Melting The Ice

by Amy Leigh Napier

  Ava slid into the backseat of Macy’s Mercedes so Cian could have the longer legroom the front seat provided. She listened to them chat while her thoughts kept wondering back to the kiss she had just shared with him. Of all people for her to get worked up over, Cian Secord had to be close to the worst possible choice ever but that didn’t slow it down one little bit. The man only had to get in close proximity and her hormones set up and begged like a bitch in heat. Despite the effort she had put into avoiding him, it wasn’t working and she was afraid it was just a matter of days, maybe even hours before she relented and gave her hormones the green light. More than anything, she didn’t want a fling with him to end up causing problems between her and her son or with Cian’s parents. She didn’t think it was too much of a stretch to assume his parents wouldn’t be overly thrilled with their son having an affair with Jameson’s mother, despite him being twenty-seven years old.

  They arrived at Yeager Airport with plenty of time to spare and settled in the lounge to wait for Macy’s flight to be called. Cian excused himself from the table to make some phone calls, leaving Ava and Macy alone.

  “I gather from what I witnessed earlier, you have decided to stop fighting your…attraction to Cian.” Macy said as soon as he disappeared from sight. Ava took a sip of her drink as she perused the menu, her expression grumpy.

  “I don’t know why you would be assuming anything of the sort; it was just a kiss.”

  “In all the years we’ve been friends, I don’t recall ever thinking you were an idiot until now.” Macy responded with a disbelieving shake of her head. Ava’s brows shot up in surprise. “You want that man so damn bad, it’s pickled your brain.”

  “I don’t want to want him.” Ava muttered irritably. Macy waved her hand as if Ava’s concerns were of no consequence and rolled her eyes.

  “When did you develop such a flair for the dramatic?” Macy questioned sarcastically. “You’re acting like an untried virgin, which we both know you’re not. Put yourself out of your misery and take advantage of what that gorgeous man is so freely offering.”

  Ava snapped the menu shut and tossed it on the table. “Why won’t you let this drop?”

  Macy stared at her in disbelief before bursting into laughter. “You’re serious?” When that got no response from her stubborn friend but a glare, she continued. “Could it be I see how he watches you? Could it be I see you looking at him like a crack fiend’s next hit?”

  Ava flushed and shook her head in disgust. “Whatever.”

  The waitress interrupted them to take their food orders and brought them another drink.

  “When is his friend due to arrive?” Macy asked with interest, letting the previous subject drop.

  He had approached Ava a few days prior to see if his buddy, Max, could stay with them when he came to town for a visit. “Not for another few weeks.”

  “Wonder if he’s as hot as Cian.” Macy asked with a grin while she waggled her eyebrows suggestively. Ava laughed and shrugged.

  “I have no idea. Jameson called and told me Max is a nice guy and asked that I extend my hospitality to include him.”

  “If Max is like Cian, I’ll be more than happy to assist with the hospitality when I return.” Macy teased, both of them giggling helplessly.

  “Ava, is that you?” A deep voice interrupted their conversation. Ava looked up to find a good-looking, blonde man standing beside their table. He looked familiar but she was unable to put the name to the face. He smiled ruefully when he realized she didn’t remember him from her look of confusion. “I’m crushed you don’t remember me. Drew Loftus…we met at a Big Green function last year?”

  “I do remember you. Hello Drew.” She smiled into his hazel eyes, recalling being introduced to the prominent lawyer by the mutual friends at the event. “Would you like to join us?”

  “Unfortunately I can only stay a moment. I’m meeting a client in a few minutes.” He answered as he slid his long, thin frame into the booth beside her. Ava introduced him to Macy and they chatted for a few moments. When the hostess informed Drew his client had arrived, he rose from the table to take his leave. “Ava, I’d love to take you to dinner while you’re in town.”

  She hesitated, not really feeling any attraction to Drew. He was a handsome guy in a clean cut, Ivy League way, a very successful attorney and just a few years older than her but he left her cold. She saw Cian crossing the room towards them. Maybe Drew could distract her from her hunky houseguest. She reached into her purse and withdrew a business card with her numbers on it, passing it to Drew. “I’d like that.”

  “How about tomorrow…say seven o’clock?” He asked with a smile. She agreed and Drew took his leave, promising to call the next day for directions.

  “You can’t seriously be planning to go out with that cold fish.” Macy muttered under her breath, taking another sip of her margarita.

  “I thought he was charming.” Ava said defensively. Cian slid into the booth beside her as Macy scoffed. “What? He’s good looking.”

  “Talking about me Ava?” Cian teased her with a grin.

  “No, she’s talking about that cold fish attorney she just agreed to have dinner with tomorrow night.” Macy stated with disgust. He looked at Ava and smiled that irritating knowing smile he used on her regularly.

  “She’s just trying to resist me, Mace.” Macy choked on her drink as she tried not to laugh. Ava glared at him, but he just kept smiling into her eyes while he talked. “I mean, you can’t blame her for trying.” Ava said nothing, refusing to give his asinine statements any response. Macy, on the other hand, laughed until she almost cried. After a few moments, she was able to get herself under control but could not wipe the huge grin off her face as she looked at Ava and Cian, one glaring, the other grinning. Luckily, their food was delivered before Macy could say anything else to stir the pot. The flight was called soon after they finished their meals. Ava hugged Macy tight as she made to board her plane.

  “You’re going to have the best time.” Ava said with a wide smile. “Give Nate a big hug for me and tell him I love him.” Macy squeezed her back.

  “You could have the best time while I’m gone wearing that young stud out if you had any sense.” Macy whispered in her ear, both of them laughing. “I’ll call when I get checked into my hotel.” Macy gave Cian a hug, too. “Behave yourself, Mr. Secord.”

  “What fun would that be?” He teased. “Have a safe flight, Macy.”

  With one last wave, Macy was off. Ava sighed deeply, turning to where Cian stood jingling Macy’s keys and grinning at her. How was she going to resist him without Macy to run interference?

  Chapter Thirteen

  Cian packed up his gear and laid his hockey sticks across his shoulder before crossing to the elderly gentleman waiting by the door jingling a ring of keys. “Thanks again for letting me use the ice, Mr. Adkins.”

  “It’s not like you’re not paying out the ass for it.” He cackled, sounding a bit demented. Cian smiled wryly, handing the man a wad of cash before loading his gear in his SUV and heading back to Ava’s. He’d called Jay and asked him to find him a place to skate, not really expecting much. Surprisingly, Jay had easily put him in contact with Mr. Adkins, the owner of the local ice rink. The elderly gentleman had been more than happy to rent him the rink at an astronomical rate since it was setting empty for the summer. Making ice wasn’t cheap but Cian felt the extravagant expense was justified. As long as he could continue regular workouts on the ice, he should be more than ready for training camp in September. The upcoming season would be his tenth in the NHL and he planned to be in the best shape of his life. There was always some young hotshot gunning for his spot just as he had gone after the veterans when he’d first been drafted. Those veterans had taught him a lot of hard lessons. He smiled to himself thinking about the lessons he would be teaching come training camp. There was nothing more fun than when training camp started and the cocky rookies had to be schooled. Most of them learned within a few
days but you always had a hardhead or two. Usually after getting caught with their heads down a few times and requiring ammonia to regain their senses, they learned to be team players. He played rough hockey and talked his share of shit, but no one was worse than Max. Max never shut up. And he didn’t care if the guy was bigger than him or not. Max wasn’t huge by NHL standards at 6’2” but that didn’t slow him down in the least. Cian couldn’t count the number of times he had ended up in the penalty box watching Max’s back. Cian focused on the game and didn’t like to be distracted by all the fighting. Not that he minded fighting. That was just part of hockey. But he didn’t drop the gloves just for the sake of fighting.

  He drove along the curving road, Foo Fighters blaring from the stereo, thinking about Ava’s upcoming date with the “cold fish attorney”, as Macy had dubbed him. He’d never been a jealous person and still wasn’t but it burned his ass that Ava was being so ridiculous about the whole sex issue between them. They had already slept together and the sex had been top-notch. As far as he was concerned it was like locking the henhouse after the fox was already inside, the fox being him, he thought with a chuckle. She had been quiet for most of the drive home yesterday but the sexual tension in the car had been thick. He’d been packing a hard-on the entire trip. No sooner had they entered the house, she’d pleaded a headache and disappeared for the rest of the evening behind the double doors leading to the master suite. He’d left her alone; willing to be patient when he knew his wait to bury himself inside her body again was coming to an end shortly. She was desperately fighting against her desire for him and he had her on the ropes. He hadn’t gone this long without sex since he was a teenager but he had enjoyed the chase she had provided the last month. He hadn’t expected her to put him off this long but she had been stubborn as hell. He knew she didn’t want Jameson to find out. He didn’t either and would never dream of telling Jay anything about his mother sexually. That was just gross, for one, and he’d given up kissing and telling in high school. Her other excuse was his parents, and though he didn’t think his parents would be thrilled to discover he’d been laid up with Jay’s mom who was closer to their age than his, it wasn’t like they would disown him or anything. And besides, the same thing applied to them as Jay; he wasn’t going to be discussing his sex life. It had been a long month since he’d been inside her body and every time he was around her, his body practically begged for relief that was supplied by something other than his own fist. Oh well, he thought, let her have her date with the lawyer. When she came home from her date would be soon enough for what he had in mind.

  Chapter Fourteen

  She was bored out of her mind and wishing for something to shut Drew up; like him being stricken mute, her being stricken deaf, a terrorist attack…something! Anything! She couldn’t believe that she had ever agreed to go out with a pompous ass like Drew Loftus. He had spent the entire evening alternately name-dropping, attempting to gain her as a client and trying to get his hand under the short skirt of the little black dress she’d worn. She hated when people name-dropped, approached her with ulterior motives and men that didn’t know how to keep their damned hands to themselves when their attention was completely undesired. The more wine he imbibed, the worse the latter had gotten. He could possibly have been the most clueless man she’d ever come across in her dating experience; he actually thought she was brainless and he would not only be her attorney before the night was out but get lucky, as well. There was no danger of either happening. The only danger she could foresee was her stabbing him to death with his salad fork if she didn’t get away from him soon.

  She kept telling herself this interminable evening was almost over and she would be back at her house shortly, safe from the fear of prosecution for doing Drew bodily harm but he was stomping all over her last nerve. He continued to drone on and her thoughts drifted where they always drifted; Cian. The ride home from the airport yesterday had been pure, sensual torture. Her body had rebelled against her head demanding it ignore Cian Secord and instead, went on full alert. He’d been driving Macy’s Mercedes, his big body slouched comfortably in the seat, and large, long-fingered hands tapping to the beat of the music; she had been hyperaware of everything about him. Her eyes had caressed the five o’clock shadow on his jaw and appreciated how it enhanced the ruggedness of his handsome face. The silky lock of hair that kept falling over his forehead and was repeatedly pushed back, his sensuous mouth that looked to be designed especially for kissing and when he licked his lips; it had sent a bolt of lust straight to her center. Every time she looked into his long-lashed, dark eyes she was reminded of a line from one of her favorite songs “just like the ocean under the moon, that’s the same as the emotion that I get from you…” it was like being hypnotized. Inhaling the subtle, spicy scent of his cologne with every breath had the saliva pooling in her mouth at the thought of tasting his skin.

  She had been so turned on by the time they had arrived back at home, she’d literally ran to her room to keep from throwing herself at him. Thoughts of making love to him followed her into sleep and made for a very long, sleepless night. Being irritated from the moment she had climbed out of bed by her dreams, she had felt the best course of action was making herself scarce so as to not have to deal with Cian at all. She’d had hopes this date with Drew would take her mind off her guest, but the exact opposite was the case. Her subconscious had been making silent, mental comparisons all evening and Drew had not fared well. She noticed Drew’s hand up signaling the waiter for the check and mentally forced herself back to her date. Thank God he was finally taking her home. Maintaining her composure on the drive home was a trial since she had to repeatedly remove his hand from her knee, her thigh and from inching up her skirt. By the time they pulled up in front of her house, all she could think about was getting the hell away from her octopus-handed date and the joy of never having to see him again. He parked and came around the hood of the Corvette, opened the door and assisted her out of the low-slung sports car. He attempted to put his arm around her shoulders as they approached the front door but she evaded him under the guise of hunting for her keys in her purse. She palmed the keys and turned to offer him a tight smile.

  “Thank you for a lovely evening, Drew.” She said in what probably sounded like a sincere voice to people that didn’t know her very well. “I had a nice time.” He leaned in for a kiss but she adeptly turned her face so his lips landed on her cheek. He chuckled, at what; she didn’t know. Then he pulled her roughly to him and grabbed her face, turning her head until they were face to face. He grinned down at her in what he probably thought was a sexy manner but in reality looked a little scary. “I love it when a woman plays hard to get. Turns me on.” He said before slamming his mouth down on hers in a hard kiss, squeezing her cheeks until she opened her mouth for his tongue. She frantically pushed against him, hoping he would realize she wasn’t interested and let her go but that only made him kiss her harder. She tried to bite his tongue succeeding only in him tightening his grip on her face to where she couldn’t bite down hard enough to do any damage. His hands were everywhere at once, making her skin crawl but no matter how hard she pushed and tried to wriggle away from him, he refused to let her go until she feared she was going to be raped at her own front door. He was slim but still much stronger than her. She was struggling to get enough space between them to slam her knee into his groin when a deep, silky voice spoke from behind her.

  “I would strongly urge you to take your hands off Ava.” She found herself released so abruptly, she would have fallen if not for Cian’s arm snaking around her waist to catch her. He stalked out of the open front door, looking big and mean in nothing but a pair of athletic shorts showing off his thickly muscled body. Drew was tall but Cian towered over him and probably had sixty pounds in muscle on the much slimmer man. “You okay, Baby?” Cian asked conversationally without taking his eyes off the now sullen attorney.

  “I’m okay.” She said softly, hugging herself. Drew had b
acked up a couple of steps and was warily eyeing the younger man. Cian’s eyes ran over her from head to toe, looking for any apparent sign of injury before turning his thunderous gaze back to her unwanted guest.

  “You need to go.” He gritted out, his arms hanging loose and ready at his sides as if he hoped the attorney would take a swing at him. Drew wiped his hand across his mouth and gave her a look of derision before turning to walk back to his car.

  “She’s a cocktease.” He called angrily over his shoulder. “Believe me; until you came outside, she was all over me…” Cian leaped off the front steps with a growl and went after him. Drew hearing the growl and the slap of Cian’s bare feet against the concrete, let out a squeak of fright and took off running, trying to reach the safety of his car. Cian grabbed him by the back of the neck and slammed his head into the top of the sleek Corvette, denting the roof with Drew’s face. Before Drew could finish his wail of pain, Cian yanked him back up and buried his fist in his gut. Drew gagged, his breath whooshing out of him as he doubled over, trying to protect his midsection from further abuse, his face already bloody and bruised. Cian jerked him upright and drew back to slam his fist into Drew’s face when Ava grabbed his arm, holding on for dear life.