Hot Puck, A Rough Riders Hockey Novel

Eden stood in the industrial kitchen at the Y, wearing a Rough Riders jersey that was three times too big and had Croft emblazoned on the back. While pancakes cooked on the griddle, she tossed blueberries into her mouth and watched Beckett crouch in front of a little boy about seven or eight years old. The child too wore a jersey with Croft across the back. A lot of people who’d come and gone over the last two hours were Beckett’s fans.

One of the guys had plugged his phone into a speaker, and an eclectic mix of alternative rock, modern country, hip-hop, and rap played through the space. The Y had opened the huge kitchen they used for cooking classes and events to a series of other rooms where tables and chairs had been set up for diners. Hundreds of patrons had come through the line, been served breakfast by the seven Rough Riders here today, then stayed to snap, chat, sign, and donate.

“This is the last bucket.” The female voice drew Eden’s gaze. Faith, Grant Saber’s girlfriend, plopped a five-gallon bucket half filled with pancake batter on the counter beside Eden.

She sighed. “Oh, yippee.”

Faith started laughing, making Eden smile. The woman was beautiful and had an extra sweetness about her. With long blonde hair and blue eyes, she drew a lot of attention, most of which she didn’t seem to notice.

“Are you sure these are going to freeze?” Eden asked. “I understand they don’t want to waste it, but…frozen pancakes?”

“Sure. You just pop them in the microwave or the toaster.”

“If you say so.” Eden shrugged. “I don’t eat much of anything that isn’t prepackaged or premade nowadays.”

“You’re a trouper. I wouldn’t have been so mellow if Grant had introduced the mob to me like this.” Faith meant the other Rough Riders, and Eden scanned the crowd between ladling pancake batter on the griddle and tossing on a handful of blueberries. The plastic bracelets created for the event slid along her forearm. She and Faith had donned one of every color, and seeing the rainbow made Eden happy.

Faith sang along with Train’s Marry Me as she returned to the job she’d been doing before she’d gone to fetch batter and wrapped cooled cakes for freezing. A male voice picked up the lyrics and came up behind them.

Grant pressed a kiss to Faith’s neck, and she smiled over her shoulder at the dark-haired Rough Rider. He was a little younger than Beckett, and the love in Faith’s and Grant’s eyes both softened Eden’s heart and terrified her on some level.

Grant set down two stools. “Rest your feet, ladies.”

“Oh God, thank you.” Eden slid onto the stool and sighed. Tate came toward the grill, still wearing the same grin he’d been sporting since she’d first seen him two hours ago. “Doesn’t your face get tired? Smiling like that?”

He reached past her and grabbed some blueberries. “Takes more muscles—”

“To frown,” she finished with him, then added, “That doesn’t account for gravity,” as he tossed the berries into his mouth.

“Smarty-pants.” Andre stepped around Tate and grabbed a pen from the counter. His thick Russian accent always made Eden smile, no matter what he was saying. “What the hell you doin’ with Beckett?”

“Thank you,” Tate said to Andre. “I’ve been wanting to know but had too many American manners to ask.”

“You are welcome,” Andre said, serious. “Any time you need my thick Russian skull, you only need to ask.”

Laughing, Eden threw a blueberry at Tate. With moves as quick as lightning, he opened his mouth and caught the berry.

“Whoa,” Eden said, truly impressed.

He grinned, curled his fingers, and brushed his nails on his jersey.

“Throw me one.” Andre told her.

Eden tossed a berry high. Andre bent his knees, opened his mouth, and jockeyed for the perfect spot to catch it. At the last second, Tate slammed the other man with his shoulder, knocking him out of the way to catch the berry himself.

Faith, Grant, Eden, and Tate laughed. Andre was grinning when he shoved Tate. “Cheater. You Americans are a bunch of cheaters.” He turned to Eden. “Another. I’m going to show this cheater how to play.”

“Game on,” Tate said.

Both men crouched in a ready position, just outside the main kitchen area. Before Eden even tossed the first berry, the men were throwing shoulders and grinning like idiots. Eden couldn’t help but laugh as she watched the two full grown men turned four-year-olds battling to catch fruit in their mouth. And she got a different view—a positive view—of that competitive spirit all these men embodied. Of course they also kept score and continued upping the ante—three out of five, five out of seven, seven out of nine—until Eden ran out of berries.

When Andre fought off Tate for the last berry, raucous applause surprised Eden, and while Andre and Tate bowed for their audience, Eden took in the spectators with embarrassed heat in her cheeks. But when she found Beckett in the crowd, he was watching with the same joyous smile, as if he’d found her juvenile behavior with Andre and Tate just as entertaining as the others. When he locked eyes with her, she had three startling and profound revelations—one: he wasn’t a jealous man; two: he didn’t mind sharing the spotlight; and three: it pleased him to see her enjoying herself.

Those had all been problems in her life for as long as she could remember, with either her father, her boyfriend, or both.

“Mmm,” Faith hummed at her side. “I know that look.”

“What?” Eden said, pulling her gaze from Beckett with butterflies in her gut. “What look?”

Tate and Andre had wandered back into the audience, continuing with photographs and signatures. Eden refocused on the pancakes Faith had saved while she’d been playing blueberry catch.

Faith’s blue eyes darted to Beckett and back. “That one. It’s the same one I see in Grant’s eyes.”

Eden almost choked on the berry she’d popped into her mouth. “No. That”—she lifted her gaze toward Beckett—“is not even close to that.” She cast her eyes backward to where Grant was washing dishes.

“Maybe not yet. But that,” she said with another glance at Beckett, “is how it starts.”

“Pffft,” was Eden’s response.

“It’s good to see and about damn time,” Faith said, then continued before Eden could respond. “Look at him, hauling in the cash. Mr. Smooth.”

That made Eden laugh. Beckett was shaking a man’s hand while taking a check in the other, his smile on full blast. “At some things, maybe.”

“Oh, really?” The interest in Faith’s voice drew Eden’s gaze back to the griddle. “Tell. I never get enough dirt on that man.”

Eden lifted her brows, “That’s hard to believe.”

“Why?” Faith asked conversationally.

Eden shrugged. “I guess because of the things he does on the ice.”

“That’s work. They don’t take it home.”

Her gaze darted to Faith. “No?”

She made a face and shook her head. “Uh-uh. Great, great bunch of men. Definitely a second family.” She looked up and smiled as she took in the room. “My dad died several months before I met Grant…”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

She shook her head. “It’s okay. He was sick for a long time. He was ready. I wasn’t.” She finished wrapping a set of six cakes and paused to watch the crowd, a soft smile on her face. “He was my only family. My mom left when I was young, and I didn’t have any siblings. Grant has a tense relationship with his parents, so it was just us. Until he brought me into this family. Man, it’s really one of a kind. And it only gets better. I think the cohesiveness of the team and their great standings has a lot to do with Beckett’s leadership. He’s all-inclusive. Ridiculously generous with everything—time, resources, support.”

Faith smiled and wrapped more pancakes. “He recruited his sister, who has two young daughters, to be a support contact to Andre’s wife, Nika. They’re so young and already have one son, another on the way. Nika’s told me a number of times that Andre worships Beckett and all the extra time he’s taken to mentor him. And I know Nika would be lost without Sarah.”

Faith sighed. “This group has completed my life in a way I didn’t even know I needed completing.”

“Hey.”

Beckett’s voice startled Eden, and she jumped. Her hand went directly over her heart, and she whispered, “Shit.”

“I’m sorry.” His voice was soft, his hands sliding down her arms. “I’ve got to get better about that. I’ll shuffle my feet or something. Are you ready to go?”

“Now? I don’t want to leave Faith with—”

“I’ve got Faith covered.” Grant came up to Eden’s side and took the spatula from her hand. “Beckett told us you didn’t get much sleep on your shift. Thanks for coming out.”

“Thanks for having me.” Eden hugged Faith and said good-bye to the rest of the Rough Riders, then let Beckett pull her into his side on the walk to the car. She held the wrist he slung over her shoulder and toyed with the red rubber bracelet he’d been wearing since they’d arrived.

“So,” he said. “On a scale of one to ten, how bad was it?”

“Depends. Are you asking on a date scale or a getting-to-know-you scale or sheer-enjoyment scale, or…?”

“You ask such difficult questions.”

“Well, I really liked your teammates and Faith, so that was a ten. The fun of it would have to be down there somewhere below six, but take that with a grain of salt. Had I gotten more sleep, that score might have been higher. And I think I learned a lot about you, though you learned nothing about me, so I’d have to even that out at a five.”

“Not true. I learned a lot about you too.”

“Like I can flip pancakes?”

“Like you’re easygoing and you have a great sense of humor. You’re spontaneous and flexible. You don’t hold bad-date judgments against a guy, and you seem to make friends wherever you go.”

“That’s quite a bit considering we may have spoken a handful of times in the last two hours.”

“Observation.” They reached the car, and he opened the door for her. “I also noticed you stayed away from the kids. Don’t you like kids?”

“A hot grill in a kitchen isn’t a safe place for kids.” She steered the conversation in another direction. “Shouldn’t they have been in school?”

“The event was considered a community outreach, so the kids who could come with their parents earned school credit.”

“Man, you really have this dialed in. Did you bring in some good donations?”

“A lot. We won’t have totals until tomorrow, but I feel really good about it.” Hanging on to the door with one hand, he asked, “What did you learn about me?”

She breathed deep and looked through the windshield, remembering. And she smiled a little when she said, “I learned your ass looks even better in jeans than dress pants.”

He laughed, and she met his eyes again.

“I learned you and your teammates are, indeed, like a motley crew of brothers, and they love you fiercely.”

His grin softened, and he nodded.

“I also learned there’s a huge heart hidden in here.” She patted his chest.

“How’s that?”

“You were incredibly patient and attentive to fans. And since you weren’t in a kitchen with a hot grill, you got a lot of time with kids, and you’re really good with them.”

He grinned. “I like kids.”

“I also heard how your leadership has pulled the team together into a cohesive unit that’s ruling the ratings this season. Overall, I’d have to say I was damn impressed, Mr. Croft.”

He stroked her cheek, his gaze lingering on her mouth. “Maybe it wasn’t such a bad date idea after all.”

“No,” she said, “it was still a bad idea.”

That made him laugh, and instead of closing the door, he pulled the seat belt over her and leaned in to buckle it. A sweet pang tugged inside her, and she threaded her fingers through his hair. He smelled good, and he was warm.

“There you go,” he murmured and pulled back.

Eden reached out and cupped his face with both hands. “You may have questionable taste for date locations, and I did think you showing up at my work was creepy at first, but you managed to pull it out of the fire and make it fun. So thanks for saving me from myself and taking that extra step to corner me.”

He grinned. “That has to be the strangest yet sweetest thank-you I’ve ever received.”

“I like to be different.”

She pulled him to her for a kiss, and the moment his lips pressed hers, she sighed. And then she needed more. And he kept giving her everything she asked for until their hands were tangled in each other’s hair and Eden pulled back, breathless.

He pressed his forehead to hers. “Baby, you are definitely different.”

A few hours ago, she’d been ready to write him off. A few hours ago, he’d made her so nervous, she couldn’t speak. But now, her craving for him was so strong, it felt like a physical entity inside her body. Now, she wanted to get naked and get him inside her.

“Do you have somewhere to be?” she asked.

“Not until this afternoon.”

He kissed her again, forcefully pulled away, and closed her door. Then he paused a moment, hands braced against the car, gaze cast down, as if he were thinking. But he shook his head, met her gaze through the glass, and pressed a flat hand to the window, letting it linger there as he seemed to lose himself in thought another second. Finally, his fingers slipped away, and he rounded the car to the driver’s side.

After he’d started the engine, he said, “Okay, where to? Back to your work, or did I quell the creep factor enough to let me drop you at home?”

“Home.”

“Yes,” he said, grinning. “I’m finally doing something right.”

She put her address into her phone and turned on navigation so she could relax and soak him in. With Siri guiding Beckett to her house, Eden reached across the console and combed her fingers through his hair at his temple. Suddenly, there was so much she wanted to know about him, she didn’t know where to start. She thought about the family he was so close to and the team that considered him their center. She thought about what Faith had said about the group taking her in and becoming her family. And, though Eden had never regretted walking away from her own family in the last two years, her intimate view of Beckett’s tight-knit life made her feel lonely.

“You’re lucky.” The words floated out, melancholy. “You’ve created a really amazing life for yourself.”

“I feel incredibly lucky, but it’s not just the life I built. It’s more like the life everyone helped me build. Sometimes I think it takes a village to create an NHL player.”

“Why’s that?”

“It’s an enormous commitment,” he said, his voice heavy with the burden. “In the beginning, it was my parents hauling me to the rink every day, traveling with me on weekends and during the summer. Once I showed promise, there were special coaches and camps and equipment, which cost a hell of a lot of money. There’s a sacrifice your siblings make in their lives and your parents make in their marriage and careers because they’re pushing you along this path. There are medical bills, long waits in the ER, occasional hospital stays. That’s all before I went pro.”

He glanced at her, then back at the road. “I only spent a year in the minors before I got picked up by the Rough Riders. Now I have a freaking community of professionals that keeps me moving forward. On the hockey side, I’ve got coaches and trainers and sports psychologists, always there, always pushing, always honing. I’ve got the people who hold everything together for me so I can focus on the game—equipment managers, physicians, physical therapists, nutritionists, travel coordinators.”

“Jeez.” This opened up a whole new window into his life.

“And then there’s the personal side,” he went on. “To keep me organized and together on that end, I’ve got an agent, a business manager, a financial planner, an accountant. I’ve got a housekeeper, who often doubles as a cook and leaves me healthy meals a few times a week so I’m not scrounging and shortchanging my body.”

He shook his head. “So, no, I don’t do this on my own. This awesome life is in large part due to my amazing family. The other part is due to my professional support. Somewhere in there, yeah, I was born with some talent. And yes, I did spend the majority of my young life on the ice. And I also worked my ass off, and continue to work my ass off. But honestly, none of that would matter without all these other people. They’re the ones who created the perfect storm.”

“The perfect storm,” she repeated, a smile lifting her lips. “I like that.”

“That’s how it feels. There are a lot of talented hockey players out there, but not all of them have the support network they need to get to this level. When I look back, I swear the stars and planets had to align to get me where I am. I’ve done my best to try and compensate my family for their sacrifices along the way, try to show my appreciation to my support staff, but it never feels like enough to me, at least not with my family. I can pay my support staff what they deserve, but no matter what I do, I can’t give my parents back that time they spent on me. I can’t give my sister back my parents’ attention.”

“So what do you do for them?”

“My first pro paycheck went to buy my parents a house. A nice house, you know? Everything they’ve always wanted.” He huffed a laugh. “And, man, what a fucking struggle to get them to let me do that. You’d think I was asking them to bathe in boiling water. I put college funds together for my nieces. Helped Sarah and her husband buy a house—yet another battle. I spend my holidays with all of them, get them to the games as often as they can make it. In the off-season, I try to take my nieces off my sister’s hands when I can.” He glanced at her. “Her husband is overseas, and it’s tough having the girls on her own.” He shrugged. “I try to alleviate some of their stresses and concerns where I can. So, yeah, that was the long version of it takes a village to make an NHL player.”

She sighed and repeated the words he’d said to her the week before. “Just when I don’t think you could impress me any more, you do.”

He must have recognized them, because he laughed, and the grin that spread across his face made crazy things happen inside her. Crazy-uncomfortable, thrilling, terrifying things. Then he reached over and closed his hand over her thigh, giving it a little squeeze. The red bracelet still on his wrist seemed to highlight the tan color of his skin and the masculine cording and muscle in his arm. Somehow, that stupid bracelet made him a touch sexier. As if he needed any help.

She was sure he’d meant it to be a sweet gesture, but heat traveled up her thigh and spread between her legs. Eden was damn sure she’d never wanted any man like she wanted Beckett now.

Shifting in her seat, she brought one leg under her and used her knee to lift herself enough to lean over the console and pressed her lips to his jaw. Beckett exhaled, and a little groan floated on the sound. His hand tightened on her thigh.

“Croft,” she murmured against his skin. “You kinda make me crazy.” And she kissed a path down the side of his neck.

“Halle-fucking-lujah.”

His growl vibrated in his throat and made her smile. She bit the lobe of his ear, then soothed it with her tongue, and Beckett shivered. This big, scary, dangerous hockey player shivered.

“I have to ask you a question,” she said, pressing kisses to his temple.

He groaned. “Good things rarely start with that statement.”

“I want to know if you’re claustrophobic.”

“Ummmm…” He cast an uncertain smile toward her. “Not that I know of. Why?”

“Because my place is really small. Like shoebox small. And if you’re going to hyperventilate, I want it to be over what I’m doing to you, not the small space.”

He lifted his hand from her thigh and wrapped it around the back of her head, then stopped at the corner of her street. He turned his head and covered her mouth with his. His tongue dipped inside and stroked hers, followed by a long groan of need that resonated deep inside Eden.

She pulled back. “Drive. Halfway down on the left.”

But Eden continued to kiss and lick and bite his neck, and he kept his hand in her hair as he drove.

“Arrived,” Siri announced.

He put the car in Park, and Eden was giddy with anticipation. She reached down, unbuckled her seat belt, and found his attention out the window.

Eden followed his gaze. “What?”

“I didn’t realize where we were going with all the talk, and then…you, scrambling my brains.” He looked at her. “Eden, this is the worst neighborhood in Metro.”

She laughed. “You think I don’t know that?”

He looked genuinely troubled. “How long have you lived here?”

“About a year.” She tried to lighten the mood. “And let me tell you, it’s an improvement on my last place.”

He reached across the seats to clasp her thigh again. “I know rents around here are high, but have you thought about looking for another place, in a safer neighborhood?”

A spot inside her warmed. “But if I did that, I wouldn’t get to see all those badass dance moves the dealers bust out between sales or have my nightmares cut short by gunfire. This neighborhood has its benefits. Hell, I could stay in my pj’s and slippers and hit the 7-Eleven for a six-pack twenty-four seven. And, damn, with my schedule, you can’t put a price tag on that kind of entertainment or convenience—”

He kissed her quiet, then met her eyes again. “I’m serious.”

She smiled and ran her thumb over his bottom lip. “And I’m serious about getting you out of these clothes.” She opened the door, then glanced back at him, gesturing to the car. “Oh, but…this has an alarm, right? And you’ve got it insured, right? And”—she cocked her head—“does comprehensive cover hubcaps? And wheels?”

“Jesus Christ, Eden—”

She hopped out and shut the door. He gave her the most adorable glare through the windshield—half-frustrated, half-amused. Eden walked backward toward the stairway that led down to her basement apartment, crooking her finger at him. “Out of the car, Croft. We need a little more maneuverability for what I’ve got planned.”

He pushed from the car and locked it as he followed Eden. But he took his damn sweet time, his narrowed eyes scanning every dreary apartment complex, every dilapidated townhome, every barely running vehicle on the street.

She waited at the door. Beckett was on the top step, distracted by a car driving by screaming rap music with a bass that shook the air. Growing impatient, Eden climbed the three steps, fisted the front of his jersey, and pulled him down to the apartment.

“Would it make you feel better to know that the townhome is owned by a little old lady who’s eighty-six years old?” she asked. “And that her family rents the basement to me cheaper than dirt so I can be here if Willa needs anything?”

“Not really.”

She pressed her body against his, pushed up on her toes, and wrapped her arms around his neck. “She’s hard of hearing.”

And she kissed him the way she wanted to fuck him—deep, slow, wet, and hot.

He groaned, wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her closer. Finally, his mind was in the right place. She broke the kiss to reach back and grabbed the door handle. His mouth slid to her neck, shooting tingles along her shoulders.

She fumbled to open the door and pulled him into the apartment. It seemed all his worries over the neighborhood had melted in the heat between them. Excitement spiraled inside her. She broke from his mouth to pull his jersey over his head, then kissed a path down his torso while she worked on his belt and jeans.

Beckett swept off the jersey he’d given her, stroked his hands over the tank she’d been wearing under her hoodie, and cupped her naked breasts beneath the cotton. But as soon as she had his jeans open, Eden lowered to her knees, pulling his pants and boxers low enough to free him, and immediately took his hard length into her mouth.

Beckett’s whole body jerked, and he swore. And as Eden started moving and exploring, his hands cupped her jaw, stroked over her hair, and drew it off her face. Eden was lost in the salty, insanely male taste of him. Of the silky smooth feel of his cock inside her mouth, on her tongue, sliding along her lips. God, she’d been fantasizing about this all week. Oh, how she loved getting caught up in the passion, in the pleasure, in the escape.

She leaned into him, taking him deep and slow until he filled her throat.

“God, Eden…”

The rough, lust-filled words drew her gaze. Up his gorgeous body, up his ripped abs, up his wide muscled chest, to his eyes, dark and on fire, watching her. She held his gaze as she stroked him and sucked him. Held his gaze as she drove him deep, deep, deep into her mouth again. Held his gaze as fire washed over his features, as his jaw pulsed, as he finally dropped his head back with “God damn…”

Then he bent over her, pressed his mouth to her hair, and murmured, “So good, baby. Come here.”

He curved his hands around her biceps and gently pulled her to her feet, where he immediately kissed her, stroking her tongue, sucking her lips, and walking her backward to the bed. Then he lifted her off her feet, and she wrapped her legs around his waist.

She combed both hands through his hair and pressed her forehead to his. Sex had never been like this for her. She’d never even imagined sex like this. So fluid. So hot. So all-consuming. So easy. So right. “Want you so bad.”

Groaning, he covered her body with his. The feel of him pressing her into the bed made her moan. She lifted her hips, rocking against him. Beckett tugged the edge of her tank down enough to pull her nipple into his mouth while he stroked the other with one heavy, calloused hand. Heat and pleasure shot through her breast, and Eden squirmed beneath him, but he took his sweet time, teasing her with his tongue, dragging his teeth over the hard tip.

“Mmm, Beckett…” she complained.

His hand abandoned her other breast, slid down her abdomen, and pressed between her legs. But it wasn’t enough.

“Skin.” She pressed her foot to the bed and rolled him to his side, then pushed him to his back. “I need skin. I need you. And I need both now.”

She pushed off the edge of the bed, found her feet, and dragged his jeans down his legs. He toed off his shoes, and she ditched his pants. Then she pressed her hands to his legs and purposefully slid them all the way up his amazing body, before lying on top of him. “Puuuuur-fect.”

“Not perfect.” He flipped her and tugged off her tank. Kissed and nibbled his way down her abdomen while he worked her jeans off, then stood to pull off her shoes, then her pants and panties. “Now. That’s. Perfect.”

He stroked a flat hand over her stomach, between her legs, and slid his fingers inside her.

Eden gasped. Wiggled toward him. “Mmm. Yes.”

He wrapped his free hand around the back of her thigh and yanked her to the edge of the bed. Pushed her thighs wide. And dropped to his knees, covering her with his mouth. Heat, pressure, and moisture shocked her with ecstasy. She cried out, arched, and lost her mind until he pulled back. She rolled her head to the side and found him watching her. His tongue slid over her again and again. Eden wanted him inside her, but he wasn’t giving her a moment to breathe. With his hot eyes watching her, he flicked her with the tip of his tongue, teasing her higher, higher, higher, and then he kissed her, licked her, kissed her…

“Beck—”

He spread her with his fingers, and her muscles jerked. She drew her arms in, fisted her hands under her chin, and watched him circle the very tip of her clit, slowly, gently, maddeningly, endlessly tantalizing. The sight was sinfully erotic, adding gasoline to her fire.

And when she edged toward climax, he kissed her, licked her, and started the pattern all over again, endlessly patient as he drove her insane. He groaned against her pussy, and the vibrations quivered through her sex.

“Ah God—” Her head rolled side to side; her abdominal muscles flinched and quivered.

Beckett stopped teasing and started eating. Full mouth suction over her, solid pressure on her clit with his tongue. Eden curled toward him in a partial crunch. And Beckett growled, then took her clit between his lips, and—

The climax blasted through her. A hot, wild surge of ecstasy that shot her out of her body. Her muscles contracted, pulling her forward, then throwing her back. She arched, and her thighs came together around Beckett’s head. He pushed them wide again and continued to kiss and lick and eat, making her moan and writhe and pant.

Her brain was still floating somewhere amid a white haze when Beckett slid up her body, kissing her everywhere. He framed her face and pulled her in for a hot kiss. He tasted musky and male and thrilling, and Eden needed him inside her, filling her, completing her in the moment. She reached for his jeans on the floor, and Beckett untangled their legs to get out of her way. Twisting to her side, she dragged his wallet from the pocket, then rested on her forearms to search for the condom. She pulled one out as Beckett’s body pressed to her back, his lips teasing her neck and shoulders.

When she dropped the wallet, Beckett leaned into her, rolling her toward her stomach. He covered her hand and took the condom, but didn’t rush to put it on. Instead, he pushed up on his hands, lifting his weight off her back. Used one knee to spread her thighs, then sank his hips against her ass, rocking into her with a hungry groan. Pulling her hair aside, he pressed his mouth to the back of her neck, turned her head toward her shoulder, and bent over her to take her mouth in a hungry kiss while his hot cock stroked her skin.

She closed her eyes, absorbing the delicious sensations. So many—both physical and emotional—she couldn’t understand them all, couldn’t categorize them all. She only knew he made her feel intensely sexy, utterly beautiful, and desired to her core. And all that whipped up a wild want inside her.

She broke the kiss to beg, “Please. Inside me.”

The sound that rolled in his throat echoed with a primal quality that lit a fire between Eden’s legs. He sat back, and the rip-rip of foil made satisfaction settle deep in Eden’s body. She pushed up on one elbow and twisted to watch him. The sight of his big, masculine hand stroking the condom on his cock tightened her sex. Then he lifted his gaze to hers and rocked forward again, pressing his body against her.

He kissed her before pulling away and licking his fingers. His hand slipped between her legs and stroked. Eden pulled a sharp breath. Her eyes closed, hands curled into the comforter. Beckett slid the head of his cock over her swollen, slick folds, and a shaky moan passed through her lips.

He pressed into her, and the moan deepened in her throat. She rocked her hips back.

“Want more?” he asked, his voice husky and hungry.

“God, yes.”

He gripped her hips and lifted her ass, impaling her slowly. So slowly.

“Man, talk about the best seats in the house. That’s so fucking hot.” He growled, pulled out slowly, pushed back in just as slowly. “Wish I could watch this show all goddamned night.”

Eden whimpered and bit her lip. Beckett moved his hands from her hips to her ass and gripped her cheeks, digging his fingers in until the bite made her moan. Over and over and over, he pushed inside her, then pulled out, stroked her with his fingers, then pushed his cock into her again. Inch by inch by exquisite inch.

“Want more, Eden?”

“Yes,” she complained.

Growling, Beckett slid both hands up her back, curved them over her shoulders. Holding her in place, he pushed deep. Pressure spread through her hips. Eden sucked air, and her throat closed. The stretch burned and the utter fullness ached in the most decadent, most thrilling way. Her eyes closed, and she arched. Then let out a moan that came from the pit of her stomach and expressed how utterly mind-bending he felt.

“Is that what you wanted?” he asked, his voice rough, breathless and demanding.

But she couldn’t speak.

“Is it deep enough?” A dark sexy edge tinged his voice. “Because I think I can fuck you deeper.”

Before Eden could even clear her head, Beckett used his knees to spread her thighs wider. He gripped her waist with both hands and pushed her forward, drawing his length out. The move also arched her back and angled her pelvis higher.

Without warning, he thrust again. His cock burned a path straight through the center of her body and slammed her cervix. Eden cried out in a mixture of pleasure and discomfort. The sensations blended and swamped her. Her head dropped back on a cry. Her hands fisted in the comforter. This was her first glimpse of how addictive sex could be.

The animalistic sound of pleasure in Beckett’s throat added heat between her legs. Without releasing her waist, he bent his head to whisper in her ear, “I think I can get deeper. I’ve still got a good inch until my balls are pressed up against you.”

Holy. Fuck. But all she got out was a sound deep in her throat.

“I think that excites you. Your pussy squeezed my cock.”

“Yes…”

“What?” He leaned closer, and flexed his hips, pushing him that much deeper and making Eden’s eyes roll back. “Yes, what? What do you want, Eden?”

“Every…thing,” she forced out. “Give me…all of it.”

His growl was hot and pleased and guttural. Holding her hips at that tilted angle, Beckett pulled out slowly, until his tip slipped all the way out of her, leaving her feeling empty. He stroked his slick length across her pussy, dragging himself over her clit and making Eden moan. Pressing back inside her, he drove home in three full, hard pumps.

Thrust.

Thrust.

Thrust.

Eden was shaking and panting, her fingers cramping in the comforter, when Beckett drew out of her and rubbed his wet cock over her pussy again.

“Is that good?” he wanted to know, his voice a hungry growl at her ear.

“So…good.”

She rocked her hips to rub her clit against his cock, moaning at the contact.

“Do you want me to keep fucking you?”

“Please, fuck me.”

A huff of laughter rolled out. “That is so hot.” He bit her shoulder, then licked the burn. “Those words out of your mouth turn me on so hard.”

She turned her head and met his eyes over her shoulder. “Beckett,” she breathed. “Shut up and fuck me.”

His eyes turned so dark, they looked black. The desire etched in his expression made the need inside Eden boil.

He slid his fingers through her folds, and Eden gasped. Then he stroked her wetness over his cock and eased into her again. Then plunged.

Pain and pleasure spiraled up the center of Eden’s body, and she cried out. With both hands at her waist, he held her steady for each hit, ensuring his cock drove deep. His head hammered something inside her that made her want to climb out of her skin to climax. His sac smacked her perineum, titillating her with a little sting on each thrust. Beckett’s hands liked to take turns roaming over her ass, his fingers wet from his mouth, stroking her perineum or the rim of her anus in maddening, insanity-inducing, endless circles.

Eden had her comforter twisted into knots in both hands and was using her knees to rock back into his drives before she finally resorted to begging.

“Beckett…God…please…”

He groaned. “But, fuck, it’s so good.”

Eden pressed her face into the comforter and whimpered, absorbing every firework of pleasure. “Can’t…wait…”

Beckett drove deep, pressed his chest to her back, and stilled. He slid one hand down her arm, covered her hand, and pried her fingers from the comforter, threading them with his. With her head turned, she found herself staring at their joined hands, their wrists both bound in bracelets from the event. His other arm stretched overhead, his fingers tangling in her hair. His weight sank into her and drove him even deeper, and he settled there a long moment, his heavy breaths in her ear, his quick heartbeat on her back.

Fear burned hot and fast. Eden waited for claustrophobia to close in. But Beckett’s fingers flexed around hers, loosening and tightening back up, and affection shoved her fear aside.

She closed her eyes and soaked in the feeling of being so completely…taken. So completely…owned. Something she’d never believed herself capable of allowing again.

“I can’t remember…sex being this fucking good…” he panted. “This is all I could think about all damn week. Seeing you, talking to you, feeling you. Being inside you. Fuck, this is crazy.” Then he turned his head and pressed his mouth to her neck.

Emotions coiled and built and tears burned her eyes. Tears of joy. Tears of appreciation. Tears over the realization that she wasn’t as completely broken as she’d believed.

A sudden and fierce affection for Beckett blossomed. Beckett and his confidence, his sweetness, his patience. She’d spent two years hiding from life. A fear only Beckett had been able to break through, allowing her to step back into life. Really step back into life.

His groan vibrated over her skin, and he started to move again. But this was different. This was a sensual, deep pull and drive that stole her breath just as intensely as the frenzied grind from before. And, the way it had their first night together, the rhythm seemed to simply glide into place. Eden lifted to meet his thrusts, took his hungry mouth with the same need to consume and be consumed. As their passion deepened, he drove harder and faster, hammering a familiar yet fresh pleasure through her body.

“Eden… Fuck, baby…” His teeth grazed her shoulder. “Wanna feel you come. Wanna feel you get all wet. Wanna feel you squeeze all around me. God, you feel so fucking good.”

His words kicked the heat up another notch. He seemed to read her every sound, intensifying the strength and speed to drive her directly to the edge.

Her body reached, stretched, tightened. Damn, it was so intense. So all-encompassing. Her free hand clutched at his forearm.

“Oh yeah,” he rasped in her ear with a sexy thrill in his tone. “I feel it. Mmm, it’s comin’. God, I wish you could feel what you do to me. Open and let go. Let go.” He pressed his mouth above her ear. “Let me have you, Eden. All of you.”

She relaxed, released her muscles, and his next thrust acted like a bomb. The orgasm exploded deep inside her. She cried out, and her body seized as ecstasy rocketed through her. She choked and moaned. Bucked and writhed. And the pleasure seemed to go on and on and on.

The climax was still twisting and shuddering through Eden when Beckett broke. With his face pressed to her neck, his hips pumped in a fierce succession. His growl vibrated over her skin, and his jaw tightened as he clenched his teeth around curses. His own pleasure ravaged him into tremors.

When he finally collapsed, his full weight on her, Eden sank into the mattress with no complaints. She let her mind slip away, floating on the bliss that always seemed to characterize her time with Beckett.