by Avery Flynn
He tore open the box and fished out a strip of plastic squares, tearing one off. He ripped the packet open and removed the contents.
“This?” He circled one hand around his erection. “I’ve been like this for two days straight. Because of you.”
Zim placed the condom on his leaking tip and slowly rolled it down, enjoying the bit of friction as well as the hungry look in Suji’s eyes as she followed his hand.
“Promise me I can get my mouth around that before you go back to New Orleans,” she practically moaned.
Zim had to grab the base of his cock and squeeze to keep from losing it right then and there.
“You,” he started, once he could breathe again. “You cannot say shit like that to me right now.”
Suji’s laugh was sexy. “Promise me.”
She reached down and took him in hand.
“Oh…fuck.”
“Promise.” She guided him to her center and teased him by dragging the head up and down her slick cleft.
The heat of her, the scent. The sight of her spread out underneath him…in his bed…looking at him like he was all she ever wanted, it unlocked a door inside Zim he hadn’t opened in a long, long time.
“Suji…”
“Now, Zim.” She brought her legs up and around his hips, arching her back. “Now, please….now.”
Zim slid home, and home is exactly what she felt like as her arms went around him. He buried himself in her depths, buried his head in the crook of her neck, and unearthed his long-dormant heart.
This was the start of something. This, right here, it was a beginning.
“So good,” she moaned as he rolled his hips to meet hers. “God…Zim…”
Zim slid one hand up into her hair, bracing himself on the bed with the other. She looked amazing. Perfect.
“So fucking good,” he agreed, fighting to go slow. To take his time. It was an impossible feat as Suji stretched up and ran her tongue across his open mouth.
He kissed her. It was hot and sweet, and they rocked together, perfectly in sync as if they’d done this a million times before. Zim felt her tighten around him, her body claiming his, and he surrendered.
“Baby…”
“Zim…”
He felt her shudder, heard the needy little whimpers followed by her cry of release, and he continued to rock into her. Relentless. Wringing out every bit of her pleasure he could before he lost his own battle with bliss. He bent to take a dark, puckered nipple into his mouth and her answering moan resonated right down to his balls.
His climax hit him like a freight train, slamming into his back and skittering up his spine, tightening the muscles in his legs and stomach. Zim couldn’t breathe, the pleasure was so intense, so unexpected.
In the distance, he heard Suji’s voice coaxing him on as he spilled into the condom. Into her.
Even the aftershocks were brutal. Zim’s arms shook as he fell to his side. He grabbed a tissue to discard the condom and then gathered Suji into his arms.
“Wow.” She draped one leg over his thigh and threw one arm across his stomach, resting her head on his shoulder.
Zim exhaled a laugh. “I second that.”
He trailed one hand through her hair, across her shoulder, down her arm and back. Over and over, in an attempt to wrap his head around this. Around her.
“I have an idea,” she said.
“Already? I need a few minutes.” That earned him a playful slap on his belly.
Suji sat up. “You have something I can borrow? A shirt?”
His mind immediately latched onto the possibility of seeing her in his jersey and nothing else. Before he could talk himself out of it, he jumped up and grabbed one from his closet, holding it out to her with a flourish.
“Of course,” she chuckled. “I should have known.”
She put it on, and Zim was semi-hard again. Just. Like. That.
Suji tossed him his underwear. “Put these on and follow me.”
Zim did as he as told.
They ended up in the living room, and Zim watched as she walked over to the black, flight case that held The Cup.
Fuck, he’d completely forgotten it was there.
“I think you should spend some time with it,” Suji said, her voice barely above a whisper as she unbuckled the latches. “If you don’t mind me being here with you, I’d like to stay.”
Was she kidding? “You really think I’d let you walk out that door right now?”
He would, of course, if that’s what she wanted. But fuck if he didn’t want her to stay all night. And all day tomorrow. And the day after that. It hit him then that he’d be back in New Orleans in a few days.
Suji tried to open the case on her own, but it really was a two-person job. Zim joined her, and soon they had The Cup on his coffee table. Zim sat on the sofa and pulled Suji into his lap.
They sat in silence for long minutes, the only sound their mingling breaths.
“It really is amazing,” she said, staring at the polished silver. “You don’t like to brag, I’ve learned this about you already, but you’ve done something that few in your sport ever achieve. Be proud of that, proud of all the hard work you did to get here.”
Suji turned in his arms and Zim slid a hand up into her hair to cradle her head.
He caught her gaze. Held it. Cherished it.
“You are so goddamned beautiful.”
She blushed, then leaned forward and brushed a sweet kiss across his lips before whispering. “So are you, Constantine Zimin.”
Yeah. He was done for. The question was, now what?
“This isn’t going to be easy,” Suji said, tracing a fingertip across his eyebrows.
“So, we’re on the same page?”
She met his gaze.
“I think it’s safe to say we are,” she answered, a tinge of sorrow in her voice that he hated to hear.
Zim’s hand tightened in her hair. “I want to make this work. Tell me how.”
She shrugged. “I don’t know, I guess we just…take it one day at a time? How often are you home?”
He winced.
“So.” She smiled. “Not often.”
“We play eighty-two games, not including the playoffs.”
There was no way to sugarcoat the truth. He’d rarely be in Philly during the season. The Rage had only faced the Orange and Black twice last year.
“Look at your face,” she said, smiling. “Zim, it’s not a deal-breaker. I’m just trying to figure out what I’ve gotten myself into, here.”
“You can still walk away.”
Suji shook her head and ran a hand through his hair. Zim was sure it looked like hell.
“No, I don’t think I can.”
Well, shit. This was…it was fast. But Zim couldn’t deny the fact that he was right there with her in it, whatever it was.
“Yeah,” he croaked, pulling her up and over to straddle his thighs. “Me neither.”
“So,” she started, pecking him softly on the lips. “We take it a little at a time. If we need to make a decision later, we’ll deal with it then. Right now, I just…I want to get to know you.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“I wasn’t expecting this, didn't expect you.” Zim could hear the tremor in his voice. “But, damn, if you’re in, I’m in.”
“I’m in.” Her smile flipped his world upside down.
Zim stood up, with Suji still wrapped around him, and headed toward the stairs. “Good, now let me in you again.”
Suji laughed, warm and husky in his ear. “So cheesy.”
“Get used to it,” he teased.
“I plan to.”
15
Suji awoke to strong arms around her body and soft kisses on her shoulder. She could get used to this but knew she shouldn’t. At best, she’d only get a few days with Zim over the course of the hockey season, if they were going to move forward with this. And it looked like they were.
Wait, did that mean he was
now her…boyfriend?
Holy. Shit. She wasn’t ready for that conversation.
“Good morning.” The deep, raspy rumble of his voice sent shivers across her skin and tightened her nipples. “Hungry?”
He had no idea. Suji was ready to push him down and ride him like a stallion, and then she remembered she had to go to work. And he had stuff to do as well if she recalled correctly.
“I could eat.”
Zim chuckled. “I’ll make us a quick breakfast, I know you need to get to the hospital. I can drop you off at your place on my way to meet Motz.”
“The Cup goes back today?”
He nodded. “Yeah, and if I’m late, Motz will have my head.”
“I don’t doubt it.”
“I was thinking,” he said, pulling her until she lay flat on her back. Zim braced himself over her, leaning on one arm.
“Yes?” Suji couldn’t help but smile up at him. He was damned sexy in the morning, the sunlight from the window revealing streaks of auburn in his hair.
“I could fly you out to games, when we’re on the East coast, or even in the Midwest.”
“I can fly myself.”
Zim nodded quickly. “Yes, I know, but…well, you know what I mean. I just want to see you more than every other month.”
“You’re home in the summer, right?”
He nuzzled her neck. “Still wouldn’t be enough. I’m addicted.”
Suji giggled, a sound she didn’t even know she could make. “Is that so?”
“Mmmm,” he growled into her skin, lowering himself over her.
The weight of his body was delicious, and when he kissed her, Suji’s heart tripped into a sprint. Damn. She was in so much trouble.
Smiling, she pushed at his shoulders. “Food. Work. Cup.”
“Right,” he said groaning as he rolled off her. “Coffee and a bagel?”
“Sounds perfect.”
Suji watched as a very naked, yummilicious Zim crawled to his feet, his muscles long and lean. She wanted to pinch herself. The guy was sweet, kind, sexy, generous, loved his mom, was built like a tank, and looked at her like she was the sexiest woman on earth.
There had to be something wrong with him.
“What’s wrong with you?”
Zim stopped in the doorway. “Huh?”
Suji eyed him as he threw on a pair of sweatpants. “There’s got to be something wrong with you.”
His grin was wicked. “Oh, baby. There’s a lot wrong with me, but you’ll have fun figuring it out. I promise.”
She watched him leave the room, laughing. Grabbing his jersey from the floor, she slipped it on and followed him downstairs.
Oh yeah, she could get used to this.
16
Zim caught himself whistling along to Lady Gaga as he pulled up in front of Eddie’s hotel. He shook his head.
“Jesus.”
His phone pinged, signaling a message.
Motz: Checking out, will be out shortly.
Zim killed the engine, the smile he’d woken up with still plastered to his face.
Sujarta Meriwether. In just a few days, the woman had rocked his world, in more ways than one. He really liked her and knew it could quickly grow into a whole hell of a lot more if he weren’t careful. The question was, did he want to be careful? And the answer to that was an emphatic fuck no.
She was a one-in-a-million kind of girl, and he’d fight to keep her. Fight to see where they could go.
His phone rang. Not Motz this time.
“Hey, asshole.”
“Dude, congrats!” It was always great to hear from Jonas, but Zim hadn’t been expecting to so soon.
“Uh, thanks?”
“Why didn’t you say anything? Worried I’d be jealous?”
“Mags, it just happened. And how the hell did you find out, anyway?”
Jonas laughed. “Are you kidding? It’s all over the trades. Five million dollars? That’s amazing, man.”
Zim sat up straight, his buzz from being with Suji all but forgotten. “Jonas, slow down and tell me what the fuck you’re talking about.”
“I’ll read it, hang on.” There was a rustling sound, and then Zim heard the keys of his computer clicking away. “Right, so it says Constantine Zimin inks Five-million-dollar deal with MacroMuscle and launches a foundation to help sick children and their families. There are some pics of you with some guys in suits, and one of you with one of the kids.”
“What?”
“Yeah, taken yesterday. Looks like you’re getting a lot of exposure for the foundation. It’s Mila’s, right? I bet donations will pour in. So happy for you, man.”
Fuck. Fuckity fuck!
“Mags, hang on.” Zim placed the call on speaker and opened a browser on his phone. It didn’t take long for him to find the articles.
“Fuck me.”
“Hey, what’s wrong?” All signs of mirth vanished from Jonas’s voice. “Zim?”
“So much, I don’t know where to fucking start.” Well, he knew where to start. Marty.
“Tell me what’s going on.”
“First, I didn’t sign that deal yet. Marty just brought it to me yesterday, and I said I’d think about it.”
“Then how did the press get a hold of it?”
“Exactly. Fuck if I know, but I can guess,” Zim fumed.
“Marty wouldn’t do that to you,” Jonas tried to reason.
Zim couldn’t say he was wrong. He’d been with Marty a long time, and the guy had never betrayed him.
He opened the rear gate when he saw Motz and the bellman wheel out his suitcase.
“I’ll talk to him, but that’s not my biggest problem.”
The kid in the photo was little Aaron. Suji was going to have his balls for this.
The back gate closed, and then there was a rap on the passenger door. Zim turned to see Eddie standing on the other side. He unlocked it, and Motz opened the back door, tossing his carry-on inside before getting in the front seat.
“Zim, listen,” Jonas said. “I know you don’t like the wheeling and dealing part of this game, but this could help you raise money for Mila’s Room. Help spread awareness, and stuff. You said you wanted to expand outside Philly, right?”
“Yeah, but not like this,” Zim ran a rough hand over his face. “I just found her, I can’t lose her like this.”
Zim felt Eddie’s eyes on him.
“Her who?” Jonas asked, clearly confused.
“I think Zim means Ms. Meriwether,” Eddie so helpfully supplied. “She’s a nurse at the hospital.”
“Head Nurse in Pediatrics.” Zim corrected the man without thinking.
“Hey Motz.”
“Jonas.” Eddie grinned. “So, Zim, I take it you had a good night.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Jonas interrupted. “Zimmer, you met someone? Since the last time we talked? Or were you hiding her from me?”
“Happened kinda fast,” Zim admitted. “And it’s probably over now, fuck.”
“Wait, you said she’s a nurse? At THUP?”
“Yeah, and that little guy in the photo is one of her patients.”
Jonas groaned. “Oh, fuck. I take it the photo is unauthorized.”
“May I see?” Eddie asked, and Zim turned the screen to him. “It looks like a private moment.” He glanced up at Zim.
“He was kinda consoling me,” Zim said, remembering how sweet the kid had been. “I thought I heard someone leave the room, but I didn’t see or hear a camera. Marty told the reporters that the kids were off-limits unless the parents signed a release.”
“Then, this photo is illegal,” Eddie stated.
“Hell yeah, it is,” Jonas agreed. “The parents can sue.”
“Yeah, yeah. I know. But that won’t matter, the damage has been done.”
“Ms. Meriwether,” Eddie said, pity in his voice. “I’m sure she’ll understand, once you explain.”
“Mags,” Jonas drew his attention. “Listen, go see her. Explai
n. Get your attorney to send a cease-and-desist, whatever it takes. But first, go see your girl and explain. You don’t want to leave town like this, not if you think you might have something real with her. I made that mistake.”
“Yeah.” Zim’s stomach had fallen to his feet.
He knew what those kids meant to Suji. He had given his word - his word - that nothing like this would happen. Fuck.
“I need to take Eddie to the airport.”
“I’ll catch a later flight,” the man said, surprising the hell out of him.
“Why?”
“Are you getting soft on us, Eddie?” Jonas teased, and Zim thought Eddie might actually be blushing.
“After a summer spent watching your entire team find love, it only seems fitting that Mr. Zimin has his own happily-ever-after.”
“Yeah, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” Zim started the car. “Mags, I’ll call you later. I need to get Marty on the phone.”
“Do it. And call me,” Jonas demanded. “Good luck!”
He’d sure as hell need it.
He couldn’t have known, she knew that. Suji had only met Constantine Zimin a few days ago, but she knew him well enough to know that he wouldn’t have used Aaron like this.
Still, the irate phone calls from Aaron’s parents weren’t fun. Even Calvin cowered from their wrath. The board wasn’t happy either. The hospital’s security had been called into question, but Suji the board would look the other way in order to keep Mila’s Room at THUP.
“Do you think he did it for the five mil?” Mimi shook her head, tsking. “That ain’t right.”
“No,” Suji answered quickly. “I don’t think he did it for the money. I don’t think he did anything at all.”
Mimi eyed her. “Is that you talking, or the afterglow?”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I,” Mimi countered. “Look, you called it. You said he’d use these kids to make himself look good, and look at this.” She slapped the Inquirer down on the desk. “I was wrong, and you were right. I don’t say that often, and I’m not happy to be saying it now.”
“You weren’t wrong,” Suji argued. “I was. He is a good guy. I don’t believe he did this. Let me see that again.”
Suji picked up the paper. The photo of Zim with Aaron was actually really sweet. It tugged at the heartstrings and made him look like a caring guy, which he was. But to someone who didn’t know him, it also looked opportunistic. It certainly had to Aaron’s father, especially next to such a large sum of money.
