Laces and Lace (Assassins #6) (54 page)

After the commotion of Chan and JT going at it was over, Karson headed to the bus that would take him to the hotel. As he waited for all his lugheaded teammates to get on the bus, he pulled out his phone to text Lacey.

Karson: Hey.

It took longer than he would have liked for her to answer him back, but he knew she was busy. When her text finally came, he clicked it and smiled.

Lacey: I love you and miss you.

Karson: I love you more and miss you way more.

Lacey: Doubt it. Whatcha doing?

Karson: Just got done with practice. Guess what?

Lacey: What?

Karson: They moved me to the first line with Adler.

He waited for her response, but instead of a text, his phone started ringing.

Smiling, he answered, “Hey.”

“This is something you wanted? This is so good, right?” she asked, and he could hear the excitement in her voice. It sent his heart into overdrive.

“Yeah, it is,” he answered shyly, wishing that she was with him.

“Oh my God! I am so excited for you. And oh so proud. You are so awesome, baby!”

He grinned as he looked down at his knees. “Thanks, it means a lot.”

“That’s so cool, so you’ll be playing with him in tonight’s game, right?”

“Yeah,” he said. “Let’s hope I don’t fuck up.”

“You, fuck up? Please, you are my manly man who kills it. I’m so excited.”

He actually blushed as his mouth pulled up at the side. “Me too. You’ll watch tonight, right?”

“I’m going to do my damnedest to. I have dinner with my dad and his girlfriend. I’m pretty sure he’s gonna tell me they are getting married. Yay.”

“I haven’t met a girlfriend. Didn’t even know he had one.”

“Yeah, Sabrina. She’s a snob, but he loves her so I tolerate her.”

“How nice of you,” he teased and she laughed.

“Yeah, don’t know why since I can’t get the same treatment.”

“True that,” he said, making her laugh again.

“God, I miss you.”

“I miss you too, only a little longer.”

“Thank goodness, but yeah, I’ll be watching. Gotta watch my man on the first line! I’ll make them eat in the bar.”

He laughed. “Good idea.”

“I’ll even wear my jersey.”

“You brought it with you?”

“Of course,” she said like it was only natural. “I also brought your sweatshirt, your sweatpants, and a pair of socks. I’m pathetic.”

He laughed. “What for?”

“To cuddle in,” she said softly. “They smell like you and it makes me feel better.”

He liked that. Maybe he didn’t have to piss on her. She wore his scent and that had to mean something. He just hoped that something was that she would come home to him.

Pleased, he said, “I like that. A lot.”

“I do too,” she said roughly into the phone.

Everything went hot inside him from those three simple words. She was by far the hottest woman ever, and when her voice went all throaty and sexy, Karson was a goner. Shifting in his seat, he said, “You sound happy.”

“Eh, I miss you, but I’m having fun with Rachel and the kids.”

“That’s good,” he muttered and he hated himself for not being happy about this. He wanted her to be happy, but he wished she was happy back in Nashville.

“Yeah, but hey, I got to go. I want to try on some outfits that I picked out and then we are going to lunch. Call me before you head back to the arena?”

Not wanting to let her go, he said, “New outfits, huh?”

“Oh yeah,” she said in a suggestive way. “Shows off my ass really great.”

His groin was tight in a matter of seconds, which was extremely awkward since Shea had just dropped into the seat beside him. “Ugh, baby, you’re killing me.”

When the sideways glance came from Shea, Karson knew he had to let Lacey go before his new linemate got an earful. “You just wait till we get home. I’m gonna drive you crazy. I got in some pieces I designed, and I can’t wait to model them for you.”

Yup, he was sporting a full-on erection with his captain beside him. His cock hurt so badly, he fell forward in the seat, pressing his forehead into the seat in front of him, hoping to relieve some of the pressure.

It didn’t work.

“Please God, send me those pictures,” he groaned into the phone.

“This is really awkward,” Shea muttered beside him, but he wasn’t paying him any attention. He was fully focused on Lacey.

“Maybe. If you tell me how much you love me, I might be inclined to do just that.”

Closing his eyes, he smiled. “Lacey Arielle King, I love you so much that words could not begin to define that love. Nothing could. My love for you is so big and abundant that it takes over my soul, my own being. You are everything to me. My heart, my soul, my existence is made to love you.”

“Yup, super fucking awkward,” Shea said, but still Karson wasn’t listening to him. Instead, he was waiting for her response.

“Wow,” she gasped. “That was really passionate.”

“I try,” he said with a grin. “Now can I please have the naughty pictures of you?”

“Yeah, I’m moving,” Shea said, and then he disappeared as Lacey’s laughter filled Karson’s ear.

“Yes, I’ll send them tonight, but just to let you know, I feel the same way.”

“Yeah?” he asked, his heart palpitating in his chest.

“Yup, always have, and always will.”

“Good,” he said, completely satisfied. “I’ll let you go, sweetheart. Have fun shopping.”

“I will,” she said softly, almost like she felt guilty. “Wish you were here.”

“Me too, baby, I love you.”

“I love you more, talk to you soon,” she said in a peppy voice.

“Okay, bye.”

“Bye,” she said, and as he hung up the phone, his chest ached. She sounded so happy. So different from when she was home in Nashville. It bugged him and he didn’t want it to. He wanted to be happy that she was having a good time, but something inside him told him she would never feel that way about Nashville. It was obvious she loved him, he didn’t question that, but he did question if she’d ever be happy in Nashville.

And not knowing the answer was killing him.

Karson was proud of himself.

He left his issues with Lacey at the door and was playing some damn good hockey. As he sailed across the ice, Shea at his right, he moved the puck with the blade of his stick while waiting for his forwards to set up. The played called for Brooks to crash the net after Karson shot, but it wasn’t going to work. He didn’t have a clear shot. So without looking, he acted like he was going to shoot, but instead, he sailed the puck to Shea and he took the shot without even thinking, Karson suspected. When it flew through the goalie’s five-hole, Karson threw his arms up in the air as Shea pointed to him with a grin on his face.

“Great pass, King,” he said, tapping Karson’s head when he reached him. With a grin on his face, he congratulated his linemates before heading to the bench for another round of congratulations. With that goal, it put the Assassins up by two against the Ducks. Tate was hoping for a shutout, and Karson was all about giving him one. Gotta keep his goalie happy.

Sitting on the bench, he squirted some water in his mouth as he watched the Assassins fight off the Ducks. Since they were down two and it was only the second period, he figured they were trying to get some momentum, but the Assassins weren’t going to let them get it. Thoughts of Lacey tried to sneak back in, but Karson pushed them away. He hoped she was watching, but he wasn’t going to stress if she wasn’t. She was with her dad. Having a grand fucking time.

Shaking his head, Karson leaned back and squirted more water in his mouth. As it dripped down his chin, he wished he could just let it go. She was coming home. She was going to adjust, and they were going to be fucking happy together. That’s all there was to it, damn it. Clearing his mind of all those negative thoughts because he had a damn game to win, he watched as his teammates fought to get the puck out of their zone.

Stealing the puck, Titov raced up the ice and had a two on one, but somehow there was miscommunication because the Ducks got the puck back, sailing back up the ice. Thankfully though, Tate was there, fighting off the three shots. JT tried to clear the zone, but then a Ducks player stopped it and shot it, though it rebounded off Tate’s left leg pad. JT cut left and raced to the puck to clear it, but so did another player. The player somehow tripped JT up, and before he even crashed into the wall, Karson knew it was going to be bad.

But nothing could prepare him for the sounds of JT’s pure agony or the image of his leg lying lifeless in a way that wasn’t natural.

No, he wasn’t ready for that.

Her father and Sabrina were getting married.

Yay.

While she wanted to be excited for her father and the big, glitzy wedding they were planning, Lacey couldn’t muster up those feelings. It was clear that her father was extremely happy, and she knew he would be. He loved Sabrina, but it still bothered her. It should have been her mother sitting beside him. She should be the one to move his hair back to the side. The one to look at Lacey with all the love in the world and tell her how proud she was of her. She should be there. But she wasn’t.

And it still gutted Lacey umpteen years later.

While dinner was nice and she enjoyed spending time with her father and his new fiancée, she hated the way any time she brought up Karson, they changed the subject. It was essentially the Sabrina and Nate show, and it was annoying as hell. She wanted to talk about her house, about how Karson was playing on the first line that night, and how she couldn’t wait to get home to him, but she basically wasn’t allowed to. It irritated her to no end, and the first chance she got to leave, she took it.

She knew that her father was upset she left so suddenly, but she was just burnt out. After a full day of shopping, hanging with her friends, and spoiling her nephews, dinner with the newly engaged couple was the last thing she wanted to do. What she wanted to do was cuddle up in Karson’s clothes and watch him kick ass on the ice. She only caught the first period, but he looked amazing and she knew he would continue kicking some major Ducks ass.

A grin sat on her face as she pushed open her apartment door and locked it behind her. Looking around the apartment, it felt so dull. She used to love this place. It was her own sanctuary of loneliness, but after sharing a home with Karson, she found herself missing his socks laying all over the place and the many cups of water that he left everywhere. She missed him; she always did.

Being back in Chicago was great though. Yeah, it was colder than a snowman’s balls, but she couldn’t help but miss it. Nashville had great weather and she loved how it didn’t know what it wanted to be weather-wise, but she loved the bite that Chicago gave her. Her beautiful city always kept her on her toes. Also seeing all her friends, visiting the store, and seeing all her clients caused her to be a little misty-eyed. She missed this place, but it wasn’t home without Karson.

Home was where your heart was.

And her heart was with Karson.

It was that simple.