Page 77 of The Big Puck

Picking Krissy up, I head for the stairs.

“Where are you going?” Aunt Hildie says.

“I’m going to pack.”

“That’s the spirit.” She gives me a wink, and I’m not sure what that’s about. I haven’t told her about my kissing encounter with Spence because I don’t know what to tell her. I don’t trust that there’s anything solid to tell yet.

But I could swear she’s acting like she knows something…

* * *

My plane lands in Buffalo before the team as the sky grows dark and ominous. It’s late, and the weather reports don’t look good. Exhausted, I let myself into my room, 1204, the top floor at the Buffalo Marriott. I toss my one small bag on the giant bed, remove my tablet, then toss it on the floor near the window, too tired to unpack right now. Lying down, I check the team’s social media accounts. I haven’t posted anything yet and consider going down to the lobby to wait for the team to arrive so I can get some impromptu shots of them traipsing in with all their gear.

But I’m too comfortable in this bed to move as I watch the snowfall out the window. I’m mesmerized as it gets so heavy it’s like a white blanket descending on the city.

Chapter 28

SPENCER

We arrive late, and as we get off the bus from the airport to the hotel—a trip that would have been much shorter if not for the heavy snow—I hold the men up outside. It’s cold enough to have them alert, and I have their full attention.

“We have an early morning at the arena. Seven a.m. Don’t blame me for the scheduling—it’s a gift from our hosts. I expect you all to head straight to bed—”

“What about you, Coach?” Sabien shouts. Is it a bad sign that I’m getting used to his big mouth? I shoot him a scowl and continue. “Do not think of stopping at the hotel bar. If you’re hungry, call room service. We’re on a roll, playing well, and we do not want to slip now. We do not want to get into bad habits. Every decision is a choice—you are choosing either mediocrity…” I pause and search the group for each man’s eyes to see if they’re with me before continuing, “or excellence. Which do you choose?”

A loud chorus goes up. “Excellence.” Jason fist pumps the air and whistles through his teeth. Between Rafe’s seasoned discipline and Jason’s young enthusiasm as the star player, they’re the key leaders on this team. I keep my smile to myself, suppressing an urge to yawn as I follow the last of the men through the lobby to the elevators.

We’re all checked in electronically, so we don’t need to stop at the desk, thank fuck. I check the app on my phone and head for room 1204, the top floor.

I let myself into the room lit by only the snowy sky through the window. The snow is a beautiful nuisance. Kind of like Lainey sometimes. I give free rein to my smile in the dark as I drop my bags in the closet and head into the bathroom to strip and shower.

Maybe it was a mistake to allow Lainey into my thoughts as I stand under the spray of hot water, but if I can’t indulge in reliving our last close encounter at the end of a long day in the middle of the road trip, then life truly would be hell. And she gives me hope. Her soul is an endless fountain of giving and hope.

It doesn’t take more than remembering how her breasts filled my hands or how damp her tights were even before I pressed on her center. Taking my engorged cock in hand, I lean against the shower wall and give it a long stroke, imagining her hand on me, her mouth taking me inside, and her flicking her tongue.

Squeezing my tip, I take my cock in two hands and slide up and down, my eyes closed, picturing Lainey beneath me, imagining it’s her pussy enveloping my cock. I groan. Fuck.

“Oh my God…Lainey,” I growl as I call out her name and stroke faster, hoping to hell these walls are thick enough to contain my—

The bathroom door bangs open, stopping my thoughts. I look up. And stop everything.

Lainey is standing there, hair disheveled, blue eyes roving over me as I stand with my cock in my hand. Throbbing. Naked.

I stare at her as she stands gloriously naked, her skin creamy and glistening, her mouth slightly parted, the long column of her neck giving way to the elegant curve of her collarbone and shoulders. My gaze halts on her lush, round breasts with their rosy distended buds, then roams downward along her arched rib cage to her flat abdomen and slim hips, where I stop and linger. Her belly button is an innie, and a silky blond triangle outlines her pussy, making her look like an impossibly innocent siren, raw with tastable sex. The way I’ve imagined her, dreamt about her. I blink, and she’s still there.

And I’m here, still holding my cock.

We’re both naked. In every sense of the word.

Chapter 29

LAINEY

“I thought I was dreaming,” I whisper, still afraid I might wake up and only wish he were here. His eyes are dilated to near black, making the golden specs leap out at me, licking me like flames. His jaw is clenched tight with desire etched in the lines around his mouth. The smooth bulge of muscles in his shoulders and chest glisten with water droplets, leading my eyes down his torso. He lets go of his cock.

“No—don’t stop on my account.” The words leap from my chest, almost taking my stampeding heart with them.

A laugh rumbles from inside him, strained and real and gritty. “Sweetheart, the only reason I started was on your account. Come here.”