New Game in Town(2)
Guiding her into her seat, he leaned down and drawled close to her ear, “After all, I’m going to need both of my feet to play this season.”
Damn! Mortifying heat crept up her neck as her eyes widened in shock. He did remember her! It was hard for her own mother to recognize her now, yet this man who she had barely spoken two words to last year was able to place her.
Gina felt dread infuse her as memories of what was jokingly referred to as the “unfortunate incident” made her morning coffee churn in her gut.
“Mr. Waters.” Gina greeted him now, forcing herself to turn in her chair and meet his twinkling blue gaze over her shoulder. She could see him registering all the differences in her appearance, trying to reconcile the woman he just helped seat to the one who had nearly reinjured him last season.
Well hell! Connor couldn’t help but be slightly taken aback at the cool greeting. And by his body’s instant reaction to the woman staring up at him as if he was of no consequence. Not wanting to toot his own horn, but he didn’t exactly lack female adoration or attention.
He hadn’t recognized Gina right away. She definitely looked different from the last time they had seen each other. It had been her eyes that had tugged at his memory. Even while in pain when she had accidently bruised his injured foot, he still remembered staring into her panicked gaze. He had felt like shit for knocking her over and had wanted to sooth away the frightened look from her tear-filled eyes, but he had been instantly surrounded by management, coaches and medical personnel, all concerned with his injured foot.
Damn, the woman was fine. Who knew what had lain under the drab clothes he vaguely recalled her being in last season.
Interesting woman…
“Let’s get started, people,” a voice called out, shaking Connor out of his personal musings.
Gina welcomed the interruption and turned her back on Connor in a clear dismissal.
It was time to get down and dirty and get to work. And for Gina, in more ways than one.
Chapter Two
The day had run late, thanks to Gina’s previous meeting running behind schedule, leaving her feeling tired and hungry from the long day. To top it off, she still had a few hours of work ahead of her this evening and all she wanted to do was crawl into her soft thousand-count cotton bed sheets in sheer exhaustion. It had been a grueling few weeks with the hockey season starting and her going gangbusters on implementing a new marketing campaign. With the players’ busy schedules, it had been a challenge to get things organized around their game and travel itineraries.
An hour, she promised herself, walking through the now quiet and dimly lit office, then a hot bath and bed.
Everyone had gone home for the evening, leaving the echo of her heels tattooing a hollow beat along the empty office hallway. Gina removed her suit jacket and kicked off her three-inch heels as she let herself into her office. Hanging her jacket on the hook beside her door, she untucked her blouse from her skirt and began edging a few buttons loose to breathe. She rotated her neck to work out the kinks and let out a deep moan as her tight neck muscles protested in pain.
“Don’t stop on my account,” rumbled a lazy voice from behind her.
“Ahhh!” A shriek of terror escaped her dry lips, the unexpected voice paralyzing her fingers on her blouse.
Gina turned to find Connor Waters leaning back comfortably in her chair. With his feet propped on her desk, it was evident that he had made himself at home in her office.
“What do you want?” she asked nervously. Her shock made her terse.
“From you?” Connor’s mouth twitched, his eyes slowly travelling down her length, taking in the rapid rise and fall of her breasts. “The possibilities are endless, Gina.”
She was hard-pressed to ignore the sexual edge that coated Connor’s voice. Gina had to take a mental breath to calm her shaking nerves. If she was honest with herself, her still-racing heartbeat had little to do with the initial fear of finding him in her office.
“Did we have an appointment?” she asked him, knowing full well they didn’t. Talking to him in her bare feet seemed too intimate, too personal. She leaned down and swiftly slipped back into her stilettos.
Shit. Connor Waters is sitting in my office.
Deliberately, she walked over to stand in front of her desk, raising a perfectly arched eyebrow as he reclined farther back in her chair, staring up at her without apology.
Connor didn’t even try to hide his interest in the hint of hot pink that peeked from the gap of Gina’s partially unbuttoned blouse. He realized that if he had kept his mouth shut for another moment, Gina probably would have let loose another button or two, giving him a better look at the lace that covered her breasts. He berated himself for jumping the gun. With regret, he watched Gina redo the undone buttons of her blouse, hiding the tantalizing glimpse of her flesh covered by the delicate lace.