A Better Man(34)

"Then how about you grade me on this." He cupped her face in one hand, leaned in, and pressed his mouth to hers.

Caught off guard, Lucy froze. The warmth and softness of his lips melted her surprise. When his other hand came up to cup her face, a low moan rumbled from her throat.

Jordan Kincade was kissing her.

Wow.

She slid her hands up beneath the back of his leather jacket, and his warmth seeped through the cotton of his T-­shirt. Her palms settled on firm muscle. His delicious scent rolled over her like an intoxicating wave. His tongue teased the crease of her lips, and she didn't even think about pushing him away. The kiss deepened as he pulled her closer. Bodies pressed together, Lucy got the message that given time and circumstance, Jordan could rock her boat like it had never been rocked before.

Too soon he ended the kiss with two smaller presses of his lips to hers.

"How'd I do?" he asked. "Did I pass?"

"I don't know. I might have to have you come in after class to make sure."

"If you promise to wear garters under your skirt, I promise to bring you a shiny red apple."

Maybe she should still be surprised he'd kissed her, but she figured she'd enjoyed it too much to complain. "Oh, the shameless flirting, Mr. Kincade."

"Do I get extra credit for that?"

"A wise man once told me, never say never."





Chapter 8


"Rumor has it that the superstar of the Kincade brothers has come home to stay."

Lucy walked the hall of Sunshine Valley High next to Claudia Locke, a woman who could be considered her best friend on a good day and her pain-­in-­the-­ass friend on a day when she was trying to pry Lucy from her comfort zone. Lucy had a sneaky suspicion that was going on right now. 

"And where did you hear this earth-­shattering bit of info?" she asked as they approached their classrooms.

Claudia shoved a thin newspaper in Lucy's hands. "This morning's edition of Talk of the Town."

CAROLINA VIPERS STRUGGLE AS

HOCKEY HUNK COMES HOME TO STAY

Lucy stopped. "Seriously? That made the news­paper?"

"Of course." Claudia juggled books as she reached for her classroom door. "Don't give me that look. First of all you have to consider that the Kincade brothers are hot and hunky. Then you have to consider that the brother in question is a rich and famous hockey player who has left his team in the lurch while they head toward the playoffs."

Lucy didn't have to ask how Claudia knew that. Her friend followed sports. She'd had no choice, growing up in a household with three brothers, and now she was married to the king of watching sports on TV all weekend, every weekend. Where Lucy didn't know the difference between offsides and a false start, Claudia could recite exactly who the Seattle Seahawks had taken in the NFL draft and how much they'd been paid.

"He didn't leave his team in the lurch. In case you've forgotten, his parents were killed." Not that Lucy felt the need to defend him-­even after the hot kiss they'd shared-­but as she glanced toward her own classroom door, she saw Nicole walk inside and some kind of weird protectiveness thing emerged.

Jordan had been so nice last night. So caring and considerate. He genuinely seemed concerned about his little sister. Call it compassion or whatever you wanted, right now Lucy didn't want anyone using him or anyone else in his family for that matter, as a source of gossip.

"The woman that runs that paper is nasty," Lucy said. "All she wants to do is cause trouble. Jordan Kincade stayed to help out his family. But that doesn't mean he's giving up hockey or that he's blowing off his commitment to his team."

"Doesn't mean he's not either." Claudia opened the door, leaned against it to hold it open as her students piled in, and grinned. "He's been away from the team for two weeks. They're barely hanging on by a skate's edge."

"Surely one man can't be the savior for an entire team."

"Sometimes it's more than just what they do on the ice, or the field, or the court, depending on what sport they play. Sometimes that one person offers leadership to a team and invokes the confidence the players need before they step into the arena."

"That's a whole lot of pressure for one person."

Claudia shrugged. "It's all part of what they do. That's why you won't find any sissy men in contact sports. They have to be tough in both mind and body."

Well, Jordan did have a perfect body. That was for sure. And he definitely knew how to kiss.

"Now, as for the unfamiliar SUV being parked in front of your house last night?" Claudia grinned. "Loooocie, you got some splainin' to do."

Before Lucy could respond, Claudia winked, then disappeared into her classroom.