Jake broke in. “But we won, dude. Let it go.”
“I’m the captain. I can’t let it go. If I let it go everyone else will think it’s okay to back off.”
Carter rolled his eyes. “Dude, I promise you, we don’t wanna look like pussies any more than you do.”
“I need you guys to back me up on this when I bring it up before the next game.”
“Of course we will,” Jake reasoned. “Don’t we always?”
Luc ran his hand over the back of his neck, and Carter wondered if the team’s response was the only thing bothering him. “What’s going on? What aren’t you telling us?”
“Gardiner challenged me to a fight last night. I didn’t take him up on it, but I might not be able to refuse next time.”
“You’re not a fighter,” Jake argued, and Carter nodded. Of the three of them, Jake was most likely to drop the gloves, but even he only did it seldomly and always to defend a teammate. Carter tended to live and let live. Luc would fight if need be, but Carter knew Tom, the head coach, didn’t want to take Luc off the ice for five full minutes, so he discouraged it.
Luc sighed. “No, I’m not, but I may not be able to avoid it.”
“Why don’t you just tell Kinger about it?” Jake asked, referring to the team’s reigning pugilist.
Luc grimaced. “I could, but he’s gonna have his hands full as it is. Besides, having other people fight for me doesn’t sit well, you know?”
Carter shrugged. Sat fine with him. “It’s not your job, dude. Your job is to score goals and keep the team together. If you don’t give Kinger something to do, he’ll get bored, and nobody wants that.” His lame attempt at humor worked, though, as both Jake and Luc laughed.
“True that,” Jake replied. “He’ll glue your pants together again.”
“I knew that was him,” Luc grumbled.
“Oh, shit, he’s gonna kick my ass. I thought you knew.”
“He’ll never know how I found out. But I’ll get that little fucker.”
“I don’t doubt that.”
Carter watched his teammates banter and relaxed again. As much as he loved hockey, as good as he was at it, and as competitive as he was, he hated all this extra stuff. He just wanted to go out there and play the game. Taking a big bite of his sandwich, he washed it down with a gulp of water and continued to watch the byplay of his friends. He was a lucky man, and if Eva agreed to take them on, he’d be even luckier.
Chapter Two
Eva sat back in her chair, abandoning the patient notes she was trying desperately to update. Three men? Good lord, what was that like? She’d heard rumors they shared women. Who hadn’t? The whole team was becoming known for its “generous” nature. But three of them? How did that work? The mind boggled.
She sat there, too turned on to do anything, for a good ten minutes. Finally she forced herself to her feet and went back to the massage table. The sheets smelled like the eucalyptus oil she’d used on Luc. Undeniably him, undeniably male. Eva groaned. And she still had both of the other guys to work on today. Her poor Hitachi vibrator was going to get a workout again tonight. She was on her third vibrator since meeting the guys. Damn things kept overheating.
Her next appointment stuck her head in the door. “Hello, Eva!”
“Mrs. Nelson. How are you? Come on in.”
Thankfully Mrs. Nelson was full of gossip and complaints and kept Eva hopping through the next hour. Eva ate a quick lunch after Mrs. Nelson left, and before she knew it there was a knock on her door. Figuring it was Carter, she took a deep, cleansing breath and opened it.
“Hi, Carter.” She was proud of herself for how steady her voice sounded. She certainly didn’t feel steady.
He brushed past her and she could swear he purposely pushed his rock-hard, well-muscled body against hers. A shiver worked its way up her spine.
This is gonna be a long day…
Carter plopped down in the chair she kept for her clients and stretched his long legs out in front of him. “What’s up, chica?”
She knew she should be insulted that all three guys had a pet name for her, but she just couldn’t muster the righteous, independent female indignation. God help her, she kind of liked knowing they called her special names.
“Not much.” They talked about a few general things and then she brought up the game the night before. “Luc said you had a rough time of it last night.”
Carter grinned at her. “You didn’t watch?”
“You know I work nights sometimes.” She sounded defensive, and when his grin only widened she sighed. “I like watching you guys. It’s just hard sometimes.”
“Hard, huh?” He kept the grin on his face, and she tried to ignore the obvious double entendre.
“I suffer right along with you.” She rolled her eyes, and he laughed. “Anyway, Luc thought they might’ve been targeting your quad. How does it feel?”
“Tender.”
“Okay. I’ll work on it but try not to make it worse.”
“My body always feels better after you touch me.”
Again she ignored his suggestive comment. What was with the guys today? They’d always been flirty, but it was like they were purposely torturing her. She looked up. Carter’s cobalt blue eyes had gone dark, and Eva decided now would be a good time to leave him to get ready. Then she could at least run some cold water over her heated skin in the bathroom since there was no time for a cold shower.
“Why don’t you go ahead and get undressed.” She felt her face flush and cursed her pale skin. “Face up, please.” She scooted out the door before Carter could make any more suggestive comments. Leaning against the wall outside her room, she closed her eyes and berated herself. These guys were her clients. She had no right lusting after them. Knowing that didn’t change the facts, though. She wanted these guys, all three of them. And now that she knew for a fact they shared women, it was even harder to deny herself. But would the guys love her and leave her like they had so many others?
Her head was swimming, and a headache was developing at her temples. After stopping off in the bathroom to run a damp paper towel over the back of her neck and down into her cleavage, she began to rub her temples while she walked back into the room. Maybe she should’ve taken some ibuprofen. When she looked up, Carter’s gaze was zeroed in on her hands. She’d always admired his singular focus, whether it was on the puck before a face-off or something else, but right now she’d give anything to not be the recipient of that stare.
“Do you have another of your headaches?” Her face must’ve registered her surprise, because he smiled. “You don’t think we listen to you at all, do you? We do, and we remember what you tell us.”
“I’ll have to be more discerning about what I say, then,” she murmured, and he chuckled.
“Nah. Just know we’ll use it against you if we need to.”
“Use it against me? I don’t like the sound of that.”
“I like the sound of being against you,” he retorted, and she felt her pussy clench.
The momentary coolness from the paper towel treatment vanished in a heartbeat. “Let’s get you started.”
“Yes, let’s get started.” Eva squirted a little lotion onto her hands from the ever-present bottle strapped to her waist and put both hands on his shoulders, pressing down gently to establish contact with the client. “Mmmm. Magic hands.”
“I haven’t even done anything yet.”
“I’m more relaxed as soon as I walk in the door. Seriously.”
Eva didn’t say anything, choosing instead to push her palms down his shoulders and into his trapezius and pectoral muscles. Carter had a light dusting of hair on his chest and her fingers briefly tangled in it before sliding through, over his hard, flat nipples, and toward his stomach. She was moving a little lower than she needed to, but damn, his body was a revelation. All three of the men had perfect, though very different, physiques. Luc was the tallest at nearly six foot three and lean. Carter stood a little over six fe
et tall, with a well-developed but ropey musculature, while Jake was barely five foot ten but had the most solid muscle of the three, undoubtedly to compensate for his smaller stature on the ice.
Her hands slid back up, and she moved to his right shoulder, kneading the knots out of the muscles and working the tautness out of various nerves and tendons. Carter moaned and groaned throughout, far more vocal than he usually was. What game were the guys playing?
Eva moved to his other shoulder and repeated the process before going all the way down his arm. When she reached his hand she clasped it and dug her thumbs into his palm. “So good, chica, so good…”
She didn’t feel like she could get anything besides a squeak out, so she moved to the other arm. When that was done she covered his upper half up again—a pity—and tucked the sheet around his injured leg. A faint, yellowing bruise remained from where he’d blocked a shot at close range a few weeks ago. She touched it gently and asked, “Do you want me to stay away from it totally or just massage lightly?”
“The muscles are pretty sore, so go for it. Plus,” Carter added, grinning, “I’m a big boy. I can take anything you dish out.”
“Oh, you think so?” She couldn’t stop the crack from leaving her mouth, but wanted to kick herself once it was out there.
Carter pinned her with a stare. “I know so.”
She took a deep breath, releasing it slowly. “I’ll try not to press down on the bruised area, but if it hurts I want you to tell me.”
Luckily the rest of the massage passed without too much excitement, even though Carter continued to make very sex-like sounds that she studiously ignored, and then she practically chased him out of her room. She had one massage between him and Jake and wasn’t sure she’d survive much more teasing and innuendo. Shaking her head in a vain attempt to clear her cluttered thoughts, she stripped the sheets off the table and remade it to get ready for her next client.
* * * *
Jake climbed out of the car and made his way to Eva’s room. The door was ajar, and he rapped on it a few times before opening it. “Honey, I’m home!” He’d decided to feel her out before deciding what tack to take with her.
Eva laughed, though her eyes looked wistful for the slightest moment before they cleared again. “How are you? Good mood?”
“Great mood. We won last night.”
“I heard. Your linemates were here earlier.”
“Yeah, they mentioned they were coming in today. Smart men, I’ve always said.”
Eva giggled and his groin tightened. He had enough trouble keeping the hard-on at bay when he was around Eva without her doing adorable things. Jake gave her a surreptitious once-over. She was wearing casual khaki cargo pants with ties on the bottom of the legs, Crocs, and a tight black tank top that showed off her toned body. Her full lips were slathered in some sort of shiny gloss he’d kill to lick off, and her dark eyes were regarding him with what he could swear was more than casual interest, but maybe it was just wishful thinking. The other guys had said she seemed attracted to them and receptive to being shared.
I would die happy if I could taste her, even for one night.
Eva cleared her throat and Jake pulled his mind out of the gutter with difficulty. “So do you wanna tell me what’s bothering you today?”
“Bothering me?”
“Yeah. What hurts?” she prompted, and he shook his head a little.
Concentrate, buddy.
“Well, my back isn’t great.”
She was making notes and didn’t look up. “Anything else?”
My cock aches every time I see you…
“No, nothing else particularly.”
“Okay, then we’ll start you on your stomach so I can concentrate my time on your back.” She rose and went to the door. “Get comfy and I’ll knock in a few minutes.”
He removed every stitch of clothing and lay down on the massage table. The stress of playing, of trying to meet fan expectations, and his own naturally competitive spirit seemed to melt right into the table, and by the time Eva came back he was already so relaxed he’d almost forgotten he was supposed to be on a mission to find out her feelings on being shared. She started to work on him, and he felt himself relax even more. He’d get the intelligence they needed, but right now he was going to enjoy the feeling of having her hands on him.
During the course of the massage he made a few more suggestive comments than he normally would have, and she hadn’t slapped him or backed away in horror, which made him think Luc was right. She was interested. But how interested?
He went home after the massage and called both Carter and Luc. They agreed to keep up the subtle, fact-finding mission at each of their appointments over the next few weeks to see how she reacted. After hanging up with Carter, Jake sat down on his couch and blew out a loud breath. Eva was different from the other girls they’d screwed around with. For one thing, that was mostly done on the road and to simply scratch an itch. For another, they didn’t know those girls like they knew Eva.
Jake had to be careful. He knew he had a tendency to fall hard for girls, but that wasn’t what this thing with Eva was all about, and he would do well to remember that. Turning on the television, he settled into his comfy couch to watch one of his favorite action movies.
A few weeks later, Eva turned him over and began to work on his legs. As she lowered her head, an image of her sucking him, the whole length of his cock pressed into her mouth while Luc took her pussy and Carter her ass made his cock harden instantly, and he had to will it down. She hadn’t seemed to notice, so he decided to push things a little. He was losing his mind having her so close and not being able to touch her.
As the guys had gone to see her over the past couple of weeks, they’d ramped up their comments and actions. Maybe today would be the day. Only one way to find out. How she reacted to what he was about to do would determine where he’d go from there. Taking his arms out from underneath the sheet, he pressed down from both sides, drawing the material tight over his crotch. There was no mistaking his erection. Now he watched her. Eva’s face colored. “You all right, honey?”
“Fine.” The word came out breathlessly, and Jake smiled to himself. She wasn’t unaffected.
Since she hadn’t run screaming from the room, he decided to take a page from Luc’s dirty-talking book. “So, is it possible to do cock massages?” Eva stumbled, and he shot up to catch her, pulling her into his embrace, unable to stand not touching her. The sheet slid down and his dick made its presence known, the head poking up from where the material pooled at his thighs. “Whoa there, hon, be careful. Do you need to sit down?”
“N–no, just gimme a minute.”
“Take your time.” Eva liked the dirty talk. Who knew? It was hard to keep the amusement out of his voice, but he thought he succeeded. She pushed away from him, keeping her gaze averted.
“Can you—” She turned away and seemed to be doing battle with herself. He smiled again.
“Can I what?”
Eva cleared her throat, and he really had to try to keep his expression neutral. This was more fun than he’d had in ages. “Can you lie back down and cover up?”
“Does seeing my cock bother you?”
She spun toward him but apparently thought better of it, as she immediately turned away again. “No, of course not. I mean, I work on male clients all the time. It’s just…distracting.”
“My dick is distracting.”
“Yes! It’s so—”
“Large?” She barked out a laugh and he saw her spare a quick peek at him. Bingo. “Are you afraid of me, honey?”
“Not of you, no.”
“Then what are you afraid of?”
“I’m not afraid of anything.” She pushed out a breath. “Am I just imagining things, or are all three of you blatantly hitting on me?”
Jake considered her and decided to tell the truth. “You aren’t imagining things.”
“Luc mentioned you guys share women. Is that true?” Eva
pulled her bottom lip into her mouth, and his cock did its best to move toward her. Her eyes darted to his groin again.
“Yes, it’s true. And we’d like to share you. But if you’re not into it, we won’t push. You’re too important to us to just use and throw away.” It was only right to give her an out at this point.
“I…might be interested. I’ve had a couple of ménages a trois, and they were fun. But three guys? Wow.”
Interesting. She’s had a ménage…
He felt a pinch of something akin to jealousy that it wasn't them introducing her to the pleasures of a ménage, but forced it away. Jake turned and sat on the table, his feet hanging off the side. He purposely didn’t cover up and was now naked. Eva was standing in profile to him, staring at the wall as if the meaning of life was written on it, and he watched the little pulse point in her neck hammer away. Time to get the others involved.
“Look, I should call the other guys. They deserve to be part of this conversation.”
“What conversation, exactly?”
“The one where we talk about what’s going to happen here.”
“Here?” she squeaked out.
Now Jake grinned. “If you want to. Do you have fantasies about being taken here? Maybe on your own massage table?” He reached down to run his hand over it, and her gaze followed the movement. “Kinky. You know, you can have anything you want, honey. We want you to be happy. Very, very happy.”
“Oh, God.”
Jake hopped off the table and winced as his dick bounced against his stomach. Reaching into his jeans, he texted Luc.
Get down here, NOW. She’s interested.
A few seconds later he got an answer from Luc.
On our way.
Jake turned toward Eva, and she snapped her gaze up from his ass. “They’re coming.” Then he laughed. “Well, not right now, actually, but hopefully soon.”
Eva colored again. “Can you, you know, get dressed or something?”
“Is my nakedness disturbing you?”
“I can’t think when you’re not wearing clothes, and I need to think about this.”
Carr, Cassandra - Cold as Ice [Buffalo Intimidators 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 2