Empty Net (3 page)

Even with all those questions running through her head, she couldn’t help but remember that they had had spectacular sex the night before. It was even better than with Levi, or hell, anyone. The. Best. Sex. Ever. He was a giving lover, something she had never experienced. He’d wanted to please her over and over again. And he had.

He was amazing.

But amazing or not, she had to get out of there. She popped up and looked over to where he lay with his arms above his head and the sheets low on his waist. Three black birds graced his
chest, and on his biceps she saw a wire cage with an open door. Her eyes moved from each bird to his amazing set of abs before resting on his pelvic muscles. They made a perfect V, pointing right to the place she wanted to be, again. There was a vein leading to his naughty place, tantalizing her. Lord, how she wanted to follow it like the yellow brick road with her tongue. Her mouth watered at the thought. It had to be the sexiest vein she had ever seen.

Jesus, he was hot.

She swallowed loudly before saying, “I gotta go.”

“You do?” he asked, coming up on his forearms.

Audrey nodded as she got up and started to look for her clothes. Most of her things were strewn across the floor, but she couldn’t find her shirt. Frantically, she looked around the room, then glancing back to where Blondie sat watching her, saw it …

Beneath his massive body.

Audrey let out a huff as she zipped up her skirt. He looked down to where she was looking and then back up at her. When their eyes met, her whole body caught on fire. His eyes were captivating. So blue she could drown in them. As their gaze stayed locked, she swore she could feel the surf running up her ankles, the sun hitting her face, and could actually smell the salt in the air.

Man, she needed to get out of there!

She was beyond embarrassed. He probably thought she was a whore, sleeping around with random men five minutes after meeting them. She would never be able to face him again.

Audrey went to the bed, pulling the shirt out from underneath him before sitting on the edge of the mattress. When she bent down to grab her shoes, the bed moved. When she felt the warmth of his hands on her waist, and then his lips touch her bare back, she froze. His lips
moved along her spine before resting right below her bra strap.

“Don’t leave,” he whispered, his breath warm on her back. “I don’t even know your name.”

Audrey knew that breathing was no longer an option. No man had ever been so tender with her. A simple kiss on her back made her want to rip her clothes off and jump back into bed with him. Yup, she had to get out of there.

Quickly sliding her feet into her shoes, she stood up, moving from his grasp before pulling on her shirt. She found her purse and then, finally, her stupid phone, which was still sounding the alarm. Silencing that annoyance, she saw she had six missed calls and fourteen text messages.

Shit, they were mostly from Fallon, who was probably freaking out.

“You gotta be out of here by eleven,” she said, purposely not looking over at him. She didn’t trust herself.

“Okay, I’m getting up now.”

She nodded as she texted Fallon, saying she would call her in a few minutes. She looked up just in time to catch Blondie pulling his jeans up over his hips, and also took notice that he didn’t have underwear on.

Could he get any hotter?

“Can I at least get your number, maybe your name?” he asked after digging his phone out of his pocket. His English wasn’t perfect, and she still found herself loving the accent. It was hot and smooth, like butter on a hot skillet.

Man, he was yummy.

“Not a good idea,” she muttered as she walked toward the door. “This was a one-night
thing.”

Audrey looked over her shoulder to see him watching her. “It doesn’t have to be,” he said.

There was no way this was happening. She was tired of being fucked over by guys, and even though this guy was beautiful, and gorgeous, and generous, she didn’t know him. She would be damned if she was going to be fucked over by another Levi. She knew she was being a bitch, but she didn’t want to put herself out there and get hurt again.

She had to stop this.

She had to be strong.

So when she locked eyes with her bedmate, her heart pounding against her chest, she knew what she needed to say.

“Yeah, it does.”

Audrey pulled into her driveway and put her new black Volkswagen CC in park. Even though she fell in love with her car at first sight, she wasn’t feeling it right now. She was feeling more like a big ol’ whore, and dreaded going inside. She knew when she went in that all Levi’s things would be gone and he wouldn’t be there. She knew she shouldn’t be sad, but she was. She hated that their relationship was so jacked up. She missed him already, but not nearly as much as she missed Blondie.

How did that make sense?

She had this nagging feeling that she had made a huge mistake walking out of that hotel room. It might be because she was leaving Blondie, or maybe that she didn’t make sure that he
left. What if he ran up her tab at the hotel? Not only was she a whore, but a stupid one. She needed to call the hotel. Not now, but soon.

She made her way into the condo and locked the door behind her. She dropped her overnight bag down on the couch and looked around. Fallon had taken a lot of her things with her when she moved out a few months ago. That didn’t bother Audrey much, but she did miss Fallon’s ugly owl statues and her silly little wine holders. Her sister was obsessed with wine, while she couldn’t give two shits about it. She had promised herself that she would start collecting things she liked, but the only thing she’d bought was an inspirational picture. She glanced at the quote in a Victorian-style frame above her bookshelf.

Move on. It’s just a chapter in the past. Don’t close the book. Just turn the page
.

How appropriate.

As she headed for the kitchen, she tried to ignore the fact that all of Levi’s shoes were gone, but it was hard. If his things were there, she would have already started bitching about the shoes that took up all the spare spaces in her living room. Or the way his magazines cluttered her table, and that he couldn’t put a glass in the sink if his life depended on it.

Audrey opened the fridge door, taking out a can of beer and a big Kit Kat bar before heading up the stairs. She had to find something to distract herself, and since Lucas was slow to finish the closet he was building for her, it seemed to be the perfect distraction. Beating the hell out of boards with a hammer, imagining that each nail was Levi’s head, was a perfect way to distract herself.

She put her beer and chocolate bar down on a nearby table and picked up a hammer. Lucas had worked hard knocking out the wall between Aiden and Fallon’s old rooms. Yes, it was a little bratty of her to want a humongous closet, but it made her feel good. Plus, it wasn’t like
she would ever have a family to fill the condo, so why not fill it with shoes? Lucas had done a lot already—the shelves for her shoes were almost done—but there was still a lot more to do.

Audrey shimmied out of her skirt and threw it against the wall, standing only in her panties and shirt. She really needed to take a shower, but banging the crap out of a board seemed like a fantastic idea to her. She went over to the far wall and picked up a board. She didn’t know what she was doing and she didn’t care. She slammed the hammer against the board, driving eighteen different nails into the wall before she crumpled to the floor and started crying.

She couldn’t believe Levi was gone. How could he leave her? She gave him everything. Made sure he was fully loved. She took the crap he dished out, and the sex when she didn’t want it, with the pain that inevitably accompanied it. So he liked to choke her when they did it. Everyone had their quirks. But if she were honest with herself, that wasn’t the real reason she was crying. Why did she miss Blondie? How could she miss a man, let alone sleep with a man she didn’t know?! Why could she still feel his lips along her spine and collarbone? Why could she still feel him touching her? She wanted him again, and that alone was bad, very bad.

What the hell was wrong with her? Damn it.

Audrey wrapped her arms around her legs and leaned her head on her knees, letting the tears roll down her legs. She hated feeling like this. She wanted to be happy. She was damn near thirty. Shouldn’t she have her shit together by now? She shook her head, wiping her cheeks with the palm of her hand before taking a deep breath. She looked up at her shelves, and couldn’t bring herself to be excited about how fantastic her shoes would look on them. She would much rather have a nursery, with a sweet baby in it. But that was an untouchable dream, something she would never be blessed with. At least not in the way she wanted it to happen.

When Audrey heard the sounds of a piano, she let out a thankful sigh. She stood up
quickly, getting her beer and chocolate before leaning up against the wall that she shared with her neighbor. It always got on Levi’s nerves when her neighbor played his piano, but it was honestly the highlight of her day. And right now it couldn’t have been a more welcome sound. As she listened to her neighbor’s skillful hands move along the keys, playing the most beautiful song ever, “A Drop in the Ocean,” by Ron Pope, she found herself singing along, instead of thinking about things she couldn’t change. She needed this escape, especially after the night and morning she’d had.

All of a sudden she started crying again, she couldn’t help it. She was completely alone and probably always would be. No man would want someone who couldn’t have children. It had been almost ten years since she was told she would never be able to carry her own child. Why did that still bother her so much? Why couldn’t she get over it and just live her life? There were men out there who wouldn’t mind adopting or being with just her, but damn it, it had been ten years and she still hadn’t found him.

Audrey moved her hands along her cheeks as the sobs left her body. She’d had so many plans when she was younger. So many, and all of them were gone now. If she’d been strong and stood up to her father when she had the chance, she wouldn’t be here; she would be doing what she wanted. Instead, she was working a job she hated, involved in relationships with deadbeats, and would never be able to hold a child who she grew inside of her.

It wasn’t fair.

But life wasn’t fair.

Tate slammed his stick against the goal post.

What the fuck was his problem! That was two goals in fifty-two seconds! He never let goals in that quickly. He inhaled a deep cleansing breath. He wasn’t himself, and that needed to change. There was no way he was going to let the Assassins lose to the Ducks, the worst team in the NHL. He was one of the top goalies in the league. He had to get his head in the game.

Tate slammed his stick against his pads before standing high and looking out at the ice. His captain, Shea Adler, and his alternate captain, Jakob Titov, stood together as three forwards skated around, getting ready for the puck to be dropped. He glanced over to where Coach Bacter stood, yelling his ass off. Bacter never really talked to the guys when they were on the ice; he was more of a yeller.

And that was a problem for Tate.

His career was in Bacter’s hands. If he kept messing up, all Bacter had to do was say he wanted someone else, and he would be back in Florida on the Assassins farm team, something he didn’t want. He loved his team. Adler, Titov, Lucas Brooks, and Anderson were his friends. Real friends. He hadn’t felt like he was at home until meeting them. He was also getting used to Nashville, and he was getting settled into his condo. Things were good.

And last night they had gotten a whole lot better. Except for the fact that the first time he had sex in months, the girl he woke up next to shot out of the room faster than a puck being shot into a goal. It shouldn’t be affecting him like this, but it was really fucking with his head. Was he that horrible? Did he not give her everything she wanted? He had made sure to give more than he took. What did he do wrong? It sure had felt right to him. But most of all, why was he letting this affect his game?