Page 81 of Icebound Hearts
That man is a fucking genius with his tongue.
I’m smiling so hard it hurts as the water tumbles down my back, and there’s already a sweet ache settling into my muscles from all the things Sawyer and I have done together this morning and last night. But despite it all, I can’t shake the giddiness that’s coursing through me. I keep replaying everything that happened in my mind because part of me can’t believe it really happened, and I want to store every little detail so I never forget any of it.
It’s such a relief not to have to keep hiding my attraction to Sawyer. It’s been borderline oppressive to be in the house with him with all of this tension simmering and threatening to bubble over at any second. Now that we’ve let some of the pressure off and taken down the temperature a bit, I feel like I can actually breathe again.
But I won’t lie, knowing that he’s been suffering just as much as I have until now makes me feel incredible—and only adds to my arousal. It’s been so long since I can last remember feelingthis sexy and desirable that it’s almost embarrassing to admit, even to myself, but I’m glad to feel this way again.
What’s harder to believe is that after I told Sawyer everything on my bucket list, he agreed to help me tick off every single item.
I’m going to hold him to it.
Smiling to myself, I turn off the water and climb out of the shower to get dressed and head downstairs. Jake and Sawyer are in the kitchen, where Sawyer is cooking breakfast for all of us, scrambled eggs and bacon. Sawyer acts like he wants to hug me when he sees me walk into the kitchen, but thinks better of it.
“Good morning,” he says instead.
“Morning, Ms. Violet!” Jake echoes, waving at me happily from the kitchen table.
It’s after eight, and I don’t want Sawyer to be late for his morning practice before tonight’s game, so I drift over to him and lean against the counter.
“I can finish this up for you if you need to get for practice.”
He grins at me over his shoulder. “Thanks. Iamrunning a little late this morning,” he says teasingly, then leans closer so Jake won’t hear. “But it was well worth it.”
I smile and take the spatula from him to flip the bacon that’s sizzling and popping in the pan just like my insides. Sawyer heads upstairs to get ready, so I turn to Jake to see what he’s up to. He’s got a coloring book open on the table where he’s filling in the outline of a hockey player shooting a goal.
“You sleep okay?” I ask, and he nods eagerly.
“Yup. I was so tired.”
That makes two of us.
I can’t stop smiling as images of Sawyer on top of me flash through my mind, but I turn back to the food to keep from letting Jake see it on my face. I don’t want him asking what I’m smiling about.
“You excited about getting to watch your dad play tonight?”
“I can’t wait!” Jake bounces in his chair. “Who are the Aces playing again?”
“The Cyclones,” Sawyer answers for me as he comes back downstairs and walks toward the little boy to ruffle his hair.
Jake looks up at his dad, the crayon dangling in his hand. “Are they good?”
Sawyer winks at him. “Not as good as us,” he says, and Jake laughs.
“Do you have all your stuff, Daddy?”
“Good question. Where’s the list?”
“Right here,” I say and reach to pull it off the magnet that’s holding it in place on the fridge. I pass it to Sawyer, and he beams at me as he takes it and hands it over to Jake, who pretends he can read it when he’s really just got the whole thing memorized after doing this hundreds of times with his dad.
“Wallet?” Jake asks without even looking at the piece of paper.
“Got it,” Sawyer answers, pulling his wallet out of his back pocket and holding it up.
“Phone?”
Sawyer pats his front pocket where the outline of his phone is showing. “Right here.”
“Gear bag?”