Adrian: An Ironfield Forge Hockey Romance

by Frost, Sosie

  “You’ve already asked me to knock you up. If that doesn’t send me straight to hell, I don’t know what will.”

  “What if we…skinny-dipped?”

  Adrian had a wonderfully decadent laugh, especially when he found one of my ideas particularly funny.

  “You’ve never skinny-dipped in your life,” he said.

  “What about you?”

  “I get bare-assed in the shower with a dozen guys every day. The thrill is gone.” He gestured toward the hot tub with a grin. “But if you want to christen it with your perfect ass, be my guest.”

  “You sure?”

  “What red-blooded man would say no to a woman begging to get naked in his hot tub?”

  I stood on the edge of the water and reached for the button on my jean shorts. Adrian groaned as I cleared my throat and gave him an expectant look.

  “You want me to get you pregnant…” He raised his arms in surrender and turned his back to me. “But I can’t see you naked?”

  “What’s the saying? Abstinence makes the cock grow harder?”

  “Abstinence, huh?” Adrian’s jeans hit the pavement with a naughty rustle. “You’re one to talk.”

  “What’s that mean?”

  “You haven’t gotten any in months, probably. Maybe years.”

  I resisted the urge to toss my t-shirt at him and instead folded it nice and tidy in a way that might’ve made Marie Kondo spark joy had my heart not been thudding with its own newfound ecstasy.

  “I know what I’m doing here, Adrian.”

  Sure, I lied to my best friend. But I did for a good reason.

  “Yeah?” he asked. “How long’s it been?”

  “Since I’ve been on a date?”

  “Since something came from a date…specifically you.”

  Dangerous question.

  I stepped into a hot tub large enough to accommodate most of his team. It granted me space for a little privacy, especially as Adrian flipped a magical switch and spontaneously generated thousands upon thousands of tickling bubbles.

  A curtain of soft foam engulfed me in Heavenly luxury. I sank into the carved inlays framing the wall of the tub. The grooves caressed my body, allowing me to sit in the perfect position for a whirling massage of heat and bubbles.

  My decade old bottle of Mr. Bubbles and tub with a leaky plug had nothing on this.

  “Well?” he asked.

  My eyes peeked open.

  A bare-chested Adrian awaited my appraisal from across the water.

  And, oh, it was a good appraisal.

  The bubbles roiled over his broad, defined chest. The man was muscle packed over muscle. Thick pecs. Rippling abs. Biceps that bulged as he stretched and reclined in the heat. Every inch of his body was hardened, poised for either an exhausting battle on the ice or a night rolling in the sheets with a woman far more experienced than me.

  I couldn’t see much through the bubbles. What was good for my modesty was hard work for my overactive imagination.

  “Well…what?” I swallowed. It wasn’t the chlorine that made my mouth go dry.

  “When was the last time you had sex?”

  “Wow.” I awkwardly laughed.

  “Yeah. Wow.”

  “That’s a…very personal question.”

  “And you think impregnating you is just like a handshake?”

  I wondered how quickly I could drown myself if I positioned my nose right over the jets.

  “It’s obviously a little more intimate than that,” I said. “But what difference would it make if I told you how many times it’d happened?”

  “It’d make a big difference.”

  I knew this man.

  I knew this man couldn’t handle the information.

  And I knew this man would freak out if I told him the truth.

  “Maybe I have a secret lover in…” I picked a random flight hub out of the air. “Denver.”

  “A Denver lover.”

  “Mile high sex. All the time.”

  Adrian narrowed his eyes. “Right.”

  “Just…hot, hot totally naked, grindy and passionate sex.”

  “Sure.” The word was short. Gruff.

  “And when I see him, we just…can’t keep our hands off of each other. As soon as we get to the hotel, he just rips off my skirt, tosses me onto the bed, and starts—”

  “Okay, stop!” Adrian clenched his eyes shut. “Fuck. That’s the last thing I want to hear.”

  “You asked.”

  “And you’re lying.”

  I sure as hell was, but it didn’t seem to be working. “What do you want me to say?”

  “I don’t know!” His voice turned tense. Not angry.

  …But jealous?

  Huh. That surprised the hell out of me. Adrian Alaric. Envious of a fictious mystery lover taking me to bed.

  His scowl darkened as I grinned.

  “It’s not funny,” he said. “You know I’ve been…active.”

  “And I know I’ve never been allowed to meet your girlfriends.”

  “For good reason. This…” He gestured with a frustrated hand back and forth. “Has always been kept a mystery.”

  “Why?”

  He refused to even acknowledge my question. “I’m more experienced than you. I get that. But I need to know how much more before I take you to bed.”

  “Why?”

  “So I know which circle of Hell I’ll spend eternity.”

  “Chivalry is great when you’re opening doors for a lady, but not for spreading her legs,” I said.

  He relented, though his rippling muscles had yet to relax. “When was the last time you had good sex?”

  Easy enough answer. “Never.”

  “Damn.” His secret smirk revealed dimples he’d forever deny he possessed. “That’s a goddamned tragedy.”

  I lounged in the water, letting the bubbles kiss every inch of my skin.

  “Can I count this as good sex?” I asked.

  Adrian was always honest with me. “Fuck no.”

  “I don’t know. This feels pretty good…” I summoned a bit of courage and uncrossed my arms, trusting the roiling foam to protect my bared skin. “This is hotter than my last few dates.”

  In fact…

  It was getting a little too intense.

  The heat invigorated me from head to toe, inside and out. Lapping water licked at my flushing skin. The heat and intensity tickled the secrets hidden beneath the water. Every popping bubble fluttered like a teasing feather exploring my most delicate of areas.

  Within a few pounded heartbeats, the simple indulgence of the hot tub had become a desperate indiscretion. My mind twisted and twirled like the current of water, washing over me with a sudden pulsing excitement.

  Jeeze.

  Maybe I was a little hard up for some attention.

  The rush of water knotted my wrists and ankles like silken ropes.

  Exhilarating.

  “If you think that’s good…” Adrian twisted half-out of the tub and reached for the controls. The hardened muscles of his back flexed. The thick cords rippled beneath his skin, begging for a curious touch to examine if his hockey-toned body was real or a perfectly divine illusion. “Wait until you see how much power they packed into this bad boy.”

  The jets kicked into overdrive.

  And my afternoon turned from good to sensational.

  A flurry of water cascaded over my unprepared body, torrenting from the jets positioned behind my aching shoulders, along my spine, against my lower back…

  And one which accidentally concentrated on a very delicate, incredibly sensitive spot.

  And I loved it.

  Which meant…I probably should’ve hopped out of the tub like a boiling lobster making a break for freedom before someone drew the butter.

  Then again…I was naked.

  Naked…and in front of my best friend.

  Naked…in front of my best friend…and suddenly squirming.

  Adrian spread his
arms against the back of the hot tub and enjoyed the rocketing jets as they massaged his sore muscles.

  “Pretty cool, huh?” he said.

  Cool?

  Not in the least.

  The water was suffocatingly, mind-meltingly intense.

  And the drumming pulse of the jets sent a cascade of crippling shivers straight to my core. My body shimmied, twisted, then centered itself over a perfectly delicious jet which teased a rhythm over a part of me that had forgotten how to do that particular tango.

  Oh…it was bad.

  Not the all-consuming, sinfully decadent sensation which assaulted all my senses, but the incredibly awkward, desperately uncomfortable situation with Adrian.

  He’d asked some freaking hard questions—ones I wasn’t prepared to answer.

  When was the last time I’d had sex?

  Had I ever had good sex?

  Obviously not.

  Wasn’t like I’d ever looked for such a night. Not when my goal was to visit the world’s beautiful cities and architectural marvels. I traveled anywhere that wasn’t my own backyard.

  Which meant I never explored the places close to home.

  …Like my bedroom.

  The bubbles danced across my body, fizzling with ragged pleasure and secret promises. God bless the jet concentrating the water exactly where I needed it. The current struck between my legs, punishing that soft and wanting area begging for attention.

  But it was too much. Too embarrassing.

  I couldn’t let myself get distracted by the pulsing delights of the hot tub.

  I shimmied away.

  And, oh boy, was that a mistake.

  My thighs spread just a little too much, and the frothing bubbles struck directly over my slit.

  The sensation nearly destroyed me. I didn’t just see stars—they crashed around me—fuzzy little haloes of lovely light that careened into my core and smashed me to smithereens. My nails dug into my legs, and I bit my lip as a quivering whimper escaped from my parted lips.

  Adrian relaxed with his eyes closed. “What did you say?”

  God.

  This was mortifying.

  And terrible.

  And the most pleasure I’d felt since the one day I’d climbed on my wobbily dryer to reach the fabric softener and decided to tumble dry my way to bliss.

  I swallowed a soft mew and forced an innocent smile. “I said…it’s nice.”

  Every muscle in my body tightened so taut I wasn’t sure if my body would snap before my mind. My heart thudded, mercifully muffled by the rumbling white-noise of the hot-tub’s motor. The water’s deep reverberation centered deep inside me, twisting and aching for something so much more than this kiss of heat.

  And Adrian wanted to talk relationships?

  Well, the damned pool jet was the most intimate relationship I’d ever had.

  “I don’t get you.”

  Adrian spontaneously declared this, as if it were some sort of archaic truth he’d just now excavated from the rubble of our relationship. He was wrong. He totally got me. He was the only one who got me.

  Besides, what was there to get? I was a desperate mess of a woman on the verge of a mind-shattering orgasm in front of her best friend.

  And I had absolutely no training on how to deal with this sort of emergency.

  Bird in the engine? Just a Code Thanksgiving.

  Passenger in anaphylactic shock after dinner service? We served Epi-pens and coffee.

  Drunk businessman celebrating a new deal? We considered dodging drunken spanks to be our Mile-High Yoga.

  But I had no instructional brochure which helped in this particular crisis.

  In the event of an unintended orgasm in proximity to a lifelong friend, remain calm and convert what remains of your dignity into a floatation device…

  “You know you’re beautiful, right?” Adrian asked. The compliment went straight to my pussy. “You’re smart. Vivacious. Brilliant in every way. You could bring the world to its knees with just a smile.”

  I stared at the man. His lips were moving, but I couldn’t comprehend any other words he said, not while I studied the hard angle of his jaw, rugged and masculine, traced with the neatly trimmed beard which looked so damned casual.

  He raved about my beauty?

  Did he even know how sexy he was? The muscles. The proud chin. The crooked, taken-one-too-many-punches nose. His flint-colored eyes, bright as the morning and as comforting as sipping breakfast in bed.

  I might’ve wondered the same questions about him.

  Where were his women—the legions of puck bunnies desperate for his bed?

  When was the last time he’d taken a woman home?

  What did he expect for his own pleasure? Especially since that part of him had undergone enough trauma.

  For months, I’d expected him to find someone who’d give him a lifetime of eager kisses and spread legs to comfort him after the accident. But he brought no one home. Didn’t even look for anyone else.

  And…after what he’d said coming out of surgery, I couldn’t believe he hadn’t tried harder.

  “Why aren’t you dating anyone?” Adrian asked.

  “Because I’m…” My entire body wobbled. “Picky.”

  “Why haven’t you ever dated anyone?”

  “Because you’re picky.”

  “I’m serious.”

  “I never had any interest…” My voice quivered as a shudder quaked through me. Wasn’t sure how much more I could take, but I feared shifting any further off the seat. My body already careened toward the edge of my modesty and any little shimmy or shake might’ve dropped me over the precipice. “Was always too busy.”

  “Even for a one-night stand?”

  “I…”

  “Have you ever had one?”

  The jet’s pattern stuttered an uneven rhythm that nearly bent me in two. I held my breath, but that only shifted the intensity between agonizing and just right. My hips wiggled on their own. Did I want to escape the onslaught or crash headfirst into the pleasure?

  I begged myself, pleaded with my own body.

  Please, don’t come.

  My head lolled back.

  My eyes closed.

  And a devastatingly revealing hiss escaped my parted lips.

  “Yes…”

  Adrian’s eyebrows rose. “Really?”

  Oh God.

  “No!” I groaned. “I mean…no. Of course I’ve never had a one night stand.”

  “…Ever considered it?”

  “No.”

  “Don’t lie.” His knowing laugh pierced me. “You’ve never imagined a night of consequence-free sex with some lucky bastard?”

  Damn.

  My body tensed again in memory of the only time I’d ever imagined anything so sinful in my life.

  Sophomore year of college.

  My spring break.

  Adrian was in the junior leagues by then, but our schedules had synced. He took me camping, but my tent wasn’t waterproof. After a night of soaking in a chilly mud puddle with the rain pouring down, he’d convinced me to join him in his tent.

  I’d spent the night in his arms, but neither of us could sleep. Not with our bodies pressed so close, our arms wrapped around each other, and our instincts demanding more than just a simple embrace.

  It was the worst and best night of my life.

  In the morning, we had the decency not to discuss the hardness which had pressed against my lower back all night.

  And we never talked about the opportunity.

  “I’m not one for reckless, meaningless sex,” I said.

  “Maybe that’s all you need?”

  I was already playing fast and loose with my sexuality right there in the middle of the bubbles. What could get more reckless?

  Drowning might’ve been a preferable alternative to the raking shivers dizzying me with pleasure.

  I had many goals in life. I wanted to hike to the top of Pike’s Peak in the Rockies. Planned a visit
Antarctica to see a penguin up close and personal. Wouldn’t have minded a tour of Catacombs of Rome.

  But today?

  I had only one major life mission.

  And that was not to thoroughly humiliate myself by orgasming via pool jet in the hot tub with my best friend sitting ring side.

  “I don’t need sex,” I said. Might’ve sounded more convincing if I hadn’t panted the lie.

  “You sure?” Adrian’s smooth confidence fanned the embers smoldering deep inside me. “Maybe you’re not actually looking for a baby…maybe you’re just itching for a night of dirty, vulgar, animalistic fucking?”

  I gripped the cement, struggling to retain just a bit of control. His words rattled inside me. His silken voice would destroy me…

  If the bubbles didn’t force me to implode first.

  “Amazing…”

  My whisper just slipped between silent whimpers. Couldn’t help it. Couldn’t stop it. I pinched my eyes shut and tried to concentrate on anything else.

  “I mean…that does sound amazing,” I stammered.

  Adrian paused. “You know I’m not the sort of guy who goes looking for trouble. That’s why I’ve got you.”

  Yep. And I was definitely in trouble now.

  “But sometimes…people crave intimacy,” he said. “If you ask me, I think you just want to get close to someone.”

  I was getting plenty intimate with an inanimate object. “You don’t have to protect me. I know…what I’m doing.”

  “You realize we’re gonna get in bed together.”

  The images practically blinded me with vulgarity. So much for being platonic. The pulsing water stole every rational thought from me and replaced them with visions of Adrian’s toned body towering over mine, his hips moving between my thighs, my legs wrapped over his trim waist.

  The image was so perfect my body rolled into dangerous shivers.

  I bit my lip and blinked back into reality.

  “Hey…” My voice trembled. “Do you think you could…the jets are really…”

  Adrian leapt into action, always helpful. “Oh, sure. I’ll swap to the massage setting. You’re gonna love this.”

  I didn’t have a chance to stop him. Adrian flipped a miracle switch, and the water’s turbulent stream kicked into a rotating, undulating rhythm. A sudden and intense vibration seized my body in warmth.

  This was so much worse.

  And so much better.

  The jets pulsed a beautiful determination over every inch of my skin, and a cascade of water burst directly over my slit.