New Game in Town(28)

Connor placed both of his hands on either side of her face, tilting her head back. “I can see those wheels turning.” He shook his head. “And with you, I know that’s not a good thing.”

Wicked intent danced in his eyes. “Nope, with you, Gina, I have to keep you distracted. Not give you too much time to weave excuses in that pretty little head of yours.” With that, he dropped his head to hers, capturing her lips in a kiss.

When she saw his head lowering to hers, she had braced herself for a hard, demanding kiss. But the butter-soft swipes of his tongue along her bottom lip disarmed her.

Connor kissed her with tenderness. Taking his time, sipping at her, slowly dipping his tongue into her mouth, prolonging the caress of his lips on hers.

Gina moved her hands down his chest, finding it impossible to keep her hands off him. Feeling his growing arousal, she wriggled her ass over his muscular thighs, her breath hitching at the instant reaction. She could feel her pussy reacting automatically and tightening in anticipation.



Reluctantly prying his mouth off hers with a groan, his hands gave her hips a tight squeeze, holding her firmly in place. He had to rein in his instant reaction to her body rubbing against his stiff cock. That was the problem with them, Connor acknowledged to himself, they acted on the sexual need that exploded like thunder between them, but they never discussed the implications of their desire.

He had never wanted a woman as much as he wanted Gina. The interesting part was that he wanted her for more than just sex. He wanted to talk to her, spend time with her—admittedly all new territory for him. But she blocked him at every turn. Yeah, she had given him access to her body, but had shut the door firmly in his face when he tried to move their relationship past just sex.

She wasn’t the typical rink bunny, who made it their life’s passion to snag a professional hockey player. Connor was pretty sure she hadn’t been with many partners in the past and it didn’t take a Ph.D in psychology to know that something big had precipitated her little makeover. That list of hers made it clear that she was looking to experiment, flex her sexual wings, so to speak. He was just as determined to be the only man who brought her the satisfaction that she was craving.

He was sick of Gina running away from him. “No way.” Moving his hand to her chin, he forced her to meet his gaze when she would have turned away. “I’m not going to let you distract either of us with this sweet body. I want some answers, Gina.

“Why have you been avoiding me? I thought for sure after our little experiment with the phone sex that things had changed between us, but you’ve dodged my every call and email since then,” he continued, censure clear in his tone.

He was stunned when Gina shrank back from him.

Reading her retreat correctly, he demanded, “What?”



Gina couldn’t help but feel a familiar stab of pain at the memory of hearing a woman’s voice answer his cell when she had called him after their bout of phone sex.

Shaking her head in a failed attempt to dislodge his fingers from her chin as much as the other woman’s voice from her head, Gina clenched her eyes shut.

“I called you later that night, after my date and your last text.”



His hands slipped to the back of her head, gently yanking at her hair, tugging her head back. “Yeah, we’re going to talk about your fucking date, sweet thing.” His body reacted instantly to the thought of her with another man, needing to claim her in such a way that it would leave her spent, too sated to even think about being with another man.

It was time to brand his woman and corral her in!



“You didn’t answer,” she continued, now opening her eyes, wanting to meet the truth head-on, not hide from it as she had in the past.

Confusion laced his words. “I didn’t see a missed call from you, are you sure you had the right number?”

“I had the right number,” she answered, a catch in her voice, her shaky composure threatened even more. “A woman answered your phone.”

Daring him to deny it, Gina kept her eyes locked on his.

Connor’s eyes narrowed in concentration. “Impossible…” His words drifted off. Then a devilish look came over him, making him shout out in laughter.

“You’re laughing at me?” she asked in disbelief.

“You really called me that night?” He lowered his voice in a provocative whisper, “Were you hot, Gina? Did you need my help to relieve some pressure?”

She couldn’t deny that that was the reason she had called him. She had been desperate for him, hoping to have his sexy voice and erotic words ease some of the ache.

Wicked humor still dancing in his gaze, Connor caressed her back. “Let me get this straight. You thought I was sending you erotic texts and making you come over the phone and then I was messing with another woman right after? Damn, you really bought into the whole ‘professional athletes having marathon sex parties while out of town’ bullshit. I didn’t take you for someone who painted people with a generic brush.”