Hot on Ice: A Hockey Romance Anthology

by Avery Flynn

  He pressed light kisses down her neck. She trembled from the delicate sensation of his lips against her skin.

  “You know, Gennie’s in town for an interview with a new team,” she murmured. “Do you think we can meet up with her after the fundraiser?”

  “Sure. It’s been almost a year since I’ve seen her.”

  “Yeah…”

  He passed his tongue over the sensitive area at the base of her neck, and she bit her lip to keep a moan from escaping her.

  “Looks like tomorrow is going to be busy,” she murmured.

  “Then I guess we should make the most of tonight.”

  He let his hand drift lower until he reached the waistband of her panties. When he began to tug down the thin material, she grabbed his wrists.

  “I need a shower first.”

  He groaned. “Why? You’re just going to need another one.”

  “We just had a five-hour layover flight. I think we could both use a shower.”

  He blew out a heavy breath, and she laughed. When he pulled away from her, she grabbed his shirt and pulled him back.

  “What time does the fundraiser start?”

  “Tomorrow night.”

  “So tonight is all ours?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Then stop pouting.”

  “I’m not pouting.”

  Jules chuckled and shook her head. “You’re worse than your daughter.” Suddenly, she reached down and began unbuckling his belt.

  He cocked a brow, his gaze moving over her. “I thought you wanted to take a shower?”

  She smirked and gave his belt a hard tug. “Why do you think I’m trying to take off your pants?”

  “It’s really annoying how gorgeous you two are together.”

  “Shut up, Gennie, and come give me a hug.”

  Mason watched as Jules pulled her younger sister into a tight hug. The two women laughed and held each other close. He didn’t have any sisters, but if he had his choice of one, he would choose Genevieve Bennett every time.

  She pulled out of Jules’ arms and set her copper-brown eyes on him. “Okay. Your turn.”

  Mason returned her tight hug.

  “I thought you guys were at a charity event tonight. Why do you guys smell like you just came from a bar?”

  “Because we did,” Jules said. “The fundraiser was for a fallen firefighter, and they held it at this bar called the Crooked Angel.”

  “Ahh, okay. That explains it. I half expected you guys to be in something other than jeans.”

  “Nope. It was a very casual affair. Beer, popcorn, selfies.”

  “Hmm, sounds like my kind of party.”

  “Why don’t we find ourselves a booth?” Mason suggested. If he let them, the two sisters would stand here all night and continue their conversation.

  The diner near their hotel was quiet and practically empty—the complete opposite of how they had left the Crooked Angel. They quickly found a booth in the back to settle themselves. Across the table, Gennie continued to stare at them, a silly grin on her pretty face.

  “What?”

  “You guys are really too damn good-looking.”

  Mason glanced over at his wife. Even with her hair pulled back and her face free of makeup, she looked exceptional tonight. He wanted to kiss her, but the kind he wanted to give her probably wouldn’t be appropriate in front of her little sister. He settled on placing his arm behind her on the booth.

  “You’re looking great too,” Jules said. “How’d your interview go?”

  Gennie shrugged. “Fine, I guess. I won’t hear back until next week, but I think I’ll still keep my options open.”

  “Why the sudden move?” Jules asked. “I thought you loved the team you were working with.”

  “I do, but my contract was up. And believe it or not, sports trainers aren’t really in high demand,” Gennie said with a quick grin. “But I’ve already decided that North Carolina is not really for me.”

  Despite Gennie’s nonchalance, it was clear from her strained smile that she wanted to change the subject. The athlete in him could understand why. His sister-in-law had once had a promising future playing women’s basketball—until a knee injury during college cut that short. Now a career in sports training was the closest she came to staying in the game.

  “So are you seeing anyone?” Mason asked, hoping to take her mind out of talks of work and job interviews.

  Gennie wrinkled her nose. “Nope. Not only do I not have the time, but I’m constantly surrounded by jocks, and you know I don’t date athletes.” She glanced at him. “No offense.”

  He inclined his head. “None taken. Though Jules said the same thing ten years ago, and now look at us.”

  “Yeah, and look at everything she’s had to put up with.”

  “Gennie,” Jules burst out.

  Her sister winced, then reached for his hand. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say that.”

  “It’s fine,” Mason said stiffly.

  “No, it’s not. I’m always putting my foot in my mouth. I’m so glad you and Jules have worked things out.” She patted his hand. “You know you will always be my favorite brother-in-law.”

  “I’m your only brother-in-law.”

  “Exactly. Let’s keep it that way.” Suddenly Gennie winced and reached under the table. She glared at Jules. “What now?”

  Mason pretended not to notice the exchange between the two sisters.

  “How’s Gunnar doing?” he asked.

  “He’s great. He just transferred over to a team in Tampa. He’s really excited about it.” Gennie’s excitement for her twin brother’s accomplishments was evident in her wide smile. “Jules, I know you’re not into sports, but you should see him play.”

  “Of course I watch his games,” Jules said, exasperated. “What kind of sister would I be if I didn’t? I may not be able to make it to his games, but I DVR each one.”

  Mason glanced at his wife. He wasn’t surprised by her unwavering support of her little brother. Jules always put family first. He only wished she had shown that kind of support for his career.

  “He’ll be glad to know that,” Gennie said. “I think he second-guesses himself a lot sometimes.”

  “Really?” Jules asked. “But he’s really good.”

  “I know! Especially for someone who got into it late. I’m constantly reminding him that he’s one of the few black men playing professional hockey, and he’s killing it.”

  “Mason’s watched him play and thought so too. Right, babe?”

  Mason nodded, though he didn’t tell the sisters that their brother could use more work on his skating technique.

  “You should give him a call, Mason,” Gennie suggested. “You know he only got into hockey because of you. I think he even looks up to you, though he probably would never admit it. I do know he would love to hear from you.”

  “You should call him,” Jules said. “Doesn’t every player get into these funks? It sounds like he could really use the support right now.”

  Mason stared at her. So could I.

  But he simply smiled and nodded. “Sure, I’ll do that.”

  Gennie beamed. “Awesome. Now tell me, how are my little troublemakers doing?”

  It took Mason a moment to register the ringing phone in the distant part of his mind. The sharp jab to his side was more immediate.

  “Mason… Get the phone.”

  Jules continued to shove him until he rolled over and grabbed the hotel phone from the receiver.

  “What?”

  His sleep-laden voice and short temper made his voice especially gruff.

  An automated message began to play in his ear, and he remembered the wakeup call he had requested the morning before.

  Mason hung up and turned back to Jules, who had buried herself under the covers.

  “It’s time to get up, babe.”

  A muffled groan came from under the covers. “Do we have to?”

  He shook his head in amuse
ment, realizing where his son had gotten his early morning tantrums. As much as he wanted to be under those covers with her, today was checkout day, and they needed to get up now or risk missing their flight.

  “We have a flight to catch today, babe. There’s not another one until later this evening, so we can’t miss this one.”

  She groaned again, and this time Mason laughed. He tugged the cover away and pulled her to him. Her slender back pressed against his chest, and he placed a kiss on the back of her warm neck.

  “We might be able to spare a few minutes to…connect.”

  “Hmm, that would be nice.”

  He curved his arm around her waist and pulled her back firmly against him. “Only a few minutes.”

  “Okay,” she murmured, rolling her hips back against him.

  Mason groaned from the soft pressure her ass put on his straining cock, and all thoughts of time ceased. He lifted her leg and guided his hard shaft into her warm, slick body. They both released a shuddering breath.

  They stayed like that for a while, his rigid length buried deep inside her and her soft, wet channel pulsing deliciously around him. After a few still moments, she tried to thrust her hips back, but he halted her movements.

  “Mason? What are you doing?”

  “Shh.” He trailed his lips over the smooth ball of her shoulder. “No talking. Just feel me.”

  She did as he instructed, their breathing coming out deep and heavy. This was the one thing they never got wrong. When he was inside her, nothing else mattered except her—and their love for each other.

  She reached around, gripped his ass, and pulled him forward. The strong action drove him deeper into her, and her delicate quivers around his cock drove him over the edge. He lifted her leg high then thrust into her heavily.

  They both shuddered and gasped from the staggering pleasure. With the prickling signs of his release nearing, he slowed his thrusts to slow, leisurely strokes. But it wasn’t enough. Reaching low, he found her taut, slick nub and slowly teased it. She clenched around him in soft spasms, and he couldn’t contain a low, harsh groan.

  When he couldn’t fight it much longer, Mason rolled her on her back. He came over her again and fitted himself between her thighs before plunging into her with fast, deep thrusts. Her whimpers of pleasure filled his ears and drove him wild. She threw her arms around him and sought out his lips for a deep, thorough kiss.

  He drank in each moan, each gasp as he continued to thrust harder and deeper into her. It wasn’t until she dug her fingernails into his back and found her release that he let himself go. With a final thrust, he buried his face in the crook of her neck and found his release.

  She held him close, lazily stroking his back as his racing heart returned to normal.

  “Shouldn’t we get up now?”

  “In a minute,” he said quietly, pressing another kiss on her throat.

  It was the last thing he remembered before he fell back into a deep sleep.

  10

  “Mommy, Daddy! You’re home!”

  Madison jumped into Jules’ arms. She caught their daughter and began raining kisses on her round cheeks before she pulled Jeremy in for a hug and kiss too. Both children were in their pajamas and up well pass their bedtimes, but Mason didn’t realize how eager he had been to see their kids until they had arrived home.

  “I tried to put them into bed,” Carrie said. “But they wanted to wait up for you.”

  “That’s all right,” Mason said, setting down their luggage. “We picked a bad day to miss our flight.” Though he didn’t regret the extra few hours he had spent with his wife.

  Carrie helped them get the kids into bed before she eventually took off. Too tired to do much else, Mason sat on the couch, with Jules cuddled close. She had her legs tucked under her and a near empty wine glass in her hands. The television was low and the only thing illuminating the dark sitting room.

  “I had fun this weekend,” she murmured. “Thank you.”

  “North Carolina wasn’t so bad, was it?”

  She laughed. “We barely left our hotel room.”

  “Did we need to?”

  “Nope.” She took a sip of her wine. “And I’m not complaining.”

  “Me neither.” Mason took the glass from her hand and finished the wine before setting it down on the side table. “And there’s no reason why it needs to end.”

  He gathered her close and began trailing his lips down to her neck before nipping at the delicate skin there. He enjoyed her soft tremors, and continued running the tip of his tongue over her soft skin.

  She shifted in his arms, and he captured her lips with his. Her uninhibited desire surged through him and down to his hardening shaft. Apparently, one weekend together hadn’t been enough to slake their need for each other.

  She drew back, her eyes hooded and her face flushed with need. “Should we head up to bed?”

  He ran his thumb across her cheek. “Why don’t you head up? I’ll lock up down here and be right up.”

  “Okay,” she drawled, trailing her finger along his collar. “Don’t take too long.”

  Mason tightened his arm around her, and the corner of his lips lifted. “Now, why would I want to do that?”

  She shrugged then gave him another slow, lingering kiss before she rose from the sofa. He followed her up and reached for the remote just as the local news anchors put up a photo of him and his team’s logo. He made to shut off the television, but a photo of him and Jules on their wedding day flashed up on the screen.

  “Ugh,” Jules muttered, voicing his disgust. “Turn it off.”

  Just as he was about to hit the power button, the caption Mystery Man Revealed flashed across the screen. Mason turned up the volume.

  “…Has been identified as Detroit Devils shortstop Slater Reyes. It is rumored that the thirty-year-old baseball player was in town negotiating his possible signing with the Louisiana Kings.”

  A headshot of an attractive man with dark features filled the screen.

  “Sources confirm that Reyes is the man seen here having dinner with former beauty queen Juliette Courage, wife of the Cajun Rage’s head coach Mason Courage.”

  Mason stifled a curse. Why can’t the damn vultures find someone else to fixate on?

  The player’s headshot was replaced by the photo of Jules having dinner with the concealed man at the hotel. It was a photo Mason had seen before, yet it still sent an icy shard of jealousy slicing through him. He gritted his teeth as he continued watching the segment. A new black-and-white photo was displayed.

  “Photos taken from the hotel’s elevators show the former beauty queen riding inside, followed by Reyes just a few minutes after. Sources report the two had separate rooms, but one can only speculate what Reyes and the former beauty queen were up to that night.”

  “Or if he has anything to do with the Courages’ recent divorce rumors,” another anchor added snidely.

  Mason shut off the television and turned to his wife. She stared back at him, her expression frozen in a mix of disbelief and outrage.

  “That’s the man you had dinner with?”

  Her brows knitted together as her gaze moved over his. “That’s the man that came to my table while I was having dinner, yes.”

  “And you stayed at the hotel?”

  “Yes, I reserved a room for that night. But you don’t honestly believe…” She took a step closer to him and grabbed his arm. “Mason, you don’t honestly believe anything happened.”

  He could only stare at her as he tried to process what he’d just learned.

  “Tell me!” she demanded, her fingernails digging into his arm.

  He jerked his arm out of her grasp. “Why the hell would you need a room?”

  “I told you I went to celebrate our anniversary alone. I took a day for myself. I went to dinner, then I went to my room. Alone.”

  “Why didn’t you mention this before?”

  “What difference would it have made? You would hav
e just thought the worst, like you clearly do now.”

  “Don’t try to turn this on me,” he snapped. “You’re the one who fantasized about screwing another man. Now I find out you spent the night in the same hotel too? What the hell am I supposed to think?”

  “Mason, keep your voice down,” she whispered harshly. “You’re supposed to trust me no matter what. I told you what happened and what didn’t happen. I’m not going to keep defending myself. I shouldn’t have to.”

  Mason frowned down at her. Did she really believe he was wrong for being pissed? He wanted to trust her, wanted things to be the way they were before she had confessed that ugly truth to him. Yet how could he when he kept getting blindsided with these things?

  “At this point, Jules, I don’t know what to think. The woman I married would have never thought about breaking up our family, much less cheating on me. You got us here, and now I can’t even turn on the television without being reminded of that.”

  She shook her head slowly, her lips pressed tightly together. “This is not my fault. I can’t control what the media says. All I can do is tell the truth, which I have. Now I need my husband to be there for me, to stand with me, when the media is clearly trying to paint a scarlet letter on my chest.”

  “What about my reputation?” he snapped. “How do you think this makes me feel, knowing the whole city is talking about my wife and the man she’s supposedly sleeping with?”

  The silence that followed was grating. She fixed him with a glare so icy he felt its bitter chill where he stood.

  “Let’s get this clear. I don’t give a damn what other people think. The only thing that matters is what you and I think.”

  “That’s not what—”

  “No, let me finish,” she cut in, her gaze flinty with anger. “In case you haven’t noticed, it’s my reputation that’s being slandered here. Not yours. Mine. I’m basically being called a cheating slut, but instead of coming to my defense, my husband somehow finds a way to make this all about him.” She scoffed and shook her head in disgust. “You’re unbelievable.”

  Spinning on her heels, she left him standing in the room alone, more confused and outraged than he had been before. It was as if no matter what they did, there was something—or someone—trying to ruin things between them.