Back Check (Aces Hockey #4)(44)

 

Chapter 12

 

 

Katelyn stared at Tanner, her heart knocking against her breastbone. She sat up, tugging his shirt around her. He lay next to her, bare-chested, watching her. They'd just had amazing hot sex, she'd told him about her dad and cried on his shoulder. Was he actually suggesting they could have a relationship? Again?

 

"We had something once," he added in a low voice. "Something good."

 

"Yes."

 

"Do you forgive me? For leaving?"

 

She sank her teeth into her bottom lip and nodded slowly. "I told you, Tanner, I knew you had to leave. I could've told you the truth … but you still would have had to leave. There was no way I would ever stand in the way of your NHL dream." She twisted her fingers together. "Do you forgive me for not telling you why I had to stay?"

 

He lifted his chin, and then he nodded too. "I do. I understand. I get that you were protecting your dad. And I get that you were protecting me."

 

She sucked in a sharp breath, amazed.

 

"It's fucking shitty, but life is shitty sometimes. We both said … we both could have done things differently. We were nineteen years old. What the hell did we know?"

 

"Do you think we're different people now? Do you think we could still have something?"

 

"I'm the same person, Katie. Maybe a little more mature. A little wiser. Maybe." He smiled. "And you … I still see the same girl … smart and super organized and caring and funny."

 

She still saw the things in him she'd fallen in love with … his loyalty to his team and teammates, the charm that drew people to him, the cocky smirk that hid the fact that he was afraid to believe in love. He'd believed in it once … with her.  

 

"Also you're still smokin' hot in bed, so there's that."

 

She caught the teasing glint in his eyes and smiled back at him. "Yes, I am."

 

He barked out a surprised laugh. She crawled back over the bed to him and cupped his face in both hands. "You're still pretty hot in the sack too. We're pretty hot … together."

 

She brushed her mouth over his.

 

"You make an excellent point." He reached for her and flipped her to her back.

 

"You get off on tossing me around like that, don't you?"

 

He grinned. "Maybe."

 

"It's kind of a turn-on for me too."

 

"Perfect." Kneeling beside her, he unbuttoned the shirt and spread the two sides open. Her skin heated at his open perusal. He drew a finger down her chest between her breasts and over her abs, which tightened. "You look hot in my shirt." He teased the curls on her mound. "This is nice."

 

"Th-thank you." She was bare everywhere else but there. "Tanner?"

 

"Yeah?"

 

"Are you going to be traded?"

 

He went very still. "What?"

 

"I've seen the articles about you … in the paper and online. Rachel saw one and read it to me and then I saw some others. There are all kinds of rumors that the Aces might trade you to some other team."

 

"Fuck." He blew out a breath. "I know there are rumors. I can't stop them."

 

"But is there some basis to them?"

 

"Here's what I know: I'm in the last year of my contract with the Aces. As of July first, I become an unrestricted free agent, which means if I haven't signed a new deal with the Aces, I can sign with any team that wants me. The Aces would be stupid to let that happen, though, because right now they could trade me for someone else if they don't want to sign me. Then they'd get some value for me."

 

"But they want to sign you … right?" She shivered at the thought that they wouldn't.

 

"They say they do. My agent says they do. But negotiations aren't going anywhere, so … I don't know. The trade deadline is February twenty-seventh this year."

 

"Trade deadline?"

 

"Yeah. The rules are complicated, but basically major trades have to be done by that date. Players who are traded after then can't play in the playoffs, so those trades are usually minor players."

 

"Not like you." '

 

He smiled wryly. "Right. And it gets even more complicated with the salary cap and what other players have contracts that are up and who the team can afford to keep."

 

She nibbled her lip. "It is complicated. I didn't understand all of what I read."

 

"I don't want to leave." He gave a short laugh. "I love it here and I love playing for the Aces. But I have to get the best deal I can for myself. For my future. And if they don't want to give me that, or they don't want me here … " He held her gaze steadily. "I have to be honest. There are no guarantees in this business."