“Come here, you,” I say, lifting my arm to invite him in.
Instead, Erik pulls me over, pressing me against his bare chest with his powerful arms.
Mygod, this man gives the best hugs.
And if that wasn’t enough, he fucking kisses my forehead. My chest blooms with warmth and my whole body goes soft. I don’t fight it, or rather, I can’t.
“Got you back,” he mumbles, his voice smug and satisfied. “Can’t forget to kiss the goalie.”
Yeah, no. I’m never coming back from this.
The guys who never gave Erik a chance to warm up to them? They’re idiots. Every single one.
6
ERIK
It’s rare for me to have a day off during the season, so Luke is still fast asleep when I wake up at my usual time. While I’m careful not to wake him, I can’t help but stick out a hand to stroke his hair.
Luke nudges into the touch, and I smile. He’s different. Genuine. Caring.
God, Ilikehim.
He brings out so much that I didn’t know I had in me. All that soft, intimate, cuddly stuff I’d only ever heard about, and thought I’d need some kind of insane confidence to carry out? Totally natural.
I wanted to take things slow before, but not anymore.
I want to ask Luke if he wants to be together for real.
It’s fast, I know, but he makes me feel like the luckiest man on earth for existing in the same room as him. I don’t even care about moving to Hamilton, if that even happens—I like Luke way too much to let a stupid one-hour train ride come between us.
Luke stirs, running a hand along my chest and snapping me out of my daydreaming. “Morning, hot stuff,” he mumbles. “How long have you been up?”
“Not long.”
He checks the time on his phone before heaving himself up. “You need breakfast, right?”
I stick out an arm to stop him. “Whoa, hold on. Don’t get up for my sake.” My stomach rumbles, betraying my attempt to be a convenient guest.
“You need breakfast,” Luke repeats with a grin. “How else am I gonna convince you to stay?”
The list is long, even though Luke doesn’t need to check anything off. He’s in the kitchen before I can think of a reply, and he returns a minute later with a steaming cup of coffee and a yogurt cup.
“What’s your day-off diet like?” he asks, setting the items down on the table next to me.
“High protein, high fiber, and some carbs, but you really don’t need to, uh, cater to me.”
“Stop being so polite,” Luke says. Man, he’s persistent, and I like it. “You’re staying over, so you’re doingnothing. In fact, you don’t have to leave the bed at all today.”
My brain interprets that sentence very differently to how Luke likely intended, and I blush.
“I’ll eat outside. Wouldn’t want to mess your sheets up or anything.” Shit, that wasalsosuggestive. I’m a mess, but Luke doesn’t seem to notice or care. He’s off to work his magic in the kitchen while I sip the strong cup of coffee.
It’s a double americano. Heremembered.
I have to pinch myself to make sure I’m awake for real.
After I finish the coffee and yogurt, I stretch and head into the kitchen. Luke is standing over the stove, and when he faces me, he blinks. “Jesus fuck, you’re distracting,” he mumbles, gesturing at my shirtless form. “You’re gonna make me burn the eggs.”
