Busted (Promise Harbor Wedding)(44)

“I’m a big fan of going on the offense.”

“This coming from a seasoned defenseman?”

“I like to keep an open mind?” he offered.

She laughed, pushing at his shoulders. “Well, while you’re planning your next play, I’ve got things to do.”

“Yeah, like what?”

“Date stuff,” she answered cryptically.

“Isn’t that my department?”

“I’m making sure I get my money’s worth.” She pushed at his shoulders again, and when he didn’t budge she rolled her eyes.

Although he’d been half expecting it, the momentum of whatever she did with her leg succeeded in getting him off her. Not that he minded when he was staring up at her straddling him. He lifted his hips, rubbing the head of his aroused cock against her, making sure she knew exactly what their little wrestling match had done to him.

Hayley licked her lips, her eyes drifting shut for just a second. “I’ll see you at eight. Dress warm.” She stood and walked back to the truck.

He sat up, admiring the subtle sway of her hips. The view of her ass didn’t hurt either. Belatedly, he processed what she had said, then hollered out, “It’s June.”





Dress warm.

Jackson stared at the outside of the arena where Hayley had driven them after picking him up. She stood next to him in jeans and a T-shirt that read, Feel safe at night. Sleep with a cop. It had taken him a couple minutes to stop laughing long enough to tell her he loved it. A sweater was tied around her waist.

She bypassed the door and looked down along the side of the building.

“Aren’t we going in?”

“I thought you were an expert at sneaking in?”

He glanced around, noticing the sun was setting, but they were far from camouflaged by the shadows. “I did say that, didn’t I?”

She nodded.

“I was an ass.”

Laughing, she pulled a key out of her pocket and let them in. The familiar scent of the ice filled his senses. Though vendors didn’t set up during the summer season reserved mostly for hockey camps, he could almost smell the popcorn that was always thrown around the arena during events.

He followed her down the stairs and along a corridor that emerged from beneath the stands. On the bench closest to the open board where they had access to the ice sat two pairs of skates. He took his time joining her, watching her lace up her skates with an efficiency he admired. He still had one to go by the time she had hers on her feet and was flying across the ice.

He hesitated when the blades of his skates finally touched the ice, remembering he’d only been on his skates a handful of times since facing the fact his hockey career was over. But instead of the familiar ache in his chest he’d expected, he felt himself grinning as he watched Hayley.

She’d made two laps before he joined her, and after shaving the ice across her skates when he stopped next to her, he stole a kiss, then skated backward. Pumping her legs hard, she still couldn’t catch up to him.

Giving up before long, she skated across to the player’s bench, bending over the boards for something.

“How about you just hold that pose a minute,” he called out.

Grinning, she skated back across to him, tossing him a stick. She dropped a puck on the ice, then used her own stick to shoot it away from him. He glided over to it and shot it back, careful not to put too much force behind it. With no protective equipment on, she could easily be hurt.

After passing it back and forth, she nodded to the net. “How about a friendly competition?”

“Sweetheart, you don’t stand a chance.”

She lifted a shoulder. “One shot each.”

“What are the stakes?”

Her brow creased in thought. “If you win, I’ll—”

Oh no. That was definitely his call. “If I win,” he interrupted, “you’ll take the day off tomorrow. One full day. No work. No renovations or oil changes. Nothing but fun.”

“Your idea of fun is getting me naked.”

“And?” He really didn’t see what the problem with that was.

She rolled her eyes. “If I win…you’ll come back here tomorrow and give the guys some pointers. After the autograph signing,” she added.

He’d almost forgotten about that. Although he wasn’t as resistant to the idea as before, it wasn’t anything to worry about. He didn’t plan on missing.

“I’ll go first.”

He knew that tone. She’d used the same one when she’d relinquished the Beast to him after he’d arrived back in town.

“Do you find it hot in here?” She glanced around as if in search of an explanation for the temperature jump only she felt, then tugged both her sweater and T-shirt over her head.

He circled around her, admiring the red lace bra all but spilling her breasts over the top. “It’s gonna take a lot more than that to make me miss.”

“Of course it would.” She glanced at the net and drew her stick back. The cracking sound of her hitting the puck echoed through the arena and the black disc shot forward, headed for the net.

Impressed, he let out a hoot when the disc barely cleared the post and sailed into the back of the net. “What happens if we have a tie?”

“You’re awfully sure of yourself.” She leaned on the stick, drawing his attention right back to her breasts. Did her panties match?

Okay, so maybe it was more distracting than he gave her credit for. Focus.

Jackson brought back his stick and let it rip, firing the puck across the ice. It was a guaranteed goal, or would have been if the blade of his stick hadn’t snapped on impact. His missed the net by over a dozen feet.

He stared at the busted stick, then to where Hayley skated away, dragging her T-shirt and sweater back on. “You knew that would happen.”

She gave him a puzzled look, her lips twitching just a bit.

“You sabotaged the stick.”

“That would be cheating, and cheating is wrong.” Her deadpan delivery cracked him up, and he took off after her.

In five seconds he had her against the boards, pinning her in place. Heat rolled off her body, and that contagious laugh of hers echoed around the rink.

A little breathless, she tipped her face up. “So after sneaking into the rink in high school and showing off for the girls on your skates, what would you do next?”

“Tour of the dressing room,” he teased.

Her nose scrunched up. “Seriously? Wow,” she mocked, “Your romantic streak is a mile wide, Knight.”

He playfully bit down on her neck. “Cheaters don’t get to judge.” He released his hold, skating back to retrieve the puck and broken piece of his stick.

She was already off the ice, unlacing her skates, by the time he caught up, and the heartbreaking smile she sent his way did crazy things to his stomach.

Once his own skates were off, she held out a hand, and he slipped it into his own. He didn’t know what made her change her mind about the date with him, but he was damn glad she had.

“How did you convince Bernice to give up the date with me?”

“Seems our former mascot had a number of unpaid parking tickets and was close to losing her license. Would have been bad for business.” Hayley grinned.

“Your rebellious streak is still a mile wide, Stone.”

They walked a few laps around the arena before Jackson realized how good it felt to be there despite what had happened in the past. Maybe because the end of his professional hockey career wasn’t as important as remembering why he’d wanted to play to begin with, or maybe it had a lot to do with the woman next him. Maybe both.

They leaned against the rail that circled the lower section of seating. “I still would have gone for it,” he said quietly. “When you asked if I would have done things differently if I’d known my career would end too soon. I still would have gone for it.”

Hayley nodded.

“Already knew that, did you?”

“I had my suspicions.” She turned and sprinted down the hallway, in the direction of the stairs they’d used earlier to get down to the ice.

It was only fair to give her a slight head start before pursuing her. By the time he reached the bottom of the stairs, he caught a faint trace of her laughter. He stood opposite the home team’s locker room where the door hadn’t shut completely yet.

He pushed it open, spotting her shoes and pants in the middle of the floor immediately. There was nowhere to hide in the benched-off cubby area where players stored their gear during a game, so he moved deeper into the locker room, toward the showers.

Her T-shirt, sweater and bra lay on the tile floor, but he saw no sign of her.

“Hayley?”

Not surprisingly, she didn’t respond.

Hunting for her, he circled back to the main room. She stood in the middle of the floor, watching him. He walked toward her, arousal snaking down his spine and sinking straight between his legs. Hard and hot for her, he drew her close.