by Lynda Aicher
Somehow he managed to curb his instant desire to swoop her up and never let her go again. She was back. That alone meant something. Right?
But for how long?
He wet his lips, his mind drawing a blank on what to say. “Hi back,” he finally said. Those two simple words left it open.
“You lost something.” She raised a hand to touch his hat. “So I brought it back.”
His eyes fell closed at the whisper-softness of her voice. Damn, how he’d missed her. He opened his eyes and took in her lightly tanned skin that made her lips appear more pink than red. Her lashes were longer, darker, but that was the only hint of makeup he noted. She didn’t need more.
“What I lost was you,” he said to her.
“I know.” Hurt crossed over her face and eyes. “I’m sorry about that.” She slicked her tongue over her lips. “But I’m not lost anymore.”
The urge to touch her, to skim his knuckles over the softness of her cheek had him tightening his hand around his keys. “How do I trust that?”
“I—” She swallowed, blinked a few times. “I don’t know. But I’m here because I want to be. I don’t belong in California. Not when you and everything I love is here.” She took a deep breath, released it. “I’d spent twenty-five years chasing the hockey dream and floundered badly when it was gone. So I pushed everything away, blamed others. Resented what I couldn’t have instead of embracing what I did have.”
She ran out of steam then. Her gaze dropped to his neck, and he watched the slow rise and fall of her chest. The dress dipped low between her breasts, held up by thin straps over her shoulders. The gentle roundness of the firm globes teased the edges of the material when they were usually covered under layers of clothing.
This was her open and vulnerable. Dressed in an outfit so outside her norm, exposing the gentler side she fought so hard to hide.
This was Samantha, not Sam.
“I found my own happiness again, so I don’t need to resent you or what you have anymore,” she said, her gaze lifting to hold his. “I accepted a great job as the new assistant coach with the Lady Gophers and I’m really excited about it. I found my place, and part of it is with you, if you still want me there.” She took a deep breath. “I want to experience the ups and downs of life with you. Be at your side both on and off the ice. I want to cheer when you win and commiserate when you lose. I want that and more and I want it all with you.”
She closed the final distance between them to cup a trembling hand to his cheek. He wished so damn badly that he didn’t have the beard. He needed to feel her skin on his. He’d missed that more than anything.
“I love you, Dylan Rylie. With everything I am, I love you. It took me awhile to get to where I could free it from the strings that held it back.” The truth of what she said was reflected up at him from the depths of her big blue eyes. “I can’t do anything about the past, but I can make sure that every day going forward, you know exactly how much I love you. Starting with this.” She removed his cowboy hat from her head to place it on his, her smile lighting up her face. “You need this back. Along with this.” She patted the side of his old truck. “I was told you should hold on to things that mean something to you.”
Like you.
The jumble of discontent that had been balled inside him evaporated with the delivery of her words. He took his first deep breath in what felt like ages and his pulse slowed into a steady rhythm of rightness.
The jingle of his keys blended with the notes of her song when he slid his hand from his pocket. The first touch of her warm skin sent a jolt of longing down his arm to light up everything that’d been dark since she’d left. His knuckles skimmed over the silkiness of her cheek and her hand dropped to rest over his heart.
“You’re a hard woman to love, Samantha Yates.”
“I know.”
“You don’t make it easy.”
Her smile was a hopeful mix of hesitant and promise. “I’m working on that.”
And if she’d been easy, he never would’ve chased her. Not in a million years had he ever imagined falling so hard for someone who was so damn challenging. “Don’t change for me.”
“I already have.” Her smile widened at his frown. “Or maybe you reminded me of who I used to be. Of who I want to be.”
Like she’d done for him.
He traced a finger over her soft lips, his eyes tracking the gentle dip and fall over the top edge. “I’m not letting you run again.”
“I don’t want to.”
His chest expanded and the last of his doubts fled beneath the shine of her tears. “I love you, Samantha.”
“Kiss her already.” The catcall came from somewhere behind them, shattering over their heads with the subtlety of an elementary school yard.
She laughed softly and bit her lip, a tear finally spilling over to slide down her cheek. He lost himself in the hope and love that shined from her eyes. For the first time since his aunt Bea had died, he knew he belonged somewhere beside the ice.
A rush of pure rightness shot through him when he pressed his lips to hers. He held that touch, savored and absorbed it until it chased away the lingering darkness of his past. She sobbed softly against his mouth, and he captured it, pulled her close.
Her hair tangled in his fingers when he cupped her nape, clutched her back. He poured everything into her when he took her mouth again. His love and fears, dreams and desires, hopes and wishes. He caught her whimper and invaded her mouth to find the taste he’d come to crave. Bittersweet with just enough bite to be interesting.
Memorable. Unforgettable.
Welcoming and feisty like always, she swirled her tongue with his and gave it all back.
It was the earsplitting whistles that finally broke through the cloud of Samantha. The cheers and clapping came next, loud enough to drown out the music that still played from his truck. Christ.
He eased back reluctantly, chuckling. She smiled up at him, a glint in her eye that he recognized.
Their audience increased their ruckus, the cheers getting louder. A few “It’s about time, Cowboy” and “Way to go, Pretty Boy” were peppered in.
His own smile split his cheeks. He didn’t need to say anything to Samantha. In unison, they each lifted a hand and flipped a matching set of birds to the obnoxious group behind them. Laughter burst through the dying calls as Dylan took Samantha’s mouth in another long, slow kiss.
They still had things to figure out, but he knew one thing for certain. It didn’t matter where they went from here. As long as Samantha was at his side, he’d always be home.
*
Meet the Minnesota Glaciers’s friend Holden Hauke in
BONDS OF COURAGE: book six of Wicked Play.
Pro hockey player Holden Hauke has kept his sexual needs buried for years. After a near miss over a picture of him bound to a spanking bench resulted in a midseason trade, he’s kept his image clean.
But with the season over, he’s ready to surrender control. And he’s found just the woman to help him—if only he can convince her
to give him a chance.
Bending men to her will is nothing new for Vanessa Delcour,
aka Mistress V—she’s a full-time rep for pro athletes, a part-time owner of exclusive sex club The Den, and an experienced Domme.
But when Holden Hauke comes looking for a discreet partner,
Vanessa’s concerned about his motives. Touching his training-toned body during a scene wouldn’t exactly be a hardship, but taking him on crosses barriers between work and play that she’s had in place for years.
From their first intense encounter in Mistress V’s playroom, Hauke knows he can’t let this chance slip away; he’s found the woman he’s
always needed. Submissive or not, he’s willing to push her every limit to prove how good they can be together.
New to the Den? Start at the beginning with BONDS OF TRUST.
Available now, wherever ebooks are sold.
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inaPress.com
Craving more hockey romance?
Meet the San Diego Barracudas in Kate Willoughby’s
In the Zone series!
Venture into the locker room and onto the ice with the San Diego
Barracudas, a team of intense, competitive and all too human athletes as they discover that it’s possible to love something more than hockey.
ON THE SURFACE
In the Zone, book one
Pediatric nurse Erin Collier thinks all Tim wants is another notch on his hockey stick, when what he’s really shooting for is forever.
ACROSS THE LINE
In the Zone, book two
She’s a restaurateur. He’s a hockey player returning to the ice after being injured. Committed to their jobs and with thousands of miles between them, they don’t stand a chance.
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About the Author
Lynda Aicher has always loved to read. It’s a simple fact that has been true since she discovered the words of Judy Blume at the age of ten. After years of weekly travel as a consultant implementing computer software for global companies, she ended her nomadic lifestyle to raise her two children.
Now, her imagination is her only limitation on where she can go and her writing lets her escape from the daily duties of being a mom, wife, chauffeur, scheduler, cook, teacher, volunteer, cleaner and mediator. If writing wasn’t a priority, it wouldn’t get done.
To learn more about Lynda, you can find her at:
www.lyndaaicher.com
www.facebook.com/lyndaaicherauthor
www.twitter.com/lyndaaicher
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ISBN-13: 9781426899409
Game Play
Copyright © 2015 by Lynda Aicher
Edited by Rhonda Helms
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and in other countries.
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