Just In Time: An Alaskan Nights Novel

by Addison Fox

  He extended a hand and gestured her through the front door of the hotel. “You up for a nightcap?”

  “Sure.”

  “I’m sure your adoring public is waiting to greet you.”

  “I think you’re mistaking your life for mine.”

  He raised his eyebrows and extended his hand toward the crowded bar. “I wouldn’t be so sure.”

  She followed the direction of his finger and saw several people who raised a hand in greeting, large smiles on their faces. Walt Singer was the first to reach her, his arms extended for a hug. “Avery. You were fantastic today.”

  “Thanks, Walt.”

  “You did me such a huge favor,” he whispered in her ear. “At least let me buy you and your friend a drink.”

  She eyed Roman and saw him nod with a good-natured smile. “That would be great.”

  Before she knew it, a glass of wine was thrust in her hand and a beer in Roman’s. And within a few more moments after that, she was dragged halfway across the bar to meet a colleague of one of the panelists.

  When she finally looked up a half hour later, it was into the bright, smiling face of Roman as he watched her silently from the bar.

  • • •

  “She’s quite a looker.”

  Roman turned toward the man next to him. “And you caught me staring.”

  “She’s the whole package. Inside and out.” The man extended his hand. “Chris Morris. I’m with the Luxotica hotel chain.”

  Roman introduced himself in return. “They’re beautiful properties. I’ve stayed in several myself.”

  “You’re with the Metros.”

  “Yep.”

  “You had an incredible season. I was at that game against the Red Wings last November. That hat trick was particularly impressive. The fact that it was your second that week especially so.”

  Roman couldn’t hold back the smile. “That was a good week.”

  “As of the end of the season, you’re two shy of Gretzky’s record of fifty.”

  “It’s the one record I’d most like to beat.” Roman’s stomach tightened. It had been his highest goal—to beat the Great One on that particular stat—and he knew the chances of doing it now with the condition of his right eye were slim to none.

  The guy lifted his beer for a toast. “Here’s hoping you do it, then.”

  Roman clinked glasses and tried desperately to ignore the dark, hollow emptiness that settled in his chest and spread through his limbs with cold, creeping fingers. It was killing him to keep the situation with his eye injury to himself. But he knew if he admitted it to Avery, he’d also be forced to acknowledge how real the problem was.

  It was a career ender.

  He knew that. Had known it the moment he’d come to on the ice after taking the hit. He’d fought around it through the end of the season, depending more heavily on his teammates and passing the puck when he had the chance rather than take a shot on goal himself.

  He was just lucky the injury had happened late in the season, allowing him to fake his way through the last few games without too much trouble. The team doctor had checked him out when it first happened and Roman had used his leadership position to bully his way into playing the last few games, claiming he was fine.

  He knew damn well he wasn’t, especially since the problem wasn’t getting any better. Add on the three specialists he’d seen since the off-season began—each with answers he didn’t want to hear—and he knew he needed to make a decision.

  It wasn’t fair to his teammates to play at less than 100 percent.

  “How do you know Avery?”

  Chris’s words pulled Roman from his morose thoughts. “We’ve known each other since we were kids. You?”

  “I’ve heard her name off and on for several years now. After seeing her on the panel today, I’d like to talk to her. See what she’d like out of her future.”

  Roman heard the professional interest in the man’s voice and keyed in on it immediately. “You want to hire her?”

  “I’m not opposed to it, but I’d take her as a consultant if that’s all I can get. She’s got a lot of energy and some really innovative ideas.”

  “Our entire hometown of Indigo loves her. My mother most of all.”

  “Your mother?” Chris took a swig of his beer, his confusion evident.

  “She owns the Indigo Blue.”

  Chris cracked a broad smile at that. “Then forget I said anything. I’m interested in having her on a consulting basis only.”

  Roman waved the bartender over and ordered them two more beers. “My mother would be the last one to stand in the way of her advancement. You talk to her if you think that’s what you want to do.”

  Chris accepted the beer with a quick thanks. “I’ll plan on it.”

  Roman glanced back across the bar, where Avery and her red dress stood out in sharp relief to the crowd of men in suits who surrounded her. “She deserves a chance to spread her wings.”

  • • •

  Avery stripped out of the dress and tossed it onto the bed. She had to hand it to Grier, the red was an inspired suggestion. She’d spent the evening feeling like she had the room in the palm of her hand and she knew the dress helped.

  What she couldn’t quite shake was the sense of melancholy coming from Roman.

  “You okay?”

  “Yep.”

  “I’m sorry I abandoned you in the bar.”

  “Don’t be. You were working the room just as you needed to be. I told you your adoring public awaited.”

  She watched his face, waiting for the note of censure or annoyance to appear, but all she saw was the same unwavering support he’d projected all day.

  “It still had to have been a bit boring for you.”

  “I met a nice guy at the bar. He’s part of the Luxotica hotel chain. I’ve stayed in several and they’re fantastic hotels.”

  “Very high-end boutique hotels.”

  “You do know your stuff.”

  She grabbed her toiletry kit and headed for the bathroom, still concerned there was something she was missing, yet unable to put her finger on what it was.

  Or maybe it’s nothing, Marks. Despite the last few days, you don’t know each other all that well anymore.

  She tried to believe her own pep talk but something held her back.

  Coming back into the room, she eyed where he lay on the bed clad only in shorts, a sports magazine in hand. The urge to just stand there and stare at him was strong, but she pushed past it to get to the root of her concerns. “Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah. Why?”

  “I don’t know. You seem sad.”

  “I’m good.”

  “All right.” She was almost back to the bathroom when she stopped and turned once more. “Because if this is too much. Us. Here. Together. I get it. I can give you space. It’s not like with your mom. I can discuss tough stuff with you.”

  “I asked you if I could come along.”

  “Yeah. But. . . .”

  “Avery.” Roman sat up and tossed the magazine onto the end table. “Come here.”

  She walked over and stood between his knees. His large hands circled her waist, his thumbs lightly teasing the waistband of her shorts.

  “There’s nothing wrong. At all. I just have to come to grips with the fact that you’re a woman on the rise and I’m an aging athlete whose career has seen better days. I’m not sad about it, but maybe I am a little melancholy.”

  Of all the things he could have said, this was the last she’d expected. “You’re not that old.”

  “My career’s on the downswing.”

  “You were the MVP last year.”

  “And this year I was another player in the league. The stakes rise every year and so does my age.”

  “But—” She broke off, the truth of his words sinking in. No matter how fit he was or how skilled, mother nature and the sheer passage of time conspired against him.

  “You, on the other hand, are
coming into the prime of your career. You’ve got the experience to be useful, but you’re young enough to have the energy and drive to keep succeeding.”

  “You make it sound like we’re several decades apart.”

  “Career-wise we are.”

  His hands shifted to the hem of the tank top she’d put on after changing out of her dress. “Fortunately, we’re far more age compatible in other ways.”

  Pleasure lit up her nerve endings wherever he touched and she allowed him to pull her closer until his hands came around her body, coming to rest on her ass. He pressed his lips against her stomach, in the small space where the tank rode up and her shorts rode down. With his clever tongue, he ran the tip over the sensitive skin exposed there and she saw stars as her legs quivered at the sexy, tantalizing play of his mouth.

  How had she never realized the skin around her belly button could be so sensitive?

  She rested her forearms on his shoulders and reached her hand out to weave her fingers through his hair. The thick strands were soft to the touch and she enjoyed the way they curled slightly over his neck. Her other hand drifted over the large span of his upper back. Hard muscles flexed and stretched as he moved against her and she marveled at how in tune they were with each other.

  At how their bodies fit.

  His movements grew more impatient and she felt more than saw him grip the straps of her tank and pull it down to bunch at her waist. He kept a tight grip on the material and dragged it along with the shorts the rest of the way down her body.

  “Step out of your shorts.” His voice was almost a growl and she did as he asked, lifting first one foot, then the other before kicking the material away. His hands returned to her, pulling her down on top of him on the bed.

  “I want you.”

  Joy unfurled through her, warming every inch of her body like the sun on a summer day. “I certainly hope so. You know, since I’m naked and all.”

  “You’re cheeky.”

  “I’m happy.”

  His eyes darkened with something so deep—so honest—she almost couldn’t look directly into his gaze for fear she’d get lost there. And then the moment was gone as fast as it had come and his smile matched hers. “Me, too.”

  Their lips met once more, the always-fevered give-and-take a carnal prelude to what was to come. Avery matched his movements, mimicking the slide of his tongue before sucking his lower lip between hers.

  “You don’t play fair,” he whispered against her mouth when she finally released him.

  “I aim to win.”

  “This is one game we can both win.”

  “Then by all means. Game on.”

  Roman heard the promise in her words and recognized the meaning behind her tease. The game was on and they were going to drive each other to the very brink of their physical capabilities—and beyond, if he knew Avery.

  And he did know her.

  He knew the arch of her neck and the fine bones of her face. Knew the soft swell of her breasts and the long lines of her thighs.

  He knew her.

  Every time she was in his arms, it was like they were kids again, falling in love for the first time. And yet, this time he felt even more for her.

  His feelings as a young man didn’t have much depth or breadth or the understanding of loss. For all the pain it had caused, their time apart had also made the feelings more real, somehow. The need for her more intense. He craved her.

  And he needed her so desperately he thought he’d never be sated.

  Roman shifted underneath her so her body was fully seated over his hips, then used his hands to trace a path over every inch of her skin. He began with that sensitive area near her belly button, gratified when her eyes lidded to half mast at his touch.

  With unerring precision, he then traced his fingers out over her stomach and down the taut muscles of her thighs. He felt them quiver under his touch, especially when he worked his thumbs back up the inside of her thighs, narrowly avoiding her rapidly heating core.

  She shifted against him, telegraphing her interest in having his hands back there but he kept up the torment, moving on to her torso. The small, pert breasts he’d fantasized about since he was a horny teenager beckoned him and he captured her nipples between the V of his palm, massaging her flesh while he dragged on the tight points. Her head fell back and the subtle writhing against his hips continued, and he knew to the depths of his soul he’d never seen anything more beautiful.

  His woman, taking her pleasure at his hands.

  The need and passion he’d managed to keep at bay, content in the joy of simply remembering and memorizing her with his touch, fled as the need to brand her rose up and snapped at him with fierce teeth.

  Holding on to her hips, he gently rolled her off so he could stretch out next to her, then went to work. His hands ran that same unerring path down her flesh, but this time he stopped at the apex of her thighs, his fingers sliding into her beckoning heat.

  A heavy moan escaped her in a hard exhale and Roman kept up his assault, determined to win this round with her first orgasm. Her body arched and he leaned forward to take one nipple in his mouth, the ripe taste of her flesh on his tongue driving him to an even darker madness as he feasted. And when he knew she was close, he added his thumb to put further pressure on the tight bundle of nerves at her core and trigger her release.

  Avery clutched at his arms and he watched, mesmerized as pleasure suffused her face. Like the previous week when he came upon her in the sauna, his gaze was everywhere—on her face, on her body, on the undulation of her waist—taking her in and watching her in this moment of such powerful vulnerability.

  He leaned down to press a kiss to her lips, unable to hold back a laugh when she smiled against him. “Round one goes to you.”

  “Funny,” he murmured, “I was thinking the same thing.”

  She lifted her hands to the back of his neck, bringing him close for another kiss before she shifted to press her lips to his ear. “Don’t think you’re going to take round two.”

  “You think you can take me?” He tossed out the challenge and wasn’t disappointed with the immediate response.

  “The real question is how long you can take it.”

  With a set of speedy moves a wrestler would admire, she had him on his back, pinned under her hands. Similar to his own explorations, she traced his skin, her hands lingering over his shoulders before moving down to his torso. He felt his stomach muscles quiver as she painted the ridges of muscle there, then felt them contract on a hard pulse of need as she dragged her tongue over one of his nipples.

  She’d always known his erogenous zones, her ability to follow the reactions of his body absolute, even when words were unspoken, and this was one of those areas. She lapped at him like a cat after cream before moving down to run her tongue over his stomach muscles, the gentle suction replacing what she’d so recently stroked with her fingers.

  Roman knew her destination and braced himself for the onslaught. True to her promise to take round two, she once again moved lower. He wanted to watch—wanted the joy of seeing his woman take him in her mouth—but the needs of his body trumped everything and he nearly arched off the bed as her mouth closed over him. Wet warmth surrounded the most sensitive part of his body and Roman simply gave himself up to it.

  Gave her control and settled in to enjoy the ride.

  Avery played his body like a goddess, drawing pleasure with her tongue and her hands in a fantasy come to life. Never before, Roman knew, had he enjoyed such an erotic experience. The scent of her—uniquely Avery—wrapped around him and brought with it the loving sense of the familiar and the exciting knowledge of sharing something special with her.

  The woman he loved.

  The pleasure of the moment rapidly faded under the increasing demands of his body and he reached for her. “Join me.”

  Her eyes were dark and dilated with passion as he dragged her up until she was seated over him. “I want you, Roman.”

>   “I want you, too.”

  She fitted her body to his, taking him deeply inside before she began to move. Her long, athletic body rose up and over him and he kept a steady hand on her waist, matching their movements as he lifted to meet the downward thrusts of her hips.

  A hard, desperate feeling he couldn’t define settled in his chest as they rode the madness together. He ignored it, enjoying their passion as they both drove the other ever closer to fulfillment.

  When he heard her breaths shorten—heard the low moan that started in her chest—he pushed them both harder until he felt her quiver around him at the start of her orgasm. Roman thrust once more, riding the demands of her body as she pulled his own response in hard, tight bursts.

  Avery fell over his body, looking utterly sated, and he reached up to wrap his arms around her before shifting them to their sides so he could cradle her in his arms.

  That strange desperation that had gripped him during their lovemaking rose up once more in his chest as she nestled against him.

  He’d spent the last fourteen years missing the girl he knew and remembered. But only now did he understand that his memories were of a younger woman with an innocence about life.

  The Avery in his arms was a woman with experience and wisdom, and hopes and dreams for her future.

  He couldn’t take that away from her.

  Couldn’t ask her to give those things up as he moved to the next phase of his life. Even if playing hockey wasn’t it, coming back to Indigo wasn’t part of his life plan, either.

  How had he failed to understand this? To see this?

  She had a future in front of her—a bright one, golden with opportunity. She didn’t need the challenge of juggling something with him, both of them traveling constantly.

  Catching time with each other when they could make it work.

  It was finally Avery’s time to reach for the brass ring.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Avery sat across from Chris Morris and marveled at how her life had changed in the last week. One of her best friends was now married, Roman was back in town for longer than a weekend and she was about to be offered a new job. Chris was kind and cordial and she’d made the requisite small talk as they got acquainted over lunch, but all the while her mind whirled with the reality of the changes in her life.