Playing to Win

by Taryn Leigh Taylor

  “I think I’m just going to go to sleep. Hit the light on your way out?”

  Even though Luke had braced himself for the impact of rejection, his brother’s dismissal stung more than he’d expected. “Yeah, sure. Good night, Ethan.”

  Luke flipped the switch and headed for his own room. He unceremoniously stripped down to his underwear and crawled into bed, but he didn’t sleep. It wasn’t just that he’d outgrown the bed, either. The whole house was uncomfortable. The whole family was stuck in the middle of a nightmare.

  Luke was still wide-awake come midnight. He slipped out of bed and pulled the door shut behind him. Once in the kitchen, though, he decided ice cream didn’t sound all that appealing.

  A glance out the window showed a light burning brightly in the suite above the garage. Suddenly, he was in the mood for a different kind of sweet.

  Luke grabbed the extra key from the hook in the entryway and was careful to close the door silently behind him—a trick he’d mastered by the age of twelve. In no time, he’d crossed the small expanse of grass between the house and the garage and climbed the stairs to the door.

  He knocked before he used the key. Holly looked up from her phone as he pushed the door shut behind him. She was sitting on top of the covers, her back against the headboard, feet flat on the mattress, wearing nothing but a T-shirt and another pair of those sensible white cotton panties. She was absolutely perfect.

  “To what do I owe the honor?” she asked, her eyes tracking down his bare chest, boxer-briefs and thighs. If he hadn’t already been up for the main event, that once-over would have done the trick.

  “This is a booty call.”

  She licked her lips. “You don’t say.”

  “But it’s not just any booty call,” he explained, crossing the carpeted floor until he stood beside the bed. “This is a booty call twelve years in the making.”

  She set her phone on the end table. “Oh? Sounds epic.”

  Luke nodded as he crawled across the bed. “Since I was fourteen years old, I’ve dreamed of sneaking a woman up to this bed. Tonight, the fantasy has finally presented itself. So whad’ya say, Holly Evans? Want to make a man out of me?”

  “I don’t know,” she told him, and the uncertainty on her face made him pause. She’d seemed into it a second ago.

  “I don’t want to get in trouble.” She cocked a wicked eyebrow. “We’ll have to be really quiet.”

  Jesus. Lust ignited in his belly as if her words were gasoline. He understood she was just playing along, teasing him, but damn if the role play wasn’t working for him in a big way.

  She twirled a piece of hair around her finger. “And you have to promise not to gossip to all your friends about this at school tomorrow.”

  “I promise.” She was so damn perfect in that instant that the words came out in a growl. He hooked his arm beneath her knees, tugging her toward him so that she was flat on her back. She let out a cute little shriek, surprised by the move, and he swooped in to kiss the giggles from her lips.

  “Shhh. Wouldn’t want someone to figure out that I sneaked in here.”

  Her eyes shone with humor as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down on top of her. “Oh right. Well, I guess I should warn you, I’m a bit of a moaner, so you’d better think up some way to keep me quiet.”

  Up for the challenge, Luke pressed his mouth to hers. God, he ached to be inside her. Everything around here felt so wrong, but when he was alone with her...he could turn off his brain. He could just shut it down, run on pure instinct and lose himself in her embrace. It was almost magical the way she made him forget all the pressures that dogged him when she wasn’t around.

  He poured everything into that kiss, his whole self, and when she pulled away from him, things were spinning so fast that it took him a moment to reorient himself.

  “Luke?”

  He caught his breath, braced himself on his elbows. Her smile was so pretty it made his chest ache.

  “I think I’m ready to go all the way,” she teased.

  He grinned down at her, unable to resist dropping a kiss to the end of her nose. It was the perfect thing to say. She’d kept things light, pulling him back from the spiraling emotional abyss of moments before.

  He got to his feet beside the bed and shoved his underwear down his thighs. “I’m the luckiest fake high school kid on the planet,” he said, watching as she sat up and tugged her T-shirt off. He enjoyed the gentle sway of her breasts as she wiggled out of the white cotton panties. At this point, those damn panties had some kind of Pavlovian hold over his body. Just the thought of them made him hard.

  “Oh, you’re about to get lucky, all right.”

  She reached for him as he joined her on the twin bed. But he misjudged the distance, swearing when he banged his head on the headboard as he pushed her back against the pillows.

  “Oh, are you okay?” she asked, giggling as she ran her hand over his hair to soothe the wound. “I’m sorry. It’s not funny,” she said, but she was still laughing a little, and he couldn’t help but join her, even though his head stung almost as much as his pride.

  “If I die, it will be from embarrassment and not head trauma,” he assured her. She scooted over to the edge of the mattress so he could lie down.

  “Awww. Poor thing. Don’t worry. Nobody’s first time goes smoothly,” she reminded him, reverting to their role play. It brought a smile to his face. “Maybe you’d better let me kiss it better,” she offered, leaning over and pressing her lips to his.

  Her mouth tasted heavenly. She ran her tongue across his bottom lip, and he reached up to bury his hand in her hair, pulling her toward him so that he could return the kiss with more urgency. He was panting when she pulled away.

  “Did that help?”

  He nodded. “That definitely helped...a little.”

  “Only a little? Hmm. We might have to up our treatment level.” She pushed herself up and straddled his hips.

  He could do nothing but watch in awe as she lowered her body slowly toward his erection. He was so turned on by the time his body finally made contact with the apex of her thighs, he was crazy with wanting.

  She continued moving down, trapping his cock against his stomach before rocking her hips forward and back, her wet heat sliding along his length, driving him to madness.

  “How about now?” she asked. There was a breathy quality to her voice that confirmed she was just as aroused as he was.

  “What head injury?” he managed to ask, his hips pumping involuntarily in an effort to maintain the sensation that had wrung a groan from deep in his chest. She was going to kill him with pleasure, Luke decided.

  “Shhh. You’re going to get us caught.”

  She pressed a finger to his lips and he sucked it into his mouth. She threw her head back at the sensation and sped up the pace of her hips. It was incredible, but he wanted more. He wanted all of her.

  As if she was reading his mind, Holly reached down and placed her hand on his heart, bracing herself so she could reach between them and when she finally slipped him inside her, his world shrank to raw sensation and a string of swearwords on loop in his head, because he couldn’t form anything more coherent through the bliss.

  Then she started fingering herself as she rode him, and he’d never seen anything so perfect in his whole life. It was all he could do not to explode. But he needed to hold out until he was sure she was getting at least as much pleasure out of this as he was.

  “Come for me, Holly.”

  “I’m so close...so close.”

  He grabbed her hips, pushing himself as high and deep as he could. He thrust once, twice, and then she fell forward, hands on either side of his head, kissing him as the contractions of her body ignited Luke’s own fierce orgasm.

  10

&n
bsp; “GOOD MORNING, HOLLY. Did you sleep all right?”

  Surely the heat prickling across her face wasn’t as obvious as it felt? This was another parental milestone she’d never endured. She’d already moved out of the house by the time she’d lost her virginity.

  “I did, thank you, Cathy.” She accepted the mug of coffee the other woman held in her direction and took a grateful sip.

  “I’m glad to hear it. Come, sit down. I’m making bacon and eggs. I hope that’s okay.”

  “Sounds delicious.”

  “Oh, wonderful. There’s fresh fruit on the table, please help yourself. I’ll bring the rest out as soon as it’s ready.”

  “Can I help at all?”

  “Nonsense! You’re our guest. Besides, that’s what Luke is for, right, son?”

  Holly turned to find Luke padding into the kitchen in a rumpled T-shirt, gray sweats and a seriously sexy case of bedhead and stubble. “I live to serve,” he agreed. Her pulse sped up as he stepped toward her and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

  Holly ducked her head to hide her blush. Cathy’s smile of approval was too much to deal with right now. She hurried into the dining room, joining Ross at the table.

  “Morning, Holly. Sports section okay?”

  “Perfect. Thank you.” She set her coffee down and sat next to Ross, accepting the newspaper he handed to her. Combined with the incredible spread of strawberries, pineapple, kiwi and grapes piled high on the platter in the middle of the table, Holly was hard-pressed to remember a lovelier morning. It was idyllic, the kind of scene she’d imagined so many times since her mother had died.

  Seemed that Luke was not the only one living out childhood fantasies this weekend. The problem was, her fantasy was a dangerous one. This family wasn’t hers and never would be. Still, she couldn’t help but let herself be swept up in the idle chatter and homey sounds that came with eating breakfast with people who loved each other.

  “You should see that apple tree your mother and I planted beside the ramp in the backyard last year, Lucas. We’ll deal with these plates and then I’ll show you how much it’s grown.”

  “No, you two go,” Holly insisted. “Take Cathy with you. Spend some time with your son. I’ll take care of the breakfast dishes. It’s the least I can do.”

  “That’s very sweet of you, Holly.” Cathy stood, but started gathering up plates as she did. “You boys go on outside. I’m going to relish the joy of having another woman in the house. And don’t you argue with me, missy,” she warned, cutting Holly’s protest off before she could make it. Instead, Holly stood and grabbed the rest of the plates, oddly flattered that Cathy wanted to spend this time with her.

  In the kitchen, Cathy stopped at the sink. She set the dishes down before leaning forward to gaze out the window that overlooked the backyard. As Holly approached, she could see father and son, standing at the edge of the wheelchair ramp. Ross was pointing at the small, flowering tree as Luke nodded.

  “I’m just so happy you’re here,” Cathy said, grabbing the plates from Holly’s hands and adding them to the pile. Holly’s eyes widened in surprise. She didn’t think she’d ever received such a warm reception.

  “It’s such a relief to see him happy. My Lucas has always been serious. And I’ve been worried about him. Always takes the weight of the world on his shoulders. My little Atlas, I used to call him. Still do, just not to his face anymore,” Cathy said with a wink. “I’m glad that he’s smiling again.” Cathy’s warm fingers found Holly’s and she gave her hand a quick squeeze. “And I’m glad he found you.”

  The warm, maternal gesture stunned Holly into immobility.

  “How long have the two of you been dating?” Cathy asked.

  “Oh, uh. We’re not really...we’re not very far into things. We only met a few weeks ago.”

  “Really?” Cathy looked surprised. “Well, I’m relieved Luke hasn’t been hiding you from us. But you two seem so comfortable together, so in sync, that I just assumed you’d known each other for longer.”

  She wasn’t wrong. Holly had been pleasantly surprised at just how much they had in common. The drive down had been a blast. Easy conversation, lots of laughs, they’d even established some inside jokes. If she wasn’t lying outright to his face and he wasn’t the prime suspect in the betting scandal she was investigating, then hey, they might actually have a future together.

  The joke sobered her. Luke was a really great guy. He was completely devoted to his family, who were totally worth it, as far as she’d seen. He was confident without being cocky, serious without being stodgy and despite his intense image, he was still able to relax and make her laugh. The sex was pretty incredible, too.

  He was the total package. And, she reminded herself, innocent until proven guilty, despite her suspicions. So really, she was the problem in this relationship. Fortnight of fun. Spring fling. Whatever you wanted to call it, she was the only verified liar in their midst.

  And for what? For a job? But it was more than a job. And not just because the story she was investigating was career making. She was actually starting to come around to the Women’s Hockey Network stuff. It was kind of fun.

  And she’d gotten a few really nice emails forwarded to her from the Portland Storm site that said stuff like, “You saved my marriage,” or, “I get why my boyfriend is into this stuff now,” or just, “Your show makes us laugh.” It made her feel good to know that this wasn’t just three months of career limbo. She was getting exposure and she was touching people’s lives.

  And she was sitting on a sports scandal that would propel her into the big leagues. Especially now that Corey Baniuk’s old job was up for grabs. Besides, she and Luke hadn’t agreed to anything. They weren’t even dating. Like the Women’s Hockey Network, their time together was temporary, and it would be lunacy to put her future in the hands of a man she was having a tryst with, no matter how skilled and sexy those hands might be.

  Holly glanced at him through the kitchen window.

  Especially since Luke didn’t trust her. And with the evidence mounting, she couldn’t quite trust him, either.

  The sound of rattling dishes pulled Holly back to the present, and she was surprised to find that Luke’s mom had completely finished loading the dishwasher while Holly had done little more than stare starry-eyed out the window at her son.

  “There, all done,” Cathy said, pushing the door to the machine closed and wiping her hands on the tea towel she’d plucked off the counter. “Can I tell you again how much I love your show?”

  “Aw, thank you, Cathy. That means a lot. Especially since I would imagine you know everything there is to know about hockey, whether you like it or not.”

  Luke’s mom grinned. “I am a bit of an expert. Job hazard of being the mom of two sports-obsessed boys. I thought Luke might be the most hockey-crazed kid ever, but along came Ethan, every bit as hockey crazy. That child came out of the womb ready to outdo his older brother at anything he possibly could.”

  She folded the red-and-white checkered towel into perfect thirds and hung it on the oven door.

  “For a while, Ross and I used to worry that it would impact their relationship. But Lucas...he’s just got a special temperament, I guess. They’ve been thick as thieves their whole lives, until...well. We’ve all struggled since Ethan’s accident. But I hope one day that we’ll find our way back. I catch glimpses of it sometimes, when Ethan forgets to be angry. My boy’s still in there.”

  Holly’s eyes stung, but she did her best to hold back the tears. Cathy’s words were not for her—they were the words of a mother who’d come to the aching realization that her son’s happiness was out of her control and it was a fact that she resented the hell out of. Holly had never missed her own mother more than she did right then, witnessing the strength and the heartache in Cathy’s face, the duality of maternal love.
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br />   The Maguire men were a very lucky bunch.

  Wiping her eyes, Cathy made a shooing motion with her other hand. “Oh, listen to me. We old people are always going off on tangents! I will not waste this beautiful day blathering when I could be learning all about you. I’m going to make us a pot of tea, and we’re going to go enjoy some girl chat out on the deck.”

  * * *

  LUKE FOLLOWED HIS dad around the backyard, taking in his latest updates. The old man had done a lot of work. Installed wheelchair ramps to make both the front and back doors accessible, widened all the sidewalks and his car was parked outside because he’d revamped the garage into a physio studio for Ethan. As they stopped to admire the apple tree, Luke could hear the muffled banging of weights behind the door.

  Luke glanced at his dad. “How’s he doing?”

  Ross Maguire shook his head. “He’s still so angry. But determined. He’s in there every day, does his exercises religiously. Everything that made him such a great hockey player—the focus, the drive—he pours into his recovery. The physiotherapist is astounded by his progress, but Ethan has a hard time accepting praise because he’s not where he wants to be. I don’t know how to break it to him that he might never be.”

  The pain on his father’s face was unbearable.

  “I’ve never had to do that before, Luke. I’ve raised two extraordinary men who’ve accomplished everything they’ve put their minds to. No one’s explained the protocol for when dreams don’t come true.”

  “You’re doing fine, Dad. Better than fine. Look at this place. You remortgaged the house to make every inch of it accessible. Ethan’s gone to the best doctors, the best rehab clinics. His physiotherapist is practically part of the family, she’s here so much. And as much as it sucks, there’s nothing more we can do. The rest is up to Ethan.”

  Ross Maguire nodded. “I know you’re right, son. But it doesn’t make standing on the sidelines any easier.”