Off Sides (Off #1)(17)

"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 hips 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.

I slow the kiss down and explore her mouth more leisurely. This is good because while my lust is in no way cooled down, I am getting back a measure of control. Danny's hands grip my biceps and she flexes her fingertips inward as we kiss. I can't wait for the day when those fingertips will dig into my ass as I'm making love to her, but that day is not going to be today. I do want to take this slow for her. I have no idea what her level of experience is, and frankly, I don't care. I want for both of us to come together when the timing is perfect, and with our relationship so new, today is not that day.

I pull my mouth away and she whimpers, putting her hands around my head and trying to drag me back down.

"Danny, you're not making this easy," I grumble.

She gives me that husky laugh. "Who says I want to."

Oh, God...I'm a goner if I don't put some distance between us. I have never gotten so worked up over a girl so quickly. I press a quick kiss to her lips and stand up from the coach. She has disappointment written all over her face.

"Danny...I want nothing more than to have sex with you right now..."

"But..." she prompts.

"...but, I want this to be special. I want you to know that I'm willing to wait until it's right. I want it to be perfect for you."

She stands up from the couch and has such a hauntingly beautiful smile on her face. Her dimples slightly wink at me. She steps into my body, wrapping her arms around my waist and laying her cheek against my chest. My arms go around her and I squeeze. After placing a kiss to the top of her head, I rest my chin there.

Glancing around her living room, I see several pictures on the end table. One is of a man in a police uniform who I assume to be her dad. I pull out of her embrace and walk up to the assembly of photos.

Danny comes to stand beside me. Bending over, she picks up the one I was looking at. "This is my dad, Clayton Cross. This was taken a few years before he got fired."

I look at the picture. I can see she inherited his dimples as he flashes a toothy grin at the camera.

She puts that picture down and picks up another. This is of a gorgeous woman in her forties and there is no doubt she's Danny's mother. They look like sisters.