Six Months Later
“Have a good day, Morgan!” my boss shouts to me as I smile and wave and walk out.
I thought working at Starbucks would at least fill the coffee-shop void of moving to New York. But I was so wrong. It’s mass chaos, always.
After the case with Trey was put to rest, Chloe and I decided we needed a change. She confessed that she had only stayed in Minnesota for me and was happy to move anywhere else. It wasn’t hard for me to pick a place, considering where a certain hockey player lives.
It was also a plus for Chloe because her dad’s business partner also lives in New York. Now, they can see each other more often. They are still sneaking around and haven’t told her dad yet, which is bound to blow up in their faces if he finds out.
I let Chloe take charge of finding a place. After all, it was her account that would be primarily funding the new place. And I like to think I won’t be living there forever.
We sold the shop, and I gave Chloe every penny. I built a little savings nest egg from running the shop, and that will carry me for the time being.
We moved into this beautiful four-bedroom and three-bathroom home. I insisted it was way too large, but Chloe, the businesswoman, said that she’d turn it into a rental when we eventually moved out.
I have spent one night there in the five months we’ve been here. I would stay there more, but Cam holds me hostage every night at his place. I don’t really have a choice in the matter, although I don’t put up much of a fight.
It’s been amazing, practically living with Cam.
After moving here, I didn’t miss a game. I’d sit ice-side, cheering him on at every game. But now that they are in the off-season, there are no games for me to go to, although I have stopped in for a practice or two.
I usually sit with Jack and Laura. Watching Alec skate over to Jack whenever he can melts my heart. It makes me want a little Costello to bring to the games.
Alec and Laura’s wedding is tomorrow, and I just know it is going to make me cry. The love they have for one another is so pure, and you can see what they mean to each other. I hope people think the same thing when they look at Cam and me.
My heart flutters when I see Cam leaning against his car with red roses in his hand.
“Good afternoon, beautiful. How was work?” he asks, handing me the flowers.
I happily take them. “As fun as it always is. How was practice?”
“Eh. Come on. I’ve got a surprise for you,” he says, tapping his fingers on the hood of his car.
He opens my door for me, and I get in, swooning at the sweetheart Cam is. I’m going to marry that man.
He gets in and pulls off to wherever our destination is.
“Now, don’t freak out. I know it’s kind of a lot. But I also know how much you miss Nikki’s Coffee back in Minnesota,” he says, pointing out the window as we pull to a stop at the curb.
“What do you mea—”
Oh my God.
“You deserve it. You deserve all of it. I’ll spend the rest of my life proving that to you,” he says before kissing my cheek. “Welcome to Little Dove, your new coffee shop.”
“Cam,” I whimper. “It’s beautiful. I don’t know what to say. Thank you doesn’t feel like enough.”
My eyes well up with tears as I stare at the circle logo on the brick building. Little Dove. It’s perfect.
“It’s exactly one-point-one mile from the arena,” he says proudly.
I’m in shock, frozen in my seat. I want to run into the building and explore it. But I also want to jump into Cam’s lap.
I figure I’ll start with the latter.
Throwing my arms around Cam’s neck, I pull him in for a kiss. “I love you.”
He smiles against my lips. “I love you too, baby. Come on. I’ll show you around.”
I rush outside and follow him like a puppy to the double-door entrance. He unlocks it with a key already on his key ring, and I wonder how long that has been on there. Have I touched it before, not even knowing that it would unlock this?
After he opens the mirror glass doors, I step inside and find the place is completely decked out with furniture—rustic tables and chairs, countertops that will become my workstations, and registers.
The Little Dove logo is burned into the backs of the chairs. No detail goes unnoticed. We wander to the counters that are empty and begging to be filled with equipment.
“How long have you been planning this?” I ask him in shock.
He rubs the back of his neck. “Since you said you were moving here.”
My head snaps to him. “You’ve been keeping this a secret for over five months?”
“I wanted to tell you so badly. But this reaction is everything I was working toward. I didn’t want to ruin it for myself or for you. You moved here for me. The least I could do was bring your shop to life here.”
Hooking my arms around his neck, I pull him down to me. “I love you will never feel like enough to describe what you mean to me.”
He kisses me, deepening it instantly. His tongue delves into my mouth, tangling with mine as his fingers run between my legs.
Pulling away, I ask him, “Can we come here anytime?”
He nods and kisses me again with more fervor. “Yes. It’s ours completely. Why?”
Looking into his eyes, I grab his dick through his sweats. “Because I want you to take me home and fuck me right now.”
He picks me up and sets me on the countertop of my new coffee shop, and my body reddens at the thought of what he’s doing.
“I can’t wait until we get home,” he growls and strips my leggings and panties down my legs.
He pulls me off of the counter, spins me around, and leans down until his lips press against my ear. “Bend over the counter, Little Dove,” he whispers.
I gulp as a spike of adrenaline soars through my body, and I obey, leaning across the cold countertop.
He groans, “Fucking perfection.”
I peek at him as he pushes his pants and boxers to his ankles, and his already-hard cock springs free.
He meets my stare right before sliding two fingers into me. He bites his lip and smirks.
“Already soaked for this cock, aren’t you?” he groans. “I should make a habit of fucking you in here. Then, every day, you’ll remember me bending you over this counter and fucking you senseless as you hand someone their drink.”
His fingers pump in and out of me, and I nod, unable to form a single word because of the sensations pulsing through me.
“What a good fucking girl you are,” he praises and slides a third finger in while his other hand finds my clit.
He pumps me and rubs my clit as I feel my core start to tighten. But instead of letting me finish, he stops and pulls his fingers out.
Missing the feeling already, I whimper, “Why’d you stop?”
“Because the only way I want you to come right now is with you wrapped around my cock,” he says, pressing his fat tip against my soaked entrance.
That’s the only warning I get before he sinks into me completely.
“Ahh! Fuck!” I scream.
He grabs my hips and fucks me relentlessly against the counter of my new shop.
“Such a good fucking girl you are, taking this cock,” Cam growls, pounding into me intensely. “I’m going to fill this sweet pussy up.”
I become a puddle of pleasure as he continues to rock into me. He smacks my ass, growing harder with each hit. A firework of sparks shoots to my core with each contact.
Incoherently, I moan and whine with each thrust and smack.
He never pushes me without my acceptance first, and he always makes sure I’m comfortable with whatever we are trying.
But sometimes, I like to be caught off guard with him, like a slap on my ass or when he lightly grabs my throat or switches positions without warning.
He moans and pants, pulling out to the tip and slamming back into me. When he picks his pace back up, my legs start quivering as my orgasm nears.
“Fuck, baby, hold on, not yet,” Cam orders, and I feel him harden inside of me, about to come.
“I can’t hold on any longer. I’m going to—” My words are cut short as an earthquake rocks my body, pleasure bursting across every cell inside of me.
Cam groans and comes inside me, breathing heavily.
He slides out, leaving me feeling full from the cum left behind.
“Fuck, watching my cum drip out of you is a sight I will never get over seeing, Little Dove.”
Hearing him talk to me like that is something I will never get used to. Cam loves me, all of me—the great parts, the absolute worst parts, and the parts I haven’t even learned yet. He protects me and cherishes me. He assures me when I need to hear it. He loves me, broken and bruised or glowing and healed.
Trey taught me what love wasn’t; he taught me what possession was.
Cam helped me find my worth and what I deserve, and he never lets me settle for less.
Cam
“I present to you for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Kostelecky!” the announcer shouts into the speaker as Kos and Laura—or Mrs. Kos—burst into the ballroom.
“Woo!” I scream along with the rest of the room.
After what feels like forever, I can finally get Morgan on the dance floor for the first time tonight. Pushing my sleeves up, I stand up and stretch my hand out to hers. “Dance with me?”
Her eyes glisten. “Of course, Cam. I would love to dance with you.”
She places her hand in mine, and I lead her to the dance floor. Hooking my hands around her waist, I stare down at those stunning blue eyes that still captivate my heart. Her pink hair is pulled up in a braided updo, completely exposing her neck. One that I am having a hard time resisting kissing.
“I have a surprise for you, and I can’t keep it to myself anymore. Can I tell you?” she asks me with pleading eyes.
Swaying to the music, I chuckle. I knew something had been up with her these last few days. She’s been secretive and sneaky with her phone.
“Tell me, baby,” I answer her with a smirk.
She grabs her phone from the inside of my coat pocket. “I hope you like the present. It’s for your birthday.”
She must find what she’s looking for because she pulls the phone to her chest with the biggest smile on her face.
“You can name her,” she says, turning the phone around and showing me a picture of a fluffy German shepherd puppy.
“Morgan,” I whisper in shock as my love for her pulses in my body. “She’s so cute.”
“I know. I have videos of her too. We will pick her up next Friday. Happy early birthday, Blue Eyes,” she says, leaning up and kissing me.
We sway, and I spin her all the way through a Taylor Swift song until my heart feels like it’s about to explode for what I feel for her.
“Come on. I have something to show you,” I whisper into her ear and take her hand in mine.
She giggles and follows along, whispering, “Where are we going?”
I drag her out to the hallway and unbutton my sleeve, rolling it up over the wrap on my forearm, above my raven.
“What is that?” she asks quietly.
Smiling, I say, “My new tattoo.”
When it’s revealed fully, she gasps and covers her mouth.
Meeting Morgan completely changed my life. I hadn’t known it, but I was lost before her. She is the happiness in my life and the future I look forward to. I knew I loved her before finding her on the ice. But the earth-shattering fear of potentially losing her reset my soul. I knew then that I didn’t want a day without her. I didn’t want to go to sleep without her in my arms. I didn’t want to love if I wasn’t loving her.
She stares at the new black ink on my forearm. Placed above my raven is a one-eyed dove with missing feathers, coming out of dark smoke.
“Do you like it?” I ask her nervously.
Without words, she grabs my face and kisses me deeply. “I love it, and I love you.”
Somehow, we escaped the darkness of our own lives and found each other. At different points in our lives, we saw death knocking, but we refused to answer. Every day, we choose to live and choose each other, and I’m going to continue to choose her for the rest of our lives.
Kissing her, I brush my finger against the most recent scar on her cheek and whisper, “I love you too, Little Dove.”
