Going for the Goal

by Sara Rider

He spun her in a slow circle, following the rhythm of the music trickling through the walls, and her heart melted like an ice cube in summer. She’d been attracted to him for years because of his tough-guy image, but somehow, discovering the sweet side buried deep inside him—the part of him that fiercely loved the few people he let into his world—was what made her fall for him.

  Fall recklessly, madly in love with him.

  The realization made her gasp and stumble, jabbing her heel into his toe. He pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head. “You weren’t kidding about being a bad dancer.”

  “Sorry,” she muttered into his chest.

  “Don’t be. It doesn’t matter if you stab me with your shoe or a paperweight, as long as you let me hold you like this.”

  Her whole body shuddered. She reached for his neck and pulled him down for a hard kiss. He reacted like he’d just been relieved of some invisible handcuffs, running his hands along her ribs, her breasts, and her face as though he couldn’t get enough of her.

  He pulled his lips away to trail kisses along her neck, prickling her sensitive skin with his stubble. “Do you know how long I’ve waited to touch you tonight?”

  She arched into him, already panting with need. The smallest touch from Nick made her skin feel like it was on fire, and when he cupped her breast and circled her tight nipple through the thin fabric of her dress, she had to bite her lip to keep from screaming.

  “To hell with waiting,” she said roughly, reaching down to stroke his rock-hard erection pressing into her belly. She nipped his chin when he threw his head back and moaned. Even as hidden as they were, the recklessness of touching him somewhere so public was shockingly arousing. Emboldening. She pulled at his zipper, desperate to feel the heavy weight of his cock in her hands. Even more desperate to taste him until he lost all control.

  “Shh.” He stopped her with one hand and used the other to cover her mouth.

  She realized why a half second later when she heard the voices. At first she assumed it was another couple looking for a little privacy, but she realized her first impression was wrong as soon as she could make out the words in their heated conversation.

  “I don’t want any more drugs, Seb. I said no.”

  “Come on, baby, just a little more. I promise you’ll like it. It’ll make you feel good.”

  Nick’s hand curled around her wrist, fingers digging into her skin. “That’s Liakos’s voice,” he whispered.

  She could feel the rage simmering and pulsing inside him and she knew there was nothing she could do to stop the train wreck about to happen. “Promise me you won’t do anything stupid,” she begged quietly.

  Nick grimaced.

  “No, stop!” The woman’s voice grew more agitated as the sound of uncomfortably sloppy kisses echoed more loudly. The woman cried stop once more and Nick snapped.

  “Shit.” Jillian instinctively grabbed her cell phone and set the camera to record as she chased after him.

  She caught up just as he violently pulled Liakos off the girl, who was clearly not his fiancée, and threw him to the ground. “Leave her alone,” Nick said with scary calm.

  “Or what? You’ll break another one of my fingers?”

  The kid was so arrogant, she wanted to hit him herself. Instead, she made sure to capture the mound of cocaine on top of a stack of plastic chairs in the corner of the hall.

  “You deserve to have a lot more than your fingers broken if you can’t listen when a woman says no.”

  “Are you okay?” Jillian asked the girl, who looked too young to be called a woman.

  “I’m fine. I just need to get out of here.” She bolted past them, through the doors to the ballroom.

  Liakos rose to his feet, knuckles flexed like he was ready for a fight. “Fuck you, Salinger.”

  Nick’s arm shot out to the side, shielding her behind him. “I don’t want you here for this, Jillian.” Nick could easily handle Liakos and keep her safe if necessary, but a fight would still spell disaster for his career.

  “Actually, Liakos, you’re the one who’s fucked,” she said from behind Nick’s arm. “I’ve got every bit of this on camera.”

  “Bitch!” Liakos took a step closer.

  She stroked Nick’s arm like she was trying to calm a wild animal. He was a protector by nature, but this time she was the one who needed to protect him. “It’s already backed up on my iCloud, which automatically downloads to a backup server in California.” She’d always been diligent with her work files, but she’d never expected it to pay off in this way.

  Liakos stopped. “What do you want?”

  “I want you to call a meeting with Coach Phillips and Allan Tyson tomorrow and tell them you were wrong to hold a grudge against Nick. Tell them you’ve changed your mind and won’t be happy unless Nick is back on first line and his contract is renewed next year.”

  Liakos snorted. “They won’t believe that.”

  “Make them believe it,” she snapped. “Tell them you care more about winning the Cup than about your ego. If you don’t, this video will go out directly to their inboxes and every major media outlet in the country. Got it?”

  “Got it,” Liakos said through gritted teeth.

  “Let’s go,” Nick said, still coiled tight like a bomb about to explode.

  “One more thing. No more bullshit in the locker room. From now on, the only word describing your attitude is ‘humble.’ You show respect for your teammates. And if I ever hear about you treating a woman like that again, I will personally hunt you down and rip your nuts off. Do we have a deal?”

  “Deal.”

  22

  It was easy to negotiate when you had someone by the balls, but Jillian still felt the exhilarating rush of success by the time they’d said their good-byes to Jaime and Alex and gotten a cab back to Nick’s place in the early hours of the morning. She’d been tempted to make a stop for a lottery ticket, given the kind of unbelievable fortune they’d just experienced, but the urge to get lucky in a different way was much stronger.

  The problem was convincing Nick to see things from her perspective. His protective instincts hadn’t cooled in the hour since Sebastian Liakos had handed them everything they needed to secure Nick’s contract renewal. He’d held her hand in a death grip the entire ride home, like he was afraid she’d blow away if he let go.

  “You’re a lucky guy,” she said as Nick closed his apartment door and flicked on the light.

  “What makes you say that?” It was a straight question, not playful or teasing like she wanted.

  She trailed her finger down his chest. “You mean besides the fact that you stumbled into the answer to all your problems tonight?”

  He grunted.

  “You don’t think so?”

  He shrugged off his jacket with cool efficiency before helping her out of hers. “I think it’s wrong that Liakos is going to get off without any consequences after the shit he pulled tonight. And I sure as hell don’t feel lucky that I’ll still have to see his face every day and act like he isn’t the epitome of everything I hate.”

  “Even if it means getting exactly what you wanted? A spot back on the first line and maybe even a contract renewal?”

  “He should be punished for what he’s done.”

  It was only now that she realized just how hard it must have been for him to follow her rules these past months and stay out of any confrontations, on and off the ice. Protecting others was the core of who he was, branded inside every molecule of his body, but it was also what could have been his downfall. He needed someone like her to protect him from himself.

  Someone to help calm that fire inside him.

  “Okay,” she said with a slow exhalation. “We’ll show the video to Tyson and Coach Phillips.”

  His brows furrowed. “You think that’ll compromise my chances of staying wit
h the team next year?”

  “It shoots down the odds by a lot, but I know seeing Liakos get his due is important to you. I’ll stop by Tyson’s office tomorrow morning.”

  He kissed her forehead. “Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do without you. ”

  “Does that mean you feel lucky now?” She curled her fingers into the waist of his pants and yanked him toward her until their chests were flush. “Or maybe you’re still upset that we were interrupted before I got to finish what I started earlier tonight.”

  The corners of his lips quirked up. “Maybe it’s because you’re still in this dress.”

  “Then help me with the zipper.” She turned around. “Gently. I have to give it back to Genevieve tomorrow.”

  He pulled the zipper down and ran his knuckles along her exposed spine before slipping the narrow straps off her shoulders. His hands moved to her chest, stopping to cup her breasts and pinch her nipples before easing the dress past her hips. She stepped out of the pool of fabric at her feet and laid the dress on top of a nearby kitchen stool, giving him an extended view of her lacy black boy-cut panties and strappy gold heels.

  There was no trace of humor left on his face when she turned around. Only unmasked lust. She took his hand and led him to the couch. “Sit.”

  He raised an eyebrow, toying with her. She pushed his chest, which was as effective as batting an ox with a feather, but he complied with a chuckle. She stole a throw pillow from the edge of the couch and dropped it between his legs. The hitch of his breath as she freed his heavy erection and went to her knees was like the gateway drug to an overwhelming addiction. She needed to lose herself completely in him.

  She gripped his thick shaft and closed her lips around the tip, tracing the ridges with her tongue. He groaned and knotted his fingers in her hair. She sucked him deeper into her mouth, knowing exactly what he wanted by the slight pressure of his hand at the back of her head, and hummed against the smooth skin as she moved up and down his length.

  “Fuck, that’s good.” His voice was raw, strained. “More.”

  With her eyes glued to his, she pulled back, suctioning him with her mouth until the tip of his cock popped out. “You want it faster?”

  He nodded.

  “Show me. I mean it.”

  His eyes darkened to an impossible shade of midnight blue. He fisted her hair tighter and guided her back onto his cock, showing her exactly how hard and fast he needed it. Giving him control in this moment made her feel powerful, not weak, because it was her choice to give. The sounds of pleasure coming harder and faster combined with the salty tang on her lips and spicy scent filling the air stoked her own arousal, until she needed to squeeze her thighs together to keep from exploding.

  He released her hair and whispered her name, but the rapidness of his breath was warning enough that he was about to come. She tightened the suction of her lips until he shuddered, and then she swallowed the hot spurt of his orgasm deep in her throat.

  She sat back on her heels and smiled. “Satisfied?”

  He leaned forward with his arms against his thighs, face inches from hers. “Not until you’re screaming my name.”

  The air rushed from her lungs. She rose to her feet with as much nonchalance as she could muster. “Hmm, maybe tomorrow. I’m feeling a little tired.”

  She strode to the staircase, letting the clacking of her heels echo in the room. He let her get to the very last step before bounding after her with incredible speed, catching her around the waist with his arm. She didn’t believe it was possible for a man to get hard again so quickly, but the indisputable evidence was pressed into the small of her back.

  He walked her to the edge of the bed until her knees banged into the mattress. “Panties off. Leave the heels.”

  He didn’t wait for her to obey him; instead, he hooked his thumbs into her underwear and yanked it down to midthigh, sending a ripple of excitement through her veins. He pressed one hand against her mound, working her clit with firm pressure while his other hand cupped her breast. He kissed the sensitive skin at the base of her neck at the same time his fingers dipped inside her. She cried out with pleasure from the rush of sensations, and her knees nearly gave out.

  Just when she thought she couldn’t take any more, his hands disappeared from her body. He pressed on her back until she was leaning forward with her hands on the bed. The sound of a condom wrapper ripping followed. He nudged her legs apart as far as the elastic of her panties at her thighs would allow and plunged into her.

  The angle let her feel every delicious inch of him, filling her more deeply than she’d ever thought possible. She braced her arms on the bed as hard as she could, desperately needing to feel the full force of his thrusts. The intensity of her pleasure built exponentially every time his cock pounded against the spot deep in her core that felt so good, it made her light-headed. She exploded in ecstasy, burying her face in the mattress to muffle her cries. He came a few thrusts later before collapsing on top of her.

  His weight was almost crushing, but she immediately missed the warmth of his sweat-slicked body against hers when he rolled off and headed to the bathroom. She unstrapped her shoes and climbed under the thick covers, waiting for his return.

  Sleep overtook her as soon as he slid back in the bed next to her.

  She didn’t know how long she’d been out, but it was still dark when she woke up in a groggy haze as Nick rolled out of bed.

  “I’ll be right back,” he whispered right before he descended the stairs. She had no idea what he was up to, but her brain sparked to life when he returned with his laptop.

  The election.

  He handed over the computer and crawled in next to her. “Let’s see if this luck keeps going.”

  With shaky fingers, she logged on to the members-only section of the Association’s website. Her heart stopped cold when she read the results.

  “So? Am I looking at the newest board member?” he asked in a teasingly seductive voice.

  “No,” she said when her voice recovered from the shock.

  “You lost?”

  “Worse.” She bit her lip, still struggling with disbelief. “I’ve been disqualified from membership due to unethical behavior.”

  Jillian had lost the election because of a technicality that didn’t even exist in the Association’s by-laws. Sure, a relationship with a client wasn’t great optics, but nowhere in the bylaws was it against the rules. Apparently that hadn’t stopped the members of the board from holding an emergency vote last night to retroactively create a vague rule about ethical conduct in order to disqualify her.

  Losing the election was a blow to the ego she’d been prepared to accept. But getting kicked out of the Association altogether? That was the kind of black mark that would mar her career for years.

  She’d spent the entire morning arguing her case over the phone with various representatives of the board. Nevertheless, her only option was to file for an appeal of her disqualification, something that would take at least a month to process. Conveniently, the time frame to contest the election was two weeks. She was officially screwed.

  “No luck?” Nick asked, handing her a plate of toast and eggs as she hung up her phone with a frustrated growl.

  She shook her head. “Parsons is behind this. He has to be. But how did he even know we’re together?” Parsons had the motive—he was the most underhanded agent she’d ever met—but the method eluded her.

  “Maybe he saw us last night.”

  “He wasn’t at the ceremony or the after-party.”

  To Nick’s credit, he didn’t push her to talk more or lighten up while she ate her breakfast. He let her retreat deep into herself, where her overly analytical brain could stew on the matter.

  “Come on,” he said after they’d finished eating.

  “Where are we going?”

  “If you’r
e going to exhaust yourself thinking about this, you should at least let your body relax.” He led her upstairs to the bathroom and turned on the tub’s faucet.

  “Have I told you you’re brilliant?”

  “Not even once,” he said wryly. “But I am starting to wonder if you like me or my bathtub more.”

  “No comment.” She stripped off his T-shirt and slid into the warm, bubble-filled water.

  Soaking in the tub helped ease some of her frustration. Focusing on the election wasn’t getting her anywhere and she had other important things to think about this morning. Namely strategizing how to use the video burning a hole in her phone to solidify Nick’s spot on the team. She still wasn’t completely comfortable with the idea of exposing Liakos, despite how much he deserved a public shaming, mostly because it didn’t guarantee a positive outcome for Nick. If anything, it risked making him look vindictive. If Liakos demanded Nick stay on the team, the Vipers administration would have a hard time not abiding with his wishes.

  But that’s not what Nick wanted. He wanted justice. Fairness. And as his agent, it wasn’t her place to tell him otherwise. It was her job to find a way to make it work.

  She only realized she’d lost track of time when Nick walked back into the bathroom and set a shiny silver key on the ledge.

  “What’s that?”

  “A key to my place. This way you can use my tub as often as you want when I’m away. Or sneak into my bed on the nights you’re working late and don’t want to wake me.”

  She brushed the strands of wet hair off her forehead. “Why?”

  “Because sometimes you have to do what feels right.”

  A million emotions whirled inside her. They hadn’t been dating long enough for this kind of commitment. It was too much, too soon. And yet . . . it felt right. In spite of the disastrous outcome of the election, she didn’t regret falling for Nick. He made her happy in a way she’d never known was possible. “Thank you.”

  “Just so you know, I made myself a copy of your condo key, too.”

  She laughed. “Why? So you can enjoy my subpar plumbing and heating?”