Huh. Now that she pointed that out, I could see it.
“You feeling any better?”
The question caught me off guard, and my head whipped to stare at the woman beside me. “Excuse me?”
“Goose was a mess last night, and I get it. Jenner is the same way. When I’m suffering, he struggles, feeling helpless.”
“Sasha called you last night? To talk about me?”
“No.” Evie shook her head. “When he started dating you, he set up a group text with the girls just in case he ever found himself in a spot where he needed our help. He said it was for emergencies only, and I guess last night fell under that category in his mind.”
My brows drew down while my mind raced, trying to process what she was telling me. “Who are the girls?”
“Me, Dakota, Tessa, and Bristol—the leadership ladies. Well, technically, Bristol is an exception. Usually, the coach’s wife isn’t overly involved with the players and their families, but with Maddox being a former Speed player and her being Dakota’s best friend, it just works.”
“Leadership?” I was struggling to keep up.
“Oh, shoot. I forgot. He mentioned you don’t know much about hockey. We need to get you to a game soon.” Pausing to take a breath, she replied, “Leadership is the captain and the alternate captains. On the ice, you’ll notice they wear a letter designating their role on their jerseys. Jenner is the captain, then Braxton and Asher are the alternates.”
“And he texted all of you last night?”
Evie bit into a croissant. “Mm-hmm.” Swallowing, she remarked, “He really cares about you if you haven’t figured it out yet.”
My breath caught. Discovering he’d reached out to those closest to him out of concern for me, combined with the tender way he drew me a bath and sat by my side until the pain eased, should have been obvious signs. But the one that stood out was how he’d held me all night long when, only a week ago, he’d made it clear that respecting my wishes for a relationship that remained only physical meant no overnights without sex.
Boisterous laughter echoed throughout the house, and my eyes shifted to Sasha. As he lay on his back, with babies and ourpuppy crawling all over him, that’s when I realized how royally fucked I was.
He’d been playing by my rules and, in doing so, had gotten me to let my guard down. His objective had never changed; he only let me believe that for a while. Last night was all the proof I needed of that.
That man had gotten everything he wanted since day one. It was clear now that that trend would continue.
And the thing he wanted the most? Me. Forever.
For the first time, I allowed myself to imagine what a life with Sasha might be like.
Could this be my fresh start? A chance to be normal?
I was almost too scared to hope that maybe it was. But I wanted it all the same.
Chapter 22
Gemma
“Hey! You’re home early.”
Sasha was stretched out on the couch when I pushed through my front door. After the incident a couple of weeks ago, when he couldn’t get in on his own, he demanded a key. My pushback on the matter was short-lived, especially when he said if I didn’t cooperate, he would have the whole lock removed and replaced with one featuring a digital keypad the next time I went to work.
I would never admit it out loud, but I liked coming home to find him already inside. If I worked the day shift, he made sure to have dinner on the table, and if I closed, he would have a bath drawn upon my arrival.
I actually kinda missed him when he had to travel and I went a few days without seeing him. I slept better when he was in the house. And not just because, more often than not, he fucked me into an orgasm-induced coma. His strong arms holding me close throughout the night provided safety, a comfort I’d never known before. The longer he was around, the more I craved the way hemade me feel—like I was cherished, adored, and if I weren’t so terrified of being the recipient of such an emotion, I might have even dared to say loved.
Tossing my keys aside, I slipped off my shoes and joined him on the couch. Cannoli promptly leapt into my lap, licking my face.
His puppy kisses tickled, and I laughed out loud. He’d definitely grown on me, and I was slightly addicted to his exuberant affection.
“I missed you too,” I assured him.
“All right, give your mom some room to breathe,” Sasha playfully chastised Cannoli as he pulled him off my lap and onto his own. He snuggled our boy before turning his warm gaze on me, teasing, “Did you quit or get fired?”
