Off-Ice Collision: Chapter 20

Vaughn is still sleeping when I wake up the next morning. I curl my body against his, nuzzling my head into his chest. There’s something about his warmth that is comforting. The smell of pine and bergamot invades my senses and I inhale the smell of him. There’s been a shift between Vaughn and me, and I don’t ever want things to go back to the way they were before.

Just when I think he’s still asleep, he abruptly rolls me onto my back, pinning me to the bed as he settles between my legs. “Good morning, beautiful,” he smiles down at me as his erection presses against my center.

“Well, good morning to you too,” I laugh lightly, wrapping my arms around the back of his neck. “I thought you were sleeping…”

“Are you wishing I was instead?” he questions me as he buries himself inside me. He fills me completely, stretching me out, and a low moan slips from my lips as stars dance in front of my eyes. “I can go back to sleep if you’d rather that instead.”

My teeth graze my bottom lip and I shake my head. “No, this is much better than sleeping.”

A sinister smirk tugs on the corner of his lips and he pulls his hips back, slowly easing himself in and out of me. Sliding my hands to his back, my nails dig into his flesh as I hold on to him.

“Do you get this wet for everyone, baby?” Vaughn growls out as he picks up the pace, thrusting into me harder. “Tell me there’s no one else. Tell me this pussy is mine and mine only.”

“There isn’t anyone else, Vaughn.” His name rolls off my tongue with a moan. “No one else even comes close to you.”

“That’s because you’ve only ever been fucking with fuckboys,” he murmurs, his face dipping down to my neck as he trails his lips along my skin. “All they care about is their own pleasure. You are my pleasure and making you come gets me off more than anything else ever could. There’s something about watching you come undone around my cock.”

His words send a shiver down my spine. He’s right, but hearing him speak the words into existence sends a warmth through my soul like I’ve never felt before. Vaughn buries his face in my neck as he continues to fuck me until we’re both losing ourselves in each other.

“You’re particularly chatty this morning,” I muse as Vaughn pulls on a pair of sweatpants and leaves his boxers on the floor. My mouth goes dry and my eyes trace the V shape that disappears beneath his waistband.

“Maybe I don’t like talking to anyone but you,” he muses, tilting his head to the side as he leans against the doorway. His watchful gaze is on me as I pull his t-shirt over my head. His jaw clenches, but his eyes are warm and soft. Bending over, I grab my panties and pull them on.

Vaughn pushes off the doorjamb and stalks over to me, wrapping his hands around my waist as he pulls me flush against his body. “You’re going to kill me, London.”

“Why’s that?” I question him, feigning innocence as I smile sweetly.

“I can just feel it. You’re doing something to my heart and I know you’re going to be the end of me.”

My eyebrows tug together and I stare up at his clear blue eyes. He gives nothing away and he presses his lips to my forehead before releasing me. His hand finds mine and he leads me out of his bedroom and back down to the kitchen. I stand back, watching the way the muscles in his back move as he grabs two different pans and puts them on the stove.

Sound comes from the back door and we both instantly turn around, my senses heightened as my eyes widen. The door opens up and Vaughn’s mother walks in. She pauses in the doorway, her shocked expression matching mine as she glances back and forth between the two of us.

“Good morning…” Her voice trails off, her cheeks turning pink as she looks guilty for finding the two of us here. I grab the bottom hem of Vaughn’s shirt and attempt to tug it down my thighs. Vaughn’s mother ducks her head, but I don’t miss the grin that plays on her lips.

“I thought you weren’t coming until Friday?” Vaughn questions her as he turns back to the counter and begins to mix some pancake mix.

“I decided to come a little earlier since I didn’t have anything going on,” she answers him. “How are you, London?” she asks me, her eyes bright and full of hope as she stops on the other side of the island.

My voice gets caught in my throat and I attempt to clear it. “I’m good, thank you,” I croak out as embarrassment completely consumes me. I wish for nothing but the floor to open up and swallow me whole.

“Vaughn, honey?” his mother says as she directs her attention back to him. “Are you opening the shop this morning?”

“Fuck,” Vaughn mutters as he drops the whisk into the bowl. He turns around to face me and he limps slightly as he walks over to me. He cups the sides of my face with his hands, not caring that his mother is watching the two of us right now. “I’m sorry, London. I have to get ready and go, but I’ll see you later?”

I swallow hard and nod. “That sounds good.”

Vaughn presses his lips to my forehead and I feel his absence as he ducks out of the room and heads back upstairs. He leaves me like it’s absolutely nothing, and really it isn’t. I’ve known his family since I was a kid… but this is the first time his mother has ever seen me like this at their house.

I turn back to face Mrs. Carter and give her a smile. “I should probably head back home,” I tell her as I stupidly begin to walk toward the back door without realizing that I don’t have my clothes.

“Don’t you need your clothes?” Mrs. Carter reminds me, and I don’t miss the hint of amusement in her tone.

My cheeks are burning as I turn back around to face her. “Yeah, I suppose I do.”

Mrs. Carter chuckles at me. “Don’t be embarrassed, London,” she tells me, her voice soft and sweet like molasses. “I’m just happy to see that my son is becoming more of the person he once was.”

I’m at a loss for words and I simply nod, feeling like an idiot. My heart sinks at her words, but at the same time my stomach flutters. Things for Vaughn have been rough and have undoubtedly taken a toll on his family. “Me too,” I admit, my voice quiet. I give her another small smile before I leave the kitchen and head up to Vaughn’s bedroom.

When I reach the top of the stairs, I see Vaughn exiting his bedroom, dressed for the day. He meets me halfway in the middle of the hallway. His hands find my hips and he spins me around, pinning me against the wall as his mouth collides with mine.

He tastes like the mint from his toothpaste and I’m suddenly self-conscious of the fact that I haven’t yet brushed my teeth. Vaughn chases the thoughts away as he kisses me until I’m breathless.

“I wish I could spend the entire day with you instead of going to fucking work,” he mumbles as he rests his forehead against mine.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

The waves in his ocean blue eyes crash against the shore as he stares directly at me. “Thank God.” He presses his lips once more to my forehead before releasing me. “I’ll call you when I get home tonight.”

I watch him as he walks away. “You still have my number?”

Vaughn looks at me over his shoulder, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips. They part like he’s going to say something, but he simply winks before disappearing down the steps. I head into his room and quickly change back into my clothes before I make my way down to the kitchen where his mom is.

She’s standing where Vaughn once was, taking over making the pancakes he had started to prepare. When she hears me enter the room, she glances over at me. “Did you want to stay for breakfast?”

“That’s okay,” I tell her, offering her a small smile. “I forgot that my friend Emery was coming over, so she’s probably waiting for me at my house.”

“Of course.” Mrs. Carter smiles at me and nods. “I know Vaughn can be difficult sometimes, but you’ve brought the light back into his eyes. You’ve always had an effect on him, even when you were kids. I’m not saying he’s anywhere close to being himself again, but for once it felt like I was looking at my son again and not the shell of a person he had become.”

There’s a sadness to her words, but there’s also hope. “I have no intention of ever giving up on him,” I tell her with nothing but honesty. “I know the old Vaughn is still in there.”

“He’s been very angry with the world since his accident. I think there’s something with the two of you spending time together that is making him see that he doesn’t have to spend all of his time being so bitter. You give him hope—hope that there’s more to life than he thought there was.”

“I hope so,” I respond, my voice quiet. There’s a part of me that thinks maybe this is all too good to be true. Things like this don’t ever work out. There will be something that will cause this all to blow up in our faces. I can’t allow myself to think like that, though. I have to believe that nothing but good will come from this.

Even if Vaughn decides that I’m not what he wants in the end.

“Oh my god!” Emery exclaims, her eyes wide as she stops with her mimosa in midair. “Did his mom hear the two of you having sex?!”

I’m partially mortified at the thought. “Oh no… I have no idea. She walked in on us in the kitchen, but she came in through the back door instead of the front. That can only mean she came there before we came downstairs.” I pause for a moment, staring back at my best friend with nothing but embarrassment. “What if she did hear us?”

Emery laughs lightly and takes a sip of her bubbly drink. “I mean, there’s nothing you can do about it now. I just can’t believe she saw you in nothing but his shirt and underwear.”

“Please, don’t remind me,” I groan, closing my eyes as I tip my head back against the lounge chair.

Emery and I had plans to hang out at the pool all day. When I got back from Vaughn’s she was already here, waiting for me with mimosas and demands of every detail from the night before since I didn’t even call her. I gave her enough information without giving her the specifics of the night.

“Who saw you?” Maverick’s voice breaks through Emery’s laughter and startles me. Lifting my head, I see my brother dropping down onto the chair next to Emery.

She glances over at him. “Mrs. Carter.”

Maverick narrows his eyes, his gaze colliding with mine. “You stayed with Vaughn last night?”

“Where did you even come from?” I ask him, ignoring his question. “Have you been eavesdropping on us?”

Maverick purses his lips. “I could hear your conversation from the dock,” he replies with a clipped tone. “I hardly call that eavesdropping.”

“Either way, it’s none of your business.”

Emery rises to her feet. “I’m uh, going to go get us some snacks,” she offers, giving herself an out before she disappears into the house.

My brother glares at me. “Stay away from him, London. He’s not in a good place mentally and you shouldn’t get involved with him.”

“Really? You’re going to judge someone else’s mental health right now?” I cross my arms over my chest defensively as I sit up and straighten my spine. “Have you forgotten that you’ve been spending the entire summer clutching a bottle of alcohol?”

His expression darkens and his jaw tics. “I don’t need you to remind me of my shortcomings, London,” he snaps at me. “As your brother, it is my duty to make sure that you don’t get involved with the wrong people. Vaughn is not the right person.”

“Look, I appreciate your concern, but I’m a big girl and can take care of myself.”

“London…” Maverick’s voice trails off as his expression softens. “I don’t want to see you get hurt. Take it from someone who is also not in a good place mentally. You can’t fix or save Vaughn. I’ve seen this movie before and I know how it ends. He’s going to break your heart.”

“And I’ll worry about that when it happens,” I tell him, my voice stronger than I actually feel. The thought of him breaking my heart hurts already, but I bury the emotions down deep. “Vaughn and I are just friends and nothing more.”

“Is that why you were in his bed last night?” Maverick shakes his head as he rises to his feet. “You’re going to do what you want in the end anyways. Just don’t forget that I told you so.”

“Bye, Maverick.”

I watch my brother as he walks away from the pool and heads down the steps, back down to the dock. It doesn’t take long before I hear the engine of one of the Jet Skis start, and Maverick takes off across the lake. Things have been tense between us since I found out about his secret and that made me even more pissed off. He doesn’t get to have an opinion on what I am doing.

He’s my twin brother. It’s only expected that we fight and argue from time to time. He’s always been protective of me, but I’ve had mixed feelings about him after he kept the biggest secret of his life from me. He might be right about Vaughn, but I’m not going to give him the satisfaction of admitting that to him.

There’s a part of me that hopes he is wrong, but I know that he isn’t.

Vaughn thinks I’ll be the end of him, but he has it all wrong.