Stick Play (Boston Bucks #4)

11. Gina

11

Gina

W ith three kids sitting between us, I glance over their heads at Ash. He’s as enthralled with the movie as the little ones and it brings a smile to my face. I’ve watched this show numerous times, but without kids of his own, I’m guessing it’s his first time.

As if feeling my eyes on him, he turns my way and a small smile touches his mouth. He puts his hand on the back of the sofa, where mine is and lightly—secretly—runs the rough pad of his thumb over my hand. Warm shivers go through me, and as I take a fast breath, I look away.

My God, I can’t believe I’m staying at his place—in my own bedroom, of course—but I have to say, I didn’t see this coming. But under the circumstances, with his dad unwell and the snow outside, I made the decision based on everyone’s safety.

The fact that we both might get up for a drink, meet in the kitchen again and corrupt his table much in the same way we corrupted mine did not play into my decision.

Much.

I glance at my daughter, who looks quite sleepy, and I check the time. They’re all up past their bedtime, but they did rest today after sledding. Still, I think it’s time for them to get to sleep. Unfortunately, I don’t have a book to read them and it’s clear there are none in this house, so I guess I’ll have to make up a story.

I lightly rustle my daughter’s hair. “I think it’s time I put you all to bed.”

They groan and complain, but all jump from the sofa when I grab the remote and turn the movie off. “Mommy, are you going to read to us?” Zoe asks.

“I don’t think Ash has any kids’ books.” A cute, almost sheepish look comes over Ash’s face. “You do?”

“I’m a bit of a pack rat.” He shrugs. “Actually, Dad is the pack rat, and when he moved here he brought all my childhood things with him. His place is too small to store them, so I have them. Like Dad, I have a hard time throwing things away.”

“When I saw the jerseys and the old pinball machine, I should have figured.”

He pushes to his feet and heads out of the room. “Come on.”

The kids are about to hurry behind him as he walks to the stairs, and I put my fingers to my lips.

“I need you all to be quiet, okay?” I point upward. “Ash’s dad isn’t feeling well, remember, and he’s sleeping.”

They all tip toe up the stairs, and Ash leads us into the spare room the kids are using. I lag behind for a second and put my ear to Grant’s door. When it’s met with silence, I step into the kids’ bedroom. Ash pulls open the closet to reveal numerous boxes.

“My childhood right here in these boxes.”

I laugh, and the kids all jump onto the bed. “I want Ash to read to us,” Zoe announces.

“Me too,” Tate agrees and Camryn nods her head.

Ash scratches his head. “Uh, I don’t know.”

“You don’t have to,” I tell him as I check the scratches on the boxes. One says toys, another says games, and I spot the one that says books.

“Please, Ash,” Zoe begs, her tired eyes pleading with him.

As she wins him over his shoulders drop, the fight going out of him. “I guess I could.”

I clap my hands. “Okay, why don’t you guys all go brush your teeth and I’ll find a good book.” Ash had opened a pack of toothbrushes for us all earlier, and set them in the bathroom.

They all hurry to the bathroom and I smile up at him. “You’re good with them.”

“I don’t know about that.” He bends and picks up the box of books, carrying it to the bed. “I hope there’s something age appropriate.”

He peels open the box and I stand close to him, the warmth radiating from his body curls around me, and I put my hand on his back, needing the contact. His gaze jerks to mine, and the want I see there sucks the air from my lungs. Damn, I really want this man again.

He glances at the door, and then quickly presses his lips to mine. “I’ve been dying to do that all night.”

I chuckle. “Same.”

His voice is low, and gravelly when he whispers, “Not being able to have my way with you whenever I want is torture.”

“Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” As soon as the words leave my mouth, I realize what I’ve said. His demeanor doesn’t change—heck, maybe he has no blood left in his brain—which is good. I don’t want him thinking I want any hearts involved here.

“All done,” Tate announces coming into the room and we quickly break apart.

“Now let’s see what we have here.” I start pulling out books and examining them. It’s fun to get a glimpse into Ash’s childhood, to see what he liked. There are a lot of novels that he likely read in high school, along with some younger books. “Do you still read a lot?”

“There’s just not a lot of time for it anymore.”

“True.” I laugh when I pull out the monkey book I loved as a child. I turn it over, and grin. “Looks like we have something in common.”

“Was that your favorite too?”

“Oh, yes, my grandmother read it to me many, many times.”

“Monkeys. Monkeys.” Tate starts chanting and jumping on the bed. “I love monkeys.”

“You’re a monkey,” Camryn teases as she comes back into the room and jumps on the bed with her brother.

I put my fingers to my lips again. “Indoor voices, remember?”

They both drop, and when Zoe comes back, I pull the blankets back and they all snuggle in. The bed is so big, I’m sure all five of us could fit.

“Right here, Ash,” Zoe says and pats the bed beside her. “Come sit by me.”

His eyes narrow, as he circles the bed and drops down next to her. Seeing them all in the bed, messes with my head and heart. Unable to watch this, as my ovaries might explode—oh yeah, the scene is messing with them too—I start to back up.

“I’m going to go check on your father.”

Fear moves over his face. “You’re leaving me.”

I grin. “You had them all morning,” I remind him.

“But I’ve never…” He holds the book up and I get it. He’s never read to kids before. I know he goes to the hospitals, and coaches the peewee team, and it’s clear he’s more comfortable around Tate than the girls.

“I can stay,” I tell him, and walk around the other side of the bed, and sit next to Camryn. I pull her close and she rests against me.

“Ash, we don’t bite,” Zoe huffs and I can’t help but laugh. Did she hear me say that the other day? Ohmigod, I need to remember there are always little ears listening.

“I know,” he says with much more confidence than he’s exuding. “It’s the pool noodle I’m worried about.”

Zoe crinkles up her nose. “What pool noodle?”

“Nothing, never mind. Okay, everyone ready?” They all nod and he begins the story about monkeys and bicycles. I smile the whole way through and absolutely love how much energy he puts into it, even using different voices for the different monkeys. The children are supposed to be winding down, but he’s so animated, they’re laughing and getting excited.

Once he finishes he closes the book, and is about to get up. Zoe touches his arm to stop him. “One more time.”

“Nope,” I say and push to my feet. “You are all up far past your bedtimes and we have to get up early and go home.”

“I want to stay here tomorrow. Home is boring,” Zoe whines with a pout.

“Home is boring,” Tate mimics.

“I guess…” Ash begins and then stops himself. I meet Ash’s eyes. “We’ll see.”

“Yay,” They all shout in unison.

I hold my finger up in warning. “But we’ll only see if you all go straight to sleep.”

They all snuggle down and I tuck them in and give them kisses.

“Ash, are you going to give us kisses too?”

My heart misses a beat as he stands there not knowing what to do. But more importantly, it’s clear the kids all adore him, and getting close was the last thing I wanted Zoe to do.

“How about he blows you all a kiss?”

He nods and does just that, and it’s so adorable, my ovaries start doing the Macarena. Good Lord. They throw kisses back and I flick the light off. We step into the hall, leaving the door open an inch.

“Thanks for reading. They seemed to enjoy it.”

He nods, puts his hand on the small of my back and leads me down the hall. I peek in on his father, who is still sleeping, and give Ash a satisfied nod.

“Glass of wine to wind down before bed?”

I should probably just go to bed. I’m tired after very little sleep last night, plus I worked all day, but my brain is stimulated…and well, let’s face it. Other parts of my body are stimulated too. I just can’t let anything happen between us, not with a house full of people.

Downstairs, we head to the kitchen and he grabs a bottle of wine from a shelf. “You keep wine on hand?” I ask and instantly wish I hadn’t. Of course, he does. He entertains bunnies all the time.

But you haven’t seen that lately, Gina.

He shrugs and I take in the way his muscles flex and relax again. My body warms, recalling the way those muscles did the same thing from my touch. “Yeah, lots of the WAGs like wine. I like to make sure I have their favorite kinds on hand when they visit.” He glances at the bottle. “I’ve seen you drink merlot a few times, so that’s what I grabbed for you.”

Observant.

Considerate.

God, people who call him an Ash-hole got it all wrong. Am I the only one who sees this other side of him? If he treated other women the way he treated me, no way would they call him anything but sweet.

“Oh, right. WAGs.” He pours me a generous amount and hands it to me. “That’s nice of you.”

He eyes me. “What, you thought I kept it on hand for all my bunnies?”

Busted.

“I’m sorry. That was presumptuous, and maybe not that nice of me. But you’re a single guy and can have as many bunnies as you want. There’s nothing wrong with that, Ash. It’s when you’re attached or married and having all the bunnies, that’s wrong.”

“For the record, I don’t want or have all the bunnies, and don’t believe everything you read.”

Everything I read? I’m not sure what he means by that, and instead of pressing, I ask, “You haven’t ever been serious with anyone?”

He glances down and a moment of heavy silence fills the kitchen as well as my lungs. His head slowly lifts, and I’m guessing whatever he’s about to tell me comes from a dark, painful place. “Yeah, once. But like your ex, she turned out to be something different too.”

I wince, truly gutted that he’s gone through some kind of tragedy, as well. “I’m sorry.”

Putting an end to the conversation—he clearly doesn’t want to talk about his ex—he grabs a beer from the fridge. He takes a long pull from the bottle, and as I watch him, I can’t help but want to kiss him and taste it on his tongue.

Alrighty then.

“Question,” is all he murmurs as he continues to hold his bottle.

I sip my wine and take in the seriousness in his features. “What?”

He tips the bottle toward the stairs leading up to the bedroom. “That’s how we handle it when they want something, by saying ‘we’ll see’?”

My heart squeezes at the way he says ‘we’. It’s only ever been me and for some reason what we’re doing here feels like a team effort, and I don’t hate it. Nope, I don’t hate it at all, and that’s really not a good thing under the circumstances. “It’s the way I like to handle it. It’s not a yes or no, and it seems to satisfy them.”

“Got it.” He grins. “You’re good at this mom stuff.”

“It’s trial and error, to be honest. There is no manual. Well, there is, but there shouldn’t be. Every child is different and just so you know, you’re good with them too, Ash.”

“I spent a lot of time with my dad. I think I get the ‘guy’ stuff. When it comes to girls, that’s a whole different story. I didn’t have any sisters, or a mom, and I think without that female influence, I’m just not sure about how to give a little girl what she might need. I don’t want to mess them up.”

“I do know.” Zoe isn’t getting the male influence she needs, and I can’t help but think that could affect future adult relationships. Wanting to lighten the heavy mood, I bump him. “When it comes to grown women. You got it going on.”

He steps into me and catching me by surprise, slides his hand around my body to pull me close and bends to kiss me. I moan and wrap my arms around his shoulders, going up on my toes as he deepens the kiss. When we finally break away, I’m breathless, panting, and…aroused.

I wiggle against him. “Didn’t we say we had to stop meeting this way?”

“You said it, I didn’t agree with it. But tonight, maybe I do.”

“Oh.” Here I am saying we shouldn’t have sex in the kitchen again, and now, when he agrees, my feelings are suddenly hurt. Good God, I’m all over the place lately.

He tips my chin up, and I stare into his gorgeous blue eyes that are filled with lust and hunger. “I think it’s time I put you to bed.”

My God, that is the best thing I’ve heard all day, but… “Ash, we can’t.”

“Oh, but we can, Gina. I think it’s a question of whether we should.”

He leans into me, presses his soft lips to mine again, and one hand slides under my backside to pick me up. I wrap my arms and legs around him and groan as I grow wet and needy. He moans and I revel in the taste of beer on his exploring tongue as it tangles with mine. I slide a bit lower on his body, and as his hard cock presses against my center, the world closes in on me. I try to think, but lust overshadows all reasonable thought.

He slowly breaks the kiss, his forehead to mine. “What’s the answer, babe?”