“Mmm, I’ve heard that excuse before.” His grin was particularly devilish as he leaned down and kissed me, hard and hungrily.
I held on to his biceps and let myself get lost in him, in his taste, his touch, his scent, everything about him. It was as though he was designed especially for me.
“Hey, Ramrod, get your ass on the ice.”
We broke apart and I turned to see a player with deeply tanned skin banging his stick on the Plexiglas. I recognized him from Carly and Brick’s house the week before.
“Shut up, Raven, remember who’s your damn captain,” Rick shouted. “I give the orders around here.”
Raven grinned, revealing perfect white teeth. “Yeah, I bet you do what she tells you though.” He winked at me. “I would.”
Rick shook his head and turned back to me. “I give up,” he said. “Trying to get respect out of a bunch of boneheads is like getting blood from a stone—isn’t going to happen.”
I smoothed down the wrinkles on his T-shirt my grip had created. “You better get going, the sooner you do, the sooner we can go eat.”
“Always thinking of your stomach,” he said on a grin.
I twitched my brows. “Well, I seem to be getting a lot of extra exercise lately. It’s making me hungry.”
“Well, expect to be ravenous by this evening then.” He winked, scooped up his soft gym bag and turned. I indulged in a moment of studying his delectable rear. Today his jeans were dark denim, a little tighter than yesterday’s, and the way they stretched over the curve of his butt was nothing short of beautiful.
He disappeared from view.
Damn!
I sighed and made my way to Carly.
“Hi,” I said, climbing up the steps toward her.
She looked bemused for a split second then her face lit with recognition.
“Dana, hey, how are you?”
“Good.” I rubbed my hands together and took a seat. “Cold.”
“Here.” She handed me a pair of pale-green gloves. “I always have spares in my pocket. I keep asking them to turn up the temperature in here but for some reason they won’t.”
I smiled and gratefully wriggled my fingers into the gloves.
“Why are you here?” she asked, tipping her head. “I’m guessing it’s not to fill me in on how things are going for Saturday.”
“No.” I smiled. “I’m here because Rick made me a deal. If I sit through practice he’ll take me to some fabulous little Italian restaurant he knows.”
“Oh, Ciao, yes, it is fab. Brick and I go there all the time, in fact we were going later… Ah.” Her eyes widened. “So you and Rick are…”
I couldn’t keep the beaming smile from my face. “Yeah, we’re seeing each other.”
Her face softened. “Oh, I’m so glad, I guessed there was something going on when he dashed out our front door to talk to you last week. Though I had no idea you even knew each other.”
“Well, it’s all still new, we only met at Mae’s wedding.”
Carly tipped her head, as though remembering something. “Oh, right, of course.”
“And I wasn’t really in the mood for dating. I’ve been so busy with work and that.” I shrugged. “So it took a while for him to persuade me.”
“Rick can be very persistent and very determined.” She shrugged. “But let’s face it, you don’t become captain of the Vipers if you’re not.” She paused as three more players whizzed onto the ice. It was hard to tell who they all were when they were so padded up. But Rick was easy to spot, simply because he was the tallest and the widest. “He hasn’t had much luck in the love department lately. I probably shouldn’t say anything, but he’s been on his own a long time. I’m not talking about a lack of available women, there’s always plenty for him to choose from, what I mean is someone nice, someone…normal.”
I laughed. “I’m glad I come under the normal heading.”
Color rose on her cheeks. “Oh, I didn’t mean it like that, I think you’re lovely, beautiful, and clearly you’re also very determined and very focused. Just look at the success you’ve made of Best Laid Plans.”
I rested my hand on her forearm. “I know what you mean,” I said with a smile. “And yes, he’s had a rough time lately, especially with…” I hesitated, unsure whether or not to mention Laurie Sharp.
“Ah, you mean his mad stalker woman.” Carly shivered and pulled down the corners of her mouth. “She’s a nut. It’s given all the guys a wake-up call to see some of the awful letters she’s sent.”