I look down, ashamed that I had to ask for that. Gia has never given me a reason to doubt her word, but after what Alana did, there’s always a little doubt in the back of my mind. What if my travel schedule becomes too much for her? What if I don’t know what she needs, and I don’t make her as happy as she makes me?

She reaches over and places both hands on my face, cupping my cheeks and gently guiding my head up so we’re eye to eye.

“I’ll never cheat on you, Maverick. That goes against everything I believe in. I need space sometimes, but that space is so I can be alone, because I’ve always had time to myself and it’s part of who I am. When I need someone, though, it’ll be you and I’ll make sure to let you know it.” She leans in and brushes her lips against mine in a soft kiss. “It will always be you.”

My heart feels like it’s about to burst out of my chest. This is more than I hoped for. Gia is back, and she wants me as much as I want her. I put my hands around her waist and pull her into my lap. She straddles me as I wrap a hand around the back of her neck and an arm around her waist, pulling her against me and kissing her deeply. All the longing and worry of the past week comes out in that kiss.

I move my kisses down to her neck and she tilts her head back, murmuring my name over and over. I’m so damn hard. I need to be inside her. Now.

“Bedroom?” she asks, reading my mind.

“Now.”

We race upstairs and when we make it to the bedroom, I wrap her in my arms again, kissing her lips, throat and neck. She steps back and pulls her shirt over her head, biting her lip as she holds my gaze. Her shorts come off next, and then her bra. I watch, my lips parted and my cock straining against the seam of my shorts.

When she starts sliding her panties down, I walk backward over to the dresser to get a condom. Unable to look away from her, I stumble into the dresser, finding the drawer with the condoms with my hands rather than my eyes.

I watch as she climbs into bed and parts her legs. She’s so beautiful, it almost hurts. The trust she has in me to confide in me and want to build a relationship with me blows me away. I’m so in love with her.

I quickly undress, slide a condom on and get in bed with her. I kiss her, planning to take my time, but she grabs my hips and pulls me closer.

“I need it now,” she murmurs, and my body responds.

We both groan as I sink inside her wet warmth, and it feels even better than the first time. I could have lost her. The most unique, stubborn, beautiful and smart woman I’ve ever known.

She meets the thrusts of my hips with her own, her mouth hot and demanding on mine. She pulls away from me then and meets my gaze, love shining in her eyes. Being with her, these feelings we have for each other, finally starts to rebuild me, piece by piece, from the shattered man I was without her.

We’re going to make it. It won’t be easy, but whatever it takes to make this thing we accidentally found together last, I’m in.

I’m not letting Gia go again.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Gia

She’s good,” I say, pride swelling in my chest as I brush away a tear. “She’s really amazing, isn’t she?”

The concert is crazy loud, so Maverick just nods and squeezes my hand. We’re attending the show Ro performs in and it’s her first night back on stage. We have seats in the third row and can see absolutely everything. I can’t believe I waited so long to see her perform. She pretty much floats across the stage, her smile radiant.

She healed faster than the doctors expected and was able to return as one of the back-line dancers. She’ll need to condition and strengthen her body more before she’s ready to perform on the front line doing flips and kicks, but she’s on stage, and I’ve never seen her happier.

Maverick and I have been officially together for three weeks now. With his team gelling together and winning more games, he’s getting more press and attention from fans. A Vegas sports reporter wrote a blog post with a photo of us kissing outside a restaurant we’d just had dinner at with the headline, “Little known about Mav Hagen’s new girlfriend.”

When asked about me, Maverick tells reporters my name, but declines to say anything else. That headline got me thinking, though. The truth is, I don’t even know much about me.

Tags: Brenda Rothert Sin City Saints Hockey Romance
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