Eric’s words rocked through my soul before he crushed his mouth on mine.

His lips were hungry yet gentle.

Electric yet soothing.

This wasn’t our first time, but it felt different. Significant, somehow.

His fingertips grazed the skin of my ribs as he gently pulled my shirt up and up until he tossed it on the floor. I shoved his up, needing his help because he was so damn tall, and he tugged it over his head and threw it to join mine.

We stood there, quiet except for our breathing. I traced the lines of his feathered tattoos, following the ink everywhere it touched, before replacing my finger with my lips.

The muscles underneath the smooth skin were rock hard, and I pushed against his broad chest until his spine hit the wall. He moved for me, his strength ten times the amount I possessed, and yet, he let me control the momentum.

I kissed my way to the band of his jeans, unbuttoning them in a flash, dropping them just as quickly. I remained on my knees before him, and his sleek black briefs couldn’t hide his considerable length as I teased him over the fabric.

Eric hissed as my warm breath coated him, as I trailed my tongue along the edge of those briefs, over his insanely sexy v-lines. Heart racing, fueled by the power and control this man granted me, I hooked my fingers into the band of his briefs and tugged, smiling as he sprang free.

Grabbing on to his glorious ass, I wasted no time in taking him into my mouth.

“Shit,” he hissed and arched his head back against the wall, his fingers tangled in my hair.

His taste filled my mouth as I flicked my tongue over his silky tip.

Warmth and lightning soared through my blood.

Hunger churned in my core and an ache wrenched between my thighs as I devoured him. His groans and sighs wound me up so much I was a taut string ready to snap.

“Pepper,” Eric growled, and I gently grazed the edge of my teeth along his hard length, glancing up and up at him, a slight smirk with him still in my mouth.

That unleashed something inside him because one second I was there, on my knees, consuming him, and the next he’d hooked his arms under my shoulders and hauled me to my feet.

Fire churned in those green eyes as he rid me of my pants and scrap of lace.

Pure strength radiated from every inch of him as he spun me, gently pressing my spine against the wall which was still warm from his skin.

Slowly, agonizingly, he palmed my breasts, laying soft kisses over the mounds until they were heavy and tight. He took a pert nipple into his mouth, flicking his tongue over and back until I arched against him.

One hand trailed lower, smoothing lazy circles down my stomach, to the apex of my thighs. Slow, like we had all the time in the world. Like I wasn’t on fire for him.

Eric kissed his way up to my neck, the line of my jaw, and finally my lips, all while those damn fingers teased every spot near the area where I needed him. Soft, easy strokes that may as well have been match strikes with each pass.

I arched and moved and widened, begging him with my body to touch me.

He grinned against my lips, his tongue sliding out to tease mine at the same moment he slid a finger straight down the center of me.

Slick. Easy. Slow.

I was liquid for the man, and he growled from how ready I was for him.

His muscles flexed as he took his time, stroking me, teasing me, slipping one finger in and out only to tease me more.

“Eric,” I said, sighing as I bit his sculpted chest.

He shifted, kneeling slightly so we could be eye to eye, and then he mercifully slipped a finger inside me. Then two. I arched against his hand, moving on him.

“Yes,” I moaned as he pumped in time with my movements.

His lips covered mine like he could devour the sounds he plucked from me.

Heat coiled, tightening and clenching until my entire body felt like a livewire.

“Fuck, Pepper,” he said, lightly nipping at my bottom lip. “I can feel you there.”

I sucked his tongue into my mouth, unable to speak, to comprehend anything beyond the sensations swarming my body. I whimpered when he slid his fingers out of me, leaving me a hot, pulsing mess on the brink of explosion.

But then he hooked his massive arms behind my knees and hefted me up. I locked my ankles around his hips, my fingers digging into the muscles of his shoulders.

“Eric, fuck!” I couldn’t contain my scream as he plunged into me.

So thick, so deep.

His massive body pinned me to the wall, his bulging biceps holding me up without strain, and his beautiful cock stilling inside me, giving me time to adjust to the size of him.

It didn’t take long.

He pumped and kissed.

I bucked and moaned, tracing my hands over every inch of his chest as I lost control.

Eric filled me in every possible way.

Stole my breath like it was his.

Hit every single spot I possessed.

Those long, sweet strokes.

The fast and hard thrusts.

Each was a brand on my body, on my heart.

The tightness inside me twisted and ached.

My blood seared as he held me in that delicious agony. That perfect moment of torture before I’d fly into orbit.

And when those green eyes locked with mine and I saw a mirror of every facet of emotion I was feeling.

He owned me entirely.

I sank down on him as he thrust up, my back smacking into the wall, and I exploded. My body loosened so quickly I was dizzy, a thousand tiny sparks shocking my skin. And just when I thought I couldn’t take an ounce more pleasure, Eric found his own release inside me, and I came undone all over again. So hard and so long, I was draped over his shoulder by the end of it, panting, limp.

He carried me ever so gently to his bedroom, laying us down on his mattress, our bodies slick with sweat.

There were no words.

Nothing I could say that could possibly explain how much this man meant to me. How much that had just meant to me.

Eric was quiet too, content to run his fingers through my tangled hair, down my bare shoulder, over my hip, and back up again. Smooth, sweet strokes that somehow made the moment a thousand times more intimate.

Just like that, I was ready for him again.

The delicious soreness between my thighs ached for more.

And I realized as I lay there, staring into those green eyes, that I wouldn’t mind spending the rest of my time on this earth doing just that.

“Pepper,” Dad said my name with all the authority of my father and my boss. “My office. Now.”

I cringed, following him through the empty locker room and into his office.

The time to let him stew and believe I was the one in the picture was over.

He’d avoided me like the plague since that first initial call, and then after, too, when he’d lost his shit on Crosby. Like Dad knew if we spoke too soon he’d say something he’d regret.

Still, from his tone, and that vein throbbing in his forehead, he wasn’t here to make peace.

“Dad—”

He smacked a stack of tabloids down on his desk, cutting me off.

One was the issue that featured “me” and Crosby, the other two featured shots of Connor, and then the last…Rory?

“You are smarter than this, Pepper Harris,” Dad chided, pointing to the one of “me”.

I sank into the chair before his desk, my stomach churning. Connor was free to see and be seen with whoever he wanted—well, as long as it wasn’t me or Ivy—but Rory? Last time I checked, he was happily married and almost disgustingly blissful.

Adrenaline shot through my veins. I knew Rory. He…he’d changed when he’d met Paige.

Or I’d thought.

Maybe there really aren’t any good players.

“What are you thinking?” Dad snapped me out of my sticky thoughts. “You’ve always stayed away from players. After Mason—” he raked his hands through his salt and pepper hair. “Is this a punishment? Some way to get back at me because I’m always working?” he sighed. “Because that isn’t fair, Pepper. I expected better from you.”

I ground my teeth.

This is why I’d asked Ivy to tell him.

Because I always got it worse.

Because he held me to a standard that was so much stricter than Ivy.

Because where she’d dreamed of being a reporter, wild and free, I’d been grounded. Always working toward ending up in the same career field as Dad.

“You have busted your ass to get here,” he continued, oblivious to my anger. “And still people question your position. I hate that for you. But this?” He smacked his palm against the picture. “This makes it look worse. Makes it look like you’re only here to fraternize—”

“It’s Ivy!” I snapped, unable to bite my tongue for a second longer. Guilt ate at my insides, knowing Ivy didn’t want him to know, but I couldn’t sit here and take this.

Despite the fact that I can still taste Eric.

A constant craving.

Aching.

Double damn. I’m such a hypocrite.

Dad jerked back like I’d slapped him. His eyes darted from me to the photo before he scooped up the tabloid and held it closer to his face.

I folded my arms across my chest.

“You never could tell us apart.” My words were quiet, cold, defeated.

“I—”

“I can’t believe you think I’d be so careless,” I cut him off, the accusation stinging all the way down. Eric and I were careful, sure, but honestly, I was no different than Ivy. Except I’d picked a winner.

Or, at least, he’d picked me.

That photo of Rory stared up at me. A blonde—not a redhead—had her arms flung around his neck.

Acid rolled my stomach.

Was there ever any getting away from the spotlight. From the constant line of women just waiting for the second the man would slip?

Dad set the tabloid down and sank into his chair, rubbing his forehead.

“I’m sorry, Pepper,” he said, finally looking me in the eye.

“I am too,” I said, sighing. “I shouldn’t have let you believe it was me for this long. Did you have to fire him?”

Dad laced his hands together on his desk. “Yes.”

“Even now that you know it wasn’t me?”

“Yes,” he said. “I laid the rule, and he chose not to follow it. He’d been on thin ice before this, and the fact that he went behind my back…” he swallowed hard. “Without the courage to talk to me like a man—”

“Would that make a difference?” I asked, hope blooming in my chest.

He tilted his head.

“If Crosby would’ve spoken to you first. Been upfront about his intentions with Ivy?”

Dad sighed. “I don’t know. We’ll never know now. The fact is he disrespected me. My rules. And I don’t want a man like that on the ice. On my roster. Or in my building.”

Ice-cold fear frosted my insides.

Eric…he’d already secured himself so deep within me.

We’d already gone so far without even realizing it.

And now…with this…

Fuck. My. Life.

I was going to cost him everything.

“Look,” Dad said. “I’m sorry I got you two mixed up.”

“Are you going to talk to Ivy?”

He shook his head. “I can’t control who she dates.”

I narrowed my gaze at him.

“You have different rules, Pepper,” he said, almost apologetically. “Ivy is an intern at a gossip magazine, not employed by the Sharks.”

“And if I dated someone from Ontario?” I challenged.

He flinched. “Pepper,” he chided. “You know I don’t like the idea of either of you dating players. Look at this,” he said, waving a hand over the stack of tabloids. “This is the life that comes with it. And it’s only a glimpse! Beyond this, we’re on the road all the time—”

“And I’ll be at every game!”

He blinked a few times like he hadn’t realized and then stared at me a little harder. “Why are you pushing this so hard? I made a mistake. You’ve never been about players before. Not since Mason.”

“You keep bringing him up,” I said.

“Well, he keeps crowding my space since you came back.”

“That’s not my fault.”

“I’m just hoping you’re not going to fall for his act.”

“I’m not that stupid.”

“I know,” he said. “I know. Which is why I’m not even sure why we’re still having this conversation.”

I groaned.

Because I’m in love with your star goalie.

Holy shit.

I was in love with Iron Man.

And I couldn’t come clean. Couldn’t tell my dad in confidence because Eric had so much more to lose than I did.

Holy hell, when did things become so tangled?

“We’re not,” I finally said. I scooped up the tabloids and pushed back from his desk, heading toward the door.

“Pepper,” he said, stopping me. “You know I’m only so hard on you because I love you, right?”

I swallowed the knot in my throat.

“Because I’m proud of the woman you’ve become,” he continued.

Tears coated my eyes.

It wasn’t fair.

It wasn’t fair to be angry with him. To lie to him.

But it wasn’t fair to have the ultimatum he’d placed on his players either, not when it came to Eric and me. Something real. Not some…challenge for a player to hook up with the coach’s daughter.

“Love you, too, Dad,” I said, and shut his door behind me.

I walked down the hallway, clutching the tabloids to my chest as I headed toward my office.

Shutting the door behind me, I jolted, dropping the tabloids at the sight of Eric’s massive frame filling my office chair.

I knelt to pick them up, taking the few seconds to catch my breath.

“Sorry,” Eric said, at my side in an instant, helping me scoop up the mess. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s fine,” I said, sighing. Anger still simmered in my blood right alongside the hurt and guilt and fear.

Basically, I was a hot freaking mess.

“Whoa,” he said, realizing what he was helping me pick up. “What’s with the gossip rags?”

“Dad,” I said, tossing them on my desk.

Eric’s eyes widened, and his hands found my face, cupping my cheeks. “Are you all right? Did you tell him it wasn’t you?”

I nodded, pointing to Rory’s picture. “Look at this, Eric,” I said, my tone on edge. “How the hell am I supposed to believe we can work when even Rory—one of the happiest men I know—can’t keep it together.” I pulled out of his touch, needing to be away from his warmth, his scent.

Pain flashed in Eric’s eyes before resilience coated them. He grabbed the picture. “This is from years ago,” he said.

“What?”

“Look.” He pointed to the back of Rory’s neck. “No tattoo.”

“I’m not following.”

“He got another tattoo right after him and Paige made it official.” He shrugged.

“Then why are they featuring that picture?”

“Because we’re having a hot season and the Trio is marrying off. They’re looking to stir up old drama,” he said, and then pointed at the picture of Connor. “And they’re also looking at the newest up-and-coming stars, too.”

I rubbed my palms over my face, trying to collect myself. Hating that Ivy was venturing into a career where this was the norm. Where only the headline mattered, not the person behind it.

No, that wasn’t fair, either. Ivy only interned at the place now. Soon, after she put in her time, she’d report real news, and she’d be damn great at it, too.

Eric stepped toward me, where I had retreated against my closed door. He approached me slowly, almost like he was afraid I’d stop him.

But how could I when everything in my body reacted to him the second I set eyes on him? When all I wanted him to do was wrap me in those strong arms and help me breathe.

Breathe through my worry.

Breathe through my over-analytical mind, crunching every possibly failure that may happen.

Breathe through the craving to have his taste fill my mouth.

“Pepper,” he said my name like a plea. “Tell me what to do.”

I wetted my lips, looking up at him. He stopped within touching distance but didn’t put a hand on me, like he couldn’t take me pulling away again.

“Tell me,” he said. “You say the word and I’ll walk into Coach’s office right now and tell him what you mean to me. I’ll make this right for—”

I lunged for him, stopping his words. He caught me with one arm, hauling me against his hard body until I was eye-level with him. I crushed my mouth on his, sliding my tongue between his lips, tracing the edges of his teeth.

God, he tasted good—my personal addiction.

Touching him, feeling him, tasting him…it made the pain go away. The worry, the fear, the guilt…gone.

Nothing existed but his arms around me, his flavor on my tongue, and his scent in my nose. Nothing could touch us here, in these moments. Not the press, or my father, or the fact that he had so much to lose…

Shit.

I jerked my mouth back, locking eyes with him as he held me against him.

“You can’t,” I said, breathless.

His eyes widened, uncertainty flaring.

“You can’t tell him,” I clarified, and his shoulders relaxed a bit. “Not now,” I continued. “We have to wait until your contract is signed and solid.”

“Pepper that is months away. We’re talking the end of the season.”

“I know.” I pressed my forehead against his. “But I can’t…I can’t risk you losing everything over me.” I wiggled until he set me gently on my feet, but he kept his hands on my hips.

“And until then?” He asked, his voice low, cracking, strained.

I should tell him to leave me until then.

Let me go until his career and family’s farm was secure.

But I was a weak, selfish thing.

So instead I reached up and smoothed my fingers over his solid chest. “We stay in the shadows.”

Relief barreled out of him and he scooped me up again, kissing up and down my neck, the line of my jaw, and then my lips.

“Eric,” I sighed his name.

He slowed, his chest heaving against mine. “Right. Shadows. Not your office.”

I smirked. “Someday,” I said, nipping at his bottom lip. “Someday I want you to bend me over my desk.”

He shuddered against me before reluctantly letting me go. I stepped out of his way of the door as he reached for the knob. “I’ll hold you to that,” he said before opening it.

“Promise?” I asked as he stepped into the hallway.

“Hero’s honor,” he said, winking before he strolled out of sight.