Delayed Penalty: A Pilots Hockey Novel (25 page)

“Twice in one night. Lucky me.” Aleksandr squeezed my thigh under the table.

I jumped. For the second time that night I wanted to forget our plans and go to his hotel.

“Aleksandr is smoking hot,” Beth whispered in my ear as we gathered our coats and purses. I nodded. What could I say?
Yeah, he is.
Or,
He’s mine. Stop looking at him.

“Should we get a cab?” Aleksandr asked when we stumbled out to the street. Maybe I was the only one stumbling.

“It’s a block up and a block over,” Kristen informed him.

Aleksandr didn’t let me get far before he had me pressed up against the wall of a building, kissing me senseless. His hands slid into my jacket and tugged at the hem of my shirt until it popped from my waistband. His cold palms skimmed my warm stomach. I shivered, clenching my fingers in his hair and snuggling closer to warm up.

“Get a room!” Kristen called from in front of us.

“I have one,” Aleksandr whispered into my ear before he pulled himself off me.

“Do you want to go?” I asked him. Singing with Kristen at a bar took a backseat to being naked with Aleksandr in his hotel room.

“No!” Kristen ran back to where we were standing and took my hand. “I get it. You haven’t seen each other in forever, but you owe me a night out, so I’m not letting you go yet. We’re gonna sing. Then you can go have sex with him.”

As my best friend pulled me toward Beth and Lacy, I glanced back at Aleksandr. His shoulders were shaking in silent laughter, amused as he watched Kristen drag me toward the road.

“Come on, Crazy Hair! I don’t know what the rules are where you’re from, but we have to cross now,” Kristen yelled. The man in motion blinked white on the crosswalk.

“Seriously?”

“Aleksandr, whatever.” She lowered her voice. “You know the first time hurts, right?”

I took a deep breath and nodded, like I was listening to my coach before checking in to an important soccer game. “Yes. Hence the drinking more tonight than I have in over a year.”

“Auden. You don’t want to puke on him, do you?”

I cringed at the thought. “No.”

“Then slow it down.” She squeezed my hand. “I’m happy for you. That boy loves you.”

“Loves me or lusts me?”

“Both.” She winked. “But mostly loves.”

“Are you ladies talking about me?” Aleksandr split us by bumping our hips with his and throwing his arms across each of our shoulders.

Redthorne was more crowded than I expected for a random Wednesday night. Aleksandr waited in line for drinks, while I followed Kristen and Lacy to a table in the back near where karaoke was set up.

Kristen immediately put our names down on a slip of paper and handed it to the guy running the show. Since she was a regular, I didn’t doubt that he would move her up to the top of the list. Not next, because someone waiting might get angry, but very soon.

Minutes later, I noticed the karaoke host waving a small scrap of paper at me. Reluctantly, I pulled away from Aleksandr, waving my arm gallantly in front of Kristen. “After you, my dear.”

“Nope. Just you,” Kristen said. Her smile was sweet and sly at the same time. I responded with a mock scowl. What song had she picked for me?

Aleksandr gave my butt a pat as I edged past him to the stage. When I looked at the Teleprompter and saw “I Want Your Sex” by George Michael, I shook my head and started climbing off the stage.

“Absolutely not!”

“Come on!” Kristen yelled through a fit of giggles. She leaned over and said something to Aleksandr. She must have told him the name of the song because he broke into a huge grin.

“No one even knows that old-ass song!” I protested as I jumped down from the stage. “That was lame, KK.” I flipped Kristen’s hair with my fingers as I passed. “I’m gonna grab more drinks.”

“I’ll keep your man company so that vulture doesn’t swoop in.” She nodded in the direction of a group of girls standing by our table. One of them kept switching places with the others, casually trying to get closer to Aleksandr.

“Thanks.” I gave her a thumbs-up as I edged through the tables and chairs on my way to the bar. It was a sweet thought. Not necessary, but sweet.

I laughed at myself. Though puck bunnies were one of my biggest insecurities when I’d first met Aleksandr, I felt no jealousy toward the girl jockeying for position next to him now. I knew he wouldn’t give her a glance.

I ordered drinks for Aleksandr and Kristen and got myself a water. As I edged through the crowd, I turned my hips to maneuver past two back-to-back, occupied chairs, bumping one of them with my behind.

“Sorry. Excuse me,” I apologized without thinking.

“Aud,” a familiar voice said. I glanced behind me to find Greg occupying the chair I’d bumped. I twisted my neck, my focus on keeping the triangle of drinks upright. Then Greg touched my thigh, and I jumped back, sloshing beer onto his shirt.

Instinctively, I glanced at Aleksandr, who had risen from his seat. His eyes unwavering, catching every movement, his arms crossed across his chest, but he had a slight smirk on his face. Since I couldn’t tell if he was angry or amused, I tried to scoot by quickly. I wasn’t ruining my relationship with Aleksandr for Greg.

“I’m sorry about—” Greg stood up and wavered, unsteady on his feet. “Sorry about earlier.”

“Let’s just not talk about it,” I said, trying to inch my way forward.

“No, really. I just—” Greg leaned in, his face inches from mine. If I didn’t move quick, he’d be kissing me.

I lurched back and pushed my arms out to keep him away, sending more beer splashing over the sides of the huge plastic cups. Great, just fucking great. Aleksandr already hated Greg for talking to me the night we met in Canada. He hadn’t been too happy when I joined Greg’s band, either. Of course Greg would try to kiss me as Aleksandr watched from a few tables away.

“It’s not going to end well,” he slurred before he looked at Aleksandr.

I tightened my hold on the triangle of drinks and hurried to my table, setting the drinks down before I stood between Aleksandr’s legs and leaned over to kiss him.

“What was that about?” Aleksandr asked me when I pulled back.

“He’s really drunk.” I leaned into him, wrapping my arms around his neck, nuzzling close.

“Is this the Drew situation again?”

Aleksandr must’ve assumed my slight hesitation meant yes.

“Wanna know something?” Aleksandr whispered, his breath warm against my ear.

I nodded, making sure to slide my ear against his lips strictly for the pleasure it gave me.

“It gets me a little bit excited to see guys hit on you.”

“It does?” I asked, puzzled. I leaned in closer, tucking my face into the curve where his neck meets his collarbone and inhaling the scent of his sweat rather than the stench of stale alcohol.

“Yes, because I know you’re going home with me.” He ran his fingers over the curve of my backside and down the back of my thighs.

My mouth curled into a smile, lips dragging against his throat. I lifted my head, threw my hair over my shoulder, and caught his eyes. “Yeah, about that. When is that happening?”

“I thought you wanted to hang out with your friends tonight.”

“All I want is to hang on to you.”

“Say the word, my love.”

I leaned over and whispered in Aleksandr’s ear, “I’m ready.”

He hoisted me up so I could wrap my legs around him. Much to my surprise, he didn’t put me down, barely letting me say goodbye to Kristen, Lacy, and Beth as he carried me to the door.

—

“We’re never gonna make it,” I murmured between kisses as we weaved through the maze of hallways leading to Aleksandr’s hotel room. The last petals of panic about losing my virginity fell away every time Aleksandr touched me.

“We’re here.” He took his lips off mine long enough to slip the card key in the reader. He didn’t even fumble for the lights, just flicked his wrist, and I heard the plastic card bounce off something.

Aleksandr slid my coat off, letting it fall to the floor while I walked backward toward the bed. My calves hit the mattress, and all it took was the slight push of his fingertips and I was on my back. There were no words to explain the rapid anticipation surging through my veins as he situated himself between my legs and looked down at me. His eyes glazed over, a slight smile on his face.

The bed dipped when he leaned over and placed his arms on either side of me like he was about to do some weird-ass push-ups. I reached up, grabbing the waistband of his jeans, but his lips curved into a sexy smile and he dropped to his knees. Then he moved his right hand to my shirt and gently tugged it up before he dropped his head and licked the sensitive patch of skin below my belly button. My body arched and I reached up and grabbed his hair. I heard him laugh, and I quickly let go, hoping I hadn’t hurt him. Once I came back down to the mattress, I dug around in my pocket, pulling out the sugar packets I’d swiped from Larry’s.

“Didn’t you want these?” I shook the packets back and forth.

“I fucking love you,” he growled.

Chapter 23

I woke up in a foreign bed wondering where the hell I was. Pulling myself up onto an elbow and looking down, I recognized my usual pajamas—oversized T-shirt and underwear. I touched my hand to my throat, which was so dry it ached. My head pounded. Even my eyes felt raw. The glowing green numbers of an alarm clock on the table next to the bed told me it was almost 3:00 a.m.

When I stepped out of bed, my left foot landed in a tiny garbage pail. I shook it off my foot, thankful it was empty. I got out of bed and navigated the room with caution, fumbling around for a kitchen or bathroom, somewhere to get a drink of water. When I banged my knee against a couch that appeared out of nowhere, I realized I was in a hotel room. The sharp pain coursing through my head and now my knee triggered my memory.

Aleksandr coming to town because he knew I needed him. Drinking more than I ever had in my life. And passing out on him just before we had sex.

Awesome.

Nothing says
You excite the hell out of me
like passing out.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw feet hanging over the edge of the couch against which I’d just nailed my knee. Abandoning my original mission, I crept over to it. A thin fleece blanket covered Aleksandr’s lower body. He lay on his stomach, his back turned toward me, his face buried into one of the tiny pillows of the couch. The cut of each muscle in his back was evident, even in his relaxed state. He was a walking, talking fitness commercial.

I reached out and shook his shoulder gently, more from wanting to touch his bare skin than to wake him up. Aleksandr bolted upright, as if there was an emergency. I must have recoiled five feet.

“Audushka, are you okay?” The twist of his torso revealed his bare chest, and I wondered if I was sleepwalking. The chiseled muscles of Aleksandr’s upper body, arms, and abdomen were straight out of my fantasies.

I paused to count the pack in his stomach. He jumped off the couch and placed his hands on my shoulders before I could get higher than eight. “Do you feel sick again?”

“No, I—” I rubbed my eyes with my fingers.

“Audushka, you need some rest.” Aleksandr’s voice was gentle and soothing.

I crawled onto the couch and curled into a ball, resting my head on top of the arm. Aleksandr covered me up with the blanket he had been using. Then he sat down at my feet and rubbed my back. As relaxation set in, I had no choice but to close my eyes and drift into slumber.

The next time I woke darkness was still enveloping the room. It took my eyes a few moments to adjust, enough where I could make out everything in the small living space. I didn’t think I’d been asleep very long, but I’d changed position. Now, I was facing the back of the couch, my head resting on Aleksandr’s lap.

I tilted my neck to look up at him. His eyes were closed, his mouth slightly open. I flipped onto my back and watched his chest expand and contract with the rhythm of his breathing. The visual defined perfection. I wanted to spend the rest of my existence this close to him.

I touched Aleksandr’s chest with my fingertips, tracing velvet lines until I reached the top of his jeans. His eyes flickered under the lids, and his head rolled from left to right. I maneuvered myself into a sitting position and brushed his jawline with my fingers. He began to breath heavier, his chest rising and falling rapidly until his eyes fluttered open. I covered his mouth with mine before he had a chance to react. He responded by pulling me onto his lap and tangling his hands in my hair.

I straddled his torso, pressing myself against his chest, then settled my face in the warm gap where his neck met his shoulder and inhaled deep, filling my lungs with his familiar soap-and-cloves scent. My heart thumped; my head was no longer clouded with sleep. Aleksandr kissed my temple, and slid his large, strong hands to my hips. I pressed myself into his lap, circling my hips against him slowly, purposefully. His body immediately gave me the attention I craved.

Reaching around him, I dug in his back pocket and pulled his wallet out. He cocked his head as I removed the small foil square I’d been looking for.

“Audushka, I don’t know how long that’s been in there,” he began. I stopped him with a kiss.

“Well, it’s our only option, because I don’t have any.” I held his eyes for a split second, before he nodded. An old condom was better than no condom, in my opinion.

I unbuttoned his jeans, and he lifted his hips so I could pull them down. He didn’t have anything on underneath, so I tore open the packet, slowly rolling the condom over him, acting like I’d done it before. I lifted my face to meet his, tucking loose strands of hair behind my ear. I needed to see his eyes. I needed to know that this was right. This was my Aleksandr. My dream. My love.

Aleksandr didn’t disappoint, catching my gaze and holding it as he pushed away the fabric of my underwear and hoisted me onto him. I clenched my teeth, digging my fingernails into his shoulders as I slid onto him, releasing a soft cry from the jolt of pain.

“Fuck, Audushka!” Aleksandr swore. His eyes flashed open, and his strong hands held my hips still. I took a deep breath and attempted to lift myself up and back down. His halting the session was maddening and exhilarating at the same time.