H is arms held her firmly against his chest. “Good morning, Elizabeth.” His nose nuzzled the outer shell of her ear.

Beth basked in the warmth of his cuddle. Their naked bodies had spooned together all night. It hadn’t felt like old times because she’d been more insecure about her body as a teenager. She used to squirm whenever he’d stare at her body. She no longer had the same hang-ups. Her body was far from perfect, but she’d accepted that perfection didn’t exist. Her small stint as a model had taught her that.

She tightened her grip around his arms. “Thank you for last night.” She smiled and clenched her knees together. Her core still quivered from his undivided attention.

Benny rolled her over and covered her body with his. “No thanks necessary because the pleasure was all mine.” He pressed his lips to hers softly.

Her fingers tangled in his curls as she deepened the kiss. The weight of him was welcomed. She felt the poke of his hardness against her stomach. She removed her hand from his hair and slipped it between them. He adjusted his weight and gave her room to search. Once she found his cock, she fisted his girth.

He stopped kissing her. “As much as I’d love this to continue, we don’t have time.” His body moved to her side, as he propped himself up on his elbow.

“When do you have to leave?” She didn’t let go of his erection and kept pumping.

“I have a meeting this morning,” he said as he wiggled his hips against her hand. “And our flight leaves early this afternoon.”

If he didn’t have to go, she would have loved to stay there all day. Touching, kissing and exploring every inch of him. “I wish you weren’t leaving. The old adage, absence makes the heart grow fonder is total bullshit in my opinion. We’ve been apart long enough.”

“I couldn’t agree more. That’s why you should come with me. We can spend the next five days together and—”

“No,” she said. She followed the sting of her rejection with a kiss to his creased brow and kept moving her hand over his length. “I followed you around like a puppy dog last time we dated. That won’t happen again. I have a life here with commitments. You’re going to be a part of my life, but you will not be my whole life.”

He stilled her hand. “I never thought of you as not having your own life. We were a team. I liked our life a lot.”

“Me too; but I depended on you and my dad for everything. When you both left, it was a huge eye opener. Speaking of something else huge,” she said, trying to move her hand again, but his grip was stronger.

“Don’t change the subject. Are you saying you’ll never travel with me?”

She laughed. “Never is a long time. I bet there will be times when I can travel with you, but it won’t be for a while.” She squeezed his shaft and licked her lips. “I want to remind you what you’ll be missing while you’re gone, if you’ll let me? You said last night we have all the time in the world. Prove it.”

His grip on her hand loosened, and she took advantage. She rubbed his tip with her thumb until he closed his eyes. She kissed her way down his body. Over his neck, his chest, his abs and then lingered at his navel. She wanted to draw out his pleasure and give him an orgasm he wouldn’t soon forget.

Using both hands, she caressed his manhood. Each moan and thrust of his hips propelled her to keep going. She sucked him into her mouth and lavished his cock with attention. His approval sent a wave of moisture between her legs.

She switched positions and kneeled beside him. She loved touching him and making him squirm. When the first bead of pre-cum hit her lips, she moaned, loving his flavor. “Yum. I want more.” She dove back down and sucked him in deep.

“I can’t take it anymore.” He lifted her up, pulled her legs over his torso and separated them. The apex between her legs settled over his mouth. “I have to taste you.” His tongue speared her.

“Ohhh!”

His cock slipped from her mouth as she cried out. He devoured her, like he hadn’t sampled her three times in the last few hours. She kept moving her hands up and down his shaft, but she took a moment to catch her breath as she rode his face. He wrapped his arm around her legs holding her open against his lips. Her clit was sensitive from overstimulation and she was near climax within minutes.

“Come with me,” she said before lowering her mouth over him. Pumping her hands, and sucking hard, she felt his balls stiffen. She continued and pushed him to the back of her throat. As soon as he tickled the back, he came and so did she. She closed her eyes and let the fireworks explode. Her legs shook and her core pulsed as his release slipped down her throat. She swallowed all of it.

He planted one last soft kiss against her clit and she whimpered. “I wish you’d reconsider coming with me.”

She moved off his face and sat up. “I did come with you.” Beth slapped his chest playfully and smiled. “I’ll be here waiting when you get home.”

He sat up and kissed her. His tongue gliding along hers as they sampled the combined flavors of their orgasms. “Thank you, for giving me another chance to make this work. I promise I won’t fuck it up.”

She’d heard his promises before, but she believed he wouldn’t intentionally hurt her. The doubt about whether this was about sex had been dissuaded. She’d given him the chance to shove it in her if that’s all he wanted, but he didn’t. He wanted a relationship, and that made her happy.

As he dropped her off at the dorm, a small knot dawdled in her belly. She hoped that with time it would disappear. It had to go away. The sinking feeling that all the happiness she felt had an end date wasn’t a great way to live.

They agreed to stay in touch while he was gone. Benny took that one step further and texted her several times with updates. She laughed at his play-by-play but it helped to push some anxiety back. Lots of hockey players lived different lives on the road. Some had different girls in different cities while others had wives at home and fans to play with while away. Traveling in the past with Benny, she’d seen it all.

When she put her head down to sleep her phone rang. She checked the display. Benny.

“Sweet dreams. I won’t keep you up long, but I’m in bed and wanted your voice to be the last thing I hear.”

She laughed. “You’re corny.”

“Did you say horny? Because if you’re in need of some attention, I’d be happy to video chat with you and help you out,” he said in his low, sexy voice. “In fact, I would have video-dialed this call, but wasn’t sure if you were alone.”

“Carly went out with Sylvie to watch Caroline’s band play. Why would it matter if I’m alone?”

“I heard Nico and Martin talking about her gig. Why didn’t you go?”

Beth shrugged her shoulders. Carly had whined and begged her to go but she hadn’t been in the mood. “I don’t need to be around a bunch of single men.”

“Is it too soon for me to say I lo—”

“So, I was thinking we should talk like this before bed each night. While you’re away, we can keep working on our trust exercises. This will be a good opportunity for us to communicate and explore the non-sexual side of our relationship.” Her pulse raced at the L-word he was about to deliver. Was it too soon? Based on the instant sweaty palms and shaking hands, she’d go with a yes.

He chuckled. “Okay. It’s too soon. Don’t panic, Elizabeth. I’ll wait. What exercise have you got in mind?”

She exhaled and collected her thoughts. His close call left her mind a mess. “Well, if we commit to chatting each night at eleven, and we do it every night, then it will improve our ability to depend on each other. Routines are good.” She had no idea what the hell she was talking about.

“You want to create routines. Isn’t spontaneity the spice of life?” His tone hinted at humor, but she was too wound up to tell for sure.

“I think making a commitment to talk before bed is a step in the right direction.” She twisted her fingers around her sheets. “It’s two-fold, really. We have to trust the other to be there at a set time and be open to answer any questions. Like a game of truth. No questions are off limits and answers have to be one hundred percent honest.”

Her words rushed out. It would be a miracle if he deciphered anything that came out of her mouth in the past couple of minutes. Why was she so nervous? It’s not like her future happiness was riding in the balance or anything. She moved the mouthpiece away from her mouth, muted the line and screamed into her pillow.

“The exercise is a game of truth, no dare, just bare your soul kind of stuff. Okay, I’m in. Did you have a topic in mind for tonight, or anything goes? How many questions are we each allowed?”

She still couldn’t tell if he was poking fun or actually interested in her suggestion. Either way, she pushed ahead. His question was valid. She supposed they should talk about something meaningful, but given the late hour they shouldn’t drag it out. She unmuted her phone.

“Let’s say two questions each per night. Any topic with no limitations. I… Um, I’ll go first. Meaning, I’ll ask you the first question,” she said without actually having a question in mind. His shirt hung on the back of her chair and an image of his perfectly chiseled, naked chest jumped into view. “What do you think about when you see your new tattoo? I get why you added that date on your skin, but is it something you regret or does it still hold meaning for you?”

He didn’t respond immediately. “The tattoo is probably the only thing from those days I don’t regret. You and your dad were my family. The light in my life, besides hockey. I went through some very dark days after the accident. The team almost cut me loose. I had all the professionals at my disposal to make things right, but they couldn’t fix things. They couldn’t stop a senseless death. No one can. The two best male role models were taken from me and this world too soon. I’m still fucking angry. At first, I’d think about the loss and the injustice. These days, it reminds me that our time on earth isn’t infinite. It’s up to me to make the most of it and to make them proud.”

Her heart ached for him. “I don’t know what to say, except I think you make them smile from heaven.” A tear leaked from her eye.

“Elizabeth, I’m not sure I gave them much to smile about for a while. But I’m trying to be a better man. They were so strong. Raising kids on their own with no help. Those men hold a special place over my heart.”

“They both have a piece of my heart too. I never got to meet your dad, but I’m sure I would have loved him. He raised one hell of a great guy,” she said with a smile.

“My turn to ask you something I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out. Why would you date another NHL player? Was it to spite me?”

She suspected this would come up at some point. “I’m attracted to strong, athletic and confident men. Hockey players seem to be my kryptonite. I hadn’t purposely set out to replace you with your opponents. When I moved, I joined a running club. It so happened a few guys from your current team are also runners. It wasn’t to spite you, though maybe on some subconscious level, it was; I don’t know.”

“When I saw you with Joe at the wedding, I wanted to break him in two. You do not understand how jealous I was in that freezing castle. I envisioned breaking off an icicle and ramming it into his heart. I’ve never been a violent guy, but I thought I was too late. This brings me to my next question. Am I too late?”

She blew out a long breath. “I can’t answer that yet. I hope it’s not too late. Don’t take that the wrong way and think I’m not all in this, because I am. I want you. I want us. But honestly, I’m terrified you’ll run when things get hard. That’s what you do.”

“What I did. It’s not what I do anymore. I was seventeen when my dad died and unequipped to face the world without him. I think losing your dad four years later brought back all the same pain. It was like losing them both. Not to mention the miracle you survived and weren’t in the car with your dad that day. I could have lost you too. It was way too much to handle on top of the move and playing for a new team. I got scared. Instead of asking for help and reaching out to you, I pulled away. It was a mistake I’ll never repeat. Don’t give up on me.”

The words sounded sincere, but they were only fancy words. “It’s getting late, and I’m tired.”

“You have one more question.”

“What do you want for your housewarming gift?” She’d had enough intense conversation for one night. Plus, waking up at his place that morning, surrounded by boxes, reminded her he was new to the city. The condo was furnished but lacked personality.

“Get me a plant. Something we can grow and nurture together. Goodnight, Elizabeth. I’ll call in the morning, and again at eleven tomorrow night. Sweet dreams.” He made a kissing noise, and she laughed.

“Sweet dreams, Benny.” She blew him a kiss and hung up, already looking forward to their next conversation.