Zack (Cold Fury Hockey 3)

This last statement is made as she rounds the corner of the kitchen counter and comes nose to nose with Michelle.

I'm shocked stupid, so I just sit there and watch as fury blazes from Kate's eyes and Michelle tries to hold a staring war with her.

She's not going to win this one, though.

Finally, Michelle's gaze drops in defeat and she pushes off the stool she's sitting on. Kate takes a step back to give her room and waits quietly as Michelle grabs her purse and heads for the front door. We both watch as she doesn't turn back to look at us or say a thing. She merely leaves quietly, and I wait until we hear the front door open and then close before I let out a deep sigh of relief.

"Fuck," I mutter as I scrub my hand through my hair, all the way to the back of my neck, where I rub at it hard to relieve the stiffness.

Kate doesn't say a word, but calmly walks past me toward the staircase again.

In a total replay, my hand strikes out, grabbing her wrist. She turns to look at me and I study her face. Pure passivity right now, when twenty seconds ago she was ready to throw down.

"You didn't have to say those things," I tell her.

Kate shrugs. "You shouldn't have had to listen to the things she said. She's wrong."

Something rattles and then breaks free from deep within my chest. I can't identify what it is, but suddenly I accept what Kate says.

Michelle is wrong. She has no clue the way I suffer over Gina. Hearing Kate and the way she laid it all out...it gave me peace over my decision.

"Thank you," I tell her sincerely, and she gives me the sweetest smile in return.

"Anything for you, Pumpkin Butt."

Shaking my head with a grin, I let her wrist go. She starts back toward the stairs, but before she goes, I tell her, "I want you to go with me and Ben today to look at the houses with the real estate agent."

She stops in her tracks, looking at me in confusion. "Why?"

Because I like having you around. Because you make me laugh. Because you get me and you're gorgeous to look at. Because you have my back. Take your pick.

"Because you know Ben and what he likes," I mutter, not able to truly voice why I want her to go.

Kate gives me a dismissive smirk. "You know Ben better than I do," she says, and then turns for the stairs once more.

"Then I need you to help me keep an eye on him," I press her, and give her a look that dares her to argue.

She huffs and continues up the staircase, growling, "Fine, Mr. Bossy Pants."

Typical Kate...it makes me laugh.

--

"I hate to say this," Kate says almost sadly. "But this is the one."

I think I have to agree with her. This is only the third house we looked at and we still have two more, but I was sold the minute we walked out into the backyard. It was huge and fenced in, filled with lush green grass, because grass always stays green in North Carolina in the winter. Best of all, there was a massive custom-built tree house and play set made of red cedar that had a slide, two swings, and a set of monkey bars. Ben took off toward it and hasn't come down since.

"The owners have already moved," I point out to the agent, a middle-aged woman named Theresa Vandemere whom Coach Pretore recommended to me. "Would they be willing to rent to me while we are waiting on the house to close?"

"You'd want to move immediately?" she asks.

"Yeah...I think so," I say, and once the words are out, I know they're true. "Besides...it would make it easier on me not to have to worry about showing the house while we were living in it."

"I'm sure they'd be amenable to that," she says. "I still need to show you the upstairs, though."

Placing my hand on Kate's lower back, I give her a push toward the house. "Theresa...do you mind keeping an eye on Ben while Kate and I run upstairs and take a look around?"

She looks slightly put out that she can't showcase the house to me, but gives me an assuring smile. "I'd be glad to. Just holler down if you have any questions."

"Come on," I tell Kate, and stride by her. We have to climb a set of stairs to a raised outdoor deck, as the yard actually sits at the basement level. We enter through the living room and head toward the staircase that curves up from the front foyer.

Kate and I peek in each of the guest bedrooms briefly, as I'd already looked at the master bedroom on the first floor. The large bedroom at the back of the house has its own bathroom and looks out over the backyard. Kate walks up to the window and gazes down at Ben, a smile on her face.

"He'll love it here," she says sweetly. "And I'm thinking we need to find a dog, like really fast."

Warmth expands in my chest, contracts inward briefly before pushing out farther, and then settles in with a comforting weight. I walk up behind Kate, touched and, not surprisingly, turned on by the happiness in her voice that Ben will get a dog.

I see Ben swinging from the monkey bars while Theresa stands by the edge and claps her hands at him.

Stepping right up to Kate's backside, I bring one arm around her at chest level, cupping her breast in one hand, while the other pushes her ponytail to the side so I can dip my face to kiss her neck.

She moans and drops her head back on my shoulder. "What are you doing?" she asks breathlessly.

"Kissing your neck," I murmur, then give her a little bite.

"That's nice," she says on a sigh.

While one hand massages her breast, the other drops around her waist and pulls her back in tight against me. My cock, which started getting hard the minute I first touched her, presses into her lower back.

"Mmmmm," she hums in appreciation over my excitement for her.

And fuck...that is damn sexy.

My hand drops to the button on her jeans and quickly undoes it before jerking at her zipper.

Kate's own hands come up and grab on to mine, trying to pull it away from her. "What are you doing?" she gasps in panic.

"Going to get you o

ff really quick," I tell her simply as I bat her hand away.

"Zack," she tries to protest, but then my hand is slipping down the front of her panties and probing her darkest and wettest place.

"Ohhhh," she groans, and her head falls back to my shoulder again while she pushes her hips against my hand.

"That's my girl," I praise, and then sink a finger deep inside her. "Are you going to come for me?"

She nods with a frenzy. I flick a glance out the window, see Ben and the real estate agent occupied.

I pump in and out of her a few times and then pull my finger out to have it work her clit. I want her to come hard and fast...our little sneaky secret.

There's movement from the backyard and I see Theresa hold her hand out to Ben as he jumps down from the monkey bars. They start heading toward the back deck staircase.

"Uh-oh," I taunt Kate as I rub at her furiously with one hand and squeeze her breast with the other. "Better hurry up, baby. We're about to have company."

"Oh, shit," she moans as her hips buck against me. "We'd better stop."

"No way," I tell her. I rub my cheek against her neck, my fingers going to town between her legs. "You're almost there...just give in to it."

Kate inhales deeply and holds her breath, and I know she's really super-close when she does that. I pinch her nipple through her T-shirt and bra and press down hard on her clit.

She fractures beautifully, right there in my arms, moaning softly as her hips continue to undulate against my hand.

I hear the back door open and Ben's voice: "This house is so cool. I love it."

Theresa laughs and says something softly back, but I can't understand it because I'm mesmerized by what I just did to Kate.

Reluctantly, I pull my hand out from her pants and she hastily fastens them again. Then she turns toward me, her cheeks flushed red and her eyes glazed, and I can't help myself. I lean in and give her a quick kiss. "You are stunning."

She gives a huffy snort. "You are bad."

"You like it," I retort with a grin.