Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 92180 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92180 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Brienne glances back at the door, and I use the opportunity to pull her purse from her grip. I toss it on a chair and tug her right down onto the couch with me.
I lie back, arranging her body to drape over mine, and she feels better than any blanket. She’s wearing a pair of soft stretchy pants, and my fingers slide under the band just an inch to stroke the skin on her lower back. My dick twitches, but she needs sleep, not sex.
I wrap my arm around her to hold her in place, and her head nestles into the crook of my neck. She sighs, her breath floating across my skin as her arm tightens around me. Sliding a leg in between mine and wiggling to get comfortable, she asks, “How did you play tonight? I didn’t get to see the game.”
“A shutout. We won 3–0.”
“That’s awesome,” she replies, but her words are laced with fatigue. She’s been working her ass off to care for Kiera and my boys for the last several hours.
“Get some sleep,” I order, but she doesn’t respond.
She’s already out.
♦
The alarm on my phone goes off at six, and immediately I know Brienne’s gone. Her warm weight felt way too good, and I’m disappointed she’s not here.
Scrubbing my hands over my face, I tap the alarm and swing my legs off the couch.
Brienne was here in my house, and I asked her to stay the night. And she did, for at least part of it. We didn’t have sex. She took care of my kids and my sister.
Goddamn it, things have changed, and I didn’t want them to. I’m not ready now, nor do I think I ever will be ready, to let a woman back into my life where she’s in a position of trust. Crystal is dangerous in her drug addiction. It makes me want to puke when I think of the times she was with the boys—had driven the boys—and was probably high. Had something happened to them, it would have been my fault for not seeing what was right in front of my eyes.
It’s not that I think Brienne does drugs or that she’s dangerous. I’m sure my kids and Kiera were in capable hands with her.
The best hands, actually.
But one thing being married to Crystal taught me is that you never truly know someone. We were together nine years, having met during our freshman year in college. She got pregnant with Jake two years after that, and we got married. Next came an NHL career and two more boys. It had been a full life, but it wasn’t until she’d become so erratic near the end that I understood something was very wrong.
Once I figured out it was drugs, and she refused to go to rehab or get clean, I moved to cut her out of our lives. That resulted in her going on the offensive, leveling the allegations against me that Wolves ownership and management believed, and that led me to… well, here.
I didn’t want a relationship.
I don’t want a relationship.
I look at the door and ask myself, Why did you ask her to stay? And why are you disappointed she’s gone?
I don’t let myself answer because I’m afraid of what I might say.
Pushing up from the couch, I head upstairs. I check on the boys first, glancing into their room. All three are still lumps under their blankets.
I move to Kiera’s room. Her door is open, and the rising dawn provides enough light as I enter that I can see she’s asleep. I bend over and touch her forehead, relieved to find it cool, but a bit clammy.
She stirs and her eyes flutter open. “Hey,” she rasps as she sits up against the headboard. “You just get in?”
“A few hours ago. Brienne was here.”
“Sorry if it was awkward that I called her. I was so sick I couldn’t even get off the couch, and I was worried about the boys.”
I sit down on the edge of the bed, angling toward her. “Don’t you ever apologize for doing something to help the boys or yourself. You did the right thing.”
Kiera nods and reaches out to the bedside table, grabbing the bottle of water. She takes a sip and grimaces.
“Want something else?” I ask.
She nods, handing me the bottle. “Some cold ginger ale. Lots of ice.”
“How about a visit to the doctor?” I suggest as I rise from the bed.
Kiera shakes her head. “I already feel much better. I bet by tomorrow, I’m as good as new.”
I cock my eyebrow, because I know she must’ve been really bad off to call Brienne. “On the off chance you’re not, I’m going to have someone on standby who can help with the kids if needed.”
We’ve got a home game tomorrow, so I’ll be in and out between that and today’s practice. But the team has a roster of wives who are happy to help out in times such as these. I never even thought to give that to Kiera, though. I also know Jenna will be glad to help if necessary.