Playing to Win(14)

He buried his face in her neck and breathed, "You feel so good, baby. You make me feel so good."

* * *

HOLLY WAS BEWITCHED. Luke Maguire at peak concentration was a powerful  force. It was like every cell of his body was focused on her, a visceral  awareness that crackled in the air. Missionary was not usually enough  to build such a powerful arousal in her, but already she could feel the  telltale heat growing, throbbing. She dug her heels into the bed and met  him thrust for thrust, ensuring she was taking every inch of him inside  her.

She'd thought his fingers had been magical, but this, the heat of him  between her thighs, the weight of him against her breasts, this was so  much better.

The orgasm at the arena had been sharp, tingly and shallow, racing  along her skin like flash paper. In short, nothing compared to the  savage need that was building inside her with every stroke of his cock,  every brush of his hands. She wanted more, and when she couldn't bear  the scorching heat of it a second longer, she let go, reveling in the  dark pleasure that erupted, thick and hot like lava, through her veins.  All she could do was hold on, clutching Luke against her as their bodies  shuddered with the aftershocks of the explosion.





7

"I THINK I HAVE a crush on my arch-nemesis," Holly confessed to Paige a few days later.

Holly did not add the fact that her arch-nemesis was a virtuoso in the  sack and might be involved in illegal betting. Just because some of the  Storm's games had correlated with the list didn't mean they all would.  And this was not an accusation that could be made lightly.                       
       
           


       

"First of all, thank God. It's been a shockingly long time since you've  had man problems." Paige popped the last bit of her cupcake in her  mouth and pushed the plate to the edge of their usual table at Piece of  Cake, a cute little bakery just down the street from Paige's salon.  Holly had originally dragged Paige to the shop in a moment of pure  fangirlism, because it was owned by none other than Eric Jacobs's  grandma, but the legendary vanilla bean cupcakes kept them coming back  time and time again. "And second of all, who?"

"Just this guy at work. He's trying to catch me in the charade. Thinks I  know more about hockey than I'm letting on and he wants to figure out  my angle. It's awful."

"Then why are you smiling?" Paige asked.

"What? I'm not smiling." But she was. Holly did her best to neutralize her expression.

Sure, Luke was gorgeous, but she shouldn't feel so infatuated. She knew  it was a trick-the result of her parent issues. After she'd lost her  mom, her father had never thought she was good enough, no matter how  much sports trivia she memorized, no matter how insightful her comments.  He'd never taken her seriously. And as for her mom...it was really hard  to impress someone who wasn't even on this corporeal plane.

So to have this hockey god, a player she deeply admired and respected  on the ice, with a body and a face that made her melt, to have him see  through the facade that she was presenting, well...of course she was  infatuated.

Still, she couldn't get too carried away. He'd been sweet the next  morning, even made her breakfast. On his way out, he'd kissed her and  said he'd see her after the team's away games in Colorado. But he hadn't  exactly professed his undying love, or even promised to call.

Besides, she was the one who'd insisted it was a mistake. And then there was that pesky contract thing...

"Okay, now you're seriously frowning. What's up?"

"I dunno, Paige. It was just really hot."

Paige gave her a skeptical look. "What kind of hot? Taming-the-rebel hot? Corrupting-the-innocent hot? Wrestler hot?"

"What? Ew. No. What is wrestler hot? That doesn't even exist."

"Wrestler hot is when the guy is loud and confident and is kind of  pulling off fringe. Besides, you know I love it when men glisten."

Holly took a sip of her macchiato. "It was black-and-white movie hot. Sexy banter, witty repartee..."

"Everyone was wearing all their clothes..." Paige joked.

Rarely had Holly hated her fair skin and propensity for blushing more than she did in that moment.

"Oh my God! Someone watered your special flower? Holly, I'm so proud of you!"

She winced. "Geez, Paige. Decorum much? Would you keep your voice down?"

"Fine, but only if you tell me everything."

"He's the only person who doesn't treat me like a complete idiot. He  basically accused me of stepping on the Storm to get ahead and that he's  sure I know more about hockey that I'm letting on."

"Ooh. I like a man who gets to the point. So what did you do?"

Holly shoved a hand through her hair with a sigh. It felt so much  better when it wasn't teased and sprayed into submission. "Swore up and  down that I definitely was an idiot and then doubled up on the act. I  can't let him win! Besides, why does he care so much whether I'm asking  his team some joke questions? What's he hiding?"

Besides, of course, a potential windfall of ill-gotten cash for selling out his team.

"Oh, my! Sex and intrigue? This is more serious than I thought! Give me every detail about the man who swept you into bed."

Holly tamped down the blush as best she could. She was not getting into  the down and dirty in the middle of a crowded bakery. "He's tall, and  handsome and serious, but in this appealing, cares-about-something kind  of way. And he's built. Good God, the body on that man." Holly took a  long, restorative gulp of caffeine.

"So what's the problem? You deserve to blow off some steam. I know this  job has been a little tough on you. So if he's into it, have at him!"                       
       
           


       

"It's not that simple. We both work for the team."

Paige sighed. "Stupid ethics. They get in the way of all the best stuff. Can't you guys have a secret affair or something?"

Holly laughed at the wording, so similar to her own. "That's what I love about you, Paige. You're always full of ideas."

She smiled back. "Please. You held my hand throughout my divorce. Getting you laid is the least I can do."

"You don't think it's wildly unprofessional of me?"

Paige shook her head so hard that her ponytail swung side to side. "No  way! First of all, they called you because you're a YouTube sensation  and they wanted to hitch a ride on your star. They know they're beyond  lucky to have you. And secondly, this is a temporary job, not your  career. So if there's a hot guy who will get you back in the game, then I  see nothing wrong with that."

"Back in the game?" Holly laughed as Paige took a dainty sip of espresso. "What, you're sporty now?"

"My inspirational speech, my metaphor. All the men I work with are gay. I'm living vicariously through you here."

"Excuse me?" said a voice from above them.

Holly and Paige glanced up to find a woman standing beside their table,  a young girl in tow. Holly pegged the girl at around nine. She looked  very nervous, the pen and napkin clutched in her fingers shaking enough  to betray the tremor in her hands. "Aren't you Holly Evans?"

"Yep, that's me. Can I help you?"

The woman's smile turned radiant.

"I'm Lydia, this is my daughter, Teagan. We just love your show! Teagan  was actually hoping to get your autograph." Lydia gave her daughter a  little shove, and the girl held the napkin and pen out in front of her.

"Of course!" Holly made herself speak through the shock. She accepted  the napkin and smiled at Teagan. "So you like sports?" she asked,  scrawling a quick little message and adding her signature to the bottom.  The girl just shrugged shyly and took the napkin Holly held out to her.

"Can I get a picture of you two?" Lydia asked, holding up her phone.

"Oh, sure!" She leaned in closer to Teagan, surprised when the little girl tucked right in beside her.

"Oh, that's a nice one! Thank you so much. Teagan, say goodbye to Holly."

Teagan threw her little arms around Holly's neck, and Holly was so surprised, it took her a moment to hug the girl back.

"Thank you for making my mom yell less about my daddy watching sports,"  she whispered. "I want to be just like you when I grow up." Then Teagan  pulled away and gave Holly a timid smile before she hurried to her  mom's side again.

"How adorable was that?" Paige gushed. "What did she say to you?"

"She said she wants to be like me when she grows up."

Paige placed a well-manicured hand over her heart. "I think I just died a little from cuteness!"

The shrill ring of her phone shook Holly out of the surreal moment, and  she grabbed it from the back pocket of her jeans. "Jay, what's up?"