Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Third encounter
“How stable do you think my kitchen table is?”
You will not touch her for fuck’s sake, is that clear?” Temple bellowed.
“You will not look at her the wrong way, you will not make lewd jokes, and you will not flirt with her!” West added abrasively.
Hm. So far, he had really only been guilty of the touching – that was lucky, Moreau thought.
“Above all, you will act normal so that Anna never finds out we gave you this little pep talk,” Dax added, folding his arms across his chest.
Moreau leaned back on the locker room bench and slowly let his gaze wander from one to the other. Strange that Jack and Dax were directing their speech mainly at Alvarez and a few young rookies. They should know that those meatheads couldn’t take on Anna.
“Come on, Dax,” winger Matthew Payne called out. “Charkov just learned what a vulva is. You can’t deny him practicing new knowledge. And a doctor would be the perfect study partner.”
Dax didn’t appear to find that funny. It was more like he was going to slap the next puck straight into Matt’s temple.
“Guys, you can save the speech,” Fox, the eternal diplomat, intervened, standing up. “As if any of us were suicidal enough to even shake Anna’s hand for too long!”
Moreau’s jaw hardened. Yes. As if.
“Well, I’m not suicidal, but I’m definitely interested in the vulva thing,” Alvarez said. “Man. Now I’m almost glad that I bruised my shoulder and have to go for a check-up every week.” The young player grinned broadly. “How fitting that I’m a fan of playing doctor.”
Dax rose angrily, but Jack pulled him back into his seat, rolling his eyes. “Calm down! It was a joke.”
“Exactly.” Leon grinned broadly. “I won’t do anything she doesn’t want to do.”
Moreau’s mouth twitched. As if anyone here could force Anna Temple to do anything.
If you asked him, the whole conversation was ridiculous.
Anna was gifted at articulating what she did and didn’t want.
Really, Dax should have forbidden her from attacking another unsuspecting hockey player, not the other way around.
But they hadn’t asked him, and maybe that was for the best.
“Alvarez!” Fox snapped before Dax could jump up angrily again.
“Pull yourself together! I don’t want to hear any more of that crap.
The playoffs start next week, and we have a better chance than ever of winning the Cup.
We’re going to go to the Ice Lounge on Saturday after our last game of the regular season to enjoy one last quiet evening — and I want everyone to come!
No exceptions. Bring your family for all I care.
Your girlfriends, partners, dogs, you name it.
Whatever relaxes you. But after that, the only thing we’ll be concentrating on is our game. Do we understand each other?”
The other players grumbled their agreement and nodded to the captain.
“Good,” he said sharply. “Then finish getting dressed so Dr. Temple can introduce herself and practice can begin.”
“I don’t quite understand why we should get dressed,” Blake Ford muttered. He was the Hawks’ second, much younger goalie and he’d been breathing down Lucas’ neck for months. “We’ll be naked most of the time around her, anyway.”
Fox gave him a withering look, while looking relieved that Ford had spoken softly enough that neither Dax nor Jack had heard him.
“Jesus Christ,” the captain whispered, pulling on his shoulder pads. “Are you the only one I can rely on not to mess up now? I had hope for the Saint, but that turned out to be a mistake.”
Lucas lowered his gaze and decided to remain silent.
That usually worked best for him. He didn’t like lying to his best friend, but in this case, it was better the less Fox knew.
In his opinion, the little sex thing with Anna wasn’t worth mentioning anyway.
He and Anna hadn’t spoken in weeks. If she hadn’t texted him that she was starting with the Hawks, he probably wouldn’t have given her another damn thought!
Well, maybe one or two. At night, when he was in bed. When he had no control over his imagination.
There was a loud knock on the locker room door, and Moreau knew immediately that it was Anna because no one else here ever bothered to announce themselves before entering.
His shoulders tensed, and he kept his eyes downcast. He wasn’t nervous about seeing her again — but he could have done without it. It made his life more complicated than necessary and as Fox had already noted, complicated wasn’t his thing.
“Hey,” a male voice rang out. Apparently, Anna was not alone but had brought the head doctor, Dr. Reed, with her. “I don’t want to take too much of your time, I just wanted to inform you that we are welcoming a new doctor to our team today.”
Visors clicked and jerseys rustled. It sounded like the entire team was turning to look at the newcomer, so Moreau also reluctantly raised his head. Anything else would have been too conspicuous.
He found her immediately, and not just because she was the only woman in the room. No. It was mainly because her smile was so broad, it would have blinded the sun itself.
He knew that smile. Anna threw it around generously. His stomach clenched. Yet he still couldn’t take his eyes off her – that damn smile could turn weaker men into babbling idiots.
He looked away. He was not a weaker man.
“Hey, I’m Dr. Anna Temple,” she said openly. “I’m happy to be here to keep you playing your best. My door is always open, so don’t hesitate to talk to me if you have any problems!”
Those present nodded, but no one spoke. Perhaps they were afraid Jack might interpret one wrong word as flirting. Perhaps Anna’s smile simply had that effect.
“Dr. Temple’s focus is orthopedics,” Dr. Reed added loudly. “Which means you can see her for pretty much anything without having to bother me with your aches and pains.”
“What if I have a heartache? Can I come to her then too?” Leon asked promptly.
Out of the corner of his eye, Lucas saw that Dax was opening his mouth, but Anna beat him to it.
“No problem, Leon,” she said lightly. “The same goes for sexually transmitted diseases, which you probably have more of a problem with. And just to be on the safe side: Yes, every penis looks different, it’s not a problem at all if yours is a little crooked or deformed.
That’s normal! Especially if you touch it too often.
Don’t worry about it for another minute. ”
Lucas lowered his chin to hide his smile while the others weren’t so polite: Everyone laughed boisterously. Yes, Anna would get along fine here.
“My penis is great, thank you,” Leon said tightly, his head as red as Melody’s Lego fire engine.
“Well, I’m relieved to hear that,” Anna replied theatrically. “Does anyone else have a question about my range of duties?” Her gaze wandered over the crowd and…skipped right over him, as if there was a big gap between Ford and Fox.
That was all right with him. It gave him a chance to look her over.
The last time he had seen her, she hadn’t been wearing any clothes.
Now that he thought about it, he had only seen her in three outfits during their six-month arrangement: A black evening dress, sweatpants and a t-shirt, and naked.
Now he saw her for the first time in jeans and a polo shirt.
It was dark red, the club’s colors, with black lettering: Dr. Temple.
It suited her. Not as well as his hands on her body, but still.
Lucas knew she was a doctor. She had once listed all of his leg bones, while they were having sex, no less.
But he hadn’t realized she specialized in orthopedics or that she was interested in working as a sports doctor.
He was shocked at how little he knew about the woman he had slept with for six months.
Then again, he had planned it that way, and so had she.
He knew she liked it when he took her earlobe between his teeth while he moved inside her, but he didn’t know where she had attended college. He could list all the places to kiss to make her moan, but he didn’t know any of her hobbies.
Shit, it really had been the perfect arrangement!
He moved his jaw back and forth while Anna was still scanning the players and licking her lips expectantly. Desire stirred in him, so he looked away. It had been two months since he’d last had sex. With her.
And he remembered it.
“I have a question!” Charkov said in his heavy Russian accent. “How many men you seen naked? I didn't mean to shock you.”
“Jesus,” Dax muttered, but Charkov wasn’t known for making jokes and, judging by his expression, his concern was genuine.
Anna smiled wider. “Enough. Believe me. I…”
“Okay, everyone stop talking right now!” Dax shouted.
Anna snorted as Fox stood and ordered his team out of the locker room and onto the ice.
Good. The sooner he could turn his back on Anna, the better. He grabbed his helmet and…
“Moreau, would you stay for a minute?” Dr. Reed called out.
He paused, sighing inwardly. He knew what was coming and he could do without Anna’s presence. Nevertheless, he sauntered over to the doctor and raised an eyebrow.
“You ‘forgot’ your pills yesterday,” Dr. Reed said, holding out a pill bottle.
Moreau felt Anna’s gaze on him and pressed his lips together. He didn’t need painkillers! When he felt his knee flaring up in the evening, he put ice on it and that was it.
“Thanks,” he replied harshly and grabbed the bottle.
The doctor snorted and shook his head before pushing past him and following the other players out.
Moreau wanted to turn and leave too – he didn’t want to be alone with Anna – but soft, warm fingers wrapped around his and held him back.
Goosebumps climbed up his arm just like every time she touched him. It was, however, the first time he hadn’t welcomed the desire that her mere touch unleashed.
He pulled his hand away. He folded his arms behind his back and peered down at her coolly, even as a quiet anger rose in him. He looked into her innocently widened, light blue eyes. She had lied to his face, after all. She had risked the press attacking Melody.
“You ignored my message,” she whispered, looking nervously past him toward the door.
He said nothing. Why would he give an answer she already knew?
“Why did you ignore my message?”
Because he hadn’t felt the need to talk to her. Okay, he never felt the need to talk to anyone – except maybe Melody – but in his experience, words didn’t solve problems, they made more problems happen.
“I was hoping we could have one more adult conversation before I started today,” she murmured, looking up at him uncertainly and biting her lip.
Moreau’s gaze landed unerringly on the spot where her incisors dug into the soft flesh of her bottom lip. Was she doing it on purpose? Was she angry because he had ended things between them and was now deliberately trying to turn him on? Because if so, she could forget about it. It wouldn’t work.
She let out a small sigh.
He almost got hard.
Okay, it almost didn’t work.
His jaw clenched as he forced himself to look at her eyes, and her eyes only.
It was strange. He didn’t know this woman.
He didn’t know when her birthday was, what her favorite TV show was, or what she did with her free time.
But he knew her smell. Knew every sound that came from her lips.
Knew how she felt under his body and how she looked when her eyes glazed over with desire.
Now, he wanted to wipe that innocent expression from her face.
Wanted to punish her for lying. He knew exactly how to stall her, how to torment her…
“I know conversations aren’t your strong suit,” Anna continued undeterred, tucking her hair behind her ears, “but we didn’t have a proper ending.
You never let me explain.” She frowned. “I didn’t mean to lie.
I’m sorry. It was just complicated. Dax and Jack wanted to keep it to themselves…
Can’t we just forget about it? I mean, it’s good that we both ended it.
I’m not stressed anymore. The exams are over.
So I don’t need you to…” She cleared her throat.
“Well, I take my job seriously, and I have worked toward this position for ten years. I don’t want to do anything that makes my job more difficult.
It doesn’t have to be awkward between us at all.
It was just sex, we both know that, and now… can’t we just be friends?”
She looked at him expectantly while he waited. Ten seconds. Twenty seconds.
Then he asked abrasively, “Are you done?”
She blinked. “Um…yes.”
“Good.”
The next moment, he turned and left.
He had absolutely nothing to say to Anna.
He didn’t want to be alone with her. He didn’t want to be friends with her.
He didn’t want to talk about what had happened.
He didn’t want an apology and he never wanted to hear the word sex come out of her mouth again because it gave him dirty ideas that had no place in his head anymore.
She was right about one thing: It didn’t have to be awkward. As long as they both stayed away from each other, they wouldn’t have a problem.