Caged (Gold Hockey Book 11) by Elise Faber (romantic love story reading TXT) 📕

Dani with her beautiful brown skin, those amber and russet eyes, with lips and curves he wanted to kiss—

His cock twitched.

And he forced himself to stop, his hand on the handle of the door leading into the library.

One deep breath, Dani out of his mind.

Another to open the door and go inside.

Immediately, the smell of books wafted forward, drifting toward him, filling his nose and settling that itchy feeling inside him.

The vaulted ceiling overhead was covered in translucent glass, each of the panels surrounded by green metal. The walls were a pale, institutional brown, the carpet industrial and a quite unpleasant combination of tan and forest green, but the bookcases in the distance took the majority of his focus, row after row after row of bottled—or papered, he supposed—knowledge.

He wanted to explore.

But he had more things to do today than just browse through books, as sad as that thought was.

Averting his eyes from the temptation of all those books, Ethan headed to the hold desk and waited in line. A few minutes later, and with a swipe of his library card, he had received his stack of reference materials.

And out he went, thinking about the next item on his list.

Grocery store to pick up Nutritionist Rebecca approved food, the hardware store to pick up some samples of the new floor he was going to have installed. He’d bought it, now that he’d gotten the first long-term contract of his career—six years—and knew he’d be able to settle down in one place.

Plus, the Bay Area wasn’t a bad place to live, even once his stint in the league was done.

Whether he’d retire after the next contract (most likely), stay with the Gold, or move onto another team wouldn’t be decided anytime soon, but he was just happy to have found a team that he truly gelled with, even if he would never be good enough to be on that top line.

Power plays and penalty kills were his specialty, and between them and with his position as left wing on the third line, he got enough ice time to not hate what he was doing, and to appreciate that offer of six years of stability.

That was a lot more than other players.

Including a lot more than he’d had in the past.

Studying the books in his hands, leafing through the medical journal on the top of the stack, he went to push out the front door of the library when he saw her.

Her.

As always, his heart pattered, squeezing tight, and his fingers went all tingly.

She had a stack of books balanced in one arm, was paging through another . . . as she strode right for him.

He opened his mouth to speak, remembered the tablets, and thought better of it, shifting instead to be in a position to catch, and then snagging her arm. Her head flew up, and he saw that she was wearing turquoise-framed glasses, her hair wrapped up into a loose bun on top of her head, her lips painted a bright pink.

The books tumbled free, but since he was ready, he caught them, pressing the stack between one hand and his side.

“Ethan?” she said.

“In the flesh,” he said then winced because in the flesh? Who the fuck said that? But he was struggling here, he’d never seen Dani in something that wasn’t jeans or sweats paired with a Gold pullover or fleece.

This however, was different.

Different as in incredible.

Her sundress was giving him all sorts of Bridgerton vibes, even though it wasn’t remotely of the era. Rather, he just had all sorts of thoughts about tossing the hem up and losing himself in what was underneath. The fabric was white with large blue and turquoise flowers creeping up from the hem, its hem hitting right at knee level and giving him a view of slender calves, and when his gaze dropped lower, it stuck on pale blue sandals crisscrossing over toes that were painted bright pink.

Fuck, the woman even had beautiful toes.

“Wh-what are you doing here?” she asked.

Since the books were unstable—and not because it would extend this interaction with her—he shifted the stack, tucking them under one arm. “Same as you, I suspect.”

Her eyes met his, drifted down in what felt like a physical caress, halting on the stack of research materials he held under his other arm. “You read?”

“I have been known to do so,” he said, lips twitching. “Occasionally.”

Her teeth found her bottom lip, pressed into that plump, kissable mouth. “I . . . um . . . I didn’t mean that like it sounded.”

“I know.” And he did know that.

Her eyes held his. “I’m sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry for.” He started to nudge open the door with his hip, but she slipped past him, held the metal and glass panel wide so he could pass through. “I’m just teasing,” he said once they were outside in the courtyard filled with bronze statues of people reading, trees interspaced, their leaves just beginning to change color for the fall, yellows and greens mixing with an occasional orange and red.

They continued walking, this time on the path winding its way to the parking lot. “What did you pick up?”

“Some research material.”

She frowned.

“I’m finishing up my degree,” he told her, surprised she didn’t know, considering the team teased him about it frequently.

“Oh, your bachelor’s?” she asked, and he sensed the air around her relax for the first time. His heart thudded. Maybe she was warming up to him. “That’s really cool. I know sometimes it’s hard for you guys to finish school when you get drafted young.”

Ethan spied her car and started walking toward it. “No, actually,” he told her. “I was a late bloomer as far as hockey went, so I finished my bachelor’s degree before I ended up playing in the league.” Which was a good thing. He’d needed those extra years to build his skills, in addition to the additional time to earn his undergraduate studies.

She froze, sandals making a scraping sound