Razors Ice 04 - Hot Ice (17 page)

“Do you need to be anywhere in the next two hours?” she asked
in a breathy whisper.

He turned around to face her.
“Nope.”

“Because I don’t have an appointment for a couple
of hours.” It was a rare time when Patricia didn’t overbook her schedule and Violet planned on taking full advantage of it.

Jace
spun her around so that her back was against the countertop. He looked into her eyes and down to her lips. “Two hours might not be long enough,” he said huskily.

Violet smiled.
She couldn’t wait to feel those stubble-free cheeks brush against her inner thighs and everywhere else on her skin.

Jace
lifted her onto the counter, slid his hands under her shirt and caressed her back. She plunged her hands beneath his waistband again and pulled him into the V of her legs. Then she kissed him hard. She kissed him for the flowers. She kissed him for being patient and understanding her situation. She kissed him because she was falling in love with him.

* * *

Violet slung her leg over Jace’s. She had a few minutes before she had to leave for her next appointment and wasn’t in a hurry to leave the warmth of Jace’s bed.

Something was bothering her though.
Big time. She chewed the inside of her cheek and finally asked, “Do you like croissants?”

Jace shrugged and pondered the question. He was
lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling. “I could take ‘em or leave ‘em.” He reached his arms up and clasped them behind his head. “They’re not my favorite food of all time, but,” he added thoughtfully, “if you slice a couple in half and slap on some ham and cheese, then you’ve got something worth eating.”

Violet laughed, satisfied with his answer.
“Sounds good to me.”

He propped himself up on an elbow and looked over at her.
“Why are you asking me about pastries out of the blue?” he asked. If this was some kind of test, he deserved to know it.

She shrugged. “I was just curious.”

He frowned. “Do
you
like croissants?”

“No,” she answered a little too loudly. “I think they’re a poor substitute for a meal.”

“Oh.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled her neck. “Tell me how you really feel. You know, Vi, you really should develop an opinion about something once in a while.”

“Oh yeah?
I have lots of opinions. Especially in the bedroom.”

“Mmm.
Those are my favorite kind.”

* * *

When Jace’s supply of firewood got low, he paid to have someone deliver more. The only downside was that they left it in a big pile on the driveway that he was left to stack on the deck. That’s where his teammates came in handy. After a quick phone call, Cody drove out to August Lake with his five-year-old twins in tow to help out. Ian and Liam Lambert were little terrors and the entire Razors team accurately called them the Tornado Twins.

The twins shoved their little hands into oversized work gloves and stacked the wood into a semi-neat pile on the porch, their tongue
s hanging out of their mouths in unflappable determination. They were told it was a game, a sort of brotherly competition and, to Jace and Cody’s amusement, were making quick work of it. Child labor was as cheap as it was entertaining.

Jace leaned against the porch railing and handed Cody a beer for “compensation.”
“Well, I took your and Seb’s advice,” he told Cody.

“Which advice is that?
The advice about getting laid?”

Jace nodded.

“How’d ya meet her?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Cody laughed. “Don’t tell me you went down to Splitz on twenty-dollar lap dance night.”

Jace’s face scrunched up in surprise. “How would you know about twenty-dollar lap dance night? You’re a married man with three kids.”

“Seb.”

Jace nodded. “That’s
our Seb. Always lookin’ for a bargain.”

“So, who is she?”

“She’s the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.” Man, Jace thought with a wince. He couldn’t believe he’d just said that out loud.

“What happened to just having sex?
” Cody asked, taking a swig of beer. “You were supposed to find someone to fuck, not fall in love with.”

“Believe me, that’s how it started out, but now…”

Wait. Fall in love with? That wasn’t what this was. Was it? They were just having “just sex.”

With a shake of his head, Cody lowered his beer.
“Shit, man. I’ve seen that look before.”

“What look?”
Jace asked. He really should have kept his big mouth shut.

“You know.
The googly eyes. Price looked the same way after meeting Ally. Con, too after Sarah came along. Man, Seb would say you guys are dropping like the flies,” Cody said in a terrible Russian accent.

Jace didn’t know what to say so he didn’t say anything at all. He hated it when his teammates were right.

“So much for Ace the Bachelor, huh?” Cody chuckled. “Man, I wish you better luck the second time around,” he added and clapped Jace on the back.

Jace didn’t want to be a chronic bachelor like Seb and their former teammate Dom Devereaux. Those guys were content with having a revolving door in their bedrooms. Jace liked having someone—a
woman
—to talk to. Someone beside the guys on his team. Someone who helped life make sense again. Someone who excited him and intrigued him.

Jace
liked Violet. He liked her a
lot
. He liked her assessment of things and plus she always had an interesting point of view. If that made him a wuss, then so be it.

Chapter
Ten

Russian Logic

When Violet pulled up to Jace’s cabin for their “appointment”
an unfamiliar black Range Rover was parked in the driveway. This was the first time she’d seen anyone else at the cabin and her stomach flipped guiltily.

She wasn’t doing anything wrong, she reminded herself. She was here on a housecall, er
wellness out-call or out-call massage session or whatever it was that Pats had insisted on calling it. The service was printed on her business card and everything. She didn’t feel guilty when she pulled up to Miss Lillian’s house, did she? No, because she wasn’t sleeping with Miss Lillian.

Violet
hauled her massage table to the door and knocked softly. Jace, who’d been expecting her, swung the door open with a smile. “Hi.”

“Hey. How are you?”

“Good. Come in.”

Violet moved passed him and set her table down. In the living room, a man sat on the couch watching TV. Violet immediately recognized him as none other than the Razors goaltender, Alexandr
e Sebastien.

“Violet, this is
Sebby. Seb, I’d like you to meet Violet James of Healing Touch Massage.”

Sebby’s handsome f
ace spread into a grin. He got up from his place on the couch and moved toward Violet with an outstretched hand. “Hello Violet.”

Wow, that accent
sure was sexy. If Jace was the Cup winning hometown hockey hero of Red Valley, then Alexandre Sebastien was a legend. The guy was a genius between the pipes and good looking to boot. The Razors wouldn’t win half the games they did without Sebby’s acrobatic moves and puck saving skills. Violet’s brothers were going to flip when they found out she’d met him in the flesh.

“It’s nice to meet you, Alexandre,” Violet said with a smile and stuck out her hand. “I’m a huge fan.”

“Thanks,” he said, shaking her hand and holding the grip just a little too long for Jace’s taste. “Please, call me Sebby.”

Violet was instantly charmed by Sebby’s boyish good looks. She shook his hand in return and willed her jaw not to drop. She’d seen him hundreds of times on TV and was nothing
, if not a little starstruck, to meet him in person without the intimidating mask on. He might not have been as tall or as muscular as Jace, but his presence was unnerving just the same.

“Sebby was just on his way out,” Jace announced with a sideways glance at Seb.

“I’d better start setting up anyway,” Violet said, pointing to her massage table. “It was nice meeting you, Sebby.”

“You too, Violet,” Sebby
drawled as he watched her walk away. He looked back at Jace who was scowling. Sebby cocked his head to the side. “Vhat?” he asked, feigning innocence.

“I’ll walk you out.”
Jace shook his head and ushered the goalie out the door.

Outside, Sebby folded his arms across his chest and leaned against his black Range Rover. “Neat trick, Ace
,” he said with a nod of his head. “She has massage table and everything. Very convincing.”

“It’s not a trick, Seb. She’s my massage therapist.”

“She’s hot.”

“Seb, you’d hump a stop sign if it looked at you the right way.”

“Aw shud-dup,” he said, his Russian accent thick.

“It’s the truth.”

Sebby ignored him and stayed on topic. “No wonder you’re taking so long to come back. You’re up here in mountains playing house. The guys said I talk to your machine more than you, so you must have found snow bunny.”

Jace let out a heavy sigh. “If I remember correctly, you were the one telling me to go out and get myself some tail.
And lots of it.”

Sebby gave a lazy shrug. “I guess. You gotta start somewhere.”

Jace made a strangled sound. “It’s just sex, Seb.”

“Yeah, I don’t think so. I’m not blind, Ace. I saw how you look at each other.”

“Like what?” Jace played dumb. How
did
they look at each other?

“Like…
Well, I’ll tell you what it
wasn’t
like. I’ve never seen any of model chicks I sleep with ever look at
me
like that.”

“Really?
” Jace raked his fingers through his hair. “Huh.”

“There’s ‘just sex’ and then there’s sumpin’ else.” Sebby flicked his thumb toward the cabin. “You got sumpin’ else in there.”

“I’m
recovering
from my injury and Violet is my massage therapist,” Jace reiterated.

“Bullshit. And I am son of Khrushchev.”

“Whatever. I follow your advice and you’re still bustin’ my balls.”

“Nah, I’m proud of you.
You done good, Ace.”

“Thanks,” Jace said sarcastically. “That means so much to me.”

“Vhatevah.”

“You’d better go,” Jace prompted. “It’s freezing out here.”

Sebby widened his stance and crossed his arms defiantly over his chest. “I grew up in Moscow, Ace. This is like tropics.”

“Fine.
You wanna talk, Seb? Let’s have a nice little chat.”

“What’s
really
goin’ on in there?” Sebby nodded toward the cabin again.

“I told you, it’s just sex.”

“Nah. You’re settle down type of guy. Most of the guys are. Not everyone can be playa’ like me.”

Jace stifled a laugh.
“You’ve taken one too many pucks in the face, my friend.”

“
It’s okay, Ace. It’s not a sign of weakness or sumpthin’. If I was your age, I’d want someone to be old with, too.”

Jace couldn’t help but chuckle. “Guess I’m gonna have to get me a second rocking chair, eh?”

Seb frowned. He didn’t understand the reference. “Vhatever. Hey, I gotta go.”

Jace looked longingly at the house and back at Sebby. “Thanks for stopping by.”

“Yeah, better get back to your happy ending.”

Jace playfully punched Sebby in the arm and went back inside.
In the living room, Violet was finishing setting up her massage table in its usual spot in front of the giant window. She wore her hair pulled back in a ponytail and it swished from side to side as she moved. She hadn’t taken her jacket off yet and the bulky fabric camouflaged the luscious curves beneath. She always looked beautiful, but even more so when she didn’t know she was being watched.

With a few long strides, Jace crossed the room to her. He put his arms around her and inhaled
the feminine scent that was uniquely hers.

“That was pretty cool,” she said, pressing herself
against Jace’s chest.

“What?
” he asked and pressed a kiss to her neck. “Meeting Seb?”

“Yeah.
You guys are like celebrities around here.”

He spun her around to face him.
“Does that mean I get the celebrity treatment today?”

She smiled up at him, her cheeks pink and her skin glowing.
“You always get the celebrity treatment, Jace.”

He nodded in agreement. “This is true.”

He slid the jacket from her arms and tossed it on the couch. “How was your day?” he asked casually. Without breaking eye contact, he took her keys from her and set them on the counter.

His eyes told her the details of her day were the last thing on his mind.

“Good,” Violet answered, playing along. “Pretty basic. And yours?” she asked in return, a smile curving its way onto her lips.

“Good,” he answered,
pulling his shirt off over his head. “How was the drive up?”

“Good.
” As he slid off her shirt, the fabric caressed over her arms. She bit back a shiver as his fingers danced over her skin. “I’m getting much better at finding the place. The squirrels give me plenty of leeway on the road and I still haven’t had any Sasquatch sightings. So, what did you do today?” she asked as he unhooked her bra.

“Went to the store.
Not much else.” He tossed the bra aside and cupped her breasts in his hands.

She
gasped when he gave them a firm squeeze and pinched her nipples. She could feel his length hard against her thigh, but she didn’t want to be the first to give in. “What’d you buy at the store?” Her voice was shaky, but she kept up the charade. She slid her hand over his bulge and stroked the outside of his zipper.

T
he feeling of light friction through the denim fabric made Jace’s breath hitch in his throat. “Some steaks and beer…”

“And…?”

He pulled a condom from his pocket. “And more of these.”

“Mmm.
That’s good news. I’d hate to imagine what we’d do if we ran out.”

Okay, that was enough talk. All Jace wanted to do now was slide himself inside her slick heat. The steak and t
he beer could wait until later. Much, much later.

He peeled off the rest of his clothes, his movements slow and deliberate.

“How’s your knee today?” she asked, sidetracking his thoughts of bending her over the table and thrusting himself inside her moist warmth.

He shifted his weight to test it.
“Feels good.” He stretched and rubbed his lower back. “My back is a little tight, though,” he said only half serious.

She took the bait and went around behind him and started kneading above his buttocks. “How’s this?”

“Ah, that’s better,” he sighed. Better that his muscles were loosening up and better now that her hands were on his skin again.

Slowly, she worked her way out to his hips. She spanned her
hands over his waist and slid one hand forward until she could cup his cock in her palm. A moan escaped his lips as she slid her fingers up and down the length of him. “And how’s this?” she asked, her breath hot against his back.

“Even better.”
He reached behind her and pulled her body up against him until her breasts squished against his back.

She
continued to work him into a frenzy until a clear pearl of liquid formed at the end of his shaft.

“Christ, Vi
,” he bit out. “Has anyone ever told you that you have magic fuckin’ hands?”

“Not in so many words,” she answered.

He twisted around to face her and covered her mouth with his. Lips meeting lips. Tongue caressing tongue. He kissed her until they were out of breath and their lips were swollen.

Though his eyes spoke pure need, she swallowed and took a deep breath
and stepped back. “Business first,” she heard herself say. “I’d hate for you to miss out on your massage because we skipped it and went right for the good stuff.”

Jace smiled
. “The good stuff, huh?” Her soft hands massaging his entire body weren’t so bad, so he agreed to get down to business and got onto the massage table.

After five minutes of her hands working on his calves, Jace could barely contain himself. When she moved up to work on his thigh, he thought he would burst. Finally, he couldn’t take any more
“business” and flipped over onto his back and grabbed her wrists. She looked at him with wide eyes and waited for him to speak.

“Business or no business, I can’t wait any longer,
Vi.” His voice was deep and husky and a ribbon of desire coiled in her stomach and moved down between her thighs.

“You’re used to getting what you want, when you want it, aren’t you?” she asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

His chin went up and his eyes flashed. “You’re damn right I am.”

“Okay then. But so am I.” She freed her wrists from his grip and placed her palms on his thighs. “Today, we each get our way.” She smiled and slid the rubber band from her hair and let her hair tumble down around her shoulders.
“Me first.”

Grabbing
the bottle of massage oil, she squirted some on her hands and slid them up his thighs and began massaging his arrousal.

Jace’s eyes rolled back into his head and he sucked in a ragged breath. That’s when Jace McQuaid knew. He had met his match. Violet could have her way with him any time she wanted. Business
be damned.

If this was business, he shuddered at the thought of how she defined pleasure.

The oil smelled like tropical nights and piña colada and made him want to fly her to a deserted island and make love to her all night on the sand.

Jace’s eyelids fluttered open the instant
she stopped moving her hands. “Don’t stop,” he started to whisper, before noticing the reason.

She
’d stopped to take off her pants and panties and that was fine with him. He watched her shimmy out of her clothes and couldn’t imagine a sexier sight than Violet’s bare skin.

Before he could reach up to cup her breasts with his hand, she leaned down and
licked the tip of his cock. After a few swirls of her tongue she took him in her mouth. With each thrust of her mouth, her long hair danced on his thighs. It tickled and sent a chill over his skin. He gripped the edge of the table and hoped to God he could hold off until he was inside her.