Hot Puck (Rough Riders Hockey 2)

“For now?”

She gave a one-shouldered shrug. “I don’t know where life’s going to be taking me.”

“Do you still have family there?”

“Yes, but my family isn’t like yours. We’re not close.”

“Hmm. I’m sorry.”

She shook her head. “I’ve never known any different.”

“Neither have I, but I could imagine.” He pulled her close and kissed her forehead. “I don’t know what I’d do without my family.”

Her hands slipped under his jacket and roamed his abdomen. “I’m glad you have them.”

“God, you’re sweet,” he said for what had to be the fifth time tonight. “Why hasn’t some smart guy snapped you up?”

She grinned. “I move too fast. Every minute of my day is filled.” She stretched up and kissed his jaw. “This is one of the rare times I give myself a little break.”

“I feel doubly lucky now.” His eyes closed as her mouth moved down his neck and tingles followed. “Don’t you get days off work?”

“Mmm-hmm. But I’m in school those days.” She pulled back and lifted a hand to his chin, running her thumb over his lips. “All my spare time is spent studying.”

He frowned, thinking back. “Did I miss something? I don’t remember anything about school.”

Her gaze lifted to his, then flicked past his shoulder. “It’s green.” They started across the street. “I’m in paramedic school. Between that and work, I’m usually running on empty.”

“Really. What school?” He was still trying to envision what that kind of schedule would look like, when they approached his building. He tugged his wallet from his pocket and held it in front of the electronic pad above the door handle.

“It’s through Johns Hopkins.”

Beckett was staring at her with more realizations and a loose jaw when the lock clicked over. “Hopkins. Jeez. Didn’t I see an article about them in Newsweek? One of the top five best hospitals in the nation or something?”

Her grin shone with pride. “Third best It changes a little every year, but Johns has been in the top five for over two decades.”

“Go big or go home, girl.” Beckett pulled the door open for her. “Just when I didn’t think you could impress me any more, you do.”

“Thanks.” Eden stepped into the warm, still marble foyer and sighed. “Oh, it feels good in here.” She shook her hair back and combed her fingers through the windblown tangles, staring at the three ornate crystal chandeliers that lit the foyer. “I love this place. These chandeliers make me think of ballrooms.”

Beckett shrugged his overcoat off his shoulders. “You’ve been in this building before? Did I miss that conversation too?”

She grinned at him. “After two years running ambulance in DC, I swear I’ve been in almost every building in the city.”

“Ahhh.” He smiled. “Right.” He folded his coat over his arm, then stepped behind her and slipped hers off. He lowered his chin to her shoulder and murmured, “I forget you’ve got a master key to the most powerful city in the nation.”

She started laughing. “A slight overstatement.”

He curved an arm around her waist and dragged her back against him. She moved willingly, fluidly, molding her body to his. The way her ass rubbed his erection stole his breath and added another punch of heat to his cock. Beckett pressed his mouth to her neck and groaned. Eden’s laughter ebbed into a moan as she rocked against him. Excitement, shock, lust… They spiraled together and pooled between his legs.

“God, Eden…” He released her, took her hand, and started for the elevators. “Let’s get upstairs while I can still walk.”

He tapped the Up arrow, and one of the elevators immediately dinged. He stepped in, turned, and dragged her into his arms, kissing her hard. As soon as the elevator doors closed, Beckett lifted her, and Eden wrapped her thighs around his waist. He turned, pressed her against a wall, and sank in. Her softness cradled his cock, and the groan she let roll into his mouth reached all the way to Beckett’s chest and squeezed. One arm tightened around his neck; the other hand drove into his hair. She tilted her head, opened wider, and tasted him deeper, the same way he wanted to fuck her.

Beckett broke the kiss to pull in air and reposition his hands on her ass, his mouth on her neck. “You are one blazing-hot puck.”

She pulled back with a silly sort of frown crinkling her forehead, and Beckett realized he’d used a euphemism saved for the locker room. “Do you mean fuck?”

“Same difference.” The elevator doors opened. He was breathless, and after the game he’d played, his body ached. But no one could have paid him enough to put her down, and he walked the short distance to his door.