“Three minutes,” I told Devin, then chuckled softly as Elliott skated blue line to blue line. “Never thought I’d get those words past your lips.”
And now all I wanted was to hear them again and again. Preferably while she was under me or over me. Or even in front of me. Fuck, the thought of her curved ass in my hands while she clung to me like this was enough to send my body into overdrive.
Not now, asshat, I told my dick.
“Ha,” she said with a heavy dose of sarcasm. Her eyes drifted to Elliott, who fell trying to stop, but picked herself up and skated on. “What’s your favorite thing about hockey?” she asked me.
“Listen,” I told her.
The only sounds were Elliott’s blades against the ice.
“I don’t hear anything.”
“Exactly. I don’t hear anything outside this rink. Don’t think about anything that doesn’t exist in this rink. All the bullshit disappears, and all that’s left is who I am, or at least who I want to be.”
Her feet shuffled, and I wrapped my arms around her back to steady her, taking her slight weight into account with my own balance.
“Porter?”
“Shea?”
“Get me off this god-forsaken sheet of ice,” she ordered.
“Awh, come on, I thought you enjoyed holding on to me,” I teased.
“Now.”
“Right now?”
“As. Quickly. As. Possible.” She bit out every single word.
A grin erupted on my face as I bent, lifting her into my arms the same way I had outside Connor’s house.
She sputtered but wrapped her arms around my neck—unlike last time.
Damn, she felt so good, so right in my arms. All curves and a fire I knew would burn me if she ever let herself flare up.
“Porter,” she urged me.
“Hold on tight,” I warned her a split second before I pulled her even closer.
Then I launched across the ice with Shea in my arms, gliding with sure, strong movements that were only a hair slower than my earlier performance and coming to a sudden stop at the doors of the players’ box.
“Seriously?” she questioned, blowing a strand of auburn hair out of her eyes, but not letting go of her grip around my neck.
She was close enough to kiss.
“You enjoyed it.”
“Oh, really? And what makes you think that?” she tossed back.
“The giant smile on your face.” My own answered it.
She lifted one of her hands to her face, letting her fingers lay across her lips as if she needed to feel it for herself. “Huh,” was all she said.
I gently put her down inside the box.
“You’re crazy fast,” she admitted, sitting on the bench and unlacing her skates.
“I can outskate just about anyone,” I admitted. “I’ll fetch Elliott so you guys can get home.”
“Thank you, Porter. Not just for bringing her, or fighting me to mentor her, but for letting me see you in your element. I think you’ll be good for her,” she admitted quietly.
“I think she’s good for me. You both are.” I didn’t wait for her response before gliding over to Elliott. “Time’s up, kid.”
“Ugh. Already?” She sent a pleading look up at me that mirrored her mother’s. So much about them was alike. Except the eyes. Those, she must have gotten from her father—whoever he was.
“Yep. We’ll come back, don’t worry.”
“Promise?” she asked.
“Promise.” My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I ran my thumb across the screen to open it as Elliott climbed into the box with Shea.
Natalie: I miss you. Please forgive me, Hud. Please? At least call. Text. Something.
My insides twisted, just like they did every time she reached out.
I’d been honest when I’d told Shea that I could outskate almost anyone, but then again, Natalie had always been my exception in the worst of ways.
I wasn’t sure I’d ever skate fast enough to outrun her.
Chapter 4
Shea
“You said camping,” I said, trying like hell to keep my jaw from dropping as Porter turned down a private road that led to what had to be a multi-million-dollar resort. It had been almost a month of Porter being Elliot’s Big—weeks of adventures for the two, and sometimes me.
“In the loosest of terms,” he said, his hands gripping the wheel of his Mercedes.
“I brought our tent.” I shook my head. “And bug spray.”
He laughed, the sound hearty and rare.
“Why did you even let me pack them?” I asked, glancing back at Elliott, whose nose was practically against the glass, her pale green eyes wide and awestruck. I sank a little in my seat, swallowing down the guilt creeping up my throat. I worked constantly, and I would never, not in my life, be able to give her this experience.
“Because if I brought you here,” he said snagging my attention as he turned into the long, paved drive toward the resort. “And you told me you’d rather camp for real, in a tent with sleeping bags, then I would turn us around and take you and Elliott to the nearest spot.”
“You’d brave bugs and cold hard ground for…her?” I almost said us.
“’Course,” he said, parking. “I’m not afraid of the wilderness.”
I believed him.
I believed there wasn’t much that scared him.
“Whoa,” Elliott said as we hopped out of the SUV.
I followed her gaze, both our heads slightly tilted to take in the freaking palace before us. I tugged her into my side as we stared at the soft beige sandstone exterior, the intricately carved columns that boarded an elaborate set of stone stairs. Gobs of windows, lush trees and landscaping decorated the property, and the cool, crisp water beckoned from behind it.
The sky was clear and cloudless, a rare treat, and for just a moment, I felt the singular kind of peace that comes from the quiet of getting away from the everyday hustle of life.
“Can we swim?” Elliott asked, bouncing on her heels. “Can we play volleyball on the beach? Are there hot dogs?”
“Yes to all,” Porter said, coming up behind us with our bags. He naturally left the tent and other camping gear in the back of his Rover. “As long as your mom is cool with this over regular camping.”
“Please, Mom?” Elliott asked, pulling out all the stops on her puppy-eyes. Like I would say no anyway.
“Of course,” I said, reaching for my bag that Porter had slung over his shoulder.
He tugged it out of the way, motioning toward the entryway. “After you two,” he said.
I flashed him a soft smile and headed up the giant stairs with Elliott in tow. The ornate wooden doors opened to an even more lavish entryway—accented by velvety soft carpeted rugs and rich wooden beamed ceilings.
“Finally made it, Porter?” Connor called from the winding staircase that likely led to an endless amount of suites.
“Had to stop for essentials,” he said, fist-bumping Connor before glancing at Elliott, then me.
Heat flushed my skin.
“Hi, Shea,” Connor said, giving me a friendly wave. “Elliott,” he said, hunching closer to her level. “Hannah and Lettie are on the beach,” he said. “I know they’d love to have a cool older kid to hang with them,” he continued. “If you’d like.”
Elliott smiled, nodding as she glanced to me in question.
I cut my eyes between Porter and Connor, tugging my lip between my teeth.
“Ivy and Pepper are out there. Bailey and
Paige, too,” Connor said, noting my worry.
I sighed slightly. “Okay, honey,” I said to Elliott. “I’ll get us situated in our room and then come find you.”
“No rush,” she said. “I’m totally going to teach Lettie and Hannah how to spike a volleyball. Then we’ll crush y’all old people later!”
I chuckled, the smile hurting my cheeks it was so big as she rushed off to follow Connor to the beach the resort sat on. It had been too long since we had a vacation, even a small one, and I couldn’t help the happiness radiating in my chest as I watched her be so…her.
“This way,” Porter said, his deep tenor raising chills on my skin. I hadn’t realized he’d come to stand at my side, ready to show me where we’d be staying in this totally-out-of-my-realm-resort.
Following him up the stairs, it was an effort not to stare at the muscles peeking through the tight black T-shirt he wore. The soft fabric clung to him like a second skin, the bulging muscles beneath straining the material. He carried three bags on one shoulder like it was nothing, and Elliott’s bag was stuffed full of not only clothes but two pairs of running shoes, her softball glove, and her basketball.
He took a right at the end of an enormously long hallway, stopping in front of a door on the left side. A huge window at the end of the hall offered a perfect view of the water.
“This room has the waterfront view,” he said, opening the door for me.
I followed him inside the room, stunned by the lush white carpets that were soft under my shoes, the two queen beds piled high with luxurious comforters and pillows, and the rich wooden furniture that accented the room.
He set our bags down on the nearest bed before heading toward the two white-washed wooden doors across the room and opened them to show the view he mentioned.
I slipped past him, stepping onto the balcony, my hands on the smooth railing as my eyes trailed across the beach below. I spotted Elliott, her toes buried in the sand as she chucked a volleyball into the air, Lettie and Hannah tracking her every move.
The smell of sand and sun and salt carried on the soft breeze that lifted my hair from my shoulders, and a deep, relaxed sigh soothed out of me.