by Cari Quinn
“Fuck off!” Misha replied.
Gavin rolled his eyes and turned back to Valerie. “So how are you liking the Highlanders? Didn’t know we came with our own drama, did you?”
Valerie laughed. “Everyone has drama. Otherwise, I’d never find a job.”
And she’d never have met Darren. Her heart clenched at the thought. She hated to admit it, but she missed the hell out of him.
The rest of her conversation with them was autopilot. Inside her head, all she could think about was Darren’s broad shoulders, the feel of his muscles tensed under her fingers as he reached climax. The warmth of his skin against hers.
Fuck, she was losing her mind to one tall, dark, and handsome man.
Chapter Sixteen
Darren was the last one to leave the locker room. He’d lost track of time after practice, between talking to the fans, the media, and the coach. But the good news was that he could take his time with a shower and he did. He sat down on the bench in his towel and sighed. Jenkins had given him another warning about his play. He couldn’t concentrate since that last conversation with Valerie. His focus was shot, his muscles were slow. He was making bad decisions out on the ice.
He had a new respect for Charbonneau now. The team captain had gotten a divorce as well, and he’d managed to keep it together, even as a single father, for years. And now his daughter had a child of her own… and they lived with him. But that was why Charbonneau was a legend in his own time.
The door to the locker room banged shut. He glanced up at the click of heels on the concrete, ready to tell the reporter to get lost. But it wasn’t a reporter.
When Valerie came around the corner, his mouth dropped open.
“Val.”
“Hi, Darren.” Her voice was magical, just the pitch of it lifting his mood. How did she do that? “I heard you were still here.”
“Yeah, I’m running late.”
He stood up and turned away from her. Anger. He needed anger. But he could never remain angry at her. She had that calming way about her. It drove him crazy.
“I wanted to say something.”
“Don’t think we have much to say, chica.”
“You were right.”
Darren stopped what he was doing. Right? Right about what? Curiosity getting the best of him, he turned around to face her, trying to ignore the beauty of her sad face, the smooth lines of her body in that pencil skirt… the way those heels lengthened her shapely legs.
“I don’t like to lose control.” Valerie bit her lower lip. “You make me lose control. I hate it.”
“Don’t I know it,” he growled. “You made that clear enough.”
“But at the same time, I love it.” She shook her head. “I don’t understand. I have this… split personality in my head.”
“They’re called emotions.” Darren’s voice was low to keep it from cracking with the intensity of the emotions swirling within him in that moment “They aren’t evil.”
“I hate feeling like this. I hate not knowing how my life is going to go. But then I think of you, and I can’t help but smile.”
“I’m not going to let you string me along, Val. You have to decide.” He stepped toward her, the floor cold on his feet. The air was drafty, but his body was warm. “You either want to be with me, or you don’t.”
“I-I don’t know.”
“Then we don’t have anything else to talk about.” He turned away from her. The action physically hurt. It wasn’t the sore muscles from his workout or anything else he’d done that day in practice. No, turning away from Valerie Chase made his blood freeze and his heart ache.
“I mean… I shouldn’t want to be with you. Relationships are chaotic, unordered messes. And the way I feel…”
He faced her again. “What do you feel? Do you feel anything?”
“I’m falling in love with you, Darren.”
The blunt way she spoke was like a puck to his chest. Of all the things he’d thought he’d hear from her, this wasn’t it. Love? She loved him? Did he love her? His mind doubted her, but his soul bellowed for her.
He crowded her, using his large body to push her up against the wall. She clenched her jaw, and he wanted to lick her jawline. This near to her he was, he could smell the vanilla perfume wafting from her.
“Do you know what love is, Valerie?” He kept his voice low and rumbling, leaning in to her ear to speak. “Love is heartbreak. Love is torture. Love is chaotic.”
She closed her eyes, breathing in deeply. When she opened her eyes, his dick jerked under his towel. Fire and ice mixed together in those chocolate eyes.
He covered her mouth with his, sliding his tongue between her lips. Her body melted into his, allowing him to press his full length against her.
A soft moan slipped from her lips as he tangled his fingers in her brown curls, gently massaging her. His erection strained between them and suddenly the towel was too rough, too tight.
When they broke for air, he needed more. There was an expectant air between them. She’d made her decision and he was more than on board with that. He wanted her now, his body winding itself tighter than an overblown balloon. Any moment now, he was going to pop.
He trailed kisses along her neck, reveling in the softness of her skin, the warmth that radiated from her. He pressed his pelvis against her, letting her feel what she had done to him. A low moan rumbled from her throat.
He slid his hands over her shoulders, his fingers just inside the jacket. With a twist of his wrists, he shifted the garment back, letting it drop from her body to the ground. He wanted her to feel what he felt, to know what it was like to love someone.
“Darren…” she whispered into the echoing air of the locker room. Her leg lifted from the ground, wrapping around one of his, as if she were trying to get him closer.
With achingly slow, stumbling fingers, he unbuttoned her blouse, each button revealing more of her smooth skin. The swells of her breasts lifted and fell with her heavy breathing. He leaned over her, kissing the top of them as he pulled each breast from their resting place inside her bra.
Another moan escaped her lips when he took a pink nipple into his mouth. She thrust out her chest, her fingers tangling in his wet hair.
“What do you want, Val?” he whispered as he straightened. He ran his tongue along her earlobe. “Do you know what you do to me?” He took her hand and slid it down his stomach, over the towel to his cock. The ache of his balls intensified, growing heavier.
“What would you do if I decided to do you right here? Right where anyone could walk in?” Her head fell back as he spoke, as if his voice coaxed the turmoil he saw in her.
He smoothed his hand over her thigh, under the skirt until it was bunched around her waist. Her panty-clad ass nearly had him coming right then. God, but he loved her ass. He loved everything about her. Her soft, dark hair. Her gorgeously smooth skin. The round globes of her ass against his palm.
He dug fingertips into her flesh, holding her in place as his other hand pushed her panties to the side, and dipped into her sweet depths. Her arousal coated his fingers. God, he wanted her.
She had her own ideas as well. She pushed the towel from his body, letting his erection free. She started stroking him, and his brain shut down.
He kissed her, forcing his tongue into her mouth like he wanted to do with his cock while she stroked him. His hips moved of their own volition, thrusting into her hand. Pleasure ripped through his body. If she didn’t stop, he was going to come.
Reluctantly, he stepped away. She tried to follow, but he grabbed both her wrists and pinned her to the wall. Her breathing was jagged, mirroring his.
The two stared at each other, stunned into lusty silence. His erection pressed between them, the feel of the soft fabric of her tousled blouse sliding along his shaft.
Suddenly, he was very aware that he was naked, pressed against her like a rabid animal. But he was not going to fuck her in a dirty locker room. He was not going to take an in
timate moment and turn it into some cheap trick in a locker room. She deserved so much better than that.
“I have a game tonight.” The words poured out of his mouth. “Will you come to the game?”
“The game? That’s what you’re thinking about now?” Her cheeks flushed, whether from anger or arousal, he wasn’t sure.
“Actually.” He leaned in, brushing his lips across her cheek. “I’m really naked and hard right now, but I don’t want to fuck you against a wall, especially when I don’t have any protection with me. So yeah. The game.”
Her anger softened its edges, her shoulders relaxing slightly. Her chest heaved, the swells of her breasts rising and falling with her breath.
Silence was the response, and he couldn’t read what was going through her head. Instead, he stepped away from her, retrieving the towel from the floor to cover himself.
“What are we doing here, Darren?” The stunned look left her face. Slowly, she began to pull herself back together. She smoothed her skirt down, and buttoned her shirt back up.
Darren sighed. “I want you, Val. I want you for more than a night, more than warmth in the bed. You and I? This isn’t a casual thing. It can’t be.”
“Can we even do that?” She shook her head. “Professionally, this is a nightmare.”
“It doesn’t have to be.” To be honest, he wasn’t all that sure. All he was sure about was that he needed Val. “Just come to the game tonight?”
He waited as Val picked up her jacket before crossing back to her. Running his hands up and down her arms, he smiled at her. “Promise me you will be there.”
“Darren…” she trailed off, watching him with wide chocolate eyes. “I’ll be there.”
He grinned and swept her up in his arms, swinging her around happily. When he set her down, he kissed her.
The door to the locker room banged shut again, and they jumped apart as the thud of heavy feet echoed through the room.
Charbonneau came around the corner and froze, looking from Val to Darren and back again. He took in Darren’s lack of clothing, though luckily, he’d managed to cover back up in the towel when he’d heard the door slam open.
The older hockey player stepped more into the room, a frown creasing his forehead. “Moran…”
“John, have you met Valerie?” Darren cleared his throat. Panic slid through his veins like a sidewinder. “She’s the new family counselor.”
“We’ve met. Miss Chase.” He nodded briefly to her and turned back to Darren. “I didn’t think anyone would be here at this time, what with the game tonight and all.”
“I was on the ice this morning with some of the rookies.”
“Ah. Right.” Charbonneau looked from Val’s rumpled clothes back to Darren. “Um… so we’ll see you tonight.” Shifting from foot to foot nervously, Charbonneau turned away, back toward the door.
“Right. Tonight.” Darren stared at Charbonneau’s retreating back. A few moments later, the door banged shut, signaling the captain’s exit. That was an odd reaction from the man. He was sure Charbonneau would have said something. It was horribly obvious that something had been going on in there.
Val was the first to speak. “Well, that was awkward.”
He glanced to the side, surprised to see her standing next to him. “It was, wasn’t it?”
“What did he come in here for?”
Darren blinked. What has he come in for? He hadn’t gone to his locker. He had looked both surprised and nervous. It couldn’t have been Val that made him nervous. And then he’d turned tail and ran.
“I don’t know.”
* * *
Valerie looked up at the arena. The darkness of the sky made the lights of the Highlanders’ arena sparkle like sequins on a prom dress. The thud-thud of her heart against her sternum was almost painful, shooting nerves through her body.
What was she doing here? She wasn’t required to go to the games at all. But there she was. Why?
Because Darren had asked her too, and she had come to terms with the fact that she could not refuse him. Her body still sung from what they’d done in the locker room. If he hadn’t stopped, she’d have said damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead. But that wouldn’t have been a good idea, especially since neither of them had had protection, and hey, public…
She blew out a breath. The game started in five minutes. It was do or die time.
As much as she’d tended bar in the last few months and watched these games on the television, nothing compared to actually being at a game. The experience was completely different. The energy was infectious.
People wandered through the hallways of the center, their voices so loud and boisterous even there that they mixed into a constant buzz. The fans sported Highlander jerseys on all sizes.
One thing she had learned in the last few months was that Darren was a fan favorite and that was obvious as she walked through the hallways. His number plastered more than a third of the jerseys around. She recognized others: Ferrera, Baker, there were even a few Kozlov jerseys. Of course, the team captain, John Charbonneau’s name appeared on almost every other jersey she saw. Having been on the team for nearly fifteen years, he’d had time to accumulate quite the following.
It was strange, seeing all these people who knew her boyfriend’s face and followed his career with such zest. How many of these people had blogs and social media sites that they posted pictures of him on? How many of them knew how many goals he’d scored the previous year? Like that man in the bar who’d known Darren’s behavior during that game was odd. How many of them potentially knew him better than she did?
She slipped through the back and made her way down to the area where the team would walk through. She didn’t expect Darren to see her. There were dozens of reporters standing there, just waiting to catch the team as they headed out for warm-up.
She stayed near the back. She just wanted to see him before the game. She’d come see him after it was done. It was better that she not distract him anyway.
A round of cheers went up in the rink beyond them as the announcer began his nightly ritual of introducing the game. A moment later, the team started filing from the double doors that led to the Highlanders’ locker room.
She crossed her arms and leaned against the concrete wall behind her. Internally, she named off each player, her personal challenge to learn all their names. Darren took her breath away when he left the locker room, looking so much more imposing with the added inches from his skates and the bulk from his pads. He was laughing and talking with Cody beside him but stopped when he saw her.
Reporters shoved their phones at him, shouting questions when he stopped, grasping at the chance to talk to him. His eyes locked with hers, a gorgeous toothy grin on his face as he pushed past the barrier of reporters to stand in front of her. She straightened, dropping her hands to her sides.
He smiled down at her. “You came.”
“I did.” What else could she say?
“I’m glad.” Then his lips descended on her, and the world dulled to just the two of them. Beyond it, she could hear the click of camera phones and the shouts of questions, but really, none of it mattered. Darren’s lips on hers, all warmth and strength, had all her attention.
When they separated, Darren didn’t release her right away. He grinned at her. “I’m going to win today.”
“You’re so sure of yourself.”
“Because of you. You’re my good luck charm.” He kissed her again, this time a slight peck on her lips. “Be here after the game?”
“Well, I will have to clear it with my other boyfriends.”
“Oh, hush. Just be here. Love you.” He tapped her nose with his finger and followed his team out. Val stood there, stunned as he walked away to rejoin his teammates on the ice.
Love. Darren Moran loved her.
Chapter Seventeen
The game was fast-paced, making her wish she’d followed the sport better because it wasn’t long before she was lost. By the th
ird quarter, she relied on Joey Baker’s observations to help her muddle through. Joey stood and cheered loudly as Darren sailed past on what she called a breakaway. The goal buzzer a few seconds later had the crowd on their feet.
They sat down as play resumed. Joey turned to her. “You don’t watch hockey much, do you?”
Val shook her head. “This is my first live game.”
“Hockey is definitely a dish best served alive and kicking, that’s for sure.” Joey smoothed a few flyaways of her blonde hair and grinned. “I love coming to the games. So much energy when the Highlanders win. It really pumps up Cody’s mood.”
“How long have you been married?” Val asked.
“Three years and some change.”
“That’s… awesome.” Valerie couldn’t imagine it. Marriage had never been on her radar.
“I won’t lie. It’s hard. But so worth it.” Joey’s eyes had distance in them, her thoughts so clearly a world away.
Chitchatting with Joey during the game made the new experience much more settling, more fun. By the end of the game, the score clearly had the Highlanders breaking the losing streak that had plagued the team.
If she was impressed by the energy prior to the game, the way the crowd was after the game blew her away. Darren’s name was on everyone’s lips. The audience was talking about how his game had changed overnight, how he’d improved, how he was on the way to being the next John Charbonneau. That was why when she came down to the media room, she just watched again. Darren had been named the star player of the game so he was already deep in interviews when she showed up.
“You’re under a lot of pressure to play well for the Texas Highlanders, so tell me how you’re feeling?”
“Uh, well, sure it’s a lot of pressure, but I love this game. We were tied up for the first period, and it was lucky we were able to break away like we did in the second to score the next two goals.”
“What does this game mean for the Highlanders?”
