Shut Out: Contemporary Sport Romance (Hockey Boyz Book 3)

by Angela Stevens

  “Come here.” José’s quick tidying spree had emboldened me.

  He crawled onto the bed and lay beside me, his head propped up on one hand, as he trailed the fingers of the other up and down my belly. “I like this,” he pointed to my lingerie. “Do you wear stuff like this all the time?”

  I made a mental note to go on a shopping spree before next time. Seriously, Nora! Get real, there won’t be a next time. Whatever this moment meant to me, I wasn’t foolish enough to think José would change his spots. For a whole year, I’d watched him leave parties with a different girl every time. One night was all anyone ever got with José Estrada.

  “You want me to give away all my secrets?”

  He grabbed hold of my waist and rolled me onto my back. Wrapping his arms around me, he kissed me, his hands caressing my back, bottom, and thighs.

  The general consensus from the puck bunnies was that José was a passionate lover who got straight down to business. And, even though they all agreed José certainly knew how to take care of them, most reported they didn’t even make it to a bed. So, I guess the fact José spent time caressing and kissing me was not what I expected, or had even banked on, and it was a little disconcerting because with each long smoldering smooch, I fell a teensy bit further in love with him.

  I peeled the condom packet off my elbow where it had stuck to my damp skin. “Mmm, you wanna use one of these?”

  My body was thrumming, as José had worked me up so tight, I needed a release. He took it from me and ripped it open. He didn’t take those ebony eyes off me for a second, as he pulled out the rubber and then shucked off his shorts.

  I’d felt him through them, of course, but seeing him fully erect, I gulped. Lord, I hoped he’d fit!

  He slid the condom in place with such a sensual and practiced ease that I nearly combusted then and there.

  “Hmm, I have a dilemma.” He ran his hand across my hips and tugged at my panties. “I really love these but…”

  I decided to make the decision for him, and shuffled them down my thighs. For goodness sake, was he going to make me wait any longer! José slid them the rest of the way down, and rolled onto his back. “Climb up here, baby. I don’t want to crush you, you’re so tiny.”

  Nine

  José

  Nora was tight and slick, and sheathed my cock like a second skin. From the moment I filled her up, it was a battle of wills to keep things gentle and slow. It wasn’t my usual MO., but then nothing about this woman was usual. I didn’t usually contemplate spending the whole night with my hook-ups, and I never brought them to my place, but tonight I was probably going to break both those rules.

  I didn’t normally go for blondes, either. I had no idea why—it wasn’t that I had a type, per se, but tiny, delicate, fair-haired women like Nora had never been my thing. Fuck, she was my thing now. I tightened my grip on her hips, slowing her down. I didn’t want this to be over too fast, hell, I didn’t want it to ever be over.

  “José, please, I…”

  And that was another thing about Nora that turned me the fuck on. Whenever she said my name it sounded breathless, and, boy, was that freaking hard to resist. I reached between her legs and rubbed her clit. “You need more, baby?”

  She screwed her eyes shut tightly, as she reached to press my fingers more firmly against her, a greedy desperation for more of what I was giving her. “Oh, yes…”

  This woman was killing me. I rolled her over and withdrew my hand, and as she cried out in protest, I pulled her up the bed and dove between her thighs. She squealed, then gasped, as my tongue flicked across her most private place, but in a few seconds, she was arching her hips and clinging on to my sheets, her knuckles white, her hands alternating between splayed fingers and fists.

  I chuckled, and she bucked against me. “More, baby?”

  Her hands went to my hair, tugging me to her, and I decided she’d waited long enough. I plunged two fingers inside her, synchronizing their plundering with my tongue as I teased her over the edge. She cried out when she came, but by this time I was enjoying myself too much to stop. I counted another wave of orgasm before she eventually tried to push me away. Grinning like an absolute lunatic, I crawled up the bed beside her. Her whole body was quaking, and her skin was damp with sweat.

  “Did you come?” I winked at her, knowing full well she had, and she threw her arm over her eyes, her shoulders bouncing up and down, as she laughed at my comment.

  I pulled her arm away, wanting to see that languid, post-coital expression on her face, knowing it was there because of what I’d done to her. “Mmm, bring your mouth here, baby.” She leaned over me, and I held her while I kissed her.

  Wrapping my arms around her only emphasized how small she was compared to me. I doubted she could be much over five feet, and I probably had a foot more height on her. Her waist was so tiny, if I put my hands to it, I swear I could stretch my long fingers all the way around. It felt good that my body totally surrounded hers.

  When I’d had my fill of her mouth, I reached between her legs again. “You ready for more?”

  The little minx glanced at me sideways and rolled her eyes. “Oh, God, I don’t think I have ever come so many times. You’ve tired me out.”

  I pouted and stroked my erection. My dick was standing to attention for her, but, honestly, simple gratification wasn’t what I was after. If she said no, I’d still be happy to hold her in my arms. However, the ache in my balls reminded me a release would be so much more fun. “Mmm, I’m sure I could make you come again. Besides, it’s a shame to waste this, don’t you think?”

  She glanced down at me, and I swear I swelled up even more. Reaching out, she covered my hand with hers and it was almost game over, then and there.

  “Mmm, it is, indeed.” Nora climbed back on top of me. “I’m not sure you can, I’ve never…”

  Hmm, challenge accepted. “I know I can.” I had no idea how I was going to keep a hold on myself, but it would be so much fun holding out until she was ready.

  “Well…” She rubbed her slick, wet pussy against me. “But this time, I call the shots.”

  “Fuck.” This woman was determined to test my limits. “You’re going to do what?”

  She centered me at her opening and with a delicious slowness, she sank onto my dick. “I say whether we go fast or slow.”

  “Ah, okay. So, what’s it going to be, baby?”

  She started to move, just a gentle undulation of her hips at first. “Well, maybe I shall stick to slow… very slow.”

  I rested my hands on her thighs and my head kicked back. I had no idea what magic she was conjuring with her pussy, but my cock was about to explode. Slow or fast, I was going to come any second. She raised up on her knees, and slid up my shaft, threatening to leave me altogether. Fuck this! As much as I wanted to let her have her fun with me, my balls couldn’t take the sweet torture.

  Grabbing her hips, I pushed her back down onto me, burying my cock so far inside her that my balls became wet with her juices. She squealed in surprise and tried to escape, but my determination was way stronger than her physical capabilities.

  “Sorry, I know you want be in control, but right now…” I flipped her onto her back, and took over. Maybe slow and gentle wasn’t my thing, after all, because I had to have it fast–immediately.

  Despite the rush, Nora was with me when I released, and the waves of both our orgasms washed over us together. My strength rushed out of my arms with my ejaculation, and I collapsed onto her, pinning her frail form beneath me and she clung on for dear life, riding out her pleasure.

  When I came to my senses, I rolled off of her, dragging her into my side. I threaded my fingers through her hair, and she draped her leg over mine. It was only a few seconds before I drifted off into a blissful asleep.

  For the second time in two days, I slept soundly with this woman in my bed, and I didn’t wake until my alarm blared out. Groggily, I reached out and silenced it. Nora opened one eye and then the o
ther. When she saw me, her eyes lit up, and then a shy smile appeared on her face. Dang, that felt so good!

  “Hey, beautiful.” I reached out, tugged her closer to me, and brushed the stray hairs from her cheeks.

  “Hey yourself.”

  There was a hint of guardedness in her voice that made me frown. “You okay?”

  “Mmm, tired. What time is it?”

  “Early. I always start my day with a workout.”

  “Oh, I should go.”

  “You’re seriously going to run out on me?” I held her face as I kissed her, and she became putty in my hands. The feral noises coming from her throat made me smile. I liked that I did that to her. I settled back down in the bed, tucking her back under my arm and pulling the pillow behind my head. “I’m going to skip exercising today.”

  “José Estrada is skipping his workout? What will Coach Peterson say?”

  “Well…” I had the weirdest feelings duking it out in my chest. A desperate longing not to let her go, but the dedicated athlete in me was already beginning to protest. “You’re a bad influence on me.” But my OCD began firing worst-case scenarios at me, and even though I tried to put all those irrational thoughts about the importance of routines back in their box, the voice in my head kept reminding me I was benched last game.

  I groaned. “Fuck. You’re right. I have a game tonight and I need to prep for it.

  “Okay, I’ll go.”

  This time, I reluctantly let her sit up. Big mistake. The sheet dropped away, revealing that sexy black and lilac bra. God damn! This was so not fair. Despite desperately wanting to fool around with her some more, I knew I’d regret this later. “Why don’t you stay here. It’s not even seven yet. I’ll go do my thing and you can catch up on your sleep.”

  She giggled. “I have a bed in the room next door.”

  Smoothing her hair with my fingers, I knew she was right. “But, it kind of turns me on thinking about you being in mine.”

  Nora shook her head and lay back down. “Hmm, how turned on are you?”

  I took her hand and pulled it under the covers. As I placed her palm on my erection, her eyes widened. “Oh my. Um, how long do you have before you have to start your game prep?”

  I chewed on my lip. It should have started ten minutes ago, but what difference could half an hour make. “Twenty minutes?”

  She wriggled closer, her hand grasping my cock, taking me by surprise. “So, I can still play with you for twenty more minutes?”

  How the hell did a guy refuse that? “I guess it does. You should scoot a little closer, that way I can play with you, too.”

  For some reason, I felt I could climb mountains. After leaving Nora, I went for a brisk walk just to warm up my legs, and found myself jogging. It was like I had all this pent-up energy inside me. I was feeling this match today, there was no way my ass would warm that bench this game.

  By the time the team lined up behind me to skate onto the ice, I could barely keep still. I checked the bleachers as I skated across to the goal, and my lucky charm was there, all wrapped up in a wooly hat and mittens, her nose and cheeks pink with the cold. Yeah, this game was going to be a blast.

  Four minutes in, the opposition’s right winger broke away from our flailing D, and he came racing toward me with one of his defensemen backing him up. I’d seen this guy play before, he was all for the cute, and sure enough he faked a shot, flicked the puck to his D and shot out of my vision as I squared up for the one timer from the defenseman. But I didn’t fully commit because I knew the winger loved to wrap around. A fraction of a second later, the puck flew back across the net, in an attempt to throw me back around.

  It was like I had fucking second sight or something, and I glued myself to the post and covered the puck at the feet of the right winger. “Not today, sunshine.”

  The guy laughed. “Great save, Estrada.” And he skated back to the face off, shaking his head.

  When an opposing player recognizes your play like that, it is a fucking boost like no other. From that moment on, I was like a frigging superhero. It was like I was six-six instead of six feet dead and you’d have thought I weighed two forty, instead of one-eighty pounds, but despite my smaller stature, I filled the net, leaving no inch unguarded.

  At the end of first period, I skated to the bench with a barrow load of advice for my teammates. Despite me having the best game of my life, my team wasn’t winning. The game was still tied at zero. I tugged off my helmet and ran my fingers through my thick hair. One great thing about my Hispanic genes was my hair always looked fantastic—just out of the shower, just fucked, and even in the pouring rain. Thick, ebony, its natural state was fucking on-fleek. Kai skated up beside me, removed his lid, and gave me a fist bump. In comparison, his wig was sticking out in all directions on one side and plastered to his head on the other. Helmet hair was not a good look on him.

  “Hey, Kai. You need to go top shelf, blocker side, or you’ll never get anything past their goalie.”

  He grinned back at me. “I’m on it. Keep our net shored up, man, I’m feeling a hat trick and a shut out coming on.”

  I swiveled on my skates to talk to my D. They’d been caught napping at the blue line once too often for my liking. Even I knew my luck couldn’t hold out the whole game without their support. “Did you guys not notice they favor the long passes across ice? Get off the fucking boards and intercept.”

  Coach Peterson grinned at me, and hitched his thumb in my direction. “What he said. Stamford and Kane, come here I have some doodles for you.”

  Second period was like an entirely different game. Our D got it together, and they closed down the stretch passes, forcing the opposition to the boards where our wingers shut them down. Attempted shots dropped to a handful, and my net remained unsullied.

  However, Kai’s prediction of scoring a hat trick wasn’t quite accurate because his third goal was disallowed, but two minutes before the final whistle, one of our defensemen was in the right place at the right time when their goalie left a juicy rebound, and it landed on the stick of our D, who whacked the fucker into the back of the net before their net minder got off his knees.

  But by the end of the game, Kai’s prediction of my shutout sat very nicely on my stats. Thank you very much! My team swamped me at the net, celebrating my ‘W’ and letting me know I was back where I belonged.

  Before I left the ice, I glanced over at the bleachers, and my eyes met Nora’s. She’d been bouncing up and down, cheering on our win, but she stopped and stared at me as I removed my helmet. That girl sure was my lucky charm! She gave me a shy wave, and I couldn’t help but wonder where the hell any of this was going.

  I’d made a promise to myself a long time ago to put my career first. I wanted to make it in the NHL, and if that was to happen, there could only be one thing in my life—hockey. There wasn’t time for girlfriends, and the distraction they brought. But Nora was… shit, I had no idea what Nora was, but I knew how she made me feel. To make things more complicated, she was somehow connected to my success or failure. She was my fucking vacuum and slipper combination—which meant, I was likely playing with fire.

  As fantastic as these last two nights had been with her, I shouldn’t have broken my own goddamn rule because this was going to make things at the house way more complicated, and if, like Kai also predicted, I ended up breaking her heart, then I’d have a much bigger problem on my hands than an awkward situation with a roomy—Nora could fuck with my destiny.

  Ten

  Nora

  “What’s up with José?” Angie whispered to me while she stared at him over her glass.

  I didn’t look up, just concentrated on looking at my feet. The last thing I wanted to see was the man I’d got out of bed with this morning slathering over some other poor misguided female. I was already regretting going to the after party, but Angie persuaded me to join her and Kai. To be honest, I wasn’t the shrinking wallflower type of girl, nor was I the jealous type. Even if the knots
in my stomach were the result of that emotion, it was dumb and unfounded. Last night wasn’t José’s fault. My eyes were wide open when I followed him to his room.

  It wasn’t like I’d expected him to treat me differently than any other woman he messed around with. Even though I behaved like a complete idiot, it was on me. I was more than happy to give myself to him, so, playing the jealous, sidelined lover was not what I would lower myself to.

  I tried a pep talk to remind myself of that. It was fun, and we both had a good time. It was only ever going to be a one-night stand. You’re a freaking modern woman, Nora, you want to have casual sex, then just fucking own it.

  “He keeps staring at you.” Angie took another sip of her drink.

  Suddenly, my curiosity was piqued, but instead of checking out what Angie said, I turned and looked toward the kitchen. “Mmm, I think I will get another drink, you want one?”

  Angie shook her head, so I garnered up every ounce of willpower and left the room without glancing over my shoulder once at him. Inside the kitchen, I was able to breathe again. I snatched up the vodka and went to fill my cup. Two drops dripped into the red Solo cup and I put the liquor down. Honestly, I was not in the mood for drinking, or this party.

  “Hi, what a surprise seeing you here.”

  I looked up to find the adorable and sweet Raul Estrada standing in front of me and I blushed. The guy had sent me a dozen texts since Mia’s wedding, but I had ignored them all. I had no clue why, because looking at him now he was so freaking cute. Why was I such a terrible person?

  “Oh, hi, Raul. How are you doing?”

  “Pretty good now that I’ve met up with you.” He looked down at his feet. “Sorry. I should probably leave you alone, I’m starting to look like a stalker.”