Deadlines & Red Lines: Fast Ice Sports Romance

by Stephanie Julian

  He was the most handsome man she’d ever met, and she still had a hard time believing he wanted to kiss her. He was an honest-to-god star athlete and he’d had his tongue stuck down her throat not five seconds ago.

  “Come home with me.”

  Her lips parted in shock at his rough, growly request. She’d almost convinced herself he was going to set her on her feet, tell her he’d made a mistake and walk out the door. That he’d realize she was so not on his level and chew off his arm to get the hell away from her.

  “My apartment’s closer.”

  His grin felt like a caress against her skin. “If you’re sure you’re okay with that.”

  Another flash of heat from that grin made her want to fan her face. “I’m definitely okay with that.”

  “Then lead the way.”

  It took her a second to loosen her legs from around his waist so he could set her feet on the floor. It took an embarrassing couple of seconds for her to get her feet moving.

  But when she did, she couldn’t get out of that kitchen fast enough.

  RJ knew Sugar lived above the diner in one of the apartments, but he hadn’t wanted to invite himself up. He didn’t want to be that guy.

  But you’re the guy who’s going to follow her up the stairs to her bed, aren’t you?

  Yeah, he was. Because he wasn’t going to miss the chance to have Sugar.

  And Sugar certainly wasn’t acting like he was coercing her. No, she’d taken his hand and was tugging him toward the dining room and the front door.

  The dining room was dark, the only light coming through the front window. It was close to eleven-thirty at night, but it was summer in the city, and people still cruised up and down the sidewalks. With a few practiced moves, she opened the front door, waved him through then followed him out and locked the door behind them.

  She didn’t say anything, but she grabbed his hand and tugged him to the left, toward the wooden door that separated the diner windows from the windows of the vintage record shop next door. Opening that door with a key, she pushed through, smiling up at him with a grin that made his dick harden even more than it already was.

  He followed, because there was no way in hell he wasn’t going to follow her anywhere she went. Inside, the narrow hall was brightly lit, almost too bright. But of course, Georgie and Janine wouldn’t allow any dark shadows in their building. Especially not when they knew Sugar lived here alone.

  Sugar led him past the two apartment doors on the first floor to the stairs then up to the second floor, where there were another two doors. She headed for the one directly off the stairs and unlocked that. Pushing it open, still holding his hand, she stopped and turned back to look at him. Head cocked to the side, eyebrows raised, her expression held a dare. Almost as if she didn’t think he was going to follow her inside.

  He wasn’t stupid. He stepped over the threshold, pushed the door shut behind him, and reached for her again. Gripping her around the waist, he lifted her into his body, her arms wrapping around his neck again. She anticipated his next move, her head tilting to the side so he could kiss her again.

  Christ, he could kiss her all night and not get tired. She gave him all of her, didn’t hold anything back. And he gave her everything. He poured every ounce of desire and frustration and need into his kiss and she took it in. Which made him burn.

  Opening his eyes for a split second, he spotted the nearest wall and took two steps forward so he could put her back against it. Pinning her to the wall allowed him to free up his hands. Because he had plans.

  He spread his hands on her hips then slid them up her body, stopping just before he reached her breasts. Her body surged under his hands, pressing into his touch. The sound she made in her throat made his cock respond with a jerk. Her head tilted to the side and she kissed him harder, dragging him even farther under her spell. Her body heat seeped into his, and his hands tightened on her body. Her breasts beckoned, and he filled his hands with them. Standing next to him, her head barely reached his chin, but what she lacked in height she made up for in curves.

  Hips, breasts, ass. The girl was stacked. And totally not his type. In California—

  No, he wasn’t going to think about that part of his life. Not now. Not when he had this woman in his arms and her tits in his hands and her mound pressed against his stomach as she kissed him stupid.

  And yeah, she’d taken over the kiss. Her fingers had slid from his shoulders into his hair and she gripped the strands, tugging his head to the side so she could get a better angle on his mouth. He grinned into her kiss, let her control it for several long seconds while he rubbed his thumbs over her nipples poking through the thin cotton of her shirt and bra.

  She was so fucking soft, he wanted to strip her down and run his hands all over her body.

  When she sighed into his mouth, he squeezed. She rewarded him with a low moan and tightened her hands in his hair. She wriggled even closer, her legs tightening around his waist. And shutting down every last hint of resistance he might’ve had lingering on the edges of his consciousness.

  He’d leave if she asked, but he was pretty damn sure they’d passed that point downstairs. Hell, his mind had been made up from their second meeting.

  Lifting his head, he looked down at her, made sure she was looking back at him before he spoke.

  “I’m going to put you down but only so I can take your clothes off. You okay with that?”

  Her smile was a thing of beauty.

  “Okay. As long as I get to return the favor. Put me down.”

  He took his time, smiling for the split second it took her to unwrap her legs from around his waist. He didn’t release her immediately. He held her against him for several seconds before he let her slide down his body. The zipper on her shorts brushed against the ridge of his cock, making all the muscles in his body taut, almost to the point of pain. Hell, his erection was going to have the imprint of his zipper on it by the time he let her put her hands on it.

  Right now, he’d deal with it because it kept him in check, at least somewhat.

  By the time her feet hit the floor, his smile had disappeared, and she had her teeth lodged in her bottom lip and her fingers dug into the muscles of his shoulders. Her eyes rounded, and her smile disappeared as soon as she stood. He couldn’t decipher her expression. Then her hands stroked down, over his pecs, and her gaze followed.

  He realized he’d been nowhere near as hot as he could get. Because the feel of her palms flattened over his nipples held a sense of pleasure he’d never encountered before. Not with any of the women he’d been with before. And despite the fact that he could’ve had a different woman in his bed every week in California, he’d never been into meaningless sex.

  He had to have a connection with a woman he had sex with her. Some of his friends had ragged him about being a priest, but emotion played a big role in sex for him. Which was probably why it’d been a while since he’d taken a woman to bed. He hadn’t had the stomach for it.

  Watching Sugar watch her hands as they followed his body down to his waist made emotion churn in his gut. Lust, need, anticipation. A healthy dose of holy shit, finally.

  Reaching up, he framed her face in his hands, rubbing his thumbs along her cheekbones. Her skin felt like silk, but he knew there’d be even softer places on her body. And he wanted to explore each and every one of them.

  Her hands reached his waist and slipped under the hem of his shirt, her palms flattening on his sides then sliding around to his back. Lightning flashed beneath his skin, a visceral reaction that made his lungs seize.

  Glancing up at him, she looked at him from beneath long lashes. The heat in her gaze seared him straight through to his gut.

  “You’re so hot.”

  Her voice held a hint of amusement, but he’d blown past the banter stage minutes ago. He didn’t think he had it in him to be playful. Not anymore. He wanted her hands stripping away his clothes so he could do the same to her. Right fucking now.

/>   “Then we need to fix that.”

  Reaching behind his head with one hand, he gripped the back of his shirt and drew it over his head. He dropped it on the floor to the sound of Sugar drawing in a deep breath. Okay, that made him smile, because he knew she liked seeing his naked chest. Her eyes widened and she stared for a few seconds before looking up again. The smile on her face had faded, but her hands gripped him tighter, nails digging into his skin, sure to leave little half-moon bites.

  His grin returned, this time with a harder edge because lust was kicking him in the ass. It was all he could do not to strip her right here and take her against the wall. Which could be fun but definitely not long enough.

  He wanted to take his time. Wanted to be sure he savored every single moment.

  Cupping her face in his hands again, he began to lower his mouth to hers.

  They both froze as her phone rang.

  Three

  Sugar seriously considered ignoring her beeping phone because, now that she’d gotten her hands on the man who’d starred in every one of her dreams for the past year, she didn’t want to take her hands off and risk him getting away.

  Then again, she couldn’t simply ignore it. What if it was old Mrs. Miller, who lived in the next building? What if she’d fallen again? What if it was Sun or Carlos who lived in the apartment below hers? What if it was Georgie or Janine?

  What if it was her parents?

  At least that would be easy. She’d call them back tomorrow.

  “Do you need to get that?”

  RJ’s voice rubbed against her senses, raising goosebumps and causing her thighs to clench. From the first moment she’d seen him walk into the diner, this man had gotten under her skin and stayed there.

  Looking up into his eyes, she shivered at the desire burning there. For her. He wanted her. She’d almost wanted to pinch herself but that would look pretty stupid. And she didn’t want to look stupid in front of RJ.

  “No.” Ugh. She pulled the phone out of her back pocket, taking a step away. “Well, let me just check it. I can’t believe—”

  Oh yes, she could believe. She sighed at the name on the screen. Her sister Cookie had always had the damn worst timing in the world.

  Swiping the call into voicemail, she set her phone on the nearest flat surface and looked up at RJ. Who continued to watch her with a look that made her want to grab his hand and pull him back toward her bedroom.

  Oh damn.

  “You’re not going to fit in my bed.”

  The man’s smile lit her entire body on fire. It just wasn’t fair that anyone had that kind of power, but apparently, he did. And she was going to enjoy being burned to a crisp.

  “I like a challenge.”

  She reached for him, the low tone of his voice and the look in his eyes a lure she couldn’t deny. He let her lace their fingers together, let her walk into him until she could feel his hard-on press against her stomach. He didn’t try to hide it, and for some weird reason, she was reminded of the difference in their age.

  She knew, from checking his stats on the Colonials website, he was thirty, halfway to thirty-one. At twenty-three, she knew women her age who might think he was too old.

  She definitely wasn’t one of them. Older guys usually had their shit together. And for all the crap he’d been through in the past couple of years, RJ had kept his shit together. She admired that about him.

  Hell, she thought it was amazing how he’d managed to stay a decent human when stupid people were saying so much crap about him.

  “I’m not much of a challenge,” she said. “I’m pretty much a sure thing.”

  That made his smile widen into a grin that took her breath away. Putting his hands on her forearms, he guided them around his waist then put his arms around her shoulders. He leaned down to kiss her and just before he did, he said, “Keep saying things like that and we won’t make it to the bed.”

  He fit his lips over hers again, and this time she realized he’d been holding back on her before. Maybe he hadn’t wanted to frighten her. Maybe he just hadn’t been sure of how she’d respond.

  Now, she knew exactly what he wanted and she had to push aside the momentary insecurity that cropped up. She hadn’t dated in a while. Okay, technically, it’d been almost two years. Since she’d moved to Philly, she’d been too damn tired to even think of dating. The one time she’d even considered it a couple months ago had been a disaster.

  And then she’d met RJ and the thought of dating anyone but him had just seemed like too much work. Now here he was, kissing her, their tongues entwined and his hands pressing her closer, his cock an insistent pressure against her belly.

  She gripped his waist, his bare flesh burning her palms. Then she felt his hands tug the hem of her tank top out of her shorts. She had way too many clothes on, and the couch was much closer than her bed.

  Since he had his back against the wall, she pulled away, tugging him with her as she headed for the couch. Her apartment was tiny, but that meant she didn’t have a lot of furniture to worry about. The couch that had come with the apartment was a sectional, and it had wide, soft cushions.

  He obviously realized where she was leading him, and in the next second, her feet left the floor again. Her startled laughter rang through the apartment, but it was quickly cut off by a moan when he fastened his teeth into her ear and bit down.

  Her breath caught in her throat as he stopped at the couch and let her slide down to her feet. His hands smoothed around her waist to her stomach, pressing her back against him. This position felt so much more erotic because she couldn’t see him.

  Except…she could.

  She’d left the blinds up, and there was just enough of a glow from the kitchen light that she always left on that she could see their reflection in the window. She couldn’t see their faces, just their bodies. But that was more than enough to make her sex clench.

  She stood in front of him, but the man was so big, she could see his outline around her. She saw his hands on her body and the tilt of his head, angled down toward hers but not touching.

  Oh god, she was going to suffocate if she didn’t get air into her lungs. One of his hands flattened against her belly to hold her back against him. They stood that way for several seconds, and she realized he must be watching them, too.

  “I think we’ll just stand here for a few minutes.”

  His breath brushed against her ear as he spoke, and she had to swallow before she could speak.

  “I’m good with that.”

  “Glad to hear it.”

  She shuddered, her sex clenching, as his hand began to move, making a circle on her belly before moving slowly upward. It didn’t take long for her body to decide it liked this. A lot. His fingers reached the underside of her left breast and brushed the sensitive curve. She sucked in a breath, her stomach contracting as his other hand skimmed down her hip to brush the bare skin of her right thigh below the hem of her shorts.

  The warmth of his skin felt like a brand, but he didn’t linger. His hand lifted back to the waistband of her shorts where he flicked the button out of the hole and slid the zipper down in one smooth movement.

  The snick of the zipper releasing sounded loud, sending all her other senses into a tizzy. Her lungs stuttered, and when she drew in a breath, all she could smell was him, which made her physically ache to feel his hands on her bare skin.

  But RJ seemed determined to go slow. Her experience with guys wasn’t huge, but she couldn’t believe how carefully he was treating her.

  “You know I’m not going to break, right? You need to go faster.”

  His huff of laughter raised the hair on her neck and sensitized every inch of her skin.

  “Oh, I know you’re not going to break. But I’m definitely not rushing this. Where’s the fun in that?”

  “I think we’d have more fun naked.”

  Another laugh. “Still plenty of fun to have before we get to being naked.”

  She could barely br
eathe but still had to respond. “I think I need to be convinced.”

  Without warning, he opened his mouth on her neck and fastened his teeth into the curve of her neck and shoulder, and, oh holy hell, her thighs clenched like she was a freaking virgin. Her lips parted on a gasp as he began to kiss his way across her shoulder, while his right hand began to work her shorts over her hips.

  They were so tight, they dragged her underwear along with them. Or maybe that was his goal all along. Whatever, she was naked from the waist down when she opened her eyes again. His right hand was spread across her belly, his pinky nearly brushing the short hair on her mound. As she watched, his left hand cupped her breast and squeezed, stealing what was left of the air in her lungs.

  She only started to suck in air when his hand at her breast began to knead, almost distracting her from the slow glide of his hand down her stomach. His fingers tugged at the hair on her mound before continuing its journey down.

  Her clit ached with anticipation, but he carefully avoided it and instead used his hand to spread her legs farther apart. She did what he wanted, leaving her pussy exposed and so sensitive, she swore the air brushing against it could make her come.

  She knew it wouldn’t be that easy, but when RJ cupped her, letting his fingers slide along her slick folds, her pussy contracted, practically begging to be filled.

  “RJ.”

  “You’re so wet. And so warm.”

  “Then do something about it.”

  She moaned in frustration when he moved his hand back to her stomach. “Damn it—”

  And her knees nearly gave out when he tweaked her clit followed by the press of his fingers at the entrance to her pussy. The hand on her breast moved so he could squeeze her nipple between his thumb and forefinger just as he slid a finger inside her sex.

  Her head fell back against his shoulder and she would’ve curled into herself, but he wouldn’t let her. He released her breast so he could wrap his arm around her chest and held her tight against him while he slid a second finger between her legs and into her body.