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  “Oh, yes,” Maddie said, her words strangled. Her head turned to one side as they began moving together, and Savannah ran her tongue along the smooth neck she revealed. “Please, Savannah, don’t stop. You’re going to make me come.”

  “Not yet,” Savannah said in her ear before placing a kiss there. “I need to taste you first.”

  Maddie groaned loudly as Savannah pulled away from her and moved down her body, but she was taking her time exploring every inch of her. Maddie was impatient, which was obvious by the way she put her hands on Savannah’s shoulders and urged her to move down farther. Savannah smiled against her skin before settling where she knew Maddie needed her.

  Maddie’s body tensed when Savannah ran her tongue the length of her sex and finished with a flick of her clit with her tongue. Maddie groaned again, and Savannah closed her lips around her clit, gently sucking as she thrust her fingers in rhythm with Maddie’s movements. She kept up the steady motion when she felt Maddie begin to tighten around her fingers. Maddie dug her nails into her shoulders, and Savannah sucked harder until Maddie arched off the bed and cried out.

  “Holy shit,” Maddie said between gasps. Savannah worked her way back up her body to stretch out next to her, pressed against her side. Maddie turned her head to look at her. “You’re really fucking good at that. I don’t think I’ve ever come so fast before.”

  Savannah smiled but wasn’t quite sure how to respond. She ran her fingers slowly back and forth across Maddie’s stomach and raised herself up on an elbow. She should be freaking out about now, but she was strangely content to just lie there looking at Maddie. She moved her hand up to cup her cheek and leaned in to kiss her.

  Maddie deepened the kiss as she slowly pushed Savannah onto her back and pushed one thigh between her legs. Savannah moaned deep in her chest and reached down to press the thigh tighter against her center. Maddie pulled her mouth away when she felt the wetness against her leg. She stared into Savannah’s eyes and pressed harder when Savannah began to slide against her.

  “I want to taste you,” she said as Savannah’s eyes closed. Savannah like this, her lips slightly parted, and her breath coming in ragged gasps might just have become Maddie’s favorite look. She was so sexy.

  “No,” Savannah said, shaking her head. “I need to come now. Just like this. Kiss me while I come.”

  Maddie obliged, and when their tongues met, Savannah’s movements against her leg became more frantic. She cried out as she turned her head away and Maddie changed her mind. Savannah’s face as she orgasmed was most definitely her favorite look. And there was no doubt she wanted to see it again. And again, and again.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Maddie opened her eyes to a scratching at the bedroom door. She started to get up, but the arm thrown across her middle tightened, and the warm body next to her pressed against her back. She smiled at the memory of the night before. She could happily lie here in Savannah’s arms for the rest of her life.

  Unfortunately, Duke wasn’t having it. He began to add whining to the scratching, and when he let out a high-pitched bark, Maddie knew she had to get out of bed or risk having to clean up a mess when she finally did get up.

  “Don’t go,” Savannah mumbled against her shoulder.

  “Duke needs to go out.” Maddie managed to slide out of her grasp and stood, looking around the room at the array of clothes strewn everywhere. She shook her head and smiled as she pulled on her shorts. She leaned down and placed a kiss on Savannah’s forehead. “Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be right back.”

  Savannah nodded, but never opened her eyes. Maddie tried her best to be quiet as she let herself out of the room and closed the door again behind her. She was surprised it was almost nine in the morning. Of course they hadn’t fallen asleep until almost four, so it wasn’t really too much of a shock.

  She let Duke out and went to start a pot of coffee while she waited for him to let her know he was ready to come back in. They should probably have something to eat, but Maddie didn’t know what Savannah liked for breakfast. Just as she was going to go let Duke back in, Savannah shuffled out of the bedroom, her shirt on inside out and backward. Maddie put a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing.

  “What?” Savannah asked, her eyes only half open, and her hair tousled from sleep.

  “You aren’t a morning person, are you?”

  “What gave it away?”

  “You look like you got dressed with your eyes closed.” Maddie closed the sliding glass door again and Duke ran straight for Savannah.

  “I probably did,” Savannah said with an ear scratch for Duke. “I usually don’t get up much before noon during the season. Well, unless we have a morning practice scheduled.”

  “You didn’t have to get up yet.”

  “Are you kidding?” Savannah asked, seeming to be more awake now. She grinned at Maddie, and Maddie felt her stomach flutter. “I need nourishment. You gave me one hell of a workout last night.”

  “I seem to recall you were the one who wouldn’t let me fall asleep.” Maddie was relieved this didn’t seem to be awkward. Part of her expected Savannah would wake up this morning and regret what they’d done. She turned her back to Savannah to pour them each a cup of coffee.

  “Can you blame me?” Savannah slid her arms around her waist and kissed her neck. “You’re beautiful. I can’t seem to keep my hands off you.”

  “Trust me, I’m not complaining.” Maddie chuckled as she shook her head. This felt too good, too fast. Or was it? They’d spent as much, if not more, time together than a couple who had really been dating for five months. She closed her eyes and set the coffee pot down when Savannah’s mouth closed over her ear lobe and sucked gently. “Fuck.”

  “Again?” Savannah whispered after she let go of the ear lobe. She moaned when Maddie pushed her ass back against her, causing a surge of desire to run through Maddie.

  “Yes, please.” Maddie turned in her arms and pressed her lips against Savannah’s. Her hands were in Savannah’s hair as Savannah’s hands moved to her ass and pulled her body flush with hers.

  “Why did we wait so long to do this?”

  “Not my fault,” Maddie said with a smirk. “You had a thing about sleeping with a neighbor, remember?”

  “No.” Savannah shook her head. “When you touch me I have a hard time remembering anything other than my name.”

  “Good to know,” Maddie grinned. “I’ll just have to make sure I keep touching you.”

  “I think that’s an excellent idea.” Savannah took a step back and grabbed her hand before pulling her toward the bedroom. “And I really think you should start right now.”

  * * *

  “Okay, wait, so you’re telling me you weren’t really dating her?” Dana asked when Maddie called her not long after Savannah left in the afternoon. “It was all a ruse?”

  “Yes, it’s exactly what I’m telling you.”

  “But you slept with her last night.” Dana seemed to be having a hard time grasping what was going on.

  “Yes.” Maddie was smiling. She hadn’t been able to stop smiling. Savannah hadn’t wanted to go, but she had to get to the arena for pregame warm-ups. Maddie still had some time before she had to leave. They hadn’t discussed what exactly last night meant for them, but she was hopeful it meant there would be more touching and kissing in their future.

  “And why exactly were you guys lying about it all this time?”

  Maddie sighed before explaining—again—the reasons behind the lie. As she spoke, her mind returned to the bedroom and all that went on in there over the past sixteen hours or so. She felt the heat in her cheeks at the memory of Savannah climaxing at her hand. And her tongue. Numerous times.

  “So what started out as fake has turned real?”

  “I don’t know, Dana. We didn’t discuss it,” Maddie said with a sigh.

  “Why on earth wouldn’t you have talked about it?”

  “We were a little busy with other things.”
Maddie waited for her words to sink in, and Dana let out a chuckle almost immediately.

  “Is she as good in bed as I imagined she would be?”

  “Does your husband know you imagine Savannah Wells in bed?”

  “Not exactly what I meant, Mads.” Dana laughed, and Maddie could almost see her sister’s face turning red. “I just meant she always seems so confident and self-assured. I imagine those qualities would carry over into the bedroom.”

  “Let’s just say she’s even better than I imagined she would be.” Savannah grabbed an envelope off the kitchen counter and began to fan herself with it. She wondered if this was what hot flashes were like. “Let’s leave it at that. And since we did not discuss what this means for us, I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t tell anyone.”

  “Except Trent, because you know damn well I’m going to tell him. I tell him everything.”

  “Fine, but neither of you can breathe a word about it. To anyone. I need you to promise me.”

  “Yeah, yeah, I promise,” Dana said. “And I’ll make Trent promise under threat of bodily harm.”

  “From who?” Maddie snorted, knowing Trent would never believe either of them would physically hurt him.

  “Savannah, of course,” Dana answered in a tone that indicated it should have been obvious. “He’s in awe of how physical she is during games. I think he’s a little afraid of her.”

  “Good. A little fear never hurt anyone.” She glanced at the clock on the stove. “Listen, I should probably get ready for the game.”

  “Trent will be there with Amy. Make sure you say hi to him,” Dana said. “And make sure you reiterate the threat of bodily harm.”

  They said their good-byes and Maddie let Duke out into the backyard for a few minutes before heading into the bedroom. She stopped just inside the door and stared at the bed for a moment, almost able to picture Savannah there, smiling at her. She indulged herself and went to lie down, her head on the pillow Savannah had used the night before.

  She closed her eyes and breathed in her scent, an enticing combination of coconut and lavender. Savannah’s face popped into her mind, and she smiled, feeling the throbbing between her legs start up once again, as it had so many times over the last several hours.

  “Jesus,” she murmured, but didn’t open her eyes. She should have been completely satisfied after the things Savannah had done to her, but just the mere thought of her made Maddie want her again. She sat up quickly and went to her dresser to get the clothes she would put on after her shower. She knew if she’d stayed on the bed much longer she would have fallen asleep and had erotic dreams about Savannah Wells.

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Savannah didn’t have anyone to talk to. Normally, she would have talked to Kelly about what had happened last night, but that option was off the table since Kelly didn’t know they’d never slept together before. She suspected, yes, but there was no way she could know for certain. The second option would have been either Lisa or Faith, but the same reasons applied to them.

  Why hadn’t she and Maddie talked about what it all meant for them? Maybe Maddie was perfectly satisfied with a one-night stand. Savannah would have been. Before, but not now. Maddie was in her head, and had somehow woven her way into Savannah’s heart. She felt lighter than she had in years. Her world finally felt right. She didn’t know how else to explain it.

  “You’d better get your head in the game, Wells,” Kelly said with a quick shoulder bump.

  “The game hasn’t started yet,” Savannah said. They were in the middle of warm-ups and they were stretching along the boards.

  “Yeah, but I can tell your head is somewhere else.”

  “It’s right here.” Savannah looked at her and shook her head. “When have you ever known me to not be ready for a game?”

  “I’m just saying.” Kelly shrugged. She grabbed her stick and looked down at her. “Is everything okay with Maddie?”

  “Perfect.” Savannah tried to hide the goofy grin she knew she had, but Kelly’s smile told her she hadn’t been successful.

  “Yeah,” Kelly said as she tapped her on the leg with her stick. “We’ll revisit that later.”

  Savannah watched her skate away, then glanced around at the stands. Her gaze lingered on Maddie, who was behind their bench talking with Trent and Amy. She was so incredibly beautiful. Especially when she laughed, which she was now at something Trent said to her. She sighed and got to her feet before grabbing her stick and joining her teammates for their shoot-around. At the last second though, she decided to skate to the bench for a different stick. Yeah, for a stick. Not to talk to Maddie.

  “Hi,” Amy said with a grin. Savannah gave a nod in her direction but quickly changed her focus to Maddie.

  “Are you free after the game?” she asked, feeling uncharacteristically nervous. “We need to talk.”

  “Sure,” Maddie answered, looking nervous herself. Savannah nodded again.

  “Good luck tonight,” Trent said.

  “Thanks,” Savannah answered, and she wondered if he was talking about the game, or the talk she and Maddie were going to have. Before heading back to her team, she held a stick out for Amy. “I’ll get the whole team to sign it if you want.”

  “Wow, thanks!” Amy’s eyes lit up, and Savannah’s heart swelled. It always did when she’d done something to make a kid happy.

  She gave Maddie one last look and saw she was smiling at her. It certainly didn’t hurt to know she’d made more than one person happy with the gesture.

  * * *

  Savannah was out for a rare penalty kill situation in the second period. She wasn’t known for her penalty killing skills, but their regular winger in those situations was the one in the box. And the second line winger was out with an injury, so here she was.

  Jen Hilton won the face-off and the puck came to Savannah, who headed up the ice. She passed it ahead to Hilton, who was a couple of steps ahead of everyone else. Hilton sent it back to Savannah as they both crossed the blue line and Hilton headed for the net. Hilton was to the left of the goaltender and was anticipating a pass, but Savannah saw the defender was too close to her. Savannah shot the puck instead of passing, and it went just over the goaltender’s shoulder and into the top of the net.

  Savannah knew Hilton was pissed when she didn’t even come over to acknowledge the goal. The other two Warriors on the ice celebrated with Savannah by hugging and high-fiving. Hilton chose to return to the bench without a word. Savannah was congratulated by everyone on the bench while Hilton sat alone, quietly sulking.

  “You should have passed it to me,” Hilton said when Savannah took a seat next to her. “That was how the play was designed, Wells. That goal was supposed to be mine.”

  “Their defender was breathing down your neck,” Savannah said, not even bothering to take her eyes off center ice where they were preparing for the face-off. Soothing egos wasn’t her job. “I saw an opening and I took the shot. All that matters is we scored.”

  “No, all that matters is you’re a puck hog.”

  “Is there a problem, ladies?” Gail asked as she came and stood behind them. Savannah simply shook her head and said nothing, while Hilton turned to look up at Gail.

  “She’s selfish, and I don’t want her on the ice with me,” she said, shooting a glare at Savannah.

  “Grow up, Hilton.” Savannah chuckled and shook her head. “We’re part of a team. Maybe you need to learn what that means.”

  “We scored, ladies,” Gail said. “It shouldn’t be a reason for discord.”

  “If it makes you happy, next time I’ll pass it to you and watch as they crash into you while you’re facing the opposite direction,” Savannah said when Gail walked away from them. “Maybe you’ll be happier spending a few days on the injured list.”

  “You would be, wouldn’t you?” Hilton turned her head to look at her, and Savannah did the same.

  “Believe it or not, no, I wouldn’t be,” Savannah said. In all honesty, she’
d be happy if Hilton never suited up for the Warriors again. She was nothing but trouble with a capital T, but she didn’t want it to happen via injury. “I don’t want anyone to get hurt, especially on my own team.”

  Savannah stood and jumped over the boards for her next shift, happy to leave Hilton behind. Not only was she homophobic, but she was also a drama queen. How anyone could thrive so much on conflict was beyond Savannah’s comprehension.

  When the game was over, they’d won by two goals, and Hilton had been held off the score sheet for the third consecutive game. She slammed her stick against the boards as she was coming off the ice, breaking it into three pieces. Savannah followed her into the locker room and wasn’t surprised when Gail summoned Hilton to her office immediately.

  “What the hell’s her problem?” Alex asked as they all started getting undressed. “She wasn’t like this last year.”

  “I have no idea, but for someone like her—someone who lives to stir up trouble—the drama always surfaces at some point.” Kelly removed her pads and shoved them in her equipment bag. “She can’t survive without it.”

  “I’ve never met anyone her age who was so immature,” Savannah said as she grabbed a towel and headed for the shower. When she was finished, she saw Hilton just coming out of Gail’s office, and she looked even more pissed than she had before.

  “You feel like going out tonight?” Kelly asked when they were both dressed and ready to leave.

  “No, I have plans,” Savannah replied without looking at her.

  “Too bad. I finally convinced Alex to go.”

  “Yeah, my boyfriend probably won’t be too happy about me going to a lesbian bar.” Alex chuckled and hoisted her bag over her shoulder.

  “As long as he treats you right, I’m sure he’s got nothing to worry about,” Kelly said with a wink in Savannah’s direction. Savannah shook her head with a sly smile. She knew Kelly would do her damnedest to give him something to worry about. She never much cared if a woman was gay or straight. They were all just another conquest to her.