by Jill Shalvis
Brody faltered. “And if I can’t?”
“I’ll help you.” She smiled glibly. “I’m good at forgiveness. After all, didn’t I forgive you for dumping me?”
“I panicked, okay? And I only suggested we put things on hol—” He stopped when he saw the amusement in her eyes. “You’re not mad,” he said.
“Of course not.” She ran her index finger along the curve of his jaw. “I can’t stay mad at the man I love.”
He held his breath, not daring to give in to the sheer bliss threatening to spill over. “You mean that?”
“Yes.” She lifted her other hand and cupped his chin with both her hands. “I love you, Brody. I know I kept fighting you whenever you said we were perfect for each other, but…I’m not fighting anymore.” She exhaled slowly. “I’ve fallen for you, hockey star. The earth moves when we’re together and I love it. I love you.”
The joy in his heart spilled over, warming his insides and making his pulse skate through his veins like a player on a breakaway.
“I’m willing to be part of the hockey lifestyle for as long as it takes,” she added, certainty shining in her eyes. “I’ll even go to your games.” She chewed on her bottom lip. “But I’ll probably bring some lecture notes to work on, you know, because I still don’t particularly like hockey, but I’ll make an effort to—”
He silenced her with a kiss, but pulled away just as she parted her lips to let him in.
“I won’t play hockey forever, Hayden,” he said softly. “And I’m already trying to work on the possibility of signing with a West Coast team next season. That way you can keep teaching at Berkeley, and we could—” his voice cracked “—we could get started on building a life together. A home.”
As he said the words, he knew without a doubt that’s what he wanted. A home with Hayden. A life with the one woman who looked past his uniform and saw the man beneath it. He’d been searching for her for so long, and now that he’d found her, he wasn’t about to let her go. Ever.
“I love you, Hayden,” he said roughly. “More than hockey, more than being successful, more than life. I want to wake up every morning and see one of your sleepy smiles, go to bed every night pressed up against you, have kids with you, grow old with you.” He put his hands on her slender hips and pulled her toward him. “Will you let me do that?”
Twining her arms around his neck, she leaned up and kissed him, a long, lingering kiss that promised love and laughter and hot, endless sex. Pulling back, just an inch, she whispered, “Yes,” and then raised her lips to his again.
“Should we seal the deal?” he murmured against her hot, pliant mouth.
“God, yes.”
Deepening the kiss, he untucked her shirt from the waistband of her skirt and slid his hands underneath, filling his palms with the feel of her silky skin. His tongue sought hers. His hands found her breasts.
Hayden moaned. “No, not here.” Breaking contact, she darted over to the nightstand and pulled out a condom. Without another word, she grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the bedroom to the middle of the narrow hallway.
“Here,” she said, a playful light dancing in her eyes.
He looked at the spot she’d chosen, chuckling when he realized this was the first place they’d made love. On the hallway floor, while Hayden writhed beneath him and squeezed his ass and pushed him into her as deep as he could go.
“Here is perfect,” he answered huskily.
He drew her into his arms, claiming her with his mouth, and they were both breathless by the time the kiss ended. Gently stroking her cheek, he gave her another soft kiss, then began peeling her clothes from her body. First her shirt, then the bra, the skirt, the panties, until she was standing naked in front of him, a vision of perfection. He marveled at her silky curves and perfect skin, those beautiful breasts, the shapely legs…God, he couldn’t believe she was his. All his.
“I love you, Hayden,” he said, his throat thick with emotion. “I love everything about you.”
She gave a soft sigh of pleasure as he cupped her breasts, tenderly stroking the swell of each perfect mound.
He hastily removed his own clothes, kicked them aside, then dropped to his knees and peppered little kisses on her flat abdomen before moving to nip at her inner thigh. He loved the sweet little moan she responded with, loved the way she tangled her fingers in his hair and guided him to the spot between her legs that he knew ached for his touch.
He kissed her sensitized nub, flicked his tongue over her sweetness. He would never be able to get enough of her, even if he spent the rest of his life trying. With a small groan, he planted one last kiss on her soft folds and then pulled her down to the carpet.
With a look of pure contentment swimming in her forest-green eyes, Hayden lay back, spread her legs and offered him a wicked smile.
“Don’t keep me waiting,” she said with just a hint of challenge in her throaty voice.
“I don’t intend to.”
He covered her body with his, his shaft, hot and hard, pressed up against her belly. He shifted so that his tip brushed her wet sex, but didn’t plunge inside.
First, he kissed her again, a long, lazy kiss, and then he pulled back and said, “No ground rules this time.”
Her eyelids fluttered open. “What?”
“That second night, you said there were ground rules.” He nipped at the hot flesh of her neck. “No rules this time. You’re getting not only my body, but my heart and my soul, every night for the rest of your life. Got it?”
She raised her brows. “Again with the demands, huh?”
“You got a problem with that?”
With a laugh, she gripped his hair with her fingers and pulled his head down. Slipping her tongue into his mouth, she kissed him until he could barely see straight, then reached between them, circled his shaft and guided it to her opening, pushing herself down over his length.
He gasped.
“I don’t have…” she moaned as she took him in deeper “…a single problem with that.” With a breathy sigh, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed a kiss to his collarbone. “I love you, Brody.”
He slowly withdrew, then plunged back in, filling her to the hilt. “It drives me wild when you say that,” he squeezed out.
“What, I love you?”
His cock jerked in response. “Yes, that.”
She lifted her hips off the ground, and hooked her legs around his lower back, holding him prisoner with her wet heat. “Good, because I plan on saying it often. I love you, Brody Croft.”
Staying true to her word, she brushed her lips over his ear and said it again. And again. And again. With a groan, he buried his head in the crook of her neck, inhaled her sweet scent and sent them both to heaven.
And when they were sated and happy and lying there on the carpet, Brody could swear that the earth had moved.
Epilogue
One year later
“SERIOUSLY, BABE, we need to do something about that shower,” Brody grumbled as he stepped out of the bathroom.
Hayden couldn’t help but laugh at the aggravation on his ridiculously handsome face. “The plumber will be here on Monday, babe. Quit getting your panties in a knot.”
He strode into the recently painted master bedroom of their San Diego home, his frown deepening. “It really doesn’t bother you?”
“No, Brody. It doesn’t. It’s just a removable showerhead, for Pete’s sake. We’ll live without it for a couple more days.”
She rolled her eyes and rose from the bed. They’d purchased the house two months ago, at a bargain since the rambling three-story Victorian was in desperate need of renovations. So far, they’d painted every room, gutted the living room, retiled the kitchen—and Brody was worrying about a showerhead. Her husband definitely had a one-track mind. Of course, she’d known that when she’d married him.
“We should head over to the restaurant,” she said, swiftly putting an end to the subject Brody refused to drop. “Darcy
will be wondering where we are.”
Brody snorted. “Darcy is probably having sex with one of the waiters as we speak.”
She wagged her finger at him. “Be nice. She’s taken a vow of celibacy, remember?”
Another snort. “Yeah, and I’m sure that’ll last for, oh, ten seconds. No, make that five.”
Hayden laughed, knowing he was probably right. Leopards couldn’t get rid of their spots, lions weren’t about to grow horns and Darcy White certainly couldn’t “quit” men. But Hayden was glad her friend was finally able to take time off and visit them. Darcy was actually considering moving to the West Coast, and Hayden was avidly encouraging her friend to do so. She would love having Darcy around on a more regular basis, especially since she wouldn’t be able to travel with Brody to his away games for much longer.
Although the Warriors hadn’t made it far in the play-offs last season, Brody’s standings had impressed the Los Angeles Vipers’ general manager, who’d made him an offer, to both Hayden and Brody’s relief. It put an end to the “where do we live” dilemma that had been plaguing them since the engagement. Brody signed with the Vipers, and since the commute to San Francisco had been too much for her, she’d agreed to teach courses at Berkeley during the hockey season as well as a few summer courses. The arrangement worked for both of them; the online seminars gave her the time to work on her Ph.D. at the University of San Diego, and getting to L.A. from San Diego would be easier for Brody.
They’d married in Chicago, though, deciding it was fitting to say their vows in the city where they’d met and fallen in love. Brody’s parents had flown in for the wedding; Darcy had been the maid of honor, and the guests were a mixture of academics and athletes, including Brody’s former captain Craig Wyatt, who’d brought Hayden’s ex-stepmother. Shockingly, Wyatt and Sheila were now engaged, and Sheila was happily planning the wedding and enjoying the money she’d gotten from her divorce; she’d eventually settled for half of Presley’s estate.
Hayden’s dad hadn’t been able to make it to the wedding—the rehabilitation facility he’d checked himself into hadn’t allowed it—but he’d sent her a beautiful letter that stated how happy he was she and Brody had found love. He’d also thanked her for supporting him through everything, and Hayden had been in tears when she’d read his heartfelt words.
“Hey, you okay?”
Brody’s concerned voice drew her from her thoughts. She managed a nod. “Yeah. I was just thinking about my dad.”
Brody moved closer and wrapped his strong arms around her. “I know you wish he would move out here, but you can’t monitor every move he makes, Hayden. He’s sober now. Just have faith that he’ll stay that way.”
“I know.” She sighed. “At least he’s not in jail.”
Last year’s league investigation had resulted in criminal charges being brought up on her father, as well as the players he’d bribed, but Presley had gotten off with a fine and four years’ probation. Since her dad hadn’t been involved in a gambling ring or organized crime, he’d been lucky with his punishment. He’d lost the team, though, and Hayden knew that had been a big blow for her dad. The Warriors were now owned by none other than Jonas Quade, the man of many mistresses and that god-awful tan.
Sam Becker had wound up with probation, too, but Brody still couldn’t seem to forgive his former friend. Hayden hoped that in time the two men might reconcile.
“Last time he called he mentioned he’s thinking of buying a place by Lake Michigan,” Brody was saying, still talking about her dad. “Did he tell you that?”
“No, he didn’t mention it.” She suddenly smiled, wondering if maybe there was hope for her dad after all. He might have lost the team, but he seemed much happier lately, and the two of them were on their way to regaining the close relationship they’d had when she was younger.
“I told you he used to take me fishing when I was a kid, right?” she said.
Her husband kissed her on the cheek and took her hand. “Come on, we should go.”
“You’re right. Darce will freak out if we don’t show up soon. She’s been really bitchy lately. You know, the lack of sex and all.”
They headed for the doorway. “Actually, I think she’ll freak out when she sees this.” Brody rubbed her protruding belly with his palm.
Hayden sighed. She was only five months along, and already she felt huge. “Remind me again how you knocked me up when we’d decided to wait a couple years?”
He shot her a cocky grin. “I told you. I never miss. It’s my fatal flaw.”
“No, your fatal flaw is not getting me the ice cream I asked for last night.”
They left the bedroom and walked down their brand-new winding staircase. The floor in the front hall still needed to be laid down, but Hayden didn’t care as long as the renovations were done before the baby came. She grabbed her purse from the hall table and slipped into her flat sandals.
She followed Brody out on the porch, lifting her head to the late-afternoon sun and breathing in the warm San Diego air.
“I told you why I didn’t pick up the ice cream,” Brody grumbled. “You’ve got to eat healthy, babe. You’re carrying a future champion in that belly of yours. Our son needs proper nourishment.”
Oh, brother. Not again.
“I only need one champion in my life, thank you very much.” She shot him a sweet smile. “Our daughter is going to be a Nobel Prize winner.”
“It’s a boy,” he said confidently with a charming smile of his own. “Haven’t you figured out by now that I always get what I want?”
“God, you’re arrogant.”
“Yeah, but you like it.” His grin widened. “And if it weren’t for me, you’d still be hiking across some intimacy bridge—”
“I should never have told you about that!”
“And deprive me of endless bridge jokes?”
She tried to scowl but ended up laughing. “Fine. I surrender. The intimacy bridge is funny. Now let’s go before Darcy really does sleep with a waiter.”
Brody held her arm as they walked to the car. He opened the door for her, then rounded the vehicle and got into the driver’s seat.
She stretched the seat belt over her stomach and buckled up, then tucked a strand of hair behind her ears. Suddenly she became aware of Brody watching her, and when she turned her head, her breath caught at the awe, love and passion she saw shining in his eyes.
“Have I told you today how beautiful you are?” he asked.
“Twice, actually.” Warmth suffused her body. “But feel free to say it as many times as you’d like.”
“Believe me, I will.” He shifted closer and stroked her cheek. “You know, the happiest day of my life was when you walked up to that pool table and asked me back to your hotel.”
“You’re not going to tell our daughter that, are you?”
“Nah. We’ll tell our son we met at a museum and it was love at first sight.”
He cupped her jaw and ran his thumb over her lower lip, sending a wave of heat and desire through her. She could never get enough of Brody’s touch, not even if she lived to be a hundred.
“Let’s skip dinner,” he murmured, then dipped his head to kiss her.
Her pulse raced as his tongue teased hers with long, sensual strokes.
It took all her willpower to pull back. “We can’t.” When he grumbled, she added, “Come on, it’s one little dinner. I’ll make it worth your while…”
His eyes lit up. “How?”
She laughed. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”
“For you, I’d wait forever. In fact, I’d do just about anything you asked.” His gaze softened. “I love you that much, Mrs. Croft.”
She leaned closer and brushed her lips over his. “I love you, too…so let’s get this dinner over with so I can get you home and show you exactly how much.”
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eISBN-13: 978-1-4603-4451-4
Game On Box Set
Copyright © 2014 by Harlequin Books S.A.
The publisher acknowledges the copyright holders of the individual works as follows:
Time Out
Copyright © 2012 by Jill Shalvis
Her Man Advantage
Copyright © 2012 by Joanne Rock
Face-Off
Copyright © 2011 by Nancy Warren
Body Check
Copyright © 2009 by Leeanne Kennedy
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