He could tell when he found her G-spot because she bit her lip and her fingernails dug into his back, pulling him closer. The sound of her breath grew choppy and it was the sexiest thing he'd ever heard. Until she moaned his name.
It short-circuited his brain and he sped the pace of his fingers, rubbing his thumb against her clit, moving his hand to the rhythm of her desire until she came apart in his arms, her cry of release echoing through the arena.
She sagged forward, her forehead resting on his shoulder. He took a deep breath to calm his racing heart, but all he got was a lungful of her, a scent that was warm and female and sweet...like apples.
"That was amazing." Her smile was radiant, free.
He fought back a flood of testosterone that hit him so hard it was tough to think straight. He hadn't seen a smile like that maybe ever, and definitely not after sex.
The women he'd been with usually tried to act coy, or feigned modesty, or seemed embarrassed. Holly looked like a satisfied lioness who'd gotten exactly what she wanted.
"Paige was right. I definitely needed that."
He needed deep breaths and to not think about all the things they hadn't done together yet. "Who's Paige?"
"My best friend. She's been threatening to hire me a male escort because she's worried that my ‘special flower' is crying out for some water. Her words, not mine."
Okay. Well, that was as good a mood killer as any. "She sounds like something else."
"Oh, she's something else all right."
A sudden crack followed by a loud hum echoed through the arena, and one by one, the big overhead lights fired up.
Luke swore as he, half-naked, and Holly, barely dressed, both instinctively dropped down behind the boards. It took him a moment to process what had happened.
"It's just the cleaning crew," he explained. He was about to get up, but when he looked over, instead of the panicked or angry woman he expected to find, Holly had both hands clamped over her mouth. "Holly?"
He was about to ask if she was okay when a giggle slipped out from behind her fingers. Her shoulders were rocking and she was laughing so hard that Luke couldn't help but join her. God, she was pretty.
He leaned in conspiratorially. "Why are we still hiding?"
"Because my contract specifically states I'm not supposed to fraternize with members of the Portland Storm franchise. A clause, may I point out, that does not appear in my cameraman's contract."
Her put-out frown made him chuckle. "Well, they may not be a very enlightened bunch, but in management's defense, I've never seen Buchanan's practical white cotton panties." He grabbed said underwear from the ground beside his hip and held them out to her.
"Hey, these are really comfortable," she said, snatching them from his fingers. With a pretty blush, she glanced over at Luke's naked torso. "And touché. But I'd rather not get fired for engaging in an illicit affair with a member of the team because we were stupid enough to let the cleaning staff catch us."
"Is that what this is?" Luke asked, grabbing his T-shirt from the bench and pulling it back on. "An illicit affair?"
"This," she said, "was a mistake. A big one."
She had a point. He'd let her goad him into losing control. And boy, had he lost it. Yet he couldn't quite bring himself to regret it. Or stop himself from imagining Holly in his bed.
"I still owe you an interview. I'm going to head back to the dressing room and grab my stuff. Give me a couple minutes' head start so that no one suspects anything, and I'll meet you at the exit to the player parking lot."
"Aye, aye, captain."
She made a face at him before she hurried out of the box and down the hallway with speed and stealth, despite her high heels.
As she disappeared around the corner, Luke leaned back against the boards, relishing the bracing sensation of cold plastic against his overheated skin. He'd never admit it aloud, but that had been the most genuine fun he'd had in a hockey arena in ages.
* * *
HOLLY WALKED THROUGH the parking lot beside the man who was responsible for her first non-self-induced orgasm in over a year. And thanks to his prowess, she found him even more attractive, something she wouldn't have thought possible before he'd unleashed a tsunami of delicious endorphins in her system. She'd forgotten how freaking fantastic sex could be. Holly vowed in that moment she'd never let herself forget again.
She couldn't help stealing glances at his handsome profile as they headed toward his black Ford F-250 pickup truck. Holly knew it was his because it was the last vehicle left in the fenced-in players' parking lot. He walked her over to her side of the vehicle and pulled the door open for her, and she crawled up into the black leather cab, waiting as he headed around to the driver's seat.
Get it together, girl. Time to focus.
"So," he said, crawling into the bucket seat beside her, "this is my truck."
He looked nervous, like he cared what she thought. She smiled and let him off the hook. "It's nice."
His answering grin was tinged with equal measures of relief, pride and embarrassment. The combination was utterly adorable.
"It's my one real indulgence. Money's been tight, so I try to keep the extravagances to a minimum."
Holly frowned. She was trying to keep it light and in standard Women's Hockey Network territory, and he just kept dumping incredible openings in her lap. Luke's latest contract was for just south of six million dollars over three years. How tight could money be? "Not a sports car kind of guy?"
Luke shrugged. "Can't haul a wheelchair in a two-seater."
Luke and Holly both froze at his slip. The blatant reference to Ethan hung there for a long moment. And after what they'd just shared, Holly felt she couldn't ignore it. "I read about what happened to your brother. I'm incredibly sorry for what your family has been through. What you've been through."
A weird pressure filled the cab. It was like she could feel Luke withdrawing into himself, but also fighting not to. She wasn't at all sure which part of him was going to win until he rolled his shoulders and tipped his head from side to side, like a boxer loosening up for a match.
After a deep breath, he finally spoke. "Yeah, it's been a tough couple of years. But Ethan's a fighter. And you don't want to hear the sob story. So how exactly does this work? You're just going to ask me some questions?"
Oh right. The interview.
"Yeah, if you can turn on your interior light, I'll just ask you about the truck, your first car, your favorite song to cruise to, that kind of stuff." She gave him the rundown while she pulled her phone out. Once she switched it to video mode, they were ready to roll. He was a good sport, and they sped through the questions.
Holly was just leaning toward him to show him the playback when the "Charge" anthem struck again.
"Sorry." Luke pulled out his phone. She couldn't quite read the expression on his face when he read the screen. "I have to take this."
She nodded, surprised to find he didn't leave the truck to answer the call. "Hey, Dad. How are you? Oh. Yeah, I heard. I was going to call and fill you in, but...uh..." He snuck a glance in her direction and flushed. "Practice ran late."
The G-rated reference to her amazing orgasm made her flush a little herself.
"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry about the money. It's covered. No problem. How's Ethan doing? Really? Well that's good, right?" He listened for a bit longer and then said his goodbyes.
He sighed and turned to her. "Sorry. That was my dad."
"Yeah, I got that." She smiled.
"Are you parked around here?" he asked, searching the near deserted parking lot.
"No, I caught a ride with Jay because my car's in the shop. It's okay, though. I'll just grab a cab."
"I'll drive you."
He looked as surprised as she was by the offer. "Oh. Well, if you're sure it's no trouble."
Holly told him her address and the big engine rumbled to life as he turned the key. She fastened her seat belt as the black behemoth rolled out of the parking stall under Luke's guidance.
"Sounds like you and your dad are close."
He shot her a look of surprise as he pulled out of the lot and onto the road. Night had fallen, and the roads around the arena had cleared.
Luke nodded. "Yeah, he's great." There was a smile in his voice that let her know he meant what he said.
The distance ticked by in ribbons of light and dark as they sped past streetlight after streetlight. There was something soothing about the calm quiet of the evening. It seemed to invite conversation, and Holly found herself saying more than she meant to, as though the residual physical intimacy they'd shared earlier was still lurking, searching for another outlet. "I'm jealous. My pop and I don't really get along that well."