Blind Ice (Razors Ice Book 5) (5 page)

When she was twisting in his arms, begging for more, he grabbed a condom from his pocket and rolled it on as fast as his fingers would let him.

Her dress went up, he braced her against the wall, and plunged inside her warmth. She matched him, thrust for thrust, by arching her body into his and pushing him to plunge deeper.

For better leverage, she kicked off her shoes and wrapped her legs around his waist, digging her feet into his butt cheeks with every thrust.

It didn’t take long before she reached her climax and cried out his name as the vibrations rocked her body. Only then did Logan let himself come, so hard that he nearly blacked out.

Slowly, he lowered her to the floor, disposed of the condom and came back to sit down next to her. She leaned her head back against the wall and took a minute to catch her breath.

He chuckled at the dazed look on her face. “I’ve never had so much fun in a kitchen before.”

She looked over at him and laughed. “And here I was going to apologize for not making desert.”

* * *

Logan parked his car—a white Ferrari 458 Italia—in his spacious three-car garage, strode into the modern kitchen and tossed his keys onto the shiny granite countertop.

He’d bought the twenty-five hundred square foot house right after he’d signed with the Razors thinking it would be a great house to have parties in. He’d been right. It had the space for entertaining and plenty of extra bedrooms for guests who’d had too much to drink to drive home.

At first, the parties were frequent and someone always seemed to be crashed on his couch when he woke up the next morning. Somehow, throughout the years, his mood had shifted. While his buddies and teammates spent time at the bar or the club, he preferred staying home with his big screen TV. Eventually, the parties died down and out and relocated to different players’ houses.

Even though his lifestyle had changed somewhat, Logan still liked that the house was big enough to accommodate his family when they came to the U.S. during their bi-yearly visits. It was comforting having everyone under one roof instead of miles away at a hotel. And his mother and sister liked to brag about his big house in California to their friends and neighbors back home in Sweden.

For Logan, it was just a place to lay his head between games. He never gave his housing any more thought than that.

Now, he stood alone wondering how he could feel so claustrophobic in such a large space.

He liked Kate’s house. A lot. Although it was on the small side, it was cozy and had a certain charm to it. He could see himself waking up in Kate’s sunny bedroom and eating breakfast in her little kitchen. They would discuss the day’s headlines over eggs and coffee and all would feel right with the world. The nights would be equally satisfying, sharing a bottle of wine in front of the TV before retiring to her bedroom and snuggling under the sheets.

Christ
, he thought and raked his hand through his hair. He sounded like an old geezer. He was still young and should still be sowing his wild oats, shouldn’t he? The thing was, he’d already done that—the women and the parties and the booze.
Been there, done that
. Now he was ready to settle down to one bed and one woman. And that woman could very well be Kate Kapowski.

God, she was incredible. She really had no idea how incredibly sexy she was. That attribute combined with her brains made her not only the perfect woman, but the perfect woman
for him
.

As much as he traveled, the thought of having one woman to come home to appealed to Logan more than he liked to admit. But it wasn’t fair to commit to someone long-term when his life was all about the short-term. He was a right winger with an incredible slap shot, climbing his way up the ranks of the United National Hockey League. And, as his agent liked to remind him on a semi-regular basis, his contract with the Razors was expiring soon.

Logan could have his pick of the women who waited outside the locker room and the team’s hotel when they went on the road. Those perks used to be enough. Now he was thinking it might be nice to try out a more meaningful relationship. With a woman who didn’t care about his stats and the number of zeroes on his contract and in his bank account. And right now it was looking like Kate could be exactly that kind of woman.

His mother and sister Emilia were constantly prodding at him to find a “nice” girl and settle down. The truth was, he wanted nothing more than to do just that, but he hadn’t been able to find that special someone in Red Valley yet. Maybe she was waiting back home in Sweden. Maybe she didn’t even exist. Maybe he had just met her.

When his sister and mother told him he’d eventually meet a woman to settle down with, he’d never put much stock in their words. He wasn’t convinced a woman with the qualities they raved about—kindness, generousness and grace—actually existed. But whenever Logan found himself thinking about Kate—which was more often than he thought possible—those same qualities came to mind. She embodied those attributes and somehow Emilia and his mother had been right all these years.

Could it be possible he’d found that one special woman he could actually see himself settling down with?

Chapter Five

Windy City

Gabe Crawford popped a stick of cinnamon flavored gum into his mouth and locked the door of his apartment behind him. The studio apartment was just a place to lay his head at night—at least the nights when he didn’t sleep at his office anyway. All the same, it was not a place he would exactly call welcoming. It was so small that he didn’t even have space for a roommate to liven the place up.

Regular visits to the gym downstairs offset his steady diet of fast food and takeout. Sometimes he made use of the gym just to avoid being inside his depressing apartment. It was sparsely furnished with just a bed, a TV, and every gaming console ever made. Nothing hung on the walls, and his opinion, nothing belonged there. He didn’t even own a coffeemaker.

Lately, Gabe spent less and less time at his apartment. It didn’t really feel like home anyway. It was just four walls, a bed and some clothes hanging limply in the closet. Who wanted to go home to an empty apartment? He’d thought about getting a dog once, but with all the hours he spent at the office it wouldn’t be fair to the poor creature. A pet wouldn’t help things or bring joy or meaning to his life anyway.

To keep his expenses to a minimum, Gabe didn’t own a car. He used public transportation whenever he could and lived close enough to his office that he walked to work most days. He’d been saving all of his money. For what? Well, he didn’t really know yet. He just knew he liked the security of having a nice fat nest egg in case things at Intelliteck ever went south. Not that that would ever happen. He was one of the best in the business and as much of an ass as his boss was, he’d be a fool to overlook Gabe’s talent.

Overall Gabe liked the people he worked with. Besides the few friends he’d made at work, he didn’t socialize much and preferred to spend his time talking to Julia on the phone. If there was such a feeling as home, it was definitely talking to her. Everything just seemed better when her voice was in his ear.

When he arrived at work, Gabe popped a fresh stick of gum into his mouth and strode up the imposing steps of Intelliteck. The sleek glass building was a glittering addition to the Chicago skyline and in no way reflected the tedious work that went on inside.

Gabe knew the city boasted plenty of activities and a lively night life, but the simple truth was: if it didn’t have to do with VINCE, he steered clear of it. What was he going to do out at a night club anyway? Hit on women? Drink too much to where he was hung over the next morning and too groggy to concentrate on his work? Nope, Gabe thought. Not gonna happen. And what did he need to hit on women for when he had the ultimate female to talk to on the phone every day?

Gabe had begun developing VINCE full force when he made the connection that hands-free technology would also work well for the seeing impaired. He had stumbled around his apartment with a tube sock tied over his eyes to simulate a blind person’s existence to find out what he was missing that would make VINCE even more helpful. He wanted his creation to be stocked with every feature a visually impaired person might need—and even some they might not have thought they needed.

If his company ultimately approved the distribution of VINCE, thousands of people would benefit from the innovative software.

Gabe had planned to be finished with the VINCE prototype months ago, but his boss kept pulling him from the project to work on more “lucrative” assignments. Because he didn’t yet work for himself, Gabe had no choice but to comply with the man who was writing the checks. And Bill Killingsworth never missed an opportunity to remind Gabe that Bill was the one in charge.

At the time, Gabe had thought it was great when Intelliteck had given him his own office, a step up from his tiny cubicle, but it turned out to just be a way for them to justify dumping more work onto his desk—and his shoulders.

The only thing keeping Gabe in Chicago was his job—his work meant everything to him. But, besides Intelliteck, he didn’t have any family or friends tying him down to this place. He didn’t have a reason
not
to work so much.

Gabe stopped by Wesley’s cubicle and scooted over a Zelda figurine to make room for the coffee he’d brought him. Wesley Brown was a fun goofball gamer geek and made working at Intelliteck bearable. Gabe could barely see Wesley’s computer screen for all the action figures and game collectibles on his desk. After years of computer graphics design school the kid was stuck designing interface for big corporations. Not exactly the glamorous life of designing elaborate video game levels his friend had dreamed of.

“When are you going to go create your own video game?”

Wesley looked up and grinned when he saw the steaming coffee. He took a sip of the strong brew instead of answering the timeworn question.

Gabe flicked his thumb towards Wesley’s computer screen. “You know, your talent’s being wasted on this coding crap.”

“It’s a tough job market,” Wesley said on a sigh. “Everybody wants to design games.”

“Yeah, but they don’t all have the skills that you do.”

“No,” he said sadly. “They don’t. I’ve been trying to get in to MacDaddy for years.”

“You know, I went to school with Colby McCauley,” Gabe said about the chairman and CEO of the gaming giant. All the bestselling video games came from the genius developers at MacDaddy and everyone in the industry wanted to work for them.

Wesley’s eyes widened. “No way.”

“Yeah. I still talk to him occasionally. He lives in Red Valley where MacDaddy is based out of.”

Red Valley
. Somehow every conversation led back to Julia.

“Maybe I could put in a good word for you.”

Wesley slid from his ergonomic chair and got down on his knees and pressed his palms together. “Would you? Would you, please?”

“Yeah,” Gabe laughed. “No problem. Now get up off the floor. The sooner we nail this presentation, the sooner we get to unleash VINCE out onto the world.”

* * *

Julia spent the day working on her sonata and later playing catch with Shamus in the park. When Gabe called her that night, she was already in bed reading a book. Sleep wouldn’t claim her for a while yet and she liked to sprawl out with her animals on either side of her and relax until she drifted off to sleep.

Gabe used to call in the mornings or afternoons and they’d chat about normal everyday things. She would listen to him talk about the programming he was developing and the people he worked with. Lately, he’d been calling later in the evenings, too, and his questions were of a more personal nature.

Tonight he was determined to venture underneath her covers…

“What do you wear to bed, Julia?”

Julia felt a tingle travel from between her legs and up into her belly. “Usually just a tank top and shorts,” she answered honestly—and stubbornly. She wasn’t about to make up something skimpy and glamorous just because that was what he was hoping to hear.

“Oh.”

“What’s with the sudden interest in my wardrobe?” she asked with a smile, liking how husky his voice got whenever he asked her personal questions.

“I don’t know. I guess I just want to be able to picture what you look like when you’re on the phone talking to me.”

“Oh.”

“I can hear Cassidy purring,” he said, wishing he was there with them. Julia had such a full life and here he was sitting at his desk staring at a blank computer screen. He supposed it was better than sitting in an empty apartment staring at bare walls and a kitchen counter with no coffeemaker.

“She’s a ham when it comes to a good cheek scratch.”

“I wish I were her right now.”

“Why? You like your cheeks scratched, Gabe?”

“Because then I’d be there with you.”

Julia didn’t know how to respond to that. If he was with her right now, there was a very good chance that he wouldn’t like what he saw. She didn’t spend time doing her makeup and she didn’t obsess over bad hair days. It was better for both of them if they kept things long distance.

“I love the sound of a cat purring,” she said, keeping their conversation on neutral ground. “It’s one of the most wonderful sounds in the world.”

“I love how they can just turn it on and off like a little motor.”

“Why don’t you have any pets, Gabe?”

“I’m not home enough.”

There was sadness in his voice and Julia didn’t know why. Why did he seem so alone amongst a city of almost three million?

“Tell me about your apartment. What’s it like?”

“Bare.”
Cold, lonely
. “I don’t spend much time there. You never told me about losing your sight.”

Julia blinked. Boy, he sure knew how to turn the tables of conversation on her.

As a rule, Julia didn’t talk much about her blindness. Her parents shrugged it off and shied away from the whole situation, avoiding being confronted by their youngest daughter’s “condition.” And Kate didn’t need to hear about what she already knew; she worked tirelessly to help keep everyone else’s eyes healthy.

And Julia wasn’t all that comfortable talking about herself. She’d much rather listen to Gabe describe the sights of the bustling city to her.

“Do you really want to hear about it?” she asked, making the subject sound as unappealing as possible. “It’s kind of boring.”

“I want to know everything about you, Julia. And I’m sure it’s not the least bit boring.”

She sighed. At least it would keep him from asking about her underwear. “Well, I think I was about three when I first had to start wearing glasses. Anyway, it was ever since I was really little. Gradually, my eyes got worse and worse and eventually things started getting shadowy.

“The last thing I remember is watching a sunset with Kate. It was the summer after she graduated from high school. I was thirteen. She picked me a flower from the backyard. It was a pansy. One of those cute purple flowers with the big faces. It looked like someone had taken a tiny paintbrush and painted the face on it. I can remember holding it up real close to my eyes and studying every inch of that flower because I knew it wouldn’t be much longer before I wouldn’t be able to see at all.”

Julia still had that pansy pressed inside the pages of one of her favorite books.

“The next morning when I woke up, everything was black. I fumbled around for a while and then my parents heard of a good school for the blind in Red Valley and here I am. Kate decided to go to school at Cal State Red Valley to be nearby. I lived with her for a while and then she married What’s His Name. I got my own place so they could have their privacy—that and the fact that Carl was a complete control freak. But anyways… I do all right on my own. Veronica, my housekeeper, comes by a couple times a week and Kate is here practically every day to check on me. Not that she needs to.”

“You’ve been through so much.”

Julia shrugged even though she knew he couldn’t see her. “Like I said, I do all right.”

“I want to meet you. In person.”

She swallowed, the warm fuzzy feeling dissipated. Why did he want to make things more complicated? Why couldn’t he just cherish their phone calls the way she did and leave well enough alone?

“Someday,” she answered, not really believing the words.

“Yeah.” And then after a moment, “I should probably let you get to sleep.”

“It’s okay. You can stay on the line for a few more minutes.”

“All right. Sweet dreams, Julia.”

* * *

Julia woke up from the most amazing dream. She’d been at the park with Kate, Shamus and Cassidy. And Gabe had even been there, too. He was handsome and smiling and had twirled her around in the sunlight and they’d fallen down, laughing, onto the lush green grass.

Shamus had bounded over to join them, his coat yellow in the sunlight. And then Cassidy was there, eager to be included in the fun. She was an orange and white tabby and then her coloring became distorted like how colors sometimes appeared in a dream.

Just after Julia had turned back to Gabe, his face came closer as if he was moving in for a kiss.

Suddenly Julia woke up.

She groaned and wished it didn’t have to end. Some dreams she didn’t want to wake up from.

When she stretched her arms above her head, her hand bumped into the phone by her ear. She pressed it to her ear and listened. “Gabe?”

“Yeah, I’m here,” he answered groggily.

“Have you been on the line all night?” she laughed.

“Yeah,” he said again, around a yawn this time. “I didn’t want to be the first to hang up.” His voice was laced with laughter as he was reminded of the old childhood game, “no,
you
hang up.”

Julia finished her stretch and snuggled back under the covers. Shamus let out a grunt and she could feel Cassidy’s weight on her feet. For such a little cat, she sure put out a lot of heat. “Are you still at the office?”

Gabe picked his head up from his desk and ripped the sticky note from his face. “I never went home.”

“Did you get any sleep?” Julia wondered how a person could spend so much time at their place of work. Didn’t Gabe long for the comforts of home? Shouldn’t he make an effort to make it home at night and stretch out on his own bed to sleep instead of crashing at his office?