Alec shook his head and continued down the hall to his own room, his thoughts still turning inward. Was he really as shallow and callous as that? Was he really that inconsiderate?
He ripped the shirt over his head and tossed it toward the clothes hamper on his way to the bathroom. Turning the faucet as cold as it would it go, he leaned over the sink and splashed water over his face, shivering slightly as it dripped onto his chest and ran down his stomach. Alec pulled a towel from the rack and rubbed it over his face and chest.
Tomorrow he would move her into one of the other rooms. The thought didn't do much to relieve the guilt he felt, though. For so many years he had felt the frustration of people judging him only for what they saw on the surface, or making certain assumptions based on what they saw instead of who he was. Beyond the frustration was anger that people could be so shallow, so superficial.
The realization that he was the same, that he had been guilty of doing just that, ate at him with a sour burning. Alec splashed more water over his face to wash away the feeling, refusing to look at his reflection in the mirror.
The dark thoughts stayed with him as he left the bathroom. He pulled back the covers on the large bed then turned off the light, pausing as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. The room wasn't completely black—lights from the harbor twinkled through the French doors leading to the private balcony, and he stared at their reflection in the glass.
AJ had accused him of hiding. He didn't agree with her. There was a difference between hiding and valuing privacy. Just because he didn't want people in his business didn't mean he was hiding. But lately, there had been this feeling of...something missing. Not emptiness, but not quite a completeness, either. Hell, he didn't know how to describe it, and he didn't think it was really worth looking into, either. It was just a phase, one he was sure would go away.
But he couldn't shake the uncomfortable feeling that AJ had gotten just a little too close with her observations.
Sighing with a weariness he understood but didn't want to acknowledge just yet, Alec moved to stand at the balcony doors. He tended to stare out at the lights reflected on the black surface of the harbor and just think. Or sometimes he just stared, his mind blank as a peaceful quiet seeped through him.
The peaceful quiet wasn't coming tonight, he already knew that. With another sigh he turned away from the balcony and walked out of the room and across the hall. He didn't need a psychic to tell him he was getting ready to make a mistake: that was going to be a given. But maybe he could ease just enough of the guilt to let him sleep.
Alec hesitated in front of AJ's room for a second, then rapped lightly on the door with his knuckles. Silence greeted him so he knocked again, a little harder this time. There was still no response. Surely she hadn't fallen asleep that quickly, had she? He envied her if she had. Very rarely would his mind succumb to the sleep his body asked for; too many thoughts whirled around him at night.
Alec knocked once more, deciding that if there was no answer, he would leave well enough alone and rectify his guilt in the morning. He was just about to walk away when he heard shuffling behind the closed door. A few seconds later, the door slowly opened. AJ stood on the other side, wearing nothing but an oversized t-shirt that barely came to the top of her thighs. Alec swallowed, hard, at the sight of her long bare legs, and was about to say something when he noticed the rest of her.
She looked like shit.
Her hair was disheveled, damp strands clinging to her cheeks as she held the side of the door in a white-knuckled grip. Her eyes squinted up at him, and he could see that they were rimmed in red. At first he thought she might have been crying, but as he looked closer he realized her face was pinched in what looked like pain.
His next thought was that her arm and shoulder must hurt more than he realized. Alec took a step closer to her then stopped when she didn't move to open the door more than the few inches she already had. He pushed on it gently, only a little surprised that she took a step back to allow it. Her eyes squinted shut and she looked away.
"AJ, what is it? Is it your shoulder?" He was closing the little bit of distance between them when she stepped back, nearly stumbling. She mumbled something that sounded like "lights" as she made her way back to the bed, gingerly groping for the edge before tumbling back onto it. She flung one arm over her eyes as her left leg dangled over the edge, almost as if she didn't have the energy to pull it the rest of the way onto the mattress.
Alec paused half-way into the room, not knowing what he should do. She looked awful, and even he could tell that something was wrong, something more than just the bumps and bruises she had earned earlier that afternoon.
The soft whimper coming from the bed caused him to move further into the room instead of leaving. There was something so needful, so vulnerable in the sound that he had to at least offer to help. But first he needed to find out what was wrong.
Alec approached the bed warily. The only light in the room was the weak light shining in from further down the hallway. It was barely enough for him to make out AJ's figure on the bed.
"AJ? What is it? What's wrong?" He reached out a tentative hand and placed it on the arm covering her eyes. He was surprised when she flinched, even more surprised at the cold clamminess of her skin.
"Don't." The quiet word was hardly a whisper but still commanding. Alec swiftly removed his hand from her arm then stood there, feeling helpless.
"Is it your shoulder? Do you need me—"
"Migraine. No noise."
"Oh." A migraine? She had that much pain from a headache? Alec shifted on his feet and glanced around the dark room, wondering what to do. Should he just leave her alone? Or should he try to do something? Was there even anything he could do?
Alec turned toward the door and reached out to close it. He had no idea what he could do to help her, but he couldn't just leave her alone, not when she was obviously in pain.
Another whimper came from the direction of the bed, a little sharper and more drawn out this time. From the sound, Alec guessed that she thought he must have left the room. He didn't think for a second that AJ would allow anyone to see any kind of weakness coming from her, especially him. Well, she would just have to deal with it.
He closed the distance to the bed then gently lifted her leg the rest of the way onto the mattress. Her body stiffened for a quick second at his touch, telling him again that she had thought he left. Alec felt a rush of disappointment at the realization but quickly squashed it; he hadn't exactly been warm to her the last couple of weeks so why would she expect anything different now?
"Tell me how to help, AJ."
Several long minutes went by. Alec was beginning to think she had either drifted off or was ignoring him before she finally spoke, her voice so quiet he had to lean so close to hear her that his forehead nearly touched her arm. Even then he couldn't make out everything she said.
But he heard enough to realize she was asking for a cold cloth. He hurried from the room, mindful of making too much noise, and quickly returned with a cold wet washcloth. He also had a bottle of prescription-strength ibuprofen and a glass of water.
Alec lowered himself on the bed next to AJ, doing his best not to jostle her. "I brought some aspirin. Would that help?"
She barely nodded her head then tried to push herself to a sitting position. The obvious pain that little bit of movement caused her made Alec wince, and he quickly put his arm behind her shoulders and propped her up just enough that she could wash the pills down.
Instead of letting her lay back down on the mattress, Alec shifted his position behind her so that her head was resting on his stomach. Belatedly he realized that it wasn't the most comfortable position for him: his back was against the headboard but he was slouching too much. There was no doubt his back would be screaming in stiffness before long. But it seemed to be comfortable for AJ so he didn't say anything, just sat there and laid the cold cloth over her eyes.
It wasn't long before Alec realized
he was stroking the hair back from her face. He paused, surprised at the intimacy of his actions, then continued. It seemed to be relaxing her, and it certainly wasn't hurting him.
A little while later, Alec was forced to reevaluate his earlier assumption. He wasn't hurting, but he was quickly becoming uncomfortable.
AJ's hair was fanned across his stomach, the soft strands tickling the skin at the waistband of his gym shorts. The silky smoothness of her hair in his hands and on his skin was causing his body to react in a way that surprised him. Yeah, he had felt some currents between them. No, he wasn't stupid enough to deny the fact that she was attractive. But that didn't mean he was attracted to her. Which was why his body's reaction caught him by surprise.
But maybe it shouldn't be. AJ had a lush body, he couldn't deny that. And he was a guy. He doubted that there were many sane, straight guys who wouldn't have some kind of physical reaction if a lush female body was pressed against them. Not that she was actually pressed against him...
Alec sighed and tried to force his thoughts in a different direction. AJ's breathing was soft and almost even, and there was no doubt her earlier pain had lessened somewhat, at least in sleep. Taking a chance, Alec shifted positions, hoping to at least get a little more comfortable, if not away from the bed altogether.
AJ moaned as soon as he moved, another whimper of vulnerability. Her hand twitched for a brief second then came to rest on his thigh, just at the hem of his shorts. Alec groaned himself then clenched his jaw.
It was going to be a very long night.
**
AJ squeezed her eyes tighter against the light she could sense trying to intrude on her and rolled onto her stomach. The sharp pain from last night was gone, replaced by a dull throb that was so much more bearable. She swallowed, grateful that the migraine had been a minor one.
Probably due in part to the medicine Alec had given her. She remembered him coming into her room sometime last night. She would have to thank him—
AJ's whole body stiffened as bits and pieces of last night came back to her. What had happened after Alec had given her the pills? She remembered feeling someone stroke her hair away from her face, remembered feeling the comfort of arms around her...
AJ opened her eyes, honestly afraid of what she would find. She turned her head to the side and her heart stopped.
A pair of deep, dark brown eyes stared back at her, so close that she could see the flecks of gold in them and the line of darker brown that ringed the irises. The intensity in their depths unnerved her, and not just because they were mere inches away.
AJ swallowed. The action kick-started her heart into overdrive, and for a brief second she thought she might actually start to hyperventilate. But she didn't move. She couldn't: she was held in place by the intense study of those eyes.
"How are you feeling?" Alec's voice was a husky whisper in the grayness of the room, hypnotic with the warmth of the words.
AJ nodded, not trusting her voice. And still Alec studied her, as if he was trying to decipher some secret. She finally lowered her eyes in an attempt to escape the heat of his gaze, and immediately wished she hadn't.
Alec was stretched out next to her, so close she could feel the heat of his body even though he was lying on top of the sheet that covered her. Her eyes took in the sight of his half-naked body. A generous sprinkling of hair covered his tanned and muscled chest, just enough for someone to tease with their fingers. The dark hair tapered down to a narrow line that disappeared into the waist band of the gym shorts he had on last night...gym shorts that may have been loose but not so loose that she didn't notice...yeah, he was definitely very nicely built—all over.
AJ swallowed against the dryness in her mouth and quickly averted her eyes, afraid he would catch her staring. She glanced back up at him to see that he was still watching her, his face carefully blank. She had the sudden urge to reach out and touch the heavy growth of stubble along his jaw line, just to see how it would feel against her palm.
But AJ didn't move, she just lay there frozen and hoped that her thoughts weren't written all over her face. It didn't help that Alec still hadn't so much as twitched a muscle. He was so still that he could be carved from stone.
"I have practice in a little bit. Do you feel up to going or would you rather stay here?"
"Uh...I...I can go."
"Okay."
She expected Alec to get out of the bed, to leave her room and get ready. At the very least, she thought he would move away but he didn't. Not like she expected.
He reached out with one hand and brushed a strand of hair away from her eyes. The gentle touch came close to snapping something inside her, and it was only for fear of embarrassment that she didn't move an inch. AJ gave herself credit for not leaning forward just the tiniest bit—that's all it would take for her lips to brush his. The thought sent heat spiraling through her and her gaze dropped to his lips. Firm, fuller than she first realized, well-sculpted like the rest of him.
More thoughts whirled through her mind in those few seconds: what his lips would taste like, what his tongue would feel like as it danced in her mouth and over her skin...
AJ bit back on the moan in her throat and forced herself to stare at the wall, knowing there was no doubt Alec could see her blush. Her face was so warm, she was surprised he couldn't feel it as close he was.
Or maybe he did. He suddenly chuckled then rolled out of the bed in one swift move that reminded her of his agility on the ice. Surprised, she looked up and found him smiling down at her, his eyes alight with mischief. He braced his weight on one hand as he leaned over her, so close again that she thought he really was going to kiss her.
"The next time I'm in your bed, neither one of us will be doing any sleeping!" The words were barely a whisper, the teasing clear in their tone. AJ gasped both in shock and indignation. How dare he?
She was ready to make some sarcastic retort when she noticed the heat in his dark eyes and realized that while his words might be teasing, he was serious about his intent. Her jaw snapped shut as images of their naked bodies rubbing against each other, learning, teasing, pleasing, came to mind. She may have squeaked in surprise, or worse, moaned in anticipation, but before she could cover it, Alec straightened, reached out and swatted her backside playfully, then walked out of the room without another word.
SIX
Alec swore as the puck rushed past his glove and hit the post with a clang before falling into the net. Part of him wanted to rip his gloves and helmet off in frustration, to throw them to the ice and kick them in a fit of temper. He barely resisted the temptation.
Barely.
The only thing stopping him was knowing that his teammates would look at him even more strangely than they had been throughout the entire practice. If not for the fact that he had a visitor, he'd walk off the ice and call it quits for the day.
But that wasn't an option. And every time he looked up, he noticed that his visitor wasn't even paying any attention to him. For some reason, that bothered him. Shouldn't she be as aware of him as he was of her?
But no. Every time he glanced to where she was sitting in the stands, she was engrossed in something. He could see her fingers typing furiously at the keyboard of the laptop she dragged with her. Another time she was engrossed in a deep conversation on her cell phone. The one time he thought she might have been watching, he actually stopped what he was doing and looked up at her. It wasn't until the puck clipped the side of his leg as it flew past him that he realized she wasn't watching him at all, she was staring off into space.
The lack of attention wasn't bad just for his concentration, it was killing his ego. His mind had been focused on one thing and one thing only ever since he woke up next to her this morning. Did she even remember how she had curled against him while he held her in the middle of the night? How she had draped her body across his? It had taken all of his control—more than he thought he had—not to push the hem of her shirt up past her waist and run his hands al
ong the silky smoothness of her skin. He had wanted nothing more than to wake her with kisses, to tangle his hands in her thick hair and ravage her, to feel her body come awake under his touch.
Alec moaned at the sudden discomfort gripping his groin then cursed beneath his breath as yet another puck clipped him, this time on his shoulder. A shrill whistle pierced the chilly air of the practice rink and he looked up to see Sonny LeBlanc storming across the ice toward him. More than a dozen sets of eyes were focused on him, including startling blue ones from up in the stands. Alec groaned again. Of course AJ would pick now to notice him.
The coach slid to a stop in front of him, showering him with ice from his skate blades. Alec straightened and lifted his helmet, bracing himself for the verbal assault he knew was coming.
Sonny stared at him for several long minutes. The silence was deafening, drawn out until Alec had to fight the urge to look away. With a quick motion of one hand, Sonny signaled the end of practice. Wordlessly, the other players skated from the ice as Sonny continued to stare at him. When there was no one left, the coach leaned forward and spoke in a voice pitched so low there was no possibility of anyone overhearing.
"Either sleep with her, Kolchak, or don't bring her to practice again. Hear me?"
Alec's jaw dropped at the blunt words. He snapped it shut then opened his mouth to say something, what he didn't know, but was stopped by a quick shake of Sonny's head.
"Don't say anything. It's obvious where your mind is. The team doesn't need it right now. What they need is you focused on your game." Sonny paused and looked toward the stands, then shook his head. "Do what you have to, but get back in your game."
Alec watched the coach skate away, still stunned into silence. He finally looked up into the stands, expecting to see AJ watching him. He clenched his jaw in frustration as he saw her typing away again on her laptop.
"But she's a freaking reporter," he muttered to himself. A reporter he had slept with. Last night was undoubtedly the most intimate night he had ever shared with a woman, at least in recent memory, and he doubted if she even remembered it. Oh, there was no doubt she had been affected by him this morning. He had seen it on her face, in the shy glances she had grazed his body with, in the faint blush that had bloomed across her cheeks. But that was completely different; Alec doubted if she even realized how intimate the night had been for him.
Crossing the Line (The Baltimore Banners Book 1) Page 5
