Chapter 36: Puck Me Secretly: Chapter 35

I SPUN AROUND to see shadowy Max standing in the doorway of the library. I reached over to the lamp and clicked it on.

We both blinked in the light.

“What are you doing here?”

He stepped into the room, as his eyes took in the expanse of bookshelves, the expensive leather furniture bought for comfort and reading and the cozy touches that were distinctly Mom’s touch. My eyes, on the other hand, watched only him.

“Just wanted to see where you were stealing away to.”

I flopped back against the couch. “Welcome to my favorite hideaway.”

His eyes didn’t move from my face. “I like it.”

“Are you having fun?”

“Define fun.”

“A jolly good time?”

“Christmas isn’t my favorite holiday.”

“Who doesn’t like Christmas?”

He avoided the question. “Have you read all these books?”

“Only the ones on my bookshelf.”

“You have your own bookshelf?”

“Of course.”

“Show me.”

I walked around the couch and like Vanna White, caress the edges. “This is my bookshelf.”

He stepped forward and scanned all the neatly lined up titles. “You’ve read all these?”

“Every single one.”

“Quite the eclectic collection.”

“What do you mean?”

“Harry Potter, Agatha Christie, James Joyce, Nora Roberts.”

“These books all have one thing in common.”

His eyes moved to my face. “Oh yeah? What is that?”

“They all tell a great story. Why don’t you like Christmas?”

“Christmas is a holiday built for families.”

“You’re not going home for Christmas?”

He dropped my gaze and pulled out Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. “I’m staying here for the holidays. Is this book any good?”

Max was going to be around for our time off. For some stupid reason that made me so happy. “What do you mean?”

“I’ve heard about this series.”

“The Harry Potter series is one of the greatest stories I’ve ever read.”

He put the book back. “If you’re a kid.”

“It’s for adults too.”

A smile teased his lips. “You’re really cute when you get passionate about stuff.”

“You have to read Harry Potter.”

His eyes were on my mouth. “I’m not a huge reader.”

“These books will make you a reader.” I pulled Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone off the shelf. “Try the first book. Get through three chapters and if you hate it, you can stop reading.”

“For a kiss.”

“What?” I froze.

What about Lolita?

He stepped closer and put his hand on the shelf up above my head boxing me in. “I said, I’ll read three chapters if you give me a kiss.”

“What about your… girlfriend?”

His blue eyes widened. “Who said I had a girlfriend?”

I ducked my head down. “It was something I heard.”

“Then you heard wrong.”

My heart soared through my chest. “Because you don’t do distractions.”

“I’m looking at my only distraction. So, do we have a deal?”

I lifted my eyes. “About what?”

“Three chapters for a kiss.”

Yes. Hell yes!

I caught my bottom lip between my teeth, pretending to debate my choice. “All right, but only because I really believe you’ll love this book.”

“What makes you think that?”

“They sold 500 million books in this series.”

“That’s a lot of books.”

“People love this series. If these books don’t make you a reader, I don’t know what will.”

“Before or after?”

“What?”

“Do I get my kiss before or after I read my chapters?”

I stared up at his beautiful face. “Well, maybe we could do it before…”

His mouth came down over mine. I moaned. His kiss reminded me of that first night we kissed. He took his time. He didn’t rush our kiss. It was simply an experience in pleasure.

I pushed my fingers into his hair and sighed when his mouth moved along my jaw bone, nipping my neck. “I think if you read five chapters, you will get another kiss.”

He murmured against my neck. “And if I read ten chapters?”

“Well, that would definitely qualify you for a third kiss.”

His arm snaked around my waist pulling me hard against him. I sighed when his mouth found mine again. I lifted my arms around his neck to anchor myself from the way the entire world spun.

He spoke against my lips. “How many chapters does this book have?”

“Lots.”

“What if I finish the book?”

I gasped when his mouth grazed down my neck. “Oh, if you finished a book, that would qualify you for a bonus.”

He lifted his head, his eyes were dark. “What’s the bonus?”

“It’s good.”

“I believe you. What is it?”

I gave a half scream as he picked me up and swung me around. Laughing, I buried my face in his neck while he carried me to the couch.

“Rory!”

We both froze. I lifted my head and squinted at Mom who stood in the doorway of the library.

“Mom!”

Her eyes narrowed onto Max. He unhurriedly lowered me to my feet.

His tone sounded polite. “Mrs. Ashford.”

Mom, ever the experienced socialite, nodded at him. “It was a pleasure to have you in our home, Mr. Logan. So sorry you have to leave.”

“Mom!”

He didn’t move a muscle and then said. “Thank you for your hospitality.”

My face burned. I felt like a high school student whose parent had busted up a hot kiss with an unapproved boyfriend.

“Mom, if you’d excuse us for a moment, I’d like to take a moment to say goodnight to Max.”

She didn’t like it, but she nodded. “I’ll be waiting outside.”

She shut the door behind her.

“I’m so sorry,” I turned to him. “That was inexcusable.”

“Winning over the parents has never been my strong suit. Are you okay?”

Terrible thoughts went through my mind. What if Mom told Dad? “I’ll make sure she doesn’t tell my dad.”

He flinched. “I should go.”

“Wait,” I bent down and picked up the book from the floor. “Your book.”

He lifted the book up and down as if to test the weight. “If you wanted to make me a reader, you should have picked a shorter book.”

“You only owe me three chapters.”

He bent down and pressed a hot kiss against my mouth. “If it kills me, I’m going to get my bonus.”

“You’re only supposed to read it if you like it.”

“I like to win.”

“I’ve noticed that about you.”

“I should go.” He kissed me one last time.

“See you later.”

He opened the door, and I heard him thank Mom for her hospitality again before he disappeared out of sight. Mom stepped into the room and shut the door.

The words blurted out of me. “Are you going to tell Dad?”

“Rory.” That one word held so much disappointment and hurt.

“Mom, please.”

“That man is all kinds of trouble.”

“He was on the plane crash!” My secret spilled out of me.

“What?”

I sat down on the couch, feeling defeated. She moved to sit down beside me. I felt her take my hand into hers. “You never talk about the crash.”

I shook my head. “It’s too awful to talk about.”

“Oh, baby.”

“He was there. I didn’t know who he was, but Max was sitting beside me.” I glanced at Mom’s concerned expression. “He got me through that.”

She squeezed my hand.

“The plane was shaking and tilting. People around us were screaming and crying. I was so scared, Mom. I was on the verge of losing it and Max, who was a complete stranger sitting next to me, he calmed me down. He talked and held my hand. And at the end, I was so terrified, I fainted. He carried me out of the plane and took care of me. He got me to the hotel and checked up on me.”

Mom’s concerned eyes studied my face as I talked.

“We became friends. No one understood what I went through. But he did. And everyone thinks he’s such a bad guy, but before I knew about his past and his reputation, he acted like a pretty great guy.”

“Oh, Rory.” Mom’s empathetic tone soothed me. “I didn’t know.”

“Don’t tell Dad about tonight, please?”

“You know you can’t get involved with that man. This doesn’t have a happy ending no matter how you feel about him.”

I bowed my head. “I know.”

“I won’t tell Dad, but please promise me you’ll end whatever is going on between the two of you.”

I didn’t want to promise that. It hurt my heart to even think about that.

“Rory,” her concerned look almost blew my heart to smithereens. “If your dad ever got wind of this, you and your dad’s relationship would survive but how do you think Max’s career would fare?”

My heart felt heavy as the truth rushed over my skin. “Dad would cut him.”

She gave me a sad smile. “Max seems to have a lot on the line. Is your relationship strong enough to survive that?”

That question made my blood go cold. Max loved hockey more than life itself. Perhaps a year ago, it wouldn’t have mattered. Back then he had been one of the league’s hottest commodities, but after his incident with Joseph, he’d been lucky to even get a contract. Would another NHL team give him a home if he got cut from the Wolves? Maybe they would in a year after he had a chance to shine on our team without incident, but right now he was too vulnerable. That fight with Joseph had blacklisted him. If he got cut from Vancouver, his career would be over. This wasn’t news. I had known that from the moment I saw him on the ice. And he knew it too.

As much as it destroyed me to say it, we needed to end this. The kissing. The flirting. All of it.

It had to stop.

“I’m going to end it,” I promised Mom. “I couldn’t bear to watch Max lose hockey.”

She paused. “Whatever you do, don’t tell him the reason.”

I pulled my hand from hers. “Why?”

“Don’t make him resent hockey or this team. You want him to turn to hockey, not against it.”

She made sense. But the whole thing made me feel sick. I needed to crawl into bed and not come out until this year was over. “I’m going to bed.”

She leaned forward and kissed my forehead. “It will be okay.”