Love's Freedom

by Misty Wright

  LOVE'S FREEDOM

  By

  MISTY WRIGHT

  First published in United States of America

  Copyright © 2012 MISTY WRIGHT

  This Kindle book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright laws and Treaties. Any authorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited.

  This book is a work of fiction. Any similarities to real people, places, or events are not intentional and are the result of coincidence. The characters, places, and events in this story are fictional.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the author/publisher.

  This book has been produced for the Amazon Kindle and is distributed by Amazon Direct Publishing

  DEDICATION

  I am grateful for ~

  The Inspiration for this book; Jonny, Colins, Tony, Dennis whom inspired me to write, and not forgeting my beloved husband, Edward for his patience and graciousness, my 3 beautiful kids, Elysia, Elgin and Elnus for sharing their own little stories during their bedtime.

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  JENNIFER'S INFATUATION - PART 1

  Prologue

  CHAPTER 1 - Most Trusted Friend.

  CHAPTER 2 - Noisy Dinner.

  CHAPTER 3 - Introduced to Her Family.

  Epilogue

  PARTNER'S DEAL - PART 2

  Prologue

  CHAPTER 4 - Team Captain.

  CHAPTER 5 - Mark Lands Back in Their City.

  CHAPTER 6 - One Dark, One Blond.

  CHAPTER 7 - Just so Beautiful.

  Epilogue

  About The Author

  Buy My Other Products

  Buy Other Products From This Publisher

  My Recommendations

  Contact

  Prologue

  The woman came out of the bathroom and got dressed. She set a piece of paper with her number on his bedside table as he lay on the bed. Then she gave him a light brush of her lips and a whispered, "thank you" before leaving.

  He reached over, picked the scrap of paper up and looked at it briefly before he walked to the bathroom. He crumpled it up in his hand and threw it in the wastebasket without another thought. Although he had a few women on his phone who he could call if need be, he just wanted someone a little different tonight. It still didn't do any good. He still felt like something was missing.

  While he did enjoy her company so he wasn't alone, he wasn't that into her. She was one of the many women who waited for the athletes when they left the arena after practice, along with many other fans. It was her posturing and sultry hints when he signed her blouse over her left breast that made him get her number and call her later for sex. He did take her out to dinner first, though, and he bought her some expensive wine which he didn't drink.

  He didn't talk much, but she didn't leave much room for it. He didn't mind, though, because he didn't feel like talking tonight. She talked about herself, and while he acted interested, he zoned out after the first fifteen minutes, in which he found out that she worked in one of the local art galleries. She was sophisticated, but into hockey players. He didn't mind. He used his status as a hockey player like he always did. Besides, she had a great body. It was too bad her breasts were augmented. He had begun to dislike fake breasts more and more, and it seemed like most of the women he slept with had them now. Why couldn't they just be happy with what they had? He already knew the answer to that. It was men like him-athletes-who wanted the perfectly-shaped women, and if a woman wanted a man like him, they did whatever was necessary to get him. Only, he wasn't like that.

  He grew up in a small town in Montana around women who were genuine and hard working. None of the girls he used to go out with would even fathom doing such drastic things to their body. When he got drafted to the NHL, things changed. At first, he loved the attention of beautiful women, but it had been eight years of that lifestyle and he was weary of it. They sweated with him for over an hour in bed until he was satiated. Not as much as he was hoping for, but it would do. She'd let him do anything he wanted, and even told him so, but he didn't explore it all. He was tired. Not just physically, but mentally. He gave her enough to make her happy, though.

  He showered and went back to bed, only covering himself with a thin sheet. He folded his hands behind his head and stared up at the ceiling in thought. Street lights from below his condominium illuminated it slightly.

  For someone who had a lot of friends and was surrounded by beautiful women, he sure felt lonely. It worried him at times, because he wasn't sure if he was even capable of the affection his teammates showed their wives and girlfriends. He sighed heavily, deciding not to let it bother him. Tomorrow was another day.

  CHAPTER 1 - Most Trusted Friend.

  The next day after practice, Janine Rush, his best friend and teammate, sat down beside him in the dressing room while the rest of the players were getting changed and engaging in banter and talk.

  His and Janine's lockers had always been beside one another, even when they were kids. Now that they were in the National League, they kept their spots together. Their friendship was the same. They were tight. Janine had four younger brothers, but he always considered Mark his closest and most trusted friend. Things he wouldn't dare divulge to his brothers, he easily told Mark.

  As for today, this wasn't an official practice, but their General Manager insisted that Mark and Janine be there to help with the new rookies. Janine's younger brother started last year and was also told to come because he needed the practice. A few other players who were struggled also came just to get a jump on the season.

  "Hey man. Something wrong?" Janine finally said after watching him for a moment. Mark had been sitting silently with his forearms resting on his thighs and his hands folded together while staring at the far wall. He didn't even seem to notice that Janine had sat next to him. Mark sat up and shook his head after giving him a quick glance. His expression was blank.

  "You seem distant the last few weeks," Janine added. He had never brought it up before because they usually had no problem talking about things that were troubling them, but Mark hadn't let on what that something was. He was starting to worry about him.

  "I've just been thinking about things, is all," Mark finally said as he reached down and started unlacing his skates. Janine watched him keenly with pale blue eyes that he inherited from his father and that his son had inherited from him. His reluctance to talk just confirmed his concern.

  He and Mark had just spent the summer together back in Montana with their families where they grew up, and Mark was not his normal self then, either. Usually, he had a tremendous sense of humor and was incredibly outgoing, but now there was a slight change in him. He'd caught him staring into nothingness more than once like he did moments ago.

  "You want to come to the house for dinner tonight?" He knew Mark probably better than his own family did. Something was bugging him and because they were so close, he could read him. They were always there for one another. Nevertheless, Janine felt he'd been neglecting him lately and felt guilty. They always traveled to and from practice together, but he'd been busy with his younger brother and hadn't spent as much time with Mark as he used to.

  His brother, Cole, the second oldest out of five boys in the family, was starting his second year as one of the defensemen. He was a rookie and still needed a lot of guidance and extra practice. On top of that, Janine's two-year-old son and wife came first in his life. Mark never complained, but that didn't mean he couldn't feel terrible for not being there. He loved him like one of his brothers and he'd certainly be there for them if t
hey needed it.

  "I would." Mark smiled as he accepted Janine's invitation. Although part of Janine's family lived with him, Mark's lived far away, so he spent a lot of time at the Rushes. He even had a bedroom there that they had set aside for him when the nights got late and he didn't want to drive home to his lonely condo.

  *

  Janine stood up and patted his shoulder. "Well, you know where I am if you want to talk," he said before he left for the shower.

  "Yeah, thanks," he said as he watched Janine walk away. Mark and Janine had been friends for more than twenty years and shared everything. Mark would definitely tell him if he thought it merited it, but he knew talking to Janine about it wouldn't solve his problems. Janine already had a lot on his shoulders, anyway. He knew Janine was feeling guilty because of his preoccupation with his younger brother, but that wasn't bothering Mark at all. He'd make sure he'd straighten him out tonight in regards to that. As it was, he was glad he had him as a friend. Besides, spending time with Janine's family eliminated his loneliness. Too bad it was only a temporary fix.

  The next day, Janine drove Mark to practice. He had called him that morning and told him he'd pick him up. It was something they used to do often, but Janine had been exceptionally busy for the past few weeks with his responsibilities toward the team and his family. There was a time when Mark only drove because they lived in the same building and Janine didn't have a car then. Not that he couldn't afford it, he just didn't see the use for one when he owned a motorcycle. Now he lived in one of the posh estates just outside the city with his wife and baby, and he drove back and forth.

  It wasn't an early morning practice, so they were able to stop and grab breakfast together, but it was the first official one of the season and loads of reporters would be there. Cole took his motorcycle. It was September, but the weather was still nice.

  Janine was driving his Mercedes SUV. He'd bought it before the birth of his son, Shane. Usually, it would be Mark driving and Janine taking his own motorcycle, but today they decided to carpool.

  As usual, their conversation was friendly and mostly about hockey, the players, and their families. Although they'd been inseparable most of their lives, no one could mistake them for brothers. Besides the contrasting looks, Mark was known more for his sense of humor than Janine was. Although Janine did have one, he also had a lot of responsibility and acted more seriously. It was the topic of many media discussions because despite his sense of humor and Janine's seriousness, Mark was the fighter, and Janine wasn't. It took a lot for Janine to confront a player besides the normal hockey scrums. Normally, Janine would just turn away and go about playing the game. Mark, on the other hand, hit hard and finished checks against the boards. If it came to sore feelings, then blows, he never backed down and usually won.

  Janine took a detour to avoid ongoing construction and Mark perked up while peering out the windshield.

  "Hey Janine, do me a favor and pull the car over up here. There's something there I've been meaning to get," Mark said, spotting something that he'd been drooling over for the past two weeks when they had taken the same detour.

  *

  "Where?"

  "In front of that flower shop." He pointed to a quaint little storefront littered with various species of beautiful flowers.

  Janine's blond brows lifted. "You want me to stop in front of a flower shop?" he said in disbelief. "What the hell do you want there?"

  Mark gave him an annoyed look. "Just humor me."

  He chuckled. "Fair enough." He pulled the car over to an empty parking space a few spots down from the front of the store.

  "I'll be back in a minute," Mark said before he got out.

  Translation: stay put, thought Janine. He smirked. "Sure thing. Just remember, you only have a minute. We don't want to be late."

  At first, he thought maybe he was going into the cigar shop next door. Mark didn't smoke but they picked up the occasional gift for business purposes. But he didn't go to the cigar store. It was the flower shop he was interested in. He watched as Mark walked over to someone bent over stocking vases on the shelves outside the store. Mark shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans and bent slightly to speak to them. Then Janine grinned slowly. Now he knew what Mark was "getting."

  Mark wasn't known for buying women flowers or anything like that, for that matter, so at first this stop really puzzled him. When the beautiful young woman stood and turned to face Mark, though, everything made sense.

  Mark had his share of female admirers and rarely turned down a good thing, but this was the first time that he had gone so far as seeking out someone of the opposite sex. After seeing her, it was obvious why.

  Janine cut the engine and lowered the passenger window of the Mercedes to try to hear what was being said. It didn't work. The traffic on the street was too loud. He glanced at his watch. Well, they still had some time before practice and it wasn't often Mark acted odd like this for a woman, so he would allow him a few minutes.

  He peered through the windshield. The woman was very pretty. She had long dark hair that hung loosely around her shoulders and was parted on the right side, and she was slender. She had a heart-shaped face, and petite manicured eyebrows above nice, large almond-shaped eyes framed with thick lashes. He couldn't quite make out her eye color from where he was, but they looked lighter than Mark's so they weren't brown. She smiled and nodded at Mark when he spoke to her and Janine felt himself grin. She had a beautiful smile, too and a nice mouth. A nice bow-shaped mouth, not as nice as his wife's, but he was prejudiced. As far as he was concerned, his wife was the most beautiful woman on the planet.

  His phone rang, and he smiled as he picked it up. Speak of the devil, he thought. It was Jennifer, his wife.

  *

  "Hey, you're not going to believe this," he said while glancing at the couple a short distance away.

  Meanwhile Mark had just finished introducing himself. Unfortunately, she didn't give him her name. He'd been driving past this shop for more than two weeks since he'd first gotten a glimpse of her, and he couldn't take it anymore. Every time they drove by, there was this unbelievably beautiful woman stocking the vases and setting up displays out front. She was positively gorgeous. Like any red-blooded single man in his prime, he loved beautiful women, but he needed to stop and talk to her because as far as he knew, she had the brains of a shoe. Despite his hockey jock image, he actually liked women who were intelligent; otherwise, he got bored quickly. Hence the numerous one night stands.

  It was only by luck that he noticed her in the first place, because if there hadn't been ongoing construction in their normal route, he would have never seen her. Mark decided that today he was going to take some time and speak to her. At least, he was trying to. She still hadn't answered him. Well, at least that gave him more time to soak up her pretty face.

  Evangeline brushed her hair aside because it was blocking her view and stared up at the man. He was tall, really tall. He could definitely give her two older brothers a run for their money. But it was his looks that made her bite her bottom lip to keep her jaw from dropping.

  He had deep-set, dark brown eyes that could turn a woman's insides into hot melted butter, especially when they were focused directly on hers with unwavering confidence. His face was deeply tanned, as if he'd spent a lot of time in the sun recently. There was a day's worth of neatly trimmed stubble on his jaw. It was well done so it was obvious that he put a lot into how he looked, although he really didn't need to.

  His nose looked like it'd been broken once or twice, but it wasn't really noticeable. If anything, it added to his masculinity. It showed character and somehow made him seem more real. John, her oldest brother, had his broken a few times and it was more noticeable, but he was still a nice-looking man who had no problem with the opposite sex.

  At first, she was a little startled at his forwardness, but she quickly masked her expression and smiled a greeting to him like she would any customer. Then, to her surprise, he told
her his name and asked her out. Her smile faltered slightly.

  First of all, she didn't know him-at all. Furthermore, her family would definitely protest her going out with a stranger. Not only that, she could see her sister through the window of the shop looking at them with piqued curiosity. Of course, she was pretending to move arrangements around in the display window, but she was practically breathing on the glass. This wasn't something she needed. Her sister was the type of person that would tease her endlessly over this attention. Finally, who actually did that-walked up to someone they didn't know and asked them out on a date? For all he knew, she could be married, or involved, but he didn't even seem to consider it. Or worse, he could be some crazy stalker no matter how nice looking he was. Crazy didn't come with a manual or a preset image, so how was she to know he wasn't? This was a big city. It was full of nut jobs. Then why didn't she just tell him to get lost? Well, she already knew the answer to that.

  "And your name?" Mark asked when he didn't get a response.

  *

  "Pardon me?" she said when she finally realized that he had spoken again. If those deep brown eyes of his weren't so sinfully hypnotic, she would have heard him the first time. Then he smiled and she felt it viscerally. Her eyes went to his mouth. He had a great smile. His mouth was wide, sensual, and masculine, and he had nice, even white teeth and if she didn't know better, something told her he was worth a lot of money. Of course, the designer clothes and expensive leather jacket were a giveaway, but still, it was more than just the clothing. He carried himself as if he was important, which set off warning bells in her head. Actually, they rang a few times, but for the same reasons she still didn't tell him to get lost.