LUCAS: So how are the love birds doing?
Me: Fuck off.
Jax: Must be serious. You always talk.
Me: How are Sidney and Piper doing? You guys still getting it on in public?
Jax: I’m going to kill you.
Lucas: I’m closer.
River: If you don’t like questions, stop asking them.
Jax: Don’t worry, we get it. We were just checking how serious it’s gotten.
Me: Dead fucking serious.
The locker room reeks of stale sweat, Gatorade, and the musk of unwashed equipment. I drop my head against the wood partition separating my locker from River’s.
Our girl was still dripping when River brought her home last night, and I enjoyed every second of licking her clean. Fuck, the things those two do to me should be illegal.
Everything was great until Coach decided to run the early practice from hell. My quad muscles twitch randomly, letting me know exactly how much they hate me right now. Sweat drips from my hair and burns the corners of my eyes, but I’m too exhausted to move.
The second I can get the two of them back in bed, I’m forcing them to take a fucking nap. Guy’s got to rest.
“Here,” River says from beside me, and I peel open one eye. He’s holding a damp cloth and a bottle of water. It’s fucking adorable.
I gulp down half the water, never breaking our stare, and a cheesy grin forms on my face when I spot the pink flush crawling over his cheeks.
I run my tongue over the bottle spout and marvel at the way River’s eyes darken, pupils blown. I lick it again, and he groans, throwing the cloth.
I catch it millimeters from my face, busting out in a laugh, and give him a wink. “Thanks for taking care of me.”
He leans in closer, closer than he should be while we’re surrounded by our teammates, and there’s a low rumble in his chest. “Always, Baby.”
My dick’s instantly hard, and I have to shift my legs to hide the giant tent in my boxers. Fuck me. He’s really getting off on this.
A hand lands hard on my opposite shoulder, and I shoot a glare at whoever the hell’s touching me.
“You two aren’t subtle.” Lucas looks around the locker room, where all the other guys are purposely not looking at us. It’s my turn to blush. “I can practically feel the vibe coming off the two of you.”
I shrug him off. “Whatever, buddy. Good practice out there.”
Lucas had been on fire on the ice. Nice crisp passes, massive speed, he’s a fucking beast in the arena. “Thanks. So Piper tells me Mia’s got some kind of black-tie event?”
“Yeah?” I hedge.
“You going?”
“We’re going,” River responds immediately. Turns out it’s easy to get an invite if you donate enough.
“Good,” Lucas says, a fucking devious look on his face. I absolutely don’t want to know what it’s about before he smirks at us. “Did you get her a dress?”
“Um, no? Should we have?” I ask.
Lucas’s brows pull together in pure judgment. “Your girl is broke. Get her a fucking dress.”
River cuts in, surprising me. “I already have a plan.”
My attention snaps to him. “You do?”
“We do,” he clarifies, a small smile curling the side of his mouth.
She’s twisting her neck, as if a different angle will allow her to see where we’re going. “Is this necessary?”
River’s sitting on the opposite side of her in the black sedan and leans in so his mouth brushes her ear. “You’re doing so well, Love. Just a little longer.”
Fuck me. A shiver runs through Mia, and my dick’s rock fucking hard. I glare at him, and he gives me this mischievous grin that knocks the air from my lungs. I almost rip Mia’s blindfold off so she can see what we’ve done to our reserved boyfriend. Not that he’s ever called himself that.
We pull up to an old brick building that houses the luxury dress shop. It has these looming columns covered in vines, leaves and moss that look like they’ve been carved in marble. Orange sunlight flickers against their tall, arched glass windows.
River gets out first, reaching in to help guide Mia after him, and I follow, bracing her back as she finds her footing on the sidewalk.
“Can we take this thing off now?” she asks, a delicious pout on her lips.
“Only if you promise to put it back on later,” I murmur against her neck and smile as her skin erupts in goose bumps. Oh, our girl likes that.
“I don’t know. I kinda want to see River use it to tie you up,” she purrs, and my eyes snap to River’s heated ones.
He raises an eyebrow in question, and I have to adjust myself in my pants before this becomes indecent.
Jesus fucking Christ.
I run my tongue along my lower lip and bite it, wanting him to be just as insane as I am. “Only if you’re good.”
Both River and Mia suck in sharp inhales. River gives me a look that lets me know I’ll pay for that later.
Looking fucking forward to it.
He takes care not to pull at her hair as he unties the fabric from around her head and lets it drop.
She searches his face, a soft smile on her lips. “What are you two up to?”
He cups her jaw and runs his thumb along her cheekbone. “I told you. We’re taking care of you.”
She scrunches her nose but knows better than to argue. “Lead the way.”
Mia’s head darts from left to right as she looks at the dresses in the shop. The walls are lined with shelf after shelf of bespoke dresses, each one a different color than its neighbor. Each dress glints and shines with intricate beadwork.
I can see the second Mia registers that this is the type of store where nothing has a price tag, and I wrap my arms around her from behind and kiss just below her ear. “Let him do this for you.”
She huffs out a breath. “You’ve already done enough.”
I chuckle, smiling against her temple. “It’ll never be enough. Get used to it.”
She tilts her head, about to reply to me, but a woman wearing a burgundy straight-line dress walks up to us.
“You must be Mr. Davis and Mr. Grayson. And this is Ms. Brooks.”
“Doctor,” River and I cut in at the same time, causing Mia to laugh.
“I’m so sorry. Of course. Dr. Brooks,” the stylist stutters and tries to backtrack, looking uncomfortable as hell. A part of me wants to say something quippy to ease some of her embarrassment, but I fucking know River put down Doctor.
Mia breaks free from my arms and holds out her hand. “I’m Mia.”
“Stacey.” The stylist shakes it, visibly relaxing, and gives Mia a warm smile. “I hear you’ve got a special event coming up.”
The stylist’s genuine excitement gets her back in my good books, and I preen over Mia. “She landed a position at Boston General Hospital, and now she gets to go to a fancy black-tie dinner. Have you heard of the Center-Ice Challenge?”
Stacey’s mouth falls open in surprise. “Yes! Our whole team did it last weekend.”
“That was all Mia.” I tug Mia’s back to my chest and rest my chin on her shoulder.
“No shit?” The professional mask the girl wore drops, and she smiles wide.
“It’s not a big deal,” Mia says, earning a side-eye look from River.
“Are. You. Kidding. Me!” Stacey cuts in. “This is a huge deal! The little girl I’m helping has already contacted me, and she asked if I’d come help her pick out the pattern. Me. She’s so adorable—you should freaking hear her sing.”
We let Stacey get lost in going on about the kid she matched with, and I take the time to watch Mia.
A smile takes over her face. Her cheeks have a light dusting of pink, and her eyes sparkle as she listens to the excited stylist. My heart pounds in my chest, the rhythm offbeat as I look at just how perfect our girl is.
Stacey’s hand goes to her cheek. “Oh my God. I’m sorry, I got carried away there for a minute. I pre-picked a few dresses for you, so if you’ll follow me, I have a room set up.”
“Let’s go,” I say, and Mia takes a slow breath and lets it out as if this is a giant pain in the ass, and I love her for it.
“What do you think, love?” River asks from where he’s sitting on the sofa, elbows propped on his knees.
She turns in the three-paned mirror, checking herself out, and shrugs. “It’s pretty.”
“Try another one, Kitten.”
“It’s fine,” she says, but she doesn’t look like it’s fine. She’s got meh written over her face.
“You guys have been so patient.” She hesitates.
River stands and closes the few feet between them, clasping her jaw. She looks up at him with round doe eyes. “Stop trying not to be a burden. You have nothing to worry about. I have nowhere I’d rather be than right here with you.”
She relaxes into his touch and shrugs. “Okay, well, then this isn’t the one.”
Mia disappears back through the curtain into her dressing room, and I stand. I walk through the lines of dresses, letting my fingers trail along the soft fabric, and stop dead when I spot one in satin gold.
There’s just something about it.
I grab it from the rack, pass a curious River, and whisper through the dressing room curtain. “I found your dress,” I say confidently.
The curtain peels back a few inches, and she peeks around the edge. “Did you now?”
I can see her reflection in the mirror behind her, and it takes everything in me not to back her up against the glass when I see she’s only in a thin black thong. I tilt my head up to the ceiling and close my eyes.
This girl is going to be the death of me, and I’m apparently going to love every minute of it. I swallow hard and hold out the dress. She grabs the hanger, hand barely visible, and the dress disappears with her.
I walk back to the couch, collapse next to River, and take a long drink from the water Stacey provided.
“What was that about?” River asks.
“You’ll see.” No sooner are the words out of my mouth than she glides in front of us. River’s mouth drops open before snapping shut, and his Adam’s apple lifts and falls.
Right there with you, buddy.
She’s fucking stunning. The gold satin drapes over her curves like liquid and pools around her feet. She pulled her hair up, revealing the curve of her neck and the low-cut square neckline that shows off the top of her cleavage.
I’m done under when she spins. It’s completely backless, except for a few thin gold chains, and I’m suddenly fighting off caveman thoughts. There’s something entirely too appealing about hiding her away and fucking her in my den for a few months.
She clears her throat. “Sooo, what do you think?”
“I think you’re going to get me in trouble,” River replies. “And I think I’m going to like it.”
Remembering that she needs to like the dress too, not just us slobbering over her, I ask, “What do you think?”
She does a spin and has a heart-melting smile. “I love it.”
My thoughts exactly.
