by Isabo Kelly
He relished her hoarse cries as he put his mouth on her, and swore he’d spend the rest of the night making her scream. She’d never want to leave. And Reiner didn’t find that scary at all. Instead, he found himself looking forward to the next day with her. When he was finished with her, Emma wouldn’t be able to move. Deciding this was a good goal, Reiner added his fingers into play, and brought her to climax before climbing up her body, and worshipping her lips with his own.
He was ready to go, and he had all night with Emma’s lush body.
Settling his hips in between her legs, he pushed his cock in, slowly, not allowing for a break from her last orgasm, and began to gently rock into her. He could still feel her contracting around him, and his balls drew up, tight and full. By the gods he was ready, but this was for Emma. He’d hold on until she came again.
And she did. As soon as he heard her breath hitch, he pumped once, twice more and shouted his release to the ceiling. He was dead. Sex had killed him, and he was OK with that. Being inside Emma was where he wanted to be.
Her hand fluttered to his face and dropped back to the bed. “You OK?”
He chuckled. “Em, I’m so much better than OK.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “Sleep. I’ll be right here.” He rolled over and held her, realizing that while he’d never liked to cuddle women before, but he could hold Emma forever.
By the time she fell into a sated sleep, the sun was lightening the sky and he had to get up for practice. He hated to sneak out, but he had to go.
He wanted to see her again. Maybe he’d cook for her tonight, something special. Something that they could eat quickly so they could fall into bed right after. His dick hardened in his suit pants. He couldn’t help it. He thought about Emma, and he wanted. He didn’t even mind the walk of shame in last night’s suit. By the gods, he had it bad.
Chapter Six
Emma rolled over and reached for Reiner. Her fingers trailed across the pillow to find not his warm body, but paper. A note?
Emma sat up in bed, shoved her hair out of the way, and opened the note.
Early practice. Dinner tonight. My place.
He hadn’t signed it, but had left his number.
Normally a girl didn’t want to wake to an empty bed and a note, but in this case, she’d let it pass. Biting her thumbnail, she leaned back against her pillows and reread the note. He wanted to see her again. Dinner, he’d written. At his place. That had to mean something, right? Slapping her hand across her eyes, she groaned. This was just sex. Nothing more. She smiled against her hand. For now.
Pushing off the bed, she headed to the kitchen where the dark aroma of freshly brewed coffee teased her nose. Oh yeah, she thought. She was keeping him. Pouring a cup, she went over the events of the night before.
If she’d told her teenage self that the cause of most of her angst would one day spend the night giving her orgasm after orgasm, she’d have thought herself insane.
But he had, and it had been wonderful.
Bonus: he wanted to see her again.
Blowing steam across the top of her coffee, she walked through her small apartment to the table and chair she’d set up next to the window. Her view wasn’t the greatest, but it was hers.
The door opened, and Ray and Kevin, her next door neighbors, walked in. They never knocked. It didn’t bother her anymore, but it had taken some getting used to.
“So who was he?” Ray asked as he helped himself to a cup of coffee.
Kevin put a box of pastries from the shop next door on the table. “Details, girl. We want details.”
She studied Ray and Kevin as she took her first sip of coffee. They were polar opposites. Ray was solid, contained, and a cop. Kevin was drama personified. Ray wore jeans and T-shirt when he wasn’t on the job, and Kevin dressed like he was going on a job interview all the time. They shouldn’t work, and yet they did.
“Remember my friend Astrid?”
“Who can forget Astrid? That girl has flare,” Kevin said around a croissant.
“Right, well, it was her older brother.”
Ray spewed coffee across her tiny kitchen. “That was Reiner Jahr?”
Emma smiled. “I thought you were a Yankees fan?”
Kevin waved his croissant at them. “He’s a sports fan. Doesn’t matter if it’s baseball, football, hockey, basketball, rugby, lacrosse. Hell, he even watches bowling. Who watches bowling? I mean, why do you think our cable bill is so high? It isn’t because of porn, let me tell you.”
“Back up.” Ray was still sputtering. “Can we get back to the fact that Reiner Jahr, the youngest player ever to win a Stanley Cup, was here? Reiner Jahr who makes the NHL player of the week at least twice a month. Reiner Jahr, was here, in this very apartment, and I didn’t get to meet him?”
Sipping her coffee, she hid her grin and nodded.
“You need to give me details. Now.” Ray moved Kevin out of his way and took the only other seat at her table.
“I’m pretty sure you heard all the details last night.”
If they hadn’t, she’d be surprised. Heaven knows she heard everything they did. Not that she was complaining. The things they did sounded pretty hot. She’d always wondered what being the focus of all that attention would be like.
Granted she’d probably have had a coronary if it came to actually doing it. Because what woman didn’t fantasize about two men seeing to her pleasure. So that one would stay firmly in fantasize-but-never-actually-do box. Besides, after last night, she realized what she really wanted was to be the focus of Reiner’s attention.
“Yes, we did. But while my love here wants to know all about sex with Reiner, I want to know how you’re doing? Because honey, having sex with your best friend’s sibling is never something you do lightly. Unless you’re both drunk off your asses. And neither of you sounded drunk last night,” Kevin said, wagging is eyebrows at her over his coffee cup.
Just how thin were these walls?
She thought about her answer. “I’m OK.”
“Really, because I can tell you I wasn’t OK when it happened to me.” Kevin told her, taking a sip from Ray’s coffee. “In fact it messed me up a lot.”
“I remember.” Boy did she remember. Kevin had been a stressed-out wreck for weeks after he’d slept with Ray. Though Ray hadn’t been that much better. He’d still been in the closet to his family. “But I really am OK. He wants to have dinner at his place tonight.”
“How do you think Astrid is going to react?”
She didn’t have to think, she knew. Astrid would be happy for her. Unless she’d been lying to her about wanting to hook her up with Reiner. In fact, she wondered if Astrid hadn’t been able to meet her at the benefit in order to force the two of them together?
“Trust me, I’ve got this.”
She did. It shocked her how well she was handling everything. Normally interactions with the opposite sex left her a mess in the first couple of weeks of a new relationship, but there was something about being with Reiner…and yes, she knew it had been less than twenty-four hours since they’d met, reconnected, whatever. It didn’t matter. It felt right. That’s what mattered.
Her grandma had been right. Sometimes you just know from the beginning.
Chapter Seven
“Get your head in the game, Jahr!”
With his coach’s shout ringing in his ears, Reiner forced his attention off the warm and willing woman he’d left sleeping in bed, and tried to get his ass in gear.
There was too much riding on tomorrow night’s game for him to be obsessing over a woman. He banished all thoughts of how warm and luscious she’d looked when he’d left her place that morning, and skated to center ice.
Coach dropped the puck and he battled Emmerson for it. He won the battle and skated around the lineman. He flew down the ice, passing the puck back and forth between him and Kyle seamlessly. There were times when he was on the ice when he bought into his parent’s belief that he’d been blessed by the Goddess Skaldi.
He’s family still believed in the old gods and goddesses. Along with Christianity. He’d thought it was weird, until Astrid had told him a lot of people believed in the gods and goddesses of their forefathers and in Christ. He didn’t care where his talent came from, all he cared about was being able to play, and play well.
There was no one between him and net. The goalie was weaker on his left side, so Reiner flicked a wrist shot toward the upper left. He took the shot. The puck hit the post and came flying back at him. He ducked and skated out of the way and ran into Max. His skates went out from underneath him, and he fell backward.
Reiner found Emma standing in front of their bedroom window. The view overlooked a small neighborhood park. It wasn’t big like the ones in the city, but was perfect for them. They hadn’t planned on buying a house, content to stay in his apartment. It was big enough for them and the baby. but when they’d seen the for sale sign on one of their nightly walks around the neighborhood they hadn’t been able to resist buying.
He’d been anxious to have them moved in and unpacked before the baby came and his season got crazy.
He came up behind her, resting his head on hers, and his hands on her rounded stomach. “How are you feeling?”
“Tired. From the way Thor here is kicking, soccer, not hockey, is going to be in our future.”
“Thor?”
“You don’t like it? How about Loki?”
“What if he’s a she?”
“She can be Thoretta. Besides, Thoretta sounds like an awesome name for a soccer star.”
He smiled. The teasing was part of them. He’d never been so happy. And as for soccer? He didn’t mind. But while the baby might kick now, hockey was in his blood. He’d play for the pure sport of it, because hockey was fun.
Reiner breathed in the scent of Emma’s hair. Rosemary and mint. Until Emma, he’d never cared about scents…unless it was the scent of ice. He inhaled deeper, wanting her scent inside of him. He would never forget how she smelled right now. He wanted to keep this memory, the anticipation, and when she tipped her head back to look at him, all of the love she felt for him shining in her eyes, he’d never felt more at peace in his life.
“Jahr, open your eyes.”
Blinking Reiner opened his eyes. What the fuck? He was laying on the ice, coach and the trainer were leaning over him. Where was Emma?
“What happened?”
“You tell us. One second you’re skating away from the puck, and the next your head hit the ice.”
He moved to sit up but was stopped by the trainer. “Hold on, I need to check you over.”
“How long was I out?”
“Couple of minutes, three tops.”
“Where’s my lid?”
“Your helmet came off when your head hit the ice. I’ve never seen one break like that before. You must have a hard head.”
Ignoring the bad jokes, the trainer made, Reiner couldn’t get his mind off what he’d just seen. What in the hell had happened to him? And what was up with the dream of him and Emma?
“I’m fine,” he assured the trainer. He’d never had a concussion; hell, he’d never been hurt, which was unusual for an athlete. He’d figured it was because he was just that good. This was odd. Something didn’t feel right.
“Humor me then,” the trainer said.
He lay there while the trainer flashed a light in his eyes and had him follow his finger. Determining he was well enough to move him off the ice, the trainer told him to sit up. With the help of coach and the trainer he got to his feet.
His team was standing around watching him. He could feel their anxiety while they waited to find out how he was. As much as it chafed, he understood their concern. They were all still dealing with one of their teammates being out for the season due to injury, and the new guy Max, taking his spot.
The last thing they needed was another major injury.
“I’m fine,” he assured them again. He really was.
An hour and what felt like a thousand questions later he left the practice rink.
“Care to explain what happened on the ice today?” Kyle asked, wearing one of his signature shirts. Today’s said, “Keep a dentist in business. Play hockey.”
Fuck a duck. He should have known they wouldn’t leave without demanding answers.
Kyle and Alexei were leaning against the doors to the rink, just out of sight. Their bags at their feet, they crossed their sticks preventing Reiner from leaving. He would have done the same if it had been either of them being knocked out, even if it was only for a second. But there was no way in hell he was going to tell them what had happened while he was out.
“Not really, no.”
He still wasn’t sure what had happened, and he wasn’t about to dwell on it either. Not when he had a gorgeous woman coming over in a couple of hours for dinner.
“How about what happened after we left the party last night?”
“Not that either.”
“He’s hiding something.”
Ignoring his friends, he pushed through their sticks and makeshift blockade, and made his way to the subway station. The only downside to living in Brooklyn was the long commute to the practice facilities on the other side of New York City. Which he normally didn’t mind.
Today, however, was one of those days he wished he lived closer.
“You know you want to tell us.” Kyle cajoled.
“Nie,” he said, reverting to his native tongue.
Kyle and Alexei pestered him until they reached their stops, and then he had the subway to himself.
There was something about Emma that had him not wanting to share her with even his best friends. It wasn’t just that; he never invited women to his place. It was his sanctuary, the one place in the world where no one expected him to be a hockey superstar or aware of what was going on around him.
The only women who’d been inside of it were either related to him or his housekeeper, who came in once a month to do a major cleaning of his apartment.
But he wanted Emma in his space.
More so after that dream, whatever it was after his head hit the ice. More than the fact that Emma had been pregnant and there were rings on their fingers, what struck him most, had him anxious to see her again, was he could feel like love he had for her pulsing in his veins. Love? Shaking his head, he realized that he did love Emma. So much. He really wanted that dream to come true.
It scared him how much he wanted that…he was going to go with dream. Yesterday he’d been happy in his life; with the choices he’d made; today he wanted more.
No, he wanted Emma.
Now he just needed to figure out how to get and keep her. Dinner tonight was a great place to start. Maybe she’d go with him to the Family Skate coming up for the team.
He left the subway and pulled out his phone. First order of business was making something besides steak or fish and veggies. Which meant he needed to talk to someone who knew Emma.
His finger hovered over his mom and his sister’s contact icons. If he called his mom and asked her what Emma’s favorite food was, she’d ask a million questions about why he wanted to know. On the other hand, Astrid would only ask a thousand. But Astrid would ask if was planning on sleeping with her, whereas his mom wouldn’t, and he could play it off that he’d reconnected with her a charity event and was treating her to a thank you for a great event dinner.
Mom it was.
He calculated the time difference, it was coming up on nine in Setså his mom was still up. He pressed her icon and waited. He didn’t have to wait long.
“Reiner, this is a nice surprise.”
He couldn’t help but smile at her greeting. She said it every time he called. Considering he called her at least once a week, and she had caller ID, it cracked him up.
“Hei, mor. Do you have a minute?”
“For you my son, I have more than one.”
The only downside to being in the NHL was the fact his parents lived in another cou
ntry. He’d offered to move them to the U.S. after Astrid had graduated from college, but they’d said no. Norway was their home, and while it pained them that their children had left it, they took comfort in the fact that both he and Astrid went home every chance they got. There would always be room for them in his parents’ home.
“What’s Emma’s favorite food?”
There was a pause and he wondered if he’d dropped the call. “Mor?”
“Do you mean Astrid’s Emma?”
“Ja. Astrid’s Emma. I ran into her last night at a charity event she was putting on. I gave her a ride home, and I want to make her something as a thank you for an amazing day and night.”
“Chocolate, and ice cream. Oh she loves your bestemor’s pinnekjøtt.”
He defied anyone to not love his grandma’s pinnekjøtt. “I don’t have time to make pinnekjøtt.” But he could do something similar. He had time for that. “Thanks, mor. I know what I’m going to do.”
“Good. Now catch me up on everything else. We caught the game the other night. Is Dobrynin OK?”
That was one of the many things he loved about his parents. They might choose to remain in Norway, but they knew each one of this teammates and their families, and cared about them. He got her up to date, and she regaled him with the goings on from the neighborhood and his family back home.
By the time he hung up with her, he was at his favorite neighborhood market. In the three years he’d lived in the neighborhood, he’d never not found what he was looking for there. Moving through the market, he picked up the items he needed, plus a few he didn’t typically buy. This would go well; it had to. Tonight mattered.
He was putting the finishing touches on dinner when a buzzer sounded. He hit the open button and forced himself to wait for her to knock instead of waiting for her in the hallway. Opening the door at her first knock, he was floored once again by his reaction to Emma. “Hi.”
“Hi.”
“Come in,” he stepped back so she could enter.
