Limelight Love Story

14. Mrs. Bradford

There were very few things in life that Tim was sure of, but just as certain as the rising sun, he was confident that there was no better place than being buried in Lucy's chest.

"Okay," she giggled. "You have to go to practice." He still seemed quite preoccupied, and she had to lightly tug at his hair to get his attention. "Come on. The sooner you go to practice, the sooner you come home to me."

He groaned his displeasure and climbed out from under his t shirt that she was wearing. "Fine. Please tell me you aren't planning on putting on anymore clothes today." He stood up on all fours and stared down at how unfairly gorgeous she looked in his clothes; it was his payment for taking off her tops that he had to surrender his own, and it seemed like a very low price to pay.

Lucy looked down at the mere underwear and t shirt she was wearing. "Yeah," she scoffed. "When I eventually get out of bed, I'll put on more clothes." She watched him pout and added, "You can help me take them off later, though."

Tim finally smiled. "That's better." He kissed the tip of her nose. "Drink your tea, and I'll see you later." Despite needing to get ready and leave, he delayed staying above her for a few more moments.

"It's cold by now," she chuckled and glanced at the abandoned mug on her nightstand. He had used his daily morning delivery of a cup of tea as a vehicle to climb into her bed and kiss up and down the top half of her body. Lucy appreciated the gesture of bringing her some tea every morning, of course, but she much preferred how Tim helped her greet the day with his warm hands and mouth traveling everywhere. "Hey, don't make the guys run extra drills today."

"Are you the coach now?"

"No, but I'm the wife," she reached out for his neck.

He shook his head. "That's not how it works. If they need to be pushed harder to play better and get us a win, we stay later. We're trying to win the Stanley Cup, Luce. There are no off days or easy practices on the road to the championship."

"There are if you want to be here when I look through paint samples, or you'll come home and have no idea what the house will look like."

"Paint samples?"

"We've been over this twice."

"Let me guess, and you weren't wearing a shirt either time?" If he thought sports bras were distracting, he had no idea how getting her topless would erase his entire brain like nothing had ever existed.

"You've practically ripped everything off of me for the last two weeks. Not my fault we still need to have actual conversations like adults."

"Okay, I swear I'm really listening right now."

"I said I'd like to get a gym built in my house for you, and you were fine with that. Do you remember that?"

"No, but that's perfect. We can't fully move into your house if I don't have a place to work out."

"I'm not trying to pressure you into moving in with me. I just want you to be more comfortable there. With this album I'm starting to really seriously work on, I'll have late nights and early mornings in my studio, and I'd like if you could stay over with me."

"Of course. We're not sleeping apart if we can help it...apart is in we stay under the same roof not in the same bed or anything," he tried to backtrack from what his initial words might have insinuated.

"Has it been...okay? We've ended up in a lot of hotels between my tour dates and your away games."

"More than okay, but I'm not suggesting we rush into sharing a bed full time." Tim was grateful for all the wishes Lucy had granted him for more time with her in his arms, but he would never dare to push the boundaries too far.