Mind Pucked (Chicago Blue Jays #1)

26. Jackson

26

JACKSON

C elebrating with the guys is a relief after the tension on the ice. Coach seems to have forgiven me for the most part, though it’s going to take a while for me to prove myself enough to get back into everyone’s good graces.

The entire team and many of the fans have decided to go clubbing, and we all filter through the door wearing our Blue Jays gear, making noise and celebrating winning the Stanley Cup.

It’s somewhat bittersweet, but I’d rather celebrate with my boys than wallow in the guilt of my decisions on the ice. Still, it’s hard to get over Wayne’s comments about Amelia—I can’t believe I’ve let her affect me so strongly.

Shaking her from my mind, I head to the bar and grab a beer.

“I am getting so drunk tonight,” Felix says as he steps up beside me at the bar.

“Me too, man.” I pay for my beer and take a long pull out of my drink, happy for the ice-cold alcohol as it starts to circulate through my system. Sure, I may not plan on getting smash-faced drunk, but getting a nice buzz to keep my mind off things might not be such a bad thing.

“You played so great tonight, Oliver,” I say to my buddy as I pat him on the back. “That hat trick, freaking gold.”

“Thanks, man,” he says as he takes a sip of his own drink. “Did you see Brooke and some of the other ladies are here?” He points to a group of the wives and girlfriends of some of the players, and I smile.

“What are the odds we picked the same club as them tonight?” I wonder out loud.

“I don’t know, but the more the merrier!” Oliver smiles as he clinks his glass against mine and starts to chug his amber liquid.

I do the same thing, finishing off my beer in just a couple gulps. I turn around and get a second before deciding to mingle through the crowd a little.

Fans congratulate me as we walk by, and it seems most of them have forgotten the fight I had on the rink, and the fifteen minutes of the game I lost at the end. They don’t care—we won.

As I finish my second beer and move on to my third, I fight the urge to text Amelia. I know I need to leave her alone, but my heart and my brain are at war. It’s not a fun feeling.

Instead of making that mistake, I decide to search out a few of the guys to see about playing a game of darts. I see Vaughn and Benjamin across the room, but as I traverse the crowd to head toward them, something catches my attention off to the right.

A man is clearly getting aggressive with a woman. It looks like he’s dragging her toward the door unwillingly, and by instinct, I have to intervene.

I cut through the crowd as quickly as I can, discarding my drink on one of the tables nearby. I get behind the man the exact moment he raises his fist to hit the woman. She’s just gotten a shot in by the looks of it, although she’s still mostly hidden by this guy’s massive frame.

I grab his fist and twist his arm behind his back as I realize for the first time who the woman is. My breath hitches at seeing Amelia in the grasp of this animal. Much like when Wayne was taunting me, I see red.

There’s such a look of fear and uncertainty on Amelia’s face that all the hate I held for her melts away instantly. She’s got her eyes closed so tight…like she’s ready for the impact.

I don’t know who this man is, but he sure will know who I am by the end of the night.

I raise my fist and deck him in the face just as she opens her eyes and sees me. I rear back and hit him again as she says my name.

The guy sprawls out hard on the ground. Oddly enough, the fight hasn’t attracted too much attention…so far. If I do what I did on the ice, however, I know it will gain the attention of most.

Before it can go that far, Amelia takes my hand and pulls me back.

“Let’s get out of here, he isn’t worth it,” she says, and she pulls me along with her.

We see the man get to his feet as we round the bar toward the back of the club.

“Oh shit, he’s coming,” I say as I let out a laugh and run with her.

“That guy is after us,” she says to the bartender as we pass.

I see the bartender nod to someone and then a giant bouncer moves out in front of the piece of shit who dared to get rough with my girl.

We continue to move, hand in hand, as I think about those words. My girl .

Amelia is no longer my girl. Although, at a time like this, every bit of rage I’ve felt toward her is doused with fear for her safety. I was just thinking about her, and now her hand is in mine, and we’re running out the back door of the club into the alley.

We run a little further down the brick wall where the alley comes to an end. There’s nobody in sight…only a stray cat that runs from a dumpster with a scared meow.

We both press our backs to the brick, out of breath. Panting, we look at each other and start to laugh. The laugh becomes uncontrollable as we chuckle hysterically.

“Who was that?” I ask the moment I catch my breath.

“My ex, Trevor,” she says.

“Well, a man willing to hit a woman like that, no wonder he’s your ex,” I say. Now I kind of want to go back in there and beat his ass all over again.

She looks at me for a moment as she gets serious once again. Her smile fades and she looks like she might cry. I want so badly to go back to the moment when we were laughing, but now we’re both thinking about everything that’s happened between us.

“I’m going back in. I’ll let Brooke know I’m leaving, then I’m going to get an Uber home,” she says as she takes her hand from mine and begins to walk back down the alley.

My heart is thundering in my chest as I watch her walk away from me. Sure, things are complicated, and I’m not exactly sure how I should feel, but I don’t want her to be walking away right now. I can’t let her walk away. If I do, it will be the dumbest thing I have ever done in my life.

“Amelia,” I say, drawing her attention.

She pauses in her tracks and turns around to look at me. She gulps once, twice, then a third time before walking the few steps back toward me.

“Jackson.”

“I’m still so incredibly angry with you, but I can’t spend another moment away from you,” I admit to her, and even I’m surprised at my words.

“You’re just saying that because you almost saw me get my ass handed to me by a man,” she says with a frown.

“No.” I bring my hand up to the side of her face and grace her cheek with my fingertips. “That’s not true. I was coming to the rescue regardless of who you were. Honestly, I didn’t know it was you until I already had that guy’s fist in my hand. It being you was just an added bonus,” I admit. “Not that you were going to get hurt, but that I could save you. Because, Amelia…” I step closer, until our foreheads are touching. “I’ve been thinking about you every day, every hour, every minute, and every second since you walked out after our fight.”

“Jackson, I can’t…” She trails off, as if thinking about all the things she should say.

“Shhhh,” I say as I put my finger to her lips. “Just listen.” I breathe in her intoxicating scent. The smell of roses and lavender wafts over my senses. “I want to hate you, so much. I do. The truth is, I can’t. No matter how angry I am… was , I just can’t let you go. Do you want to know why?”

“Why?” she says against my finger.

I drag my fingers down her lips, her bottom lip puckering out in a small pout as I let my hand fall.

“Because no matter how much my mind thinks that I should run, my heart says that I love you.”

A tear trickles down her cheek. I reach up to wipe it away, but she puts her hand on top of mine, pressing my palm into her cheek.

“I don’t deserve for you to wipe my tears away,” she says as she looks down, but then her eyes cut straight up to mine. “Wait, did you just say that you love me?”

“I did,” I breathe softly as I close the gap between us. “I love you, Amelia. I’ve loved you for a long while now, and there’s no way a little argument can make me not love you. I just hope you feel the same about me. Because I’m pretty sure my daughter would be devastated if not,” I say, and we both chuckle a little.

“I love you too, Jackson,” she says, and my heart swells.

I reach down, hooking my fingers behind her ear, putting my thumb against her jawline, and pulling her close. Our lips caress one another with a sort of passion I’ve never felt before.

Our kisses become desperate, and I move us back until I have her pressed against the brick wall, not even a paper’s distance between us. I feel her every curve against my body, sending me into overdrive. My cock hardens, begging for what it’s been missing for so long.

She wraps her arms around me, tangling her fingers in my hair as she presses against me. I feel her breasts through her shirt, her nipples hard for me.

I don’t care that we’re in an empty alley, where anyone could walk up at any time. I hardly think the dead end is going to bring in much foot traffic, but right now I don’t care.

I lift her up and press her against the wall, and she brings her legs up around my hips.

“Jackson,” she breathes through our kisses. “I need you.” And that’s all she has to say.

“I need you too,” I say as I reach down and unbuckle my jeans.

Once I’m free from the confines of the material, I reach down past the waistband of her leggings, letting my fingers brush past the fabric of her panties, down to her wet folds.

I don’t need my hands to hold her up—the wall and the strength of her legs are doing just fine.

I tease her clit for a moment, and she arches her back, letting out a soft whimper. She exposes her jugular to me, and I lean in to kiss the hollow of her neck, up the vein to where her neck meets her head, just behind her earlobe.

A shudder runs through me as she moans in pleasure. Her hands break free of my hair and push at her leggings. She’s desperate for me, and truth be told I’m desperate for her as well.

I help push her pants and panties down enough to expose her to me. She’s so hot and ready, and so am I.

Reaching down, I grab my shaft and pump a few times before centering myself against her. All the while our lips are locked in the kind of kiss that won’t stop, our tongues mingling between breaths.

I push against her, thrusting inside with no problem. She’s ready for me.

Her tight warmth feels so good around me as I lean into her and the wall, using it for leverage.

“Oh my God,” Amelia says, her eyes rolling back in her head.

“Tell me about it,” I chuckle against her earlobe as I press deeper and harder within her.

I begin to move faster once we find a pace that’s good for both of us. The sensations that are running through my body right now are enough to fuel me for life.

I let my fingers trail up her ribs. The crop top exposes enough that I don’t find fabric until I’m just above her navel. I continue upward until my hand is cupping one of her perky breasts.

With my other hand, I reach up and grab the wall for stability, allowing my fingernails to cut into the bricks. They don’t give, of course, and I might break a few nails, but I don’t mind a bit of pain through the pleasure.

Moving my hand from her breasts, I reach around and cup her ass, pulling her against me as I thrust.

“I’m so sorry for everything, Jackson,” she says in a half moan, half whisper.

“All is forgiven,” I say, pulling away to allow a whispering distance between us. “As long as we get to do this for the rest of our lives.”

“I hope so,” she breathes as she arches her back again, pressing her breasts into my chest hard.

I quicken my pace, thrusting into her even deeper, causing her to cry out. Completely lost to the world around us, we both come unglued and shatter at the exact same time.