Page 38 of Pucked Together

That's when I feel the warmth of Ryker's hand reaching for my cheek. Even in the dark, he's able to find my face, and with his thumb, he wipes the tears, now leaving trails of heat as they fall to the floor.

"Don't," he whispers.

I try hard to breathe normally.

"He's not worth it," he urges.

I hang my head, feeling embarrassed by my emotions when he moves in front of me. His body pinned me to the door.

"Izzy," I feel his presence. His arms wrap around my shoulders, big and strong.

Safe.

Why does he make me feel so safe? I'm mad at him, damn it.

Something comes over me, and without another thought, I reach for the collar of his jersey, pulling him down so that our lips meet.

He's tense at first. I can feel it in his muscles locking up around me. But then, he melts into it. His lips move over mine, taking me in softly. Our tongues dance over each other. Our breathing gets erratic with our hands moving over each other's bodies. It's like we're both locked into the moment, and something about him feels so right.

Until the door behind me gives way, and I fall backward. Ryker grabs me by the waist and lifts me up before I can hit the floor.

"Oh shit. Sorry, I didn't think anyone was in he—Izzy?"

Ryker spins me around so I'm facing Fergie. My face is flush. I can feel it.

"He-ey," I give him a pathetic wave. He looks from me to Ryker and back to me.

"So, it's true," he smiles. "You two are like a couple, right?" He motions between us.

Ryker stays quiet, waiting for me to make the move.

Damn. News sure does travel fast around here.

"Uh," I chuckle nervously, "Yeah. Yeah, we are," I'm rubbing my shoulder, feeling very uncomfortable with this whole situation. But something tells me we're in too deep. We're going to have to see it through.

"We were just on our way to tell management," I add to boot.

I'm such an idiot.

I look back at Ryker, who takes a split second to process it and then nods.

"Yep," he grabs my hips and brings me closer to him so my back is flush against his chest. And for the first time, I get a feel for the punch he's packing in his pants.

Trevor comes out of the locker room, his eyes locked on us. And I lean into Ryker without much thought.

"Cool," Fergie says, totally unfazed and still smiling. "Well, see you both at home."

He turns and joins the other players heading out of the arena.

I face Ryker, "Are we really doing this?"

His eyes look down at my lips, and I can feel them still swollen from our kiss. He reaches out to run his thumb over them. "Your call, Wildfire."

The look in his eyes is tender. Nothing like the fiery hate I've been seeing since I met him. He's soft toward me.

I breathe in and grab his hand, pulling him toward Rina's office. "Let's go tell management."

Chapter 12