Page 81 of Crease Collision

Eventually, I finish what I wanted to do and add a tiny antenna. Then I glance at Oskar, who is watching me. Without a word, he puts his hand on mine.

This is Oskar, and he belongs here. The happiness has a physical weight I don’t know what to do with.

I push my chair back from the table and stand. “Let’s go to the living room.”

After I light the gas fireplace, we sit on the couch beside it.

“Forgot to ask if you’re hungry,” I say. “There’s plenty of food in the fridge.”

He shakes his head. “They fed us on the plane, but I’ll keep you company while you eat.”

“I was starving, so I ate about two hours ago. Sorry.”

“We’re good, then.”

I lean against him when he wraps his arm around my shoulders and says, “I missed you so much, baby.”

His voice is quiet, exactly what I need. The chaos in my head fades. Today’s practice and my talk with Nico, tomorrow’s game, even dreading my dentist appointment. It all slips away.

Right now, this is all that matters. Oskar. His warmth, the smell of his clothes, the wonderful fact that he’s here holding me.

I close my eyes, and as the minutes pass, his breathing slows. His body feels heavier against mine.

I’d pictured the night ending differently, but this is even better.

We’re both safe here. The thought should scare me more than it does.

I move carefully until my head rests against his. The fireplace crackles softly, and somewhere outside, a siren wails through the city and fades away.

In here, everything is calm.

For a long time, I thought I’d keep men out of my life forever. This happiness is unexpected.

I’ve always been a reactor, a strategist. I see the play before anyone else does, anticipate the shot, make the save. But this isn’t a play I can read. It’s just happening.

And for once, I’m not trying to stop it.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

KAI

After the Condors make a quick road trip, Oskar sleeps over. In the morning, the first thing I feel is warmth, the radiating heat of his body pressed against my back. An arm is heavy over my waist, a leg tangled with mine. When I shift to take pressure off my hip, my ass brushes against the firm length of him. Talk about morning wood.

A low hum vibrates close to my ear as he tightens his hold, pulling me flush against him. His lips find the sensitive skin below my ear and send a shiver through me.

“Kai.” His voice, a sleepy scrape, sends a jolt straight to my balls.

I turn in his arms, and our mouths crash together. It isn’t gentle. It’s five days of missed calls, empty beds, and heavy longing. It’s a frantic, hungry kiss tasting of pure need. When his tongue sweeps into my mouth, I meet him with mine. I’m wrapping his hair around my hands, pulling him closer as my body arches against his.

He pulls back enough to speak, and his lips brush mine with every word. “No practice for me this morning. You?”

My brain struggles to process the question through the haze of lust. “Optional. Not going.” I gasp as his hand slides down my back and grips my ass.

“Good.”

He rolls me onto my back and settles on top, kissing me again. His hands are everywhere, thumbing my nipples, skimming my sides, squeezing my cock. I’m already writhing beneath him, out of control.

He breaks the kiss and moves down my body while the morning light catches the golden hair on his arms. As he takes me into his mouth, the wet heat is a shock that makes my back bow off the bed. Fisting my hands in the sheets, I cry out.