Deadlines & Red Lines: Fast Ice Sports Romance

by Stephanie Julian

  She’d been his obsession for months. One he’d tried to hide. One he shouldn’t allow himself to indulge.

  Not doing such a good job of that, are you?

  Hopefully Sugar wouldn’t pick up on it.

  Maybe you want her to.

  No. No, he didn’t.

  Fuck. Yes, he did.

  His jaw locked as his gaze followed her every move. What the hell was it about her that made every part of his body burn? It made him ashamed of his complete and utter lack of self-control. He was a grown man, for Christ’s sake. He should be able to control himself.

  He should just turn away.

  That’s what got you into this whole mess in the first place.

  He realized he was grinding his back teeth and had to make a conscious effort to unclench his jaw. He’d gotten better at letting go of the anger that’d been eating away at him since he left LA. But it wasn’t gone completely. It lingered in the back of his brain like a—

  “RJ, are you okay?”

  Sugar stood a few feet away, milkshake glass in her hand, concern in her big green eyes. Concern and…something else. Something that looked an awful lot like desire.

  He took the glass out of her hands, operating on autopilot.

  “Yeah. Thanks.”

  She swallowed, hard. And blinked. But didn’t look away. Then her lips parted, like she was going to say something. And closed before she did.

  The urge to kiss her flared into a red-hot ball of lust that lodged in his gut, an aching mass that clawed at him to do something. Lean forward, press his mouth against hers and kiss her until he couldn’t breathe. He wanted to suck all the goodness out of her, because she’d taste as sweet as her name. He just knew she would. He’d kiss her until he drained her dry.

  And it still wouldn’t be enough for him. Because he was an emotional black hole at the moment, and she didn’t deserve the shitstorm he’d bring her way.

  Clamping down on the urges pushing him to bend down and take what he wanted, he deliberately straightened, putting several inches between them. It emphasized the differences in their height and made him painfully aware of their differences.

  At six-two and two-twenty, he knew how to use his height and weight to his advantage on the ice. Off the ice, those things didn’t usually come into play. But around Sugar, he was painfully aware of both. She reminded him of some fairy freaking princess, all long legs and arms, slight frame, blonde hair and pale green eyes. If she came into work wearing a flower crown and a Ren Faire costume, he wouldn’t blink an eye because it wouldn’t look out of place on her.

  He should chug the damn milkshake and get brain freeze. Maybe that would help.

  Maybe you should just dump it down the front of your pants.

  When he lifted the glass to his lips, she blinked then looked away. Fast. And turned to go back to wiping down the counters. They spent the next few minutes in silence, and he tried not to be an ass about it, but he couldn’t not watch her. Finally, he just gave up trying.

  She moved like she’d done this a hundred times before. Efficient and fast, even though she had to be tired. She’d been on her feet for the past eight hours at least and, except for the way she occasionally kneaded her neck with her hand, she didn’t look tired.

  Then again, she never looked less than perfect to him. She could be coming off a twelve-hour shift in the dead of summer and he’d still want to drag her up against his body and kiss her until neither of them could breathe.

  So do it.

  Why did that not sound like a bad idea now? It should be. It should be a horrible idea.

  “RJ? You ready to go?”

  His gaze locked with hers, and he was pretty sure the world kind of stuttered to a halt. It was such a weird feeling, he actually shook his head to see if he was having some kind of weird balance issue.

  “Yeah. You’re finished?”

  She shrugged. “I have a few more things to do, but you really don’t have to wait any longer. You know I live in an apartment right next door, right? I’m just going to run this last load through the washer then I just have to set the alarm, lock the door, and walk about five feet. You really didn’t need to stay. But…I appreciate you taking the time.”

  He wondered if she appreciated anything else about him. Or if she just thought he was a creepy older guy watching her every move.

  “Don’t have anywhere else to be. Besides, if Georgie found out I skipped out early, she’d never let me live it down.”

  Another one of her bright smiles lit up his world, chiseling another chink out of the wall he’d been rebuilding around his desire for her.

  Honestly, just give it the hell up already. The world isn’t going to come crashing down if you kiss her.

  He really wanted to kiss her. And right now, she didn’t look like she’d object.

  Pushing away from the counter where he’d been leaning, he closed the distance between them in a few steps. Her eyes widened, but she didn’t move away.

  “Can I ask you a question?”

  She didn’t answer immediately, her lips pressed tightly together. He really thought she might actually tell him no. Instead, she nodded after a several long seconds, her head moving slowly, as if she were still weighing her decision.

  “If I kiss you, are you going to smack me?”

  Her eyes widened even farther. “Why would I do that?”

  “Because you don’t want me to kiss you.”

  “Who says I don’t want you to?”

  “Do you?”

  She swallowed hard. “Do I what?”

  “Want me to kiss you?”

  “Do you want to kiss me?”

  “Yeah, I do. I have.”

  “So why haven’t you asked before now?”

  His lips curved in a hard grin. “Maybe because I wasn’t sure how you’d respond.”

  Her brows rose and her expression made it clear she thought he was lying. Or, at the very least, trying to pull one over on her.

  “Are you trying to tell me you were worried I’d say no?”

  “Of course.”

  She didn’t say anything for several seconds and he waited for her to say whatever was on her mind. Because she definitely had something she wanted to say.

  Her smile vanished, but he had no idea what she was thinking.

  “And if I say no?”

  “Then I walk out the door.”

  Another pause that made his gut tighten into a knot.

  “I’m not going to say no,” she said. “Because if I did, you’d walk out the door. And I don’t want you to go.”

  “Are you saying you want me to kiss you?”

  Now she smiled, one of those wide, bright, sunny smiles, the kind that drew him in like a tractor beam. The kind he’d been obsessing over since the day he’d met her. Well, almost since the day he’d met her.

  The first time he’d stepped into this diner, he’d been so damn preoccupied with his own problems that he’d barely registered her presence. It wasn’t until the second time he’d stepped through the door that he’d noticed her. He hadn’t stopped since.

  “I don’t want you to go. And yes, I want you to kiss me.”

  Sugar felt like she was vibrating from the tips of her toes to the top of her head.

  RJ Mitchell wanted to kiss her.

  Kiss. Her.

  If she didn’t pass out before he actually got around to it, she may even enjoy it. Not that she thought he’d be bad at it. She didn’t think RJ was bad at anything. And if he was as good at kissing as he was at playing hockey… Well, hell. She might just spontaneously combust seconds after his lips touched hers.

  Because, holy wow, she’d been thinking about kissing him for months. Since the first minute he’d walked through the door of the diner and slid into the booth across from Tank, who’d been the first famous person she’d ever met.

  RJ had been the second. And if he kissed her, he’d be her second at that, too. Which was kind of pathetic for a twenty-three
-year-old. But she’d never thought, never dared to hope that RJ Mitchell would want to kiss her. Even after getting to know him over this past year, she’d never expected that.

  Hell’s bells, she hoped she hadn’t scared him off because he continued to sit there and stare at her. She was about to say something, anything, to get him to move—and he did.

  He wrapped one big hand around the back of her neck, fingers weaving through her hair. He didn’t pull her closer and he didn’t shift into her space. He just continued to stare into her eyes with that same intense, laser focus. That gaze made heat bubble low in her body, kinda like lava in a volcano. Red-hot and slow-moving but powerful enough to make her quake. Every muscle felt taut and stretched to the limit. Her stomach tightened into a ball and her heart beat in a rhythm she didn’t recognize.

  She wasn’t afraid. At least, not of him. Maybe she was a little afraid of how well she’d match up to other women he’d kissed, because a guy like this… He had to have kissed a lot of girls. Like…a lot. A guy like this, rich and famous, never lacked for companionship.

  And now he wanted to kiss her. There was no way in hell she was going to say no.

  She just didn’t want to be bad at it. Especially not with RJ. Who had a look in his eye she could honestly admit she’d never seen on another man in her life. She wasn’t completely inexperienced. But even though she and her former boyfriend hadn’t been angels, they’d also been teenagers. And teenagers were notoriously horny. You definitely couldn’t call them knowledgeable. Enthusiastic, yes.

  But when Bobby had died—

  RJ lowered his head and covered her mouth, and everything in her head shut off like she’d flipped a switch.

  Because RJ was kissing her.

  In the dark in her apartment, in bed and alone, she’d dreamed about this. Dreamed about how his lips would feel against hers. The man had the most beautiful mouth she’d ever seen, which, yeah, was weird but still…

  And he kissed her just like she’d imagined he would.

  Perfectly.

  Her eyes snapped shut, which made it even better. Because it just did. With her eyes closed, her senses were heightened. She breathed in and his scent infused her brain, making every muscle in her body loosen like she’d taken a k-pin. She felt like she could melt into him, like butter over hot corn on the cob.

  Wrapping her arms around his neck so he couldn’t get away, she leaned in closer, wanting more. Still hardly believing this was happening because, oh my god, RJ Mitchell was kissing her.

  And he seemed really into it, too. Like he’d been wanting to kiss her until it felt like an ache in his gut and he had to kiss her or he’d just wither away and explode into dust. Right now, though, she felt like she could burn to a cinder. His lips moved against hers with purpose, the heat of his body a spark set to inflame her lust. She wanted to grind her hips against his, to see just how much he wanted her. But he kept one hand on her hip, holding her just far enough away that she couldn’t grind against him.

  And maybe that was for the best. Because even though they’d known each other for the past year, they didn’t really know one another.

  Well, they were getting to know each other now. And she’d learned the man knew how to kiss. He used his mouth as well as he used his hockey stick. With a skill that took her breath away. But she sensed frustration in his kiss. Or maybe it wasn’t frustration but something else. Something darker. Something that made her want to put her hands on him and pet him.

  So she did. Spreading her hands across his back, she smoothed them down as far as she could reach. But she got distracted when RJ used his hand to angle her head to let him kiss her deeper. He didn’t have to ask twice for her to open to him. When he licked at the seam of her mouth, she let him in.

  And shivered as his tongue slid into her mouth and teased hers. Although teased wasn’t the right word. No, he was deadly serious. It was like they’d skipped over the teasy, flirty part of courtship and moved straight to the hot-for-you, need-you-now portion of the date.

  Of course, this wasn’t a date. This was a stolen kiss in the kitchen of the diner where she worked. She still wore her uniform of black shorts and white tank top, both of them skintight because, yeah, she liked the way she looked in them and it brought her more tips.

  And because she wanted to look good for RJ. Who kissed her like he wanted to strip her naked, set her on the prep table, and screw her right here and now. Which she would have no problem with. None. Even though she’d have to spend another hour cleaning the damn kitchen—

  He released her mouth and she might have whimpered in protest. Her eyes flew open and her gaze connected with his and held.

  “You still with me, Sugar? Because—”

  She practically yanked his head back down to kissing distance and just before their lips melded, she swore she saw him smile. That smile… It meant everything. It wasn’t smirky. It was almost relieved. It made him even hotter than she already considered him to be, and, trust her, she figured RJ could make sparks with a wet paper bag.

  But now those sparks made her reckless, ready to push forward and damn the consequences. Tightening her arms around his neck, she went onto her toes as his hands spread across her back then skated down to her hips. She was ready and willing when he lifted her off her feet. Without thinking about it twice, she wrapped her legs around his hips as his hands slid to her ass to hold her against him.

  He moaned deep in his chest, his hands clenching as he pulled her closer until she thought she could feel the heat of his erection between her spread legs. She was probably just imagining that but, damn, she wanted to feel his cock pressed against her. The man filled out a pair of jeans like nobody’s business, and yeah, she’d looked, front and back.

  One of the first things she learned about hockey players… They had massive thighs. Muscular. Thick. And big hands. And biceps that bulged, threatening to tear the seams on his t-shirt sleeves. Or, at the very least, stretch them out of shape.

  RJ had the strength to hold her and not act like he was exerting any strain at all. She wanted to climb the man like a tree and beg him to screw her on the nearest flat surface and she didn’t care how long it would take her to clean it.

  You wouldn’t have to clean anything if you invite him up to your apartment.

  RJ tilted his head, deepening the kiss again. Her body shook; she felt like she was being consumed by heat. She couldn’t imagine what she’d feel like if they ever actually got naked.

  When. Not if they got naked. When. This was going to happen. She wasn’t about to let this man get away from her now when she had him almost exactly where she wanted him. Because the way he made her feel, the way his lips moved over hers and how hard his fingers dug into her thighs, it was obvious he wanted the same.

  Now, maybe the blood rushing to critical parts of her body, like her clit and her nipples, might have something to do with her surety that she’d have this man in her bed, splayed out on top of her and making her beg him to come.

  Hell, she might come if he moved his hand just a few inches forward so the tips of his fingers could brush against the seam of her jeans, currently pressing against her clit and making her wet.

  Her hips shifted, pressing her mound against his stomach and making her shudder with a lust so strong, she moaned. RJ’s hands clenched, pulling her even closer until her breasts were plastered against his chest.

  Now, the heat increased. Her skin tingled and so did every other part of her body. It’d been a year, at least, since she’d been this close to a guy. And that’d been a disaster. This…wasn’t. No, this felt great. Amazing. Better than amazing. It felt fucking awesome.

  Opening her mouth to the advance of his tongue, she felt him sweep into her mouth, licking, tasting. Her arms tightened around his neck as her head tilted to give him more access, encouraging him to continue.

  He shifted her weight in his arms, wrapping one strong arm around her waist, freeing up one hand, which he put to good use. First,
he stroked his hand up her back, making her sex clench and her body shake. The sound that emerged from her chest might have embarrassed her if she’d had the brain power to think about it. But RJ had pretty much blown her mind by this point.

  She shimmied closer, her hips shifting as her clit throbbed. And when he wrapped his hand around her ponytail and tugged, not hard, just enough to let her know he was in charge, she wanted to surrender.

  His kiss became slower now, as if he’d realized she wasn’t going anywhere and he wanted to torment her. She was okay with that as long as he didn’t stop. As if he’d read her mind, he pulled away, breaking the seal of their lips. Her eyes flew open and got caught in the sky blue of his. The intensity of his stare made her stomach clench in reaction.

  “Why did you stop?”

  It was the only thing she could think to ask because she totally wanted him to continue.

  “I need to see your face when I ask you my next question.”

  “Okay.”

  Please let him ask to come up to my apartment.

  “Are you sure this is what you want?”

  She was so hot for him, she couldn’t think of anything to say other than, “Absolutely.”

  His smile was slow, but it had a wicked edge that made her core clench and her breath hitch.

  “Glad to hear it.”

  “Do you really have to ask? Just the way I look at you should’ve given me away. I thought you weren’t interested so I tried not to embarrass you with my stupid crush—”

  “I’m not embarrassed. Not at all.”

  She grinned and watched his gaze drop to her lips. Swallowing hard against an almost overwhelming rush of desire, she tightened her arms around his shoulders and sank her hands into the short strands of his hair. He’d recently had it cut, which of course she’d noticed. He’d let it go during the end of the season until it’d brushed his collar. But now, it was cut short on the sides and back and a little longer on the top so his bangs brushed his brows.