Lucas (Cold Fury Hockey 8)

Stephanie tilts her head, her eyes troubled. "They just let it go?"

"Well, not sure they're letting it go," I say slowly. "They love her, and they even understand her, but they aren't letting her get away with it. She has to pay back the money they've spent if she doesn't complete her undergrad. And trust me when I say my parents will hold her feet to the fire on that."

I get an amused chuckle and a shake of her head, making that glorious head of hair tumble over her shoulder and cover her breast as she says, "My parents would have handled that a little differently."

"How?" I ask with interest, always wanting to learn more about those assholes so I can understand her even better.

She settles back down into my embrace, placing her head on my chest. "There was a time in my teens when I was quite rebellious. You know, sort of acting out and such. When they were off traveling, I was content to stay home and be a good girl. But if they were 'in residence,' as they liked to call it, I'd often do whatever I could to piss them off."

"Why?" I ask, thoroughly confused why anyone would intentionally poke a bear.

"Because it was the only time I got attention," she says simply, and my heart breaks for her as understanding dawns. "Getting yelled at, being told I was a keen disappointment to the Frazier name, and that I would amount to nothing was way better than being ignored, as fucked up as that sounds. I was ignored so much those tiny snippets of actual attention from them is what sustained me."

"Jesus," I hiss out in anger.

Stephanie just shrugs. "It's not like they were abusive or anything."

"That's fucking abuse," I growl, but it doesn't faze her. She knows it's abuse even if she tries to shrug it off.

"It's what I was used to, and honestly, I adapted, Luc," she says softly, her hand coming to my arm, which she strokes almost as if she's comforting me.

"You shut yourself off," I mutter, still bristling with hostility toward her parents.

"And that's adaptation," she says matter-of-factly. "It's how I survived."

Fuck, I goddamn hate her parents. I want to rail at them and tell them what selfish, evil bastards they are. But honestly, I'll probably never meet them according to Stephanie and how she thinks they'd react to the baby.

"When are you going to tell your parents?" I ask her now that I'm thinking about it.

She shrugs, her eyes dropping down where she picks at the edge of the sheet bunched around her waist. "I should probably get it over with."

"We'll call them together," I reassure her. No way in hell I'm going to leave her alone while one of the greatest things to happen to her will be met with no enthusiasm and probably disdain.

"What about your parents?" she asks, lifting her head up again to look at me.

"Probably tomorrow," I tell her. "I wanted to give them a few days after Simone dropped the bomb on them."

"But they won't be mad, right?"

"They'll be stunned, but once that wears off they'll be thrilled," I tell her confidently. "Trust me on that."

Stephanie smiles at me wistfully before she lies back down in my arms to snuggle. "That's nice."

She's loose and relaxed, and it seems a perfect fit between the two of us. I decide to take advantage of it. "We have an afternoon game tomorrow."

"Against the Cougars," she says, and I'm not surprised. Total Cold Fury fan.

"Want to go to it?" I ask casually, and then I hold still to gauge her reaction.

She's still settled and comfortable in my arms, which is a good sign. She doesn't even hesitate when she says, "Yeah, sure. That sounds like fun. Assuming tickets are available."

I chuckle and squeeze her. "Trust me...you can get a ticket."

She pulls up her head and looks at me in question.

"Honestly, Stephy," I say with a tone of mock censure. "You're sleeping with a player for the Cold Fury. I think I can get you a ticket."

"I don't want you to go to any trou--"

My mouth hits hers and she's silenced immediately by the kiss I bestow upon her. When I release her lips, I run my nose along hers. "I have season tickets, Steph. Simone will use one tomorrow and you can have the other."

Her answer is a tilt of her head, and then her mouth is back on mine for a deep kiss that sparks and then flares lust within my body. Just like that, I'm not tired at all and ready to go again. It's Stephanie's way of showing me that I made her happy and that she accepts my invitation to the game.

My hand slides down to her ass, and I push my fingers through her legs to touch her wetness from behind. Stephanie moans into my mouth and my dick turns as hard as granite just from that tiny touch and her response.

I had more to say to her, but this takes precedence. This will always take precedence because it's so fucking good. But after we're done and settled back in, and before I drift off to sleep, I need to remember to tell Stephanie she's mine for the rest of the day after the game. It's time she stepped out of this little bubble we've created together and I know she's ready, because she admitted yesterday this is no longer casual.

Slowly but surely, I'll get her wanting more from me than just the best sex I know either of us has ever had. I can live with just that, but I don't want to, and I want her to want more too.

Chapter 14

Stephanie

I follow Simone up to the front door of Lucas's house. I'm ashamed to admit it didn't take much for him to get me to come over after the hockey game, but I am not ashamed to admit I had a blast at the game. Simone was the perfect person to sit next to. She's wild, uninhibited in her enthusiasm, and generally made a spectacle of herself as she cheered on her brothers and heckled the other team. While they were very focused on their jobs when the puck was in play, they would sometimes cut their eyes her way as we sat in the front row right beside the penalty box and I could see they were amused at her antics.

Well, most of them were. Van glared at her a lot.

I'll also admit a little shamefully that I was a wee bit jealous that Lucas didn't look at me once. Not during warm-ups, not during commercial breaks, and not after the game was over and they skated off.

Of course, the fact that Lucas was quite insistent I come over to his house after the game makes up for that little snub. He was so insistent about it this morning as I woke up with his hand between my legs and his mouth kissing my neck that he wouldn't let me climax until I agreed to spend the night at his house.

What's a girl to do?

Simone unlocks the door and I step inside behind her. I haven't been here since that first time three weeks ago after we had dinner at Max and Jules's house. Lucas has invited me a few times, but he's never pushed it. I assumed we always met at my place because he has a roommate and I don't. I also think that kept things very casual and in the realm of just a hookup. But tonight we're crossing more boundaries and I freely admit we're not just about hookups anymore.

The Cold Fury kicked the Cougars' asses tonight. They have to be riding high as this last week of regular season play winds down and they gear up to meet the Florida Spartans in the first round of the play-offs a week from today.

"I'll pull the steaks out of the fridge to season them up," Simone says over her shoulder as she drops her purse right in the middle of the living room floor, where she leaves it without a backward glance. "Any chance you know how to get the baked potatoes ready to fire up?"

I laugh as I glance around the living room, which bears the mark of Hurricane Simone. There's a pillow and blanket on the couch, along with what looks like an empty bag of popcorn and three cans of soda on the table. She has some clothes slung over the back of the couch including a white lacy bra. "Yeah, I can handle the potatoes."

"Oh shit," Simone says,

and I turn to look at her. She's watching me looking at the mess. "I thought I picked all that crap up before I left for the game."

I grin as Simone starts grabbing the clothing and stuffing it behind the back cushion of the couch. It's not being hidden from anyone, as there's enough clothing back there that the cushion now sticks out.

"Sucks not having any room for anything," she mutters.

"Have you thought about getting your own place?" I ask her.

"God, yes," she says with a huff of frustration. "But first things first. I need a job. Lucas has been really cool letting me stay here, but I need to totally get my own apartment."

"I imagine it can't be all that fun living in a house with two stinky boys," I tease her as I walk into the kitchen and put my purse on the table. I expect Lucas and Van will be here within the next hour and we can have everything ready to go but the steaks on the grill, which Lucas said was his specialty and we were not to cook them.

"No fun at all," she mutters again, but I don't comment on the apparent frustration in her voice because she's already back in the kitchen and chattering away about the game.

We work side by side in the kitchen seasoning steaks, getting the potatoes in the oven, and gossiping. Simone sips on white wine while I drink water, and I find her easy to talk to. She doesn't try to pry into anything personal and has the amazing ability to make casual chitchat almost...fun?

Yeah, Simone is a fun girl. She not only looks like her brothers but seems to have the same easygoing, happy-go-lucky personality, which I'm going to have to assume has been handed down by their parents.

The front door opens and Simone and I turn that way. My breath catches as Lucas walks in wearing a silvery-gray suit that's fits his body to perfection. His hair is still slightly damp from the shower he took after the game and he's carrying a huge duffel bag over his arm. His eyes come to me immediately and his smile makes my legs feel jelly-like. He smoothly steps over Simone's purse lying in the middle of the floor as he walks toward me, setting his bag on the couch as he passes it.

"Son of a fucking bitch," Van curses loudly, and my eyes catch him stumbling behind Lucas. He rights himself and his eyes go immediately to Simone. "For the love of all that's holy, can you once again please not just leave your shit in the middle of the floor?"