Las Vegas Sidewinders: Karl (Book 3) (4 page)

Her breasts rubbed
against his chest, a slow dance until they drifted above his mouth. He found
her nipple and bit gently, licking and sucking until her fingers began digging
into the skin of his arms. When he moved to the other breast, her fingers moved
to his hair, holding his head closer to her. A growl of frustration left his
chest as she pulled away, leaning over to remove her panties one provocative
inch at a time. His blazing eyes never left her body, soaking in the sight of
her naked.

“What do
you
want?”
she asked softly, meeting his thirsty gaze.

“Unlock my hands,” he
grunted.

She moved slowly,
getting the key and pausing before releasing his hands. This wasn’t how this
was supposed to go, but his need for her was mesmerizing and she wanted him to take
her, however he wanted.

The moment his hands
were free, he didn’t even wait for her to
uncuff
his
other hand—he sat up and flipped her on her stomach, lifting her onto her
knees. He ripped open the condom and pulled it down his throbbing cock before pushing
himself into her. He heard her gasp at his rough entry, and he paused, pulling
her close and running his hands down her arms.

“You okay?” he
whispered against her ear.

“Yes,” she smiled over
her shoulder, her glorious hair falling all over them.

“Then hang on,” he said
roughly. He used his right hand to reach around front, between her legs,
earning a little hiccup of pleasure from her as she leaned back into him. With
his left hand, he grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her head back with a
firm but gentle yank. He gave her a few seconds to relax—she always tensed when
he did something new.

“Kate, I need the green
light
‘cause
you’re killing me right now.” He let out
a ragged breath.

“Don’t stop on my
account,” she responded in a breathy whisper that told him how turned on she
was.

That was all he needed
to hear. Without a second thought, he started moving in and out roughly, making
her whimper with delight. She was dripping wet against his hand, and he moved
faster, tugging at her hair until she was digging at the sheets beneath her
hands.

“Damn, baby, you are so
fucking hot!” He let out a rumble of pleasure as she began to shudder against
him. He knew exactly the spot she liked and his finger rubbed it in time to his
thrusts. He heard her screaming his name as their bodies slammed together, and
he let himself fall over the cliff of desire she’d built. He’d never had sex
like this before, and as he collapsed against her, her breath came out in
little gasps.

“So good,” she
whispered, licking her lips. “I want to come again.”

Still reeling from his
own unexpected subsequent release, he flipped her onto her back and looked down
at her gorgeous face. “I could fuck you all day,” he growled. Then he used his
tongue to lick her swollen pussy until she was a spineless puddle in the center
of the bed. He knew the best time to make her come again was right after she’d
just done it; he already knew her body incredibly well. Her clit throbbed right
after she had an orgasm, and grasping it between his lips always sent her
careening over the edge.

“Oh!” She was breathing
hard, jerking as he suddenly put two fingers inside of her.

“You want more?” he
demanded roughly.

“Yes!” She was beside
herself, barely able to breathe as he devoured her. She was tingling all over
and with every swipe of his tongue, she felt herself sliding back towards the
moment when she would lose all control. How he managed to make her come alive
again and again was a mystery to her, but the emotions that always followed
were beginning to overwhelm her.

With his tongue buried
deep inside of her, she thrashed against him desperately. He moved away so two
fingers could slip inside of her again, curling slightly and causing her hips
to shoot off the bed, right up against his mouth.

“Karl, yes, please…”
Her body had a mind of its own as another climax shattered her, and she grabbed
his hair, holding him close as he rocked her world.

For a long time,
neither of them moved. Finally, he crawled up to where she was lying on her
back. He looked down at her face and froze when he saw tears on her cheeks.

“Oh, Jesus, Kate, why
didn’t you tell me I was hurting you?” he whispered, wiping her tears with the
back of his hand.

“You didn’t,” she
whispered back. “I’m just terrified.”

“Of me?”

She nodded miserably.
“I don’t know what the hell all of this is, and maybe it’s what you’re used to,
but this isn’t, I mean, I’ve never felt like this before, never trusted anyone
like this before… If you left me now, I don’t think I’d ever be the same.”

He stared down at her
in disbelief. “I’m not going anywhere. I keep telling you that.”

“We’ve only known each
other a little while, and I’m already really attached,” she admitted. “I know
that’s usually when guys go running, but if you’re going to go, you need to go
now, because I’m falling in love with you.”

His lips found hers,
kissing her until the tears dried and she was nestled in his arms. “I’m falling
in love with you, too,” he whispered in his deep voice. “I don’t know what
we’re going to do, with you in New York and me in Vegas, but this—whatever you
want to call it—is not what I’m used to either. I’m used to fucking some girl a
few times and never seeing her again.” He stroked her hair as he spoke, trying
to make her understand. “About a year ago, I realized I was done with all that
crap. I needed something real in my life—and then I found you.”

“Technically Drake
found me,” she smiled faintly.

“I owe him a case of
whiskey,” he agreed.

“Was Therese your only
other steady girlfriend?” she asked curiously.

“Yeah, we dated for
three years,” he said slowly. “We dated from when we were 17 until we were
about 20. When I got drafted by the NHL, she wanted to get married and come
with me and I knew then that I liked her, and we had good times, but I didn’t love
her. It was puppy love, kid stuff, and that was the end.”

“And this?” she asked
quietly.

“This is…definitely
grown-up stuff.” He trailed his fingers down her back. “And it’s awesome. I’m
not ever going to be away from you for long. I want you to remember that,
because I’m 100% invested in us.”

Driving up to her
parents’ estate, Kate waited for Karl to realize this was where she’d grown up.
It only took a few minutes for them to drive up the winding driveway to where
the valet hired for the party stopped them. He cut his eyes to her and
squinted.

“This is your parents’
house?” he asked in surprise.

“I told you I came from
money.”

“I guess so.” He
blinked. “Wow.” He handed his keys to the valet and walked around the car to take
Kate’s arm. She looked stunning tonight in an A-line red dress that gathered
between her breasts, showing a fair amount of cleavage and hugging her hips
lightly as the asymmetrical skirt flowed around her knees. Her legs looked long
and sleek in her tall matching red pumps and he’d surprised her with a pair of
ruby earrings that sparkled against her ears. Her hair was pulled away from her
face, up in a messy chignon, with tendrils framing her face and neck. He found
himself thinking about taking her back to the hotel and making love to her
wearing nothing but those pumps and her earrings, but for now he had to behave.

Walking in the front
door, he felt Kate tense and he leaned over to whisper in her ear. “Remember,
I’m right here.”

She smiled up at him appreciatively
just as she heard her sister’s voice. “Katie!” Louise Lansing rushed forward,
wrapping her arms around Kate tightly. “I’m so glad you’re here! Wow—what a
dress!”

“Thanks.” Kate stepped
back and looked at Karl. “Karl, this is my sister, Louise Lansing. Lulu, this
is Karl
Martensson
.”

“Well, hello.” Louise
looked him up and down with a grin. “Look at you, big sister, finding yourself
a hunky athlete! He’s adorable.”

“I think so too.” Kate
looked over at him and had to admit he looked amazing. Wearing tailored gray
slacks and a royal blue button-down shirt with several buttons open at his
throat, he was every inch the Nordic god he resembled. His long hair was
slicked back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck, and his clean-shaven face
only made him seem more polished than ever.

“Beware, Mother’s on a
tear,” Lulu whispered in Kate’s ear just as Arianne Lansing breezed into the
foyer.

Almost a carbon
copy
of her daughter, Arianne didn’t look anywhere near old
enough to have a daughter that was almost 30, and her dark, assessing eyes made
short work of looking both Karl and Kate up and down.

“Well, hello.” She held
out her hand to Karl. “I’m Arianne Lansing, Katrina’s mother. You must be
Karl.”

“Nice to meet you.”
Karl inclined his head, shaking her hand politely.

“Kate.” Arianne looked
at her daughter critically. “Well, at least you haven’t gained back any of the
weight you managed to lose. That dress is—”

“Stunning, don’t you
think?” Karl interrupted, leaning down to kiss Kate. “I bought it for her.”
That wasn’t true, but he was going to let this woman know that he wasn’t going
to let her push Kate around. Not while he was there, anyway.

“Well, hopefully you
won’t be kissing other women while she’s wearing a dress you bought her.”
Arianne’s deep brown eyes met his unflinchingly.

Karl wasn’t sure how to
respond since Kate had warned him about her mother and he knew she didn’t want
him to make trouble. He was spared having to answer when a deep masculine voice
called out to Kate.

Kate turned to see Louise’s
fiancé, Barry Rivers, coming towards them. They’d all been in high school
together, and though he and Louise hadn’t started dating until a couple of
years ago, Kate had always thought he was the best thing to happen to her.

“Barry!” With a genuine
smile, she let him pick her up and swing her around as they embraced.

“You look gorgeous!” he
said with a grin, his brown eyes sparkling.

Arianne’s mouth thinned
into a line of distaste, but she said nothing, choosing to excuse herself to
greet more guests. Kate didn’t even notice her mother leaving as she dragged
her future brother-in-law over to Karl.

“Barry, this is my
boyfriend, Karl. Karl, this is the groom, Barry Rivers.”

“Nice to meet you.”
Karl shook the man’s hand.

“Hey, you’re…” his
voice faded as he squinted at Karl knowingly. “You’re the guy from the
Sidewinders!”

Karl nodded. “I am.”

“We were at the game
when you played the Blue Jackets last fall—you fuckin’ shut us out
big time
!
You were in the net that game, and I remember thinking you were going to lead
the next generation of great goalies.”

“Thanks.” Karl felt a
moment of discomfort, wondering if he was going to be in the NHL for much
longer. “I’m honored you think so.”

“So you and Kate…?” He
looked between them and grinned. “That’s awesome! About time somebody
appreciated her!”

“I think so.” Karl
wrapped his arm around Kate’s shoulder, pulling her closer to him.

“Let’s go get a drink,”
Louise slipped her hand into Barry’s and they moved towards the massive
backyard that had been decorated for the party. There were tents and tables
with tablecloths, several bars, and a buffet table to rival any restaurant in
Las Vegas. Karl was amazed at how much money they had to be spending for an
engagement party. Though he made over a million dollars a year, he tended to
live simply, sharing an apartment with Drake and saving for the day he couldn’t
play anymore. He had a good chunk in the bank, which was always recommended for
young players since one major injury could be career-ending, and he had one more
year before he would be in a position to start commanding a larger salary.
However, he didn’t picture himself ever living in this kind of luxury—it seemed
so decadent. Based on her tiny Manhattan apartment, Kate seemed to think so
too.

“So the wedding will be
next April,” Louise was telling Kate. “At the country club. Melanie will be my
maid of honor and you’ll be in the wedding party, right?”

“If you want me to be.”
Kate met her sister’s gaze meaningfully.

“Well, you know I do…”
Louise’s voice trailed off. “But Mother is going to make the final decisions on
everything since she’s paying for it.”

Barry rolled his eyes.
“Babe, I can pay for the damn wedding—make your own decisions. It’s your day,
not hers.”

“But she’ll be hurt,”
Louise said sadly, lowering her dark eyes. “You know how she is.”

“Manipulative and
mean?” Barry shook his head, glancing at Kate. “Your sister’s the smart
one—running far away from your parents!”

“Barry!” Louise gave
him a dirty look.

“What?” He shrugged.
“I’m willing to marry you, but understand that your parents aren’t going to run
our marriage the way they run you.”

Louise sighed. “Can we
not talk about that today, please?”

“Okay.” He kissed her
lips and then moved towards the bar, motioning to Karl. “Want to get a drink?”

“I’ll stay with Kate,”
Karl said mildly. “But we’ll catch up later.”

“Okay!” Barry sauntered
off, and Louise looked at Karl and Kate skeptically.

“What?” Kate demanded,
glaring at her sister.

“Mom invited Roman
Palermo.”

Kate groaned.
“Seriously?! Oh my God.”

“Who’s Roman Palermo?”
Karl asked, looking between them.

“My high school
boyfriend,” Kate said. “Kind of like you and Therese—we dated from senior year
of high school, when we were 17, until the summer between freshman and
sophomore year at college, when we were 19. He was at Yale, I was at Princeton,
and we grew apart. Mother never got over it—his family owns a vineyard in
northern California and another in Sicily. Mom thinks that a nice
Italian
boy wouldn’t mind a chubby girl for a wife.”

“You’re not chubby!”
Karl threw up his hands. “What is wrong with these people? Not being an
anorexic supermodel isn’t the same as being fat!” He made a face. “Well, he’d
better hope he’s over his high school sweetheart, because she belongs to
someone
else
now! I’m going to get a beer!” He stalked off in the
direction Barry had gone and Kate smiled after him.

“You do seem to have
your claws in him good,” Louise murmured.

Kate cut her eyes
towards Louise. “I don’t have my claws in him—I love him!”

“Look, I get it—you’ll
be thirty soon. I would be trying to get pregnant as quick as possible! A dumb
jock is better than nothing!”

“What are you talking
about?” Kate glared at her. “He’s not a dumb jock—he’s amazing! Ugh, I knew
coming tonight would be a mistake!” She started to walk away but Louise grabbed
her arm.

“I’m sorry. Please
don’t leave.” Louise looked at her sister. “I don’t mean to be bitchy—but you
got away, and left me here to deal with Mommy Dearest. It’s hard.”

“You could leave too!”

“I’m not like you,”
Louise said quietly. “I’m not smart or ambitious. I got a degree in liberal
arts—how the hell am I going to make money with that?”

“Daddy isn’t going to
cut you off,” Kate said. “And even if he does, Barry’s loaded! You don’t need
their money.”

“Barry doesn’t get his
trust fund until he turns 30 or makes partner in his firm. He’s only been there
two years—he’s barely making $150,000 a year. We can’t live on that.”

Kate rolled her eyes.
“Seriously? That’s what I make, and I live in the most expensive city in the
country!”

“Like I said, you’re
different,” Louise said gently.

“Then don’t complain
that you’re stuck with Mom.” Kate turned and followed in the direction Karl had
gone. He wasn’t at the bar where Barry was laughing with a group of friends,
and she didn’t see him nearby. Frowning, she went to the bar and got a glass of
wine. She was just about to take a sip when two arms closed around her from
behind.

“Look at you, Katie
Marie!” Roman Palermo squeezed her tightly.

“Hey,
Romi
.” She gently moved out of his embrace, sighing to
herself.

“Damn, babe, you’re
lookin
’ great! Your mom said you had gotten fat, but—”

“Think carefully about
the next words that come out of your mouth,” Karl slid his arms around Kate’s
waist, pulling her up against him as he eyed the other man.

Romi’s
eyes rounded slightly
and he paused. “I was going to say she looks beautiful. Is that okay with you?”

“As long as all you do
is look, that’s absolutely okay.” Karl gave him a charming smile and held out
his hand. “Karl
Martensson
.”

“Roman Palermo. Kate
and I were—”

“High school
sweethearts,” Karl nodded briefly. “I know.”

Romi
glanced at Kate. “Does
he let you speak?”

Kate grinned.
“Sure—when I want to. But it’s nice having someone stick up for me for a
change.”

Romi
frowned. “I always
stuck up for you.”

“You did.” She nodded
and looked up at Karl. “He really did. When I was voted onto Homecoming Court
my senior year, my mother told me I should decline because they didn’t make
pretty dresses in my size.”

“And I told her that if
Kate wasn’t on the court, then I would drop out as well—I was on the football
team—and old Arianne knew my father would be pissed so she backed off.”
Romi
laughed. “It’s good to see you, Kate. I’m sorry if I
seemed presumptuous—your mom told me you were single.”

“Mom doesn’t seem to
think anyone else could find me attractive.”

Romi
shook his head. “She’s
crazy.”

“That’s what I said.”
Karl looked down at the woman in his arms and couldn’t believe they were having
this conversation. She was so stunning she took his breath away sometimes.

“Well, I’m going to
mingle. Nice to meet you, Karl.”
Romi
moved off and
Kate glanced up at Karl, giggling.

“I think I like this
Neanderthal thing you have going on—first in the bedroom and now around my
family.”

He chuckled. “The only
person I’m worried about is your father.”

She laughed. “He’s the
least of your problems. Really. He’s a little bit pretentious, like my mother,
but he does love my sister and me. He just thinks because I’m turning 30 this
year I need to be married off and having babies!”

“What do you think?” he
asked lightly.

“I guess I stopped
thinking inside the traditional box a long time ago.” She gazed out over the
beautiful grounds she’d grown up hating; they seemed to represent everything
she fought against. “I have a great career and good friends—I gave up on the
idea of marriage.”

“And now?” He looked
down at her meaningfully.

“I would consider it if
the right guy came along.” She grinned as he bent his head to capture her mouth
for a kiss that made her weak in the knees.