Cooper narrowed his eyes, but he wasn't seeing what Ced saw. “Yeah?”
“See the big bags those twins are carrying? Watch them cram food in those bags when they think no one's watching.”
Cooper nodded as it dawned on him. “They're party crashers.”
“Damn right.”
“They aren’t here for the hockey players, they’re here for the food.” One more reason to hate Seattle. They didn’t even have hockey groupies, just a bunch of hot women more interested in grabbing food than horny, athletic men.
“And the entertainment,” Cedric added. “It’s better than popcorn and a movie any day.”
Cooper’s annoyance gave way as a plan formed in his mind. A slow smile spread across Coop's face, the first one since this nightmare began what seemed like a lifetime ago. “I wonder how Parker would react if he found out these starving college students or whatever have crashed his perfect little party with his Seattle A-lister attendees, and he’s none the wiser?”
“Pretty damn hilarious, isn't it?” Cedric continued to stare at the redhead.
“Yeah, here I thought they were enemies, and they're allies of a sort.”
Cedric nodded. “Even if management suspects she’s a party crasher, they won’t kick her out on the off-chance she really is with you.”
“Maybe I can have some fun with them. Make this party crash in style.” Cooper’s smile spread farther.
“Coop, you scare the shit out of me when you smile like that. It means someone’s going to die or get their body slammed against the boards.”
“No dying, no slamming. At least not physically.” Cooper rubbed the stubble on his chin. His gaze was drawn to Ethan Parker, who’d walked across the room and was trying to engage a couple players in conversation. They weren’t warming up to the idea. Ethan glanced in Cooper’s direction, and their gazes clashed with the intensity of two warriors squaring up on a battlefield. Ethan’s eyes narrowed. He’d deal with Cooper later, Cooper was certain of that. Fine, bring it on.
Shaking his head in frustration, Ethan walked away from the table of players and struck up a conversation with his head coach.
“She’s heading your way.” Cedric jerked his head, and Cooper forgot all about the team owner. Isabella walked toward him with the loose-hipped stride of a runway model. This time he was ready for her games. In fact, he’d play a few of his own, and he played to win.
Chapter 3—Change on the Fly
Okay, this party wasn’t going as intended. Isabella caught the eye of the team majority owner, Ethan Parker, who’d hired Party Crashers to do this job. He jerked his head toward the players clumped at tables and looking miserable, not mingling, not enjoying themselves. They’d turned down every advance by her sisters to dance. No results, no money. That was the deal she’d struck with Parker, and they needed this money, not just to pay bills, but to take this business to the next level and move a step closer to quitting their day jobs.
She’d need to step up her game. And that game began with the guy who called the shots, the team captain, Cooper Black. She strolled toward Cooper, as if she had all the time in the world, even though inside her stomach was tied in knots. Cooper glowered at her while his buddy wore the biggest grin, obviously willing to play along with her ruse. Thank God, she could use an ally in this place. Cedric abandoned the chair next to Cooper, despite his buddy’s warning scowl, and Izzy sank down into the seat, not as gracefully as she’d like because her feet were killing her in those shoes. What she’d give right now to soak them in a warm bucket of water.
“You're back? Haven't you tortured me enough?” Something in his tone caught Isabella off guard. He sounded almost conspiratorial.
She recovered quickly and wrapped an arm around his waist. “Seriously? Not even close. Let's dance, big boy.”
He watched her for a long moment, and she could almost see the wheels turning. His expression made her uneasy. “I know your game.”
“Excuse me?” She gazed up at him, an adoring smile plastered on her face, but she could tell he saw through it, maybe even caught her moment of uncertainty.
“Your game. I know what your deal is.” His smug smile indicated he thought he had one up on her.
Izzy went all cold and still inside, her smile frozen in place. “My deal?”
“Yeah.” He crossed his arms over his ample chest and leaned back in his chair. “You’re party crashers. Do you go around to parties just to get free meals and free alcohol, or is there more to it than that?”
“What are you insinuating?” Anger replaced her fear. She leaned forward, a hand on his arm and gave him her patented bitch glare. Bad idea. Touching him was like touching an inferno. The heat from his body set fire to the heat inside hers, and she barely knew the guy. Get a grip, Izzy. Obviously, she’d concentrated on her business too long and neglected her sex life, so now her sex life wanted a front row seat on this hunk’s lap.
“That you do this pretty frequently.” His smug smile slid off his face as he watched her warily. His gaze kept flicking to her hand, as if he felt the heat, too.
“Hey, money’s tight. We do what we can.” She shrugged and sat back in her chair, taking her hand off him and feeling as if she should dunk it in a glass of ice water.
“You are sisters then?” He almost seemed interested and way too cool and calm.
“That’s right. Besides, the twins are huge hockey fans. We couldn’t pass up this chance to party with the players and take advantage of the food and drink.”
“Opportunists?”
“A little. What about you? What’s your story? It’s obvious you don’t want to be here. Your attitude is ruining the party.” She stared into the most piercing set of blue eyes she’d ever seen anywhere, so piercing they sliced right through her tough armor, down to her deepest secrets. Her knees would’ve given out if she’d been standing, so powerful was his steady, unwavering gaze.
“What do you care?” He studied her, as if reading every line in her heart’s history.
“I hate seeing a good party go bad.”
“It was never a good party. You and I could have our own party somewhere away from this place.”
Panic must have crossed her face because he chuckled.
“Well, you are my girlfriend.” He almost smiled.
“I think it’s time to eat.”
“If there’s anything left, the way your sisters have been shoving food in their purses.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” In response, her stomach, which hadn’t been satisfied in hours, growled like an angry lion. “By the way, I’m Izzy.”
“Wouldn’t I know that as your boyfriend?” Another smile tugged at the corners of his generous, very kissable mouth. This man was all kinds of sexy, and she’d bet her grandmother’s support hose his body looked as good as his face.
“You would think.”
Together they stood, and he escorted her to the buffet table, hand on her elbow, like the gentleman she bet he really wasn’t. Especially not in bed.
They loaded their plates and returned to their table.
He eyed her heaping plate of food, equal to his. “Are you really going to eat all that?”
She nodded as she dug in. Being horny always made her hungry when she couldn’t satisfy the horny—not that she’d tell him that.
“Where do you put it all?” He stared at her plate in amazement then slid his gaze up and down her slender body.
“I’m active.”
“Obviously.”
“So, Izzy.” Cedric grinned at her as he sat down opposite Cooper. “What are you doing dating this clown?”
“She’s not—”
“I like projects, and he’s a project. Besides, he has a soft side.”
Cooper’s teammates at the table elbowed each other and laughed at his expense. Cooper frowned and shot her a warning glare, but she’d never been the type of girl to be silenced by a single glance, despite the dangerous glint in his ey
es.
“He does. Really. He writes love songs.” Izzy stroked his stubbled cheek, and he sucked in a breath.
“No fucking way? This guy?” The teammate sitting next to Cooper slapped him on the back, causing him to choke on his food.
Cooper swallowed and rose to defend himself and his manhood. “I don’t—”
“They’re beautiful. He’s very poetic, says my eyes are like diamonds in the sky and my hair is like chocolate silk.” Izzy gazed adoringly at Cooper. He didn’t return the favor.
Matt, a guy she recognized as one of the best defensemen in the league, snorted so loud he could be heard several tables away. “Never knew you had it in you, buddy.”
“She’s making that up.” Cooper looked ready to commit a mass murder and leave no witnesses.
“He’s shy about his talents.” Izzy patted his arm in a loving gesture and got another deadly glare in response. She was having a helluva good time, even if it was at his expense. “He’s such a romantic soul, always leaving me little cards everywhere declaring his love for me. He calls me his little chicken coop. I think it’s so cute.”
The guys were laughing so hard they were wiping their eyes.
Cooper looked like he was going to throw up, and Izzy was just getting warmed up. If he wanted her to stop he’d have to dance with her. He buried his dark head in his food, shoveling it in so fast she got the distinct impression he wished he was cramming her mouth full of food to shut her up.
“What do you call him?” Matt wiped his mouth with his sleeve; obviously manners weren’t his forte.
“Super Cooper or Supe because his ego isn’t the only thing that’s super-sized.” She smiled sweetly at all of them, playing the naïve, innocent thing to the hilt.
Another round of hilarity ensued while Cooper’s face turned redder than her cherry bomb lipstick. Finally, as if accepting his fate, he buried his face in his hands and groaned.
She leaned over and whispered in his ear, bringing on another round of hoots from the cheap seats. “You want me to stop then dance with me.”
“Not a chance in hell.” He lifted his head, his blue eyes burning right through her, and it wasn’t just from anger. In fact, that heat zinged right down to her crotch and wet her panties.
“I won’t stop until you do.”
He studied her for a moment, as if assessing the conviction behind her words. “I don’t know you.” He turned to his buddies. “Hear me out, guys. I don’t know this woman. She latched on to me to crash this party.”
“Oh, Coop, don’t be an ass.” Cedric grinned. “You’re just pissed ’cause she’s got your dick on a leash and you fucking don’t want to admit it.”
Several heads around the table nodded in unison. Cedric turned to Izzy. “We love you, honey, even if he’s too much of a dick to admit to his weakness.”
“Oh fuck.” Cooper slammed his fist on the table, drawing another set of head-turning around the room. He jumped to his feet and stalked across the ballroom and out the double doors. Izzy gave the boys a “so sorry” look and ran after him as fast as her heels would carry her, off to do damage control.
Maybe she’d pushed him too far. She desperately needed the man to dance with her. Just a dance or two. Once he hit the dance floor, all his buddies would follow, and the party would be on its way, as would her new business, the very business way too far in debt after her sisters and she purchased clothes and accessories in keeping with their image.
Cooper’s broad back disappeared into the men’s room, the door slamming in her face. She stood outside, wringing her hands. And they said women took forever in the bathroom? This guy must be reading an entire newspaper in there or something.
Or jacking off. Her brain did a deviant detour to a little fantasy in which she walked in, found him jerking on an impressively large dick and said, “Here, let me help you with that.” She had to admit, the man was hot, really hot, and she wanted some of that action in the worst, unprofessional way. She wasn’t opposed to recreational sex, and she’d been too busy to indulge, what with getting her fledgling business off the ground, along with her day job as a barista.
Only there was that pact with her sisters, a tiny little roadblock on a highway already riddled with potholes. When they started this business, Rule Number One pertained to never sleeping with the party guests, no matter how delectable.
Cooper wasn’t just delectable, he was the definition of sexy. And desperate times often called for bending or obliterating rules. Oh, yeah, she was trying every which way to justify an action which had no justification.
Or did it?
This night would be a disaster if she didn’t find a way to rescue it and fast. Despite her efforts, the stubborn man held strong. Too strong. Izzy racked her brain for a different plan, and that plan kept involving naked skin, sweaty bodies, and a lot of groaning, panting, and sweating.
Holy crap.
Izzy fanned herself and stared at her watch. Bolstering her courage, she pushed the door open and went inside, not certain what she’d find or even what she wanted to find.
Cooper glanced up from washing his hands, shock crossing his handsome features momentarily, followed by a slow, predatory smile. She liked him as a predator, didn’t even mind being the prey because that particular role would have its perks and then some.
“Well, honey, this takes party crashing to a whole new level.” He propped his fine ass on the counter, crossed a pair of strong arms over his equally impressive chest, and grinned a sexy, lopsided smile that pushed her off balance, but her years of pretending everything was fine when it wasn’t came into play.
She smiled right back, refusing to let him see her sweat. “You have to dance with me.”
“I don’t have to do anything.” His sensuous lips turned down and his square jaw set in that stubborn line she’d come to realize meant she wasn’t getting her way tonight or in the next decade or two.
Unless she called in the big guns.
Izzy’s breath caught in her throat as she put her hands on his belt buckle. She’d never done anything like this before. Never solicited a guest at a party. Never been this bold. But caution escaped her as the full power of his lustful gaze slammed into her. Party be damned, she wanted this man and that insane wanting trumped every other argument her practical side produced.
“Dance with me,” she spoke again, this time her voice sounded husky and low.
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “It’ll cost you.”
Of that she had no doubt, but right now, she was willing to pay the price.
* * * *
Cooper had to have her. Hell, he’d gone almost three months without a woman, a virtual record for him, and his dick throbbed harder than it had that night in the VIP room of a New York City nightclub while three stunning and very naked women had their way with him and his dick.
Only this was Izzy. Not three nameless, faceless women, and for reasons he couldn’t fathom, she did it for him more than a VIP room full of horny, uninhibited women.
Izzy’s full lower lip fell in a full-blown sexy pout. He held his breath, waiting to see what those fingers would do with his belt buckle. She parted her red lips and moistened them with her tongue. He stared at her mouth, forgetting how to breathe. With a sultry smile and deft fingers, she undid his belt and unbuttoned the top button on his dress pants. He sucked in a breath, afraid to move one muscle and destroy the moment.
She was about to go down on him in the men’s room of a chartered tourist boat, and he wouldn’t miss this experience for all the Cups in the world.
With a sly smile, Izzy slid down the zipper. It was her turn to suck in a breath when his penis sprang free in all ten plus inches of hard male glory. She glanced up at him with one arched brow. “Commando?”
“Always prepared. That’s me. Why deal with unnecessary clothing when you can cut right to the meat of the matter.” He found himself grinning. Underwear was overrated and got in the way. He hadn’t exactly planned on finding a w
oman tonight and taking her home, but it’d been a possibility he hadn’t discounted.
She ran a fingernail over the tip of his penis. He gripped the counter, unable to stand without support. A tortured groan was wrenched from deep in his gut. Hell, he’d been with more women than he could count over the years, from debutantes to anything-goes groupies, but not one had shaken him to the core like this woman with just one scrape of her fingernail across the sensitive tip.
“Fuck me with your mouth, honey.” He put his hands on her shoulders with gentle pressure. “Do you deep throat?”
“As big as you are? I’ll give it my best.” She started to kneel when the door slammed open.
It was Cedric.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Coop. Get a room, would ya?”
Izzy shot to her feet and ran from the bathroom in a flash of sexy dress and long legs, her deadly heels tapping out a desperate beat on the tile floor. Zipping his pants, Cooper pushed his friend out of the way and sprinted after her. He caught her halfway down the hall and pulled her against him.
She stared up at him in shame, her chest heaving. “I just about gave you a blow job in a public bathroom.”
“Yeah, I know.” He couldn’t stop the grin from spreading. Music spilled out of the party deck doors, pulsing, sexy music. He wasn’t going to let her get away this easily. Not when his entire body needed her as much as it needed oxygen.
He grabbed her hand and pulled her along, trying several doors until he found one that wasn’t locked. The ladies’ room. Somehow that seemed fitting. He pulled her inside and locked the door this time.
Perfect.
Picking her up, he ignored her protests and carried her to the makeup counter. She licked her lips again and swallowed, her eyes locked with his. He kissed her, gently at first until the fire built to an explosion inside him, then he ravaged her mouth like the starving man he was. She wrapped those long legs around his waist and gave as good as she got, not the least bit intimidated by his size and power like some women were.
Her courage and passion drove him fucking nuts.
Seduced by the Game Page 16