They said their goodbyes and Lauren hung up, still not certain if the paradise she swam toward was real or a mirage. Regardless, she’d committed to it, and she’d keep swimming in that direction, in the hopes if she needed one, Ethan would send a lifeboat to rescue her.
Choosing Ethan wouldn’t bode well for her family relationships in the future, but surely they’d get over it. Her brothers and father had made choices in their lives that put family second to their careers. Just because she was a woman didn’t mean that she should always put family first, even if they did see it that way.
Ethan was her future, even if she wasn’t certain to what extent, but who the hell was Ethan?
Crossing to her laptop sitting on the small desk in the living room, Lauren sat down and flipped it open. It hummed to life. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard as she ran through the terms she needed to Google: UDub, Ethan Williams, Ethan Parker, PSHA.
Her heart lodged in her throat while her stomach churned.
She shut down the laptop without typing one character.
Whoever Ethan really was—savior or sinner—she didn’t want to know. Not yet.
* * * *
Ethan glanced around Lauren’s apartment complex. No one was out and about. The sun was setting and the place was damn quiet. He raised his hand and rapped on the door.
Holding his breath, he waited.
He’d tried to stay away but couldn’t. Lauren drew him to her like a magnet to iron, and he needed her like he’d never needed another woman. His usual caution towards women warned him against falling too hard for this one. He’d been taken for a fool before, assuming Danielle had been trustworthy and cared about him for who he was. What made him think his judgment regarding any woman’s true intentions had improved over the past few years? Hell, it wasn’t but a few years ago, Danielle did her damnedest to ruin his reputation and take some of his hard-earned money with her. He’d paid her off just to shut her up, which really irritated him since he hadn’t done any of the things she’d accused him of doing, but he had slept with her when she’d been in his employ, and that’d been enough. Now he was making that same mistake twice, only with Lauren it didn’t feel like a mistake.
So here he stood, a bouquet of flowers in one hand and a tentative smile on his face, hoping against hope she wouldn’t boot his ass to the parking lot.
Lauren opened the door, as if she expected him, her smile as tentative as his. Her eyes zeroed in on the flowers and her hands flew upward to cover her mouth. He wasn’t sure if her reaction was a good thing or a bad thing.
“May I come in?” He asked with stiff politeness.
“Yes, you may,” she parroted back, but a smile tugged at one corner of her mouth, and her eyes sparkled, giving him a shot of confidence. She was happy to see him on her doorstep, and he sure as hell was happy to see her, every part of him, especially one significant part.
Ethan entered the small, but tidy little apartment and glanced around. She wasn’t much for decorating. A few nondescript scenery prints hung on the walls here and there. Her furniture consisted of a worn couch and an equally worn overstuffed leather chair, along with bistro table in the dining area. Obviously, the woman didn’t spend much time here.
A very fat, fluffy gray cat lolled on the chair and opened one green eye to watch him, as if to say, don’t you dare take my chair, buddy.
Ethan turned his attention back to Lauren who stood quietly beside him. “I didn’t know you had a cat?”
“I don’t. Not exactly. He’s my neighbors, but he likes me better.”
“Smart cat.” He held the bouquet out to her. “These are for you.”
She took them from him and inhaled deeply. “They smell wonderful, but you didn’t have to do that.”
“I wanted to.” He leaned against the counter as she put the flowers in water and sat them on the table. He watched as her compact, athletic body—one he’d seen naked two nights ago—moved with an easy grace across the room.
Ethan caught her around the waist and pulled her to him, kissing her with a hunger only she could satisfy. She buried her fingers in his hair and kissed him right back with such intensity he swore their mouths would be bruised—like he gave a shit.
Finally, panting, he drew back slightly and gazed into her eyes. That simple act of looking through that window into a person’s soul struck him deep down inside. In a profound moment of clarity, he knew, as sure as he knew his own name, that Lauren was special to him and to his future, and he’d protect what they had with a fierceness he’d only reserved for family in the past.
She was an essential part of his plan, personal and professional, and he’d be damned if he’d let her go, even if rocky times were ahead. Somehow he’d find the way to show her that despite his deception, he meant well and deserved to be forgiven.
Tonight would be a start, a prelude to the storm about to crash down on them as soon as the Giants played their final game, which could be as early as tomorrow and as late as a month or so. The Sleezers were champing at the bit to cash Ethan’s big check, and they wouldn’t wait a millisecond longer than necessary.
Lauren brought a finger up to his lips. “What are you thinking? You seem so serious.”
“I’m always serious. That’s why I’ve been Brad’s straight man all these years going back to high school.”
“There’s nothing wrong with serious, but you should laugh more.”
He tucked a lock of brown hair behind her ear. “I’ve laughed more this past month with you than I have in years. I guess I take life too seriously.”
“Ditto.” She smiled up at him, and he grinned like a fool.
“We both need to live a little less seriously. We could start tonight. In bed. You and me. An encore presentation.”
“I love encores.”
“I love you naked.”
“You’re not so hard on the eyes yourself.” She slid her hands up under his T-shirt and along his ribcage. “I think you’re wearing entirely too many clothes for a hot night like this.”
“I think you’re right.” He lifted his arms over his head and let her pull off his T-shirt. She tossed it aside as she walked him backward to the couch and stopped when the back of his knees bumped the seat. Lauren put her hands on his belt, and he sucked in a deep breath, holding it while she unbuckled his belt and slid his jeans past his hips and down his thighs. Ethan kicked off his shoes and stepped out of his jeans.
She leisurely perused his body, and he stood completely still. Her gaze felt so hot it was almost as if she were touching him. Then she did touch him, and his knees buckled. He sat down hard on the couch, while she knelt in front of him. Placing her hands on his inner thighs, she gently spread them to make room between his legs. Lauren ran her hands up his thighs and cupped his balls through his underwear, gently squeezing them. Ethan groaned, like the happy groan of a man on his way to heaven.
Her silky hair slid across his belly as she ran a tongue across his flat stomach and dipped it in his navel. He lifted his hips off the couch when she tugged on his waistband and pulled down his briefs to free his erection.
Lauren gawked unabashedly at his dick and licked her lips. Ethan rolled his head back against the couch and shut his eyes, gritting his teeth, while forcing himself to show patience he didn’t have. She bent her head and licked the tip. His hips jerked, and he gripped the seat cushions in a futile attempt to keep himself on earth when any moment he might be launched into space by her touch.
She ran her fingertip up the prominent vein in his cock, over the tip, and back down to his balls. Lowering her head, she put her mouth on him and bobbed her head up and down, taking him deep into her wet mouth and driving him fucking nuts.
When he couldn’t take anymore and was about to come in her mouth, he lifted her upward, despite her protests.
“I need to be inside you, honey.”
Through heavily lidded eyes she regarded him and nodded, stripping off her clothes in record time.
&nb
sp; “Condom?”
“In my jeans pocket.”
She fished it out and tore open the packet, sliding it over his dick in a few efficient tugs. She sat back on her haunches, as if admiring her handiwork. Ethan placed his hands on her waist and lifted her onto his lap, guiding her down on his dick until he was fully seated inside her.
God, she felt like every fantasy he’d ever had about how a woman should feel and far better than any real woman he’d been inside. Lauren was uniquely his in the way they fit together.
She leaned forward, her hands perched on his shoulders, and kissed the fucking hell out of him. She started riding him, slowly at first, but picking up speed and intensity with each stroke. She drove him out of his mind until he couldn’t think of anything but her and didn’t know his own name, but he sure as hell knew hers. She grabbed his hands and leaned way back, changing the angle and driving him even deeper inside her.
The climax thundered through his body, starting in his core and extending out to his arms and legs until every part of his body was involved along with his brain and his soul. Lauren closed her eyes and her muscles clenched tight around his dick as she followed him to completion.
Sometime later—he didn’t know how long because time didn’t exist where she’d sent him—he began to be aware of their bodies entwined on the couch while the cat sat on the back of the couch and flicked its tail in his face.
Finally Lauren rolled off him and blinked a few times as if to orient herself. Ethan stood, picked her up, and carried her to the bedroom, knowing that it’d be another sleepless night for the two of them, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.
* * * *
Ethan was uncharacteristically late the next morning, and so was Lauren. Hell, he even missed his skate with Cooper, which he did regret. Brad was waiting for him when he walked into the office at the Giants’ facility. His buddy scowled at him in a very atypical Brad way. In fact, his expression reminded Ethan of the same one Ethan’s father wore after Ethan had snuck out at night as a teenager and gotten wasted drunk.
“What’s stuck up your ass?” Ethan said, taking a seat at his desk and waking up his laptop.
“Fuck, E, you’re smarter than this. Didn’t you learn your lesson a few years ago?” Brad didn’t waste time on niceties or small talk, just got right to the point. Not usually Brad’s MO, but he appeared to be that mad.
“I’ve learned a shitload of lessons. Which one might you be referring to?” As if Ethan didn’t know.
“There’s something going on with you and Lauren.” Brad perched his hands on his hips and leaned over Ethan’s desk.
Ethan smiled up at him, keeping his voice level. “Ah, that. Don’t miss much, do you?”
“It’s hard to miss. Everyone’s suspicious. Not just me.”
“For the record, she’s not my employee. She’s an employee of the Giants. I don’t have possession of them yet.”
“You’re splitting hairs. What’s the league going to say if this gets out? What if she sues you?”
“She won’t. She’s not that type of woman.” Of that Ethan was ninety-nine percent certain.
“You said that about the last woman you had on the payroll and between the sheets. That one percent is killer, buddy.”
“You make it sound like I make a habit out of this.”
“You’re getting close in my book. Two women in two years doesn’t say much for your track record.”
Ethan growled, hating that Brad might well be right. “And I’m friends with you why?”
“Because of my magnetic personality and unparalleled charisma. You can’t help yourself.” Finally Brad grinned his trademark cocky grin. He’d never been one to stay mad long, even when Ethan did deserve it.
“You’re like a bad habit I can’t shake.”
“I’ve been told that before, but usually by women.” Brad snorted; nothing got under his skin, except his oldest brother who happened to be the world’s biggest tight ass, or had been until he’d been loosened up by a woman. Funny, what the right woman could do to a guy.
“I want to tell her, Brad. Tell her everything.”
“You fucking can’t. We’re so close, buddy. Remember the gag order. You cannot tell her.”
“Look, Brad, I’ll do what I have to. I know what I’m doing so don’t worry about me or the team.”
Brad studied his friend for a long moment. “I hope so, E, I truly hope so.”
So did Ethan.
Chapter 13—Major Penalty
Ethan had never wanted anything as much as he wanted the Giants to win the semi-finals and advance to the Cup Finals. Not just because the Cup was the ultimate prize, but because it’d postpone the eventual disaster that’d arise from the announcement of the team’s sale to a group of Seattle investors, and it’d postpone the inevitable with Lauren. She’d be pissed as hell, and he couldn’t blame her.
That next evening the team took the ice for what might be their last home game in this arena as Giants. They won, thanks again to the superb play of Cedric and Cooper, and tied the series at three to three.
Early the next morning they flew back to Boston for game seven. It all came down to one game in order to decide who played for the Cup in the Finals.
Ethan had spent the last few nights with Lauren, knowing each night could be his last with her for the foreseeable future. Every scenario he ran through about the possible outcomes of their relationship all ended with her being pissed as hell at him and murdering him in his sleep. None of it was pretty.
He had to tell her as soon as the game ended, despite the outcome, and hope like hell she didn’t go off to the point where the league knew he’d broken the gag order, and he lost the team. Only Ethan had come to realize Lauren was more important than the team, which shocked the living shit out of him. Nothing had been as important as his quest for the past several years—but she was.
When the coach knocked on his hotel suite a few hours before the team bussed to the arena, Ethan took one look at the man’s face and sensed his carefully laid plans were about to come crashing down, and there might not be a damn thing he could do to stop the carnage.
“Come in, Coach. What can I do for you?” Ethan stretched, wearily rubbing the back of his neck. These marathon sex sessions with Lauren were killing his sleep. The coach walked past him into the room and stood in front of the big windows, hands clasped behind his back as he stared out at the city.
Ethan stiffened, preparing for the worst even as he attempted to remain casual. “Could I get you a cup of coffee?”
“This isn’t a social visit.” His hands fisted at his sides, Coach kept his back to Ethan.
“I see.” Ethan poured himself a cup of strong, black coffee, fearing he’d need it.
The coach turned to face him, hands propped on his hips, his eyes blazing with anger. “I know who you are, Parker.”
Ethan drew in a breath and let it out. His brain raced ahead in a futile attempt to find a solution before this blew up in his face. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about.” Not exactly an epic response, but Ethan needed more information.
“Does Puget Sound Hockey Alliance mean anything to you?” Coach raised one eyebrow as his lips lifted in a sneer.
Again Ethan refused to respond, even as his mind churned with questions he didn’t dare ask.
“This team is headed for Seattle, isn’t it?” The coach studied Ethan.
“You have a game to win in a couple hours. I think this discussion is best left until later.”
“I want this team to skate for the Cup. I wouldn’t do anything to sabotage that. But let me make one thing clear, I’m not moving to Seattle.”
Ethan had news for Fur; he didn’t plan on keeping him on as head coach, but he let the man save face. He’d actually just solved one of Ethan’s problems by his statement. “Assuming this team is moving to Seattle, you aren’t going with it?”
“I just said that, didn’t I? I know all about you and your group. I kn
ow the deal is already done but the league doesn’t want anyone to know. I know there’s an opening in Arizona for a coach, and I’m taking it.”
“If that’s what you want.” Ethan asked the question that’d been burning through him ever since Fur entered the room. “How did you find out?”
“I have friends in the league office. They didn’t want me to miss out on this coaching opportunity, which I would’ve never considered if the team were staying in Florida.”
“I see. It’s imperative this not get out until the team plays its last game.”
“You don’t need to worry about me. I’m not telling a damn soul. That’s your problem.” Fur turned and slammed the door as he left.
Ethan stared at the closed door, knowing it was only a matter of time. Tonight, win or lose, he’d tell Lauren so she’d hear it from him and no one else, and he could put a positive spin on it while begging her forgiveness.
* * * *
Lauren sat in the stands, not moving, not talking, not doing a damn thing. The Giants’ playoff run was over. Finally she glanced at Ethan sitting next to her. Stone-faced, he stared unblinking at the celebration on the ice, appearing oblivious to the cheering fans celebrating all around them.
Lauren’s heart went out to the guys who’d played so hard to get this far. Cooper picked himself off the ice where he’d been slammed against the boards. Head down, he skated around the celebration and headed for the tunnel. His teammates had already vacated the ice.
Long after the fans began to disperse, they both sat there and said nothing. Finally, Lauren grabbed Ethan’s hand and squeezed it.
“It’s over.”
He turned to her. Determination was etched on his handsome face. “No, it’s just begun. This team is under new ownership now.”
“It’ll be an interesting era without the Sleezers.” Lauren studied him with his furrowed brow and troubled eyes.
“Yes, it will. I promise that it’ll be better if you give us a chance.”
“I’m on board. I signed that contract, didn’t I?”
“Lauren, it’s about to get worse before it gets better.” He nodded, his eyes hooded, as if he were hiding something, something he wasn’t proud of. Something that she wouldn’t want to hear.
Skating on Thin Ice: Seattle Sockeyes (Game On in Seattle Book 1) Page 14