by Ellis, Aven
And nothing has ever felt so right to me in my entire life.
I continue to touch his beautiful olive skin, barely skimming my fingertips across it so I don’t disturb his sleep. In my past, after sleeping with a boyfriend—ha, not like there’s been that many—I couldn’t wait to leave. I never felt emotional about sex. I would sleep with my boyfriends and enjoy it, but never felt the connection afterward.
Those feelings were always experienced by characters in Amelia Thorne’s and Holly Martin’s books. I wondered if they could really exist outside of the words I devoured in my Kindle.
Last night I learned they do.
When we came together last night for the first time, it was powerful. Like Niko was made to be with me. Tears prick my eyes again as I think about it, as they did the first time we made love. I finally understood how steamy, hot sex and romantic love could be tied together in the act.
And it’s a glorious combination.
Niko stirs against me. I smile, loving the fact that his warm body is tangled up with mine.
“Baby?” he whispers. “You awake?”
I roll over so I can face him. Mmmm, he’s so dark and sexy-looking against the crisp white sheets. I’d devour him again if we didn’t have to go to work today.
Damn it.
“I am,” I say, smiling at him.
“Morning,” he says, running his hand through my hair. Then he drops a soft kiss on my lips, which makes my heart dance with joy.
“Mmm, morning,” I answer.
“I could get used to waking up to you,” Niko says, kissing me again.
I lift my hand and stroke his stubble. “I don’t know. You’d learn all my unsexy secrets then.”
Niko’s blue eyes dance in response to my teasing. “You could never be anything less than hot. I always thought that. Last night confirmed it.”
I feel a blush sweep up my cheeks, overjoyed that Niko has always seen me in a way no other man has.
“I don’t know. I wear stupid pop-culture T-shirts to bed. Could be a huge turn-off for you.”
“You know I love pop culture as much as you do. I’d find it irresistible.”
I burst out laughing, and his whole face lights up in response. He links his hand with mine, and even though I’m exhausted, today is already off to a fantastic start.
“Tell me one of them,” Niko asks.
I wrinkle my nose. “I don’t know if I should.”
“Come on. What am I going to see you in tonight?”
“Oh, so I’m for sure spending the night here tonight, is that what you are saying?”
“Depends on the shirt.”
Oh, I love this man.
“Okay,” I say, cocking an eyebrow. “But you have to promise you can handle it. You can’t claim last night was a hook-up and never see me again if you think it’s weird.”
Niko laughs loudly, and I join him.
“I promise.”
“Do you remember Saved by the Bell?”
“Um, yeah. Kelly was hot.”
“So I’m in the same league as Kelly? I’m flattered,” I tease.
“Don’t try to back away from the shirt,” Niko redirects.
“Okay. I have . . . a retro Zach Attack T-shirt.”
“A what?” Niko asks, roaring with laughter. “As in the Zach Morris band Zach Attack?”
“You’re scaring me with the detailed knowledge you have of this show,” I quip.
“You can’t claim this was a hook-up because my Saved by the Bell knowledge rivals yours,” Niko says. Then he rolls me over and moves on top of me.
“So are you gonna come over and wear this ridiculous shirt to bed tonight?” he asks, gazing down at me.
“Perhaps.”
“With another pair of sexy underwear like you had on yesterday?”
I blush furiously. “Do you want sexy Lexi or normal Lexi?”
“Normal Lexi is sexy,” Niko murmurs before kissing me.
I melt into him, savoring his lingering kiss. Niko breaks it and plays with my hair.
“What time do you have to go in today?”
“Around one,” I say, wishing I didn’t have to go at all. “I’m editing highlights for the game tonight.”
“You could go home and get your stuff, and then I could pick you up at work after the game. We’ll both be done around the same time.”
“Speaking of work,” I say seriously, “how do we handle this?”
“What?” Niko asks.
“Us.”
Niko flips over on to his back, and I move over on my side so I can study him.
“I’m not hiding us,” Niko says, glancing at me. “I’m not going to advertise it at TATS, and we’ll be professional at work. But you’re my girl. If someone asks, I’ll tell them.”
Happiness sweeps through me. I’m his girl, and Niko doesn’t care who knows it.
“Unless you don’t want me to,” Niko says in response to my silence.
I see a concerned expression flicker through his Mediterranean Sea-colored eyes.
“I agree,” I say happily. “We won’t advertise it in front of others, but we won’t deny it, either.”
“How am I supposed to keep my hands off you at work?” Niko wonders aloud.
“When I figure out how to do the same regarding you, I’ll let you know,” I tease.
Niko’s face lights up in a brilliant smile as he lifts his arm over his head. I see the tattoo inked across his arm, and I swear I’ll always get turned on whenever I see it.
“What?” I ask, sitting up and tucking the sheet around me.
“You’re different from anyone I’ve ever been with,” Niko says. “I like who you are, Lexi. You’re true to yourself.”
I’m about to say something when Niko’s phone vibrates on the nightstand. He doesn’t even move toward it, which melts my heart. Most guys would be reaching for it the second they heard it.
“You can check it,” I say, inclining my head toward it. “I don’t mind. And I know hockey is 24-7 with trades and injuries and stuff.”
“And Matt Rhinelander,” Niko says, rolling his eyes.
“What?” I ask, furrowing my brow.
“He’s got so much talent. Sick talent. And he’s a kid, only twenty-one. That’s the problem. Matt’s on a team with guys who are settled. Harrison’s married, Nate might as well be married, and they go home to their girls. But Matt is at the age where you’d go out in bars in college and pound beers and chase girls, so that’s what he does. Which nobody would even care about if he weren’t a Dallas Demon.”
In my head I see the trail of pictures on social media of Matt, always with a different bimbo-like girl, always doing something stupid. Often with the hashtag ‘fuckboy’ attached to it.
“Right now it’s all fine and good because he shows up and plays great games,” Niko says, interrupting my thoughts. “But if he has a misstep, inside word is it’s going to be ugly with management. The Demons are known as one of the classier organizations in the league. Look at how Flynn handles himself on and off the ice. Nate is in the same mold. I think the Demons were hoping Matt would mature under Harrison’s wing, but so far it hasn’t happened.”
“I really hope it doesn’t come to that,” I say aloud.
“I know, me too. But right now I keep waiting for that text. The one saying he did something stupid. You know what he needs?”
“Um, a smack upside the head and a shot of maturity instead of tequila?”
Niko laughs. “Good thinking, but no. He needs a Lexi in his life. But he can’t have mine,” he adds, winking at me.
Butterflies dance happily in my stomach from that comment. Niko then reaches over and grabs his phone off his nightstand.
I watch as his eyes scan the message, and his brow furrows as he does. Then he tosses the phone down and rubs his hands over his face. “Ugh, Kimberlee. The bane of my existence as a producer.”
I find myself sitting up straighter at the sound of her name.
“What did she want?” I ask.
Niko pushes himself up so he’s sitting beside me. “She wanted to see if I could meet for breakfast and discuss what she should focus on for this week’s magazine show.”
Anger bubbles up in me. Of course she did. Because it’s another way to spend time with him, and she’s totally the type to manipulate the situation to be around Niko.
“If she wasn’t an idiot, she’d know what to focus on,” I blurt out.
“Agreed. Hey, I forgot, but I never told you what she said to me the other night.”
I give him a sideways glance. “During your pizza date?”
“It was not a date.”
My anger subsides a bit, and I manage a smile. “Just because you split the bill doesn’t mean it wasn’t a date.”
“Don’t go there,” Niko teases. “But do you want to hear this or not?”
“I do.”
“She wants to be the Dallas Demons second sideline reporter,” Niko tells me.
“What?” I shriek. “Are you kidding?”
“I’m fucking straight up serious.”
“Oh dear God, no. With the intensity of a thousand suns, no.”
“That’s a lot of suns.”
“Shut up.”
Niko laughs. “But yeah. She thought she could be on air and bring in fan elements to the game.”
“What does that even mean?” I ask, laughing.
“You know, shit like promoting Harrison Flynn bobble head night.”
I burst out laughing at the thought. “No!”
“Oh, yes.”
“What did you say?”
“I told her those are drop-in announcements that our play-by-play guy would make during the telecast.”
“Did she look at you blankly?”
“Wow, you act like you know her or something,” Niko deadpans. “Anyway, I’m not having breakfast with her. I’m making breakfast for you.”
My anger dissolves with those words.
Niko picks up his phone and begins texting. “But I’m going to have her come in and meet me at TATS before I head over to the arena.” He pauses and glances at me. “Can you be there a little earlier? And meet me in the edit bays?”
I narrow my eyes at him. “What do you have up your sleeve, Niko Xenakis?”
Niko grins slyly and finishes his text. “Oh, I have a little unfinished business with Ms. Rate Me to Date Me. And you need to be there to see me finish it.”
Chapter 19
The One Online Dating Service Profile Question: What’s one of the best things your significant other can say about you?
My write-in answer: That we fit together. Because I believe with all my heart that we do.
As soon as I get to TATS and put my stuff up, I wander down to the edit bays as Niko asked me to do. He wouldn’t tell me a word about his plan for Kimberlee, and I’m dying to see how he’s going to settle the score with the reporter from hell.
I glance in the window to the edit suite and sure enough, Niko and Kimberlee are sitting side by side, looking at the video on the screen. And I about lose it when I see that Niko has it pulled up to Reid McKenna, the play-by-play announcer for the Dallas Demons.
I know my man. He’s showing her a clip of him doing promo copy. I smile gleefully to myself, as Niko basically struck down her whole role she created for herself with this video.
I open the door to the suite, and they both look at me. A look of annoyance flickers over Kimberlee’s face, as if I’m a fly buzzing around her that she wishes to swat away.
But Niko’s eyes light up the second he sees me. My pulse twitches, as he’s dressed for work in a dark, charcoal grey suit and a crisp whisper-blue shirt that is open at the throat.
Oooooh I love that look on him. He has no idea what seeing him dressed like that does to me.
“Hey,” I say casually, sitting down at the other edit machine.
“Hi, Lexi, we’re finishing up here,” Niko says casually.
Oh, this is hilarious. I’ve had the hottest sex ever with this man hours ago—and now he’s my man—and we’re going to sit here and act like we don’t know what each other looks like naked.
And I’m totally failing at that whole pretending I don’t know what he looks like naked bit.
“Hi, Kimberlee,” I say, not looking at her.
“Hi,” she says. “Anyway, before we were interrupted,” Kimberlee says pointedly, “I still think I can bring some, um, how do you say? Pizzazz to the telecast.”
I bite down on my tongue to keep from laughing.
“How so?” Niko asks.
“Come on, Niko,” Kimberlee says, “you see beautiful sideline reporters on TV all the time. I can sell. I can sell tickets and get men’s attention on TV. Don’t you agree?”
“That beautiful sideline reporters are on TV? Yeah.”
Bah-ha-ha! I love him.
“Um, yes, but that I fit that mold nicely,” Kimberlee persists. “I’m going to pursue it.”
I act like I’m intently editing something while I continue to listen.
“Well, that’s your call, Kimberlee,” Niko says easily. “Oh, and hey, speaking of pursuing something, I need to talk to you about Casino Night.”
I freeze. What is he doing?
“What about it?” Kimberlee asks.
“Remember how I told you I had to take off in the middle of a conversation?”
“Yeah?”
“Well, it was to pursue a girl. And I’m crazy about her. I’ve been into her for a long time. And as it turns out, she’s kind of into me, too.”
My heart is pounding inside my chest. I don’t dare even glance at them. Kimberlee is silent, no doubt trying to grasp the fact that Niko is not interested.
“You . . . and another girl?”
“She’s amazing,” Niko says enthusiastically. “I mean, she’s gorgeous. Most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
I swear you could hear a tumbleweed roll across the floor if there was one around. I know Kimberlee is furious that Niko is going on and on about the beauty of someone other than her.
“More than that,” Niko continues, “she’s super smart, and she’s funny as hell. We fit, you know?”
Aaaaaaaaaaaaah! We fit. I smile at my computer screen, delighted by his words.
“Well, um, she sounds great,” Kimberlee says flatly.
Ha, ha, ha! What a lie.
“So I need your advice,” Niko says. “Where should I take her to dinner next? I already took her to a fancy bistro in Uptown. You know, for steak.”
“Oh?” Kimberlee says, furrowing her brow.
“Well, I wanted to impress her. I couldn’t take her out for pizza.”
Gah! I quickly begin coughing to cover up the fact that I’m about to burst out laughing.
“No, no, of course not,” Kimberlee says. There’s a pause. “Oh, well, look at the time. I should run.”
“Sushi?” Niko asks, not letting this drop. “Would that be a good second date dinner?”
“Um, sure,” Kimberlee says, and I hear her gathering up her things. “Anyway, I have to go.”
“Did you hear that, baby?” Niko calls over to me. “Sushi for you tonight after the game.”
I whip around in my seat, stunned that he outed us. Kimberlee drops her purse, her eyes moving from me to Niko in shock.
“Her?” she spits, letting her true colors show. “You and . . . her?”
“Yeah, it’s Lexi,” Niko says, standing up. “We’re going to be discreet about this, and I think you’ll be, too. If you want my help on anything Demons related, that is.”
Then he walks over to me. “I’ll pick you up here after the game. Will you be done with the edits for the postgame show by then?”
“Yep,” I say.
He flashes me a knowing smile. “Okay. See you later tonight.”
And then he strolls out the door.
I turn around to Kimberlee, who is staring at me in utter disbelief. Her perfectly waxed eyebrows are knitted together, and her delicate nose is wrinkled up.
“Seriously?” she manages to get out.
“Seriously what?” I say, swiveling in my chair and looking at JP on my screen.
“You . . . and Niko? For real?”
Oh, I love this with the intensity of a thousand suns.
I swing my chair back around so I’m facing her. I flash her a huge smile. “For real. Isn’t it cool?” I add, ripping a page out of Holly Johansson’s playbook.
Kimberlee can’t take it. She grabs her purse and storms over to the door, but I’m determined to get the final word before she leaves.
“See you tomorrow for editing,” I call out cheerfully. “And thanks for encouraging Niko to get sushi for me tonight. I love sushi.”
I watch as Kimberlee’s hand freezes on the doorknob. Oh, I know she’s pissed right now. She can’t even look at me, she’s so mad. Kimberlee jerks open the door and walks out, banging it shut behind her.
I turn around and smile broadly. Score:
Normal Lexi: 1; Rate Me to Date Me! Bimbo: 0.
Life is perfect.
Working a game is exhilarating.
After the third period has started, I take a break to go grab a cup of coffee. I laugh to myself. Crud is more like it, but hey, it will do to keep my energy up for the last round of edits.
Cutting game highlights is completely different than doing a show. Interns log the key plays, and I have to hurry and set them to music for the studio hosts to use during intermission. I’ve done three shows now, and it’s a huge adrenaline rush to get them done on time. I work at a frantic pace, against the clock, but I love the challenge.
