Hot Puck (Rough Riders Hockey 2)

Eden’s lips parted, but before she’d formed any words, Beckett rolled her to her back, kissed her again, then stood from the other side of the bed and wandered into an adjoining room. The door closed, a light flipped on, and the sound of running water drifted in.

Eden groaned, flopped her arms across her eyes, then started laughing. She

slid her arms down to cover her mouth and stared at the ceiling. What the hell was this fizzy thing that made her want to giggle? “Jesus.”

The humor ebbed, and reality snuck in. What the hell did she do now?

Eden propped herself up on her elbows and the first thing she saw was her suede boots where they still covered the lower half of her legs. And a smile crossed her face. Beckett had made her forget all about leaving the boots on.

She bit her lip and pushed up a little more, glancing around the room for her clothes. Which was the first real look at the space. Upon entering she’d gotten the general impression of a large bedroom with standard furniture—bed, nightstands, dresser. But she’d missed the biggest and most unique feature—one wall of floor-to-ceiling windows. And there wasn’t one blind anywhere to be seen—in the middle of a city with half a million residents.

“Shit,” she murmured.

“They’re mirrored.”

His voice made her startle. “Oh my God.”

She pressed a hand to her chest and took a few quick breaths to slow the sudden hike in her heart rate.

He reached out and laid a hand on her suede-covered ankle. “I’m sorry.”

“No.” She shook her head and drew her knees close. “No, I was…” She gestured to the windows. “I completely missed that.”

His grin was quick and hot. He crawled onto the bed beside her and kissed her shoulder. “I noticed.” He stroked a warm hand down her arm and rested his chin on her shoulder. “I was saying that the windows have a mirrored film. We can see out, but no one can see in, which I love, because this is my favorite thing about the apartment. The way the moonlight and the city lights fill the rooms at night.”

He rose onto his knees and leaned over, straightening one of her legs.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“As wickedly sexy as these are, you’ll probably be able to fall asleep better without them on.”

He found the zipper on her inner thigh, worked it down her boot, and pulled the boot off. Then did the same with the other, all while Eden was trying to sort out the strange turmoil inside her. Would she be able to sleep beside a man? Did she even want to? Long before she had the answers, Beckett set her boots on the floor and kissed his way back up her body.

Eden had changed her mind about leaving by the time his lips touched the hollow behind her knee. And by the time he’d stretched out facing the windows and snuggled up behind her, his legs all wrapped up in hers, his arm tight at her waist, her head tucked beneath his chin, Eden realized she was in deep, deep trouble.

He settled and sighed, and the sound was so relaxed, so content. But it had the opposite effect on Eden and tension wound tighter inside her. Her emotions winged completely out of control, and tears burned her eyes. Which only made her angry. But she couldn’t focus on ripping herself for letting her stupid emotions get involved when he bent his head, pressed his face to her neck, and kissed her there.

“Sex isn’t usually like that for me either,” he said, his voice whisper soft, then propped his head in his hand. “In fact, I haven’t had time for much sex at all this year.”

That surprised her. She turned her head to look at him over her shoulder. “Why’s that?”

He shrugged and let his gaze drift out the windows. “Busy. This job…during the season, it takes everything.”

She had a hard time believing he didn’t slip one-night stands or quickies in there somewhere, but she certainly wasn’t going to dig under that rock. “Are you really leaving town tomorrow, or was that just a way to get me to respond?”

A grin lifted his lips. “I’m really leaving town. I’m not a liar. I’d rather tell and hear the truth than a lie. We’ve got a rough five-game run on the West Coast starting tomorrow night in Los Angeles.” He dropped a kiss on her lips, lowered his head, and sighed again. “Catch a nap while you can, gorgeous. I plan on taking as much of your ass-kicking brand of sex as you’ll give me.” His voice turned heavy with fatigue. “Tonight’s got to carry me through these tough games next week.”

His breathing deepened and evened out within minutes, and Eden was left alone, wrapped up in a stranger’s arms, to stare out at the city lights and untangle all the contradictions she’d uncovered in this sexilicious hockey player.

10

Beckett floated to the surface of consciousness again, and a smile immediately lifted his lips. His back and shoulders ached as he rolled toward Eden, but he already knew she could make him forget all about the pain hockey wrought on his body. In fact, Eden Kennedy could make Beckett forget about every last worry weighing on him—his custody battle for Lily, his aging body, how the success of this season would direct the next five to ten or maybe even fifteen years of his life.

When he reached for her, his hand slid across empty sheets.

“Kennedy,” he yelled toward the bathroom. “Get your sexy ass back in here. I’ve got something that needs emergency TLC.”

He chuckled to himself, imagining the reaction he’d get for, one, calling her by her last name, two, ordering her to do anything, and three, suggesting she was obligated to meet his needs. Those had all become jokes between them over the course of the night. A night that would go down in Beckett’s memory.