IT WAS after ten at night before the bus dropped us off at the stadium. We had been on the road for almost a week, and all I wanted was to see Krista. I dropped my bags off at my apartment and headed down to her apartment, but there was no answer to my knock.
Me: Where you at? Hot date?
Krista: I’m at the office. Working.
That was perfect. I ordered food to be delivered to her office and grabbed a cab. When I arrived, the food was just being delivered.
The doors of her office were locked, but I knocked until she opened the door.
She looked between the takeout bags and me. “What are you doing here?”
“You have to eat, right?”
She frowned. “How did you know I haven’t eaten?”
Because Krista never seemed to eat when she was working. “Lucky guess. Are you hungry?”
“Starving.” She opened the door wider.
We sat together on the couch, eating spicy noodles straight from the takeout containers.
I watched as she adorably tilted her head back so she could guide some long noodles from her chopsticks into her mouth.
“Brody comes back tomorrow.”
“Are you worried about him?”
Brody was the biggest threat to my future here in Vancouver. “No, but I’ll be glad when he’s gone.”
“Me too. How has Gordon been with you?”
I lifted my beer bottle to my lips. “He’s been more pleasant since Brody left, and he has no idea of my involvement in his house situation.”
“That’s Mark’s decision, not yours.”
I shrugged. I didn’t feel good about the way that situation had ended. I liked to own up to my responsibilities. “At some point, I want to tell him.”
She gave me a pointed look. “You’ll think differently when you’re signed.”
“You really think I’m going to get signed?”
“You can count on it.” She stretched out her legs on the couch in front of her. “They are done with mediation, and Spears agreed to sign the papers and release you. The lawyers are just drawing up the paperwork now.”
“Are you serious?”
She gave me a cute smile. “I told you I could make that happen.”
“You’re amazing.” I meant it. Krista was incredibly good at her job. I was convinced we could figure out a way to keep sleeping together and stay working together.
She interrupted my thoughts. “What’s the first thing you’re going to do once you get signed?”
“Probably buy a vehicle.”
She looked at me critically. “I’m surprised you haven’t already.”
I shrugged. “The more stuff you have, the more you have to worry about when you leave.” And the more I put down roots, the more it would hurt if I needed to pack up.
She stared at me. “You speak from experience?”
I never usually opened up, but with her, I wanted to. “My mom lived in Canada, and my dad was in the German military. I got shipped back and forth between the two of them a lot, and my dad seemed to move every two years.”
“Tell me about them.”
“My mom passed away when I was a teenager, so I moved to Germany to live with my dad.”
“Does he still live and work in Germany?”
“He passed away last year.”
Krista’s eyes widened in shock. “I didn’t know. How did he…?”
“Car accident.”
She thought about that. “That’s why you dropped out of hockey.”
I started to shove our empty takeout containers back into the bag. I didn’t understand it, but part of me wanted to talk about this. I just didn’t know how. “Yeah.”
She watched me. “Tell me.”
I focused on cleaning up. “It’s not like my dad and I were close. He was deployed a lot, and I spent most of my time in Germany at boarding school. Then when I graduated, I was with a team that wasn’t near where he lived.”
“He was your dad.”
He was, and despite the challenges of our relationship, I missed him. “Shortly after it happened, my first agent approached me after a game and made a lot of promises. I quit my team in Germany and followed him to North America against the advice of everyone.”
She spoke softly. “You just wanted to get away.”
I turned and looked at her, not surprised she got it. “Yup.”
She stared up at me with a question in her eyes. “How did you end up in Mexico? When it didn’t work out in North America, why didn’t you just go back to Germany?”
Everything there reminded me of him. Even the thought of going back there hurt. “Every time I got comfortable as a kid, every time I put down the smallest of roots, things got fucked up.”
“Which is why it looks like you’ve been living in your apartment for hours, not months.”
I shrugged. She got it. I didn’t need to say it.
She studied me. “I think you should buy your vehicle. I believe you’re going to be here for a while.”
No one craved that kind of stability more than I did. “Don’t jinx it.”
She smiled at me. “This is going to happen. Trust me.”
I moved closer to her, but I didn’t touch her. “Maybe we should celebrate.”
She hesitated for a long moment, but then she moved back. “We talked about this.”
“You talked about it.”
She bit her lip. “We can’t.”
I knew I could easily convince her otherwise, but I wanted her to want this as much as I did. I leaned back, away from her. “Are you done here? Want me to wait for you?”
Frustration crossed her face. “No, you go ahead.”
I stood up. “Okay.”
She didn’t look happy. “Thanks for dinner.”
I moved towards the door. “See you around.”
MICA STOOD beside me in the used-car lot. “You know, I was liking this arrangement where you made me a smoothie and I drove you to practice.”
I felt anxious as I stood looking at the second-hand Jeep. “You know how many bananas I was going through in a week?”
He thumped the hood of the Jeep. “This is a good deal. It barely has any mileage, and it’s still under warranty.”
I nodded. It was exactly what I was looking for, and I had enough cash to buy it outright, but still, I felt a lot of trepidation. “Maybe I should wait to get signed.”
“Maybe you need to let the hockey gods know you want to stay.”
I stood there, wondering if I was making a mistake.
He watched me. “What’s the problem?”
“I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. Nothing this good can stay this good, can it?”
He shrugged and grinned. “Or it can keep getting better.”
The salesman approached. “What do you think?”
Mica grinned at him. “He’s going to take it.”
I STOOD beside my new vehicle and waited for Krista to come out of her office. She was talking on the phone a hundred miles a minute, but she stopped mid-sentence when she saw me.
“I’ll call you back.” She tossed her phone in her bag.
I watched as she walked slowly towards me, taking in my purchase.
She stepped into my space, but we didn’t touch. “What’s this?”
“Someone told me it’s okay to put down a few roots.”
Her expression remained serious. “They’re obviously very smart.”
I reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “And beautiful. You want to go for a ride?”
She hesitated. “I have a lot of work to do tonight.”
“Come on,” I cajoled. “You have to eat.”
She gave me a look. “Now it’s dinner?”
I opened the door for her. “Please?”
“Where are you taking me for dinner?”
“Someplace with a view.”
“I need alcohol.”
“That can be arranged.”
WE DROVE down to White Rock and found a pub that served cold beer and hot food. They seated us next to an old-fashioned fireplace. I watched the firelight flicker over Krista’s animated expression as she told me a work story.
“You really like what you do, hey?”
She paused. “I love what I do.”
And I loved how passionate she became when she talked about it. “What do you love?”
“I love the intensity of it. I love the travel. I love helping athletes reach their greatest potential. It’s exciting to be part of that.”
Her phone rang between us. She looked at the number and then scowled.
I caught a glimpse of the name Eduard before she turned her ringer off and tossed the phone in her bag.
“Is that guy still bothering you?”
She shook her head. “Nope.”
He was still phoning her. I pushed her. “Why is he calling you?”
She leaned forward and touched my arm. “He’s harmless.”
I captured her fingers in my own and tugged her towards me until her mouth was against mine. “Let’s get out of here.”
She didn’t argue.
WHEN WE GOT BACK to our apartment building, I walked her to her door.
“Thanks for dinner,” she said after she unlocked her door.
“Thanks for celebrating with me.” I planted one hand on the door beside her head, making my intention of kissing her good-night clear.
She lifted her chin to look up at me. I took that as consent.
I ducked my head down and captured her mouth with my own. I kissed her long and hard until I heard her moan. I grabbed her ass, loving the feel of it in my hands.
She squeaked. “The neighbors.”
I opened the door to her apartment and backed her in, not lifting my mouth from hers. She put her arms around my neck and then, before she could change her mind, I lifted her into my arms and carried her towards her bedroom.
I walked through the bedroom and into the bathroom.
She ripped her mouth from mine. “What are you doing?”
“I want to shower with you.” I set her on her feet and yanked my T-shirt over my head. “Come on, get naked.”
She didn’t move, so I spun her around so we both faced the mirror.
I drank in the sight of her. “God, you’re beautiful.”
“Have you looked at your own reflection?”
I knew I was acting like a savage, but I couldn’t seem to slow down. I pushed her skirt up over her hips and yanked her panties down. She gasped when I teased a finger between her folds. She felt like wet satin. “God you feel good.”
Her eyes were closed as my fingers explored, pushing high into her. I needed to fuck her.
I stepped back and watched as she opened her eyes. She had a slightly dazed expression on her face. I undid my pants and pushed them down, exposing my raging hard-on.
“You’re getting into the shower with me, with or without your clothes on. Your choice.”
She stood with a bemused expression on her face as I turned on the water of the shower, running it until it was hot. I watched with satisfaction as she started to unbutton her blouse.
I stepped under the warm spray and leisurely soaped myself down while she removed her clothes and stepped in after me.
I grabbed her arm and pulled her under the spray.
“Levi,” she protested.
I slicked her wet hair back off her face. “You have the most amazing hair.”
Her gaze dropped down to my body and lingered on my cock, which was thick and hard.
“Get on your knees,” I instructed her.
Something flashed in her eyes. Without breaking eye contact, she slowly lowered herself until her face was in front of my arousal.
“Grab my dick.”
I bared my teeth when she wrapped one hand around the base of my member.
“Now slide that gorgeous mouth around my cock.”
She inched closer, and without breaking eye contact, she opened those luscious lips and slowly sucked me into her mouth. I pressed one hand against the cold tiles and worked not to embarrass myself with a moan. Her mouth felt like fucking heaven.
She would never admit it, but Krista liked it when I got bossy. “Oh yeah, beautiful, just like that. Take me into your mouth. As far as you can go.”
She sucked more of me into her mouth. I could feel her tongue swirl along the length of me. My hips jerked towards her face, and a deep groan sounded from the base of my throat.
I looked down at her, loving how she stared up at me while her head bobbed so she could slowly fuck me with her mouth.
I wanted to see her face better, so I used one hand to gently push her wet hair off her face. She pulled back slightly so she could suck and swirl her tongue over the top of my cock. Her eyes never left my face.
I was breathing hard, and I felt my lip curl as I stared down at her. I had to concentrate not to blow my load down the back of her throat.
Then she did something that shot pure energy up my spine.
“Jesus.” I tipped my head back.
She sucked a bit harder, nearly making me lose control.
I yanked her off her knees and spun her around so her face was against the cool tile of the shower.
She gave a breathless laugh when I kicked one of her legs out, spreading her open to me.
I grabbed my dick and guided it until it was butting against her core.
She was breathing as hard as I was.
“You like it when my cock is filling your mouth?”
She pushed her hips back, trying to entice me with her wet pussy. “Levi.”
I wanted her to beg. “Your mouth was made to suck on my cock. Just like this pussy was made to be fucked.”
She gasped and leaned her forehead against the tile. “Please.”
“Please what?” I teased her with my words. “Tell me what you want.”
She moaned hard. “Levi, now, please.”
“You missed fucking me, didn’t you?” I slid my cock along the length of her folds, careful not to slide into her.
She stubbornly shook her head. “No. Not at all.”
“You sure?” I reached around and circled her clit with the tip of my finger. It felt as swollen and aroused as my dick. “Because you sure seem like you want something now.”
“Fuck me already,” she begged.
I grabbed her hips and, without any warning, pushed my cock deep into her soft, velvet pussy.
“Oh yes,” she cried.
I gathered her long, wet hair in my hand and then started to ride her wild. Fast, furious. Intense.
Savage, uninhibited noises were coming out of her. Dirty, hot words were coming out of me.
“You like it when I’m deep inside of you?”
“How many times today did you think about my cock?”
“You know this is all you can think about.”
She came with a scream and then clung to the shower walls while I steadily fucked her from behind. It didn’t take long before I was bucking wildly and coming hard and fast inside of her. I wrapped my arms around her trembling body and kissed her gently on the temple.
“That was the appetizer. Get ready for the main course.”
