“Nah. They followed me down to Florida when I was traded to the Orlando Everblades. They loved it so much, they’ve been there ever since.” He glanced at the photo again. “I’m glad to have won it at least once before I have to hang up my skates.”
His eyes lost their twinkle and Violet frowned.
“This is probably going to be my last season,” he explained. He had been deliberating the idea of retiring. Not by choice, but by necessity. His knee still bothered him on occasion and now his shoulder was starting to become a problem. There was only so much he could take when the toll of each game was so high. All it took was for him to put the equipment on and he was sore for days.
Retirement. It felt strange to say the words out loud and he couldn’t believe he was actually telling her this. He hadn’t told anyone he was thinking about retiring. He hadn’t even really admitted it to himself yet, but for some reason he felt the need to confide in Violet.
“I’m sorry,” she said softly, recognizing the sadness in his voice.
“Back then I still had speed on the ice because my legs were strong, but then I blew out my knee a couple of years ago. And now with my shoulder acting up, I don’t really have much of a choice.”
He sounded weary, like the decision weighed on him heavily. It made her sad to think of him giving up something he loved so much and was so good at.
Concern settled on her face and she put her hand on his arm. To comfort, to console. His skin was cool and moist from his shower, but it quickly warmed under her fingers. Comfort soon turned to desire. Red hot, scorching desire. Violet had never felt so responsive to a man before. She quickly dropped her hand and motioned to the massage table. They really needed to move out of the hallway and into the bigger space of the living room.
“What will you do after retiring?” she asked as she followed him over to the massage table.
Wither away into a dark void, he thought to himself.
“Coaching or commentary, probably,” he answered. He’d been invited up to the announcers’ broadcast booth a few times and liked the atmosphere. If that didn’t pan out there was always coaching. “I don’t know for sure. I haven’t really thought about it.”
That was a lie. It was all he thought about. He’d spent months contemplating if there was in fact life after hockey. He hoped there was. Either way, he was about to find out whether he wanted to or not.
Her brow furrowed. “Are you really planning on retiring soon?”
He shrugged away the million dollar question. Thinking about retirement meant accepting that the day would come. If he didn’t think about it, it wasn’t real. He didn’t want to think about it.
“It’s inevitable,” he answered, lifting his “good” shoulder in a shrug and letting it fall. “There comes a point when the old bag of bones starts to fall apart.” He offered her a smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
She looked over his body and tried to analyze him objectively. His big body was toned and muscular without an extra ounce of fat clinging to his narrow waist. Now that she was seeing him through thawed out eyeballs, she could appreciate his good looks and athletic build. Athletes, especially hockey players, were gods among men.
“You look like you’re in spectacular shape to me,” she commented.
“Thanks.” In return, Jace let himself look Violet over lazily from head to toe. Two could play this game.
Violet could feel his hot gaze on her breasts, waist, thighs… It was like his smoldering blue eyes burned right through the fabric of her clothes.
She turned and walked to the wall of windows overlooking the lake and gazed outside. “The view here is incredible,” she said in an effort to change the subject. She shouldn’t look at him like that, like he was here just for her. And he shouldn’t look at her in the same way like she was…available.
“It sure is,” he agreed, but he wasn’t referring to the lake.
“I love how beautiful the snow is, but I sure like the springtime when the flowers start to bloom. Daisies are my favorite. My grandma had daisies planted all around her little house and in the summertime it was the prettiest thing you’ve ever seen.”
He didn’t say anything and she knew she was rambling. “You have a beautiful home,” she said softly.
“Thanks.” He moved to stand next to her. “I’ve traveled the world and I keep coming back to this place. It feels like home to me more than anywhere else I’ve been.”
“I can see why.”
They stood for a moment looking out the window both lost in their own separate thoughts. She could hear him breathing next to her. The sound was comforting and jarring at the same time.
“Well,” she said, pulling herself from the trance he always seemed to put her in. “I guess we should get started. Are you ready?”
“Definitely.”
Violet squirted oil on her hands while Jace situated himself on the table. She drizzled spicy essential oil on his back, rubbing it in with swirling, confident strokes.
Here we go again, she thought and readied herself for the feel of his skin under her fingertips.
Applying just the right amount of pressure, she ran her palms over the width of his back. Noticing knots around his shoulders, she gently kneaded the muscles. She zeroed in on his tightest spots, pressing and rubbing them until every knot relented.
Although he was draped with a sheet throughout the massage, she shivered at the thought of only a thin piece of fabric separating them. At some point, she noticed the sheet had inched its way up his thigh. She ignored it and made long strokes from ankles to the inner thighs and from his Achilles tendon to the base of his butt. After releasing the tightness in his hamstrings, she applied acupressure to key points, relieving his tension. She methodically made her way down his thighs, finding and massaging several pressure points along the way.
When she worked her way up to his thighs, Jace came close to losing control. Instead of relaxing like he was supposed to be doing during a massage, he had himself coiled up tight to prevent his mind from wandering to the things he wanted to do to Violet on and off the massage table. He strained against his growing erection and shifted his weight to one side.
He desperately tried to think of unpleasant things to distract himself from the rampant sexual thoughts he kept experiencing. So he thought about menial things. Every day, boring, non-sexual chores. Paying his taxes came to mind. All those pesky forms and numbers. Only to be reminded that he had an accountant who filed his taxes for him. So he tried to think about yard work. Mowing, weeding, trimming… But then again, he had a gardener who took care of the landscaping for him as well. When he thought about raking leaves—which he never did either—he imagined falling into a pile of them with Violet and kissing her into a frenzy. But it was February and the trees were bare and there were no leaves anyway.
Okay, how about washing his car? No, that was no good either. No good at all. He used the car wash in town, where teenagers working part-time waxed and detailed his car for him. It really didn’t help matters when Jace thought about how he would wash the car himself. Hose down the body, wash a bucketful of suds over her curves... No, no, no.
All right, what about cleaning house? No. He had Veronica, his housekeeper, to do that for him. Damn, wasn’t there anything he didn’t pay someone to do for him? Sure, there were a lot of things he didn’t pay for. Drinks at Club 21 downtown…hockey tickets…sex.
“Okay, you can turn over onto your back now,” Violet said softly.
When she spoke in her silky voice, Jace jerked back to reality and his erection came back to life along with him. He paused and cleared his throat to buy time. God, how could he let his body betray him like this? He was a grown man and should have more control over these things. Maybe he shouldn’t want to control this.
Slowly, he sat up and looked down at his lap. “I, uh…You seem to be having an effect on me, Violet. I seem to be having a…uh…a reaction to you.”
“Reaction?” Violet frowned an
d then her eyes grew wide when her gaze traveled down to his lap and lingered at the tented sheet.
“Oh… Good,” she whispered under her breath. When she realized she’d said the words out loud, her cheeks flushed pink and she cleared her throat. “I mean…I’m sorry. Do you want me to stop?”
“No.” He grabbed her wrist before she could take a step back. The thought of her stopping made Jace want to shackle her to the massage table. He wasn’t going to let her go anywhere.
Violet swallowed and searched his eyes. They were dark with desire and her stomach fluttered. The thin sheet was all that separated them and she fought back the urge to peek underneath it. She licked her bottom lip and his eyes followed the movement.
“Please don’t stop,” he pleaded.
“Okay,” she said, but stayed frozen under his gaze.
They both knew the massage was over, but she couldn’t get her feet to move. Finally, she tore her eyes from his and wiped her hands off on an extra towel.
Jace didn’t want this moment to end. He took the towel from her and took her hands in his. His thumbs made little circles on her knuckles. “Do your hands ever get tired?” he asked softly.
“N-no,” she croaked. She cleared her throat and shifted her feet. “They’re pretty used to it.”
He pulled her to him and she stood in the V of his legs. His hands slipped down and circled her waist. She rested her palms lightly on his shoulders.
She shouldn’t be here with him. Surrounded by his manly scent and muscular arms and thighs. She was engaged to Phillip and they were going to be married. Just as soon as they agreed on a date for the wedding. Just as soon as she could be sure that he had any feelings for her.
Jace searched her face and she averted her eyes to focus on his chest rising and falling as he breathed. Big mistake. The sprinkling of hair there begged her to run her fingers through it and feel its silky coarseness. She dug her fingers into his shoulders to stop herself. Her whole body tingled. In anticipation, with nervousness, with excitement…
Jace leaned forward ever so slightly and Violet licked her lips and swallowed. Before he could press his lips to hers, she moved slightly to the right and placed a kiss on the scar at the corner of his mouth. She could hear his breath whoosh out of his chest and suck back in again.
She kept her left hand on his shoulder and moved her right hand up and into the soft hair at the base of his neck. His breathing hitched again. She pressed her cheek to his and closed her eyes. His breath was hot on her shoulder.
She tilted her head and kissed his temple, cheek and neck. Everywhere but his mouth. It wasn’t any less wrong, but she knew the minute their lips met, she’d be a goner.
While she kissed the spot next to his earlobe, his hands caressed her waist and finally rested on her hips. She felt his fingertips dig into her flesh and her breath caught. It wasn’t her intention to tease him, but this was so dangerously wicked on so many levels that she hesitated to give in. This shouldn’t be happening. This couldn’t be happening.
But she wanted to kiss him on the lips.
Violet leaned back, looked into his eyes, looked at his lips and then decided to go for it. Life was too short to turn down a little taste of happiness when it came your way.
Jace leaned forward until her lips were a breath away and she closed her eyes, ready to meet him the rest of the way.
The phone in the kitchen rang, interrupting their lips.
“The machine will get it,” Jace said, his voice rough and his breath tickling her face. “I have a landline because I don’t always get cell reception way out here.” Why was he explaining himself to her? Because she looked stunned and terrified like she might sprint away at any second like a frightened doe.
Violet held her breath and froze in place. She was just about to kiss Jace smack dab on the lips. If the phone hadn’t rang…
Sebby’s voice boomed over the answering machine, his thick Russian accent snapping Violet back to reality. She sighed and pulled back, but Jace’s hands held her hips in place.
She needed some fresh air, some room to breathe, some time to think, but he wasn’t letting her go.
“Ace, it’s Seb,” the goalie said. “You not still pissed about other day? Poor, old, sensitive Ace. Hey, vut vas da name of dat waitress in Denver? The vun vith da huge ti—”
In one swift movement, Jace was across the room snatching up the phone. He held the sheet around his waist with one hand and grabbed the receiver in the other. “Hey, Sebby,” he said into the phone. Let me call you back, okay?”
He turned his back to Violet and his shoulders sagged. “No. You wish. Seriously, I have to go.” He glanced at the clock on the microwave. “Yeah, okay.” Jace paused and lowered his voice. “Her name was Dolores. Okay, okay. Good luck tonight. Bye.” He hung up the phone and came back to Violet whose feet remained rooted next to the massage table in the same spot he left her.
“Wow, was that Alexandre Sebastien?” she asked in awe, still tingling from their almost-kiss.
“Yeah.”
“He’s only one of the greatest goaltenders ever.”
Jace chuckled. “Don’t tell him that. It’ll seep into that thick Russian skull of his and ruin him for good.” His face grew serious and he reached out and touched her cheek.
She felt herself lean into him. “I really should be going.” It was a whisper, but it was all she was capable of with his hand warm on her skin.
His eyes flashed something she didn’t recognize. Indifference? Anger? He dropped his hand down to his side. “Right.”
“I’m sorry we didn’t get to the rest of your massage, but it’s getting late…” She trailed off, not really wanting to leave, but desperately feeling like she needed to.
“Some other time,” he said simply and flashed a reassuring smile.
“Your appointment on Monday.”
“Sure.” His voice was flat and unreadable like his face.
Before she could change her mind, Violet gathered her things, folded up her massage table and hurried out to her car.
Chapter Five
Family
Jace was angry and frustrated. He wanted to be on the ice, not stuck rehabbing. The day before at practice, he’d had to wear a yellow no-contact jersey because he wasn’t cleared for contact yet. He hated being singled out from the team and felt like a weakling.
To make matters worse, by favoring his leg with the “good” knee, he’d put more pressure on it and as a result his whole body felt out of alignment.
And all he had to do was put on the equipment and he was sore for days. As much as Jace wanted to check yesterday’s practice off as a success, he knew he’d be fooling himself. It was time to think about letting go.
But not quite yet. He still needed more time.
On the bright side, even if he wasn’t cleared for full contact, it still felt good to be on the ice. Working up a sweat and shooting pucks felt good. It felt damn good and wasn’t something he wanted to go without for long. It was nice to be around the guys again, too. Even if it was just to hang out.
The only good thing about Jace’s situation was Violet. She had no idea how damn sexy she was and Jace was disappointed, to say the least, when Seb’s phone call had interrupted them. She had been this close to kissing him. His entire body hummed at the thought of her luscious lips pressed against his. He bet she tasted just as good as she smelled.
Jace was in a crabby mood when he arrived at the NorCal Center, home of the Red Valley Razors. Dressed in his game day Ralph Lauren suit, carrying his game day coffee, Jace strode into the building. The only difference today was that instead of playing in the game, he would be watching from the booth—the last place he wanted to be on game day.
At least Jace wouldn’t be on the sidelines alone. Pete “The Fist” Fontaine would be in the box along with him. Pete had been sidelined by a hit that had resulted in a nasty concussion. The dirty hit had been the only way opposing teams could ward off the likes of a g
uy like Pete. He didn’t earn the nickname “The Fist” by accident.
Once again, the only positive thing to result from Jace’s injuries was Violet. He had an appointment with her tomorrow, so that was good. Something about her revved up his system and had him imagining all kinds of scenarios with and without massage oil. But today was game day and thoughts of Violet would have to be put up on the shelf until later.
Just as he was walking through the arena doors, Jace’s phone rang. Despite the name on the caller ID, he answered it gruffly.
“Hey, big brother,” his brother Donovan chirped.
“What’s up?”
“The parents are letting me come to RV for spring break. I’m staying with my buddy Travis...”
It was impossible to listen to Donovan ramble on at eighty miles a minute and not smile. Jace’s bad mood lifted as he made the long walk to the players’ lounge.
“I’m gonna need a ride from the airport,” Donovan said, not bothering to ask. “Travis’ wheels are in the shop.” He paused when Jace didn’t say anything and then finally asked, “So will you pick me up?”
“Yeah, no problem.”
“Are you playing tonight?”
“No,” he answered bitterly. So much for the better mood.
“You better give Mom a call. She’s still all worried about your shoulder.”
Jace grumbled.
“Ah shit, I gotta go.”
Before Jace could reply, Donovan hung up.
Jace made small talk with some of his teammates in the locker room and prepared to watch his team play hockey from the wrong side of the glass.
* * *
Violet drove to her parents’ house straight from her last appointment of the day. She could have gone home to shower and change, but the game had already started and she figured that wearing her work shirt with the Healing Touch logo embroidered on the front would serve as a good reminder to her mother that, yes, her daughter was gainfully employed and not the slacker she constantly made her out to be.
The James’ had a standing monthly family night where Violet’s mom made a ton of food and fussed over her sons. Violet thought the monthly get-together was a bit redundant because even though they had their own place, her brothers were at their parents’ house several times a week raiding the fridge anyway.
Razors Ice 04 - Hot Ice Page 7