Seduced by the Game (8 page)

Not able to say anything else,
she whispered, “I love you.”

* * * *

Karson was stunned by what
Lacey had just shared with him, but he was thankful that she completely trusted
him. He loved her, with everything inside of him, and had waited for this
moment for months. He had wanted her since the moment he met her but, unlike
with other girls, he wanted to savor her, wanted to treasure her, and wanted to
wait until the moment she was ready. She had been nervous since the beginning
when it came to him, and he wanted to show her that he could love her without
sleeping with her. The last two months had been the best of his life. He was
playing the best hockey of his life, and he was in love with the girl of his
dreams.

Being with Lacey was easy,
like breathing, and she lit up his day every time he saw her. He craved her and
couldn’t help but fall in love with her over and over again each day. She was
that amazing, that perfect. She worked so hard, she loved with all her heart,
and he admired everything she had been through. She was the strongest person he
knew, and he loved her with everything inside of him. He couldn’t wait to take
her to meet his parents the following day, and Kacey already loved her. He had
huge plans for them and couldn’t wait for their future, but right now, he had to
make love to the love of his life.

Kissing down her stomach,
he unbuttoned her jeans, slowly sliding them down her legs to reveal a little
lace thong. Groaning inwardly, he threw her jeans over his shoulder and kissed
up her thighs as her hand snaked up into his hair. Spreading her legs, he
pressed himself into her before meeting his mouth with hers. The heat from her
sweet center teased his dick through his athletic shorts, and he wanted nothing
more than to bury himself deep inside her, but he wanted to draw this out as
much as he could. He wanted to enjoy her thoroughly.

Falling to the side of
her, he continued to kiss her as his hand made a trail down her stomach to
between her legs. Pulling her panties to the side, he dipped his fingers
between her wet folds and groaned against her lips as his fingers sank into her
center. She was hot and wet, driving him completely mad with lust. As he lazily
moved his fingers along the taut bud between her folds, he kissed her with
urgency as she gasped and thrashed under his hand. He loved feeling her like
this, making her come. He always wondered why she never took her shirt off when
they would fool around before, but now that he knew why, he only loved her
more. She was so strong, so beautiful, and all his.

Moving his finger in just
the right way against her silky nub, he watched as she came undone under his
hand. She bit into his lip, her body shaking under his touch as he removed his
hand, slowly pushing her panties down. Kissing along her neck and jaw, he brought
her lips to his, kissing her with all the love he had in his soul for her.
Knowing he couldn’t wait any longer, Karson crawled over her, reaching into his
drawer and pulling out a condom. Chucking his shorts down, he sheathed himself
with the condom before crawling back over her, his hands shaking at the mere
though that they were only seconds away from connecting in the most passionate
way. Pushing her legs apart, he fell between them, dropping his lips to hers.

As he kissed her, his
heart swelled in his chest. He wanted to whisper every single plan he had for
them. How he wanted to get married the moment she graduated. That he hoped that
by then he was making the kind of money that could support her business. After
a year or two, when the business was making great money, he wanted to get her
pregnant at least twice. With the hopes that at least one of their sweet babies
would be a little girl like her, someone who could have him wrapped around her
finger the way her momma had him. He wanted to make a home with her, grow old
in that home, and just love her for the rest of his life. She was it—a done
deal.

Pulling back to look into
her sweet eyes, he smiled as he whispered, “I love you, Lacey Martin.”

Without giving her time to
say the words he loved hearing her say, he pushed inside her slowly, a groan
escaping his lips from how utterly good she felt. She was tight, sexy, and
fuck, he wasn’t going to last long. Her body squeezed him like a vise, and his
eyes fell shut as he slowly moved in and out of her. Gripping her sides with
his hands, he picked up speed, his body aching for release as she clutched him
to her. It didn’t take long, and soon he thrust with one last grunt, spilling
into the condom as she squeezed him tight with her body. Falling onto her
chest, he kissed her long and hard, his heart pounding with hers as they both
gasped for breath. He hated that he didn’t last, but she was too hot and too
sexy for him to last any longer than he had. He also hadn’t had sex in months,
so being enveloped in her slick heat didn’t help his staying power.

“I promise, next time,
I’ll knock your socks off,” he whispered against her neck.

She giggled as she lazily
ran her fingers up his back. “You did knock my socks off—what are you talking
about?”

“That was short,” he said
shyly, causing her body to shake with laughter.

“I got off and you got
off; I’m good. You are delicious in every way, Karson. I am completely
satisfied.”

Smiling at her, he leaned
over, pressing his lips to the side of her mouth. “Still, next time, I’m going
to make you come over and over again.”

She grinned cheekily. “I
can’t wait.”

Wrapping his arms around
her, he held her close as he kissed her temple, basking in the feel of her
nakedness against him. She was so beautiful, and to him, nothing was wrong with
her. As much as he wanted to look at her naked and enjoy her, he knew they
needed to get dressed.

“We should probably get
dressed before Grady comes back.”

“Just a little longer,”
she whispered against his jaw as she cuddled closer.

“Okay,” he agreed as their
legs tangled up with each other. The room was completely silent except for the
clock on the wall ticking and the guys downstairs. Karson knew that the locked
door wouldn’t keep Grady out, but he couldn’t bring himself to get up to get
dressed. This was the girl he was going to spend the rest of his life with.
Grady might need to get used to seeing them together, naked and otherwise.

“Karson,” Lacey whispered.
He looked down to see her staring at him, her pale green eyes locking his gaze
with hers as she worked her bottom lip with her teeth.

“Yeah?”

“If you asked me to go
with you when you leave, I’d go without hesitation.”

He never expected that,
but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t beyond happy to hear her say it.
“Really?”

She nodded. “I don’t want
to be apart from you, and I can go to school wherever you get picked up at.
I’ll take out loans and get a job. It will work as long as we have each other,
right?”

“Yeah, it will.”

With a grin, she said,
“Good, ’cause I think so, too.”

As she cuddled into him,
Karson wrapped his arms a little tighter around her, placing sweet kisses
against her chest, and then her neck before looking up into her eyes. “Hey,
Lacey?”

“Yeah?” she whispered
against his lips.

“Will you go with me
wherever I go?”

He knew the answer, but
hearing her say it made it ten times sweeter. Looking down into his sparking
eyes, she smiled as she answered, “Yes.”

I love you.

Coming off the ice, Karson
headed toward his locker, lowering himself onto the bench as he gasped for
breath. It was a tough practice but a needed one. They had their first play-off
game the following day, and Karson was ready to win. This was his last season
as a Cat, and he planned to go out with a bang. It had been decided that
morning. He was going into the draft, and he was beyond excited. Especially now
that his girl would come with him, wherever he went.

Removing his jersey and
then his shirt, he bent over to undo his skates as everyone filed in, doing the
same. He wanted to hit the showers before heading home for a nap. He was
meeting Lacey that night for dinner with his parents and, while he was excited
for his mom and dad to meet her, he couldn’t wait to tell her that he was going
to go into the draft. She would be excited for him, proud even, and that put a
little pep in his step as he slid his skates off before hanging them in his
locker. Removing his girdle and then shorts, he wrapped a towel around his
waist and proceeded to the showers.

“King.”

He looked over his
shoulder to see Coach standing in the doorway. “Yeah, Coach?”

“When you’re done, come to
my office.”

Karson nodded. “Sure.”

Not knowing what that was
about since they’d had a meeting that morning with his dad, Karson hurried in
the shower before getting dressed and heading to his office. After he knocked,
Coach looked up and said, “Shut the door and come in.”

Karson did as he was asked
before falling into the seat in front of his desk. “What’s up, Coach?”

Coach sat there for a
moment, moving his fingers along the desk, and then finally looked up. “You’re
not going to like what I’m about to say, but I have to protect my daughter.”

Karson’s whole body went
cold as his coach’s pale green eyes held his. Choosing not to say anything, he
waited as Coach gathered his words. He slowly stood, looking at Karson as his
hand came to rest on his hips. “You love her?”

“Yes,” he said, like a
promise.

“Then let her go.”

“I can’t do that,” he
said, sitting up in his seat. “I need her. I love her. I know you want to
protect her, but I promise I’ll do just that. I’ll make you proud, Coach.”

“She wants to go with you
wherever you go, and we both know it won’t be Chicago. She can’t leave. She
needs to finish her education, for free, I might add, and she needs to be here
with her family, not off somewhere where you’re going to leave her when you’re
on the road.”

He had a point, but Karson
had every plan to love and protect Lacey. He just had to ease his coach’s
doubts. “I understand your concern, Coach, but she will be fine. She plans to
go to school and work while I play. When I start making the big bucks, I’ll buy
her the business she wants and then she can work from home. We’ve got a plan,
one I believe in.”

“So you want her to go to
school and pay an arm and leg? When she can stay here and go to school for
free? How is that fair? How is that protecting her? She has everything here,
but that’s not what is worrying me, King. What if the cancer comes back?”

Karson’s heart sank and
dread filled him as he looked away. “Do you have the money to pay all the
co-pays, for the surgeries if they’re needed? Do you think the doctors wherever
you are can help her the way our doctors can?”

“We can come back home if
that happens. I’ll protect her,” he said, almost pleading, but Coach shook his
head, his mouth in a straight line as he held Karson’s gaze.

“I know that you think
this is it, that she is the girl for you, but son, you’re young and haven’t
even begun to see what is out there. I need my daughter to stay here. If you
let her go and allow her to finish school here, then when she graduates, I’ll
give her the money to start her business.”

As much as he wanted that
for Lacey, he didn’t like the terms that were being offered. He wasn’t going to
allow himself to be pushed into something he didn’t want. He wanted Lacey, but
he also wanted her to live her dreams. “What I don’t understand is why do I
have to let her go? Can’t she stay, and I go? That was the original plan.”

“No, because she won’t.
She has her mind made up. She’d follow you to the ends of the earth, and she
deserves better than that. She needs security, and being a rookie in the pros
is not going to offer her that. Do you know how much chemo is? How much her
double mastectomy was? Hundreds of thousands of dollars, something you will not
have, but I do. Let her stay here and go to school for free. Let her have the
security I can give her. Let her go, King. I know it will hurt, but it’s what’s
best for her.”

Karson’s fingers bit into
his thighs as he slowly shook his head. “I’m sorry, but I can’t let her go.
I’ll convince her to stay here. It will work out.”

Slamming his fist against
the desk, Coach shook his head as he yelled, “I want you out of her life! She
won’t do what’s best for her if you are still there.”

“Yes, she will. Just let
me convince her to stay here.”

“No! You aren’t good for
her, Karson. You have to break it off with her. If you don’t, then I’m sorry,
but you can forget about playing tomorrow.”

“You can’t do that!”
Karson yelled, flying out of his seat. “Teams are coming to watch me tomorrow.
I have to play!”

“You’re right. You have to
let her go, or not only will you lose your career, but you’ll also lose her.
What girl will want to stay with a loser? Especially when you have nothing to
offer her?”

Tears stung his eyes as he
looked away, gasping for breath. “Why are you doing this?”