War (Boston Bolts Hockey #3)

40. Ava

FORTY

AVA

“I can’t believe you ripped my underwear,” I say as Tyler spins me on the dance floor.

“They’ll make a wonderful souvenir,” he murmurs in my ear.

A big part of me was desperate to leave right after he fucked me into next Sunday against a door while his brother—my ex—stood on the other side. But this is my event, and it’s far too early to bow out. Also, I’m smiling and he’s smiling, and I’m not sure I’ve ever felt this happy or relaxed in my life.

With a pinch to his chest, I give him a mock glare. “You aren’t keeping them.”

“Sure, I am, wifey.” The dark chuckle that rumbles out of him sends a shiver down my spine. “I’m going to frame them and put them up next to that picture of you giving me the finger after our wedding.”

I roll my eyes. “No one got that on camera.”

“So you admit you were cursing me that day?”

“We’ve come so far,” I say on a laugh.

With a flourish, Tyler spins me out and then back into his chest before dipping me not so gracefully. When he rights me, my cheeks hurt from smiling.

His expression is just as bright. “I love seeing you smile.”

“ Tyler — ”

“Can I cut in?” Xander’s words cut my own short.

They stop me from telling Tyler that I love a hell of a lot more than his smile.

Honestly, maybe I’m a bitch, but I kind of just want to say “you again?” to Xander, then turn my back on him. Is the situation awkward? Yes. I did marry his stepbrother, after all. But Xander didn’t seem to care what I was doing until he found out about the marriage. Why, all of a sudden, is he so desperate to speak to me? I guess, in a weird way, I’m thankful for the fractured relationship between these two. It means I’ll rarely have to see him. And honestly, other than when he texts, I’ve mostly forgotten about him.

Tyler’s grip on my hip tightens, and he pulls me to his chest. “No.”

“ Ava ,” Xander says in that way he used to when he thought I was being ridiculous and needed to be reminded of how to behave.

I can’t hate it all that much, I guess, since it’s not all that different from the way I say Tyler’s name, and Tyler loves when I say his name like that. It’s our thing. He’s an ass, and I put him in his place, and then we do this. We smile together.

When I realize that couples around us are slowing their movements, attention drifting to us and the drama unfolding, I refocus on the issue at hand. “You should go,” I tell Xander.

He shakes his head and takes a step closer, his words a whispered hiss barely audible over the music. “You’re embarrassing yourself. I know you always wanted to be Josie’s mom, but this is pathetic.”

“Watch yourself,” Tyler warns.

I place a hand on his chest, silently urging him to remain calm. The last thing we need is a scene in the middle of the dance floor at a charity event I planned. The silent auction hasn’t ended yet, and nothing brings an event down like a fight. “Xander, if you’d like to talk, we can go into the hall.”

“No you can’t,” Tyler growls, his hold almost painfully tight.

“Whatever,” Xander sneers. “You’re not worth it anyway. He’s going to leave you, ya know. The only reason he wanted you was because I had you first. The guy always wants my leftovers.”

As he shakes his head, I try to ignore the way his insults hit .

“You left your phone at the table. I was just trying to give it back to you earlier.” He tosses it in my direction.

Thankfully Tyler snatches it before it hits me in the chest.

I stare after my asshole of an ex as he storms off, feeling uneasy about the entire exchange. Confused too, because I’m certain I never even took my phone out of my purse. Yet somehow Xander ended up with it. Why? Was there something he wanted from it? And if so, then why did he give it back?

There’s only one thing on that phone that concerns me. But even Xander wouldn’t be interested in that. Doubt rushes through me as I tell myself that though. Because I’ve been wrong about so many things.

“Are you okay?” Tyler rasps, tucking me against his body. We didn’t stay much longer after Xander’s tantrum. I probably should have, but the entire thing left me uneasy, so I checked with Lennox to make sure she could take the lead, and we took off.

I lay my hand on his cheek. Tonight was many things, but the only thing I want to focus on is my husband. “He doesn’t get any more of our thoughts.”

Tyler’s blue eyes rove over me, like he’s not quite sure whether I’m hiding my true feelings.

“Tonight, I got closure. I’m glad we saw him. Now that part of my life is done with completely.”

A cocky smirk pulls at his lips. “That part of your life was over the moment you spent the night in my bed.”

“Not the moment we said I do ?” I bite down on my lip as excitement whirls in my stomach. This is us. The teasing and taunting. Now that we’re actually together and I’m not forcing myself to keep my distance from him, I know what it leads to—hot sex.

He scoffs. “Please, we both know you’ve wanted me since long before that day.”

“In your dreams, Tyler Warren.”

“You’re the one who proposed to me. I think that was your plan all along. You saw me as a dad and couldn’t get enough.”

Head lolling on my pillow, I roll my eyes. “You are so full of yourself.”

He squeezes my bare hip. We’re naked, and I know if he moved his leg even an inch, I’d be moaning at the friction. “You’re about to be full of me, wife. But first I’m going to suck on that needy cunt of yours. Clearly, you need it, with the way you’re soaking my leg.”

Shocked, though I shouldn’t be by now, by his words, I smack his chest. “ Tyler .”

“Please, are you trying to deny how wet you are? How turned on you get when I taunt you?”

No. “Yes,” I grit out as desire pools in my belly and spills over.

Gripping my hips, he pulls me on top of him. “Sit on my face.”

I rock against his length, not the least bit embarrassed by how wet I am. “I am not sitting on your face. Have you forgotten that I hate you?”

He smirks up at me, knowing not a word out of my mouth is true. “Suffocate me, then, wife. We both know I’ll enjoy it.” With a hand tangled in my hair, he pulls me down so we’re chest to chest and kisses me.

Already, I’m panting and writhing against him, needy for everything he gives me.

Roughly, he clutches my thighs and guides me up to his face. “Grab the headboard, baby. I need to taste you.” Digging his fingers into the flesh of my ass, he helps me settle my knees just above his shoulders. Then he runs his teeth gently against my sensitive skin, sending shivers cascading down my body. When his lips suction around my clit, stars dance in my vision.

I drop my head back and groan. “Ty, that’s?—”

“Heaven,” he mumbles against me. “It’s fucking heaven.”

Tucking my chin, I grasp a handful of his hair and watch as he sucks and licks and laps at me, his eyes shut like he’s enjoying this as much as I am. This is one of the most sensual experiences of my life. Maybe because he’s my husband, maybe because what he’s doing is so much more than just setting off explosions inside my nerves. The waves of pleasure he gives me aren’t temporary. No, the ripples are creating lasting effects, gripping my heart just as firmly as he grips my body.

“Ty, I’m going to?—”

I can’t even get the word out before I explode, my entire body spasming with an intensity so fierce I’d flop to the bed if not for Tyler’s firm grip on me. I’m lost in the pleasure as he drags me down his body. Rather than continuing to work me over with his mouth and savoring my orgasm, he extends it by impaling me with his cock in one sharp thrust.

“Oh god.” The words are barely audible. I can’t speak because he’s stolen all my breath.

“That’s right, baby. I’m your god. But you’re my heaven, and I’m going to live inside you for the rest of my life.” He fucks up into me, hips rolling, and my vision goes black. His piercing drags against my inner walls, ramping me up again instantly. He fills me so exquisitely. The scent of him and the heat in his wild blue eyes as they watch me so intently have my nerves chanting for another release. And when he slides his fingers up my body, starting from my hips, a chill sweeps through me. Those fingers find their way into my hair at the base of my skull, and he pulls me down until our mouths are fused. He swells inside me, the sensation sending me over the edge. As he pulses, filling me once again, I come with a groan.

Before Tyler, I never wanted kids. Too afraid to create a bond that deep, only to lose that person.

But since him—since he gave me a family—I realize that it was stupid of me to pretend I could hold myself back from love. I love our kids, and I love Tyler. If we have more children in the future, I’ll love them too. There’s no way to guarantee we won’t get hurt, that we won’t lose those we love, but I’m not living in fear anymore. I’m embracing it.

We hold one another, kissing and whispering words that mean absolutely nothing but amount to everything. Sweet confessions between two people who are gone for one another. Words don’t come easy, but even without them, it’s obvious that our world shifted tonight .

“I love when you fuck me like you hate me,” he mumbles, stroking my hair.

Tired and sated, I lay my head on his chest. “I don’t really hate you,” I whisper as I listen to the pounding of his heart. “You’re a good husband.”

“I know, baby.” He presses a kiss to my head.

“And you’re a really good dad.” I yawn as a wave of exhaustion washes over me.

“I know that too.” This time, the words are tinged with the cockiness he’s so well-known for.

Eyes open again, I pinch his side. “God, I hate you.”

He hums, the sound vibrating through me. And just as I’m drifting to sleep, he mumbles softly, “Love you too, wifey.”