“Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck. That feels so good,” she cried out.
“You liked that, honey?” He repeated the action on her other nipple.
“Yes,” she stared at him in wonder, as if she’d never felt anything like this before. Fuck, he wasn’t sure he’d ever felt this way before; it wasn’t just physical, it was something weird and unexplainable, something scary as hell and equally as wonderful. Something with the power to elevate him to new levels or bring him to his knees and destroy him.
And all because of a little slip of a woman with her prim little suits and perfect little bun. He quirked a smile. Ah, that bun. It had to go. He lifted his head from her nipple and ran his fingers through her hair, loosening the pins and stuff that kept her hair contained until it lay in a tangled mass around her head.
The most awesome sight he’d ever seen.
Well, not exactly. Her body, her eyes, her smile were all the most awesome things he’d ever seen.
And he wanted to see more.
Reaching behind her, he unfastened her bra with flick of his fingers.
“Been doing that long?” she quipped, amusement mixing with the lust in her incredible eyes.
“I’ve been practicing that particular move since high school,” he shot back. “And this one.” Ethan pulled the minuscule panties down past her knees, her ankles, and over the conservative heels she still wore.
He sat back on his haunches and surveyed his handiwork in the form of one naked, squirming body. Oh, yeah, this was heaven gone wild.
“You’re beautiful,” he whispered, as the words caught in his throat.
“So are you.” She smiled up at him and put her arms out to him. “Now fuck me, baby.”
“You sure are bossy when you’re naked.”
“I’m bossy when I’m not.”
“I like bossy women.”
“Show me how much you like a bossy woman.” Her smirk teased him and her body tantalized him. He kissed his way down the creamy skin to her pussy, knowing foreplay would be brief this first time or he’d lose himself before he reached the end game.
“Baby, I can’t hold out much longer. I’m sorry.” Crawling off the bed, he fished a condom out of his wallet and rolled it on his cock while Lauren’s eyes burned into him.
“Hurry up. I need you inside me.” Her throaty voice caused him to fumble with the last couple rolls of the condom.
Regardless, he was back between her legs in seconds and sinking into her warmth. Fuck, she was tight. Abso-fucking-lutely tight. Her muscles clenched around him, squeezing him so hard, he bit the inside of his cheek to keep from coming.
When she whimpered and squeezed her eyes shut, he froze. “Are you okay, Lauren? Am I hurting you?”
“Oh, God, no, it feels so good, I think you’re going to kill me.”
“Same here, honey.” Ethan pushed in bit by bit; despite her bold words, he wanted to give her time to adjust even though his body protested.
Finally, his pubic bone rested against hers. Ethan held himself still, gathering his composure so he didn’t fill the condom on the first thrust. Only Lauren wouldn’t have any of it. She tilted her pelvis and pushed against him. Steeling his control, Ethan moved in and out, stroking her deeply inside, even as her body stroked his. He found her mouth and kissed her with all the hunger his body felt, unable to control the roughness, but she didn’t seem to care. She clung to him, matching his rhythm, urging him to go faster, harder, until she drove him out of his effing mind.
One final thrust and her body shook, fine beads of sweat glistening on her soft skin, as she came apart and took him with her into an achingly pleasurable abyss he’d never been to with another woman. His orgasm rolled over him, wave after powerful wave, decimating in its wake every thought and every emotion that didn’t pertain to her, leaving only the two of them in their world. Never alone, always together, in body and in soul.
And Ethan knew in that moment of profound vision that she’d set him free, while at the same time ruining him for any other woman.
And he didn’t give a shit because despite all his pledges to the contrary, this woman was meant for him, and he was going to have her for his very own.
Chapter 12—Misconduct
Lauren lay in bed staring at the ceiling, her limbs like spaghetti, her muscles inoperable. Despite the heavy curtains being closed, sun infiltrated the room, promising a beautiful spring day in Boston. After the initial euphoria of her night with Ethan, a heavy weight settled in her stomach.
Regret filtered into Lauren’s heart just like the sun penetrating through the curtains. She hated herself for being wishy-washy, a trait she’d rarely been accused of, if ever.
Next to her, she heard Ethan’s steady breathing, and her gut told her he wasn’t asleep.
“This is wrong.” Lauren rolled over but couldn’t force herself to get out of bed.
“It doesn’t feel wrong,” he mumbled, his voice groggy from sleep and sounding way too content, considering the conflict raging inside her.
He was right about that. It hadn’t felt wrong. Last night and late into the morning hours, it’d felt good. Damn good. Everything about being with him had felt so right. From his silky dark hair, strong chin, passionate eyes to his hard muscled chest, hard cock, and his muscular thighs, it all looked and felt damn fucking good. But it was damn, fucking wrong.
Ethan pulled her ass and back against him, and his erection pressed against her butt. She marveled at how quickly the man became aroused. Did every woman do that to him, or was she special? God, she wanted to be special because despite her self-righteous denials, he was special to her.
“You’re practically my boss or you could be in the future.” True to her nature, she needed to argue with him.
“But I’m not. Not yet. Right now we’re partners at best. We talked about this. No regrets, Lauren. No repercussions. Nothing. To demonstrate that I’m an honorable man, I’ll tear up the contract if that’s what you want.”
And let go of all that money? More money than she’d made in her last ten years with the Giants. She could get a fresh start, pay off all those debts run up by an asshole ex-husband, maybe make a down payment on a little house with a backyard and a garden. She could get a dog and not listen to her neighbors flush their toilets. She could BBQ on the back porch while the birds chirped and actually have her own trees.
“No, I don’t want you to tear it up.” She couldn’t walk away from financial freedom. Not when all he asked was a year of her life. These opportunities didn’t come her way more than once a lifetime. Even so, she needed more assurance, as she’d been played for a fool once before and it’d devastated her financially and emotionally along with obliterating her confidence in her ability to make the correct choices. “But what if we end up in an employee/employer relationship?”
“I don’t know.” He rolled onto his back and pulled her across his chest, as he stared at the ceiling.
“You don’t know?” She hadn’t expected his answer. The Ethan she knew had all the answers.
“This is uncharted territory for me.”
“You’ve never done this before?”
Pain flickered briefly in his eyes. “Only once,” he whispered, “but it didn’t feel like this. Nothing has ever felt like this.”
Lauren squeezed her eyes shut, attempted to staunch the flow of tears.
He couldn’t see how much his words affected her.
* * * *
The Giants won game five to stay alive in the semis with a last minute goal by winger Drew Delacorte. They’d need to win the next two to advance to the Finals. After a late-night flight back home, Lauren hauled her tired ass to work with a few hours of sleep. Ethan looked as rough as she felt. For once she didn’t work late, but left for home at five to catch up on much needed sleep. Ethan and she didn’t say much to each other, keeping it strictly business, even though she suspected he wanted to discuss their night together. Thankfully, he kept his mouth shut and gave her space.
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Twenty minutes after she arrived home, Lauren’s father walked into her apartment without knocking. Her fault—she should’ve locked the door. Lon seated himself at the tiny dining room table, his bulk taking up the majority of the small room. She automatically poured him a cup of coffee. He drank the stuff 24-7.
Waiting him out and knowing he couldn’t be hurried, she tidied up her living room and kitchen, poured herself a glass of wine, and rifled through her mail.
Lon stretched, yawned, and rubbed his chin. “I’ve been doing some research.”
“Is this where I’m supposed to ask you what you’re researching?” She sighed.
“Don’t be a smartass, Lauren.” He levelled one of those go-stand-in-the-corner looks at her. Only that look didn’t work anymore.
When she didn’t react, he continued. “I can’t find anything on Ethan Williams as far as being who he is and what he is. I’ve found plenty on another Ethan. Ethan Parker. The guy who wants to bring hockey to Seattle. His family has billions.”
Lauren went cold inside. Not her Ethan? He couldn’t be that Ethan. He couldn’t be. “It’s not him.”
“Are you certain?” Her father’s eyes narrowed, and he saw much more than she wanted him to see. “I knew it. You’re sleeping with him. Every time you sleep with a guy, you lose your objectivity.”
“That only happened once, Dad.”
“Once should’ve taught you a lesson. Max was sleeping with puck bunnies in every town he played in. We all told you that, but you wouldn’t believe us.”
She hadn’t wanted to believe her friends and family, not until she’d followed Max to Boston and pounded on the door to his hotel room, finding him with not one hot little number, but two, and at the same time.
“Lauren, you’re susceptible to smooth-talking bastards.”
“Ethan is not a bastard. He has the same passion for hockey that you and I share.”
Lon gaped at her as if she’d hit her head on the ice and had a concussion. “Honey, Ethan does not have a passion for the game. Not like us. He’s not a—”
“—Hockey guy. Dad, I know I thought that myself, but he is. He loves hockey. Did you realize that he skates with Cooper every morning?”
“Are you serious?” Lon shook his head in absolute disbelief as if he’d been the one to slam his head into the ice and lose his senses.
“Yes, he does.” She hoped she wasn’t revealing a fact about Ethan’s character that Ethan wouldn’t appreciate.
“You’re not going to give me any info that’ll help my group’s cause, are you, Lauren? That ass has you wrapped around his finger, and he’s using you.”
Lauren bristled, poised to defend the man she loved.
Her head reeled. Her stomach twisted. Her heart slammed in her chest.
What the fuck? Loved?
She couldn’t love Ethan. Hell, she’d loved before and been taken on a ride she’d never forget. This girl didn’t do stupid twice. Or did she? Maybe she already had. She’d slept with him, signed a contract without even knowing who was really employing her, and she’d given him her heart.
Her father studied her as if trying to read her mind. She sat up straighter, slipped into businesslike-bitch mode, and looked him in the eyes. “So tell me, Dad. What position would I have with the team if your group bought it?” Nothing like laying it on the line with the old man.
Lon didn’t answer right away. Instead he looked at a spot over her head as if her cheap print of flowers hanging on the wall were a priceless piece of art. He fidgeted, glanced at his watch, and fidgeted some more.
“Dad?” she nudged him for a response.
“You’d keep the position you have, of course.”
“Would that be the position that my title indicates I have or the one I really have?”
“Lauren, I can’t speak to that. I don’t have any money invested in this group. I’m the front man, but it’s not my money.”
“That answers my question, Dad.”
“Honey, you have to understand my group is composed of men who’ve lived and breathed hockey their entire lives. They’ll have a say in who does what with the organization, but don’t worry, I’ve made sure that there’s a place saved just for you.”
Lauren saw the handwriting on the wall. This group would be even worse than the current group of good ol’ boys. “What happens to the coaching staff?”
“You know how I feel about them, hon. They aren’t quite championship caliber. The team we field will have the best coach money can buy.”
Yeah, and he’d be a traditionalist. There’d be no place for a woman in his hierarchy. Even if her father forced that hierarchy to accept her, they wouldn’t put her in any kind of position with any say in the organization.
But Ethan would.
Lauren closed her eyes for a moment, steeling herself against her father’s wrath, and told the truth. “I’m going to work for Ethan’s group if they get the team, Dad. I’m sorry. I hope you don’t see it as a betrayal because it’s not. He’s promised me what I’ve longed for all these years, an actual say in the running of the team.” And a shitload of money, but if she told her father that right now, he’d assume Ethan was essentially paying her to sleep with him.
He wasn’t. Absolutely was not. She believed in Ethan. She had to. Her future rode on his broad shoulders.
Her father’s eyes hardened, causing her stomach to clench, but she held strong. Lon stood and walked to the door, his back stiff, his stride tight. He turned to her as he opened the door. “I hope to God you know what you’re doing, Lauren, and that man is worth losing the respect of the staff and your family.” Without another word, he walked out and shut the door with an ominous click.
Lauren stared at the closed door for what seemed a lifetime but was actually fifteen minutes. A lone tear escaped down her cheek. She swiped at it, picked up her phone, and called her aunt—the one person in the world who could make sense of all this without passing judgment, probably because she’d had judgment passed on her too many times.
Aunt Jo answered on the fifth ring, just before Lauren was about to give up. “Hey, my beautiful niece, what’s up?”
“I need your wise counsel.”
Aunt Jo chuckled. “Counsel I can give. Wise, not so sure, but hit me; I’ll do my best.”
Lauren ran through the events of the past month, not leaving much untold, well, except for the getting naked part. Aunt Jo, true to form, listened and made no comment until Lauren finished.
“So what are your concerns?”
“Am I selling out my family for money? Am I being an idiot like I was with Max?”
“I can’t tell you that. You know the answer in your heart, just like you knew Max was a bad idea.”
“But I did it anyway just to show my father I could do what I wanted.”
Her aunt chuckled. “Your father is living in an old world, one which will pass him by in short order. You’re part of the future, Lauren. Make sure you contribute to it; don’t add to its postponement. You’re a savvy hockey person with an eye for talent and for details. You know what makes a winner, but to date no one has given you credit for that knowledge, that gift you have, but your Ethan.”
“He’s not my Ethan.”
“For the next short while, it sounds like he is.”
“I don’t know.”
“Lauren, abandoning the old and comfortable takes guts. Following a new path, one that rings true with you is worth the risk if you believe it is, no matter the outcome.”
“The money is guaranteed. I can get out of debt.”
“That’s a plus, but this isn’t about the money, and we both know that. It’s about respect for who and what you are, and I know a helluva lot about that. Your father didn’t accept me and my personal choices for years. The only reason he tolerated me is because he had three kids to take care of with a job that required a lot of travelling, and I was available to do the dirty work, not that I didn’t adore being part of the family bec
ause I did, and I love my kids.”
“I know. Dad was never a hands-on father, not when Mom lived with us and not after she left. His marriage and his family were hockey. As long as the three of us translated into hockey somehow, we could be in his sphere.”
“It was toughest on you, Lauren.”
“I never could quite measure up to his expectations because I wasn’t born with a dick and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t be what the boys were.”
“But you could be as good in a different way.” Jo hesitated, and continued cautiously, as if choosing her words carefully. “I love my brother to death. He’s gruff, behind-the-times, and stubborn beyond belief, but I still love him, just as you do. Sometimes, the best thing for all parties is the hardest thing. You need to get out from under his shadow and find out who Lauren is. It sounds as if Ethan respects you for your knowledge and skills, not for who your father and brothers are.”
“I think he does.” Lauren took a deep breath and plunged in with the rest. “But I’ve slept with him. That changes everything.”
Jo was so quiet for so long, Lauren suspected she’d hung up. “Obviously, you’re attracted to him and he to you. Is there more to it than that?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think I’m falling in love with him. I never thought I’d be able to after Max, yet this is different. More mature. Not just based on a physical attraction.”
“You’d be surprised how your thinking changes when the right person drops into your lap.”
“I don’t know if he’s the right person or the very wrong person, but I’m in deeper than I ever planned to be.”
“Good thing you’re a strong swimmer. Instead of swimming for a safe but boring shore, head for that distant island paradise. Take the risk. You never know where it might lead.” Her aunt’s words vibrated through her.
Lauren considered her words for a moment. “Thanks, Aunt Jo. I appreciate your advice.”
“You’re welcome. I’m only a phone call away.”
Skating on Thin Ice: Seattle Sockeyes (Game On in Seattle Book 1) Page 13
