Seductively: Playing for Hearts Book 2 (Crimson Romance) (4 page)

Twenty feet from the door of the arena, car tires squealed behind them. Tanner wrapped his arms around her, stealing her breath. Dominic sandwiched her from the other side. A group of women screamed their joy inside the car at catching Dominic before practice.

“Idiots,” Dominic muttered.

“We’ll get rid of them.” Tanner let go of Diana.

She found herself thrust into Dominic’s embrace. Her sleeves had unrolled during the excitement, and all she could do is stand there with her arms hanging down, pinned to her sides. The clothes situation was going to have to change. If she had to defend herself against other women, she’d do more damage if her arms were usable.

“Let’s get you inside.” Dominic ushered her up the steps and into the building. “Tanner and Evan will guard the doors for the next two hours. We’re safe.”

“Your life seriously sucks, dude.” She yanked up her sleeves, fixed her scarf, and followed him farther into the building, thankful for the chill in the air.

He stopped at a set of double doors and pointed to their left. “Vending machines are down that way. I need to go change in the locker room. When you’re done, go through these doors. You can watch until practice is over.”

“Okay.” She hiked the sleeve of the sweatshirt and took his wallet out of her purse. “Maybe I’ll buy a snack, but I’ll pay you back. You can deduct it out of our agreement.”

“Diana.” He blew out his breath. “We’ll discuss this later. I’m going to get suited up. I’ll meet you right here after practice.”

He lumbered away. She gazed after him, watching his jeans tug against his solid legs. Her stomach growled. Food. That would get her mind off almost kissing him in the car.

Five minutes later, with a coffee in one hand and a Hostess Ding Dong and Dominic’s wallet in the other hand, Diana worked her way to the front seats by the rink, right behind the Plexiglas. After fumbling with the flip up seat, she managed to sit down without spilling her drink. The voices from the players echoed in the empty arena. The slice of their skates cut through the air. She shivered, set everything but her coffee in her lap, and cuddled the warm cup between her hands.

Half the players wore red shirts and the other half wore white. Both teams sported the San Jose Sharks logo on their jersey. She studied the men, trying to find Dominic. They all appeared similar in size.

Her gaze landed on number thirty-one. He looked her way, and she waved. She’d recognize his broad shoulders anywhere. He skated toward her, spraying ice when he slid to a stop in front of the see-through protective wall.

He tapped the glass with his hockey stick. “Warm enough?”

She nodded, and twirled her finger in the air. “Turn around.”

“Huh?”

“Rotate. I want to see what you wear,” she said.

He cocked his head, and pivoted around in a circle. She giggled quietly, liking the way his ass looked in the tight white pants. No wonder women went crazy for him.

Laughter broke out on the rink. She followed Dominic’s gaze to the other members of his team and found them pointing at her and slapping each other in amusement. She frowned.

“What’s their problem?”

“Probably jealous. Just ignore them.” He motioned with his stick. “I need to get back. Two hours and I’ll be done.”

She stuck her thumb up. “Good luck.”

“It’s just practice.”

“So?” She grinned. “Go kick their ass for laughing at you.”

He skated away and by the expression on his face, she knew he was laughing at her. His dimple showed and the skin at the edge of his eyes crinkled. She settled down and opened her Ding Dongs.

Over the course of the next hour, she watched Dominic skate around and pass the puck back and forth. No one seemed to hit the black flat disc toward the goals at the end of the rink, and instead concentrated on playing catch. She shifted and crossed her legs. The wallet on her lap slid, and she caught it before it fell to the sticky floor under her feet. She fingered the black leather.

The five dollars she expected to find earlier when she bought her snacks turned out to be a stack of fifty-dollar bills. Not wanting to snoop, she’d dug through the money and found a twenty folded behind the row of bills to use in the change machine and quickly closed the wallet back up. She slipped her finger in between the folds. Now that she was going to live with Dominic for two weeks, she was curious about what a famous hockey player would carry around with him.

The contents of a wallet said a lot about the owner. She wiggled her finger inside the divider without opening the billfold. Nothing stood out as odd. Maybe if she closed her eyes and used her sense of touch …

She tried again. Her fingernail caught on a paper, or … She opened her eyes. Was that the foil wrapping of a condom?

She jerked her finger out of the wallet, dropping it back on her lap. Her heart raced as if she’d done something illegal. He’d given her the wallet in good faith. She would not snoop. It wasn’t any of her business whether he was always prepared for sex.

The team skated off the end of the rink and walked single file to the locker room. She pursed her lips as one by one, she was the only one left in the arena. She wondered if he would use the condom with someone else while she stayed with him.

Her body quivered remembering how close they were to kissing in the car. She swept up her empty cup and wrapper and stood. He’d better not even think about bringing a woman back to the condominium while she was staying with him and having sex.

Nestled in the back corner of a quiet restaurant in one of the less popular neighborhoods of San Jose, Dominic shrugged off the hood of his sweatshirt. He watched Diana glance around self-consciously in the dim light. She’d insisted they hit the drive-thru window of a fast food restaurant, but he’d wanted to show her a good time. It mattered little to him that she was wearing his clothes.

Getting to know her better was his main objective, and she looked adorable decked out as a Sharks fan. Since almost kissing her in the car, he’d tried to get closer to her after practice and failed. She seemed extra jumpy, and he wanted to make sure she wasn’t going to back out of their deal.

“So, how often do you practice?” She fiddled with the edge of her napkin.

He set down his glass of wine. “Twice a week right now, because we have two games per week. The first month it’ll all be home games because we’re in exhibition season, but next month we’re on the road. I have weekends and Thursdays off.”

“Your whole life revolves around hockey. I’m surprised you came to help Shauna with the fundraiser.” She leaned forward. “Which was cool of you to do, by the way. The changes that are being made around Cottage Grove with the money all the athletes brought in helped a lot.”

“Grayson wanted a favor, and I was growing bored.” He shrugged. “I enjoy helping. It’s hard sometimes … ”

“The women?”

“Yes.”

“Tell me about this company that’s harassing you,” she asked.

He ran his hand over his jaw. “Nomora … they produce men’s cologne. Their representative is hounding me to provide samples of my sweat, spit, and something about collecting the acidity in my body. They want to provide other men with a way to gain a woman’s attention by providing a cologne with the same compounds as the … smell I produce. I’ve told them, it’s not something men will like. They don’t believe me.”

“No. I don’t imagine they would.” She snorted quietly and shook her head. “You do know that most men think you’re lucky to have the problem you do. Think of all the nice boys who want to be badasses like you. They’d kill to switch spots with you.”

“Yeah. I’d gladly trade places with any one of them.”

“What happens when you’re in Russia?” She lifted her drink. “You said you go there to get away from the chaos.”

“That’s the thing, nothing happens to me when I go back home.” He shook his head. “In the village, everyone knows me. It’s a small area. Maybe three thousand people.”

“Do you date?” She glanced away. “I mean, when you’re home.”

“No.”

“Huh.” She sipped her wine.

He braced his forearms on the table. “Why did you do that?”

“Just hard to believe. I would think you had a girlfriend back home, since you don’t seem to have one here in the States. At least when I Google you, the articles pin you as a playboy, not a relationship sorta guy,” she said.

The waitress brought their food. He leaned back, catching the wink the woman gave him. He ignored her.

“My name’s Kimmy. If you’d like anything else … I mean anything, just ask for me.” She slipped a piece of paper under the lip of his plate.

Disgust soured his mood. He slid the folded message back to the edge of the table. “I’m not — ”

“He’s mine.” Diana laid her hand atop his, and smiled at him without looking at the waitress. “Aren’t you, baby?”

“I, uh, yeah, all yours.” He curled his fingers around her hand, catching on to her act. “Sweetcheeks.”

The waitress stared at the two of them. He continued to gaze at Diana. She was full of surprises.

“Enjoy your dinner.” The waitress spun around and hurried away.

Diana jerked her hand back. “Sweetcheeks? Really? You might as well have said, ‘Hey, chubs, want another piece of cake?’”

“I’d never say such a thing.” He glanced down at the table before looking at Diana again. “What should I call you?”

“Diana.” She popped a fry into her mouth and grinned. “Seriously, Dom. Did you see the woman’s face? I thought she was going to cry. I think we’re onto something with this whole fake dating thing.”

“I told you. I need you.” He grinned, feeling proud of getting her to come stay with him.

“Stop right there.” She shook her head. “No smiling. At least until we’re back at your condominium. You don’t want to press your luck and have Kimmy coming back to our table.”

“You’re right.” He tapped the edge of the table. “Scoot over here to my side.”

“Why?”

“Maybe if we looked like a real couple, we’ll get through the whole meal without any more interruptions.” He scooted to the inside of the booth.

“Good idea.” She pushed her plate over, hiked up her sweatshirt, and slid into the spot next to him.

Her leg pressed against the side of his thigh. His body went on instant alert. He reached for his wine and accidently bumped his elbow into her arm. “Sorry.”

“No problem.” She had plenty of room to scoot over, but she remained next to him.

He leaned over and whispered, “Kiss me.”

She burst out laughing. “We’re pretending. Don’t confuse reality with fantasy.”

“I won’t … my little lamb.”

She flattened her hands on the table, turned her head, and nailed him with a look that made it hard not to laugh. “No. Just. No.”

He leaned forward, propped his hand over his lower jaw, and hid his smile. Hell, he was going to have a good time with her. She gave him back everything he dished out without turning it into a game to get his attention.

They spent the rest of the meal in comfortable conversation. The longer he went without any interruptions, the more relaxed he started to feel. When he finished all the food on his plate and ate most of the dessert Diana wanted to share, he leaned back and stretched. This was the most enjoyable meal he’d eaten since leaving Russia.

Diana yawned. A smile landed on his lips. Her guard had slipped during the meal, and she hadn’t even noticed they’d conversed without any of her normal snappy replies.

“It’s been a long day with traveling and springing everything on you. Let’s get you home.” He gently nudged her, moving her to her feet.

What he really wanted to do was wrap his arm around her, let her lean her head against him, and take her straight to his bedroom. Without her defenses up, she came across soft and warm, much more accepting of being in his company. He quickly paid their tab, phoned the security team, and met them in front of the restaurant doors with the Hummer ready to go.

Diana slid across the back seat and leaned her head against the window. He sat and stretched out his legs. Now that they were making progress and getting along, he was glad for the weekend ahead. All he wanted to do was hide out at the house, and see how many more chips he could make in her armor.

He laid his arm along the back of the seat. His hand touched the curls popping out from the back of her stocking cap. He grinned in the darkness of the car. She’d forgotten all about wearing the hat while in the restaurant. It’d almost be a disappointment when her luggage arrived. He’d like to keep her wearing his clothes.

He closed his eyes. A feisty Diana wearing one of his jerseys with nothing else came to mind. Her bare legs peeking out from under the material as she curled up at the end of his couch gave him something to look forward to in the next couple of days. He’d finally be able to find out if she painted her toes to match the soft pink color on her fingernails.

A weight pressed against his leg. He pried one eye open and peeked. Diana had lain down across the seat. The top of her head rested against his thigh. He lifted his hand, but caught himself before caressing her head. She needed her sleep. He’d thrown a lot at her today.

No sooner had he got used to feeling her beside him than Tanner drove into the garage. Dominic looked down at Diana, hating to wake her.

“Will you need us over the weekend?” Tanner asked.

“No. I’ll call if we do.”

“Very good, sir.” Tanner hesitated. “Earlier we received a call of a delivery, and I had one of our guys take it into your house.”

He nodded. “Thanks.”

The doors closing never fazed Diana. She only squirmed against him and curled her legs tighter to her chest. He tapped her shoulder and waited.

Nothing. She continued sleeping without a care in the world.

Feeling as if he was taking his life in his hands, he opened the side door and did what any other man would do. He picked her up and cradled her in his arms. She sighed and snuggled her head underneath his chin.

Sue him for taking the time to dip his head and inhale the sweet feminine scent that’d teased him all day. He shifted her closer and carried her through the garage.