Her lips parted, and our mouths slanted, deepening the kiss. She drew in a soft breath, arms sliding to rest on my shoulders. My hands smoothed down her ribcage, past her hips, cupping her perfect ass. And instantly, I got hard. Maybe I should have done this somewhere else, because I was getting way too turned on in the middle of the living room.

The front door swung open, and Dallas barged in like a goddamn rhinoceros. “Don’t mind me,” he called, clomping by. For someone so graceful on the ice, he had lead feet at home. “Just going to find Shiv.”

Mood-killer.

“Sorry we ran late,” I said, tracing her jawline with my finger. “Some of the guys took forever to get their act together and check out from the hotel after the game.”

She blinked slowly, lips forming a little smile. “It’s okay.”

“C’mere.” I threw an arm around her, tugging her onto the couch with me. Bailey flopped down beside me, exhaling with a sigh and shifting ninety degrees so her long legs draped across my lap.

I scanned her face and let my gaze drift down to her torso, clad in my gray sweatshirt. It was a little oversized on her, but in the most perfect way. And I knew the curves beneath it were phenomenal.

I wanted to throw her down on the couch and ravage her. But I didn’t want her to think that was the only thing I was interested in, especially after a few days apart, so I held off.

Our gazes met again, and it felt like coming home; being with her felt like home.

“What were you working on?” I asked.

“Well…” She sank her teeth into her bottom lip. “I was reading an internship posting Zara sent me.”

“With what company?”

She was playing coy for reasons I couldn’t quite discern.

“Penalty Box Online.” She grabbed her laptop, turning it to face me.

I skimmed the description and the requirements.

“James.” I glanced up at her. “This sounds perfect. You’re going to apply, right?”

She made a little noncommittal sound and did a half shrug, dropping her gaze. “We’ll see. I’m not sure I’m qualified.”

I studied the description of the internship again. “Babe, it sounds like they created this for you.”

She rolled in her lips like she wanted to argue but didn’t. I hated that she thought so little of herself and her abilities sometimes. I hated the reason why even more. Fucking Morrison.

“Don’t self reject,” I told her. “You’ve got nothing to lose by applying.”

“Yeah.” Her gaze turned distant for a beat, and she nodded. “You’re right. I’ll do what you would do. Assume I’m awesome and that everything will work out.”

“Exactly. You’re going to stay over Wednesday, right?” I flashed her a crooked grin, one that almost always got me to yes.