The Rulebreaker

“Well, soon you’ll be playing in the NHL and Robin will be wondering the same thing,” I say, because I’ve seen the way she looks at Colson when her husband’s not paying attention.

“An NHL contract doesn’t mean shit if you don’t have the right people to celebrate with.” He raises an eyebrow. “A wise man once said that to me.”

I take a breath and let it out, letting myself glance over at Rocky and Landon, who are talking. It’s not that I wouldn’t kill to be with her, because I would, but I’m not going to be the reason she doesn’t play the field. Rocky got here with a few things in mind. She was going to play soccer, get a professional contract to play for a U.S. team, and enjoy the college experience, which, to her, includes hooking up with random guys. As far as I know, the only guy has been me and I’m not random. I took her virginity the other day, for God’s sake, and I will never, for as long as I live, forget that night, but I refuse to bind her to me because of it. So, while I did say that, I’ve said it several times to my teammates and brothers—Jagger, who went pro, and Mitchell who will most likely go pro—and I truly believe it myself, but I want Rocky to be the one to decide I’m her forever and not the other way around. I don’t want her to spend the rest of her life regretting that she ended up marrying the same guy she lost her virginity to and feel like she’s trapped because of it.

Real love sucks sometimes.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Rocky

It’s past two in the morning when I awaken at the feel of my bed shifting. I let out a long breath. Maverick has always been a terrible sleeper. When we were teenagers, he would call me in the middle of the night sometimes and we’d talk for hours until he found sleep. This is similar, except he doesn’t always talk when he comes in here. Most of the time, he just lays beside me and falls asleep at some point. Some of the times, I don’t even notice he’s there until I wake up in the morning. We’re both militant sleepers and don’t move much, so despite his size, it’s not like our paths cross while we’re in bed. At least, they didn’t, until the other night. I shut my eyes tighter and push the thought away. The last thing I need is to think about having sex with him right now. Just because he’s hot and lying down beside me doesn’t mean I have to touch him. I think I make a sound, a soft whimper, because suddenly he shifts again.

“Rock?”

“Hm?”

“You’re awake?”

“No.”

He chuckles. “Why are you lying?”

“Because I want you and it’s ridiculous since I already decided I am not hooking up with you again.”

“Hm.” He reaches for me, his large hand landing on my hip. I swear my entire body goes haywire, the mere touch eliciting electricity to shoot through me. “You wanna tell me how you reached that conclusion?”

I turn to face him fully, his hand gliding over my abs, to the other hip. “You want me to date other guys.”

“I do.”

“Which means you don’t want me to date you.”

“It’s a little more complicated than that.”

“Explain.”

“I want you to have the freedom to do what you want. You remember what you described your college experience like?”

“No.” I let out a laugh.

“You said you wanted to do all the things you couldn’t do when you were living with your parents. You wanted to go wild, within reason, and date a ton of guys since you hadn’t thus far.”

“Maybe I changed my mind.”

He lets out a huffed laugh. “As much as I wish you did, and as much as I wish you’d say you’re serious about me and dating me, I think you need to experience it for yourself.”

“If you want to date other girls, you can just say that, you know?”

“That’s not the case though. That’s not what I’m saying.”

I inch closer, until we’re nearly chest to chest and I can feel the rest of his warmth against me. God, to have him this close. It’s intoxicating. And still, here he is, practicing restraint. Restraint he normally doesn’t practice with others. I understand it now though, so I’m doing my best not to get upset. I push closer still, my pelvis against his growing erection.

“Mav,” I whisper.

“I’m trying so hard to be good, Rocky.” His grip tightens on my hip. “Why are you doing this?”

“Because I can’t stop. And you came into my room.”

“I always come into your room.”

“I know, but it’s different now.”

“So it did change things between us,” he says.

“In a good way though.”

“A good way?” He huffs out a breath that hits me on the forehead. “I don’t know what’s good about any of this.”