“Can’t say that I did,” he muses. “What is that?”
“So one person traces a pattern on the other person’s back and that person has to guess what the person was drawing. Gemma and I used to do categories, so sometimes we’d do numbers or letters or phrases or pictures.”
“Sounds fun. Let’s play.” Bennett’s tone is amused and I’ve come to love these little moments like this when it’s just the two of us pillow talking before bed.
“Okay, turn around and I’ll go first,” I tell him as he unwraps his arms from around my waist and turns over so his back is turned to me. “The first category is letters so you can get an idea of how to play.”
With the tip of my pointer finger, I trace the outline of anEacross his back.
“Well that was easy,E,” he guesses.
“Yep! You’re a natural. Okay, now I’ll turn around and you can give it a go.”
Turning over to face away from him, I bring the down comforter up to my neck to cover the chill spreading across my skin from the winter air. Bennett likes it arctic cold when he sleeps, so I’ve added two blankets to our bedding. He says the lower the temp in the house, the more I’ll have to use his body heat for warmth.
Bennett begins tracing a letter on my back, starting with his finger just above my ass at the very bottom of my back. He traces his finger clockwise in a circle on my back and it takes me longer than necessary to register the letter he’s traced.
“What was that? Was that supposed to be anO?”
He scoffs. “What do you mean ‘supposed to be’? It was obviously anO.”
“But you went clockwise. And you started at the bottom. For anOyou start at the top and go counterclockwise,” I argue.
“No, you don’t. And who made you the handwriting police? There’s not a right way or wrong way to write a damn letter.”
“There most certainly is. You’re not allowed to do Gunner’s handwriting homework with him anymore if you write like that.”
His arms wrap around my waist and the deep rumble of his chuckle vibrates against my back. Bennett nuzzles his face into the curve of my neck before placing three delicate kisses over my pulse point. “You’re something else, you know that?”
“But you wouldn’t have me any other way; you and I both know you love my sass.”
“I do,” he simply states, giving my hip an assuring squeeze. “Alright, let’s see if you can get a phrase since you’re so good at this game.”
“Bring it on, Cap.”
He traces a big letterIacross my back first and I guess correctly, obviously. Next, he writes a word across my shoulder blades that feelsa lot likeL-O-V-E, and when I guess correctly again, my breathing begins to shutter.
Bennett’s fingers pause as he places three more delicate kisses on the back of my shoulder.
He finishes his phrase by tracing a simpleUacross my back. Breath completely escapes me and my throat goes dry with his confession.
Did he mean to do that?
Pulling me against his chest, he rests his chin on my shoulder before he murmurs, “You don’t have to say it, Scar, but I do.” He takes a deep breath. “I—”
But I don’t give him the opportunity to voice his confession aloud. I turn in his arms and capture his lips in a kiss that pulls us both under, stopping our game and this discussion, and instead turning things into a passionate frenzy of lips, tongues, and skin on skin.
I’m not sure why giving myself to him wholly is so daunting. Actually, I do. If I give myself to him physically, and only physically, I can’t lose another person I care for—someone I love. Another piece of my fragile heart can’t be ripped from my chest. Though, I think Bennett has the capability to do far more than that.
If I allow myself to love him, only for fate to take him from me, I know it’d break not only my heart, but possibly shatter my soul entirely.
21
December
Snowflakes as big as cotton balls fall down around us as everyone skates around the outdoor rink where the Winter Classic game will be played tomorrow at the Minnesota Thunder’s baseball stadium in St. Paul.
The family skate is a tradition they do for each team the day before the game. With this year’s Winter Classic falling on New Year’s Day, I couldn’t think of a better way to spend our New Year’s Eve than with our close friends and family.
