The Risk Taker: A Brother's Best Friend Hockey Romance (Boston Hawks Hockey) by Gina Azzi

Author:Gina Azzi [Azzi, Gina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781734582598
Publisher: Three Cities Publishing LLC
Published: 2021-02-28T18:30:00+00:00

17

Easton

“You stuck up for me,” she whispers in my ear after dinner.

I turn in my chair, hooking an arm around her so I can peer into her face. “I’ll always stick up for you, babe. I’m proud of you.”

She grins. Her eyes dart around the empty den. We finished dinner about half an hour ago. Indy and Claire helped Mary and Leanne clear off the table and prepare the dessert while Austin, Jemmy, Noah, Joe, and I retired in here to watch some hockey. There’s a minor league game on tonight between Windsor and Toronto. But then Joe needed Jemmy’s help with something, Indy called on Noah, and Austin snuck away to take a phone call.

In this moment, it’s just Claire and me. Immediately, the atmosphere eases and I relax into the armchair I’m sitting in. Claire always puts me at ease. Since leaving rehab, she’s the only person I can fully relax around and I crave her presence. I tug on her hand and she perches on my knee. I breathe in her floral, flirty perfume, and run my fingertips over the smooth skin that exists between the bottom of her sweater and the waistband of her jeans.

She drops her head to my ear. “Want to sneak away with me?”

I grin at the suggestion in her tone. “Where would we go?”

She slips off my lap and holds out a hand. “I’ll show you.”

I snort, shaking my head. Voices from the kitchen float into the den. “We’re at your parents’ house, Claire.”

“I know.”

I smile at the dare in her eyes. They shimmer brightly, blue like sapphires. “You better hurry up, Scotch. I thought you liked to play with fire.”

I stand from my chair and grip her hand. “You thought right, babe.”

She giggles and pulls me through the den and down the hallway. Pausing at the end of the hall, she looks both ways and I fight the urge to laugh. She’s so fucking cute. Everything with Claire is fun and playful, real and raw. She’s the best contradiction I’ve ever encountered. She glances at me over her shoulder and raises a finger to her lips. Early moonlight streams through the window, lighting up Claire’s mischievous expression. I smile at her.

I follow Claire around the corner of the hall and down three steps until we’re on a secluded landing, hidden between the entrance to the basement and a closet.

“Is this where you take all your secret lovers?” I whisper to her in the near-dark.

“Only the lucky ones.”

I snort, my hands wrapping around her lower back as I tug her against me. Her hands rest on my biceps and she pushes up on her toes, her breasts dragging up my chest. “Thank you for today with my dad. Really.” I hear the sincerity in her tone and it scrapes at my own insecurities.

Sweet Claire has never had anyone go to bat for her, not in the way she needs anyway. I drop my lips closer to hers. “Haven’t you realized yet that I’d do anything for you?”

I can just make out her expression in the dim lighting.

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