Game On Box Set: Time OutHer Man AdvantageFace-OffBody Check

by Jill Shalvis

  “Like a gangster biker turning into a hockey star?” She could see where he’d taken a huge risk to break out of his old life.

  “More like a nice, normal hockey player getting the hots for a social crusader with a fiery temper and killer bod.” His thumb traced a trail down her cheek, tantalizing her.

  Warm pleasure curled inside her and she wanted to hug the feeling to her chest, savor it close and not let it go. Because this wasn’t just physical pleasure. His words made her feel…special.

  “My temper is overrated,” she argued softly, her cheek tipping toward his hand to increase the pressure of that light, glancing touch.

  “But you have a fiery side,” he pressed, stepping closer until he stood a mere inch away from her. “And I’m going to prove it to you all over again in just a few minutes.”

  Longing swept through her, a sweet layer of sensual awareness over the tenderness she felt for him.

  She was falling for him.

  The realization made her want to catch herself, like a child who changes his mind about going down the slide at the last minute. But then his lips found hers in a gentle caress, moving over her mouth with infinite care and thoroughness. That sexual chemistry flamed hot and carnal, a flash fire that burned away her hesitation and reminded her how much she wanted him.

  Until all she could think about was him.

  She could only hope that he felt the same.

  * * *

  SELFISH. BASTARD.

  Axel could think of no better words to describe himself as he allowed himself to touch Jennifer all over again. He’d wanted one more night with her, one more time to savor everything about her before he backed off to keep her safe while he dealt with the Destroyers.

  Yet the more he got to know her, the more selfish that seemed. And the tougher it would be to let her go.

  Now, lifting her up, he held her at the perfect height to taste her. Her toes dangled against his shins, her body soft and yielding. She kissed with abandon, her tongue stroking his in a way that turned him inside out.

  “Can we take this upstairs?” He broke away long enough to see her nod, then set her on her feet. “Follow me.”

  “Your house is beautiful,” she murmured, smoothing a hand over a long buffet table in a hallway.

  “I was lucky to snag it from the guy I was traded for. It’s big enough to have company.” He knew the place was probably ostentatious in her eyes. She had a vaguely bohemian-hippie vibe with her passion for art with a cause. But damn it, he’d worked hard for what he had. “I like having people over.”

  “Teammates? Or is that a nosy question?”

  “Not at all. And yeah, it’s good to get the team together. There aren’t many of us who drink during the season, so why go to a bar? It’s more fun to hang out at someone’s house. Watch games. Play billiards. Stuff like that.” He’d appreciated that about life in the Murphy house. Always some brothers around to shoot hoops or throw darts.

  “Like a gang without the violence.” She lifted the hem of her long skirt as she went up the stairs.

  He couldn’t remember ever finding a glimpse of ankle so freaking sexy before. But the sight of her bare feet and pink toenails on his wool carpet runner turned him on something fierce.

  “Kind of.” He hadn’t really looked at his team that way, but maybe he had traded one brotherhood for another. “Hockey players can brawl with the best of them.”

  “Kyle, for instance.” She paused at the top of the steps, peering around the long hallway full of doors.

  “You give him too much credit,” he grumbled, waving her toward the master suite, dying to touch more of her as he flicked on the lights. “One good punch and you’re making him out to be Muhammad Ali. You really should meet my whole family one of these days—”

  He broke off, realizing that she wouldn’t be meeting the Murphys. Not if the Destroyers were serious about coming after him since he would need to make it look as though she was out of his life for good.

  If she detected his abrupt departure from the topic, she didn’t show it. In fact, she seemed to shy away from the idea, too.

  “Maybe I will,” she murmured vaguely, stepping into his room where a king-size bed rested beside a wall of windows and French doors led out to a balcony overlooking the pool. “For now, I’m mostly interested in seeing more of you.”

  “I like how you think, Jen.” He reached for her, bunching a handful of the fabric from her long skirt in his hand and pulling her closer. “I’ve been waiting for the chance to touch you all day.”

  The thin cotton tightened around her legs as he reeled her in, making him realize she had another layer beneath it. Some kind of satiny slip.

  “That’s good because I’ve been on edge ever since that conversation in the car on the way over here.”

  He remembered telling her he wished he could have touched her on the plane. Hidden the contact under a blanket.

  “Remind me to whisper suggestive scenarios to you more often.” Letting go of her skirt, he let the fabric flow over his hand as he palmed the tight curve of her butt through the slip.

  Massaging her through the silky material, he felt the outline of her panties. A thong with a barely there T-back. Possibly a little bow or a rosette that perched high between her cheeks at the small of her back.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she cautioned, her eyelids falling to half mast as he touched her. “I’m highly suggestible.”

  “Meaning I can talk you into naughty things?”

  “Meaning you shouldn’t try.” She lifted her fingers to the buttons on her blouse and began to work on them.

  Eyes glued to the creamy skin she revealed, the scrap of yellow lace that cupped her breasts the way he wanted to, Axel dragged in a steadying breath. He wanted to make this last for her and he couldn’t do that if he kept fantasizing about her. He needed her to be the one fantasizing about him.

  “I can get the buttons,” he assured her, releasing her delectable rump to handle the blouse.

  “No.” She kept a tight grip on the buttons. “I love what you were doing.”

  He hid a smile at that bossy side that had no problem telling him what to do. Instead, he skimmed a touch up the backs of her thighs, liking the little sigh she made when he hit the curve of her bottom.

  An erogenous zone.

  How fortunate for both of them that he’d located a sweet spot. He made plans to revisit it again and again, but for now, he watched her breasts strain at the skimpy lace bra she wore, her nipples tightening into dark shadows he could see beneath the material.

  “Ax.” She had her blouse twisted around her hands behind her, her wrists stuck in the narrow sleeves. “I don’t think I can go slow tonight.”

  “That’s why your hands are caught,” he chastised, smiling as he reached to help her. “Too much of a hurry.”

  His chest grazed her breasts as he leaned against her, the beaded flesh the sweetest abrasion through the lace.

  “That’s not my fault when the foreplay started in the car.” She wriggled enticingly, no doubt trying to break his concentration.

  And doing a damn thorough job of it.

  “I thought women liked foreplay.” He unfastened the cuffs of her sleeves, which she’d forgotten to undo, freeing her.

  “We also like delivery of the goods.” She wrestled out of her bra straps and popped the front clasp before she rubbed her breasts against his chest.

  Heat flared all over his skin, wreaking havoc with his control.

  “I wanted to be so good to you,” he growled in her ear, knowing she was going to win this battle.

  “You can be so good to me while you’re inside me,” she urged, her hips nudging against his, cradling his erection. “Can’t you?”

  The scent of lilies of the valley and potent, sexy female—made him hungry for her. He wanted to feel her, lick her, hear her moans as she came for him over and over again.

  “Yes.” He lifted her off her feet and ca
rried her to his bed, dropping her in the middle of the white comforter. “Just as soon as I get a taste of you.”

  He left her skirt and the slip on, shoving the fabric up and away until only her panties stood between him and what he wanted. The thong was so insubstantial he didn’t bother taking it off, merely peeled the damp lace aside to take her in his mouth.

  Her gasp turned into breathy sighs and soft pleas until her hips twisted against him. He spread her thighs wider, licking deeper, savoring every last drop of her slick heat. When her back arched, he wasn’t ready for it to end. Could have feasted on her all day. But she came apart for him so sweetly that he couldn’t make her wait any longer.

  He leaned away from her as the aftershocks subsided, shedding his clothes and finding a condom. Her eyes followed him, dark and smoldering, all that female sensuality just waiting for him.

  The thought made his cock twitch, the need to be inside her so strong that sweat broke out along his brow. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he lifted her so that she straddled him, her knees hugging his hips as she looped her arms around his neck. Kissed him.

  Before he could position himself where he wanted, she reached between them to stroke his hard length. Traced a circle around the tip with her thumb. While he was still seeing stars behind his eyelids, she lifted up on her toes to hover over him, then lowered herself on him. Taking him inside that soft, wet heat.

  He couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t slow things down. He could only squeeze her hips tight, dragging her closer. When he was able to wrench his eyes open again, her small breasts swayed close enough for him to take one in his mouth. Roll one tight nipple between his teeth.

  She pumped her hips faster, harder. Her hands clutched his shoulders, his arms, his chest. She whispered his name in his ear, going still for a long moment before another release claimed her, ravishing her body, teasing wave after wave of fulfillment from her.

  Axel held her closer, pushing inside her again to coax one last sweet spasm, when his own climax blindsided him. He came hard and long until he was damn near breathless, his legs spent and his body totally sated.

  He wanted to pause the night right there. Make sure the sun didn’t rise for another seventy-two hours or so in order for him to get his fill of this woman. Then again, that would never be enough. Last night hadn’t begun to take the edge off his need today. If anything, being with her yesterday had only made the hunger sharper.

  Rolling Jennifer to her side, he held her close in his bed, the lights still bright in the room even though it was long past 1:00 a.m. He was lucky to have any juice in him after the game against New York. Actually, she was the reason he’d had any energy at all. But it caught up to him now—the game, the incredible sex.

  Exhaustion crept over him even as he pulled the covers tighter around Jen and smoothed her hair from her cheek to make her more comfortable. He couldn’t stop the morning from coming. And he had to find a way to protect her from his old gang.

  But letting go of her now?

  He might as well go out and tilt at a few windmills and rope the moon while he was at it.

  11

  “I’M TAKING YOU HOME.”

  Vincent’s words pierced through any lingering sleepiness from the snooze Chelsea had grabbed on the flight from New York. They’d been the last ones off the plane since she’d fallen asleep on Vinny’s shoulder. Now, the cool night air and the startling idea of going back to her place with a man had her instantly alert.

  She peered out into the small parking lot of the private airfield, the other players hopping into expensive cars and making tracks for home.

  “That’s okay,” she said reflexively, “I can drive…”

  Belatedly, she recalled that Misty had her car. Chelsea hadn’t thought about a ride from the airport when she’d agreed to take the flight to Philadelphia with the team.

  “I’m happy to call you a cab,” Vincent assured her, patient and low-key as he dropped their bags to the curb. “But you’ll be home a lot faster if I drive.”

  He took out his cell while her nervousness evaporated.

  “You’re right. It’s okay.” She raked her hands through her hair and wished she was normal. The kind of woman who didn’t freak out over small stuff like the offer of a ride from a perfectly nice guy. Actually, a really hot nice guy. “I trust you.”

  “You sure?” He kept the phone in his hand, hazel eyes more brown than green tonight in the buzzing fluorescent lamp high above them. “Not about trusting me. I mean about the ride.”

  His sheepish grin made her smile, too. Where did he get that ability to put her so at ease? Maybe it came from being around him for months. She’d seen him nearly every day—except when the team had gone on long road trips—since September.

  “I’m certain about both.” She reached for her duffel to lug it to his car, but seeing her intent, he grabbed the handle first.

  “Great, but I carry all bags.” He looped the straps of both bags over his shoulder and gestured toward the first row of the small parking lot. “I’m right over here.”

  In that gentlemanly way, he opened the passenger door of his heavy-duty truck, which looked as if it would be at home on a Minnesota farm—except that it was brand-spanking-new. He stowed the bags and slid into the driver’s seat. All the while she played back their conversation in the restaurant the other night. He’d asked her to have dinner with him tomorrow. No. Now that it was almost one in the morning, technically they’d be seeing each other again later today.

  He turned on the ignition and country music blared out surround-sound speakers. He hurried to lower the volume.

  “Whoops. Must have been rocking out when I pulled in here yesterday.” He shifted into Drive and stared at her in the light of the illuminated parking lot. “Where to?”

  She rattled off the address with more than a little pride. “It’s just an apartment, but it took me a while to get on my feet enough to make regular rent payments so…I love it. Just thinking about my very own place can still get me choked up.”

  Now that she had a home, she was at least normal in that way. She didn’t take it for granted for a minute.

  “Damn.” He steered the truck out onto the access road, turning the heater on low as the temperature had dropped. “That must have been a great feeling.”

  “It was. Even better than when I bought my SUV.” She tucked her toes under the heating vent beneath the dashboard and savored the scent of the new leather seats.

  The scents of “new” and “clean” were personal aphrodisiacs even after all this time since those homeless days. Then again, maybe the memory of waking up on Vinny’s shoulder had something to do with the warm simmer of blood in her veins.

  “How’d you do it, Chels? If you don’t mind me asking. How did you turn that corner from not having a home to—” he gestured toward her, an appreciative smile on his face “—to walking into the Phantoms’ practice rink and making half the team fall in love with you?”

  “Oh, please.” She waved away the over-the-top flattery. “Your teammates always love the women who don’t proposition them before even saying hello. It’s part of the irony of being an athlete, isn’t it? Tough to find romance when women expect you to be…you know…sexual gods, or something.”

  Vinny coughed—choked really—so that she thought she might have to pound him on the back.

  “I plead the Fifth on that one. I withdraw the comment, in fact.” He clutched his chest as though he was still finding it hard to breathe and when his gaze came her way again, there was an electric awareness in them that made her shift in her seat.

  “That’s okay.” She wondered if she’d been too forward to make such a racy remark. She honestly had no idea how to behave around a guy she liked. “I’m glad you asked about what turned things around for me. When most people hear that I’ve been homeless, they just change the subject as fast as possible.”

  His forearm flexed as he turned the steering wheel, driving toward her apartment unde
r the glow of streetlamps and a few all-night restaurants. Of course, it didn’t take much movement to flex muscle on Vinny. He was incredibly strong. Perfectly made. Self-conscious about where her thoughts were leading, Chelsea felt her cheeks heat.

  “I’m sure they’re curious about how you put it behind you, too. Maybe most people don’t feel like they know you well enough to ask.”

  Whereas Vinny did. Her heart warmed inside her and it didn’t have anything to do with the heat blowing out of the vents.

  “Basically, I researched where to shower, where to find free clothes and where to nab easy jobs that paid by the day. I didn’t take money from the government because I was seventeen when I left home and the last thing I wanted was to be thrown into the foster care system.”

  “When you say ‘research,’ what do you mean?” He turned onto her street, slowing as he approached her apartment building. “You asked around?”

  “No. I went to the library and looked up gyms. I made a few fake membership badges.” She glanced his way to gauge his reaction. “It was dishonest, but you have no idea how well it worked to keep some of my stuff in gym lockers around the city. And obviously, the hot showers were a huge perk.”

  “Clever.” He pulled the truck into a space in front of her building. “But I’m surprised storage was such an issue. You couldn’t just lock stuff up in a bus depot locker?”

  “They’re not safe.” She shivered, trying not to think about some of her encounters in places like bus depots. “Airports are cleaner and more secure, but only because they police them better. Which means you can’t sleep there very long. But any place that lets homeless people snooze for hours at a time is going to attract crime.”

  He shut off the engine, his eyes seeing too much as he studied her across the truck cab.

  “Okay. So you researched to find the safe, clean places. You worked whenever you could. What else?” He turned in his seat, giving her his undivided attention.

  She couldn’t remember anyone ever looking at her the way he did. As if he wanted to know everything about her and would wait as long as it took to find out. Some long latent dreams stirred to life as she stared back into his hazel eyes.