Melting Ice

by Jami Davenport

  He grabbed her hands and held them to his chest. “I’m not going to last if you keep doing that.” It was his turn to peruse her body, and he took his damn sweet time. She squirmed with need under his piercing blue gaze, certain if he touched her just once in the right place, she’d explode from needing him.

  He lay down next to her, his mouth and tongue sliding across her neck and shoulders. He caught her nipple in his mouth and toyed with it, sucking it deeply into his mouth, and flicking it with his tongue. Avery arched her back and squeezed her eyes shut, savoring his touch.

  “I thought you only liked it rough,” she managed to say.

  “I thought so, too, but you’re—you’re not like any woman I’ve ever met. I want to make this special not—” he paused to take the other nipple into his mouth and give it his undivided attention “—hard, fast, and rough. I want it slow, gentle, and easy.”

  “I’m fine with either.” She gasped when he slid a hand between her legs and pushed two fingers inside, finding her clit with his thumb. Sensations whirled inside her until she spiraled into a deep chasm filled with nothing but strong emotions and stronger desires.

  He crooked his fingers inside her, finding a spot no man had ever found, and pressed her clit at the same time. She came so hard and fast, she left earth without leaving, defying gravity, and flying without wings.

  As she slowly settled back down, he kissed her mouth again. “I need to be inside you.”

  She nodded, incapable of speech. Ever ready, he produced a condom out of thin air and started to roll it down that impressive penis of his.

  She grabbed his arm and shook her head. “I’m—I’m on the pill. No need,” she forced the words out.

  His eyes lit up as if she’d given him the best gift possible. “I’m clean.”

  “Me, too.”

  He spread her legs apart and slowly sank into her, taking his time, even as he gritted his teeth. He filled her, every bit of her, until he was buried deeply inside her heat. Her body throbbed around him, squeezing him, as he began to move in and out of her.

  When he’d promised to take it slow, he hadn’t been kidding. He was as gentle as he’d been rough that first time. He tasted, touched, worshipped her, making her feel as if she were all he needed. He was certainly all she needed.

  They came together, as surprisingly powerful as it was gentle. His seed filled her, as he rocked her world, and she rocked his. And nothing could ever be as it had been because he’d ruined her for any other man.

  As they lay together spent and breathing hard, Isaac lifted up to gaze into her eyes. “I—I can’t find any words to describe what just happened between us.”

  Avery put a finger to his lips. “We don’t need words. Words would only spoil it.” She cuddled against him, holding him tightly.

  How would she ever be able to live without this man?

  Chapter 19—Moment of Truth

  Isaac muddled through the next few days in a haze of euphoria interrupted by the reality of the game he played. When he wasn’t immersed in hockey, he was immersed in thoughts of Avery, in the way she liked to run her fingers over his stubbled cheeks, the way her eyes twinkled when she was giving him shit, the way she felt underneath him after the most epic night of sex he’d ever experienced with any woman—but then Avery was not any woman.

  He’d never imagined gentle sex could be more mind-blowing, more rewarding than hard, rough sex, but it had been, and it’d taken the right woman to show him something years of having sex with numerous women never had—not even with Jenny—he realized with a guilty start. But this wasn’t about Jenny. They hadn’t been suited for each other. He saw that now. They’d been a toxic combination. Had she lived, they’d have never lasted.

  But Avery, she was special. They didn’t need drama and booze to spice up their lives. They had each other and their mutual respect and admiration. They had something deep and moving, yet scary.

  Isaac didn’t know what to do about them; he only knew he wanted this relationship to go somewhere, even if he wasn’t sure where that was. But first he had some hockey games to win.

  The Sockeyes lost their first playoff game in Calgary. To Isaac nothing could be worse than sitting around the hotel waiting for the second game to start the next evening. He was full of pent-up energy he couldn’t dispel even after a grueling run through a nearby park and an equally hard morning skate.

  After dinner with the team, Isaac decided to invite Blake out for a drink. Avery was working with the Party Crashers so they wouldn’t be talking until the morning, which left him at loose ends. He figured he might as well entertain Blake and get the dirt on what was going on with the guy.

  Isaac was worried about him. Worrying about others wasn’t something he normally did, so the entire experience was somewhat foreign to him. Usually Isaac never concerned himself with other people’s issues, but he couldn’t help offering a friendly hand to the guy who’d never been anything but a friend to him, even when Isaac had pushed him away.

  Blake had seemed quieter than usual, ever since he came back from seeing his girlfriend during the brief break between the regular season and playoffs. He kept to himself, reminding Isaac of himself. At least, the person he’d been until he’d come to Seattle and met Avery.

  Pulling Blake aside as their teammates dispersed for the night, Isaac spoke in a low tone, not wanting Brick or Rush to invite themselves along. “Hey, I saw a pub a few doors down. How about we get a drink? I’m not ready to call it a night.”

  Blake frowned at him, as if trying to assess Isaac’s motives. “You don’t drink.”

  “I know. I’ll get a Coke. Let’s do it.”

  Blake blinked at him a few times in surprise since Isaac had turned down almost all of his after-game invitations unless they involved Emma and Avery. “I don’t know.”

  “Come on. I’m buying.”

  Blake hesitated, clearly just wanting to go back to the room and wallow in self-pity. Isaac knew that story, and he wasn’t going to allow it.

  “I’m not taking no for an answer, and I think you could use a friend.” Isaac grabbed his arm, leading him toward the pub.

  With a long-suffering sigh, Blake fell in step with Isaac. They found a seat in a darkened corner away from the general noise of the place and made small talk until the waitress delivered Isaac’s Coke and Blake’s beer.

  Once Blake was loosened up with couple beers, Isaac moved in for the kill. Okay, not exactly the kill, but he was damn well getting answers.

  “What’s got you all tied up in knots?” Isaac asked.

  “Nothing.” Blake flicked his gaze to Isaac’s then concentrated on one of the many overhead TVs.

  “Bullshit. You’ve been as fun as Glanden on a good day.”

  Blake raised on dark brow. “That bad?”

  “Yeah, that bad.” Isaac smiled then sobered quickly. “What is it?”

  “Why does it have to be anything?” Blake shot back, sounding way too irritated considering the few questions Isaac had asked, and he was only just getting started.

  “It can’t be hockey because you’re playing really well, which means it has to be a woman.”

  Blake blanched, even turned pale. Isaac leaned forward, studying his friend in the dim bar lights.

  “Ah, the lady veterinarian. What was her name?”

  Blake didn’t answer, but he did cringe.

  “Ah, yes, Sarah. You’ve been like this ever since you made that quick trip to the island. So spill. You’ve made me spill my guts more than once and payback is a bitch, buddy.”

  “You’re not letting me out of this, are you?”

  “Hell, no.”

  Blake swallowed hard and stared at a point over Isaac’s head. “I tried to convince her we could do a long-distance romance, but she wouldn’t have any part of it,” he said simply.

  Isaac frowned. “Is there someone else?”

  “Nah, it’s not that. She doesn’t want to hold me back. Says she’ll never leave
Madrona Island, and my place is wherever my team is. Therefore, we have no future.”

  “Until you retire,” Isaac pointed out.

  “She thinks I’ll want to stay involved with hockey, and the island isn’t exactly a hockey mecca.”

  Isaac couldn’t dispute that fact so he just shrugged.

  “She thinks I’ll grow to resent her if I give up the sport I love to stay on the island with her and do what? Twiddle my thumbs?”

  “Yeah, that’s a hard one. That’s tough, man.” Isaac gave him a sympathetic smile. He couldn’t imagine losing Avery now that he’d just found her. It would suck and then some. He’d be a hot mess of emotions if she ended it with him like Sarah had with Blake. Only Isaac wasn’t planning on going anywhere, and even if he was, he hoped like hell Avery would go with him.

  Blake forced a smile. “So I’m single again. What about you? Avery and you appear to be joined at the hip.”

  “And elsewhere,” Isaac couldn’t help adding. His joke had the desired result as Blake laughed.

  “And your asshole brother?” Blake prodded him, and Isaac wondered how this came to be about him rather than Blake.

  “No news. He hates me. Blames me for everything that’s bad in his life.”

  “What about you? Do you blame yourself, too?”

  “A lot of it is my fault,” Isaac admitted.

  “You need to stop blaming yourself and move on before you can expect anyone else to do so.”

  Isaac nodded. “Do you blame yourself for what happened to your family?”

  “I wish I’d been on that plane with them.” Blake glanced up, his eyes haunted. “It’s not easy being the one left behind. If I’d been with them, could something have changed? Maybe—”

  “Surely, you can’t blame yourself for what happened?”

  “Just as much as you do.” Blake looked pointedly at him. One night in the hotel during a road trip, Isaac had confessed the entire sordid truth so Blake knew it all down to every last detail. It’d felt surprisingly good to get it off his chest.

  “I truly doubt that. You didn’t play any part in the accident.”

  “You weren’t driving that car. You didn’t force them behind that wheel. You didn’t pour that alcohol down their throats. I know your family blames you, no matter how unfair that might be.”

  “You think it’s unfair?” Isaac’s voice raised, and he couldn’t stop it.

  “Yeah. You were young, an addict, and you did a stupid thing.”

  “Lots of stupid things. Those are excuses.”

  “They’re reality. Forgive yourself. You’re only human. You didn’t mean for that tragedy to happen. If you ever want a real future with Avery, you have to heal yourself first.”

  Isaac nodded. Blake was right.

  Isaac raised his glass in a salute. “Back at you, buddy. Back at you.”

  Now if only Isaac could find a way to truly forgive himself.

  * * * *

  The next night the Sockeyes lost their second playoff game in Calgary and flew back to Seattle in a silent plane, down two to one in the first round.

  Isaac didn’t get to see Avery that next morning before practice, which made him cranky and out of sorts. He missed her like crazy, but she’d been tied up with a Hans’s clinic, and he understood. He’d see her in the evening. All business, he concentrated on hockey, giving practice his full attention.

  The way Glanden was riding the rookie Flint you’d think the kid single-handedly lost the game for them. Once the playoffs started, Glanden had ignored Isaac and focused his attention on attacking a talented rookie, Jasper Flint. Glanden’s constant harassment and criticism chipped away at the kid’s confidence, and as a result, the kid was playing like crap and in danger of being sent back to the minors.

  He never did it in front of Cooper or Cedric, but he sure as hell didn’t care if Isaac witnessed his abuse. Hazing the rookies was one thing, but this went beyond simple hazing into an area both demoralizing and cruel.

  In the past, Isaac stayed out of that type of bullshit, figuring it was survival of the fittest. But he found it hard to ignore this time because Glanden was like a cancer in the locker room, ripping them apart from the inside out. Had Isaac been like that on his other teams? He was pretty damn sure he had been, but he’d never been cruel, exactly, just an ass.

  Isaac skated up to Glanden, getting between jerk and the brow-beaten rookie. “You didn’t exactly play a stellar game yourself, Glanden.” He looked to Jasper. “You did all right, kid. You played a damn good game.”

  Jasper smiled gratefully at Isaac. “Thanks, Ice.”

  “Ignore this loser. He’s just jealous.” Perhaps not the smartest thing to say. Judging by the murder in Glanden’s eyes, it was a good thing the guy wasn’t armed or Isaac would have a bloody, gaping hole in his chest and probably a few in his head.

  “What the fuck did you say?” Glanden got into his face, and Isaac held his ground. In his peripheral vision, he could see his teammates and coaches slowly gathering around.

  “I said we’re all a team here, and Jasper is as big a part of this team as you and I are. I think the kid’s playing up to potential if not beyond. He held his own with a tough team. We all did. The breaks just didn’t go our way.”

  Cooper stood at the edge of the circle but didn’t intervene. He probably figured it was time for Isaac and Glanden to have it out so the team could get beyond it. A second later, Glanden dropped his gloves. Isaac didn’t. He would not be baited into a fight and see his last shot at the NHL obliterated because he threw the first punch.

  “Glanden,” he said, trying to diffuse the situation. “Just lighten up on the kid. That’s all. No need to come to blows over it.”

  Glanden hit Isaac so hard in the jaw that Isaac crashed on the ice, butt first, pride second. Glanden was on him in a flash, and they rolled around on the ice, throwing punches. Isaac managed to get away but Glanden kicked him, the point of his blade connecting with Isaac’s shin.

  He was going to kill the son-of-a-bitch. Isaac punched the guy, getting immense satisfaction as his fist connected with Glanden’s jaw and then his rib cage.

  Cooper, Blake, and Cedric pulled Isaac off Glanden, even as Isaac lunged for the jerk again. Glanden writhed on the ice, groaning and making a real production out of it, while Isaac stood silently watching and feeling not one ounce of remorse. At least not yet. That might come later when they kicked him off the team or told him he wouldn’t be getting a new contract with them or any other NHL team for that matter. Yeah, he’d be taking the ice in Siberia.

  Despite who had started it, Isaac had finished it.

  As they carried Glanden off to the locker room wedged between two coaches, Isaac slumped onto a nearby bench.

  Blake sat down beside him. “It’s okay. You didn’t start it.”

  “Yeah, but that’s never mattered before.”

  Only then did Isaac notice the reporters standing next to the boards. Of course there were reporters at the practice facility, and of course they had cameras.

  He was so screwed.

  * * * *

  Isaac didn’t stop by the barn like he always did when he drove by that evening, which was odd. Immediately, Avery wondered if she’d pissed him off somehow, done something, but she couldn’t think of a thing.

  She was about to walk over to Isaac’s when her phone rang, and she noticed it was Cooper.

  “Have you seen Isaac?” he asked, getting right to the point. By his businesslike tone, whatever was going on wasn’t good.

  “Uh, no, I was just heading over there. Why—is something wrong?” Avery leaned against the door and took deep, steady breaths to calm her wildly pounding heart.

  “I’ll let him explain it.” Cooper refused to elaborate.

  “Okay.” She hesitated, teetering on the edge of begging for more information.

  “I’m certain he could use you right now,” Cooper added.

  “You’re encouraging me to go to him?” This
really was serious, and fear punched her in the gut.

  “Weird how stuff works out, isn’t it,” Cooper answered with not a bit of humor.

  “Yeah, really weird.”

  “Well, bye.”

  “Bye,” Avery said but Cooper had already disconnected.

  She yanked on her shoes, desperate to get to Isaac, and jogged the short distance to his house. Blake let her in, stone-faced and refusing to meet her gaze, which only substantiated her worst fears.

  “He needs you,” he said simply.

  “Where is he?”

  “Sitting on deck contemplating God knows what.” Blake smiled grimly and left, using the excuse of going to work out at ten o’clock at night.

  Avery walked onto the deck. Hal waddled toward her, his entire butt wagging. Blake’s black and white cat lay on Isaac’s lap, purring like crazy as Isaac idly stroked him.

  “Hi,” she said crossing to him and planting a kiss on his cheek.

  Isaac looked up at her, one of his big hands petting the kitten. “Hey.”

  “What’s up with you? Everyone seems worried that you’re going to do something stupid.”

  “Like what? Get shitfaced drunk?” Isaac said, his voice hard and angry, much like the old asshole Isaac.

  “I’m not sure.” Avery pulled a lawn chair next to his. “Want to tell me about it?”

  “Not really.” He set his jaw in that familiar stubborn line and looked into the distance.

  “Oh, no, you’re not doing this. Not after all we’ve been through. You’re not shutting me out. You might be able to shut out everyone else but not this girl. Got it, buster?” She jabbed him in the chest with a fingernail.

  “Ouch,” he groused, shooting her a glare that didn’t intimidate her at all. “I really don’t feel like talking.”

  “Tough shit. I don’t feel like letting you wallow in self-pity either.”

  A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “You’re a tough, bad-assed female, you know that?”