“Hey. I didn’t know we had interviews scheduled for today.”
“Oh, we don’t. Jay wanted to get some practice footage, and we filmed a quick intro to the car interview bit.”
Luke’s eyes darkened in a way that shot heat right through her core. So apparently she wasn’t the only one haunted by the sexy ghosts of lovemaking past.
He shook his head slightly, as if to clear it, and when his eyes met hers, he had the air of a man who’d come to a decision. His next words confirmed what that decision was.
“Look, I wanted to ask, do you think maybe I could buy you dinner tonight?”
Holly wouldn’t have been more shocked if a hockey-stick-wielding alien had burst through the logo on his broad chest.
“As per my contract, we can’t really be seen cavorting about town,” she reminded him.
He nodded. “I remember. I was going to suggest takeout at my place. I’ll pick you up around five thirty?”
Holly cocked an eyebrow at the time.
“Play-offs,” he reminded her with a grin and a shrug. “I’ve got curfew, so we’ll have to get an early start.”
Holly couldn’t help but laugh. “Didn’t I go on this date in the seventh grade?”
“Yeah, well. You pick a career that twelve-year-old boys dream of, turns out that sometimes you get treated like a twelve-year-old boy.”
“So there is justice in the world after all,” she joked. “It’s not all big paychecks, fast cars and constant adoration.”
“It’s definitely not all that,” Luke agreed, and she caught a somber note in his deep voice. Before she had a chance to examine it, he barged through the moment. “So I’ll see you tonight?”
“Sure.”
His smile was endearingly self-conscious. Not the smile she’d expected from a professional athlete blessed with a big salary and the good looks to back up some swagger. “I gotta get to practice. Five thirty. Don’t forget.”
Holly watched him skate off to rejoin his team, her phone clutched to her heart and a single thought running through her head.
Oh, shit.
8
“HE ASKED ME OUT.”
“Who?”
“Luke Maguire.”
The answer brought two very different reactions from her lunch companions. Jay stopped in the middle of eating his nachos, his mouth agape. Paige continued the act of buttering her roll and barely glanced up as she repeated, “Who?”
Holly took a bracing chug of Heineken. “The shirtless hockey player from the Sports Illustrated magazine your eyes were glued to a couple of days ago.”
“The superhot dreamy one with the bedroom eyes and the washboard abs?”
“He’s not that hot,” Jay countered gruffly.
“Please. That man is a god.”
Jay took a huffy bite of nacho.
“Wait a minute! Is Abs Maguire your sex crush?”
Jay cringed. “Do I really need to be here for this?”
“Hush, Jay. This is important lady business. So what did you say?”
“I’m not an idiot, Paige.”
“Great. So if you said yes, then I don’t understand the problem.”
That was the more complicated part. “The problem is that a high concentration of shame is eating through my stomach lining as we speak.” Holly took the final swig of Dutch beer. “I’m contractually obligated to lie to him...about my hockey knowledge,” she hedged. She hadn’t told either of her best friends about her suspicions of illegal betting, and the realization that she was lying to everyone she cared about made her feel worse. “I have a guilt ulcer.”
“What’s to feel guilty about? You’re a beautiful, single woman, and he’s a rich, single man who looks like he knows how to wield his hockey stick. Let’s not kid ourselves, Hol. You need to get laid. Jay and I, mortal enemies that we are, have actually discussed hiring a male escort just to put you out of your misery.”
Jay winced. “No, we haven’t.”
Paige’s raised eyebrow confirmed that they had.
“I swear, you guys. How is it even possible to be so close to your dream job and yet light-years away?”
She reached over and took an unladylike gulp of Paige’s red wine, then did her best not to spew it across the table. “Oh, gawd! How do you drink this stuff?” she demanded, gratefully tearing the bottle of Pilsner Jay held in her direction from his hand and drowning out the obnoxious taste of merlot with luscious, cold beer.
Shrugging, Paige took a perfect, dainty sip of her wine. “Well, I’m proud of you for putting your lady bits first for once.”
“Oh, man! I’m trying to eat here,” Jay complained.
“And vaginas disgust you?” Paige asked. “You can’t possibly ingest food around women who are discussing them, even though men talk about their penises constantly?”
“What? How did my junk get brought into this conversation? Nobody said anything about dicks.”
Holly groaned. “Would you two just sleep together already and get rid of the sexual tension? It’s exhausting.”
“Ewww!” Their disgust was expressed loudly and simultaneously. “That would be like kissing my—” The words “sister” and “dog” overlapped.
Their affronted expressions were almost identical, not that Holly would offend either of them by saying so.
“Seriously, Jay? Your sister? She has a mustache.”
“Kissing me is like kissing a dog?”
“Except for the fact that I could muster some enthusiasm for kissing an adorable dog, yes, I imagine so.”
Jay cocked an eyebrow. “So you have imagined kissing me, then?”
“You. Wish.” Paige held up a hand. “I’m going to pretend you’re not here.” To Holly, she said, “I’m still not seeing the problem.”
“Paige, game analysis isn’t just criticism. There are a lot of moving pieces to a game. Line matchups, hot streaks, underperforming players, team morale. And when you get millions of dollars to play a game, you have to understand that there will be some scrutiny. But I’m a professional, and that means I can’t let my personal feelings interfere with my ability to do my job.”
Something that she would do well to remember, Holly decided.
Paige nodded, but Holly didn’t like the sly smile on her face. “Tell me more about these personal feelings you’re having.”
“And now I’m going to pretend you’re not here.”
“You’d better be thanking your lucky stars that I’m here. Otherwise you’d probably end up wearing some ripped jeans, a ratty T-shirt and a ball cap on your date tonight.”
Holly looked down at her stupid skirt suit. “Well, I’m definitely not wearing this.”
Paige smiled. “I’m sure we can find a happy medium. Hurry up and finish your nachos, Jay. We’ve got work to do.”
* * *
THERE WERE BUTTERFLIES in her stomach as she crawled into Luke’s truck. He’d rolled up to her curb at five thirty sharp, just as he said he would.
“Wow. You look great.”
The compliment meant a lot, because it was the first time she’d hung out with Luke feeling even remotely like the real her. Paige had sanctioned Holly’s pick of a pair of dark-wash skinny jeans and a white T-shirt. But in exchange, Holly had relented and worn the strappy nude heels and the jade statement necklace Paige had insisted upon.
“Thanks. It feels like I haven’t worn pants in ages.”
“Well, to celebrate the Portland Storm making it through the first round of play-offs and your long-awaited return to wearing pants, we can have any kind of takeout you want.”
“Wow. Living the high life.”
Luke nodded as he pulled away from the curb. “Tonight, the world is ours.”
Two
hours later, Luke, Holly, two mostly decimated pizzas and two bottles of beer were spread out across the living room floor of Luke’s swanky—but not quite as swanky as she’d been expecting—apartment. They’d just finished watching a chase movie that was heavy on explosions and fast cars and light on plot. Holly was pretty sure she’d never been on a better date. Until he said—
“I have a confession to make.”
Holly’s stomach bottomed out and she choked on her beer.
Luke’s brow creased with concern. “You okay?”
She nodded, coughing as she set her bottle back on the coffee table. “Yeah. Just went down the wrong way. Sorry. You were saying?”
The nervous look on his face made her gut twist into knots. Her palms prickled with moisture.
No. Please don’t let it be Luke who’s throwing games.
“I had a bit of an ulterior motive for inviting you for dinner.”
The beat of silence scraped across her nerves. She hadn’t realized how much she was hoping Luke was innocent of point-shaving. And now, here they were, after an amazing couple of hours together, and it was all about to fall apart.
“Tomorrow I’m heading home to Millerville for the sledge hockey finals,” he said, reaching for his own beer. “These kids have worked so hard. And if they win this weekend, they’re going to the state finals. I told them I might not be able to make it, but now that we’ve wrapped up the series and I have a week off, I asked for two days’ leave,” he explained.
He picked absently at the label on the bottle in his hands and took a deep breath. “And I was wondering if you’d come with me.”
Holly couldn’t quite process the words. There was a buzzing in her ears as she reexamined the last few minutes. “You plied me with pizza and beer because you want me to go to your hometown with you?”
Luke nodded before draining the last of his drink and leaning forward. “I was kind of hoping you’d do a little story on the team. You know, interview them, give them a taste of what it’s like to deal with the media. They’d love that.”
Holly couldn’t hold back a smile at how animated Luke was at the mention of the kids who were part of his pet charity. She’d done a lot of research about it for her Hockey Hottie of the Month shtick.
Kids on Wheels was a top-notch organization that did an amazing job assisting kids with physical disabilities. She admired the genuine joy on Luke’s face when he talked about it. It made her want to say yes, except...
“I don’t have anywhere to stay. And Jay’s filming a wedding this weekend.”
“My parents have plenty of room. And we can just film the interviews on my phone. It doesn’t have to be fancy. I just wanted to give the team some professional hockey league experience, you know?”
Holly shook her head to clear it. Did he just say what I thought he just said?
“You want me to stay at your parents’?”
“Yeah, well, my mother would kill me if I rented a hotel room, so consider Casa Maguire like a bed-and-breakfast, but with more parental interference.”
“You had me at breakfast.” The words were out of her mouth before she’d realized she said anything. Because she liked Luke. She wanted to go with him. And it scared her that, for the first time in her life, she was willing to put her job—even one as banal as asking hockey players what kind of underwear they wore—on the line for someone else.
Thankfully, Luke’s dazzling smile was enough to shore up her resolve against the doubt that was trying to trickle in.
“That’s great. I was really nervous about bringing this up, but the kids are going to be so excited to meet you.”
“Me?”
“Yeah, they’ve all watched your show. They give me a hard time about my answers to your interview questions. The second your videos get posted to the Storm’s site, the text messages start pouring in.”
“Ah. So this isn’t a nice perk, this is revenge,” she joked, before downing the last sip of her own beer.
“You caught me. Gotta keep those little punks in line or they’ll be out of control before you know it.”
“Ooh. You’re such an authority figure. That’s actually kind of hot.”
“What can I say? It’s dangerous when things get out of control,” he said, and the proof was in the way his eyes darkened.
“It can be,” Holly agreed. She shivered as he moved closer. His leg came into light contact with hers. Her body flooded with warmth and sweetness, like she had syrup coursing through her veins. He increased the pressure of his knee against her thigh.
“You done with dinner?” he asked, and his voice was low and rough.
She licked her lips involuntarily. “I could be talked into starting the dessert course.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.”
* * *
THE JOURNEY TO his bedroom was a hazy, erotic blur of kissing and touching and haphazard stripping. Now he was standing shirtless beside the bed, marveling at how damn sexy Holly looked in her pale-pink lace lingerie. He watched with slack-jawed appreciation as she crawled onto the mattress, giving him a perfect view of her incredible ass.
God, he’d never seen her in anything but sensible white cotton, and the idea that she’d picked the sexy lace out just for him was blowing his mind and his restraint. And that was before she rose up onto her knees, her back still toward him and sent him a coy glance over her shoulder. She reached behind her back and unclasped her bra, tugging it off in the most delectable little peep show he’d ever seen.
Shucking his jeans and boxer briefs in one move, Luke joined her on the mattress, pulling her against his chest. He nuzzled at her neck, kissing the curve of her soft shoulder. She turned her head to grant him easier access, raising her arms to run her fingers through his hair. The movement made her breasts lift, and Luke couldn’t resist the pretty sight. She sighed her pleasure as he ran his hands up the smooth skin of her torso and cupped her breasts.
He pressed his erection against the small of her spine and she pressed back, as if she was testing how ready to go he was. She wouldn’t be disappointed.
“I want you,” she said.
Luke wanted her, too. He loved her abandon, the way she went after what she wanted, be it the answer to her question, or his body.
Her breath came in soft little pants, and he reveled in how responsive she was to every brush of his fingers, every kiss of his lips. He ran his palm down the front of her stomach, his fingers flirting with the elastic of her panties. She leaned back against his chest, encouraging him to explore. He accepted her invitation, sliding his fingers down to find her wet and ready for him.
“Jesus, Holly. I want you, too. So damn bad.”
Her throaty, sensual laugh made his hips jerk. “So do something about it,” she challenged, reaching forward so that she was on her hands and knees in front of him. She wiggled her ass, looking back at him over her shoulder.
Luke let himself take what he wanted. With a growl, he yanked her underwear down her thighs and, anchoring his hands on her hips, plunged into her.
* * *
OH, GOD. She’d never felt anything like this.
Holly had to remind herself to breathe, the pleasure was so intense. What was it about this man that could take her so high, so fast? She’d released the beast, and there was something so empowering about making a man known for his steely control lose all sense of restraint. He was stroking her G-spot with every thrust of his hips, and the sensation that was building inside her was all-consuming.
She dropped down to her elbows, almost screaming with pleasure as the angle changed. Heat streaked through every nerve in her body, culminating in a tingling starburst of bliss that moved through her body like a wave. Luke was only a few strokes behind, and she could feel him pulsing inside her as he joined her in the most intense orgasm she�
��d ever experienced.
Sweaty and satisfied, she flopped onto her side. Luke lay down beside her, gathering her close so that her cheek rested against his shoulder. She reached out to trace her finger around his nipple, loving the way his pec jumped at her touch. “So much for your curfew.”
“What are you talking about? I was in bed by nine.”
She laughed. “You always play this fast and loose with the rules?”
“Rules were made to be broken.”
She snuggled up closer to his big naked body. “After that deft display, I can’t help but agree.”
He ran his hand up and down her arm, and the soft, rhythmic stroking made here eyelids flutter closed.
“I’m glad you’re coming with me tomorrow.”
“Mmm. Me too.”
“Are you falling asleep?”
She smiled as he shifted, pulling the blanket from the end of the bed up to cover them. “Maybe.”
He pressed a sweet kiss to her forehead. “’Night, Holly.”
She wasn’t sure if she answered or not as she drifted into the best sleep she’d had in ages.
9
SINCE SHE’D STAYED the night, they’d ended up getting a much earlier start than they’d anticipated—despite the fact that their tandem shower had turned into an hour and a half of fun distraction that had necessitated another shower.
Luke grabbed the bag he’d packed, and they swung past her place so she could throw some weekend supplies into a small suitcase. One more quick stop at her brother’s house—Holly needed to pick something up, and Luke was nice enough to indulge her in the last-minute errand—and they were on their way out of town.
In a scant hour and twenty minutes, they pulled up in front of a house that was small but cozy. The kind of house that any kid would be lucky to grow up in. It boasted big trees that were perfect for climbing, lots of driveway space, which, considering two hockey stars had grown up here, had probably hosted its fair share of ball hockey grudge matches and an attention to detail—potted flowers, freshly painted trim—that said the owners cared.
Playing to Win Page 9