Breakout (A Dallas Demons Hockey Romance) (14 page)

“Welcome to my home,” I say. “And you can pretty much see everything from the doorway.”

Niko draws me into his arms. “There’s only one thing I’m interested in seeing tonight,” he says, his hand finding the curve in my waist. “That’s you.”

He pauses and glances around. “Is Kenley home?”

“No, she’s having dinner with Nate. Why?”

“So I can do this.”

He drops his head down, and I feel his warm, full lips against mine. Niko eases my mouth open, his tongue teasing me in a slow, sexy kiss, igniting the fire that was already sparked by his presence.

A groan escapes my lips. “We don’t have to eat dinner,” I murmur against his mouth.

“We don’t?” he murmurs back before deepening the kiss.

No. No, we don’t. I reach for the back of his neck, my fingertips dancing across the nape of it, and then locating his thick, dark hair and caressing it with my hand.

“We have a reservation,” Niko whispers as his mouth finds the side of my neck, where he places a gentle kiss.

I melt from his touch. “We can order a pizza.”

Niko laughs softly and lifts his head. “No, baby, we’re doing this right,” he insists, linking his hands with mine. “You’re getting a
date
tonight. Dinner, a gingerbread latte, a walk under the Christmas lights. Everything my woman deserves.”

I stop breathing.
My woman.
I’m truly his woman tonight.

And while he knows he could take me right now in this living room if he felt like it, Niko won’t. Not until he’s had a date with me first.

A lump swells in my throat.
I love you,
I think as I gaze at him.

“You’re special,” I say, as obviously I can’t tell him I love him yet. Lord knows it’s too soon for him to hear it, even if it’s what I’m feeling inside.

“So are you,” Niko says, gently running his fingers over the braid in my hair. “And I’ll always treat you that way, Lexi. I promise.”

Then he leans forward and brushes his lips sweetly against my forehead. “Come on. Get your purse. Let’s go have dinner.”

So I grab my purse, and we head on out. Niko takes my hand in his, and I can’t help but think it’s the most natural feeling in the world to have his hand entwined with mine.

He leads me to his car, which is parked in a visitor spot in my garage.

“It’s not a Bentley,” he teases.

I laugh as he leads me to his car, which is an Infiniti.

“Most people don’t drive Bentleys,” I say.

“Yeah, you’re right,” he says as he opens the door. “The Mercedes S600 might be more popular.”

I slide into the passenger seat and don’t say a word.

Because that’s what my dad drives.

Niko comes around to his side of the car and slips behind the steering wheel. His comment about the car weighs on me for a moment. Should I bring this up tonight? That I while I do come from money, I don’t care about it? That I pay my own bills? That I buy my clothing on sale and occasionally get a nice pair of shoes for my birthday from my mom?

He turns the key in the ignition and backs his car out. And as soon as he is exiting the garage, Niko reaches for my hand, linking it through mine again.

No, tonight is not the night to bring up money. Tonight is about us, not what our parents are or do because that doesn’t matter. And after we make love for the first time, Niko will know that
he
is what matters to me.

And everything else is irrelevant.

“So while you said you’d settle for
pizza
,” Niko says, interrupting my thoughts, “I think you’ll like dinner at this restaurant better.”

“Oh, I thought you took all your
dates
out for pizza,” I tease.

“Nah, I only take my pretend dates out for pizza,” Niko jokes.

I grin at him. “So where do you take your
real
dates to dinner?”

“
My woman
,” Niko says with emphasis, “gets to go to a sexy bistro tonight. Where I hear they have a kick ass black truffle lobster macaroni and cheese.”

My heart leaps, as I had told him that day at brunch that I
love
lobster mac and cheese. Niko obviously made a mental note of it.

“I don’t need a menu. I’m having that. I’ll work it off in barre class tomorrow,” I declare.

“I think you’ll be working it off tonight, baby,” Niko says, moving his hand to the top of my boot and trailing his fingers suggestively across where it hits my lower thigh. “These boots are hot, by the way.”

Desire once again flickers through me.

“I’m glad you like them,” I say.

“
Love
them,” Niko says, turning into the restaurant parking lot. “They’re sexy. And it’s almost enough to make me want to turn back and order a pizza.”

I laugh, and he does, too.

Niko valets his car, and we head inside. It’s a dark, sleek restaurant in Uptown with a chic and modern vibe. After we’re seated, we study the wine list and decide to start with two glasses of merlot.

“Let’s get an appetizer,” Niko says, glancing at the menu after the server leaves to retrieve the wine. “What do you want to try?”

I scan over the list of options. “Ooh, they have razor clams. I’ve always wanted to try those after I saw them on a cooking show.”

“You need to go to Greece,” Niko says. “You’d love the seafood there.”

I lift my eyes from the menu. “Do you go there often?”

“Every summer,” Niko says. “It’s my post-season break. My parents come from Sidari, and my aunt and uncle own a café there.”

“That must be fantastic,” I say, imagining the blue waters of the Mediterranean. The same color of the eyes of the man I’m sitting next to right now.

“Yeah, it is. I do a lot of swimming, eat a ton of seafood, and be lazy for a month. It’s great.”

I nod. “I’d love to go to Greece. I’ve never been. I’ve been to England, France, and Italy, but never Greece.”

“You’d love it,” he says. “Especially if you like the water.”

We begin talking about traveling and by the time the server returns with the wine, we’ve neglected to decide on an appetizer. Niko gets an order of razor clams and then his favorite, charred octopus.

“Very good,” our server says. “Are you ready to order dinner?”

Niko grins at her. “I’m sorry, no, I’ve been distracted,” he says, gazing at me.

“Take your time,” she says pleasantly.

After she leaves, Niko picks up his wineglass and lifts it toward me.

“To our first date,” he says.

Happiness floats through me. “Cheers,” I say, clinking my wineglass against his.

I take a sip of the delicious merlot, and I study the man sitting across from me, with the intense, dark looks and beautiful blue eyes. The man who sees me as sexy and fun and smart.

The man who sees me
as no man ever has before.

I feel Niko’s hand on my leg now, gently resting there as he studies his dinner options. I place my hand over his, and he once again laces his fingers through mine.

And that’s where it stays as we debate our orders and talk while we wait for appetizers to arrive. Just like we always do, we laugh and joke and talk about everything and anything, from what is going on in the hockey league to our favorite movie quotes. In fact, the only time Niko removes his hand from mine is when food is brought to the table, and the fact that he likes to constantly touch me like that makes me feel . . . cherished. For the first time in my life, I have a man who
cherishes
me.

And I’ll never take it for granted.

We share our appetizers and before I know it, our main course is brought to the table. Niko ordered a filet with pommes frites, and I stay true to my word with the truffle lobster mac and cheese.

I glance over at Niko’s steak with the red wine demi-glaze and the crisp pommes frites in a silver cup.

“I think I have dinner envy,” I blurt out.

Niko grins, revealing the dimple in his cheek. “What’s mine is yours. You want a fry, don’t you?”

“How did you know?”

“Because I know you,” Niko says, holding the silver cup out to me. “Take one.”

I help myself to one and take a bite. It’s crisp, perfectly salted, and utterly delicious.

“Mmmm,” I say, “that’s so good. I could eat way too many of those.” Then I smile at him. “But I think this truffle lobster mac and cheese will more than keep me occupied.”

“I do want to try that,” Niko says as he cuts his steak.

“Only if I get some steak,” I tease.

Niko laughs. “I gave you a fry. You
owe
me one.”

“You’re right. I should reciprocate for the
pomme frite
,” I say.

“Well, I’ll give you some steak, but you’ll have to come up with another trade if you want more fries.”

Then he lifts an eyebrow suggestively at me.

Butterflies shift in my stomach from the look in his eyes. “I think that can be arranged.”

And the rest of dinner is like this-sexy, flirty, fun. We linger over our food. We pass on dessert and agree we only want coffee and to walk outside for a bit.

We leave the restaurant, and I love the fact that Niko puts his hand on the small of my back to guide me out. The valet brings his car around, and we head over to Highland Park Village, a Mediterranean-Spanish style outdoor, high-end shopping center that is famous for its elaborate holiday light display.

“Ah, so this is where the beautiful people of Dallas shop, right?” Niko asks as he turns into the parking lot.

I inwardly cringe. This would probably not be the time to say Kenley and I have shopped here since we were teenagers. I know the boutiques here: Jimmy Choo . . . Dior . . . Chanel. . . Tory Burch . . . Trina Turk . . . all crazy expensive.

“I love the architecture,” Niko says, interrupting my thoughts as he searches for a parking space.

“It was built in 1931,” I say. “And the lights are
gorgeous.
”

I drink them in, all the sparkling white lights in the trees around us.

“You’re gorgeous.”

I turn to him, and he’s gazing at me through his fringe of eyelashes again.

Electricity shoots through me from the way he’s staring at me right now. I see so much in his eyes. I see that this man really does think I’m beautiful. And sexy. And he wants to be with me.

It’s almost more than I can handle.

I’m about to thank him when I see a car begin to back out. “Over there!”

Niko shifts his eyes to where I’m pointing, and we’re able to maneuver around and grab the spot. We park and get out of the car, and as soon as we do, Niko links his hand through mine.

“Your hands are going to be ice in no time,” Niko says as we walk under the glittering trees.

“I’m counting on you to keep them warm,” I say.

“It’s my new mission in life,” Niko quips. “Keeping your hands warm.”

We both laugh as we stroll toward Starbucks. The air is crisp, in the fifties, and even though the stores are closed, there are loads of people out—taking in the lights, headed to the movies, or to restaurants. The streetlamps are decorated with elaborate ornament and pine displays, and everything seems to dazzle under the twinkling trees.

I lean into Niko’s shoulder, relishing this moment. Being with this man, taking in the holiday season, feeling his body against mine.

We head inside Starbucks and wait in line to place our drink order, and as we do, Niko moves behind me and wraps his huge arms around me, pulling me into his chest.

“Have you thought of your beverage after Red Cup season is over?” he asks, his deep voice reverberating sexily against my ear.

Can we forget coffee and go home now?

“Niko, please let me enjoy my gingerbread latte season without reminding me that all good things must come to an end,” I tease.

He laughs and turns me around, sliding his arms around my back and drawing me closer.

“I disagree. All good things don’t come to an end,” Niko says. “Sometimes they’re just beginning.”

And then he drops a sweet kiss on my lips.

Oh, I’m lost to this man.

I somehow manage to stay focused enough to put in my drink order when it’s our turn. We get my latte and his black coffee and head back outside, talking as we peer in the shop windows and drink in the holiday atmosphere.

“So will you go home for Christmas?” I ask, taking a sip of my latte.

Niko nods. “Yeah, the players worked a three-day holiday around Christmas into their agreement, so I’ll go back to Baltimore for a few days. It’s the first time in six years I’ll be home for a holiday.” He glances at me. “Are you all right with me being gone on holidays?” he suddenly asks.

I furrow my brow. “Um, it’s part of your job, isn’t it?”

Niko stops walking and leads me off to the side, so we’re leaning against the Carolina Herrera store window.

“Lexi, I need to emphasize that dating me is not like dating a normal guy. I work holidays all the time. It was a problem for Jessica.”

I swallow hard as I look at him. His expression is pure earnestness. He wants me to know the pitfalls—what he perceives as pitfalls—of dating him will be and if I can handle it.

And I know, without a doubt, I can spend every single holiday without him as long as I know he’s mine when he comes home.

“Niko,” I say slowly, “I want to be with
you.
And if that means celebrating Christmas with my family and friends and then celebrating when you get home, I’m fine with that. You matter more to me.”

“You have to deal with an athlete’s schedule without the perks of dating an athlete.” Niko glances into the store window next to me. “JP could buy you everything in here if you wanted it.”