Melting The Ice (12 page)

“No; never.” She sighed deeply. “Mom always expected us to behave the way we’d been raised.  Dad expected the same of me, but not Joey.  No matter what Joey did; it was okay.  It didn’t matter who he hurt or responsibilities he just let slide, he never could do any wrong in Dad’s eyes.”  Cian didn’t know what to do or say so he said nothing.  She didn’t seem to expect him to contribute to the conversation because she went on as if she were talking to herself. “When we were growing up, I was always the good girl.  I made good grades, was popular and stayed out of trouble.  Did I mention my father used to be a minister?”

“No, you didn’t.” He didn’t want to say too much because he was afraid she would clam up if he drew too much attention to his presence.  This unexpected insight into her life was oddly fascinating.

“Well he was.” She gave a mirthless laugh. “Then he fell for his best friend’s wife who also happened to be my mother’s best friend.  As you can imagine, the church frowned on that kind of thing.  I won’t bore you with all the details but I stopped being such a good girl.” She paused for a thoughtful moment. “That was over twenty years ago and I don’t think anything I’ve done since has made him happy…well except for paying him and Allison out of debt; that pleased him.”  She grinned when Cian let out a quick burst of laughter, giving her a firm squeeze.  “Thankfully, it doesn’t bother me like it used to.”  He weighed his words carefully before saying anything.

“I would have hated to have seen when it bothered you.” He said softly, dropping a kiss on top of her head, shocking himself.  Since when did he offer comfort and affectionate pecks to any woman?  He shifted her closer to his body, liking the way she felt against him.  Her breath was warm against his neck and sent a thrill straight to his groin.  He didn’t think she would be interested in sex right now and suggesting it would not reflect on him very favorably under the circumstances, so he kept his hands where they were.   He thought his lust-filled brain was imagining things when he felt her lips moving against the skin of his throat.  He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to get his lust under control and heard her giggle before her mouth opened against his throat, her tongue teasing.  He felt himself growing hard enough to pound nails.  She wriggled her bottom against him and worked her mouth up his throat to his ear, circling her tongue around the shell.  His hands tightened convulsively on her hip and thigh when she nipped his lobe.  Realizing he had tilted his head to the side to give her better access and closed his eyes, he struggled to do the right thing. “Ava…” his voice sounded low and rough. “You don’t have to do this.”  She pushed herself upright, turning to straddle his thighs and loop her arms around his neck.  She gave him a knowing smile and leaned forward to rub her lips against his.  She kissed him softly for a few moments before he put a hand behind her neck and pulled her to him, his tongue entering her mouth to entwine with hers in a hot, wet kiss.  She moaned into his mouth, grinding her pelvis against his, exciting them both more.  His misgivings vanished when she reached between them to unfasten his shorts and slid her hand inside to stroke his hard length.  His last coherent thought was he was willing to be her sounding board anytime, anywhere.

Chapter Nineteen

If he had thought their little poolside bonding session after her father’s visit was going to make Ava more amenable to him, he must have been out of his mind, Cian thought to himself the next evening, taking a long pull from his beer.  After the episode by the pool, he had behaved very uncharacteristically when he swung her up into his arms and carried her to bed where they had went at it until they had collapsed in each other’s arms several hours later.  It had been a weird experience all the way around.  The sex had been just as hot as always with Ava.  The things they had done to each other would have made a lesser man blush but there had been something different last night.  The last time they had made love…he didn’t even like thinking that term but “sex” or “fucking” just didn’t seem to fit…had been so different from anything in his past sexual experiences.  He couldn’t remember ever offering comfort to a crying woman other than his mother but he had comforted Ava.  He had never swept a woman up in his arms like Rhett Butler in
Gone with the Wind
and carried her off to bed but he had Ava.  There wasn’t much he hadn’t done sexually but he couldn’t recall a time before her when he had felt so connected not only physically, but emotionally, as well.  He had lingered over her body, kissing and stroking her tenderly until he had slipped inside her body, their gazes locked through every thrust of his body into hers.  They had continued to look into each other’s eyes, neither seeming able to break the contact even when the orgasms poured through their bodies.  Dropping one last kiss on her red, swollen lips, he had rolled to her side and pulled her tightly to his body.  She had snuggled against him and both of them had fallen into exhausted slumber.

He had awakened that morning to sunlight streaming through the windows and no sign of Ava.  Thinking she had probably already gone downstairs for some breakfast or was out for a swim, he’d taken his time taking a long, hot shower and getting dressed for his morning workout on the ice.  He’d gone in search of Ava to let her know he was going out for a little while but had only found the housekeeping crew.  They hadn’t known where she was; just that she had taken off in her little sports car after telling them she would be gone for a few hours.  He’d sent her a text message and went about his morning routine, his head full of thoughts from the night before as he’d raced up and down the ice.  He’d been content that his and Ava’s issues were resolved and he wouldn’t have to coerce her into sex anymore.  After the previous night, he felt closer to her than he’d ever felt to another woman.  He was anxious to see her so he’d rushed through his workout before heading home. 

He’d arrived to find her out by the pool in a tiny bikini with some guy named Scott, laughing and talking.  She’d barely even glanced in Cian’s direction when she had introduced him as a friend of Jameson’s that was visiting.  Scott had greeted him jovially, informing Cian he had known Ava most of her life since they had attended school together since kindergarten.  It had been all he could do to keep his temper in check when she’d continued to treat him like some vague acquaintance but gushed all over Scott.  More than anything, he wanted to jump up and yell at her she hadn’t been so stiff the night before when he had bent her over the bed and drove into her body until she had screamed with her orgasm but managed to refrain.  He’d set down and talked with the other man, much to her consternation, learning Scott was the contractor that had built her and her friends’ homes.  Scott laughingly told him about the rehab he was doing on “the Barracks” thanks to the water damage suffered after a weekend party thrown by Lena’s son, Jack.  They still didn’t know what had happened but Jack had sent a check to cover the repairs. 

She had kept quiet, barely acknowledging his presence, until his anger had gotten the better of him.  He’d known he was going to cause a huge scene if he didn’t get away so he had stalked off to the home gym to try and burn off some of his anger.  It hadn’t worked.  She had continued to avoid him for the better part of the day until she had breezed by him that evening saying she was meeting Scott and some friends and would see him later.  He’d seen red.  He didn’t need this shit.  There were lots of women out there that would love to be with him whether they knew he was a hockey player or not and he wouldn’t have to cajole or coerce any of them.  He’d gotten dressed and drove into town to the same bar where he had picked up Ava that first night, figuring a little hair of the dog that bit him might be just what the doctor ordered. 

He’d sat down at the bar and ordered a beer, only getting a couple of sips in before a curvy little blonde had taken the stool beside him and started coming on to him like a freight train.  She introduced herself as Sabrina and flirted with him outrageously.  She told him she was a student at the local university, was twenty-one years old and didn’t have a boyfriend.  He’d flirted back and bought her a drink.  His ego had taken a beating at Ava’s hands but Sabrina’s open admiration had him feeling more his old self.  A couple of hours and several drinks later, he found himself on the dance floor with Sabrina who was rubbing her rear against his groin to the beat of the music.  He was buzzed and feeling good, his earlier anger at Ava completely gone when a group of people at the front entrance caught his attention and he was right back where he had been when he arrived. 

Ava was hanging onto the arm of Scott the contractor as she and several other men and women that seemed to be with them headed for the bar.  He didn’t like the way he was feeling at all.  He’d never been a jealous person and he couldn’t imagine he was jealous over Ava but he was furious with her and strangely hurt.  The song came to an end while he’d been visually tracking the group at the bar.  Sabrina had him by the hand and was pulling him directly towards where Ava was setting before he realized what was going on and came to a sudden halt.  Sabrina turned around to smile up at him.  “I’m thirsty.” She said by way of explanation before continuing towards the bar, oblivious to his seething emotions.  She bellied up to the bar beside Ava and placed their order, throwing a smile at him over her shoulder.  Ava was listening to something Scott was saying.  Her gaze skimmed over Cian and away before jerking back to him, her eyes widening in shock.  He gave her a cool smile.

“Ava.” He said, nodding his head at her in acknowledgement.  Her eyes went from him to Sabrina who had turned to hand him his beer and back to him, her look slightly disbelieving.

“Ms. Talbot!” Sabrina squealed beside him.  He watched in amazement as Sabrina hurried forward to hug a stunned Ava. “It’s so good to see you.  How’s Jameson?”

“Uh…Jameson’s fine.” Ava stammered, visibly unnerved. “How have you been, Sabrina?”  He smirked when she turned a fake smile on Sabrina.

“Oh, just going to Marshall and working.  Is Jameson still at LSU?” Sabrina asked in an animated voice, practically bouncing she was so excited. 

“Yes he’s still there.” Ava responded, her eyes sliding back to him.  Sabrina noticed Ava looking at him and turned to make introductions.

“Where are my manners?  Ms. Talbot, this is Ci…”

“Ava and I are
well acquainted
.” He emphasized the last two words for Ava’s benefit earning him a glare from her.  Sabrina didn’t seem to be picking up on the tension between them.

“Yes we are.  Cian is actually a friend of Jameson’s visiting for the summer.” Ava stated in a disgruntled voice.

“Oh my God!” Sabrina exclaimed. “How cool is that?  I used to date Jameson in high school.” She said by way of explanation to Cian.  The bartender slid their drinks across the bar.  He pulled his wallet from his hip pocket and paid for the drinks while Sabrina continued chatting with a very uncomfortable appearing Ava.  She glanced away from Sabrina, her gaze meeting his penetrating stare, her own eyes hard and slightly accusing.  He shrugged, unconcerned with her anger towards him.  She had no right to be pissed at him for hanging out with Sabrina when she had given him the brush off repeatedly, gone out with other guys and treated him like some little sex toy she could stick in her bedside drawer when she was done with it.

“Yes, that is very cool.” Ava agreed, taking a sip of her own drink.  “I will let Jameson know I ran into you.” She smiled again and suffered another quick squeeze from the perky little blonde.  He allowed Sabrina to pull him back into the crowd.  He couldn’t resist looking over his shoulder at Ava.  She sat on her barstool observing him with a look of disgust on her face.  He flashed a broad grin earning him a quick narrowing of her eyes before she seemed to shrug it off and turned her attention back to Scott-the-Contractor.  The bastard.  He really didn’t like the guy putting his arm around Ava’s shoulder while he chatted with the rest of the group.  When

she smiled up at Scott, he forced himself to focus on Sabrina’s hot little body and ignore Ava hanging all over that bastard she obviously liked better than him.  She wasn’t worried about him and he damn sure wasn’t going to worry about her.

Chapter Twenty

That little son-of-a-bitch, Ava thought as she carelessly tossed her purse on the kitchen counter.  Her body was practically vibrating with rage at Cian and his antics at the bar.  She had told herself repeatedly that he was not her man and was no more to her than any of the other men she had been with in the past.  He was free to do whatever he wanted with whomever he wanted; it was nothing to her one way or the other.  “Then what the hell is your problem?” she muttered under her breath, stomping angrily through the house to her bedroom.  She removed her makeup and took a quick bath before slipping into soft cotton sleep pants and a ribbed tank that left her midriff bare, fuming the entire time.  She had been stunned when she walked into Hal’s place with Scott and some other friends and saw Cian with Jameson’s old girlfriend, Sabrina.  It had been like someone doused her with cold water.  Sabrina was pretty, well-built and a whole lot closer to his age than Ava. 

As hard as she had tried, she hadn’t been able to stop watching them together for the couple of hours she had been there.  Every time she had sneaked a look, they had been dancing or laughing and appeared to be completely fascinated with each other.  She had grown increasingly upset, though she had hid it well for the most part.  Only someone who had known her as long as Scott would even notice she wasn’t her usual self so when he had asked her if she wasn’t feeling well, she had jumped at the excuse to leave.  There was nothing between her and Scott but a lifetime of friendship and several mutually beneficial business deals so it hadn’t bothered him at all to run her home.  She had known earlier in the day when she and Scott were out by the pool that Cian was misreading the situation and she hadn’t done anything to correct the misunderstanding.  Ever since she had started sleeping with him, it had been a fight, mostly with herself, to keep distance between them.  The sex between them was off the charts hot but they also had fun out of bed together.  He was attentive and affectionate whether he was making love to her or watching television.  After the blow up with her father the previous night, he’d held her in his arms, listening to her and then carried her off like some hero in a romance novel to make love to her until they were both exhausted.  She had awakened this morning to him still holding her wrapped in his arms.  She had been lying there watching him sleep for a few seconds when it had occurred to her what she was doing. 

Ava Talbot did not lie around watching guys sleep.  She got what she wanted and moved on.  Of course, it was hard to move on when said guy was sleeping in
her
bed.  She had sneaked out of bed without waking him and took off to her mother’s, knowing he would be off to wherever it was he went every morning by the time she got back.  She wasn’t accustomed to dealing with guilt but guilt was exactly what she felt for the cowardly way she had slunk off.  She had been so distracted, her mother had even asked her if she was feeling well and tried to send her home with some frozen chicken soup.  She had arrived back at the house and had been sunbathing when Scott had shown up to give her the updates on the rehab project.  They had been laughing and talking about Jack’s weekend long party that had resulted in the water damage and what could possibly have been the cause when Cian had strolled out looking good enough to eat.  Truthfully, though, he always looked good enough to eat.  There was not one part of him that wasn’t fine with a capital F.  He had had regarded her with narrowed eyes, obviously angry and hurt when he thought the contractor was a boyfriend of hers.  He had been increasingly irritated with her for the last few days anyway.  He was young and cocky and probably had never experienced a woman that didn’t want him to be her “boyfriend”.   To him, spending all night giving her screaming orgasms was no bigger deal than dropping casual kisses on her mouth, running a hand over her hip, or snuggling up to her on the sofa.  It wasn’t even that he was more invested in a relationship between them than she was; it was the age difference. 

She had been seriously burned by Jameson’s father but even before that, she had commitment issues thanks to how she had grown up.  Cian had obviously never been burned and was very easy with his affection, like an overgrown puppy.  What he treated so casually was of monumental import to her.  If they kept it simple and just had sex, there wouldn’t be any confusion when it was over.  Once she had given in and slept with him again, he’d acted like the rest was a given.  While she had been determined to keep it sex only, he didn’t get the concept at all.  Instead, he had taken it as a personal challenge and had set about catching her off guard at every opportunity.  Every time she turned around, he was molesting her person.  She had thought she was dealing with their sexual relationship in a mature fashion but when she had seen him with Sabrina, she had known she was in
big
trouble.  It had been a lot of years since the green-eyed monster had been any kind of issue for her but not long enough she didn’t immediately recognize the symptoms.  That, in itself, had been the most alarming part of the earlier scene at Hal’s place.  She was pissed at herself for being jealous over some twenty-one year old girl and she was pissed at Cian for making her feel that way.  She hated playing the fool and that is exactly what she had become; an old fool.

She grabbed a Corona out of the Subzero and settled onto the sofa in the den to flip channels for a while before going to bed.  She wasn’t expecting Cian to even come home tonight since he had been so wrapped up with
that
girl.  It had looked pretty obvious to her where that was heading.  She finally settled on a movie to watch and flipped off the lights to watch it in the dark.  A half hour into the movie, she heard the sound of Cian’s SUV pulling up in front of the house.  She felt an unwanted thrill go through her body and not a little relief.  If he was already home, he hadn’t had sex with Sabrina.  “You need help.” She softly bitched at herself.  Refusing to let him see how upset she had been over him spending his entire evening with the younger woman, she continued sipping at her beer and pretending to watch the movie.  She heard him let himself in and pause at the bottom of the stairs before the sound of his footsteps nearing the den, stopped inside the doorway.  He didn’t say a word, just stood there silently willing her to look at him.  She felt his eyes on her like a caress against her skin.  The silence built between them until Ava, realizing she wasn’t fooling him at all, turned to look at him.

“Well, isn’t this is a surprise?” She inwardly cringed at the words and the bitchy tone coming out of her mouth but couldn’t seem to stop herself. “I assumed you would be laid up somewhere with Sabrina.”  He stepped further into the room and flashed a grin.

“You know what happens when you assume, Ava.” His voice rumbled out of his chest, low and husky. “I can’t imagine that you would care one way or the other where I was putting my dick.”

“I don’t care.” She snapped at him, fury bringing her to her feet. “I’m going to bed.” She went to push past him but he refused to budge. “Get out of my way.”

“No, I don’t think so.” He crowded her against the wall, his hands braced on either side of her head.  His leaned down to kiss her but she turned her face away, opening her neck to his attention.  She half-heartedly pushed against his chest while his lips, tongue and teeth worked on her ear, neck and shoulders. “You mad at me, Ava?”

“No.” she sighed, immediately disgusted with the sound of her voice.  She cleared her throat and tried again. “Why would I be mad at you?”  He chuckled against her throat, working his way up to press soft kisses across her cheek to her lips.

“So is that the story you’re going with?”

“Yes.”

He pressed a soft, teasing kiss against her lips, moving in closer to rub his body lightly against hers. “It didn’t bother you to see me with Sabrina?”

“No.” she gasped when he captured her bottom lip between his teeth, gently nibbling before soothing it with his tongue.  He slid his tongue into her mouth, caressing her tongue with his for a moment before pulling back. 

“You know liars go to hell, Ava.” He whispered against her mouth, his eyes boring into hers.  She felt his hand on the bare skin of her stomach, sliding up under the tank top until he cupped her breast in his hand, his thumb grazing her nipple teasingly.  His lips moved to her ear, his tongue circling the delicate outer shell while he continued to caress her breast. “It didn’t bother you to think about me playing with Sabrina’s hard little nipples like I’m playing with yours?” his other hand joined the first, his fingers tweaking her nipples until they stood at attention.  He kissed her again, his tongue sinking deep into her mouth for a moment before he broke the kiss.  He leaned his forehead against hers when his hands slid under her sleep pants to grip her ass, grinding her pelvis against the thick erection in his jeans.  “It didn’t bother you to think about my hands on Sabrina’s ass?” his gaze bored into hers when one hand moved around to slide into her panties and sift through her soft curls. “How about here?” he asked as he slid his long, middle finger along her wet crease before sinking deep inside of her.  Her head fell back against the wall and her eyes closed when a second finger joined the first and began a thrusting motion. “Come on Ava, tell the truth. You were jealous as hell when you thought I was off fucking Sabrina, weren’t you?”  Her eyes flew open in angry shock to meet his smug, satisfied expression.  His head snapped back when her hand cracked against his face.  Their gazes locked, hers narrowed and angry, his going from smug to shock in a matter of seconds before his face split in a wide grin and laughter exploded from his mouth.  His laughter was like waving a red flag at a bull. She tried to hit him again, but he captured her hands before she could make contact.  She pushed at him, trying to get loose but he managed to hold onto her while he roared with laughter.  When she brought her knee up and barely missed the family jewels, he pinned her tightly to the wall with his body. “I guess that answers that question, huh?”

“Damn you, you smug bastard…” She yelled into his face, her rage erupting from her like lava from a volcano. “Get off me!  You can’t come in here after you spent the whole evening trying to seduce that
girl
and think you’re going to have sex with me because she turned you down!”  His laughter stopped abruptly, his dark eyes searching hers.

“You really think I only want you because Sabrina turned me down?” he asked incredulously.  Her lips formed a tight line and she refused to answer.

“I don’t care.”

“Obviously you do or you wouldn’t have just tried to take my head off and shove my dick up between my eyeballs.” He scoffed.  His fingers gently grasped her chin in his hand, turning her face until she was looking at him. “Sabrina didn’t turn me down, Ava.”

“What?”

“I turned
her
down.”

“Why?”

“Why would I want a girl when I can have a woman?” he asked softly, his dark eyes completely serious.  She felt the ball of tension she had been carrying inside all evening unwind.  Her arms wound around his neck and pulled his lips to hers for a hot, searing kiss, his words setting her on fire.  He groaned into her mouth as passion exploded between them.