The Heart Of The Game (32 page)

Zoe slid her legs around and rose up to her knees, bringing her face to the same height as his. With that simple movement, she had every bit of his attention. Without a word, she removed one of her gloves and tossed it aside. He stopped breathing.

God couldn’t have orchestrated a more alluring striptease.

But maybe she was just making herself more comfortable. His years of observing players and people, of finely honed calculations, were no help as he watched her tug off her other glove and throw it down to join its mate. And when she reached out and ran her finger along his jaw, his control snapped. He dropped the tin cup and grabbed her by the shoulders and crushed his lips to hers. If she met his kiss, fine. If not, at least he would know.

Her lips parted, and her tongue lit a fire in him as she twined it with his. She ran her hands to the back of his head and pulled him tight against her, deepening her kiss. He pushed his hand up under her jacket, fumbling to get under her shirt, needing to feel her skin against his palm.

“
Freddo
!” she gasped when his fingers brushed against the warm curve of her breasts.

“Hmmm... not for long,” he murmured against her lips.

She broke off the kiss and pushed him away. In the split second before she reached for his parka, he was sure she’d changed her mind about physical contact. But then she began unsnapping the parka. He was only too glad to help her push it off his shoulders. With locker-room efficiency he stripped out of his sweater and T-shirt. Her hands were on him before his shirt hit the silver space blanket. He closed his eyes as she ran her hand across his chest, but when she pinched his nipple, he grabbed her hands and spread her arms wide.

“Your turn,” he said, unable to hide his smile. He unzipped her jacket, and she twisted, helping to peel it off. She wore only a thin silk shirt under it. He took in her budded nipples under the peach silk, and his erection throbbed hard against the zipper of his jeans.

“You would’ve frozen in this outfit,” he said as he pulled the silk up over her head and tossed it away.

He crushed his lips to hers and lowered her down to the shiny silver surface of the blanket. A groan escaped him when he pressed his chest against her breasts. He lowered his hand and cupped the curving side, stroking and loving that she arched up against him with pleasure. He rose up on an elbow and reached for his parka, dragging it close and forming it into a pillow under her head. She traced her fingers down his chest to the button of his jeans.

“Take these off,” she murmured.

“First things first, ice palace princess. You are my captive, and I must see that you are properly treated.”

She giggled but then gasped when he pulled down her ski pants. Her boots were an obstruction that had to be dealt with, but first... He fingered her warm, slick cleft through the scrap of silk covering her. As she writhed up against his palm, he removed her boots one at a time with his other hand, giving thanks for quick-release fastenings. He kicked off his own boots and then slid her ski pants down and off her legs, never losing the rhythm of his fingers circling her sex. There were advantages to being ambidextrous, though this was one he hadn’t anticipated. He kissed his way up her thighs and nibbled at her already hard peak through the thin silk of her panties. He slid a hand under her, lifting her hips, and pulled the silk away. She tried to lift his head, but he went down on her and nearly came when he tasted her sweet, honeyed and hot sex.

“
Dio
, Cody.”

Circling and sucking, he inserted a finger into her, finding the rough-textured spot he knew would take her home. She grabbed his hair, tugging, moaning, and then her body arched against his mouth, quivering for a long moment before she went slack.

He kissed her belly and then lifted up onto his forearms and lowered his face to hers.

“Well done, princess,” he whispered against her ear. Though his balls felt like they were about to explode, he wanted her to float in her pleasure.

She didn’t stir for a moment. And then she wriggled out from under him.

“No,” she said with fire in her eyes. “Hell
no
.”

He rocked back onto his heels, trying to read her expression when she sat up.

Her hands trembled as she reached out and unfastened his belt. Using both hands, she undid his zipper. He inhaled and fought for control as she slid her hands past the elastic of his briefs and cupped his balls, squeezing his rock-hard erection between her wrists at the same time.

“Take off your jeans.” Her surprising,
demanding
tone made his erection throb against her wrists.

He didn’t want to move, didn’t want to let her go. When she lifted a brow at his hesitation, he pulled away from her hands and stripped out of his jeans and briefs. Undressing in such close quarters required near-acrobatic efficiency.

She lowered her eyes and her hands followed her gaze. She stroked him with one hand and cupped his balls with the other. He let out a low growl as she set a steady rhythm against his shaft. Then abruptly, she stopped.

“Do you have protection?”

“Maybe.”
God, please
... He grabbed his pack and sorted through the top pocket. Nothing. But then he remembered the zippered kit he kept in the main compartment. Her eyes flashed when he brandished a strip of three crumpled condoms.

“I would have died a million deaths if you didn’t have any.” Her soft whisper and her Italian accent made the words sound like a prayer.

“Me too, princess.”

This time he had no intention of keeping it slow and gentle or even trying to. He had been frightened for Zoe, and he knew she had been frightened as well. He intended to celebrate life—his and hers—with passion and sex that shouted out that they were alive and loving every minute of their lives.

He touched Zoe and demanded—by example and with words—that she touch him, explore his body. And allow him to explore her, hiding nothing from him.

He caressed her until she gasped, until she turned the tables and had him groaning, lost to their circumstances, his only thought to explode with Zoe, releasing all his pent-up frustration and desire and craving inside her body.

She pushed him so hard—stroking and licking, kissing him with her sexy mouth—that he caught fire and briefly wondered if they’d melt their ice cave even in the chill of a wintry night.

But when he started shaking, when he whispered her name again and again—when he lost track of all but her and the pleasure she gave him with her body—he knew he had changed.

He could no longer hold back, content to derive pleasure from his partner’s pleasure. Instead, passion overwhelmed him, overriding his control, and he was caught up in body-shaking pleasure that washed over him with renewing power.

He forgot where he was,
who
he was. He was lost to time and place, the experience so overpowering that he could no longer think or see, but only feel.

When he could breathe again—hell, when he could remember who and where he was—he rolled his head to the side, trying to make out Zoe’s expression in the shadows. Her breathing was as rough as his but when she moved, she ran a shaking finger across his lips. Then she cupped his cheek.

“Thank you,” she said. “That was... awesome.” She closed her eyes and laughed shakily. “Does saying
awesome
make me a true Californian?” She stroked him again, and he trembled.

“Thank
you
,” was all he could manage. He closed his eyes, his mind drifting, happy with the fingers still stroking his face.

“Thank you for...”

She tucked her head into his shoulder. When she didn’t continue, he nudged her and said, “Thank you for what?” If she didn’t finish soon, it was likely he wouldn’t hear her, so relaxed and so close to dropping straight into sleep was he.

Her hand at his cheek stilled. He clasped it to his face before she could pull away.

“It’s just us, Zoe. You can say it, whatever it is.”

She remained motionless and quiet, and he started to drift off, his body both heavy and light, as well as extremely satisfied. He couldn’t keep a sleepy grin from spreading across his face.

Then she said, “Thank you for... for allowing me to see that loss of control. To feel it.”

He stiffened. But she didn’t stop speaking.

“It turned me on to know I did that to you, that I could move you so much that you’d...”

Damn. What had he done? His comfortable lethargy was draining quickly away.

“You letting go like that freed me to let go too.” She rubbed her face against his shoulder. “It was like, like fire feeding fire. Burning and burning and burning.”

He felt heat flush his face. She was right—he had lost control. And while he’d reveled in the freedom and the sensations just ten minutes earlier, now he was embarrassed at his lack of control. He fought to keep his body relaxed, not wanting to give any more of himself away.

“Anyway... Thank you for making me feel so desirable. So beautiful.” Her voice had dropped to an intimate whisper. “I’ve never before felt so much like a desirable woman. Like a desired woman.”

His breath caught at her admission. He was no longer embarrassed, but proud that he had brought her such happiness. Cocky even. He tugged her tight against him.

The small space was quiet save for the muffled sound of the wind and the rhythmic rise and fall of their breath.

He was almost asleep when Zoe brushed her fingers against his throat and giggled. “I’m afraid I’ve left a mark.” She pressed a sensitive spot under his jaw. “Here.
And
here.” She sighed out a puff of breath. “Marching into the lodge with love bites on our necks could be pretty embarrassing.”

His eyes blinked open. And he roared with laughter as he rolled over and pinned her beneath him, eager to once more lose control with Zoe. A love bite was a small price to pay for what he’d experienced.

He’d ignored the limits he’d placed on himself years before and had just let go.

And it had felt good. Great. Awe—

Fantastic
.

Pushing Zoe, not letting her hide, encouraging her responses and giving in to his own had been freeing. Not having to worry or analyze meant he could feel, and he’d taken advantage, pushing both of them to feel and experience the exhilaration of lovers.

Yeah, it had been awesome. And he wouldn’t mind sex being that awesome every single time.

“Care to go again?” he asked, tracing the side of her neck with one finger. “I promise not to leave any mark.”

Her hands latched on to his hips and pulled him into the cradle of her thighs. “So no more warm lips sucking ravenously?” She adjusted her position to press against him, and he caught his breath.

Her voice was low and raspy, and Cody was a goner.

“I didn’t say that.” He dipped his head to suckle at her breast. When her hips began to rock, he pulled away a scant inch and whispered, “I only promise not to leave a mark where others might see it.” He licked at her nipple, causing her to arch against him. “But I am going to taste you again and again.”

Their second round of lovemaking was quieter, even gentler in a way. But she wouldn’t let him retreat back into control, and because she pushed him, he pushed her. He held out as long as he could just to tease her. But in the end he once again was overwhelmed. He fell asleep with Zoe on top of him, their hearts pounding out their pleasure.

Cody didn’t want to move but when he felt Zoe shiver, he sat up to retrieve her jacket and helped her slip it on. He zipped it, and she caught his wrist and looked into his eyes.

“What is it, Cody?”

He didn’t trust words, but they came at him, rushing through his mind, sparking feelings that unraveled the world as he’d known it. Like water trapped in a levy, eating away at its constraints and fighting to break loose, to find its way out, the joy of loving her coursed in him, as real as the blood flowing in his veins. And the words broke free.

“What you do to me, Zoe... everything scrambles. I thought I was living in the world, knew what I wanted, what was important. But this, what happens between us, is like entering a portal to life, and I know only that I want to live in a world that includes you.”