Ravishing Rebounds: A Slapshot Novella (Slapshot Series Book 10)

by Heather C. Myers

  "So," she prodded again. "What's the plan?"

  "I do not know." He ran his hands down his face, heaving another sigh. "I feel as though I'm prolonging making a decision so I do not have to, and one will be made for me."

  Amanda rolled her eyes. With as much grace as she could muster, she carefully climbed off of Dimitri so she could start pacing up and down the living room. She tried to keep her hands behind her back, knowing she had a penchant for waving them around dramatically when she was passionate about something, but it was difficult to do so.

  "That is the worst thing you could do, Dimi!" she exclaimed. She threw her hands out. She hadn't even lasted a second before her hands started waving around. "You're giving up your power to someone who wants nothing more than to control you. Right now, you have the power. You can choose to do what you want. Having a choice is power."

  "So you're suggesting I don't sign the paperwork?"

  Amanda grunted in frustration and spun on her heel. "I can't make the decision for you," she said. "Like I said, this is your decision. What do you want?"

  "I do not want to think about this any longer," he admitted. "I do not want to worry about it."

  "Well, you should start," Amanda snapped. She stopped pacing and tugged at her hair so the roots were pulled. The slight amount of pain reminded her she needed to control herself. This wasn't her drama, it was his, and in her role of girlfriend, she needed to offer him support, not advice. "You're supposed to get the kids back tomorrow, right? And you have a game that night. Do you really want to give up a few hours of time with your kids?"

  "I might have to," Dimitri snapped. "Sorry, I was not trying to speak sharply." He paused and stared up at the ceiling. "I love my children more than anything on this planet. More than hockey; more than I love myself. But I do not want to let someone control my actions by using them against me."

  "It sounds like you don't want to sign the papers," Amanda said. "Do you even know what they say yet?"

  Dimitri shook his head. "I have a meeting Monday with my lawyer. He called to let me know what was happening with everything." He suddenly sat up, reached out, and grabbed Amanda's wrist. "Thank you."

  Amanda furrowed her brow, glancing down at him. "For what?" she asked. "I didn't do anything. Not really."

  "You came back," he said. "You are right. I have no idea what it's like to be so close to the inside of this and still feel like you're on the outside. But I want you to know, Amanda, what I said was true. I do look at you like my partner. Your opinion does matter to me. I may not agree, but I will always want to hear it."

  Amanda smiled. It wasn't exactly what she wanted when it came to being with Dimitri and where she fit into his life, but it was a start.

  11

  The last thing Dimitri wanted to worry about right now was the paperwork, the stupid deal his wife was trying to force him to agree to. He needed to just be distracted for the next couple of hours before he thought about making a decision. He wanted to avoid it as much as possible. It was passive, he knew, but it was already late and he refused to worry about anything until he had to. Until he read the paperwork himself and saw what she was asking for.

  Instead, he continued to hold Amanda in his arms, tucking her head underneath his chin and wrapping his arms around her slender body. He sighed, a gentle hum that left his mouth even though his lips were pressed together. When Amanda was in his arms, he felt good. He felt like nothing bad could get to him. That he was safe.

  He had never had that feeling before, to be honest. When he was with Rita, he felt as though he was providing her with safety. He felt as though he was providing his children safety. He never really got to feel it. And that was fine. That was what he expected. But to have that feeling from someone...he appreciated it more than he realized.

  His fingers played with the hemline of her shirt and his fingertips caressed the smooth skin on her back. She was beautiful. She felt silky beneath his fingers and it gave him a thrill to be able to touch her. She was new, she was young, and she was different. It was as though he was still learning about her, about what made her feel good, about what made her happy and sad, and in between.

  Without saying a word, he tugged on her shirt and pulled it over her head. She let him, reaching her arms up, for it made everything easier for him. He was left with the miraculous sight of her bare chest in a simple nude bra, as though she wasn't expecting to impress him with lingerie so she threw on whatever would do the job. In his opinion, she looked good in everything and nothing so he felt himself get hard just seeing her on top of him, her curvy body in nothing but a bra and yoga pants.

  Dimitri ran his hands down her frame, tracing the curves with his hands. She shuddered in response to his touch, and he felt himself stiffen. Even though they had consummated their love plenty of times before now, it always felt like the first time. He thought that had been a simple expression, something people said to write a pretty song or a compliment that didn't necessarily ring true. However, with Amanda it was true. Knowing he had the power to do something like make her shudder was enough to inspire him to do more.

  He sat up and leaned toward her until his lips were on her shoulder bone, dropping gentle caresses. They trailed across her chest as his hands gripped her hips tighter, wanting her to know that she was his. Through everything, she belonged to him. And just because he was sweet did not mean he wouldn’t be a dick to anyone who bothered her for any reason. He was a hockey player, after all.

  His lips trailed down to her breasts. As they did, his teeth came out to nibble on the soft flesh. Her breathing quickened, sharp against his ear. His cock pushed against his sweatpants but he would not thrust into her, not yet, even though he really wanted to.

  Amanda arched her back, so he had better access to her chest. Her hands were in his hair, at the back of his head. Her head was thrown back, her eyes half-hooded and dark. He loved seeing her like this. It told him how much she wanted him, how much she truly desired him. Amanda was beautiful in her own right. She could have any man she wanted, and, for some reason, she selected him. He was honored, and he knew he needed to make sure he satisfied her because there was always that possibility she could turn around and find someone else—someone younger, someone with no baggage, someone who was not past his prime.

  Just the thought of her turning to someone else made him clench his teeth in frustration. Dimitri was not a jealous guy. When he had been with Rita, men had openly flirted with her. And why not? She was beautiful and charming—then. That did not make him jealous or even possessive of her. He trusted her—and that had backfired.

  However, there was something about Amanda that caused his primal instincts to rise to the surface. There were times he didn't even want another man looking at her—which was difficult to square away because as an Ice Princess, she had a range of thirteen to twenty thousand people staring at her every home game. And, like with Rita, he could not blame them.

  But Amanda was his. Rita never had been.

  He reached behind her and unsnapped her bra so it fell from the couch and onto the floor, and Amanda was completely topless in front of him. He did not hesitate to take a nipple in his mouth while his left hand began to fondle the other. He could hear her reacting to his caresses and it only caused him to get harder. He knew how much attention on her breasts pleased her.

  His hands continued to run up and down her sides before pressing against the small of her back.

  Her breathy yes and please made him want to bend her over the arm of the couch and fuck her hard but he restrained himself.

  "Dimitri," she breathed out. "Fuck me. Please."

  Until that came out of her mouth.

  Once those words were out in the open, Dimitri was done. It wasn't long before the two were completely naked, with Amanda moving up and down on his lap and making his toes fucking curl.

  12

  The minute he slid inside Amanda, she shut her eyes and let out a groan of contentment. She adored the feeli
ng of Dimitri inside of her, loved to feel him fill her up and give her pleasure simply by possessing her. She glanced down at him, digging her fingernails into his shoulders and pulling him closer to her.

  She slid back up and then dropped down on his cock, eliciting another grunt in approval from him. It was always a battle of power between the two. The fact that she had power over someone as special as Dimitri boggled her mind. He aged like wine and he had one of those smiles that said he would be her mother's favorite boyfriend. He looked like the quintessential nice guy but he touched her like he was a bad boy. It was all gripping, leave-bruises-on-your-hip-bones-because-you-belong-to-me. His mouth loved to suck on her neck but he was careful not to leave hickies on her.

  Dimitri was secretly one of those guys who marked his territory simply by exploring her entire layer of skin, leaving nothing unturned. She was putty in his hands, powerless to stop the way her body reacted. And she craved it. She couldn't get enough of it. She wanted it.

  Her grip on his shoulders tightened but she was careful to remove her nails from his skin. She needed to be steady as she started to rock up and down on top of his lap. In the position they were in, it was difficult to try and get a rhythm going, but in a few moments, she had something she could keep consistently.

  This wasn't the first time they had had sex on his couch but it was the first time where he was sitting and she was on top. Normally, she loved when she was on top simply because the angle his cock was at hit her in just the right place and it was easy for her to reach down and caress her clitoris, bringing her to greater pleasure faster. However, on a couch, she didn't have the same room and the same balance a bed provided, so it was more work than she would have otherwise preferred.

  Regardless, as she looked to him, she noticed his eyes had rolled to the back of his head, his head was on the pillow behind him, thrown back, and his entire body was starting to sweat simply due to their body heat.

  She had never seen a sexier sight than Dimitri Petrov underneath her naked body.

  She started to go faster, up and down. He let out a groan and opened his eyes. The warm caramel color was nearly black with desire. It spurred her on faster.

  She spread her legs wider, dropping one hand from his shoulder so her fingers could find her nub, and using the other as a way to balance on top of him. When her fingers found it, she let out a gasp and a grin spread across her face. She needed this. When was the last time she took what she wanted without question?

  "There you go," he said. "Take it. Take it all."

  He started speaking in Russian, knowing that was something Amanda loved.

  It wasn't long before Amanda felt her orgasm start to build up. She wanted to stop her movements completely and let the orgasm overpower her, but she pushed on, knowing that she needed to claim it for herself. She was so close, she could feel it, and she let out a whimper in frustration when she didn't reach her peak in the time she thought she would.

  When Dimitri placed a gentle kiss on the sensitive place where her shoulder met her neck, she snapped open her eyes. He did not stop, however. He continued to drag his tongue up and down her skin and that was enough for her to finally let go.

  "That's it," he murmured, his lips sending vibrations down her spine, leaving tingles in its wake. "Come for me, dorogoy. I want to feel you quiver."

  His words, his mouth, his tongue sent her over the edge, and she started to twitch on his cock. She could no longer continue her pace only because she was powerless to do anything more. Dimitri took over without missing a beat. He snaked one arm around her waist and lifted her up and down while his other hand easily found her nub and continued to dance across it, keeping the same tempo she had.

  The pleasure was too much for her and she physically had to push Dimitri away in order to give herself time for her body to get used to the sparks that continued to fuse, like a fire that had just been put out but embers still jumped.

  Dimitri had not released himself of his own tension just yet, and continued to move Amanda up and down until she had recovered enough to do it herself. She had never been vocal during sex, but she knew it was something Dimitri liked, so she made sure to emphasize her pleasure with sounds. Her moaning became louder, her breathing became heavy. She caressed the column of his throat with the back of her fingers and urged him to his own climax.

  "Oh, Dimitri," she said in a breathy whisper.

  At that moment, she felt him tense underneath her, gripping her tightly to him. He started thrusting inside of her quick and hard. She took her hands and held his hair, gripping the roots and giving them a gentle tug. She could feel him spasm inside of her, and the feeling was enough to send shivers across her body, even though she was filled with sweat.

  When he finished, he pulled her close to him and she rested her forehead against his.

  "That was incredible," he told her, his voice still husky.

  "Yes," she agreed, a wicked smirk touching her lips. "Let's go upstairs and do it again."

  13

  Dimitri woke up the next morning to pounding on the door and the doorbell ringing again and again. Amanda was the type of person who could sleep through almost anything so he wasn't surprised to see her sleeping next to him without reacting at all to the unexpected visitor. He let his eyes linger on her naked body, wrapped up tightly with his sheet. Her red hair splayed out across the pillow, giving her a crimson halo. She looked absolutely beautiful, and he was glad to see that she seemed to be so at peace that he was tempted to ignore whoever was at his front door and pull Amanda close to him, bury his face into her shoulder, and fall back asleep.

  However, the noise would not stop, so even if he wanted to do such a thing, he could see that it would be impossible.

  Sliding out of bed, he headed to his closet and pulled out his fluffy navy blue robe with a white anchor over the left breast. His muscles yelled at him, begging to crawl back into bed. When he refused, they sagged in surrender.

  He walked out of the bedroom and headed down the hall. Glancing over his banister, he tried to make out who would be inflicting such noise on him so early in the morning. Surely if it was an emergency, somebody would have called? He had been charging his phone all night and always kept the ringer on loud, especially considering he had kids and wanted to be notified if there was an emergency.

  He stepped down the stairs and hit the cool tile on the first floor. The sudden shock of cold, smooth material was enough to help him wake up. He shook his head, as though trying to get sleep out of his head, out of his mind, and yawned just as he reached his front door. Glancing through the peephole, Dimitri felt his whole body nearly go slack.

  What the hell were Rita and the kids doing here?

  He glanced back up the stairs, almost as if to ensure Amanda was still upstairs, hopefully sleeping and not following him down here. While he had asked if she was ready to meet his children, he definitely did not want her to meet his ex at all, and he thought the morning after a night of sex probably was not the best time to spring a surprise introduction on her.

  Dimitri cleared his throat and opened the front door, cracking it open half a foot. He did not want to seem rude, especially to his own children, but he also did not want to invite them in until he figured out what was going on.

  "Good morning," he said, ignoring the pinched look on Rita's face and taking in the sight of his son and daughter. Both seemed pleased to see him, something he was happy about. "And to what do I owe the pleasure of such an unexpected visit?"

  "Why are you in your robe?" Rita asked, ignoring his question. Her eyes were locked on his attire, and he made sure to keep his smile tight on his face so as to not let her bother him simply by her presence.

  "Why are you at my house?" he asked.

  "Daddy, can we come in? My backpack hurts my shoulder," Tawny said, looking up at him with big brown eyes.

  "Yeah," Braden responded. "Why haven't you invited us in yet? You always tell us to come in right away."

 
"I'm sorry, kids," he said, stepping back to let them pass. "I suppose I'm thrown off by your unexpected visit." His eyes were on Rita as he spoke, but he stepped back so the kids could come in. When Rita stepped forward, as though she, too, was going to enter his house, Dimitri stepped back to block her path. "I said the children could come in." He shifted his feet. "What's this about, Rita? You insist on having a meeting regarding custody of the kids. And then, you tell me if I start dating, I'm prohibited from seeing my own children if I sign a document. And now, you show up with them here, knowing I have a game tonight? What game are you playing?"

  "I'm not playing a game at all," Rita insisted, shifting her weight and clutching the strap of her purse with her recently manicured fingers. "I thought I would extend an olive branch. The kids were supposed to come over last night."

  "And leave this morning because of the game," Dimitri finished. "Don't pretend like you don't know this." Dimitri had an insult ready on the tip of his tongue, but thought better of it—especially with the children nearby—and swallowed it. "What do you want?"

  "I want to remain civilized during this ugly divorce that you felt you needed to put our family through," Rita said, scoffing. "We can do that for the kids, can't we?"

  Dimitri opened his mouth, ready to correct her and the reason they were engaged in divorce proceedings, when he stopped. He clenched his teeth and took in a deep breath. Now was not the time to get defensive. The children were present. He heard Braden in the kitchen, probably getting himself some cereal, and Tawny was skipping up and down the foyer, singing a song. He was glad Amanda could sleep through anything. Maybe she could sleep through the morning and he could have the kids out before she even knew they were there.

  "Dimitri," Rita asked through gritted teeth, her eyes on something behind him. "What the hell is a redhead doing in your house, wearing your clothes, walking down the stairs like she just spent the night but did little sleeping?"