Captive (13 page)

Ryke had programmed Luke’s number into my phone in case I ever had an emergency and couldn’t reach him on the road. I’d never had a reason to use the number before. I dialed him as I walked through the Nashville airport, and Luke sounded worried when he answered.

“Kate?”

“Hey, are you with Ryke?”

“Not right now,” he said. “I’m on the way back to the arena. Is everything okay?”

“Yes, it’s fine. Don’t tell him I called. I came to Nashville to surprise him. And I kind of need a favor, but I don’t know if you’ll be able to do it.”

“Sure I will, what is it?”

I laughed nervously. “I need to get into Ryke’s room without him knowing about it. Can you swipe his room key, maybe?”

Luke talked to someone in a muffled tone before coming back to me. “You’re already here? At the hotel?”

“No, I’m at the airport, getting a cab.”

“I’ve already got one. I’ll come pick you up.”

He was there within 15 minutes, stepping out of the cab to open my door like Ryke would’ve.

“How are you?” he asked, his pale blue eyes serious and his usual lazy grin missing. I knew what he was asking, and it didn’t bother me. Luke was Ryke’s closest friend, and I’d come to think of him as my friend, too.

“I’m okay,” I said.

“Good. Ryke’s been a lot more chill the past few days.”

My face warmed as I wondered if Luke knew all the details of our night in Winnipeg. Luke laughed and his eyes widened.

“Did I say something? I didn’t mean to,” he said. “I just … oh. I didn’t mean for you to think … I was just saying. If there’s a reason he’s feeling better, I don’t know what it is. I swear.”

“It’s fine,” I said, waving a hand. “I know you guys talk about everything.”

“True,” Luke said, pulling his baseball cap down tighter. “If we were chicks we’d get our periods on the same day of the month and all. We’re very in sync, you know? But he never talks about … you know. As shitty as you’ve seen some of the guys treat women, we’re very protective and respectful of wives.”

“When are you getting married, Luke?” I asked. “You’re a catch.”

He laughed and shook his head. “Not for a long time. I’ve never even thought about it. Some guys are made for it, like Ryker. You know he kicks the ass of any man he suspects is even thinking about you, right?”

“He just likes kicking ass sometimes. I’m not sure he even needs a reason.”

Luke’s laugh was a single note. “True story. I’m that way, too.”

The driver pulled up and Luke passed him some money.

“Can you just wait, man? Give me like ten minutes?”

“Yeah, sure,” the driver said. Luke and I got out of the car and met back up at the door, which a uniformed doorman held open for us.

“Did you go to the arena and get me the key?” I asked.

“No, he’s only got one. We’re getting you your own.”

I gave him a skeptical glance. “Am I making you late?”

“No.” He smiled confidently as we approached the check-in desk.

“Hi, Jessica,” he said, reading the name of the 30-ish woman behind the counter.

“Hi, may I help you?”

“I hope so,” Luke said, rubbing his chin sheepishly. “I’m Jason Ryker, from the hockey team that checked in earlier. I’ve left my wallet with my room key at the arena and my skates are in my room. I need to get to my game, so can you possibly get me another key?”

Jessica looked from Luke to me. “I’m supposed to check your ID,” she said.

“It’s in my wallet.” He reached for his phone. “Hey, if you can’t do it, I understand. I’ll just call my coach and let him know I’ll be late for the game. They’ll have to bring me the key.”

“No, don’t do that.” She typed a few keys on her keyboard.

Luke gave her a broad grin. “Thanks, Jessica. See, sis, I knew she’d be able to help.”

She glanced up and Luke wrapped an arm around my shoulders and squeezed.

“Yeah, this is my sister Bertha. She travels with me sometimes because she can’t work due to her irritable bowel syndrome.”

I gave Luke a tight smile. “Right.”

“You need to hit the can before we go, Bertha?”

“I’ll just use the can in your room,” I said.

Luke shook his head and rolled his eyes at Jessica. “She stinks up the bathroom of every room I stay in.”

The clerk at the next computer gave me a disgusted look.

“Oh,” Jessica said, glancing back at the screen. “We have you in a room with one king, Mr. Ryker. Would you like two queens instead?”

“No, Bertha prefers the couch anyway. She likes to sleep on her side because of the gas.”

“Alright,” I said, irritated. “Enough about my condition. Let’s hurry it up.”

Jessica gave me a terse look and passed Luke the key. His fingers lingered over hers as he took it.

“You saved my ass,” he said. “I’d invite you up for a drink after my game, but trust me, you don’t want to be trapped in a confined space with my sister.”

Now I was getting the evil eye from Jessica, whose orange bob with bad bangs made me pretty sure she didn’t get many invites to men’s hotel rooms.

We walked in silence to the elevator, and Luke glanced down at the envelope holding the key when the doors closed.

“You’re in 211,” he said, handing it to me. “I’m right across the hall, so you crazy kids better keep it down.”

“Thanks, I owe you one,” I said sarcastically.

“You’re my brother’s wife. I’m allowed to tease you.”

The doors opened and he gave me one last smile. “I’m taking the stairs to another exit. Have fun.”

“Thanks, Luke.”

“No problem, Bertha.”

I’d dozed off when the sound of my phone woke me up. I grabbed it and saw Ryke’s name.

“Hey, good game,” I said. Though I was in Nashville, I’d watched it on TV so I could be here to surprise him when it was over.

“Thanks. How are you?”

“Good,” I said, glancing at the clock. The game had ended 45 minutes ago, and that was when I’d gone to sleep. Now I had to keep it casual and not give away my secret.

“Are you going out?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” he said, sighing. “I’m hungry and too charged up to sleep, but … I don’t know.”

I ran my fingers over the satin fabric of the pale pink robe I wore over my bra and panties. “Do you think maybe you could go back to your room instead? I was hoping we could talk.”

“Hey, hold on, babe.” There was muffled chatter between him and a fan whose hockey stick he was signing before he came back on the line. “Yeah, I’m getting a cab right now. I’ll just get room service. What do you want to talk about?”

“Um … you know, nothing exciting. I just miss you.”

“Tell me you’re coming to Vancouver with me.”

“I can’t, I have clients.”

He groaned, obviously frustrated.

“I wanted to,” I said. “But I have a client who … she’s new, but very important to me. I don’t want to reschedule her.”

“It’s okay. I’ve got a day off when I get home and I’ll just hold you hostage in our bedroom the whole time.”

“I’m more than willing. I can’t stop thinking about the other night.”

His low note of satisfaction made me smile. “Me either. I love it when you talk dirty.”

“I love it when you fuck dirty.”

“Shit,” he muttered in a whisper. “I can’t believe that came from such a sweet little mouth.”

“My mouth wasn’t dirty until I used it to suck your cock.”

He exhaled into the phone. “You have to stop, baby. I’m in the back of a cab right now.”

I did my best sexy purr. “I wish you were in the back of me.”

“Christ, woman. I’ll call you back when I get to my room. Give me five minutes.”

We hung up and I went to the bathroom to brush away the sleepy taste in my mouth and fix my hair. I put on Ryke’s favorite perfume and a little lip gloss and grinned at myself in the mirror. I’d done something spontaneous, and it felt good. Now I just had to pump myself up to be as bold face to face with Ryke as I’d been on the phone. Talking dirty made me blush every time, which just turned him on all the more.

The slide of the key card and the click of the door handle made my heart flutter. When the door closed and Ryke turned to the bathroom, I was standing in the doorway.

“Kate!” His eyes widened with surprise. “What are you … ?”

The question on his face melted away as he eyed my thin robe, hanging open to expose my bra and panties.

“You came to surprise me,” he said softly. I nodded silently and walked to him, running my hands from his chest to his shoulders.

“I don’t even know the right words to tell you how happy it makes me that you’re here right now. You just went all the way to Canada to spend a night with me and now you’re here.”

“I think I’ve been wrong about something,” I said, laying my cheek against his chest. “I thought the best way to be a good hockey wife was to watch all the road games and be self-sufficient so you could focus on work. But sometimes I need to chase you a little.”

“It feels so fucking good to hear you say that, baby. I need it, too.”

I breathed in his scent: fresh soap mingled with old, worn leather. He was so much more than just sexy to me. He was the man who never stopped proving me right for trusting him with my heart. I slid my hands under his dark gray suit jacket. When I pushed it over his shoulders, he leaned down to kiss me, sliding my robe off at the same time.

He watched me unbutton his shirt, letting me go slowly. When he pulled his arms free and I slipped his t-shirt over his head, I pressed my hands to his warm, bare skin. His chest moved in and out as I traced my fingertips over the hard ridges of muscle. The white medical tape wrapped around his elbow reminded me that he made his living with this perfect body.

I only had to bend down slightly to run the tip of my tongue over one of his nipples. His sharp intake of breath made me do the same to the other one. He threaded his hands into my hair and I leaned up to kiss him.

“I’ve been thinking about this all day,” I whispered.

“What’ve you been thinking, dirty girl?” His eyes danced with arousal as he reached behind me to unclasp my bra.

“About having you inside me again. I missed your hands on me last night.”

His low groan sparked my desire, and I unbuttoned his pants and pushed his boxers down with them. I wrapped my hand around the stiff rod of his erection and stroked it.

“Ah … Kate.” He nipped my shoulder and pushed my panties off. His mouth came down on mine hard and wanting, and I was just as eager for him. The throbbing between my thighs had been present all day, but now it was unbearable. We walked to the bed in a tangle; our hands on each other and clothes at our feet. When we finally made it, I pushed on his chest and climbed on top of him. He fell back on the mattress, taking me with him since his hands were gripping the backs of my thighs.

“Ride me, baby,” he said, his deep voice demanding and pleading at the same time. I hadn’t been on top of him like this in months. I straddled his hips and sank onto him slowly, letting him slide all the way in.

He threw his head back and let out a strained growl. When he wrapped his hands around my hips and dug his fingers in, he pushed me down, thrusting himself even deeper inside of me. My sharp cry was more from arousal than pain.

I rocked my hips back and forth, but he couldn’t seem to hold back and let me do the work. He drove his hips up into me and held my waist, and the intense feel of it made me toss my head back and moan. With me on top, he was getting deep inside me, testing the limits of my small body. His lack of control always turned me on like nothing else.

I grabbed his wrists for support, pressing my nails into them. The closer we both drew to the release we needed, the harder he dug his fingertips into my hips and the faster he plowed himself into me. Tonight riding him meant I was along for the ride. He was fucking me hard, and I was on the edge of a mind-blowing eruption.

Panting his name was all I could get out of my mouth until I screamed out in pleasure and he followed, forcing my hips down hard against his.

“Fuck! Kate!” He sat up and wrapped his giant arms around me, pressing his face against my chest.

“I love you,” I said, breathless. “You never disappoint me.”

“Back at ya, baby,” he said, his breath hot on my sweaty skin.

“Not the sex, even though it was incredible.” I pushed a damp lock of hair away from my face. “It means everything to me that you do the right thing even when it’s not easy. I know Lauren’s not the only woman who wants you.”

His single note of laughter made me lean back so I could see his face. “What’s funny?”

“It’s not funny really, it’s just … being faithful to you
is
easy. I’ve done casual sex. It doesn’t compare to being with the woman I’m in love with.”

I smiled and kissed him softly. “Back at ya, baby.”