Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
T ressy
I didn’t have a response to Rowdy’s statement, but I couldn’t find anything wrong with it.
When Krista and I had left the city Thursday night, I didn’t have a specific place in mind. I just wanted to get away. Anywhere. Didn’t matter. So why was I complaining about being here?
I looked at Rowdy, my brain working overtime. Maybe he was right. Maybe I had ended up exactly where I was meant to be.
I didn’t believe in fate or any of that other woo-woo stuff. Your choices determined what happened. Except I hadn’t made a conscious choice to end up in St. David. My car had broken down, and I’d done what I needed to do to make sure my child didn’t freeze. And then I’d fallen into Rowdy’s arms.
I chewed over that while I ate my pasta with Rowdy’s amazing sauce. Honestly, it was the best red sauce I’d ever had, and I’d eaten at some pretty damn-good restaurants .
“Rowdy?”
“Yeah?”
“Are you sure you’re where you’re supposed to be?”
His lips quirked into one of those half smiles that looked so good on him.
“Most days, yeah. Some days…” He shrugged. “My friend who wants me to coach with him, he was here for a few months, years ago, rehabbing his… well, rehabbing his career, basically. He had a lingering injury, thought his career was finished. We’d played at college together. He went into the draft. I didn’t.”
“Why didn’t you?”
His bittersweet smile vanished almost as soon as it appeared. “Because I knew I was coming back here to play. That was always the plan. My dad built this team. It’s our team. Our family team.”
“And you never thought about playing anywhere else?”
“Sure. But I’m a realist. I’m not good enough to play at the NHL level. I never had the drive or the skill.” He held up a hand before I could say anything. “And I’m okay with that. I get to do what I love every single day. And that’s not a bad thing. Actually, it’s a pretty damn good thing.”
“But…”
That smile was back, and it stuck around a little longer this time.
“But when I got that call, I wondered if it’s not time to switch things up.”
“Do you want to coach?”
Another pause. “I always thought I’d coach here.”
“But…?”
A tiny smile on his lips that was somehow sexier than a full-out grin. “I’m not sure I’m ready to. I’m not sure I’ll be ready to coach here next year. This team can be a lot. Some of the players need a lot more help than I think I can give them. There are a few of us who’ve been with the team for years. But there’re always one or two guys with some real serious issues. ”
“It doesn’t all fall on your shoulders, does it?”
“No, that’s why my dad hired Scotty. He played in the NHL for a few years, but he made the jump to coaching pretty quickly. Did a stint in the AHL and gained a rep for being good with the hard cases. And he’s an Army vet, so the Colonel was all over that. He’s also pretty young, so it’s not like he’s going to be retiring anytime soon.”
“Then this sounds like the perfect opportunity for you to try something new. If you want to. Where’s your friend’s team?”
“About an hour west of Philly and an hour east of here.”
That would make it not far from New York City. In fact, it was pretty damn close to New York City. My heart started to pump a little harder.
“You finished? Or do you want more?”
I looked down and realized I’d cleaned my plate while we’d talked.
“No, thank you. It was delicious.”
“Thanks.” That grin again, the one I was beginning to realize covered a great deal. “Glad you liked it.”
I did like it. I liked him. A lot. I liked his family. I liked St. David. Maybe it was the circumstances. Maybe it was my state of mind. Hell, maybe it was something in the water.
I only knew I couldn’t get enough of him.
He stood, reaching across the table to pick up my bowl and take it over to the sink with his. I got up and followed him, leaning against the island behind him.
“When do you have to be at the arena?”
He looked over his shoulder at me, his brows arching as his smile grew wider.
“Not for another hour.” He turned and leaned back against the sink, arms crossed over that broad chest that made me want to lick him. “Why? You got something in mind?”
His voice and the look on his face made all the air in my lungs vanish. Seriously, I had to suck in a deep breath just to be able to think clearly. Because I did have something in mind. I had him on the brain. Well, him and a bed. Or maybe we didn’t even need the bed.
Because it was so hard to breath when he looked at me like that, I lifted my hand and crooked an index finger at him. His smile got just a little bit more wicked, and my lungs began to demand air in large quantities.
He crossed the couple of feet separating us, bringing him almost close enough for me to rub my nose along the side of his neck. Or lick the hollow of his throat. Instead, I looked up into his eyes and smiled. It was impossible to be this close to the man and not want to smile when he looked at me like that.
“You,” he put his hands on my hips, “are really short.”
I huffed out a laugh that was cut short when he lifted me straight off the floor and set me on the counter. My hands found their way to his shoulders, grabbing and holding on.
“But this is much better,” he said as he leaned in. We could almost look at each other directly in the eyes now, although he was still a little taller. “Now, what exactly did you have in mind, beautiful?”
I’d never had anyone call me that. Not in this situation. The guys I’d dated since moving to New York just hadn’t been the kind of guys to say things like that. I would’ve found it disingenuous coming from one of them.
From Rowdy, it was…heart-stopping.
I had to swallow before I could make myself answer. “You.”
“And what exactly do you want to do with me?”
I wound my arms around his neck, tilting my head so I could press my lips against the skin just below his ear. He sucked in a sharp breath, his hands squeezing into the soft curve of my hips before moving around to my back to press me closer.
“Devour you.”
He made a sound in his chest that set my every nerve ending on fire. It lit me up from my core outward .
“Fuck, Tressy. You can have anything you want.”
Then he turned his head and took my mouth in a kiss that I wouldn’t have thought possible just a couple of days ago. That kiss made me lightheaded, even as every inch of my body went red-hot and heavy. I wanted to lean into him and let him wrap that big body around mine. To shut out the rest of the world for one hour and let me gorge on him.
I’m not really sure I got to do that last night. First times can be amazing, but the second time around is when you really get your groove going. When everything either aligns or falls apart.
And I had a feeling we were going to align like laser-cut edges.
The kiss seemed to last forever, with his lips and tongue working in concert to create an absolutely unbearable sense of longing. My hands slid into his hair and tugged on those waves that were messy and sexy and silky.
Sliding closer to the edge of the counter, I slid my hands down his arms then to his sides and finally back around to his ass. I coaxed him forward, feeling the bulge of his erection behind the zipper. I moaned at the lust that flooded me, making me wet and hot and almost frantic with need.
His hands slid down my back to grab my ass and crush me even tighter against him. I was running out of breath, but I couldn’t get enough of him, even as I brought my hands to the button of his cargo pants and worked the button open, then zipped down the fly.
“Oh, fuck.” Rowdy pulled away and put his mouth against my neck, nipping at the skin until my entire body felt electrified. “I seriously want your hands on my cock.”
“I aim to please.”
Sliding my hands into his pants, I rubbed him through his boxer briefs, making him groan against my skin, his breath hot. His hands moved up my back as I curled my fingers around his cock and squeezed.
“Jesus, Tressy. Do it again. ”
I did as he wrapped my braid around his hand then tugged on it, hard enough to make my scalp tingle.
“No, don’t stop, princess. I’ll tell you when I’m close because I definitely want to come inside you.”
I shivered, my lips parting to suck in much-needed air, and he kissed me again, rocking his erection into my hand. I obeyed his silent command and stroked him through the cloth as his tongue slid against mine, tormenting me.
His cock burned against my palm, but I knew how much better it would feel against my skin. Using both hands, I shoved his pants and briefs down so I could get a better grip on him, could feel that silky skin against mine.
Hot and hard, his cock filled my hand as I gripped him hard and jerked him off. Rowdy liked it just a little rough, encouraging me to grip him tighter, and, when I slid my free hand between his legs, he pulled away and bit out a “Fuck, yes,” when I cupped his balls and squeezed.
His hands fell to the counter as I played with him, his forehead pressed against mine.
“That feels fucking amazing.”
Some undiscovered part of me preened like a wallflower finally getting her moment to shine. I’d never considered myself particularly good at making love, but Rowdy made me feel like a sex goddess.
He let me play with him for I don’t know how long before he kissed me again. And this time, I tasted raw need in the way his lips crushed against mine and the strength of his hands on my hips.
“We’re not gonna make it to the bedroom, princess, so just let me…”
Wrapping one arm around my waist, he lifted me off the counter and dragged my pants down with the other, working off my shoes so my legs were completely free. Setting my bare ass back on the counter, he used both hands to get them all the way off.
Then he grinned and before I knew what he planned, he went down on his knees, spreading my legs open with one hand on either knee.
I barely had time to catch my breath before he pulled me right to the edge of the counter and put his mouth over my pussy. I think I might’ve screamed just a little, but then I moaned when he sucked on my clit and nearly pushed me straight into an orgasm. It hovered right there, out of reach, as he licked me, his tongue a weapon of sexual devastation.
I mean, seriously, he teased me into a limp mass of desire in minutes. I couldn’t catch my breath and I couldn’t hold myself upright. I leaned back on my forearms and let my head drop, eyes closed.
My sex clenched, my body hanging on the edge of a climax he wouldn’t let me have. He pushed right to the edge and then pulled away, just as I was about to come.
“Rowdy! Don’t you dare leave me han—Oh!”
He lifted me off the counter, holding me high enough that the tip of his cock brushed against my sensitive labia.
“You know I’d never leave you high and dry, sweetheart. Just tilt your hips—Yeah, just like that.”
I had no idea when he’d put on the condom. I was so slick, he slid right in. My arms curled around his neck as he stretched me. He made me feel so full, almost to the point of too much. But with Rowdy, I don’t think it would ever be too much. I’m not sure it will ever be enough.
“Oh, my god. Don’t move,” I said, trying to breathe and absorb everything I could about the moment. “Just…stay.”
He was a solid wall of strength, his arms corded with muscle, holding me against him like I weighed nothing. I wrapped my legs around his waist, changing the angle of penetration, making him groan and pushing me just that much closer to an orgasm I desperately wanted.
“Fuck, Tressy.’
His words fell directly into my ear and straight into my blood stream. And my body took him literally. I rode him, moving my hips and sliding along his length like I knew what I was doing. Which I didn’t. I was working on instinct. And instinct told me to move.
I loved the sounds he made, loved the way his lips clung to mine as we kissed, our breath hot, our bodies even hotter. I was naked from my waist down and I wished he’d taken the time to get rid of our shirts, too, because I wanted to feel his skin against mine. But the thought sputtered away when the tip of his cock hit that certain spot inside me and I shuddered, moaning into his mouth. I froze, everything inside me winding tight and hard until finally it broke, like a damn bursting. I held on as Rowdy took over, tearing his mouth away from mine, allowing us both to breathe.
I gasped in air, still shuddering as he pumped into me. His arms tightened, crushing me against his chest.
We stood like that for at least a minute, clinging to each other, our hearts beating furiously. I didn’t want him to put me down, but he had a game to play. And I had a child currently being cared for by someone I’d just met.
What the hell had happened to me in St. David?
I wasn’t sure I wanted an answer to that.
Another few seconds later, Rowdy turned his head to press his lips against my temple. My heart skipped a beat at the tenderness in that touch, and my arms tightened around his neck. I held him tight for a few seconds before I loosened them as he slid out of me and set me on my feet. And when he met my gaze, I saw that grin of his and my stomach clenched.
What the hell was I doing here?
And how the hell was I going to fix this?