Another win in Calgary put the Blizzard on everyone’s radar. The Sidewinders had clinched their spot in the playoffs, but they’d also lost their last game, which was one more piece of the puzzle. Mathematically, the Blizzard’s chances of making the playoffs were still tricky, but the vibe in the locker room had changed. They were focused, strong, and they’d somehow managed to put all their energy into playing one game at a time. They studied each opponent, talked about strengths and weaknesses, and then did what they had to do to win. Honestly, she’d never seen anything like it. It was brilliant to be a part of and though she and Marshall were stretched a little thin since it was just the two of them now, they’d opted not to bring in another coach that might muck the system they had in place. Randy York was around, but his role as goalie coach was different.
“Four more games,” Laurel said that night after the game. “On paper, we can lose one of them, but we don’t want to go there and then be in a situation where we can’t lose without being eliminated. Tomorrow, we travel. The next day, I want you all to rest. Your bodies, your minds, everything. Spend time with your loved ones, sleep well, let yourself do a little physical and mental healing. On Thursday we’ll do a morning skate and be ready to play. Now go get some sleep. Breakfast at eight.”
As they filtered out to the bus, Laurel watched, lagging behind as she tried to gather her things. She traveled with too much stuff, she thought, looking around.
“Need some help?” Chains stuck his head in the locker room.
“Oh, no, thanks. I’m just a little scatterbrained right now. I keep thinking I’m going to forget something.”
“Charger?” He held it up. “You left it in the office.”
“Thank you.” She laughed, taking it from him.
“I was thinking of flying my wife to Anchorage for a few days. The Sidewinders will be in town for the last two games of the regular season and I thought that would be fun for all of us. Do you mind?”
“Not at all. I’m looking forward to meeting her.”
“Thank you.” He reached for her bag. “Come on, then, let’s get going.”
They walked out toward the bus in companionable silence.
“Can I ask you a question?” she asked suddenly.
“Sure.”
“Did you meet Gage on a mission? I don’t want details about the mission itself, just clarification on what your relationship is.”
“Yeah. I was MI6 then, part of a joint mission with Gage’s Marine unit, the CIA, and Mossad.”
“Why were the Marines involved in something with three intelligence agencies?”
“The why, I don’t know,” he shrugged. “In retrospect, we needed info from an arms dealer in that area and with what was going on at the time, it looked a lot better to the locals for us to be military. As spies, we had more to deal with, so we were embedded with that unit. Why?”
“And when whatever it was went wrong, you and Gage were in a position where you were holed up together for days until help came?”
“Yes.” He stopped walking and searched her face. “What is it you want to know?”
“Did he talk about me?”
Chains smiled. “So much that I wasn’t sure which one of us was married to you by the time we got out of that damn cave.”
She smiled back shyly. “Thank you. I just… There’s so much about that time I don’t know and I need to mull it over in my head before I talk to him about it. Does that make sense?”
“Whatever works for you, love. We all have our own way of dealing with the past.”
“Do you struggle with your past?”
“Not so much anymore.” He held the door open for her. “Emilie’s beaten off all those demons. My life is a million times better with her in it, but it took a lot of soul-searching to get there together. I don’t know what you’re struggling with, but if you love him, you have to open up about everything, no matter how much it hurts. In the end, that’s what will heal both of you.”
“Thank you. I’ll remember that.”
Shit. Opening up was the one thing neither of them were good at. Ultimately, that’s what had been their downfall and if she didn’t do some of that soul-searching Chains had just mentioned, they were going to repeat history.
They got home late in the afternoon the next day and Laurel collapsed on Gage’s bed. Travel to Anchorage took so long, she understood why many teams played back-to-back games when they came to town. She’d never suffered from jet lag but she was exhausted tonight.
“How about I fire up the hot tub and we soak in there for a bit?” Gage suggested.
“That sounds heavenly.”
“Grab a robe in the bathroom and I’ll meet you downstairs.”
“Okay.” She stripped off her clothes and dumped them in his hamper, pulling on a soft, chenille robe she found hanging behind the door. She clipped her hair up in a loose knot to keep it out of the water and slid her feet into flip-flops she dug out of her bag. Then she headed downstairs to meet him.
“Hey.” He set a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket and dropped his robe.
Damn. She might never get over how much she loved seeing him naked. He immersed himself in the steamy water and she followed suit, dropping her robe on top of his and kicking off her sandals.
“You look good enough to eat,” he grinned, looping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her into a deep kiss. She kissed him back hungrily, always anxious to make love with him. The stress of the last week coupled with the long flight home melted away as the steamy water swirled around them. Their bodies came together naturally and she straddled him, wrapping her legs around him to keep the motion of the water from separating them. His erection pressed against her core and she sighed.
“Babe, I don’t have a condom.”
“We didn’t use them the last couple of times either,” she murmured. “We should’ve had a conversation about that.”
“I’m sorry,” he sighed. “That’s on me.”
“Are you clean?”
“Absolutely, but—”
“I’m on the pill.” She sank down and closed her eyes against the pressure of him filling her. It was always her favorite part, the moment their bodies became one, him deep inside of her and her body closing around him tightly.
“God, I fucking love you,” he growled, gripping her ass tightly and shoving her down until he was fully sheathed.
“Gage…” His name dripped off her lips like honey and she fastened her mouth to his again, taking greedy pulls of his tongue, his lips, his everything.
“I can’t do this in here…” he growled. He lifted to his feet, still inside of her, and laid her on the edge of the hot tub. He pressed his hands against the back of her knees, pushing them back toward her chest as he thrust in hard and deep.
“Oh god.” She covered his hands with hers, holding on to him and moaning as he drove into her over and over. It was raw, edgy, exactly the way they both liked it, except there was a fierceness there now that hadn’t been there since they’d first gotten married. He was even sexier now that he was older, and each stroke of his cock was like a magical G-spot magnet, pushing her closer and closer to ecstasy.
“Fucking mine,” he rasped, his silver eyes laser-focused on hers.
“Yes.”
“No one else has ever been inside you?”
“N-no.” She could barely think as his thrusts got harder and more punishing.
“So this pussy is still mine.”
“Yes!” She cried out as he slammed into her and roared her name. Her own orgasm followed his, ripping through both of them as their bodies shuddered through aftershocks that were nearly as powerful as the original.
“Fuck.” He collapsed against her, dropping his body on hers. “You’re beautiful, Laurie.”
“So are you.” She gently traced a line around his mouth with her fingers. “I didn’t think I’d like the beard, but I love it.”
“Glad you do.” He pressed his lips to hers, gently now. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
“No. You know I like it rough.”
“It’s so fucking sexy.” He kissed her, nibbling her lower lip. “I can’t get enough of you, babe.”
“Yeah, that’s mutual.” She ran her fingers through his hair. It was longer than it had ever been, short in the back but long and wavy in the front. He kept it slicked back for business, but at home or when they were like this, he left it wild and sexy. He looked more like a biker than a billionaire, but she loved it. He’d been a lot more clean-cut in college and in the military, but his new look was hotter than hell.
“When did you turn into a bad boy?” she laughed against his mouth.
“When I got so rich I stopped caring what other people thought,” he chuckled.
“You were always rich.”
“Yeah, but the military played a big part in how I looked, not to mention my uncle’s expectations.”
“And now?”
“Now the only person whose opinion I care about is yours.”
“Mmm. I like the sound of that.”
“Did you want to get back in the hot tub or should we take this party upstairs?”
“What’s the matter? You too old to keep fucking on the concrete deck?”
He raised his eyebrows playfully. “Did you just ask me if I was too old to fuck you?”
“Kinda?”
“That sounded like a challenge.”
She grinned. “Maybe.”
Gage slept until eight, which was late for him, but they’d had a long night. It had been years since they’d had sex like that, over and over until neither of them could move or breathe or think. Laurel was still fast asleep and he left her alone, pulling on sweats and heading down to his home gym. He hadn’t been working out lately and he needed it. It was one of the best ways to clear his mind and he was going to have to be ready when he approached his handler at the CIA to tell her he was retiring. He’d inadvertently chosen the CIA over Laurel once and he wasn’t going to do it again, which meant cutting all ties.
Because of his high-profile business connections and last name, he wasn’t a covert operative, like what most people expected when they thought of spies. He did his spying right out in the open, with people who never dreamed that was what he was doing. He was invited to parties and events given by some of the richest people in the world, and he always came away with more information than he’d gone in for. There was always an element of danger, of course, but nothing like when he’d been on active duty in the Marines. Being in the military and the CIA simultaneously had been counterproductive at times, and he’d been torn about what he wanted to do long-term. Then Laurel had filed for divorce and his life had gone in a totally different direction. It had never been his intention to be a spy but he’d gotten hooked after his first mission, and without Laurel to go home to, he’d fallen into it. Now he finally had the excuse he needed to get out, but his gut told him it wouldn’t be easy.
He dialed a familiar number and waited. As always, she picked up on the first ring.
“Morning.”
“Morning.”
“What’s going on?”
“We need to talk. When can we get together?”
“You coming to D.C. or do I need to find a way to make the trek to Anchorage?”
“There’s a lot going on here right now.”
“Here too. If you need to talk in the near future, you’ll need to come here.”
He’d figured as much.
“What’s your schedule like?”
“I’m in town this week, but next week I’m out.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” He wanted to get it over with.
“See you then.” She disconnected just as Laurel came in wearing workout clothes.
“Good morning, beautiful.”
“Morning.” She got on the recumbent bike and flashed him a smile. “You should wake me up so we can work out together.”
“If I woke you up, we wouldn’t make it to the gym.”
Her eyes crinkled as she laughed. “Last night’s 284 times wasn’t enough?”
“Like I keep telling you, I will never get enough of you.”
“Sounds like fun. Shall we go again?”
“I need to work out,” he admitted. “But after?”
“I have to go to work… You snooze, you lose!” She danced out of his reach when he swatted at her. “Come get me, big boy.”
He jumped off the treadmill and raced after her.