by Odette Stone
“You hit your client. Did he hit you back?”
“He put me in emergency with a broken nose and a busted lip. You should have seen my ribs.”
This did not sound like the Levi I knew. But then, I didn’t really know him. “He was trying to date your girlfriend?”
“She even testified to the police of that exact fact.”
“What exactly happened that night?”
“I’m a little fuzzy on the details. Except that I was scared I was going to be killed.”
He was using strong language. I wondered how close to the truth it was. “Did you press charges?”
“Nope.”
“Why not?”
“I’m a nice guy.”
Doubtful. So the police probably didn’t have enough to warrant an arrest. “Okay, thanks for your time.”
“Who wants him?”
“The person inquiring wishes to remain anonymous. Don’t call back. If we’re interested, we’ll be in touch.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
I needed to dangle the hook in front of him. “Perhaps you can remain close to your phone for the next few hours.”
“I can do that.”
Out of curiosity, I asked him. “Where are you located?”
“Vegas, why?”
It explained the card game. “No reason.”
I hung up and decided I wouldn’t call him back for a couple of days. If I called back too soon, he’d get greedy and the price would go up. He didn’t deserve to make any money off Levi. He had been a horrible agent. Not only had he buried Levi’s career and refused to help him unbury it, but he had unfairly wasted enormous talent and profit over a fight. Any self-respecting agent would have simply dissolved the contract and moved on. It was more than petty to try to kill someone else’s career.
But I couldn’t shake the feeling that something else was going on. I just didn’t know what.
I canceled my lunch meeting so I could pay Levi an impromptu visit. Front-desk security checked their schedule and told me that he was currently working out with one of the physiotherapists.
“Don’t disturb him,” I told the guard when he picked up the phone. “I’ll head up there and catch him when he’s done.”
“You’ll find him in exercise room C on the third level.”
As I made my way upstairs, I felt guilty that I hadn’t made more of an effort with Levi in the last three weeks. I thought I had been responsible by keeping my distance, but now I realized I should have done my job better.
I stopped at the doorway of the room and looked in. There were various forms of equipment in the room. My eyes found Levi, and the wall-lined mirrors gave me an excellent view of what was happening. He was lying on his back on the mats. A tall, leggy blonde had her knee on his outstretched leg, and she leaned her entire body against the other leg that she was stretching. It was an incredibly intimate pose, but they were unaware of me. They spoke quietly, and then he said something that made her laugh.
“Stop.” Her face was pure beauty as she smiled down at him.
My stomach clenched with an unrecognizable emotion. It felt bad. I shoved that feeling down as I watched them work together. She reminded of me an early 1990s Claudia Schiffer—all that was missing were the Guess jeans. And now I remembered why I had been avoiding him.
As if she could sense the intensity of my observation, she lifted her head and smiled at me. “Hello.”
“I can wait until Levi is done.”
She stared down at Levi’s face. “We are done. See you tomorrow?”
“Yup. I’ll bring the smoothies.”
They both stood up. Not only was she rail-thin, but she was also as tall as a supermodel. I estimated she was close to six feet. Side by side, they made a stunning couple.
She moved to the corner of the room and knelt over a bag.
He walked over to me. “I thought you couldn’t meet with me today.”
“I canceled my lunch meeting so I could talk to you.” I looked around him. “Who’s the girl?”
He lifted the front of his T-shirt to wipe his face. My eyes dragged over his naked skin and sweaty core muscles. I felt a need to reach out and touch him, so I crossed my arms.
He dropped his shirt. “That’s Dee. She’s a physiotherapist who’s been assigned to help me stretch out before I skate.”
“Might I remind you to stay focused? You only have two weeks left to train.” I knew I was being overbearing, but I couldn’t stop myself. There was something about her that made me feel slightly irrational.
“I’m focused.”
“You can’t afford any distractions right now.”
Instead of firing back at me, he gave me a mild look. “You have news?”
“I have some questions. Can we talk privately?”
Dee was taking her sweet-ass time. We stood there, watching her, until she gave us a gracious smile and walked across the room. “See you tomorrow.”
“Yeah, have a good one.”
I inwardly rolled my eyes. “I need to know what happened with Spears.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “We had a disagreement.”
I made a noise in the back of my throat. “He said you hit him.”
“He hit me first.”
“You fought over his girlfriend?”
“Is that what he told you?”
I stared up at him, not liking his attitude. “He said you put him in the ER.”
He shrugged. “Who goes to emergency over a bloody nose?”
“Are you disputing Spears’ claim that you were getting involved in his personal relationship?”
He didn’t blink. “Yes, we fought, but it wasn’t like that.”
I took a deep, calming breath and made a mental note to call my PI and have him investigate Spears further, including his past relationships. “Then tell me what it was like, Levi.”
He didn’t respond.
I put my hand on my hip. “If you think this is invasive, you should see what Mark will dig up. The reason I need to dig up your past is so I can help you bury it better.”
He gave me another look, but he didn’t speak. Whatever had happened upset him.
I crossed my arms. “You’re beyond frustrating, you know that?”
“It’s in the past. That stuff isn’t going to impact my future.”
“He wants $5,000 for costs and $5,000 if you sign.”
He looked away from me and spoke with finality. “I don’t have that kind of money.”
“I do—and you will.”
“What if I don’t make the team?”
“It’s in good faith you will.” I stared up at his face. “I’m sorry I’ve been so busy. How are things going here?”
He let out a long breath. “Fine.”
Why didn’t I believe him? “Talk to me.”
“There is nothing to talk about.”
I stared at him, willing him to talk.
He ignored my look. “Look, I have ice time in fifteen minutes. I have to go get suited up.”
“This conversation isn’t over.”
“It is for now.”
I could tell I’d pissed him off, but I let him go.
Chapter Eight
Levi
I sat alone in my apartment, too keyed up to even turn on the TV. Only five days until they started training camp. I hadn’t heard from Krista since she had talked to me about Scott. I had no idea what he had said about me, but I figured it wasn’t good. Had he tainted my chances with the Wolves?
There had been no word from Mark or Krista about the upcoming camp either, so now I needed to start thinking about a backup plan if I didn’t get invited. I had saved as much as I could from my stipend, which would keep me afloat until I figured out where to go next.
This is my last chance to be a hockey player.
I had to work to push that thought to the back of my mind. I would deal with the loss after it happened.
A knock sounded at my door.
I knew it would be Krista before I answered, but I wasn’t prepared for the picture she made with her tight black polka-dot pants and low-cut frilly blouse. I had never met a woman who wore clothes as dramatically as she did.
She put one hand on her hip. “Are you going to invite me in?”
I held open the door and watched as she walked into my place and boldly looked around. I couldn’t take my eyes off her perfect ass as she looked around the kitchen and then opened a few cupboards.
I watched with amusement. “Are you looking for something?”
She shut the door and turned to me. “Yeah: evidence that you actually live here.”
“I do.”
She pursed her lips. “You haven’t been answering your texts.”
“I lost my phone charger. I meant to pick one up today. I forgot.”
She looked around. “How does someone who keeps their place this neat actually lose anything?”
I didn’t want to tell her that my phone charger had mysteriously gone missing from my locker. “What did your text say?”
“My text said I needed to talk about Scott Spears.”
Something tightened inside of me. My previous agent was nothing but bad news. “Thought we already did.”
She opened a kitchen drawer and peeked in. “You know, I think these rental suites are counting on the fact that you’re not going to do much cooking here.”
“Tell me about Scott.”
She gave me a regretful look. “I think he figured out how valuable you are, so he is contesting releasing you as a client.”
That pissed me off so much I remained silent. I was afraid of what would come out of my mouth.
She watched my face. “It pissed me off too. Don’t worry. I guarantee my lawyers are better than his.”
She was investing a lot of money in me, and I hadn’t even been invited to training camp yet. “So, do we just wait?”
She made a noise in the back of her throat as she opened another drawer. “You can accept the training camp contract without his involvement. I can unofficially organize that for you, as long as it’s clear I’m not getting any financial kickback from it.” She looked around. “Did you hire a maid?”
“Military father.”
That made her pause and look at me more carefully, but unlike most people, she didn’t start probing with questions. “Mark’s staff all report that you’ve been incredibly focused.”
I couldn’t look away from her gaze. “You’ve been checking up on me.”
“No, but Mark has, and then he usually tells me things.”
I wasn’t sure how I felt about his Big-Brother approach. “Is he always like this?”
“Only in the beginning. He’s like a watchful parent. When you earn his trust, he’ll leave you alone.”
I didn’t respond.
She added, “So far, he likes what he sees.”
It was as close to encouragement as I would get from her. I’d take what I could get. “Okay.”
Her phone rang, and she looked to see who was calling before silencing the call.
Was it another man? A date? I wished she had picked up so I could try to figure out if she was dating anyone. “You can take that if you want.”
She shook her head. “It’ll be a painstaking conversation with my mom about all the things I’m supposed to pick up for my sister’s baby shower.”
“That was your mom?”
She gave me a sardonic look. “Yes.”
I tried but failed to imagine Krista at a baby shower. “Your sister, the figure skater, is having a baby?”
She avoided my gaze. “The one and only.”
“When’s the party?”
“Next weekend.”
That was the weekend of hockey training camp. She hadn’t brought up the subject of training camp since our night at Pierre’s, and now she was taking a personal weekend on the same weekend. I seesawed back to the idea that I might be getting sent home at the end of the week. My stomach tightened with dread.
“Don’t worry, my parents live in Victoria. I’ll be five minutes away from the camp.”
“Assuming I get invited.”
“Of course, we’re assuming that. Have you had any issues with Brody?”
“He’s tried to get under my skin, but no big deal.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Like what?”
Brody was unsuccessfully trying to intimidate me. Stupid shit, like giving me the death stare when I walked by or watching me during my ice time. I also suspected he was messing with my locker. Small things were going missing, like my phone charger. My shampoo bottle had emptied all over the bottom of my bag when I swore I had screwed the lid tight. A half dozen incidents like that told me someone was messing with me, but I had no proof it was Brody, so I refused to make any accusations.
“It’s fine. It’s not a big deal.”
“Tell me what is going on.”
“Nothing.” I would deal with Brody when I was good and ready.
“Levi, this kind of stuff doesn’t tend to get better. It gets worse. It needs to be documented.”
“Not before training camp. If one or both of us gets cut, this problem will go away.”
“I can help.”
“I can handle it,” I warned.
She hesitated but didn’t push back. Instead, she crossed her arms and leaned her hip against my counter. “Tell me about Dee.”
I didn’t want to talk about physiotherapy right now. “Nothing to tell.”
“Do you like working with her?”
I hadn’t seen Krista alone in weeks. I wasn’t going to waste it talking about my physiotherapy. “She’s fine. Want a beer?”
She gave me a long look. “One drink.”
I went to the fridge, handed her a bottle of beer, and poured myself a glass of water.
“You’re not even having a drink?”
“Trust me—I’d love nothing more than a beer right now, but not when I’m training.”
She looked around. “You’re disciplined.”
“I have questions.”
“About hockey?”
I took a sip of my water. “About you.”
“I’m an open book. Ask away.”
“Are you dating someone right now?”
She made an amused noise. “Like being married to you isn’t enough trouble?”
“It keeps me awake, wondering if you are alone. You, of all people, should appreciate that I need my sleep.”
She turned away from me as she snooped through another drawer. “Count sheep.”
My fingers itched to grab handfuls of her ass. It looked perfect in those pants. “You haven’t answered my question.”
“Are you asking if I’m dating someone or sleeping with someone?”
I could not take my eyes off her ass. I set my water glass down. It was time to take my shot.
Her entire body reacted with a long, slow shudder when I came up behind her and nudged my mouth against her neck. She smelled so good. “Either.” I paused. “No, both.”
She arched her neck. “I sleep alone.”
She gasped when I spun her around. “I want a taste of your beer.”
She looked up at me through her dark lashes. “You want a sip of my beer?”
I grabbed her by the waist. She gave a cute squeak when I lifted her onto the counter. I stepped in between her legs and planted my hands on either side of her. My face was only an inch away from hers. “I said a taste, not a sip.”
This was her moment to say no, to duck her head, to push me back and tell me that my advances were not welcome—but she did none of that.
Instead, she widened her eyes and stared into my own. “Oh.”
I dipped my head towards her so that I could capture her mouth with my own. She tasted like cold beer and warm woman. I put my arms around her body and yanked her against me. She made another little noise that shot straight down to my already rock-hard cock.
I kissed her with my eyes op
en, loving how her eyelashes fluttered.
I wanted to ask her the question I had repeatedly asked myself since Mexico. I moved my mouth to her neck. “Why did you have bite marks after we spent the night together?”
Her breath hitched a tiny fraction. “I have no idea.”
“I’m not a biter,” I told her, as I moved my mouth down to just below her jawline. “So, is this your kink?”
She arched her neck against my mouth and gasped when I lightly used my teeth. “It turns me on.”
I pulled back and looked her in the eyes. “How?”
She swallowed. “It makes things feel…”
“Primal?” I finished.
“Yes.” She lifted her chin. “And I like it.”
That is exactly how I imagined sex would be with her.
I put my lips against hers. This time she kept her eyes open too. “Is it the pain?”
“No,” she said, and I couldn’t resist having another taste. I kissed her until she moaned. Then I pushed her hair off her neck and worked to taste all the spots I had missed. Her entire body shuddered in response.
“It’s about power,” I told her, knowing exactly what she liked about it. It was my personal experience that bossy chicks loved to get bossed around in bed.
“No,” she gasped, as my lips hit a sensitive spot. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
She smelled so incredible; I didn’t want to remove my face from her neck.
She arched a bit closer to my mouth. “We can’t cross our line.”
“Your line,” I murmured against her neck.
She whimpered as I moved to the other side of her neck. “Why don’t I have any control around you?”
My mouth found a place behind her ear that made her shiver. “Because you know how good this is going to be.”
“This is such a bad idea.”
I took my time lifting my mouth from her skin. I spoke softly in her ear. “Do you want me to stop?”
She pushed her ear against my mouth. “Yes. No… I don’t know.”
I didn’t know if we would ever cross that line, but I knew if we did, we both needed to be sold on the idea. I planted a light kiss on her lips before slowly pulling back.
Her mouth clung to mine. “More.”
She would tempt a saint. It took most of my willpower, but I pulled back so I could stare into her eyes. “You’re the one who just said no.”
