by Kendall Ryan
Saint raises both hands. “That was Braun’s idea.”
My stomach sours.
Eden is in that room, feeling like shit—probably crying her eyes out to Les—all because Alex fucking Braun decided he needed to get laid last night and couldn’t do his damn job on the ice.
Alex saunters past us, headed for the exit, freshly showered and dressed in a wrinkle-free navy-blue suit. Without thinking, I rise quickly and intercept him in the hallway, letting the heavy door thud closed behind us.
“What the—” Alex sputters as I press into his personal space.
I curse under my breath and shove one of his shoulders against the cinderblock wall. “I just overheard something about you and the guys who were entertaining late last night.”
He glares at me. “So?”
“So, when you fuck up the game because of your extracurriculars, it catches people’s attention.”
“How exactly is that any of your business?” Alex gives me a shove, and I take a step back.
“Because you need to keep things discreet. And if you ever cared about Eden, you need to stop this. Word is going to get out, and you’re going to ruin any chance you had at a friendship with her.”
He scoffs at this. “I doubt we’re on track to be besties, anyway. Pretty sure she hates me.”
My fists clench at my sides, and I’m sure there’s a vein throbbing in my neck. “You’re going to publicly humiliate her. Be more discreet or you’ll have me to deal with.”
“What are you, her babysitter now?”
“No, just a friend.”
He smirks, giving me a self-satisfied look. “Right. A friend who’s on the payroll. Got it. Just don’t forget that, Rossi.” He takes a menacing step closer. “Don’t forget that the only reason why she wants you around is because you’re an employee here. You’re not her friend.”
His personality and mine just don’t mix. We’ll never see eye to eye, and that’s fine with me. But if he still thinks of Eden as a toy he doesn’t want anyone else to play with, we’re going to have a big fucking problem. She’s capable of deciding who she wants to share her time and her body with, and even if that guy isn’t me, the choice is still hers. Alex holds no claim over her anymore.
I wonder then if he knows about Eden’s history with me. If he suspects there’s something going on between us now. But it doesn’t matter. He needs to keep his nose clean and do what this league is paying him to do—which is to play hockey, not hook up with puck bunnies.
“Fuck you, Braun. Just keep your dick in your pants and don’t upset Eden, or you’re going to be fucking with me.”
He scoffs again. “Whatever, dude. I’ll fuck with whoever I want.”
I slam my palm into the wall just as Eden comes through the door and enters the hallway beside us. “Holt? Alex? What the hell is going on?” Confusion crinkles her brow.
“Nothing,” I lie.
Alex shoulders his way past us, grumbling something under his breath I can’t catch. We watch him stalk away until he’s out of sight, and then it’s just me and her. The air is still charged around us.
Eden straightens her posture, squaring her shoulders. “Don’t lie to me. What’s going on? Did Alex say something to you?”
I release a slow exhale as I consider my options.
I won’t lie to Eden, but I don’t exactly want to tell her the truth either. Because even if they’re broken up, on some level his sleeping around might hurt her, and that’s the last thing I want.
“I won’t lie to you, so if you really need to know, I will tell you. But please just trust me.”
She gives me a pleading look.
“I’ll tell you if and when there’s something you need to know. Okay?”
I can see the moment she gives in. Her shoulders relax. “Okay. But only because I sense you’re trying to protect me from something ugly, and my life could use less stress right now, not more.”
My instincts were right. Somehow they always seem to be with this woman.
I reach out for her and place one hand on her shoulder. She leans into my touch, letting me rub her neck and shoulder briefly. In that moment, I realize I’d do anything to ease her burden, anything to make her feel good and whole again.
She meets my eyes again. “I still want to know what Alex said to you.”
I give her a pleased smile. She never gives up. Never backs down. It’s just not in her nature. “I know you do. But remember, lions don’t concern themselves with the opinions of sheep. And you are a lion. Got it?”
A shy smile tugs at her mouth, and my heart leaps. Who is this girl? She makes me feel so many messy, confusing emotions. Most of them all at once. It’s disorienting.
“Got it,” she says with a smile.
“Are you ready to get out of here?” I tip my chin toward the stairwell.
She nods. “Yes. And ready to be back home. The hotel bed didn’t agree with me last night.”
“You can come by my room tonight if you want. My bed was comfortable.”
She smirks, glancing at me as we head up the stairs together. “Oh, really. You sure you wouldn’t mind?”
I smile, but I don’t dare touch her right now because someone could see us. “I wouldn’t mind at all.”
Eden plays coy, pursing her lips. “I don’t know. I might just stay in tonight and read. I started this really good book someone gave me the other night.”
I chuckle and shake my head.
When we reach the top of the stairs, her assistant appears with some questions, furiously typing something into a tablet. Eden gives me a look that says she’s sorry to be done with our playful conversation, but I can sense that she needs to focus on work now, so I say good-bye.
“I’ll see you later,” I say.
“I might be able to work you in,” she says, and then she winks.
My heart takes off at a gallop.
15
* * *
EDEN
As I hide in my hotel room like a coward, I can’t help replaying Holt’s offer from earlier over and over in my head. The way his deep voice rumbled over the words. Those words being . . . an invitation to share his bed.
I heave a sigh, falling back onto my bed and staring blankly at Holt’s contact on my phone. Thus far, the texting box has remained empty. I guess I’m hoping the right words will magically fall off my thumbs.
What do you say to someone when you’re looking for a booty call, but you don’t want your booty call to know he’s a booty call?
And now I’ve officially thought the words booty call so many times, they don’t even sound like a real phrase. And is that really what Holt is? I think part of me knows he’s much more than that.
With a huff, I drop my phone onto my pillow and redirect all this cagey energy toward the view out my window, like the solution to my problem might be hidden somewhere in the night sky.
Why am I letting myself get so worked up? For all I know, Holt might have been joking when he made that comment. After all, last night when we crossed that boundary, I was the one who said it was a one-time thing. Not that it’s stopped my memory from replaying every moment of it.
As it turns out, Gretchen was very wrong about me getting Holt out of my system. If anything, one taste of him has only left me craving more. Every time his stormy eyes met mine today, I remembered that wicked look that danced through them moments before he proceeded to give me the best orgasm of my life.
I want to explore this thing with him, but I have no idea how to proceed with caution—especially for someone in my role with this organization. It’s a virtual human resources nightmare, if I’m being honest. Nothing about this situation is smart on my part. But as I learned once long ago, sometimes good girls need to be bad.
My phone buzzes, interrupting my stargazing, and I ready myself for an email from Aspen, or a notification from ESPN about the game. Instead, what I find makes my eyebrows shoot up, while simultaneously sparking a warm, jittery feeling in my ches
t.
I swipe my thumb over the notification, opening the text. Congrats on the win, BTW. Don’t know if I said that before.
A smile tugs at my lips as my thumbs fly across the keyboard, firing off a reply. Thanks :) What are you still doing up? Our flight leaves early tomorrow.
Normally, protocol would dictate that one should wait a little while before responding to a text from a guy, but something about Holt has me feeling a bit more eager than usual.
Much to my surprise, he responds not with another text, but with a phone call.
Jesus. Here I was, scrutinizing every word of a potential message to him. Meanwhile, he has the guts to just call out of the blue? That’s the kind of confidence I need to tap into.
After a brief, centering breath, I answer. “Hello?”
Holt’s low, rough voice washes over me. “Hey. You finally done working for the night?”
My teeth sink into my lower lip. “Yes, I’m done. Were you checking up on me?” I ask quietly.
His laugh is a low chuckle on the other end of the line. “Something like that.”
I drop onto the corner of the bed, and just like every time I’m with him, all the tension I’ve been hanging on to slips away. “Well, thanks for checking in.”
“As much as I’d like to accept the accolades, this call is less professional and more personal in nature,” he says somewhat shyly.
“Oh?” I ask, biting my lower lip.
“I was serious about what I said earlier. No pressure, but I’d really like to see you again.”
I pick absently at a hangnail, weighing the angel on one of my shoulders against the devil on the other. I was so hung up on how to phrase a text to Holt asking if I could see him tonight, that I didn’t even consider the details of that possibility.
If one of the players spotted me leaving our head of security’s room in the morning, every bit of the respect I’ve managed to build over the past month would be as good as gone.
Then again, we pulled this off back in Detroit. Sure, our rooms were right next to each other then, but we might be able to duplicate a similar arrangement—I swing by for a bit, then leave quietly before it’s late enough for anyone to get suspicious.
“Eden? Are you there?”
“Mm-hmm,” I murmur, drumming my fingers against my thigh. “Just figuring out logistics. Maybe I can just stop by for a little while?”
“Sounds good. Room sixteen fourteen.”
“Perfect,” I whisper. It’s three doors down from mine. “See you soon.”
Pressing to my feet, I inspect myself in the mirror and smooth out my hair before slipping out the door and toward his room, all the while formulating an excuse for if I happen to bump into anyone else on the way. Holt’s room just so happens to be close to the vending machines at the end of the hall. I’m happy to blame my trip on a late-night potato chip craving.
But for the second time tonight, luck is on my side, because I don’t encounter another soul until Holt pulls open his door.
“Hi,” I say as his dark eyes roam over me, lingering in all his favorite places before finally settling on my face.
“You look incredible,” he says, his voice low.
I’m dressed in a pair of jeans and a peach-colored T-shirt with slip-ons on my feet. I washed off all my makeup earlier, but I’m grateful for his compliment all the same.
“Thanks,” I murmur, taking note of how the man fills out a pair of jeans and a T-shirt so well, it should be a crime.
I follow him into his room, which, unlike my suite, is a modest, standard hotel room. Just a mini fridge, a wingback chair in the corner, and of course, a neatly made bed. A bed that looms in the center of the room like a beacon, and at that sight, I have to remind myself to breathe.
Before I can even manage a word, Holt circles his big hands around my waist, pulling me flush against him and claiming my mouth with a firm, commanding kiss that empties the breath from my lungs.
Up until now, he’s been so careful with me, toeing every line until I invite him to cross it. But not tonight. Tonight, his kiss is hot and urgent, his tongue eagerly learning every inch of mine as he fills his hands with my backside—squeezing until I release a little moan. I can feel the pressure of his erection straining against my belly through his pants, and my heart rate nearly doubles.
“Sorry. Been wanting to do that all day,” he says in a low voice that makes my insides shiver with excitement.
16
* * *
HOLT
Eden looks incredible.
I haven’t seen her since our little conversation in the hallway earlier, and it strikes me again just how gorgeous she really is. This time she’s dressed down in jeans and a T-shirt instead of one of her usual business suits, which excites me almost as much. But there’s something I like about this relaxed version of her too, the one that not many people get to see.
When she sauntered into my room tonight, I grabbed her and kissed her perfect mouth, unable to wait a second longer. My cock hardened instantly, and of course Eden noticed. Now I’ve put a little distance between us, getting her a bottle of water from the mini fridge just so I have something to do with my hands that has nothing to do with ripping her clothes off.
I told myself this wasn’t going to happen tonight, and even though that kiss spiraled out of control fast, I’m determined not to sleep with her. Not yet, anyway.
Because if I do, I’m afraid she’s going to see right through me. See that this isn’t some hot game to me. See that when I touch her, it’s like her skin is something to be worshipped, and her body is the most precious gift in the world. I’m afraid she’ll discover all the secrets I keep hidden away. And I can’t let that happen.
We sit on the bed together, and Eden takes a sip of her water before setting the bottle on the nightstand.
“Thank you for earlier,” she says, her voice soft. “With Alex. I know you were protecting me.”
I nod, something inside me tightening. “I’ll always protect you.”
My words are filled with meaning and purpose, and Eden doesn’t fail to notice. Her eyes latch onto mine, and with a soft expression, she touches the back of my hand, the pads of her fingers caressing my calloused knuckles.
A simple touch shouldn’t be this electrifying, but it is. And I’m speechless.
She leans in and kisses me—just a light press of her mouth to mine at first. When my lips part, her tongue sweeps inside against mine. Then she’s kissing me the way I remember from all of my best memories. Her tongue touches mine, her mouth hot and needy, tiny whimpers in the back of her throat. I grow warm all over and my cock jerks behind my zipper. It’s never been this good with anyone else. Not even close.
I need to get my head on straight. She came here wanting to hook up—not to rekindle our young love.
Get a clue, Rossi. She’s a woman under an enormous amount of pressure, a woman on the brink of a rebound. That’s it. You’re a temporary stop, just like you were before, here to lend some stress relief. Maybe an orgasm or two.
It’s then that I tell myself maybe, just maybe, it would be okay to indulge—just for tonight. It doesn’t have to mean anything. It can’t.
Deciding I can live with that, I guide her back onto the bed so she’s lying against the pillows and I hover over top of her. Her mouth is so perfect, and I can’t get enough.
As we kiss, her hands wander. Caressing my biceps as I support my weight over her, running over the broad planes of my chest, then down my stomach until they settle at the waistband of my jeans. I can feel her hesitate for a moment before gathering her courage, and then she palms the firm ridge of my erection through the fabric.
A low grunt pushes past my lips.
I strip her of her T-shirt and then unbutton her jeans. Eden pushes her hands under my shirt, and I slip that off too. I push her thighs together only long enough to tug her jeans down and off. Then she parts her knees again, and the sight of her lying on my bed wearing only her bra
and panties, which are white and lacy, makes my breath catch. She looks good enough to eat.
I kiss her lips, her collarbone, the top of each breast, then tug down the cups of her bra so I can suck and feast on her. She moans and brings one hand to my hair, gently raking her nails along my scalp. I run my fingers over the dip in her belly until I can slip them under the elastic of her panties and touch her perfect pussy. It’s so soft and warm and wet, and I groan.
“Holt . . .” She moans, her hips rocking into my hand.
I can sense she’s already close, whimpering softly as my fingers work. My cock is so hard it aches, and all the blood pumping to my groin has clouded my judgment. Continuing to caress her, I use my free hand to release my belt and open my pants. Taking myself in my hand, I stroke slowly once, needing a release so fucking badly it hurts.
Eden and I exhale a shuddering breath at the same time.
“Let me,” she murmurs.
As I bend down to take her mouth, her greedy tongue matches mine stroke for stroke as she lifts her hips off the bed, pressing herself into my touch. Her hand slides up and down my shaft, and I’m sure I’m going to come too soon and ruin our good time. I force a deep breath into my lungs, fighting to get myself under control.
I can’t even blame it on overactive hormones like I could back when we first shared a bed many years ago. My attraction to her has always been a powerful, dangerous thing, hell-bent on ruining everything for me. And this moment is one I’ve fantasized about and jacked off to countless times, as wrong as it is. Eden naked and panting, her body begging for mine . . . her kissable mouth saying my name as she comes apart.
“Holt . . .” She breathes out my name on a moan. “I’m going to come.”
“Not yet,” I say, my tone commanding. I need my mouth on her first.
I kiss a path down her neck to her full breasts, which I treat to soft kisses, making my way down her body past the dip in her belly until I can settle between her thighs. Eden touches my hair as I move the fabric of her panties to the side and treat her pussy to one long, slow lick, and she makes a choked sound.