Page 24 of Aspen's Defense

"You think Nash will try to stop you," I guess.

"I think…" She pauses, dragging the tip of her tongue over her bottom lip. "Iknowthat once he realizes that I'm here permanently, he's going to lose his mind. He'll try to give up hockey to move here or something crazy. I'm trying to keep that from happening for as long as I can."

"You don't want him here?"

"I don't want him giving up something he loves because he thinks I need him to save me," she clarifies with a shake of her head. "I don't want him to sacrifice anything else for me. I want him to live his dreams. I owe him that." Tears well in her eyes. "I'm terrified he'll give it all up to follow me here just because he doesn't want to let me go. I almost died, and it changed him. I think itbrokehim."

Jesus. She's not fighting so hard for her independence. She's fighting so hard for his. In her eyes, he sacrificed everything to raise her, and he's been sacrificing every day since. She doesn't want to be the reason he lives with regret. She wants him to heal.

"Come here." I drag her across the couch onto my lap, holding her close. "You need to talk to him about how you feel, baby. He isn't unreasonable. Just worried."

"Maybe," she whispers, laying her head on my shoulder. The doubt in her voice makes her sound so much smaller than she is, so much more vulnerable than the fierce woman who has been giving me hell since I walked into the coffee shop yesterday morning.

I make an instant decision.

"Are you into this movie?"

"Not really. I just think the actor is kind of hot."

I growl, nipping her ear. "You want to try that again?"

"No? I'm pretty sure I said what I meant the first time."

I secure her against me and climb to my feet, making her laugh and cling to my shoulders.

"I was just kidding, Noah!" she cries.

"Too late." I palm her ass, marching toward the bedroom.

"Fine, I meant it anyway," she mutters, making me smile. She doesn't give an inch, and I fucking love it. Nothing makes me hotter than her mouth and the shit that comes out of it.

I deposit her on her feet at the foot of the bed, tipping my face down to take her mouth in a hard kiss. "Go get ready for bed before I decide not to let you sleep at all."

She ducks under my arm, scurrying toward the bathroom. Halfway there, she pauses, glancing over her shoulder at me. "Hey, Noah?"

"Yeah, Dimples?"

"You're hotter."

Fuck. I take a step toward her.

She squeaks and runs toward the bathroom, closing the door between us.

"Quit fidgeting."

"I'm not," she lies, rolling onto her back even as she says it.

I smile up at the ceiling. She hasn't been able to settle since her ass landed in the bed half an hour ago. She's on the far side of the bed, an ocean of empty sheets between us, but I can feel the tension radiating from her all the way over here. She's thinking about me eating her earlier today.

"You scared you're going to moan my name in your sleep, baby?"

"You wish."

I roll onto my side, facing her. "You did earlier today."

"I did not."

"Noah," I mimic. "Noah."