Wheeler (Seattle Sharks 8)

Her sweater had drifted up, leaving a tantalizing strip of skin bare, and my mouth watered, aching to taste her skin. Then I’d peel down those skin-tight leggings she’d flown in, push aside her panties and lick my tongue into the sweet pink folds of her—

Shit, she was falling asleep.

“Come on,” I growled, leaning over the bed to scoop her up under her arms.

“I don’t wanna.” She collided with my chest but stood on her own.

“You have to stay awake for another seven hours, or you’ll kick yourself for it tomorrow. Jet lag is easy if you can just make it through today.” I slid my fingers through the silken strands of her hair and massaged her scalp.

“Oh God,” she moaned, leaning into my touch.

And now I was hard.

“You’re not human,” she accused.

“How is that?” I asked, using my fingers to ease her headache.

“You’re still alert, for one. You flew just as long as I did, and where I look like a wet poodle, you still look like...you. How is that fair? And your fingers, mmm...” Her head rolled back, leaving her face upturned toward mine.

Fuck, those kissable lips had me second-guessing my decision to wait until she asked.

“I look like me?” She was cute all sleep-drunk.

“Yep. Like a Nordic god. Twenty-four-seven. Working out. Waking up. Skating. You’re not human,” she repeated her earlier assessment, opening her eyes.

“Trust me, I’m very human,” I assured her. “Especially when you’re in my arms.”

“You really haven’t kissed any girl but me in the last five months?”

Her question caught me off guard.

“Nine months,” I corrected her. “Ever since that weekend we all went away.”

“Labor day?” her mouth dropped. “You haven’t…”

“I haven’t.” One of my hands swept down her back to help support her weight as she leaned farther back to peer up at me.

“But you…” she shook her head. “You’re a really sexual guy.”

“Thank you?” I laughed.

“I mean, you have a lot of sex.” She nodded with each word like she needed to emphasize her point.

“Not recently.” No matter how loudly my dick protested.

“Because of…” Her body tensed beneath my hands.

“Because of you,” I repeated. I’d say it as many times as it took for her to believe me. “Because I knew that to prove to you that I was serious, I needed to commit before you even knew I’d made a choice. Because somewhere in the last couple of years, every woman I took to bed ended up having red hair and green eyes, even if she didn’t. Because I realized the only woman I want is you. And there are about ten thousand reasons that I shouldn’t have you—that I can’t have you, but I can’t bring myself to give a fuck about any of them. This? You and me? We’re inevitable. It’s just a question of timing.”

Her lips parted as her gaze dropped to mine.

“I’m a virgin.”

I nearly fucking dropped her.

“You what?”

“You heard me.” A blush crept up her skin, turning her the most lickable shade of pink.

“How?” I asked, torn between shoving her as far away from me as possible, and throwing her onto the bed and showing her just how amazing sex was.

“Well, when you don’t let anyone have sexual relations with you…” She gave me a tight smile.

“Not even the frat-boy?” I clarified.

“I said virgin, Lukas. That means not even the frat-boy. It’s kind of in the definition of virgin. It’s why we broke up.” She backed away from me, breaking the gentle hold I’d had on her.

“You broke up because you’re a virgin?” What the fuck was wrong with him? Sure, there was some pressure involved, knowing how important her first time must have been for her, but he was such a pussy that he broke up with her over it?

“No.” She crossed the room to look out over the water. “I can see why you bought the house on Puget Sound. It must remind you of home.”

“Yes, it does. Now back to the whole virginity thing.” She’d opened this discussion, and she’d damn well finish it.

Her sigh echoed through the room. “I wasn’t ready, I guess.” She tilted her head and turned to look at me. “No, that’s a lie. I didn’t want to sleep with him.”

My stomach clenched. Had she been fantasizing about me while I dreamed of her?

My cell phone buzzed in my pocket, but I ignored it.

“So he broke up with you?” My eyes narrowed. Eric had told me she’d left him. Of course, it had been days after I’d brought her to orgasm at the ball, but he didn’t know that.

Fuck, I was such a prick.

“No, he just didn’t wait for me.” A corner of her mouth lifted in a sad, mocking half-smile. “Not that I can blame him. I’m not sure I’d wait for me, either.”

I’ve waited for you. The unspoken words all but screamed.

The ten feet between us felt like inches, and yet miles. Tension hung in the air, both sexual and emotional until the two blended together in a giant knot of frustration.

“He cheated on you?” I whispered.

She nodded. “Harper found out. Some guy in one of her chem labs told her, and she told me. It had nearly wrecked her to do it, but she can’t stand lies.”

“Faith, I’m so sorry. He’s a class A asshole and an idiot.” I moved toward her, but she put her hand up, blocking me.

“Don’t.” She backed away until her back hit the windows. “When you say things to me like that...like you haven’t had sex in nine months because you’ve been waiting for me, it doesn’t compute. I know your type. I know the girls you take to bed. I’ve seen them, Lukas. I’m nothing like them.”

“You’re in a whole different league,” I assured her. “Your ex is a moron. I have my moments of idiocy, but there’s zero chance I’m sticking my dick in another woman when you exist. Period. If that’s what has you worried, then let me assure you, it’s a non-factor. If I’m ever lucky enough to have you, I’m not going to cheat on you.”

She swallowed, but the fear didn’t leave her eyes. I cursed my younger self, not just for the reputation I’d earned, but the careless way I’d treated sex.

My phone buzzed again, and I sighed when I saw the caller ID.

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“Who is it?” she asked. “Launch stuff?”

Well, this should be interesting.

“Want to take a drive with me?”

A half hour later, we parked in front of my mother’s house.

It hadn’t changed much in the years since I’d grown up. Nothing in the town did, really. That was the beauty of living here, and one of the reasons I’d left.

“Lukas!” a voice called as I helped Faith down from my Range Rover.

“Peter!” I exclaimed with a grin as a lanky teen ran at me.

He skidded to a halt, all knees and elbows. “You’re home!”

“Just for a little while. How is the team?” I marveled that I didn’t have to stoop to his eye level anymore.

“Good! We got the jerseys you sent!” His eyes flickered to Faith. “You have a girl?”

“She’s still deciding,” I told him, ruffling his hair. “Faith, this is Peter,” I said to Faith in English.

“Hello,” she said in Swedish.

I blinked rapidly before a grin broke across her face. I promised Peter I’d see him at tomorrow’s clinic and then took Faith through the front door.

“You learned some Swedish?” My heart fucking flipped.

“Don’t get excited. I can basically ask where the library is.” She offered me a soft smile.

“Lukas!” My mother came around the corner, her arms already open to envelop me in a hug. Then she did the same to Faith. Mormor joined her, and Faith was once again crushed in an embrace.

Introductions were made, and I sat back and watched as Faith fell in with the women in my family.

“Did you see Peter? He’s been clamoring for you,” Mother said as she poured two cups of tea for us.

“I did. He’s growing like a weed. Here in Sweden, we stay on the same teams pretty much throughout our lives. Peter was a Little when I left, but we were in the same organization.” I passed Faith’s tea to her.

“Like a giant family,” she said with a smile.

“Exactly,” I answered.

“Speaking of family…” Mormor started the interrogation.