down at our hands. “At this rate, though, we’ll probably need paramedics on standby when we finally do get into bed again.”

He guffawed. “If I end up on LTIR again this season, and it’s for something like that, Coach will have my head.”

I shrugged innocently. “Would be worth it, though, wouldn’t it?”

He licked his lips as he took a handful of my shirt and tugged me in closer. “Would absolutely be worth it,” he growled. Then he kissed me, but we were both laughing too much for it to last long. I didn’t mind. I didn’t think he did either.

As we settled back in our respective spots, though, a thought clouded his expression.

“Hey.” I touched his leg. “What’s on your mind?”

“Uh, well…” He quirked his lips. “I was just thinking. Sooner or later, bodies and hockey will cooperate again.”

It took all the restraint I possessed not to squirm at the thought of everything we’d do once the planets aligned. “Uh-huh. They will.”

“Right. And when, um… When we finally can fuck…” He watched himself taking my hand again, and he gazed at them for a moment before he lifted his gaze to meet mine. “Listen, I haven’t been with anyone in a while, and I’ve been tested for everything under the sun since then. And… we haven’t said we’re exclusive, but this is exclusive for me.” He paused and chuckled. “I barely have time to see you—even if I wanted to be with anyone else, which I don’t, it’s not happening.”

I nodded along as he spoke, then realized where he was going. “So you’re thinking we can skip the condoms?”

He half-shrugged with his good shoulder. “I’m saying it’s an option. We don’t have to. But if you want to, I’m onboard.”

It was my turn to focus on our hands. “I’m… I mean, I don’t really have any reason to say we should? I’ve been tested to hell and back, too. And I’m pretty sure we don’t have to worry about anyone getting pregnant.”

He laughed. “God, I hope not.” Sobering, he squeezed my hand. “It’s not a dealbreaker. It really isn’t. Just… it’s a thought. I don’t have any problem using them.”

I searched his eyes. “But you don’t want to.”

“I…” Liam chewed the inside of his cheek as he seemed to gather his thoughts. Then he took a breath. “I meant what I said—I don’t want to be with anyone else. Even if this were the off season and I had all the time in the world, I just…” He trailed off, shaking his head as much as his stiff neck allowed. “I know we just started doing this—whatever it is—but I’m not interested in anyone else.”

Fuck, I could barely breathe. Somehow I managed a whispered, “Really?”

“Yeah.” He cracked a lopsided smile that made my pulse go haywire. “We don’t have to jump to something exclusive, but I don’t see myself⁠—”

“Exclusive is fine,” I croaked.

Liam’s eyes widened. “Yeah?”