The Stick Handler

by Cathryn Fox

  My girl.

  Hell yeah, she’s my girl, and it’s time she knows it.

  That thought gives me pause and takes me back to Ari. What will I do if she ruins my reputation, and gets me fired? Am I willing to take that chance? I worked my fucking ass off to get where I am today, but when it comes right down to it, how is any of it worth it if I don’t have Katee in my life and in my bed? I guess I’ll have to take a chance and let my skills and reputation speak for themselves.

  I sit there for another second, and the game eventually ends. Trey’s voice pulls me back.

  “What do you say we get in there and mix it up a bit?”

  I turn to him and he has a cocky grin on his face. Clearly he’s picked up on my mood, how much I want to punch that guy in the face for touching Katee.

  I push from the chair. “Good idea.”

  A united team, we jump into the pool and go to our girls. The entertainment director makes new teams and the douche bag is now on the other side of the net. Soon enough the ball is in play, and we’re all having fun. Katee dunks and I go to her rescue, planting a possessive kiss on her lips when the asshole is looking. Yeah, okay, I’m staking my claim, going all caveman, but I don’t give a shit. No man, ever again, is going to touch my girl. If he so much as tries…

  “Luke,” Katee says, and I continue to hold her against me.

  “Yeah.”

  “The game,” she says and Trey nudges me.

  “Let’s go,” he says and sets me up. I spike the ball over the net, but the asshole sends it back, and gains a point.

  “Should have stuck me with, Katee,” he says and all I see is red.

  “I’ll set you up again,” Trey says, as angry as I am.

  The ball goes back and forth a few times, and when Trey sets me up, I jump from the water, and spike the ball over the net—hard—catching the douche bag right in the face. He goes under and one of his buddies helps him. The ref blows the whistle to end the game.

  Becca swims up to Trey to congratulate him, but all I get from Katee is one hand on the hip and glaring eyes aimed my way.

  “What the hell was that all about?” Katee asks.

  I shrug. “Nothing, I just play to win.”

  She folds her arms. “Luke, are you kidding me? You smacked that guy in the face with the ball.”

  I look at the douche bag, who’s covering his eye as he climbs from the pool. “His face was in the way. I was just playing the game.”

  “My guy here doesn’t even know his own strength,” Trey says coming to my rescue.

  Katee continues to eye me. “He and his friends invited us all out for drinks tonight.”

  “Can’t,” I say.

  She narrows her eyes, still assessing me, trying to figure out if I hit that guy on purpose or not. “Why not?”

  “We have dinner plans.” I drag her to me. “It’s Valentine’s Day remember, and a candlelight dinner is part of the honeymoon package.” She frowns, and I cup her chin. She has a strange look on her face, and for once in my life I’m not sure what’s going through her head. “What’s wrong?”

  She plasters on a smile. “Oh, nothing. It’s just that the days are going so fast, and soon enough we’ll have to get back to the real world. I mean it’s not Bali, but still…”

  “Maybe that won’t be such a bad thing,” I say, thinking how we can settle into my place together, make a real home for us. Or if she’d prefer, we can move into a house with a white picket fence, and start filling it with children, sooner rather than later. She might be adamant that she doesn’t want marriage, because she doesn’t trust guys, but she trusts me, and I saw the way she was with that baby. A niggle of guilt tugs at me and I once again pray she doesn’t think of this seduction, or that I didn’t tell her the truth about Ari, as a betrayal.

  “Back to real life where my phone is ringing off the hook,” she says. “I canceled all my appointments at the clinic to come here and I’m going to be working like crazy to catch up.”

  “You could always come on the road with the team, and work for us.” I say, but then I think about her hands on my teammates and suddenly don’t like that idea.

  “I actually really like my job. I worked hard to get where I am today.”

  “I know you have.”

  Her eyes go soft. “I wouldn’t be where I am today without you, Luke. You helped me get over all the obstacles.” She angles her head and she has a mischievous look in her eyes. “I thanked you for that, right?”

  “I can’t remember,” I say, even though she’d thanked me numerous times growing up. “Why don’t we go back to the room and you can show me how thankful you are,” I tease. “We have a few hours to kill before dinner.”

  “A few hours? Really, Luke, that’s a lot of time,” she says, teasing me. “What will we do for the bulk of it?”

  I laugh at her continued teasing. Seriously though, it’s hard to last any length of time when it’s with her. “I didn’t just buy swimming trunks at the gift shop this afternoon,” I say, and wag my brows at her.

  Her eyes widen with intrigue. “No?”

  “No, they had something special behind the counter.”

  “What are you up to, Luke?”

  I pick her up and lift her until she’s on the side of the pool, and I jump out beside her. “Why don’t you come upstairs with me, and I’ll show you.”

  A fine shiver goes through her, and I grab her towel and wrap it around her beautiful body. I give Trey a nod for helping me, and as he and his wife swim off, I capture Katee’s hand, grab our duffle bag full of clothes, and pull her close as we head to the elevator bank. The elevator is waiting as we arrive, and when we get off on our floor, she’s shivering. As soon as we enter our room, I flick on the propane fireplace, and place her in front of it until she’s warm.

  “Let’s get a shower, and get this chlorine off our bodies,” she suggests. We walk into the bathroom and I turn on the two rain-shower sprays. We strip our wet suits from our bodies, and I lick my lips when I see how pebbled her nipples are.

  “Come here,” I say and brush my thumbs over her hard nubs before guiding her under the spray.

  “So nice,” she murmurs as I begin to wash her body. I love how comfortable she is in her skin around me. I mean, I’ve always seen her in a bra and panties, since it was her favorite outfit around the house, but now she has no trouble being completely bare in so many ways. Once we’re rinsed off, I wrap her in a towel and take her to the bed. I dim the lights and her gaze is latched on mine as I walk to the bar, pour us each a drink and take my other purchase from the bag.

  She goes up on her elbows. “What do you have there?” she asks, trying to see what I’m hiding behind my back.

  I hand her a glass of bourbon, and set mine on the nightstand. “I’ll be right back. Drink this, then lay back and get comfortable.”

  I hurry to the bathroom, take the muscle massaging wand, aka the vibrator, from the package and clean it with soap and water. I rinse it thoroughly, and my heart beats triple-time in my chest when I walk back into the room. The lights are low, most of the glow coming from the fire and the most beautiful woman I know is on the bed waiting for me.

  “Hey,” I say in a soft voice.

  “Hey yourself.”

  The mattress dips as I sit beside her and run my fingers along her stomach. She shivers beneath my touch. “For a second I thought you were asleep.”

  “I am sleepy, but I’m anxious to find out what surprise you have in store for me.”

  I produce the muscle massager wand I secretly purchased and she grins. “You’re going to give me a massage?”

  I click the button and the end starts vibrating. “They sell these to people who’ve been skiing all day and need something to relax their muscles. You’re always taking care of my body, massaging it when I’m stiff…” She chuckles at that. “I thought it would be nice to take care of you for a change.”

  Her hand goes to my bare chest. “Believe me, you’
ve been taking care of me.”

  I smile at that. I like that she feels that way. “Lay back, Katee. Let me relax you.”

  She rolls over and offers me her back. Her muscles jump at first contact, and then she laughs. “That actually feels kind of good.”

  “It has a five-star rating,” I say. She moans and my dick thickens. “What do you think the five stars mean,” I ask as I slowly rub her one shoulder, using a circular motion like the pamphlet instructed. “Do you think it could mean five orgasms?” I tease and her laugh is a little rougher this time.

  “I hope so,” she says, and I chuckle with her.

  “I want you to relax, Katee. Take three big deep breaths and then let them out slowly,” I say, using the same tactic she uses with me. She breathes in deeply and lets it out, repeating until her body is like putty beneath me. I look her over and smile. I like having her at my mercy like this.

  I run the machine all over her back, taking my time with her until she’s a puddle on the bed. I roll it over her ass cheeks, and down her gorgeous legs. Her breathing changes and I think she’s fallen asleep a time or two. Good. This is the exact mood I want her in when I make love to her.

  When I complete her back, I put my mouth close to her ear and whisper, “Roll over.”

  “I don’t think I can move a muscle,” she whispers, and as she shifts, I help her until she’s on her back. I look over her body, and reach between her legs to widen them.

  He lashes flutter until her eyes are closed and her breathing once again levels off. I slow the power down, and lightly massage her breasts, sliding the tip gently over her nipples until they’re hard again. I use the little wand on the fronts of her shoulders, and down her arms. Her soft breathing noises and little moans in her half-sleep, half-awake state, tug at my dick.

  Her belly flutters as I lightly roll the tip over her. I change position on the bed until I’m between her spread legs, her soft pink pussy wide open and on display. It takes everything in me not to dive in and taste her, but I want every single muscle in her body tranquil when I take her.

  Her thigh muscles clench and relax as I work both legs, and the swelling of her clit, the dampness on her sweet sex doesn’t go unnoticed. My goddamn cock is so hard, it takes all my strength to go slow, let her get sleep as I pleasure her like this.

  After a long time, when she’s relaxed into the mattress, I begin a slow slide up her legs, the soft vibrations of the machine in my hand tickling my balls, and massaging my dick. I circle her clit and her chest rises as falls as she whimpers in sexual bliss. Her dampness grows and I slowly, slide the tip back and forth over her clit. In some dream-like state, she puts her one hand on her stomach, and the other goes to her breast and she strokes her nipple. I want to speak to her, but I don’t dare pull her from this trance she’s in. I continue to play with her clit, then jack the power a notch. She whimpers some more, and her mouth parts as she licks her lips.

  My own throat is so dry I can barely swallow. But soon enough I’ll quench myself with her juices. I push one thick finger into her, and her walls close around me as I continue to manipulate her clit. Her hips move, and I glance up to see heavy-lidded eyes straining to focus on me.

  “Shh, sleep,” I say and her lids fall shut again. I move my finger in and out of her, and while our lovemaking is slow this time, less hurried, it’s more profound than anything I’ve ever felt before. My heart swells in my chest with everything I feel for this girl and my mind goes back to all the years we spent together, everything from the laughter to the heartbreak.

  Understanding her body and what it takes to pull an orgasm from her, I apply more pressure to her clit, and work my finger inside her harder. She sucks in a fast breath, and a second later she’s coming all over my hand. Her juices are so hot, they singe my skin and zap my balls. I pull the massage wand away and circle her clit, keeping my finger inside her as she comes down from her high.

  Her eyes are open again and she has a small smile on her face as she goes up on her elbows. I toss the wand away, give her sex a long, slow lick to quench my thirst, and then slide up her body. My lips find hers and I kiss her with all the love and passion inside me. No way can she mistake the kiss for anything other than love.

  Her hands go around me, and run up and down my back. “That was amazing,” she whispers. I position my cock at her soaking wet entrance, and slowly slide in. “Yes,” she says as she opens for me, welcomes me into her body as her legs wrap around me. I kiss her softly, a gentle slide of our tongues as we breathe into each other. “This is what it should always be like,” she murmurs.

  “Always,” I say, and I hope she means between us.

  Her nails lightly claw at my back, her hard nipples scrap over my chest and the sensations rocket through me. Never in my life have I felt so close to her, felt so much need for her.

  “Katee,” I murmur, as my cock thickens even more.

  “Mmm, I feel you. So hard inside my body,” she murmurs.

  “I love being inside you like this.”

  “You’ve been inside me everywhere now,” she says.

  “Yeah, I like that,” I murmur as I pull out and glide back in again.

  “Me too.” Her head rolls to the side and her mouth opens, but no sound comes when her sex muscles clench around me.

  “I love when you come for me, baby.”

  “It’s so good, Luke. I never knew it could be this good.”

  “I’ll always make it good for you, I promise.”

  “Okay,” she says, but I don’t even think she heard me because her eyes are rolling back, and her second orgasm turns into her third. My balls tighten, and I want to hang on, give her a couple more orgasms, but that will have to wait until after dinner tonight, because I need to fill her with my cum.

  “Yes,” she whispers at the first clench. “Fill me with your cum. I love it when it drips out of me.”

  Christ, her words turn me on even more, and I come harder, spurt all my seed high inside her. Her muscles squeeze me, massage every last drop from my body until I’m spent, exhausted, but my need for her is hardly sated. I bury my face in the crook of her neck, and her hand lightly brushes over my back, stilling as her breathing changes, sleep once again pulling at her.

  “Luke?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I think this might be my favorite.”

  Mine too, because this wasn’t just sex for pleasure, this was lovemaking. I relax over her, my body weight pinning her to the bed. Some small part of my brain reminds me we have dinner reservations. I try to move, but my muscles won’t allow me.

  “Dinner,” I manage to get out, my voice muffled against her skin.

  “Order in,” she whispers. “I’m not done with you.”

  Despite my exhausted state, I grin. Because she has no idea just how not done I am with her either.

  14

  Katee

  The sun is low in the sky, and the cool winter air whips over my face, but I don’t care. I’m having too much fun skating on the outdoor rink to worry about frostbite. I guess I must be acclimating to the temperature here in the mountains.

  Luke skates circles around me, and I smile. He’s so at home on the ice. He must be anxious to get back to hockey…to Ari. As I think about that, a knot tightens in my stomach. I realize we’re just playing here, and soon enough reality will come crashing over me like a bucket of cold water. My mind drifts back to last night and the slow tender way he made love to me.

  Made love?

  Wait, what am I thinking? That was just another lesson, to show me how good sex was when you were in a sleepy state of mind. Or was it?

  Okay, Katee, keep it together. Don’t go confusing sex and emotions.

  That first night when we watched porn, we talked about that. Talked about how much better sex was when it was with someone you loved. The truth is, I’ve always loved Luke. I just never let myself love him the way I always wanted to, until this week. I consider that a moment longer. Luke has alwa
ys teased me sexually, but has never made a real pass at me before, or tried to get me into his bed. Is this really about teaching me about sex, or am I just some kind of rebound?

  Oh God, am I his rebound?

  “Hey what are you thinking about?” Luke says as he comes skating up to me.

  I quickly glance around, and that’s when I spot the beautiful glassed-in gazebo, a wedding taking place inside it. “Look,” I say to Luke. Anything to distract him, before he probes too deep and sees what I’m feeling. He follows my gaze, and takes in the wedding.

  “Want a closer look?” he says, and I nod.

  We skate to the edge of the rink, and he stands behind me, wraps his arms around my body to keep me warm as the couple inside the gorgeous gazebo exchange vows.

  “Why so quiet?” he asks.

  “No reason. Just tired out, I guess,” I say.

  He presses warm lips to my neck. “Have you ever pictured yourself walking down the aisle like that?”

  “No, not really. You know how I feel about marriage.”

  “But you did say you’d do it with the right guy.”

  I nod. “True.” Only problem is Luke is the right guy, he’s just not my guy.

  We stay there and watch until the rings are placed, and kisses are exchanged. I let loose a sigh, and Luke chuckles against my ear.

  “You want that, Katee, and you totally deserve that.”

  I shrug. “I’d rather elope,” I say.

  “Liar,” he responds, and skates off before I can pinch him. I go after him, my heart a little heavier than it was moments ago. Tomorrow we go home, and in two days, I might lose my only friend. How can I possibly be around him, especially if he gets back with Ari, and pretend there is nothing more between us? I’m not sure I can pull that off.

  From the side of the rink I see the guy who I was playing water volleyball with. He waves to me and I wave back. Maybe I should have taken him up on his offer to get a drink. Maybe I should seriously start looking for someone else.