by Kristen Echo
Moving aside, she watched her daughter’s head disappear into the crowd. The place emptied quickly, leaving her alone with her thoughts. She wanted to see Luka. There was a good chance he’d refuse to speak with her. That was a risk she was willing to take.
She used her connections and waited by the exit. Each time the door opened her throat dried and her heart beat faster. Nearly every player had come and gone. Then he stepped out. Alone. She clutched the wall for support.
His hair was wet from a shower and his suit jacket was open. He looked stunning and fierce, like a predator. She hoped to be his prey.
Either he didn’t see her, or he meant to ignore her because he marched past her. His long stride created a distance between them. She refused to be invisible.
“Luka,” she yelled, stopping him mid step.
He pivoted and faced her. The ferociousness of his stare was hot enough to burn down the arena. Her cheeks heated under the scrutiny and she exhaled. She hadn’t planned this out very well and uncertainty wriggled its way into her brain. This was a bad idea.
He stood his ground, forcing her to move. She took one hesitant step towards him. When he didn’t leave, she closed the gap.
“You must have questions.” She inhaled his masculine aroma and her mouth watered. “Um, I wanted to explain.”
Damn, she’d missed him. Their eyes remained locked. The desire to touch him was too much to resist. With her heart on her sleeve, she gambled and took his hands.
He huffed but didn’t pull away. Her heart exploded with relief. They had a chance.
“Talk to me. Please,” she begged. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
His brows furrowed. “Why are you here?”
She ran her thumbs over his knuckles, drawing heat from the contact. “To see you. Talk to you. Make you listen to me.”
Luka shook his head. A drop of water dripped down his cheek. “You are something else. Of all the tricks, this takes the prize.”
Her eyes searched his, but she couldn’t understand. “What?”
“You were sent to get in my head,” he said, lifting their joined hands to his head. He tapped her fingers against his forehead with enough force to bruise his skin. “Instead you took it further and messed with my heart.” He lowered their hands and pressed them over his chest.
The fast thumping of his heart matched hers. “Your heart,” she repeated. “What are you implying?”
“You used me,” he stated. His voice lacked emotion which wasn’t like him. Passion rolled off Luka like waves in the ocean, but he stood there like a statue. A very pissed off statue. “Or you tried to.”
“That’s ridiculous. I didn’t use you.” She pushed against his chest, smacking the stone facade. “Walk me through your train of thought because you’re not making any sense.” She raced to connect the dots and couldn’t.
He laughed. The sound was hollow and cold. “You’re a good actress. I know who your man is. I double checked his profile online the second after I saw you. Married. Not single. You are Terry Fucking Manor’s wife.” His voice rose and filled the empty halls. “Was this part of some game to help them win? Did he ask you to find me?”
Her eyes widened. Rage boiled to the surface. He thought Terry had sent her to distract him. As if she were some whore to be pimped around. Unreal. She slapped his cheek with as much force as she could muster. His face hardly moved, but her hand stung.
The fine line between love and hate broke, leaving her in limbo. She clutched her hand against her chest and stepped away from him.
“How dare you!” The first tear slipped from her eye. “I’m not a sexual decoy, sent to fuck you and fuck up your hockey game. Why would you jump to that conclusion? Is that why you didn’t answer my calls?” Her voice shook like the rest of her.
He gripped her arms and pressed his forehead against hers. “I threw my phone against the wall after I caught the woman I loved with her husband.”
Love hung in the air like a cloud. She’d known she was falling for Luka but had refused to admit the truth. Now, it rained down like a storm she couldn’t stop, flooding her senses.
“Ex-husband,” she yelled. The sound echoed around them. “We are separated. He hasn’t been my husband in over a year.”
His grip on her arms lessened. “Oh,” he breathed.
Instead of slapping or pushing him away, she gripped his face and kissed him. Her mouth pressed against his. She initiated the kiss, but he took over. Luka forced his way inside her mouth and their tongues fought. His big hands engulfed her head, holding her against him.
The kiss was angry and demanding. It sought the answers to questions they had yet to ask.
Her back hit the wall with enough force to wind her. Luka swallowed her breath and consumed every inch of her lips. Her hands roamed his back, digging her nails into his muscles.
She wanted to be with him, but she wasn’t sure they should be together. It had been so long since she’d been in a new relationship, she’d forgotten how volatile and fragile they could be. One misinterpreted word or action caused disaster. A war waged between her need to be taken right there and then, and the need to protect her heart.
Jill bit his lip and he moaned scoring a point for team desire. “I want you. Only you, Luka,” she said, scratching along his spine.
“Jill, you drive me crazy. I…” his lips finished where his words left off.
An urge to convince him he was the only man she wanted pulsed through her veins. Luka had her heart, and he deserved to know she loved him too. She grappled with her feelings and let it all out in their kiss.
“You and Manor are no longer?” he asked as he kissed along her jaw. The heat of his breath sent shivers racing over her chest, hardening her nipples. “Tell me who you belong to.” His whiskers scratched against her neck as he nibbled on her ear.
“I’m not with him anymore. It’s only you. I’m yours,” she panted into his hair.
A deep low groan followed as if her words turned him on. They sure worked for her. Giving herself to this man and declaring it out loud had an instant effect on her panties. They were soaked.
“Then why were you touching him?” He tugged her lobe between his teeth. “I’m not a man who shares.”
“Luka, you… ahhh,” she moaned when his hand covered her breast and squeezed. “I missed you. He… oh, man. We need to get out of here.” If he kept touching her like that, she was liable to rip his clothes off any second.
He turned her thoughts into a jumbled mess as his hand moved against her skin and he pinched her nipple. The peak pebbled against his fingers, seeking and responding to his touch. Her body was on fire.
Footsteps sounded down the corridor behind him. She buried her face in the crook of his neck, but never took her hands off him. She buried them under his jacket, seeking a closer connection. They continued groping one another as if they were alone. He covered her with his huge body while his fingers tugged at her tip. A shock wave of longing ended at her core. She rubbed her thighs together wishing for more.
“Tell me why,” he demanded, pressing the steel column of his erection against her. “Make me understand.”
She didn’t have a good answer. Despite everything Terry had done wrong, she loved him. The love had changed into something different. She no longer looked at him the way a husband deserved. His touch failed to ignite the fires that burned inside her now. Yet when Terry reached for her and asked for help, she couldn’t say no. He was like a bad habit. An old addiction she was trying to break.
“Does it matter? He’s my past,” she stuttered as he pulled extra hard on her nipple. “You are the man I want.”
“It matters.” He licked behind her ear and down her neck. “Everything you do matters to me.”
“We can’t do this here.” She couldn’t think with his hands, his lips and tongue on her. Moreover, she didn’t have an answer. She loved Luka. He had a big piece of her heart, but he deserved a woman who wasn’t confused. A woman w
ho could give him everything.
“Give me the truth,” he commanded as he feasted on her neck. Sucking hard enough to leave a mark.
Doubt crept in and took over. She dropped her hands from his body. “This is a bad idea. Maybe I… I should go.”
One second, she was being consumed by him, and the next she was hoisted in the air with her feet dangling. His need for answers forced her to rethink everything. Her life was complicated. The situation with her ex and the kids didn’t have an easy explanation.
As she bounced down the hall over Luka’s shoulder, her craving for him doubled. She loved that he wasn’t letting her off the hook. She loved him period.
Chapter 11
Draped over his shoulder the extra blood flow to her head must have caused temporary insanity because she looked forward to being alone with him. Hard questions or not; she needed this. She needed him. Jill giggled and admired Luka’s tight buns as he moved down the empty corridor.
“You don’t get to leave.” He stomped down the hall, opened a door and flicked on the light. “Not until we settle things,” he said as he carried her inside.
They were in a janitorial closet. Mops, brooms and towels covered rows of shelves along the back wall. She slid down his body as he set her on her feet. The room was small and reeked of cleaning supplies. He turned and closed the door, making the area seem even smaller with him taking up most of the available space.
Deep lines creased his forehead as he stepped away from her. Creating as much distance between them as the tiny room would allow. Even though it was only a foot, it seemed like a mile. She didn’t like it. Jill closed the gap and ran her hand over the buttons on his dress shirt. “Do you trust me?”
She hadn’t meant to start the conversation with a question. Not when she was the one who had explaining to do. But there was no point baring her soul if he had no intention of listening to reason. She needed assurances. As much as she could get, given their circumstances.
“I want to,” he answered.
Rianne’s words from earlier echoed. They were fitting given their situation. “Either you do, or you don’t. Trust doesn’t live in between.”
Luka leaned back against the door and ran his fingers through his short mane. His eyes connected with hers. So dark and alluring. He took his time to answer. “I do. Do you trust me?”
“Yes.” She swallowed hard. “I have never lied to you and I won’t. That’s not who I am. Ask me anything.”
His nostrils flared as he charged towards her. His hands landed on the hem of her jersey and he lifted it over her head. Her bra hit the floor next. Rather than devour her like she wanted, he stepped back.
He placed his hand over her heart and the other on her shoulder. “What do you want?”
“I want to fall in love again, and I think maybe I have.” Her words were choppy as she covered his hand with hers. “With you.”
“Keep going,” he prompted.
“Luka, I don’t know what you want me to say.”
He tapped her chest. “Tell me what is in here. What do you want the most?”
Admitting this next part out loud had set off the demise of her marriage. “I want to grow my family and be a part of something amazing. I want to foster, adopt and maybe by the grace of God have another biological child. Sharing my love with as many children as possible is all I’ve ever wanted. Are you scared yet?”
“Not even a little.” He slid his hand from her shoulder to cup her jaw. “Why are you scared to want that?”
She blew out a huge breath and melted into him. “I’m scared that I’m too late.”
“Is that why you tested me?” He tilted his head and stared at her. “Why you asked me to come to the hotel you are sharing with another man. To see how I would react. Cause a fight.”
“No. Not at all my intention.” Her heartbeat thundered in her ears. “I planned to spend the entire night alone with you. Worshiping your body and showing you how much I…” Love teetered on her lips, but she held back. “How much you mean to me, but then Terry needed my help. Time got away from us. I’m sorry you had to see me with him. I don’t want you to fight him.”
“You still love him,” he said, running his thumb over her lower lip. “It was written on your face.”
It wasn’t a question. His observation wasn’t wrong. She needed to set the record straight for Luka and for herself.
“I love my family with all my heart and soul.” Her voice trembled as she searched inside herself. “Terry was a part of that until recently. I don’t want to be with him anymore. Those days are over, but the memories linger. I don’t hate him even though I should.”
“You have a big heart.” He leaned in and kissed next to her mouth. “Your family is as beautiful as you.” He planted another kiss on the opposite side. “And your daughter is the spitting image of you.”
She ran her fingers through his beard. “Thank you. What do you want?”
“I don’t let fear get in my way. I go after the things I want. Nothing can stop me.” The determination in his voice made her tremble. He pulled her against his chest and buried his nose in her hair. “Jill, my beautiful distraction. I want the Championship and I want you,” he whispered in her ear.
“Then take me. Right here and now.” She fumbled with his belt. Unable to get him naked as fast as she wanted. The metal clanked as it opened, and his trousers hit the floor.
Their lips found their way together as they shed every article between them. No more words needed to be said. Talk time had ended. They were ready to explore the sensual side of their relationship.
Luka lifted her off the ground. His strength never ceased to amaze her. She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. His cock slid between her open legs, rubbing against her slit. She teased him and coated him with her juices. Without warning, he pressed her against the wall and dove in deep.
Jill chomped onto his shoulder to stifle the cry of ecstasy that threatened to give them away. He moved with a brutal necessity that left her boneless. She clawed and held on for dear life as he pounded her towards the sky. It wasn’t long before the clouds parted, and the orgasmic heat bathed her from head to toe.
“Oh! I’m coming. Ohhhh… Luka!” She kissed him, giving him every piece of her as she shattered. The orgasm rolled on and on as he continued to plow into her.
His pace never relented. He shifted her higher, reaching deeper. He found that spot that made her toes curl. The pleasure was so strong it hurt. She couldn’t catch her breath. Passing out from bliss seemed like a viable option as the next climax stole the last of her air.
“I’m with you,” he said as he stilled. His forehead pressed against hers and all movement stopped.
The love and anguish in his eyes as he came was a hauntingly beautiful and powerful moment. Their connection grounded her, keeping her with him. They stood there staring at one another for a long time.
Luka carried her away from the wall. “Can you stand?”
Jill shook her head as the tremors subsided. “I’m not sure.” She loosened her legs from around his waist.
He set her down and pulled his cock from between her legs. His release dripped down her inner thighs. She’d been so starved for him, they hadn’t used a condom. Her eyes widened, and her heart skipped a beat as she covered her face with her hands.
“Um… I am not on the pill and we forgot to use protection,” she said, refusing to look at him.
Luka chuckled and pulled her hands away. “I wanted to feel you without barriers between us.” He kissed her knuckles. “If this bothers you, we can use condoms next time. I prefer without.”
Of course he preferred sex without condoms. Who didn’t? That didn’t mean they should become irresponsible.
“I don’t think you heard me. I am not taking any birth control.” She waited a moment for the ramifications to hit him, but he seemed unphased. “Condoms protect against more than STD’s. Why do I feel like I’m the only one worrie
d in this closet?”
His broad shoulders lifted and fell as though he hadn’t a care in the world. “I am clean. You have nothing to worry about.” He smirked as he bent down and collected their discarded clothing.
A nervous giggle escaped. “Right. No worries.” She shivered and rubbed her arms. “None at all.”
“I’ve told you the things I want most.” He hugged her, smoothing her wild hair with his hand. “Get dressed and tell me what is bothering you about what happened.”
Dressing with Luka was bittersweet. It was a shame to see all those hard muscles get covered, but they couldn’t stay in the closet forever. Her heart was still beating fast and her hands shook as she pulled the jersey over her head. There were so many thoughts racing through her mind, she wasn’t sure what to share first.
He threw a handful of towels on the ground and sat, patting his lap for her to join him. “Come here.”
Snuggling against his chest, she let his heat envelop her. Her nerves settled. He held her as their heart rates slowed. There were so many reasons for them to use protection. Their relationship was new. They’d just endured their first fight or disagreement. More were bound to follow as they found their footing. It was too soon to be making lifelong decisions.
“I’m not bothered by what happened. Well, I am a bit. I’m more concerned that we’re moving too fast,” she said, not fully agreeing with her own statement.
“I don’t agree,” he replied, tilting her chin towards him. “Fast is a way of life. Fast is the speed you travel when you know where you’re going. What does too fast mean?”
“Luka, you’re only twenty-two.” She held his face in her hands. “I’ll admit you are wise beyond your years and have lived through more trials and tribulations than any man should, but you couldn’t possibly—”
“Love you. Is that the problem?” The tip of his nose rubbed against hers. “I am fast and strong and love the same way. I am old enough to be done with childish games. Playing games and toying with emotions is not for me. I speak the truth. So, tell me what I can do to prove myself.”
