If You Need Me: Chapter 44

I wake up wrapped around Wills. My hard-on is nestled happily in the crack of her ass, and I’m protectively cupping her right breast. A piece of her hair tickles my face, but I’m too content to do anything about it. She’s the love of my life, and when she’s ready, I’ll make her my forever.

I lie there, basking in the glory of getting the girl. She’s always been it for me. Everyone I’ve ever dated has been measured against her. She’s the perfect woman. Bold, take-no-shit, and sweet as pie when she feels safe. And I’m the guy who gets to do that for her. Yeah, today kicks all the asses.

She hums softly and wiggles her ass. “Morning, Dallas. Morning, Dallas’s cock.”

I smile and kiss her bare shoulder. “Morning, Wills. Morning, Wills’s ass.”

“You should slide that a little lower and make it the best morning ever,” she suggests.

I abandon her breast and shift my hips back. Gripping my shaft, I run the head past door number two. Wills moans, and then moans again as I pass door number one and rub over her clit before I line myself up and push inside.

“God, you feel so good.” She groans.

“There’s nothing better than being surrounded by you.” I ease my hand down her soft stomach, and she parts her legs, giving me access to her clit. I stay deep and rub slow circles, murmuring soft praise and dirty promises as I send her over the edge, me right behind her.

We jump in the shower together and make pancakes with fresh sliced peaches for breakfast. I stare at her shamelessly while we eat.

She pauses with a bite of pancake on her fork. “What are you doing?”

“Watching you eat.”

She covers my eyes with her palm. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Look, here’s the deal.” I grab her hand and kiss her palm. “I’m obsessed with you.”

She props her cheek on her fist. “You don’t say.”

“And I’ll be honest, I’m kind of disappointed that I can’t track you the way Tristan tracks Rix.”

“You mean with the phone app?” she asks, biting back a smile.

“Exactly. So if you just moved in with me, I’d feel a lot better. Then I can worship at your feet the way I want to. I mean, logically it makes sense, especially with the season starting and me being on the road half the time. Plus, you’ve been staying over a lot anyway, so it seems like the reasonable next step.”

She leans in and kisses my cheek. “First, you can track me with the app, if you want. Second, I would need to give my roommate notice, and third, can we be girlfriend and boyfriend for like, a month or two before we take the next step?”

I nod knowingly. “Ah, I see how it is. You’re being the toe keeper, keeping me on my toes by playing hard to get.”

She rolls her eyes, but smiles. “Which is why I’m sitting in your kitchen, wearing one of your shirts and eating breakfast.” She arches a brow. “And I have to give sixty-days’ notice to move.”

“But you’ll sleep here when I’m not on an away series?” I press.

“Yes. I’ll sleep here when you’re not on an away series.”

“And you’ll move in full time sixty days from when you give your notice to your roommate?” I confirm.

“Yes, Dallas.”

“Fantastic.” I kiss her cheek. “Just for the sake of clarity, how soon will you give notice?”

She laughs and rolls her eyes. “Don’t worry. I won’t make you wait long.”

“Okay. I’ll check in with you next week and see how you feel then.” I pop in the last bite of pancake, smiling my face off. “We should get ready for the meeting.”

Wills’s phone buzzes relentlessly when we leave for the head office half an hour later.

“Everything okay?”

“The Babe chat is blowing up. Apparently, Flip had a rough night. He almost fought some guy who was flirting with Tally. After Tally left with Shilpa and Ash, Tristan and Rix had to bring him back to their place and monitor. I guess he was a real mess.”

“I wonder what management was thinking, bringing Grace to the team,” I muse.

“He’s an excellent defensive player when he’s not being an antagonistic ass,” Wills says. “And with Roman hanging up his skates at the end of the season and the new goalie being phased in, they probably wanted to make sure defense was strong.”

“I see the logic, but I don’t know how good this will be for team morale if one of our lead scorers is on edge all the time.”

She shrugs. “I guess we’ll see how it all plays out.”

I pull into the Terror lot and back into my spot. Wills slips her hand in mine, and we take the elevator to the office floor. Shilpa, Ash, Hammer, Hollis, and Roman are all in Shilpa’s office when we arrive.

“We’re back together,” I announce.

Wills pats my chest. “I’m pretty sure they already know that, considering we’re holding hands, but I love you for feeling like we needed to state the obvious.”

Roman, Hollis, and Ash give us the thumbs-up, and the girls hug Wills.

“Any word on what this meeting will look like, Shilps?” Wills asks. She’s the only one who has unspoken permission to ask her that. We know she’s the team’s lawyer, not our lawyer, and can’t say anything.

“There’s not a lot I would be able to share. Even so, there have been some closed doors in upper management the past few days, so it’s anyone’s guess,” Shilpa says.

“Let’s hope Flip can keep his cool,” Hollis grumbles.

“Ending up at Stiles’s place is better than going out and potentially killing his endorsement campaigns, right, Hemi?” Roman asks.

“Yeah. That’s real progress for Flip,” she agrees.

Shilpa glances at the clock on the wall. “We should probably get to the meeting.”

We’re the first ones there. Usually Wills would be briefed early, but this time she’s in the dark like everyone else. The table at the back of the room is loaded with pastries and fruit. I grab a plate while Wills doctors coffees for us as more team members arrive. Tristan accompanies Flip, who looks rough.

Flip, who never says no to free food, bypasses the breakfast spread and takes a seat beside Roman. After another minute, Jamie Fielding, the general manager, and Coach Vander Zee move to the front of the room, and everyone quiets down.

“Some of you might be aware of the news I’m about to share, but Dane Spencer had a family emergency last week, and after a lengthy discussion, we decided the best plan for him and the team was to send him where he’s needed. He’ll be moving to New York in exchange for one of their players. Connor Grace is excellent on defense, and he’ll be a fantastic addition to this team. I know losing Spencer is a shock, but I expect you to make Grace feel welcome. We are all professionals here and will be a united front.” His gaze shifts to Flip, who’s slouched in his chair, arms crossed, expression grim.

With that, Connor is ushered into the room. There’s a smattering of applause, but it seems everyone is still in shock.

He smiles, but it looks smug more than anything. “Pretty sure some of you wish I was literally anyone else, but it’s hard to argue with my stats.” He looks around the room. “I’m looking forward to playing with most of you.”

“We just got Flip to settle down,” Wills mutters.

“I’ll be here to help you work out your stress.” I kiss her temple.

She elbows me in the side but fights a smile.

Flip looks like he’s plotting murder.

“And we have another announcement to make,” Jamie says after a moment, adjusting his tie.

Everyone quiets down. There better not be another trade. Or an early retirement. I glance at Roman as Jamie clears his throat.

“We’d like to introduce Alexandria Forrester, who will be joining us as an assistant coach. We’re excited to have her expertise for the coming season.”

“Oh, she’s fantastic. This is amazing,” Wills whispers.

“No fucking way.” Roman’s eyes go wide, and he slouches in his chair, hand covering his mouth as he crosses and uncrosses his legs. I don’t think anyone but me heard him.

“Coach Forrester comes to us from the Ontario league and has a background in sports psychology and sports management,” Jamie continues. “She is incredibly knowledgeable and will be a valuable addition to our coaching staff.” He claps as a woman with long dark hair, streaked with auburn, who looks to be in her late twenties, moves to stand beside him.

Alexandria says hello to the team, and her eyes flare slightly when they find Roman. But she keeps on smiling and thanks us for the warm welcome.

Looks like things are shaking up this season. Maybe I should be worried, but right now, it all seems like details. Whatever comes our way, I have Wills, and she has me. Together we can get through anything.