She laughs at me and it's music to my ears. If I could make a full time job out of listening to Danny laugh, I would.
"Daniella. But no one calls me that. Ever," she says with warning.
"Why not? It's a beautiful name."
She shrugs her shoulders at me. "I don't know. It's always been Danny so that's what I'm used to."
"Fair enough. So what's with the purple hair and piercings?"
She grabs a lock of her long hair, pulling it over her shoulder and looks down at it in reflection. "You don't like it?"
"On the contrary, I love it. I mean, I've never gone out with a girl with colored hair or a nose ring, but I have to admit...it's hot as hell on you. It's what makes you unique. And I'm finding a new fondness for unique things."
She giggles at me. "It's a good thing. Because I wouldn't change it for you."
"And I wouldn't ask you to."
She flashes me a smile that is so genuinely happy, that my breath catches. Her teeth are straight and gleaming white. Her dimples are perfectly etched and her lips could have an entire book of poetry written to them.
Holy shit! I was becoming a f**king dork thinking like that. Still, I had to admit that her beauty had me a little captivated. Okay, a lot captivated.
"How did you get into hockey?" she asks, breaking into my thoughts before they can veer into all the things I would love to have her do with those poetic lips.
"Gosh...let's see. I've been playing since I was about six years old. My uncle played in the NHL back in the 80's and he’s the one that originally got me into it. I played Junior Hockey before being recruited to Northeastern."
"Do you want to play professionally?"
I lean forward and grab both of her ankles, straightening her legs out. Her feet rest just short of my crotch, which is a good thing. I pick one dainty foot up and start massaging it, working my thumb into the arch. She gives a little groan and closes her eyes, and holy hell that is sexy. I shake my head to clear my thoughts.
"Yeah, that’s my dream. It will go against everything my parents expect of me, but that's what I want."
"Do you always do what your parents expect?"
"Not always but I have a lot of the time."
I don't elaborate but she's not going to let it go. And honestly, I don't want her to let it go. I want her to want to know about me. She pushes on. "And why do you do what they expect a lot of the time rather than what you want to do?"
"My dad is Alex Burnham."
I'm watching her face as I say that and I see the recognition immediately dawn. "You mean Congressman Alex Burnham?"
I nod my head at her. "The one and only. He's so far to the right I keep expecting for him to disappear over the horizon." I know there is bitterness in my voice and she picks up on it immediately. My dad is hot in the Republican party right now and he has his eye on the White House. It’s the main reason my parents what to control every aspect of my life. They want the perfect looking family that will survive a media blitz during election time.
"That's a lot of pressure on you, huh?"
"You have no idea. It's always been about what is best for our family's public image. It's about me dressing the right way, having the right education, marrying the right debutante." I pause my ministrations and lay the one foot down, picking up the other. "My dad expects me to go to law school after I graduate."
She's silent for a minute and then she asks, "Do you have any chance of getting into the NHL?"
I realize she has to ask me this because she has no clue if I'm any good or not. I don't like tooting my horn, but I want her honest opinion. "Yeah, I am. I missed entry into the draft last year because I was out most of the season with an injury to my shoulder, but that's fully healed now. I'll be an unrestricted free agent when I graduate. There are a few teams that have shown interest."
She's impressed, I can tell. I feel the need to clarify. "I might not see any ice time and may even have to play in the minor leagues, but right now I am playing some of the best hockey of my life so the recruiters are calling."
"Well, then to me it's a no brainer. If you have even the smallest chance of pursuing your dream of a hockey career, you have to take it now. Law school will always be there but hockey won't necessarily."
She makes it sound oh so simple but she's never had to deal with the fallout that occurs when I go against even a simple wish of my parents. Still, it's a pretty rebellious move dating someone like Danny so maybe I need to continue this trend.
"I'll take that under advisement, Miss Cross."
She smiles at me and we both lapse into a short period of comfortable silence. After massaging her foot for another minute, I place it down. She looks at me with tenderness in her eyes and I flip positions to crawl my way across the couch to her. The look in her eyes turns dark as she watches me approach.
"Mind if we take a break from talking?" I ask.
She gives her head a small shake in the negative which makes me grin at her. She wants my touch as much as I want to give it.
As I move over top of her, she leans back and scoots a little down so she's lying on the couch. I stretch out over the top of her, holding my weight off of her with my arms. We just look at each other and the minute she glances down at my lips, it's all over.
I crush my lips to hers and she lets out a startled moan but she opens her mouth to draw me in. Jesus...she tastes like heaven and I can't stop the groan that is rumbling up from me. A jolt of pure lust shoots through my body and I instantly harden. And she knows it as my h*ps are lying in between hers. I keep my lower half perfectly still as I don't want to turn into a fifteen year old boy that dry humps his pillows.