The Risk Read online

  We made our way down to the box, finding her parents plating food at the buffet. They told us to get some and hugged us once we were sitting down to enjoy the food.

  “I love that on you.” Linda told me, gesturing towards my jersey with a smile. “It feels like you’ve always been a part of this family, Holly. I love that.”

  “Thanks,” I replied, flushing slightly. The words meant a lot to me after having such absent parents. I wished they weren’t coming from the mother of a man I’d stayed in a room with over a week ago, but it did mean a lot. We enjoyed the food and then settled into the seats to watch the game as family joined us, sitting around us. I watched as the guys skated around the ice, passing pucks, and shooting goals for practice before the game. The crowd was screaming around me, and I lost myself in Logan’s world for a moment. Time seemed to stop as I wondered again what it would be like to be with him on a more permanent level. What would it be like to know his family that way?

  I sipped my soda and let the fantasy go. We slept together once and had a strong attraction to each other. That wasn’t anything all that unusual. He was a hockey player that was gorgeous and more than likely had that with women across the country. I would be a dim memory in time, but he’d always be the guy that I compared others to.

  The game started to screams and cheers and Logan was focused from the first puck drop. He tried to take it to the goal a few times, but the other team was good. They blocked him and the others before Logan got by and scored the first goal. I screamed along with everyone else and hugged Shelly as he celebrated with his team. It seemed like Logan scored a goal with every power play and ended up leading his team to a 6-2 win. I hugged Linda and Shelly as we danced around the box, feeling giggles bubble out of me.

  We waited to congratulate the team and Logan hugged his family tightly. He nodded at me, looking me over in the jersey as his eyes darkened.

  “That suits you,” he told me as I smiled weakly.

  “I was proud to wear it today,” I assured him as a guy walked by, clapping Logan on the back. He grinned and thanked the fan before Linda snuggled up to her son.

  “Are you going out with the team?” Logan frowned as he looked over at some guys walking out to his car.

  “I’m pretty wiped. We had a lot of practice for this game and I need some rest,” Logan told us as he glanced at me. “I might get something to eat. Want to meet at the diner near my place?”

  We all agreed, and Shelly drove out of the parking lot to meet them. I worried that it was late, but she assured me that we wouldn’t be out that long. He was tired and would want to sleep soon.

  I walked into the diner to see everyone gathered in the back. Shelly and I took some seats and ordered burgers as I fretted for a moment over my waistline. I’d need to run or something after this meal. I looked at Logan as he explained a goal while running a hand through his hair, making me throb inside. He was confident in this setting; talking about his game and greeting the hesitant fans that approached the table. Logan was sexy as he basked in his element and I leaned back, licking my lips.

  The meal ended as he hugged the family. Logan paid for everything and I watched as he slid his card back into his wallet. He walked over to me, pulling me into his arms. I stilled, feeling him against me again.

  “Thanks for coming,” he murmured as I smiled. “I want to take you home with me.” Everyone else was talking and couldn’t hear him as I blushed. “Can I see you this coming weekend? I’ll be traveling after that.”

  “You want to see me?” I asked as he chuckled.

  “Yeah. Will you respond if I text you?” he asked as I nodded. “Good.” Logan let me go, and I glanced at the family to see that they were still talking. They didn’t notice our embrace.

  Shelly drove us home and I could not stop thinking about seeing Logan again. I crawled into bed knowing that I was looking at five hours of sleep, still tossing and turning. Things were going forward again with the smallest push and I was scared.

  I dragged through the week and managed not to mention my plans to Shelly. I’d want to until I remembered who they were with, letting her babble on about Cory. She was seeing his friend Bryan now and seemed convinced that I should hook up with Cory. It would be perfect in her eyes.

  We were walking back from class on Thursday as she messaged Bryan.

  “Want to go out on a double date with them tomorrow night? There’s a show and we can go out to dinner.” She looked at me with a wide smile and I wondered what to say.

  “I can’t. I have plans with a friend.” I replied as she frowned at me.

  “You only ever hang out with me. What friend?” Shelly asked as I forced a laugh.

  “The project friend. We’re a little behind on it and need to do some work. We’re going to try to have some fun as well.” I reminded me about my false friend and Shelly nodded. She seemed to believe me. “Last time was a huge downer.”

  “I’ll say. I’m bummed. Maybe next weekend?” Shelly asked as I nodded slowly.

  When I wasn’t with her, I was messaging Logan. He was getting the same hotel room this weekend, and I’d meet him there on Friday. Shelly was still going to see Bryan, so I could get out without any suspicion. I packed a small bag to take with me and hopped into my car, driving into the city as butterflies swarmed my stomach. I was nervous about this.

  I parked in a garage and slipped my bag over my shoulder. We weren’t going to go anywhere since this was a secret tryst and I doubted that I’d even be in clothes at all. I walked into the lobby and waited for a car to take me up to the room, shifting back and forth on my feet. I stepped inside and glossed my lips as I rode up, rushing to the door as my feet moved faster than my brain.

  The door opened, and Logan pulled me inside. I dropped my bag as he kissed me, pressing me against the wall. It had been a few weeks for us and my body screamed for him. I wrapped my arms around Logan and we ended up fucking right there, unable to wait. He carried me to the bed when we were finished and kissed down my naked body.

  “That was quite a greeting,” I told him as he trailed his hand down my stomach.

  “I haven’t stopped thinking about you,” Logan said as I raised a brow at him. “I mean it. I haven’t even been with anyone else since us.”

  “No?” I asked as he shook his head, giving me a long look. “That seems impossible.”

  “Have you?” Logan asked as something crossed his face. “That date. Did it end that way?”

  “No. It didn’t. I wasn’t attracted to him at all. That was Shelly’s idea, and I didn’t know what to say.” I looked at him as anger crossed his face.

  “I have never wanted to tell my sister to stop talking so badly in my life. It was like she was saying all of that to torment me,” he murmured as I rolled over to face him.

  “She doesn’t know about this. Shelly never would have done that if she did, Logan.”

  “I know. I wish I knew what the fuck this was between us. In some ways, it could be perfect because we’ve already done the hard part with the family and all. In other ways, it could upset people.” Logan said as I frowned at him.

  “We haven’t formed anything. We’ve slept in a hotel room one night and we’re doing it again. I’m in school working my ass off and you are making yourself a star. You’re the it man in hockey and barely home. What are we going to tell people?” I asked softly as he leaned in for a soft kiss. “I don’t know where I’d fit into your world.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Logan

  Holly looked sad as she told me that she didn’t know where she’d fit in my world. I wasn’t sure of that myself but fuck if I didn’t want to try.

  I hadn’t been with a woman since Holly a few weeks back. I was a busy man and sex wasn’t always a big part of my life, despite the media and what they said about me. I enjoyed it thoroughly and didn’t turn it away too often in the beginning, but towards the end I craved more meaning.

  I found that in the first kiss with Holly. H
ell, I sensed it in the first week. I loved hockey and playing it was my dream. I’d pushed away all ideas of love for a few years, focused on winning the cup.

  Now all I saw was Holly in front of me. I pulled her against me and stroked her soft back.

  “I want you in my life. I know this can work out, Holly.” I just wanted her to believe it even if we were working towards that.

  “How? You’re so far ahead of me in life. I am barely in college.” I sighed as I felt her lips press to my skin.

  “The biggest worry here is if you’re legal, and you are. I am going to support you going to school, Holly. I know that we won’t be a 9-5 kind of couple and I hope that you can handle that.” I told her as she wrapped an arm around me and moved closer.

  “How?” Holly pressed as I sighed.

  “You’re already halfway there. Come to the games like you have been. Wear my fucking jersey with pride. My family already adores you, Holly. We skipped a step with that and we can just get past the hard part of telling them.” I thought they’d accept it, but she still looked worried. “Shelly might be pissed off at first, but she’ll get over it. She loves both of us.”

  “I just want her to know that she means the world to me. I don’t want her to think that I was looking to hook up with you. She said that you’re against her dating hockey players. How are we different?” Holly asked, her concern for my sister shining in her eyes.

  “I don’t want her to allow some of those assholes to hurt her the way I know they can. She’s my sister and I am going to protect her. I am an adult and I can choose who to see. I also know that I’m a good guy that won’t hurt you. I have backed off from the women over the last couple of years to focus on my career. I was never a bad guy to them and never hurt them. I don’t think that anyone has claimed differently.” I kissed her hair and pulled back to look at her.

  “There’s a lot of them.” Holly did her homework, based on the uncomfortable look on her face. “There are so many pictures of you with so many girls.”

  “I’m only twenty-five, Holly. I played hockey through high school and college because I loved it. The girls liked me, and I was younger so I went for it. Once it got out that the pros were looking for me, it seemed like the women doubled. It was fucking crazy, Holly. It was happening faster than I was probably even aware of at the time.” I dropped to my pillows and ran a hand through my hair. “I got on with this team after college. I was happy as hell and drunk on the feelings of playing pro. The days were long and exhausting, but the women seemed to just get better.” I narrowed my eyes. “I acted like an asshole for the first year. My coach started riding my ass and telling me that I was one of the best players he’d seen in a while. I took his words to heart and settled down, but the women are still around. They’ll always hit on me and they can be dirty about it.”

  “How so?” Holly asked as I pressed my lips to her neck softly.

  “There are the ones that will do almost anything to fuck as many players that they can. They want the numbers and they can get bold.” I thought about some extreme examples and shuddered. It was moments like that I felt sorry for some of the girls and worried about their mental health. “The thing is, they are always there. You’ll always see it and it hurts some wives and girlfriends.”

  “How do they make it through those times?” I asked as a thoughtful gaze crossed his face.

  “I haven’t asked a lot, to be honest. I never thought about it. I guess they have trust and the guys that are settled down are happy. They have love and families and combine all of that. Even I like seeing the kids out on the ice during the All-Stars with their dads, barely shooting a puck into a net.” I shook my head.

  “Do you want kids?” Holly asked as I chuckled. Maybe I did. I looked at her and shrugged. “I’m only nineteen, Logan. I need to finish college and I am not ready for all of that.” Her eyes looked panicked, and I laughed aloud.

  “I am only twenty-five. I don’t want all of that yet either, Holly. I just want to enjoy hockey and this life that I have. I’d like to have you be a part of it. No rush on anything else.” I stared into her eyes as she took in my words.

  “Okay. That explains that but your family? Shelly?” Holly asked as I licked my lips.

  “We’ll talk to them. My family wants me happy and they’ll want you happy. I can give that to you.” I promised her as Holly dropped her head forward and laughed.

  “I just want to be here with you for now. I can’t think about anything else right now. This is too much, Logan.” She chuckled. “I thought we were just messing around. I was never one of those women that wanted to land a hockey player, but the attraction was so strong. I just thought that we’d sleep together and move on.”

  “I’m fine with that but we need to deal with this, eventually. You know that, Holly.” She nodded and watched as I leaned in for a kiss, parting her lips easily. I allowed her to move me to my back as she pressed her bare skin over me. Holly was a young nineteen-year-old in college that didn’t seem like she’d have the skill that she did. She knew what she wanted when she was with me and it turned me the fuck on.

  The kiss grew hungry as our tongues battled and my cock hardened against her swollen clit. I cupped her ass with one hand and felt her moan against my mouth. My other hand rose to cup her full breast and pinch her nipple as realization set in that I wanted to be with this woman. She was beautiful and all mine in this moment.

  Holly rose above me before impaling herself on my cock, dropping down easily as I filled her. She was slick with need and I dropped my head back as I groaned, feeling her grip me.

  “You’re so fucking perfect,” I moaned as we moved together. It was plain to me that we were meant to be together and I watched as she came above me. I turned her to her back and fucked her mercilessly, trying to find my release. I lifted her feet to my shoulders and drove in deeper, loving the way she felt around me. Holly shattered as she came again, breaking me as I shot deep inside of her.

  “You’re perfect,” I told her as I stared down at her. Her eyes were bright with lust and skin reddened from the intensity of the orgasm. “Holly, you are so damn perfect. Meant for me.”

  She laughed as I pulled slowly out of her before dropping to the bed.

  “I’m not. I feel like an imposter in here with you. I can’t help but wonder if I’m doing this right, if I am just too young for you.” She closed her eyes and surrendered herself to the mattress below her. “I feel like Shelly would call me out for faking this.”

  “Jesus. You don’t know my sister well at all. She is all about people being happy, Holly. She is one of the most loving people I’ll ever know. As much as I told her to stay away from my friends, she’d said the same to her friends about my teams.” I smiled as she raised an eyebrow at me.

  “Yet you want to tell her about us?” Holly asked as I chuckled.

  “I am not a horny sixteen-year-old anymore, Holly. I know what I want, and she’ll see that.” I assured her before rolling closer to her to kiss her shoulder. I slipped an arm around her waist and rested myself against her, closing my eyes as I imagined a future involving her in my life. We fell asleep that way and woke up a few hours later in a dark room.

  “I’m starving. What did you bring in that backpack?” I asked Holly as she blinked sleepily at me.

  “What do you mean?” She asked as I felt an idea forming in my mind.

  “Let’s go get some food.” Holly’s eyes widened.

  “Like out of this room?” I nodded. “Logan, we just started talking about this. I don’t have anything but jeans and stuff in there. We didn’t have plans.” She looked panicked, and I reached out to stroke her cheek.

  “You might have met me at a first-class steakhouse, but that was more for my parents. I want to give them everything that they sacrificed so I could have this dream. My dad loves a good steak. On my own, I prefer things a bit more casual. Hell, I love a good dive when I can find one. There’s one a couple of blocks away from here.”


  “I like dive burgers. You really want to go out?” Holly asked as I nodded. “Okay.”

  We took a shower together, and I watched as she sucked my cock on her knees. The water was hitting my back and running down my body as she moved but nothing distracted her. I tugged her up and told her to turn around and stay secure before taking her from behind. She felt so good and her cries echoed through the large bathroom as we fucked hard. I didn’t care how Holly saw herself, but she was a goddess to me. We dressed in casual clothes and she left her face clean of makeup. I knew that she didn’t want to draw attention to herself, but to me she looked beautiful.

  I pulled a snug ball cap over my head, hiding my face underneath it. While I wasn’t ashamed of Holly, I didn’t want to deal with all the recognition that occurred when I was out. I just wanted to be with her, getting to know her. We left the room and headed out, hand-in-hand in the dark. I walked her down to the diner, a tiny building with a handful of booths. It wasn’t much to look at, but the food was incredible and there was never a crowd here.

  “Look at it,” Holly marveled as we walked towards it, sounding delighted. I opened the door for her, smiling as one of the waitresses glanced my way with a knowing smile. They knew me here but respected my privacy. I took my normal booth in the back and pulled Holly in beside me as she giggled.

  “Hey, stranger. It’s been a while.” An older blonde woman greeted me as Holly looked up with curiosity in her face. Nora was a friend and a hardcore hockey fan and one of the few women that didn’t treat me like a piece of meat.

  “Busy. Traveling a lot.” I responded as she smiled sympathetically. “I need my favorite burger.”

  She laughed, and I introduced her to Holly, watching as they warmly greeted each other. We ordered iced tea and burgers with fries before Holly looked around. I slipped my arm over her shoulder as she blushed.