Chapter 78 Just Us
LIAM
Everything else fades away. From the weight of tomorrow to the pressure of the game, it all slips into the background the moment I feel her beneath me, warm and real and impossibly close. The arena lights, the roaring crowd, the expectations waiting for me on that ice, they dissolve like noise underwater. It’s just Ava. Her warmth wrapped around me, the softness of her skin against mine, the scent of her hair mingling with the heady air between us. My world narrows to the shape of her body, to the rhythm we create together. I can’t think of anything else, not when she moves with me so effortlessly, so perfectly, like we were built from the same blueprint and finally aligned.
I lean down to kiss her again, slower this time, letting my lips trail across her neck, tasting the faint salt of her skin as she shudders beneath me. I drag my mouth over the sensitive curve where her neck meets her shoulder, memorizing the way her breath catches. The sound of it is sharp and desperate, every exhale a reminder that she’s here, that she chose this moment with me. That we’re together, not fractured, not uncertain. I want to savor this. I want to burn it into my memory so deeply that even years from now I’ll remember the exact way she felt under my hands tonight.
“Liam,” she gasps, her fingers curling into the back of my shirt, tugging me closer as if she’s trying to erase any space between us. Her body rises to meet mine instinctively, hips lifting, searching, and I feel the heat building, coiling tighter with every movement. I’ve always known she was strong. I’ve seen her stand tall when the world tried to knock her down. But right now, it’s her vulnerability that undoes me. The way she trusts me with this, the way she opens herself to me without hesitation, feels sacred. Like something fragile and powerful all at once. Something only we get to touch.
“I’ve got you,” I murmur, my voice low and rough, vibrating between us. I pull back just enough to look at her, needing to see her eyes, needing to know she’s still with me in this storm we’re creating. My hands run along her body slowly, reverently, feeling the way she trembles beneath my touch. She’s breathtaking like this. Not posed. Not guarded. Just raw and open. The slight arch of her back, the curve of her hips shifting beneath my palms, the way her eyes flicker with longing and something deeper, something that looks like love, drives me wild in a way I can’t control.
And then she pulls me back down, capturing my mouth in a fierce kiss that steals the air from my lungs. There’s nothing gentle about it now. No hesitation. This kiss is desperate and hungry, a silent declaration of everything we survived to get back here. Every fight. Every doubt. Every second we almost lost each other. I kiss her harder, matching her intensity, letting my need crash into hers. I can feel it in the way she clings to me, in the way her mouth moves against mine. She’s just as desperate. Just as consumed.
I trail my lips down her body, slower now, deliberate. I follow the delicate curve of her collarbone, the rise and fall of her chest, the soft swell of her belly beneath my palm. My heart clenches as reality settles in again. The life we created. The tiny future growing quietly between us. It’s not abstract anymore. It’s real. It’s ours. When my lips brush against her stomach, I pause, pressing a lingering kiss there, my hand splayed protectively over her skin. A fierce wave of protectiveness surges through me. This is my family. This is everything I never knew I was fighting for.
Her fingers slide into my hair, tugging gently, guiding me back up to her face. Her eyes are darker now, heavy with need and trust. I know she’s waiting. Not impatient. Just certain. She’s waiting for me to move, to take us where we both want to go. I can’t keep myself from her anymore. I don’t want to.
I slide into her slowly, carefully, feeling the tight heat of her surrounding me, welcoming me in a way that steals the breath from my lungs. She moans, loud and unrestrained, the sound vibrating through both of us. It hits something primal in me, something that makes my control thin. I start moving, slow at first, deliberate, savoring the way her body responds. The way she meets me with every thrust, hips lifting in perfect rhythm, like we were always meant to fit together like this. Like this was written somewhere long before we realized it.
Her nails drag down my back as she pulls me deeper, and a groan rips from my throat before I can stop it. She feels perfect. So perfect it almost hurts. Every inch of her, every breath, every small sound she makes feels like it belongs with me. Like we belong like this. I never want to let go of this moment, of the way she looks up at me like I’m the only thing in the world that matters.
“Liam,” she gasps again, her voice shaky, breaking with need, threaded with something almost pleading. “Please.”
“Tell me what you need,” I growl softly, my voice thick with desire but steady, controlled enough to keep us grounded.
“I need you,” she breathes, her hands gripping my shoulders, pulling me closer until there’s no space left at all. Her legs wrap around my waist, locking me in, urging me deeper. I obey without hesitation, thrusting harder, feeling the way her body shudders beneath me. Every movement pulls another sound from her lips, and it drives me further, deeper into this shared fire.
The room fills with the sound of us. The steady rhythm of bodies moving together. Her moans, breathless and uninhibited. The low, strained sounds I can’t hold back. The air feels thick, charged, alive with everything we’re pouring into this. I’m losing myself in her, in the way she responds to me, in the way she clings to me like I’m her anchor and her storm all at once. She makes me feel like I’m not just wanted, but needed. Like I’m everything she’s ever been searching for.
I’m close. So close I can feel it building low and tight inside me, threatening to unravel everything. But I don’t want to rush this. Not tonight. Not after the fear, the silence, the almost loss. So I slow down just enough, dragging it out, making her feel every inch of me, every controlled thrust, every deliberate breath against her lips. She’s close too. I can feel it in the way her body tightens around me, in the way her breaths turn erratic and uneven.
“Come with me,” I whisper, my voice thick with emotion, heavy with need. “Let go with me, Snowflakes. I’m right here.”
Her eyes lock onto mine, and for a split second, everything slows. Then she does. Her body tightens around me, a sharp cry tearing from her lips as she comes undone, her nails digging into my skin, her hips bucking beneath me as waves of pleasure crash through her. The sound of her release is raw and beautiful and it sends me over the edge with her, my control snapping as I follow, my body crashing into hers as everything explodes in white heat.
For a long moment after, I just hold her. Our bodies still entwined, our hearts pounding in sync like they’re trying to catch up to what just happened. My forehead rests against hers, my breath uneven, my hand instinctively sliding down to cover her stomach again, protective and certain.
Tomorrow will come. The ice. The lights. The pressure pressing down on my shoulders.
But right now, in this room, with her wrapped around me and our future quietly growing between us, none of that feels bigger than this.
Right now, it’s just us.
And that’s everything.