OneManAdvantage (7 page)

“Great!” Paul said with a big smile. “I’ll call you or text
you on Saturday.” And he leaned forward and kissed her. A quick, lips-closed
smooch. Nice. Harmless. She waved as she let herself into her condo.

She could do this. There were so many other things out there
she could be interested in that she’d never really given much thought. She’d
find some new hobbies, take up some new activities. She worked long hours at
times, especially game days, but she needed to make room in her life for other
pursuits. Maybe she’d even buy an Xbox.

* * * * *

Logan left the ice after the practice Saturday morning,
sweating, breathing hard and muscles burning, but feeling satisfied. Last night
they’d pulled off a win, but their play had been uneven and Scott had kept them
practicing hard, telling them they still had a lot of work to do. Scott was
clearly frustrated with the losses, but made sure to spend a lot of individual
time on the coaching part of it, like with Tyler Gladstone, a guy who hadn’t
been playing up to his potential, working with him on getting him playing with
more speed, attacking more instead of gliding and planting. Logan could see
that was exactly what was wrong and why the guy hadn’t been getting much ice
time. Scott talked to them about energy, focus, playing a north and south game
and managing the neutral zone. He worked them hard on drills during practice.
Logan couldn’t find fault with anything he did, and when a couple of the guys
in the locker room grumbled about the relentless pace, Logan spoke up.

“Hey,” he said, “You in this to win or not?”

They’d looked back at him in surprise. One of them was Cody
Burrell.

Logan had had to grit his teeth the first time he’d seen
Cody. He’d never really liked the guy. He had some hockey skills, but his
borderline hits and stickwork pissed people off. He liked to dive to draw
calls, and infuriated players even more when he took off after his cheap shots,
refusing to fight.

Now they were playing on the same team and Logan had to get
his head around that.

“C’mon,” Logan said. “We all need to step up. Doing what
we’ve been doing isn’t working, we need to work harder, try different things.”

“We suck,” said Adam Corbet, a left winger, shaking his
head.

“Bullshit.” Logan frowned. “Maybe I see things clearer,
coming from outside, but I saw a lot of good things in last night’s game. You
guys do a great job of keeping out of Burney’s way. He could see every shot
that was coming at him last night.”

“That’s true,” Burney said. “I can’t stop what I can’t see.”

Logan watched the others shrug and nod. “You also do a
really good job of hanging onto the puck in the offensive zone. What I saw that
wasn’t so good was sometimes guys playing all by themselves. We need to play
together, for the whole game. That’s what we were working on this morning.”

He couldn’t stand guys who didn’t want to work and it was
going to be torture to play for a team where guys complained about a tough
practice or only focused on the negative. He was going to shut that noise down
right away. “That practice felt great,” he added. “Feels good to work hard.”

They nodded and mumbled agreement, and as Logan yanked off
his practice jersey, he saw Scott give him a long look as he walked through to
his office.

“What’s up tonight?” Logan asked the others. Saturday night,
new in town…he did not want to spend the evening alone. He’d been thinking
about Nicole a lot, annoyed that she’d gone out with some other dude. For some
reason, he’d never even thought there was another guy in the picture, probably
because of the way she looked at him and the tensions that sizzled between them
every time they got within a few feet of each other. He had every intention of
trying to convince her to spend the evening with him when they’d finished their
condo shopping, but if that didn’t work out—like if she had another date,
goddammit—he needed a plan B. He found himself arranging to meet a bunch of the
guys at a downtown bar they assured him was a happening place.

After showering and dressing, he was off to pick up Nicole
at her place. It had taken some convincing to get her to agree to that; she’d
wanted to meet him at the places she’d lined up to look at. As he drove, he
grinned.

He’d almost been stupid enough to take the first place he’d
looked at, but he hadn’t changed his mind about it because he thought he needed
to see more before deciding on one. Truthfully, he would have been fine in that
place. In fact, he probably would still go for it. But he’d suddenly realized
that if he was done looking for a place, he wouldn’t see nearly as much of
Nicole. Heh.

She’d been amazing the last few days. Her boss, Breck
Travers, the Director of Communications, was in charge, but he and Nicole had
both been there for him through the fucking endless interviews, press
conferences, media scrums and photo shoots. He could see how much Breck relied
on her and weirdly it made him feel like he could rely on her too. She had his
back and he kinda liked it.

He jumped out of his brand-new Jeep, the one-year lease
generously given to him by the dealership in exchange for some promo work, and
headed to the door of Nicole’s townhouse condo. She greeted him at the door,
already dressed in her black jacket, a big purple scarf wrapped around her
throat that made her face stand out, so pretty, so glowing. Her long blonde
hair flowed down her back.

“Hi,” she said. “I’m ready.” She slung her purse over her
shoulder.

He looked over her shoulder into her home. “What, I don’t
get to come in?”

Chapter Seven

“No.” Nicole shoved at him with both hands. “Let’s go.”

Logan laughed. She couldn’t budge him unless he let her, and
this time he did let her push him out of her condo onto the front steps. Though
it was interesting that she was so determined to get him out of there.

“Mary gave me keys to the places,” she told him. “So we
don’t need to worry about meeting up with her.”

“That’s very trusting of her.”

“We use her all the time for finding places for new players.
I think she trusts me.”

Once again, she directed him as he drove.

“So how was your date the other night?” Logan asked.

Silence. He glanced sideways at her and caught her faint
frown. “It was fine,” she said.

“Fine? That good, huh?”

She pressed her lips together. “It was good.”

“Who is this guy? Is this serious?”

“Who are you, my father?”

He grimaced. Nah, he didn’t want to be fatherly. “Just
interested,” he said. “I didn’t realize you had a boyfriend.”

“I don’t.” A soft sigh escaped her. “It was our first date.
I met him on the plane last weekend coming back from New York.”

“Oh. Nice guy?”

“Yes.”

He didn’t want to ask, but he had to. “Going to see him
again?”

“Tonight.”

Shit! He resisted the urge to slam a hand on the steering
wheel. Annoyance bristled inside him and heavy silence filled the vehicle as he
drove.

The first place they looked at was downtown, a
thirty-nine-story building that he hated. “No,” he said, just walking in the
door. “Definitely not.”

She shot him an amused look. “What’s wrong with it?”

He shrugged. “Just don’t like it. Let’s go.”

“Don’t rush on my account.” She locked the door behind them.
One corner of his mouth reluctantly kicked up.

The next place wasn’t far away and it wasn’t much better.

“There’s a doorman, for Chrissakes,” he muttered as they
headed to the elevator. “I can’t live in a place with a fucking doorman.”

“Why not?” She punched the button for the tenth floor and
turned to him.

“I don’t know. It makes me feel old. This place makes me
feel old.” He waved a hand. “I think old people live here.”

She tried to hide her smile. “You might be right. Let’s
look, though.”

They had a quick look around the place, which was nice, but
he’d already made up his mind.

“Okay, last one,” she said with a sigh when they were back in
the vehicle. “Are you sure you’re in the right mood for this?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You seem kind of…grouchy.”

Yeah. Grouchy was a good word to describe his mood. He’d
been feeling pretty good until she’d told him she had another date with…whateverhisnamewas.
“I’m fine,” he snapped.

She grimaced and he sighed. “I’m sorry,” he added. “I am
kind of grouchy.”

“What’s the problem? Anything I can help with?”

He stared at her, frustration mounting inside him. “Yeah, as
a matter of fact. You can cancel your date tonight and go out with me instead.”

Her eyes went wide and her lips parted. “Uh…”

“Never mind.” He was being an idiot. “Where’s the next
place?”

“Um. The next one overlooks Lake Calhoun,” she said. “I
thought you might like that.”

“Maybe.” It wasn’t the Pacific Ocean, but he was open to it.

“I also have the key to the one we looked at the other day,
near World Market Square. The one you were going to take at first. We can go
back, if you want to have another look.”

“We’ll see.”

They wandered through the condo, brand new and sparkling
clean and beautiful. “It’s a long way from the arena,” he said. “I didn’t think
that mattered at first, but I really did like that first one.”

“Let’s go back there then.”

“You’re being very patient.” And he was being a jerk.

“It’s my job,” she said lightly.

She was doing a good job of keeping things light and
distant, but every time he looked at her mouth, he got dirty thoughts. He
wanted to shove his hands into her hair and kiss her crazy. He wanted…he almost
groaned out loud at what he wanted. What was it about her?

He liked her. He liked how she knew hockey, how he could say
stuff that she understood, not like the puck bunnies who pretended they knew
hockey, but didn’t, who really only liked hockey players. He liked how strong
she was to keep her head up high after being publicly insulted. He liked how
she’d taken her love for hockey and found a satisfying career despite her
parents not encouraging her to follow her dreams.

And he was hot for her too, hot for her tight athletic body,
her lush mouth, her sexy eyes. Jesus.

When he walked into the loft condo, the first one they’d
looked at, something swept over him. Something easy and comfortable. Yeah, this
was the one.

At first he truly hadn’t cared where he was going to live.
Nowhere was going to be as nice as the place he’d had in California. He liked
this one. But for some reason his mind was always going to associate Nicole
being there with him, laughing in the bedroom at his joke about the bondage
hooks, the heightened awareness of each other, the way tension had snapped
between them.

He looked out the wall of windows. The loft faced south, so
the late-afternoon sun to their right lit up the sides of the buildings and
cast shadows that created a three-dimensional effect. The view was pretty
spectacular even if it wasn’t the ocean.

He checked out the gas fireplace, found the switch and
flicked it on. It flared to life, realistic flames that soon cast some warmth
in the empty room.

“It works,” Nicole said.

He took off his jacket and laid it on the floor. He looked
at her as he sat on the floor, leaning against the wall opposite the windows.
“Take off your jacket.”

“Why?”

“Because I said so.”

She snorted. “Hah.” But pleasure expanded inside him as she
unwound her scarf from around her neck and removed her jacket, laying it on top
of his on the floor. Beneath she wore a pair of low-rise jeans that hugged her
hips and legs all the way down to her beige Ugg boots. On top, a black
long-sleeved T-shirt clung to her full breasts.

“Come here,” he said.

She walked over and slid down the wall until she was sitting
on the floor beside him.

“It’s a nice view,” he said.

“Yes.” She stretched her long, jeans-clad legs out in front
of her and crossed her booted ankles.

Logan had always thought Ugg boots were the Uggliest thing
ever invented for women to wear on their feet. Give him a pair of pointy-toed
stiletto boots any day. But he found himself unaccountably charmed by her
chunky fleece-lined boots.

He turned his head to look at her, and she too rolled her
head against the wall. Their eyes met.

Lust slammed into him like a body check.

They looked at each other. Moments accumulated. Heat built.

He dropped his gaze to her mouth, so lush and soft looking.
His gaze dropped lower still and observed her breasts rising and falling with
her quick, shallow breaths. She was affected by him too. There was something
there.

He would never move in on another dude’s girl, but she’d
only dated the guy once and he’d eat a hockey puck if he was wrong about her
being as attracted to him as he was to her. He leaned in closer, slowly. Her
eyelids dropped, her lips parted and then he closed his own eyes as he brushed
his lips over hers. Once. Twice. And then he opened his mouth on hers and
kissed her deeper.

He lifted a hand and dragged his fingertips over the soft
skin of her jaw, then cupped her face and held it while they kissed. And yeah,
hell yeah, she kissed him back, opening for him, and when he slid his tongue
into her sweet mouth, she made a soft little sound in her throat that
encouraged him. Her tongue moved against his and his brain shorted out, heat
sizzling over every nerve ending in his body.

“Don’t do this,” she murmured, shifting her mouth away from
his. He kissed her cheek instead.

“Say it like you mean it,” he murmured back. She groaned and
triumph flared inside him. With his thumb on her chin, he tilted her head back
toward him and kissed her again, longer, deeper.

“I can’t do this,” she whispered. “I can’t.”

“Why, sweetheart? It feels like you want it as much as I
do.” He nuzzled her hair, her ear, breathed in her scent, something fresh and
clean, green and citrusy. Heat pounded through his body with every beat of his
heart, building in his balls.

“I…
câlisse
.”

“Hmm, what?” He opened his mouth on the side of her neck and
sucked, so gently.

“I don’t want to want you!” she cried, but her hands grabbed
his arms and her fingers dug into his sweater, holding on to him, not pushing
him away.

“Why?” he asked again. “What’s wrong with it? Christ, Nicole,
there’ve been sparks flying ever since we met.”

She moaned.

“Right?” He was pushing, because if she really wanted him to
stop, he had to stop. He wanted to be sure of what was going on.

“Right.” The word sounded dragged out of her. He smiled and
moved in for another kiss, another hot, mind-scrambling, sense-robbing kiss.

Nicole got lost in it. The voice in the back of her brain
screeching,
No, no, don’t be an idiot!
was drowned out by the pounding
of her heart in her ears, and the heat and need building in her core
obliterated sensible thought.

“I hate to bring this up,” he murmured against her lips.
“But I have to ask. Is it because of that other guy?”

“What other guy?” She tried to open her eyes, but her lids
were heavy, her body pulsing with need.

He chuckled. “Never mind then.” And he kissed her again.

It was like a drug, sliding through her veins all warm and
blissful, making her melt from the inside out. He licked inside her mouth and
bit softly at her lips.
Câlisse
, the man was a good kisser!

Her body strained toward him and, helpless to resist, she
moved closer.

“Oh yeah,” he murmured and hauled her onto his lap. She
shifted her position so she straddled him because, oh wow, she could get things
lined up, that ache intensifying between her thighs pressed right against the
bulge at his crotch. Her breath left her all at once and her head went light as
a fierce rush of desire for him shot through her.

He slid a hand into her hair and pulled her face down to him
for more of that luscious kissing, his other hand lower on her back, bringing
her closer to his body, and they rubbed together as he consumed her with that
incredible mouth, endless, fierce kisses that robbed her of all good sense and
resolve.

She knew she should stop. She should be wrenching herself
out of his arms and running out of that empty loft as fast as she could. But
she could not get her body to do that, erotically helpless against the lust
rolling through her.

“So good,” he sighed against her mouth. “Nicole. You taste
so sweet.” His hands moved over her body, up and down her back, and then one
slid down into the gap where her low-rise jeans had ridden even lower, finding
skin. His touch sent sizzles over her entire body and she gasped. First his
fingertips brushed the base of her spine, then the crease between her cheeks,
then he easily pushed his hand lower and cupped one ass cheek in his big hand.
Tabarnac
,
that felt good!

Her head fell back and he kissed her throat, opening his
mouth on her pulse there, then dragging his tongue up the side of her neck. Her
breasts thrust forward, aching, needy, her nipples tight and tingling inside
her bra. And then he covered one breast with a hand and gently squeezed.
Sensation exploded in her, pleasure and need, and she whimpered.

“Hot,” he whispered. “You’re burning hot, Nicole.”

She made some kind of little noise that might have been
agreement, her mind spinning uselessly. And when he found the hem of her
T-shirt and gently worked it up over her breasts and tugged it over her head,
she didn’t stop him.

The room was warm from the fireplace, but even so she
shivered, her bare skin crying out for the touch of his hands. When he put his
hands on her, holding her rib cage, she gave another soft cry of pleasure.

She looked at him, saw him gazing at her breasts, plumped up
by her underwire bra, her nipples visible through sheer black lace.

“Christ, you’re beautiful,” he said. “Jesus, Nicole.”

She almost wanted to cry at his compliment, because people
never told her she was beautiful, and at how helpless she felt to resist him,
how angry she was going to be at herself about this. She bit her lip and met
his eyes and concern shadowed them as he looked back at her.

He held her so gently, kissed her mouth softly and said,
“It’s okay, Nicole. It’s okay.”

And she nodded, wanting to believe him, wanting this to be
okay even though she knew it wasn’t.

He kissed her again, hands stroking her bare skin now,
kisses that went on and on, slow and hot and wet. Eventually his fingers worked
open the fastener of her bra at her back and he tugged it off her. Again he
studied her, awe and lust on his face, and feminine power and satisfaction
swept through her.

“Let’s move,” he ordered, and he lifted her off him, then
reached for their jackets lying on the floor nearby. He spread them, and with
dazed submission, she let him lower her there and move over her. He gazed down
at her, his face tight with male dominance and sensual hunger. Then he paused
to remove his sweater and the T-shirt layered beneath it, both coming off together.
She took in his body with avid eyes, her tongue dragging across her bottom lip.
She’d seen him before, that day in the hall at Taylor’s place, but now…god he
was beautiful, so big, muscles shifting beneath his smooth skin, his shoulders
wide, chest strong, abs flexing. She reached out to touch, tracing his biceps,
between his pecs over the dusting of hair there, smoothing over his shoulders,
trailing down to where his jeans rode so low she could see the elastic of his
briefs, which also sat dangerously low on his lean hips.