Power Play

by Warren, Nancy

  She smiled up at him, loving the dark richness of his eyes fringed with the prettiest eyelashes she’d ever seen. “All right, then.”

  He held on to her shoulders. “And I want you to know that I am finished playing hard to get.” He kissed her lips, teased her with his tongue. “I want you to take me to your bed.”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck, digging her fingers deep into his luxurious hair, running her hands down his athletic fireman’s back.

  She set her hands on his hips and looked up at him. The truth was bright and glorious. “I don’t think I’m ready.”

  Sadhu didn’t look all that surprised. “It’s different this time, isn’t it? For both of us.”

  “I think so.”

  “Maybe I could stay for a while and we could watch a movie, or listen to music, or we could just talk.”

  “I think that would be wonderful.”

  EMILY PULLED HER EYELIDS open with an effort. It felt as though giant elephants were standing on them. She groaned as the perky announcer on the radio/alarm told her what a gorgeous day it was going to be in Elk Crossing.

  Jonah had suggested they sleep the whole night in the other room, but naturally she hadn’t taken her toothbrush with her and besides, this crazy room with the curtain and leaking roof had become special to her. It was theirs.

  “And here’s a shout-out to Leanne and Derek on their special day. Lovebirds, this song is for you.” And Percy Sledge’s “When a Man Loves a Woman” boomed out.

  Beside her, Jonah shifted. “Derek and Leanne’s wedding is on the news?”

  “Welcome to Elk Crossing.”

  He yawned hugely, reaching for her and burying his face in her neck, scratching her with his overabundant beard growth. The man was a walking testosterone pill.

  She batted his hand away from her breast, though reluctantly. “I am supposed to be rested for the big day. Not sleep deprived.” She rubbed at her eyes. “This is all your fault.” But it was hard to inject any heat in her words, especially when the satisfied kitten-that-fell-into-the-cream-jug smile wouldn’t leave her face.

  “What?” he asked. “I gave you plenty of R & R, baby. Not much rest, perhaps, but plenty of relaxation.”

  Of course, she’d given him as much relaxation right back. As she forced herself to roll out of bed she consoled herself. She might have to spend an entire day in the world’s ugliest dress, but at least she didn’t have to play hockey. The most physically demanding task she’d be called on to perform was holding up Leanne’s train. And she wasn’t entirely sure she had the strength.

  “What’s the big rush?” he asked her, watching as she packed up her things. He had his head comfortably resting on his stacked hands, his elbows winged to the side so he looked like a dark, unshaven angel. “They aren’t getting married until the afternoon.”

  She ticked off the tasks yet to be completed before the actual ceremony. “Hair. Makeup. Bride control.” Her cell phone chirped letting her know she had a new text message. She checked who it was from and added another item to her list. “Kirsten control.” She’d forgotten all about her confused friend’s late-night visit to her room last night. She hoped whatever it was, Kirsten had figured things out.

  “Let’s see, we all get dressed at the bride’s parents’ house, then there are the before-the-ceremony pictures, then we’ll all have a bit of a boo-hoo, which means makeup repair. Then the church.”

  “Sorry I can’t make the ceremony. But I’ll be there sometime tonight, as soon as the last game ends.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ll save you a dance.”

  When she had her bags ready, she ran into the bathroom to shower and brush her teeth. When she emerged, to her surprise, Jonah was up and in jeans and a T-shirt. “I’ll help you put this stuff in your car.”

  “You don’t have to,” she said, feeling absurdly touched.

  “Are you kidding? That dress alone will take three strong men to carry.”

  She looked at the thing with acute distaste now that the day when she would be forced to wear the thing had actually arrived. “I really love Leanne, but the woman has no taste in clothes.”

  “You don’t have to tell me that.” He hefted the huge dress off the closet door, turning this way and that. The skirt was so full it looked as though a headless, and surprisingly tasteless, Scarlett was dancing with an unshaven blue-jeaned Rhett.

  Over the top of the orange satin his gaze met hers. “You know, I have this fantasy I haven’t told you about yet.”

  “Really? It’s quite a week for fantasies.” When he looked at her his eyes darkened and she became suddenly breathless. She knew he was thinking about last night the way she was. She’d had some earthshaking sex in her life, but she didn’t think anything could compare to what had happened between her and Jonah last night.

  It wasn’t only the way they’d played with each other’s bodies and minds, it was the way they’d met on some deeper level than anything she’d ever experienced.

  Tonight would be their last night together. Tomorrow Jonah had some kind of awards ceremony and brunch, and then he’d be heading back to Portland.

  She had the present opening and a last lunch before Leanne and Derek took off on their honeymoon to Hawaii. And she returned to Portland.

  Jonah hadn’t said anything about getting together once they got back and she wasn’t going to bring up the subject. It was strange, this had been such a bizarre affair from the very beginning. Two people who could credit bedbugs as their matchmakers couldn’t have much of a future.

  Could they?

  The affair had happened with no thought, and she suspected both of them had entered into it because they were overcome with lust after sharing such close quarters. She didn’t think they’d imagined anything more serious than a fling that was hot, fun, short and with no recriminations or painful goodbyes at the end.

  But that was before last night.

  Now, she had the uncomfortable feeling that once they left this room she’d be hit with the fact that it was more than a crazy fun holiday fling. That she was tied by some serious emotional strings to this man who could be so tough and yet so tender.

  “Do you have time for breakfast before you go? We could get something in the coffee shop.”

  She shook her head. “No time.”

  “You have to eat. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Hang on a second.” He danced the dress to his side of the room and dug through his duffel. Came out with a slightly dented, foil-wrapped bar, which he presented to her.

  “This is a PowerBar snack.” She read the label. “For recovery after strenuous exercise.”

  “You’ve had plenty of strenuous exercise in the past few hours. And it’s better than going through the day with an empty stomach.”

  It was the first gift he’d ever given her. Not counting her fantasy, which she supposed was also a gift. Though perhaps more self-serving. It was a stupid meal replacement bar that had probably been in the bottom of his bag, forgotten, for weeks, but the idea that he cared enough to make sure she ate gave her a warm, goopy feeling inside that was like a danger flare suggesting there was nothing but emotional trouble ahead.

  “Thanks,” she said as casually as she could.

  Pinning a bright smile on her face, she turned resolutely away and dragged her bag of essential wedding day stuff while Jonah hauled down the bridesmaid dress.

  He pushed and shoved Big Orange into the backseat of her car. “If this dress was a person you’d need one of those extra long seat belts just to strap her in place.”

  “You know, maybe you shouldn’t come tonight,” she suddenly said, wondering where the words had come from. “I don’t want your last memory of me to be of me wearing that dress.”

  He sent her an odd look but his tone was light when he said, “Don’t worry. I fully intend that my last memory of you will be naked.”

  Then he kissed her and as she kissed him back she threw her arms around him. S
he might have even clung, just a little bit.

  When they broke away she got into her car and started the engine. He waved and walked back toward the lodge.

  Before pulling out she remembered Kirsten had left her a message. Probably she needed a ride.

  The message read,

  Can you fall in love in two days?

  She stabbed at the buttons on her cell as she made her reply.

  NO!

  She kicked up gravel as she drove out of the parking lot, more aggressively than she’d intended.

  No. No. NO!

  Kirsten wasn’t in love with Sadhu. The idea was ridiculous. She barely knew the guy. So, he’d played a different game than the one she was used to. The one most women were used to. Instead of trying relentlessly to get her into bed, he’d gone the opposite route. Teasing her with all his gorgeous exotic good looks and then making her work to get him into bed.

  It was laughable how easily his little power play had worked.

  Kirsten was experiencing an interesting variation on a game men and women had been playing since—well, since there were men and women. But love?

  Love?

  After two days?

  That was as ridiculous as, say, Emily thinking she might have found love in less than a week.

  Didn’t happen.

  The energy bar sitting on her passenger-side seat reflected the sunlight as she drove east, reminding her that she was hungry. She grabbed it off the seat, peeled open the paper and chomped into it.

  Love in a few days. Good Lord. The idea was preposterous.

  Anyway, love was just another power play. One that left the person doing the loving far too vulnerable.

  She was going to have to have a woman-to-woman talk with Kirsten.

  But first she had to detour to the florist and pick up all the bouquets for the wedding.

  18

  USUALLY, JONAH LOVED TO WIN. It was the whole point of playing hockey. Sure the camaraderie was nice, but he had his buddies and the guys on the force for that.

  The exercise was definitely beneficial, but he was an athletic guy, he kept himself in shape. Which basically left winning as his main reason for loving hockey. Putting the puck in that sweet spot, watching it slide home past a colossus in padding, a helmet and the world’s hugest gloves trying to stop it in its tracks. The moment he knew the puck was in and the winning goal had been scored, well, only nights like last night came close.

  Tonight, however, he really wanted to lose. They’d played the semifinals this afternoon and tonight was the big game. The final. The one they’d been working toward all week.

  All the Paters were ecstatic when they won their semifinal round, a bit of a squeaker. But not Jonah. He had a strange tickle behind his breastbone that told him he should be with Emily at that wedding.

  Of course, it was a ridiculous impulse born of too much sex and too little sleep. Still, he had an absurd drive to protect her. If he didn’t stop her, she’d “good daughter” her way into washing all the dishes.

  And that wasn’t the way she deserved to be treated. If Emily wouldn’t stand up for herself, maybe she needed a little help from someone who’d be only too happy to tell them to wash their own dishes, print their own place cards, and choose a lot less dress to gown one of the prettiest bridesmaids he’d ever known. And he’d known quite a few.

  But there were certain benefits to that dress. He hadn’t been entirely facetious when he’d told her this morning that he had a fantasy revolving around that dress.

  He pictured her standing in front of a long mirror, her hair up, that huge dress billowing out around her like an orange tent. And what did a guy do with a tent but crawl inside? Though he thought he’d prefer to watch her in the mirror while he lifted that skirt from the back. He suspected he could bare her backside and her long, dancer’s legs while the front of her would look unmussed.

  Yep, he didn’t think he was going to be in any hurry to get that dress off her. But he was in a hurry to join her at the wedding.

  He must be more sleep deprived than he’d realized because normally that itch behind his breastbone was his instinct about danger. But what danger could a woman be in during a family wedding? Unless that dress decided to take flight.

  So he went back to playing. But whether it was because he wasn’t fully focusing or because they were all getting tired, the Paters made a couple of dumb mistakes. And they were up against the best team in the tourney: the Alamo Ancients.

  They were trailing by two when the first period ended and if they didn’t pull their act together, their title and the trophy were in jeopardy. Focus, Jonah ordered himself. He gave the guys a little pep talk, ending with, “All the free beer you can drink tonight to the next guy who scores.”

  As they were ready to hit the ice, his cell phone rang.

  He went to get it but Kevin Lus grabbed his arm and hauled him toward the rink. “Come on, old man, your hottie can wait. Keep your focus and let’s go win us a trophy.”

  Team spirit was at its peak so he joined in the rah-rah stuff and as he hit the ice, tried to concentrate on nothing but the art of hockey. Knowing where the players were, who was open, where the weakness in the Ancients’ defense was, taking split-second advantage.

  Sadhu got a break early in the second period. He powered past a defender, faked out the goalie and sent the puck flying home.

  Now they were one down. And the best part was that Sadhu didn’t drink beer, which had saved him a few bucks.

  The crowd of spectators was as big as it ever got, which meant the rink was about half-full. A cheer went up. A pretty thin cheer. It would have been better if Emily and Kirsten were around.

  They played doggedly on but they were all fatigued. His thigh was aching, sweat kept dripping in his eyes. The only consolation was that the other team was at least as tired as they were and tired players made mistakes.

  Sure enough, the other team made one, their left wing losing attention exactly at the wrong moment. Kevin scooped the puck and, in a play they’d practiced countless times, Jonah powered forward toward the goal, taking Kevin’s pass and sending it hurtling to the goal.

  The goalie made a valiant effort, throwing himself onto the ice in front of the net, but he was a millisecond too late and the puck thumped home.

  End of second period and the score was tied. Adrenaline was flowing and they were as pumped as kids.

  He sucked back water and then remembered the phone call. He went for his cell. Listened to the message and instantly lost all interest in hockey. His whole body went cold and the itch that had nagged him clenched to a gripping pain.

  “What are you doing?” Sadhu yelled at him as he was halfway through taking off his skates, his hands clumsy with haste.

  “I gotta go.”

  “What?”

  “Emily’s in trouble.”

  “Say again?”

  He didn’t have time to explain. “Her cousin’s a felon on the run. He’s desperate, which makes him dangerous. I gotta go pick him up.”

  He finally got his skates off, jammed his feet into sneakers, grabbed his coat and bag and ran for the exit. He pounded to his truck. As he started the engine, he tried to call Emily on her cell phone but naturally the damn thing was turned off.

  When the message beep came on he said, “Buddy’s dangerous. Stay away from him. I’m on my way.”

  The passenger door of his truck swung open and Sadhu jumped in.

  “What the hell are you doing?”

  “Backup,” he panted.

  “You’re a firefighter, not a cop.”

  “Shut up and drive.”

  He glanced in the rearview mirror as he backed out of his parking space and saw Portland Paters rushing out the door of the rink as if the place was on fire.

  “What the hell?”

  “They asked where you were going. I told them you had trouble you needed to take care of.”

  He didn’t have time for this. He put his foot on the gas an
d roared out of the lot. Sadhu looked at the guys all running for vehicles and said, “You’ve got a lot of backup.”

  He stomped hard on the gas pedal wishing he had lights and a siren. Fortunately he knew where the Masonic Hall was, and he headed for it glad that this town was too small for traffic snarls.

  “Look, you need to keep those guys away. I don’t want the perp spooked.”

  “Maybe you’d better tell me what’s going on.”

  Jonah sent him a quick glance, all he could spare from the road he was speeding down, and saw that the normally every-time-is-a-good-time Sadhu was looking steely eyed and ready for battle.

  As though he’d spoken, Sadhu replied, “I’ve got an interest at that wedding myself.”

  “Turns out Third Cousin Buddy, you know the weaselly balding orthodontist with the expensive wardrobe? He’s a fugitive.”

  “A dentist? What did he do? Steal gold fillings?”

  “Tax fraud. He refused to deal with insurance at all and made his patients pay up front for their treatment, and he let the patients deal with getting their insurance to reimburse them for the allowable amount their insurance company would pay.”

  “Okay.”

  Jonah barely slowed as he approached a four-way stop and, seeing nothing, gunned it through. “But he was only reporting one out of every three ortho cases to the IRS. The guy who called me says the average cost for each ortho case today is around six thousand and the average orthodontist has around three thousand active patients. You do the math.”

  Sadhu gave a low whistle. “He’s billing close to two million a year. If he reports a third of his income, he’s got well over a million a year cash going in his pocket.”

  “Or more likely into an offshore account somewhere. He’s been at this racket for almost a decade.”

  But Sadhu was nobody’s fool. “You look pretty intense for a guy chasing an embezzler.”

  “The IRS was tipped off by his nurse and longtime girlfriend. Lovers’ quarrel? Guilty conscience? Who knows. She blew the whistle and agreed to testify since she was the one who looked after the paperwork and she knew all about the scam.”