Off the Ice (The Penalty Kill Trilogy) (Volume 2) Read online

  I nod.

  “Oh, Smarty.” He wraps me in his arms. No matter where I am in the world, his arms are my home, and I cry. “Hey, don’t cry.”

  “I’m sorry,” I sob.

  Levi pulls away and sits next to me. “First, don’t be sorry. Second, nothing is going to happen to us. You know that even if they draft me, it doesn’t mean I’ll be called up. Most prospects finish college or go into the AHL.”

  I laugh through my tears. “That means you’ll be in big ol’ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.”

  “Yeah,” he chuckles. “It will be fine. Please don’t worry.”

  I nod again. “I know it’s silly, Levi. Sorry.”

  “Don’t be sorry. I love you and I’m not going anywhere without you.” He kisses me and all my nerves settle. “Better now?”

  “Yes, thank you.” My phone begins ringing and I see Trevor on the display.

  “Guess what?” He says as I pick up.

  “What?”

  “Two words. Carolina. Hurricanes.”

  “Okay, why those two words.” Then it hits me. If Levi got his letter, then Trevor got his. “Oh. Eem. Gee. Are you going to Carolina?”

  “Option to draft in June and heading to camp in July.” One thing about the NHL, everyone is on the same timeline.

  “I’m so happy for you.” Now, I’m crying again and Levi just shakes his head.

  “That Trevor?” He asks and I nod. “Tell him congrats.”

  “Levi says congratulations.”

  “Hey, where is he going?”

  “Um,” I know that Levi didn’t want lots of people to know, but he must have heard him because he nods. “He’s going to Pittsburgh.”

  “Well, you must be thrilled. Hey, all of us should celebrate. Tomorrow night?”

  “Okay, you’re on.” Trevor and I say our goodbyes and hang up.

  “We’re all going to celebrate tomorrow.” I look at Levi as he has a smirk on his face.

  “I think you and I need to celebrate right now.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Levi

  I kiss that neck I love so much, swirling my tongue on her skin.

  “There’s people here,” she says breathlessly and I smirk against her skin at how I have turned her on already.

  Pulling back, I look at her with my crooked grin. “It’s an action movie and we can hear the TV in here. If they can hear you, then I’m doing a damn good job. In fact,” I kiss the corner of her mouth, “it’s my personal goal tonight to make them hear you scream and moan.”

  I grab the hem of her shirt in my hands and yank it over her head. She’s smiling playfully as she unhooks her bra, while I undress.

  “You have your work cut out for you, Captain Carr.” Presley scoots back on the bed once she’s naked.

  “You’ll be screaming my name in that sexy moan of yours, Smarty. I can promise you that,” I growl as I climb over her. My arms are holding me up over her, as if I’m about to do a push up, so I’m not touching her at all. Leaning down, I whisper into her ear, still not touching her, “You’ll be begging for more.”

  Tonight, I want to be inside her more than anything. Quickly, I grab a condom that is sitting on top of my nightstand, one that has been waiting for this moment all day. I roll it on, and then give Presley a hot kiss, loving the taste of her as she digs her fingers into the back of my neck. I lower myself onto her body and slowly enter her.

  Smarty pulls away from the kiss, shaking her head. “Harder, Levi.” I groan at her words. “Fuck. Me.” My hips move faster and harder against her as she wraps her legs around my waist.

  Dipping my head, I kiss her neck, my words coming out in raspy whispers. “You’re gorgeous, Smarty.” Gently, I pinch her skin between my teeth as I thrust into her. My teeth drag down her neck to her shoulder as I taste my way up her neck and then down her shoulder again.

  “Levi,” Presley moans, dragging her nails down my back so hard it stings.

  “Not loud enough.” I bite where her neck curves into her shoulder. Smarty arches her back, pressing her further into me as I bring my knees up on either side of her to better anchor myself. “C’mon, Smarty. Scream for me.” My hips pull back until just the tip of me is inside Presley.

  “Levi,” she begs, but when I lean forward to nip her shoulder at the same time I drive into her deep and hard, she screams. “Fuck, Levi!” I do the same thing a couple more times before I repeatedly push into her fast and hard as she requested. My back starts to burn as she claws all over, trying to contain the building of pleasure that’s about to fucking burst.

  I slam into her with everything I have and she lets out a guttural scream of, “Oh God, Levi.”

  Hearing my name grace her voice like that makes me reach my high the second she says it. Panting, I collapse over her, all my energy gone. I love how our bodies are always sticky with a thin layer of sweat. With a soft, precious manner, I kiss her neck.

  When Presley and I stop breathing so heavily, she turns her head to look at me.

  With a cocky grin, I ask, “Did you just call me a God?”

  Presley giggles. “Um, no.”

  “I’m pretty sure you said, ‘Oh, God Levi.’”

  “Comma placement means everything, Levi. Don’t let your head get any bigger. I said, ‘Oh God comma Levi.’”

  Chuckling, I say, “Just go ahead and admit it. You think I’m a God.” When I wink, she giggles again. “We can probably go catch the end of the movie.” Hopefully, she won’t see that I really just want to see if they heard her. I really wanted to meet that goal, and I’m pretty sure I did.

  “I guess we can do that.”

  While I toss the condom in the trash and we dress, I say, “My back hurts like hell, Smarty.”

  “Turn around.” I do. “Oh, my God. I’m so sorry, Levi.”

  “That bad, huh?” I ask as I turn to face her. She nods. “It was worth it.” I take her hand and lead her into the living room. All the heads turn towards us. The guys are grinning, and the girls give Presley a disapproving look. Smarty hits my arm, realizing this is why I brought her back out of my room.

  “You’re terrible, Levi Carr.” She stands on her tiptoes and whispers to me, “Why are there girls here anyway? I thought they weren’t allowed.”

  I shrug. “Things changed a little.” We walk over to the only empty seat left and I pull her down into my lap.

  “Question,” I say to the group once the movie ends. “Y’all heard her, right? The last part in particular?”

  “Levi, we don’t want to hear that,” a bunnie says.

  “Oh, we heard all right,” Harper snickers.

  “Levi,” Presley warns.

  “No, we need to settle this,” I tell her before looking back at the guys. “You would say that she said, ‘Oh, God Levi,’ right? Not ‘oh God, Levi?’ I’m pretty sure she was calling me a God.”

  My teammates start laughing and the girls shake their heads once more.

  “She wasn’t calling you a god, Carr,” Harper says.

  “Yeah, we don’t need your ego to get bigger,” Nichols adds.

  “See?” Presley smiles. “They agree with me.”

  “They weren’t in there with you. They misheard you is all.”

  She laughs and the attention moves back to the TV. Nichols gets up, asking if anyone wants a beer, and most do. Presley and I take a beer each. She leans her back against my chest, turns her head, and whispers into my ear.

  “You definitely can’t leave me behind.” She pauses, but before I can say something she adds, “The sex is too good.”

  I bust out laughing, causing heads to turn momentarily. “That’s a really good reason.” I’ve been trying not to get too caught up in the excitement of what that email means. Besides the fantastic obvious reasons, it means that my dad will be back here. How can I keep an eye on him and check up on him if I’m in another state? He’ll be here all alone. Maybe, if all goes well, and I have to move to Pittsburgh, I can talk him into moving
too. He probably isn’t going to want to pack up like that. This is home for him.

  That’s my biggest worry. That he will stay here, something will happen, and I won’t be anywhere close enough to be there for him. Maybe I should think about staying. I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if something were to happen, and I wasn’t here. His heart attack was a slap in the face at how easily I could lose him. I can’t lose him. Not with Momma gone.

  “Hey, you okay?” Presley looks concerned and worried.

  “Yeah, fine.”

  “Want to go to bed?”

  “Yeah, let’s do that.” Then I add in a whisper, “I just want to hold you.” I almost said that I wanted to cuddle with her, but I’ll be damned if I’ll say that out loud in a room full of people, even if it is a whisper.

  “Catch ya later,” I say over my shoulder as Presley tugs me to my room. After we change, we get into bed and I pull Presley to me with her back against my chest.

  “Is something bothering you, Levi?” she asks quietly.

  I nuzzle my face into her neck before I speak, my lips brushing against her skin with every word. “Just let me hold you, Smarty. This is all I want right now.”

  “But -”

  “Not the time to be stubborn.” My voice leaves no room for further argument.

  “You’re so demanding,” she says and I can just picture her rolling her eyes.

  “Don’t roll your eyes at me, Smarty,” I tease.

  “How’d you know I did that?” She rolls over in my arms to look at me, forcing me to lay my head on my pillow instead of in the crook of her neck.

  “I’m God Levi and I’m all knowing.”

  Presley giggles and I smile. It’s so crazy and hot to see my fiery redhead do something as girly as giggle. Suddenly, she leans towards me and kisses me long and hard. The kiss is soft, loving, and even a little lazy. “I love you,” she says quietly against my lips, those light brown eyes watching me intently.

  “I love you too, Smarty.”

  ~

  When I wake up, I notice three things.

  Presley isn’t in my bed.

  My door is open.

  Noise of laughter and someone cooking is coming from the kitchen.

  As I get out of bed, my back clearly reminds me that it’s sore so I don’t worry about putting on a shirt. That leaves me wearing nothing but pajama pants. Entering the kitchen, I stop at the sight before me. Presley is finishing placing food on the table and Nichols, Harper, and Presley are all laughing about something.

  “Well, hey sleepyhead,” Harper says catching sight of me.

  “Did you sleep well, sweetheart?” Nichols laughs.

  “Shut the hell up, both of you.” Finally, I start walking over to Presley and kiss her cheek. “You did all this?” I ask, looking at the eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits, and pancakes scattered on the table. “I didn’t even know we had all of that here.”

  “You didn’t. I went and bought it this morning.”

  “You’re the best,” I kiss her cheek again before going to fix a glass of milk.

  “Holy shit,” Harper mutters as Nichols says, “What the fuck?”

  When I turn around, Nichols asks, “What in the hell happened to your back?”

  Oh, gotcha. Smirking, I tell them with a pointed look to Presley, “Proof that I’m a God.”

  Smarty holds up her hands. “We are so not talking about this. Talk all you want after I leave.”

  We laugh as I finish pouring my milk. It doesn’t take long before we dive into the food.

  “Thanks, Presley.”

  “Yeah, thanks,” the guys echo.

  “You can come over anytime you want, but we insist that you cook each time,” Harper adds.

  “I don’t know about all that,” Presley laughs.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Presley

  Trevor planned the whole night of celebration for the four of us. Marley came over, and we got ready together.

  “Does it feel like we’ve done this before?” Marley asks as she slides into her knee high boots. Her dress is a forest green A-line dress. She has a yellow scarf that matches her boots. The girl can wear a garbage bag and look like a supermodel.

  “Yeah, but this time no parents.” Trevor wants to go to the Royal again. I haven’t been there since the night of my melt down with my parents. I’m wearing a gray, lace cocktail dress and matching heels.

  “You ready?” Marley asks, and I nod.

  Levi and Trevor are having beers in the kitchen when we come in. I look at Levi. He’s so hot in his black suit, gray shirt, and matching tie.

  “Hey, we match,” I point out.

  “It wasn’t intentional. This was all I had clean.” He smirks.

  “Let’s go people.” Trevor hands us our coats and ushers us out the door.

  We all climb into Levi’s SUV and head out. The conversation is light and fun. We pull up to the Royal and valet the SUV. I stop dead in my tracks when the hostess goes to seat us. In the back, there is my parents and Levi’s dad, already sitting there.

  “Why are they here?” I stare at Trevor.

  “It’s a family celebration.”

  I should have cared more about my parents, but I love Victor, and I hadn’t seen him since our weekend up there. I can’t help but run right up to him and hug him.

  “Pres, you just talked to me yesterday.” He hugs me tight.

  “Yes, but I haven’t had a hug in a month.” I laugh and pull out of his arms. My parents are standing and staring at me.

  Levi taps my shoulder. “Hey, my dad, remember?”

  “He loves me more.” I put my hands on my hips.

  Victor leans down and whispers, “That’s because you’re prettier.” Levi just rolls his eyes and hugs his dad.

  Trevor is chatting up with my dad and mom so I’m able to sit down without speaking to them. This time, I sit in between Marley and Levi, who sits next to his dad. Trevor sits next to Marley, which puts my parents directly in front of me.

  I’ve talked to my parents a total of three times since that night. They’ve tried their best to be more engaging, but it’s like a statue trying to move. Doesn’t always work.

  After we all get settled, we order drinks and food. Then my dad decides to make a toast.

  “To Trevor and Levi. The NHL is gaining two incredible players.”

  “Dad, you might want to wait until we are officially drafted,” Trevor says.

  “I have no doubt that you’ll be drafted. What do you think, Victor?”

  “Oh, as long as Levi is happy, that is all his mother and I wanted.” Victor pats Levi’s shoulder and smiles.

  “Wait, really?” My mother has a confused look on her face.

  “Elizabeth,” my dad hissed under his breath.

  “I just figured that you want Levi to be successful, that’s all.” Mom sits up taller and sticks her chin out a little. Gosh, sometimes she’s just a bitch.

  “All we’ve wanted is for Levi to be happy and do what he loves to do. Happiness always leads to success,” Victor says as a matter of fact.

  “I agree, Victor.” I smile at him. That seems to shut my mother up.

  Victor and Dad discuss old times with Levi and Trevor in high school, which just made the boys groan a lot. Marley and I chatted about the school, and it is my mother’s turn just to sit.

  “So, it’s close to spring break. Where are you girls going?” Finally, my mother found a topic to talk about.

  “We’re going to Myrtle Beach,” I say.

  “Oh, well that will be nice for you two girls to go shopping and get a nice tan.”

  “I’m hoping that I can take a diving class.” Trevor rubs his hands together with an evil grin.

  “You are going too, Trevor?”

  “Yeah, Mom, and so is Levi.”

  My mother’s face goes from confused to realization that we were going to be at spring break with our boyfriends. I think she is just figuring out that we are having sex
. I’m sure that is sitting well with her.

  “Well, first we need to go to the game.” Victor smiles at me.

  “Yes, I can’t wait.” I’m on the verge of bouncing out of my seat thinking about the meet and greet.

  “What game?” Dad looks up from his glass.

  “For my birthday, Victor is taking me to Pittsburgh for a meet and greet.” I smile brightly. For the first time in my life, my father’s eyes grow sad.

  “Oh, that’s nice,” he says sadly.

  The evening goes on and there is some laughter and good conversation. When the check comes, my dad pays for it all, even though Victor argues. We finally head outside and wait for our cars.

  “Now, little girl, you need to call me when you get your grade on that project, okay?” Victor wraps me in his arms.

  “What project?” Dad is behind me as I pull out of Victor’s arms.

  “My Constitutional Law project, Daddy.” Another sad look crosses his face.

  As the four of us go to get into Levi’s SUV, my mom pulls me to the side.

  “We should talk soon. How about a little shopping trip? You and me, maybe Marley, like old times.” She is whispering in my ear, and I nod.

  ~

  “Well, that was an interesting night.” Levi takes off his jacket and tie.

  “Please tell me you’re staying the night with me.” I slightly pout my lips at him.

  “Depends. What do I get in return?” He slowly licks his lips, and his eyes travel up and down my body.

  “Well,” I turn around and unzip my dress very slowly. “I could introduce you to some very sexy lingerie that I got.” I know that he can see my strapless lace bra and thong. I let my dress fall to the ground and step out of it. My back is still turned, so I look at him over my shoulder. He has the sexiest smirk on his face. I turn around and walk over to him. I guide him to the bed and sit him down.

  “I’ve gotta say, Smarty, I like this introduction.”

  I smile as I unbutton his shirt. With each button undone, I kiss his chest until I get to the top of his pants. I undo his belt and unzip his pants. “You made me scream last night and I’m going to make you do the same.”

  “Want to bet?”