Deadlines & Red Lines: Fast Ice Sports Romance

by Stephanie Julian

  Her lungs sucked in air as he gripped her hips and tilted her pelvis to just the right angle for his cock to slide inside. His head descended and his teeth worried the tip of one nipple as his erection lodged deep in her body. They were both breathing like they’d just climbed Everest when his hips met hers. Her legs felt stretched so wide, the burn was almost painful. It only heightened the pleasure.

  She latched her hands onto his shoulders and held on for the ride.

  He started slow and steady, her pussy tight but wet and so damn needy. She clung to him, making him swear.

  “You feel so goddamn amazing.” His voice rasped in her ear as he licked his way up her throat to nuzzle his nose into her hair. “I want to spend all night inside you.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” she managed to say, though she could barely breathe.

  “Damn right.” He pulled back, his cock almost slipping from her body before shoving back inside, this time with a little more force than before.

  Her heart pounding, she clung to him as he increased the speed of his thrusts, until the base of his cock hit her clit at just the right spot. Her eyes closed as she convulsed around him, her lungs stuttering for air.

  Seconds later, she heard him groan as he thrust one more time then held deep, pulsing and extending her climax until she was pretty sure she was going to pass out, it was that good.

  They stayed like that for long seconds that stretched into forever.

  Finally, his heavy breathing in her ear, he lifted her off the counter, his cock sliding out of her body as he shifted her into his arms.

  “I swear, we’re going to do this in a bed that’s big enough for both of us at least once tonight.”

  She burst out laughing at his wry statement, letting her head fall back until she could look into his eyes.

  “I don’t care where we do it. I just hope you’re not planning to sleep tonight.”

  His smile kindled something that wasn’t lust but something sweeter.

  “Sleep is overrated.”

  Seven

  Hey Sissy! You home? Let me in!

  Her sister’s text barely seconds old, Sugar swung open the door Monday morning, a smile spreading across her face.

  Cookie was number three of five on the Donahue menu, as their dad liked to say. Sugar, being the oldest, followed by Candy, Cookie, Honey, and Taffy. Yes, those were their real names because, of course, that’s exactly what two wanna-be hippies would name their five daughters.

  “Hey, what are you—Oh, Cookie. Seriously?”

  “Surprise?!”

  With a rueful smile on her face, Cookie put her hands on her huge belly and patted the mound that could only mean one thing.

  Her nineteen-year-old sister was knocked up.

  “Jesus, Cookie. What the hell happened?”

  “Well, I’m pretty sure you know how it happened.”

  As she waved her sister through the door, Sugar had already started making calculations. The last time she’d seen Cookie had been six months ago. She’d come to visit before heading back to college. Her sister had to be at least eight months pregnant. Knowing Cookie, her due date was probably next week.

  Biting back a sigh because she’d heard the tremble in her sister’s voice, Sugar took a few seconds to close and lock the door. And take a deep breath before she hyperventilated.

  Focus. No need to freak out. Yet.

  Sugar took another deep breath and hoped like hell she’d wiped all trace of the need to scream off her face.

  “You’re right.” She turned to face her sister, who’d made her way to the couch and was in the process of lowering herself onto it. “Stupid question. Let me ask another one. Is there a father in the picture?”

  “There was until about two days ago.”

  Now tears formed in her sister’s eyes, and Sugar felt the weight of the world drop onto her shoulders. Because if there was one thing Sugar knew, when her sisters needed help, they didn’t go to their parents. They came to her.

  The five of them had learned that lesson early. Their parents had perfected the art of hands-off parenting. Their mom had claimed Sugar came out of the womb with an old soul. By the age of ten, Sugar had figured out that was an excuse for her parents to hand over the care of her younger sisters to her. Sugar loved her parents and never doubted their love for their children, but they were never going to be candidates for parents of the year.

  Sugar had been the one to get her sisters up for school and make breakfast before getting everyone on the bus and making sure they had lunch money or that Taffy had a bag lunch because of her food allergies.

  It’d been Sugar who bandaged her sisters’ skinned knees and combed the tangles out of their hair after they’d run wild all summer. It’d been Sugar who’d driven Honey to the emergency room when she’d fallen and broken her arm. And when she’d finally decided to leave home two years ago, it’d been Sugar who’d bawled herself to sleep the first few nights in the city, alone and hating it, but mostly hating that she hated it because it’d been all she’d dreamed about for years.

  Shit. Shit. Shit. “Who—”

  “I missed you. I was afraid to tell you because I know you’re disappointed but I was on the pill so I never thought…”

  Her sister’s voice held the threat of tears. Sugar closed her eyes and admitted defeat. Hell, there hadn’t even been a fight and Sugar had lost it anyway. With a sigh, Sugar sank onto the couch next to Cookie. Immediately, her sister laid her head on her shoulder and grabbed Sugar’s hand.

  “Please tell me you’re still on Mom and Dad’s health insurance.”

  Cookie hiccupped out a laugh and, for the life of her, Sugar couldn’t understand why.

  “God, I missed you, Shug. I’m sorry to show up like this. I just didn’t have anywhere else to go and I couldn’t go home. Mom and Dad barely raised us.”

  “But are you still on their health insurance?”

  “Yes.”

  Thank God. One problem solved. At least a thousand more to go. “Have you told them? How long have you known? Why didn’t you tell me? I mean, you’re what? Eight months pregnant?”

  Cookie touched her nose with her forefinger. “I’m due in September. And no. They don’t know. I haven’t been home in months. I just don’t think I could deal with them right now. Mom would freak out and Dad would have a heart attack before he decided he couldn’t handle it and disappeared into the barn for days.”

  Sugar swallowed a groan, knowing her sister was right but wishing she wasn’t. “Have you been to a doctor? Where have you been living? And why the hell am I just now finding out you’re pregnant?”

  Cookie’s face crinkled. “I didn’t know until about three months ago. My period’s always been wonky and, at first, I just thought I was gaining weight. I didn’t have morning sickness, just a few days that I felt kind of off. When I realized that fluttering in my stomach wasn’t gas, I was living with Jamie in Wilkes-Barre, and I just…didn’t want anyone to know. I thought…I don’t know, if I didn’t talk about it, it would just work itself out, right? Jamie was cool at first, talking about how we’d make it work. Then about a week ago, he said he was moving to Florida for a job, and he wouldn’t have room for me or a kid and I should go home. He said he’d send money.”

  Yeah, right. “Asshole.” She could never imagine RJ doing something so vile.

  “I guess.” Cookie’s shoulder moved against hers in a shrug. “I’m more pissed at myself that I didn’t see it coming. I thought he was the one. Until…well, this.”

  She rubbed her belly, drawing Sugar’s attention. Sweet jumping Jesus, as Anika would occasionally say. There was so much to consider right now that Sugar’s brain kept short-circuiting on everything else but the fact that her younger sister was going to have a baby in a few weeks.

  Her apartment only had one bedroom, but Sugar could sleep on the couch for now. Until they found someplace they could afford with two bedrooms. And they’d need a crib. And clothes. And fo
od.

  Sugar had some money put away that’d been earmarked for college, but she could dip into that.

  Guess I’m not quitting that job at Nero’s anytime soon.

  And there was no way she could even think about starting a new job now. She had to tell RJ she wasn’t interested in that job at the ice complex.

  If you tell him you need help, you know he’ll do whatever you need.

  Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have someone take over right about now? Someone to help her figure out what they needed to do. Someone like RJ.

  She also knew she couldn’t do it. This wasn’t his problem. And if she told him, he’d make it his problem.

  “So, what’s the plan, Cook?”

  Sugar was afraid she knew the plan, but she needed to ask anyway.

  Cookie’s expression crumbled. “I don’t know. I’m scared and I don’t know what to do. I know you will.”

  Yep, that’s exactly what Sugar had suspected. She was the one who had to come up with the plan.

  Story of my life.

  She squashed a sigh in mid-formation, but obviously not fast enough.

  “I’m sorry.” Cookie shook her head. “I need help, and you know Mom and Dad won’t be any. They’ll tell me to figure it out and I just don’t know what to do.”

  “Does anyone else know? Did you tell Candy?”

  Candy and Cookie had always been attached at the hip as kids. They were only ten months apart in age and had done almost everything together growing up.

  Candy didn’t meet her gaze as she shook her head. “When I first found out, Candy was taking exams and I didn’t want to mess that up for her.”

  Their sister had gotten a full ride to Penn State to study physics. Candy had always been book smart. No common sense at all, but then she’d had Sugar to handle all the stuff her brilliant brain just didn’t have room for.

  So Sugar understood. She did. She just… Shit. What the hell did they do next?

  “Are you keeping it?”

  “Him.”

  “You’re having a boy?”

  Cookie smiled genuinely for the first time, as if she’d finally remembered how.

  “Yeah. I think we have enough girls in our family. Can’t hurt to have a little more testosterone around.”

  “Do you want to keep him? There are options, you know.”

  Cookie’s response was immediate. “He’s mine and I want him. I just don’t know what the hell to do.”

  Sugar wrapped her arms around Cookie and hugged her tight, her brain already kicking into gear.

  “Then we’ll figure it out. Together. Just like we always do.”

  “Disney World. You’re going to Florida for a week. In August. How did you get talked into that?”

  “Because I’m a sucker, that’s why.” Dwayne Reid huffed out a breath as he deadlifted two-hundred pounds. “My kids know if they play the guilt card, they get to do whatever they want over the summer. Even if that means sweating my ass off in Florida for seven days while the kids have meltdowns and Angie threatens to ground them for the rest of their lives.”

  RJ shook his head, grinning even though his arms screamed from this third set of reps on the free weights. “Maybe you can get her to ground you and then you wouldn’t have to go.”

  “Nah. She’ll ground herself and send me alone with the three heathens.”

  “Your kids are great.”

  “Yeah, they are. Most of the time. That mean you wanna take ’em to Disney? Man, they would love that.”

  RJ laughed, as he was meant to do. Dwayne would never give up time with his kids in the summer. Not when the season started in less than two months and there would be weeks he wouldn’t see the kids at all except on a phone screen.

  “Listen, man, when we get back, you have to come for dinner. Bring a date. Or, hell, just bring some woman you meet on the street. Bring someone because if you come alone, Angie’s gonna be all over your ass to date her sister. And you do not want that crazy in your life.”

  RJ had to put the weights down before he dropped them. “Thanks for the heads-up. I think I may have the date covered.”

  Grabbing his towel from the nearby weight bench, he sat down and waited while Dwayne finished his reps. They’d been working out for the past hour late Sunday morning at the team training facility, and RJ still hadn’t gotten around to the discussion he wanted to have.

  Dwayne was the oldest member of the Colonials, and their friendship went back years. He wanted to talk to Dwayne about Rickie. He was still leaning toward no, but… Hell, he didn’t know what he was going to say. He hoped Dwayne could help him make up his mind.

  Dropping the weight bar on the floor, Dwayne grabbed his towel and water bottle and sat on the weight bench opposite RJ. They had the place pretty much to themselves, which was why they had a standing appointment Sunday mornings in the summer. Gave them time to connect. Talk.

  But RJ still hadn’t figured out how to broach the subject of Rickie.

  “So, what’s on your mind?” Dwayne asked. “You’re been chewing on something since we got here. And since Angie and her sister took the kids down the shore, I’ve got the afternoon free. Spit it out.”

  “Dad asked me to take in Rickie Prescott. For the week of rookie camp.”

  Dwayne looked unimpressed and not at all surprised as he shrugged.

  “Okay.”

  “Wait.” RJ frowned, shaking his head. “Did you know?”

  “Nah. But it makes sense. The kid’s got a huge hero crush on you. Any time I’ve seen him interviewed, he mentions you. I get that you might not want the responsibility of an eighteen-year-old. If that’s the problem, just say no.”

  “That’s not it. It’s just…I don’t know. My dad said think about it. So I’ve been thinking.”

  Well, kind of. He’d been thinking mostly about Sugar.

  He’d texted her this morning, asking about work. She’d replied:

  Hi. Busy. Another 12 hours today.

  He should’ve left well enough alone then, but he couldn’t. Not with Sugar. So he’d asked if everything was okay. Because that short burst of words didn’t sound like her.

  “You have something else that’s weighing on your mind?”

  Dwayne’s question came with a raised eyebrow.

  Was he really that transparent?

  “Maybe.”

  “And is this something else female perhaps? Because, you know, it’s not like you’re supposed to put your life on hold for a week just for a kid. He’s eighteen, not ten. You don’t have to supervise every minute of his day. Unless you’re having wild orgies that you haven’t invited me to, I think you’re gonna be okay. But if it’s gonna make you miserable—”

  “No, it’s not that. It’s… There might be a woman.”

  Now, he had Dwayne’s full attention, his brows perfect arches over his eyes.

  “Damn, man. I would’ve taken bets that a woman wouldn’t be in the picture. Glad to hear there is. Who is she?”

  RJ shook his head. “No one you know. And we’ve literally had two—uh…”

  Hmm. Couldn’t really call them dates when basically all they did was have sex.

  Dwayne’s laugh filled the room, ringing off the walls. “I think I know what you’re trying to say. Don’t hurt yourself trying to figure out what to call it. So who is she?”

  “Someone I’ve known for the past year. Our relationship took an unexpected turn recently.”

  “Unexpected, huh? That’s a new word for getting laid.”

  RJ grimaced. “It’s not just sex. I like her.”

  “Yeah, it’s usually better when you like the person you’re sleeping with.”

  “Are you just gonna keep chirping me or are you gonna shut up and listen?”

  Dwayne’s grin made RJ roll his eyes. “Hey, man, I’m listening. But you’re not saying a whole lot that makes sense.”

  Shit. “I know. That’s because I don’t know what the hell’s going on.”

&nbs
p; “Where’d you meet her?”

  “At the diner near my place. She’s a waitress.”

  “And?”

  “And what? We’ve gotten together two nights so far.”

  “So it’s just sex.”

  “It doesn’t feel like just sex. At least, not to me.”

  “You want more?”

  “I… Yeah. I guess. I do. I’m just not sure what she wants.”

  “Shit, it’s been two nights and you wanna pick out china patterns?”

  “When you say it like that, I guess I am jumping the gun.”

  “Only if you don’t know if you want to see her again. If you know there’s something there, then full speed ahead. You’re not a kid anymore, you know.”

  “She’s younger.”

  Dwayne’s brows rose and the look he gave RJ made him shake his head.

  “Not that young. She’s twenty-three.”

  “Still don’t see a problem.”

  “Maybe she’s not looking for anything serious. And I’ve got a lot of shit going on in my life.”

  “No, you don’t.” Dwayne’s expression was dead serious. “You left that shit behind in California. You were cleared of that shit. And maybe you just need to ask her what she wants. Now, what other excuses you got?”

  “You’re a pain in my ass.”

  Dwayne’s laughter filled the room. “Just keeping you honest. Look, I’m not saying you shouldn’t be pissed as hell about what happened in L.A. None of it was your fault. So why the hell are you still beating yourself up about it? You act like you don’t deserve to be happy and that’s fucked up.”

  Was that how he felt? That he didn’t deserve to be happy?

  “You think I should say no to having Rickie?”

  “Hell no. I think you go after the girl and take the kid. You need to get back to normal. This kind of shit’s totally normal for you. What’s her name?”

  “Sugar.”

  For the first time, Dwayne looked surprised. “Seriously? Her name’s Sugar?”

  “Yeah. And it fits her.”

  “Oh man, you look like you’re already gone over this girl. It’s nice to see. We’ve been worried about you.”

  “What? ‘We’ who?”