Melting Ice (26 page)

Closer now, he could hear her more clearly. She wasn’t telling jokes or laughing. In fact, the pure agony behind the pitiful, strangled sobs stopped him cold, gripping his heart and piercing deep in his soul.

He approached her and put his arms around her waist. She turned into him as if it were the most natural thing in the world and wrapped her arms around him, burying her tear-streaked face in his shoulder.

Isaac held her tight, wishing he could absorb her pain and take it on himself, but he couldn’t. Not really. The most he could do would be to offer a shoulder to cry on and a sympathetic ear. Whatever it took, whatever she needed, he’d gladly do it.

He waited patiently as she clung to him and cried, heart-wrenching, heaving sobs that twisted his heart in his chest. He couldn’t imagine what’d happened to put her in such a state, but he gave her the time she needed. Eventually, she’d tell him what had happened.

And she did. She wiped her eyes with her hand, blinked several times, and managed a sad smile.

“What wrong, sweetheart?” he asked, fearing the worst.

“Riot’s been sold. He’ll be gone by tomorrow morning.” Her voice broke, and she hiccupped a few times.

“I’m so sorry. I know how hard you worked with him. You’ve both come so far.” He wished he could absorb her pain or abolish it from her life, but all he could do was offer his sympathy and comfort. Somehow it didn’t seem like enough, but it was all he had.

Finally she looked up into his eyes. “Don’t leave me alone tonight.”

“I won’t,” he promised. “Come home with me. We have the place all to ourselves. Blake took a trip to the San Juan Islands to see his girlfriend since the coach gave us a few days off before playoffs start.”

Avery nodded, sniffling and rubbing her red eyes. Isaac took her hand and together they walked to barn to put Riot away. Then they’d go to his house and he’d hold her close and give her whatever comfort she needed because she had become his world.

He wasn’t sure when that’d happened, but it had happened.

* * * *

Avery nibbled on a piece of pepperoni pizza and leaned against Isaac’s broad chest. They sat on the couch watching true crime shows and taking bets as to who committed the murder.

Isaac was up three murderers to her two.

“You’re kicking my butt,” she said when he picked the next killer correctly.

He shrugged and toyed with a lock of her hair. “It’s easy. It’s always the spouse.”

“How sad is that? Two people who once loved each other, swore to stand beside each other to their dying day, and one of them ends up being the killer.”

“Yup. Simple as that.” He grinned at her.

“Remind me to never let you take out a life insurance policy on me.”

“You’ll never know if I do.”

She swatted him, and he caught her wrist in his big hand. He bent down and captured her lips in his for a deep kiss, making her forget all about killers and victims.

She stared into those incredible blue eyes and wanted more than cuddling. She wanted him. All of him. Preferably naked and on top of her, moving inside her. That mental picture made her panties wet.

“What?” he said, narrowing his eyes.

Avery wrapped her fingers around his collar and swiped her tongue across his lips. He drew in a ragged breath and held it.

“You’re playing with fire, woman,” he growled as he buried one hand in the hair at the nape of her neck.

“Maybe I’m an arsonist, and I love fire. Maybe I think we’ve dated long enough, and it’s time to burn off all our clothes and melt in the heat created by our two bodies.”

His pupils dilated and his nostrils flared. “Avery—”

“What?”

“I wanted our next time to be special. Unique. Memorable,” he hedged, but she doubted it’d take much to wear him down.

“All I need is you for any moment to be unique and memorable.”

A slow smile spread across his face, and she knew she had him right where she wanted him—or she would. Soon.

Avery kissed him, and within seconds he took control of the kiss. She lost herself in his touch, his scent, the rasping of his breath. She slipped her hands under his shirt and relished the feel of his warm skin under her fingers. When she slid her hands down his rib cage to the waistband of his jeans, he held his breath, his mouth still against hers.

Avery undid the top button on his jeans and lowered the zipper across a very hard erection. “Feel better?” she said against his mouth before nipping his neck. He groaned, sounding like a man caught between agony and ecstasy. She stroked him through his boxers, and his oh-so-fine cock twitched with need.

“You’re killing me.”

“I know.” She laughed and leaned back, pulling her sweatshirt over her head and tossing it out of the way.

Isaac’s eyes locked onto her breasts, and he swallowed. Biting his lower lip, he stood and lifted her into his arms, carrying her to his room and his big king-sized bed. Instead of throwing her on it like a crazed, sex-starved maniac, he surprised her by placing her gently on the comforter.

He never took his eyes off her as he stripped off his clothes and stood before her in all his naked glory. Avery allowed herself the luxury of taking in his magnificent body from those broad shoulders, the tattoo with his sister and former girlfriend’s names, past incredible pecs, washboard abs, narrow hips, and his very large, very hard cock.

“You are beautiful,” she whispered in reverence.

“Not as beautiful as you. Your turn, baby.” He knelt on the bed and pulled off her clothes with a little help from her, or would that be hindrance, she wondered as she reached for him and stroked his length, completely distracting him from his mission of getting her naked.

He grabbed her hands and held them to his chest. “I’m not going to last if you keep doing that.” It was his turn to peruse her body, and he took his damn sweet time. She squirmed with need under his piercing blue gaze, certain if he touched her just once in the right place, she’d explode from needing him.

He lay down next to her, his mouth and tongue sliding across her neck and shoulders. He caught her nipple in his mouth and toyed with it, sucking it deeply into his mouth, and flicking it with his tongue. Avery arched her back and squeezed her eyes shut, savoring his touch.

“I thought you only liked it rough,” she managed to say.

“I thought so, too, but you’re—you’re not like any woman I’ve ever met. I want to make this special not—” he paused to take the other nipple into his mouth and give it his undivided attention “—hard, fast, and rough. I want it slow, gentle, and easy.”

“I’m fine with either.” She gasped when he slid a hand between her legs and pushed two fingers inside, finding her clit with his thumb. Sensations whirled inside her until she spiraled into a deep chasm filled with nothing but strong emotions and stronger desires.

He crooked his fingers inside her, finding a spot no man had ever found, and pressed her clit at the same time. She came so hard and fast, she left earth without leaving, defying gravity, and flying without wings.

As she slowly settled back down, he kissed her mouth again. “I need to be inside you.”

She nodded, incapable of speech. Ever ready, he produced a condom out of thin air and started to roll it down that impressive penis of his.

She grabbed his arm and shook her head. “I’m—I’m on the pill. No need,” she forced the words out.

His eyes lit up as if she’d given him the best gift possible. “I’m clean.”

“Me, too.”

He spread her legs apart and slowly sank into her, taking his time, even as he gritted his teeth. He filled her, every bit of her, until he was buried deeply inside her heat. Her body throbbed around him, squeezing him, as he began to move in and out of her.

When he’d promised to take it slow, he hadn’t been kidding. He was as gentle as he’d been rough that first time. He tasted, touched, worshipped her, making her feel as if she were all he needed. He was certainly all she needed.

They came together, as surprisingly powerful as it was gentle. His seed filled her, as he rocked her world, and she rocked his. And nothing could ever be as it had been because he’d ruined her for any other man.

As they lay together spent and breathing hard, Isaac lifted up to gaze into her eyes. “I—I can’t find any words to describe what just happened between us.”

Avery put a finger to his lips. “We don’t need words. Words would only spoil it.” She cuddled against him, holding him tightly.

How would she ever be able to live without this man?

Chapter 19—Moment of Truth

Isaac muddled through the next few days in a haze of euphoria interrupted by the reality of the game he played. When he wasn’t immersed in hockey, he was immersed in thoughts of Avery, in the way she liked to run her fingers over his stubbled cheeks, the way her eyes twinkled when she was giving him shit, the way she felt underneath him after the most epic night of sex he’d ever experienced with any woman—but then Avery was not any woman.

He’d never imagined gentle sex could be more mind-blowing, more rewarding than hard, rough sex, but it had been, and it’d taken the right woman to show him something years of having sex with numerous women never had—not even with Jenny—he realized with a guilty start. But this wasn’t about Jenny. They hadn’t been suited for each other. He saw that now. They’d been a toxic combination. Had she lived, they’d have never lasted.

But Avery, she was special. They didn’t need drama and booze to spice up their lives. They had each other and their mutual respect and admiration. They had something deep and moving, yet scary.

Isaac didn’t know what to do about them; he only knew he wanted this relationship to go somewhere, even if he wasn’t sure where that was. But first he had some hockey games to win.

The Sockeyes lost their first playoff game in Calgary. To Isaac nothing could be worse than sitting around the hotel waiting for the second game to start the next evening. He was full of pent-up energy he couldn’t dispel even after a grueling run through a nearby park and an equally hard morning skate.

After dinner with the team, Isaac decided to invite Blake out for a drink. Avery was working with the Party Crashers so they wouldn’t be talking until the morning, which left him at loose ends. He figured he might as well entertain Blake and get the dirt on what was going on with the guy.

Isaac was worried about him. Worrying about others wasn’t something he normally did, so the entire experience was somewhat foreign to him. Usually Isaac never concerned himself with other people’s issues, but he couldn’t help offering a friendly hand to the guy who’d never been anything but a friend to him, even when Isaac had pushed him away.

Blake had seemed quieter than usual, ever since he came back from seeing his girlfriend during the brief break between the regular season and playoffs. He kept to himself, reminding Isaac of himself. At least, the person he’d been until he’d come to Seattle and met Avery.

Pulling Blake aside as their teammates dispersed for the night, Isaac spoke in a low tone, not wanting Brick or Rush to invite themselves along. “Hey, I saw a pub a few doors down. How about we get a drink? I’m not ready to call it a night.”

Blake frowned at him, as if trying to assess Isaac’s motives. “You don’t drink.”

“I know. I’ll get a Coke. Let’s do it.”

Blake blinked at him a few times in surprise since Isaac had turned down almost all of his after-game invitations unless they involved Emma and Avery. “I don’t know.”

“Come on. I’m buying.”

Blake hesitated, clearly just wanting to go back to the room and wallow in self-pity. Isaac knew that story, and he wasn’t going to allow it.

“I’m not taking no for an answer, and I think you could use a friend.” Isaac grabbed his arm, leading him toward the pub.

With a long-suffering sigh, Blake fell in step with Isaac. They found a seat in a darkened corner away from the general noise of the place and made small talk until the waitress delivered Isaac’s Coke and Blake’s beer.

Once Blake was loosened up with couple beers, Isaac moved in for the kill. Okay, not exactly the kill, but he was damn well getting answers.

“What’s got you all tied up in knots?” Isaac asked.

“Nothing.” Blake flicked his gaze to Isaac’s then concentrated on one of the many overhead TVs.

“Bullshit. You’ve been as fun as Glanden on a good day.”

Blake raised on dark brow. “That bad?”

“Yeah, that bad.” Isaac smiled then sobered quickly. “What is it?”

“Why does it have to be anything?” Blake shot back, sounding way too irritated considering the few questions Isaac had asked, and he was only just getting started.

“It can’t be hockey because you’re playing really well, which means it has to be a woman.”

Blake blanched, even turned pale. Isaac leaned forward, studying his friend in the dim bar lights.

“Ah, the lady veterinarian. What was her name?”

Blake didn’t answer, but he did cringe.

“Ah, yes, Sarah. You’ve been like this ever since you made that quick trip to the island. So spill. You’ve made me spill my guts more than once and payback is a bitch, buddy.”

“You’re not letting me out of this, are you?”

“Hell, no.”

Blake swallowed hard and stared at a point over Isaac’s head. “I tried to convince her we could do a long-distance romance, but she wouldn’t have any part of it,” he said simply.

Isaac frowned. “Is there someone else?”

“Nah, it’s not that. She doesn’t want to hold me back. Says she’ll never leave Madrona Island, and my place is wherever my team is. Therefore, we have no future.”

“Until you retire,” Isaac pointed out.

“She thinks I’ll want to stay involved with hockey, and the island isn’t exactly a hockey mecca.”

Isaac couldn’t dispute that fact so he just shrugged.

“She thinks I’ll grow to resent her if I give up the sport I love to stay on the island with her and do what? Twiddle my thumbs?”

“Yeah, that’s a hard one. That’s tough, man.” Isaac gave him a sympathetic smile. He couldn’t imagine losing Avery now that he’d just found her. It would suck and then some. He’d be a hot mess of emotions if she ended it with him like Sarah had with Blake. Only Isaac wasn’t planning on going anywhere, and even if he was, he hoped like hell Avery would go with him.