Just In Time: An Alaskan Nights Novel (17 page)

She’d closed the space between them and her hand snaked up and wrapped around his neck, her fingers brushing the cord.

“I didn’t do those things for sex.”

“I know you didn’t. In fact, if I thought that had been the motivation, I wouldn’t be here.”

“How’d you know about the necklace?”

“Stink has a wolf’s tooth he’s wearing around his neck for luck. He proudly showed it to me earlier and let me know that a necklace was the only luck you bothered with.”

“I didn’t tell him you gave it to me.”

“But I knew.” She moved on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his as her thumb came around and fondled the small charm. “I knew.”

“Sold out by a fifteen-year-old.” He muttered the words against her lips before wrapping his arms around her waist and dragging her to him.

His already-heated body exploded with need, and the pressure of her stomach against his erection had him seeing stars. “Are you really sure?”

Her gaze was honest and true as she lifted her lips to stare at him. “I’m completely sure.”

“I want you. There’s an aching longing that nothing else can fill.” He pressed his cheek against the side of her head and pulled her against him. “Nothing, Avery.”

“I know.”

Whatever they needed to say didn’t matter anymore. Words had been the only thing to exist between them for fourteen years, and now, by unspoken agreement, they allowed other things to fill the space.

Touch.

Taste.

Love.

•   •   •

The reality of being back in his arms kept winging through her mind, and Avery fought to focus on the here and now. There’d be plenty of time to think later.

Time to contemplate and remember and relive every single feeling.

Right now, she wanted to consume. Feed the need that had never gone away and feast on the reality of being back in Roman’s arms and of having him back in hers.

She reached for the hem of his T-shirt, the material soft under her fingers. The heat of his body scalded her as she lifted the shirt up and over his head, and she nearly lost her breath at her first sight of his wide chest.

The body she’d remembered at eighteen had grown and changed. This was a man’s body. A man in the absolute prime of his life. Grier’s description earlier—Greek god—came back to mind.

With curious fingers, she traced the deeply sculpted muscles that descended into a series of tight, rolled ridges over his stomach before forming hard ropes over each hip. The muscles flexed underneath smooth skin as she traced the lines.

“I don’t remember these from before.”

A dark laugh huffed from his chest. “It’s called lots of gym time and boiled chicken for dinner.”

“The process sounds painful but I wholeheartedly approve of the results.” Her fingers hit the elastic waistband of his shorts and she tugged on the material, careful to work around the hard length of him.

Free of any clothing between them, Avery took a step back and looked her fill.

“Your body is magnificent.”

“Right back at ya, slim.”

“Seriously. You’re like a statue.”

His lips quirked at her assessment. “I’m not so sure about that but I do know something that’s harder than a slab of marble.”

“So I noticed.” She moved back into his arms, her hands tracing an unerring path over the hard musculature until she could grip his erection. “Maybe I can do something about that.”

She pressed against him, urging him toward the couch with her body.

“Nope. I’m too tall. I want the bed.”

The apartment Roman used when he was home was equipped with the extra-large bed Susan had needed to buy him as a kid. He’d started growing in the eighth grade and she had finally gone out and gotten something custom-made to fit him.

Avery had fantasized about that bed for years, the idea of actually sleeping together on a mattress forbidden to both of them in their youth. In all the time they’d spent together, she could count on one hand how many times they’d actually been able to sneak together into one of their bedrooms.

“What’s that look for?”

“I was just thinking about all the places we managed to have sex that weren’t a bed.”

“God, we were good at finding places.”

“Except beds.”

“Exactly.”

The world tilted suddenly as Roman had her up in his arms. “What are you doing?”

“Let’s do this right.”

While she thought they’d gotten off to a more than okay start, Avery wasn’t about to argue. Either about the bed or the opportunity to feel small and petite as he cradled her in his arms.

It was one of the sensations she’d missed in her attempts to date. She was a tall woman and very few men had Roman’s height or solid lines. He wasn’t this big when they were younger, but he still had an imposing frame that had always made her feel feminine.

The bed beckoned as Roman walked them into the room and she thought about the moments to come. What a contrast to what they’d known before.

“Is this weird?”

“Weird?” One dark eyebrow shot up as he stared down at her. “Not quite the description I had in mind.”

“Not freaky weird. I mean, you and me. Us. Together again.”

“I like it. We’re different and I want to know you now.”

“But we’re the same in some ways.”

Roman shifted, allowing her feet to touch the floor before he pulled her tightly into his arms. “I like the part of you that doesn’t change and I like the parts of you that have changed. You’re a grown woman and I like who you’ve become.”

“That’s the weird part.”

“No. It’s the amazing part.”

Before she could allow her brain to interfere any further, he took over, pulling them both down on the bed. His hands roamed over her skin, lighting bonfires wherever he touched, and his lips did the same. His large hands cupped her breasts, his thumbs teasing the nipples into hard points. “Amazing.”

Before she could even respond, Avery felt her world tilt once more as Roman had her on her back. His mouth replaced his hands and she nearly came off the bed as he painted his tongue over one of her nipples. “Amazing,” he whispered against the heavy flesh of her breast before shifting to take the other nipple into his mouth.

Avery rode the wave of sensation, peak to peak, as he made love to her with his mouth. She’d always appreciated his ability to settle in and spend some time, enjoying the entire experience of being together instead of focusing solely on the main event.

And it was when she felt him shift lower, his hair tickling the sensitive skin of her stomach, that she realized he’d remembered
exactly
what she liked.

“Roman.”

He ran a lazy finger along the seam of her body, the pad of his thumb hard against her clitoris, looking up at her with his dark, passion-glazed eyes. She reacted instantly, her thighs falling open to allow him deeper access to her body. But it was only when he whispered “Amazing” once more that she saw stars.

His mouth replaced his fingers and the memories that had fueled her for years became reality once more.

Hot, desperate pulses of need ran through her as he made love to her with his mouth. With unerring precision, he brought her to the edge of madness, then pulled back, changing the tempo so she balanced on that tight edge between pleasure and the anxious need for fulfillment.

Avery gave up everything to the moment. She turned her body over to him and allowed him to drive her to the very height of pleasure. It was only when her orgasm was nearly on her, her body so close to completion she need only whisper the thought to make it happen, that she pulled at him, desperate for him to join her for the fall.

“Now, Roman. Now.”

The brief rip of foil interrupted the moment and it brought a small smile to her lips. Thankfully he’d gotten quicker at that part.

He moved over her and she reached for him, gliding the long, familiar length of him into her body. A desperate sigh rose up in her throat, the familiarity of the moment nearly taking her breath as he supported his heavy weight on his forearms.

God, how she’d missed him.

How she’d missed them together.

The memories faded as the present gripped them both. With a hard moan, Roman buried himself to the hilt and stilled for the briefest of moments before he began to move.

Avery matched his rhythm immediately, the give-and-take driving them both crazy as their sweat-slicked bodies rode the wave together.

She didn’t know if it was the years apart or the foreplay they’d engaged in—both verbal and physical—since he’d been home, but the moments raced by, both their bodies desperate for fulfillment.

And when she felt his telltale signs—the tightening of his buttocks and the hard, heavy shout as he pushed into her once more—she let herself fall, secure in the knowledge he’d catch her.

“I
’d like to go to Anchorage with you. If you’d want to have me along.”

Avery was lying spooned in his arms, her hand tight in his. It was only when she turned to face him that Roman realized he was holding his breath.

“For my conference?”

“Yeah. I know you have to work during the day, but we can go out in the evening. Spend some time together.”

“You’d really want to do that?”

Even though he had braced for rejection, her question voiced in a quiet, thoughtful way caught him off guard. “Yeah.”

“Even if you won’t get a moment alone with people asking for your autograph and stuff?”

“It’s not that big a deal.”

“Then I’d love to have you join me.”

The tire iron that had settled on his chest lifted slightly at her agreement before another concern rose up in his mind. “Does it bother you people know who I am?”

“No. Why?”

“Some people find it annoying.”

A small smile hovered at the corners of her mouth. “Some people being ex-girlfriends?”

“No. Oddly enough women seem to find it enjoyable. I meant friends. Hockey players don’t get the same attention as football players, but there’s usually someone who makes the connection and once one person does, others tend to follow.”

“I’m sure you’re more than capable of fending them off.”

“Most of the time.”

“What’s it like?”

“The attention?” When she only nodded, he continued. “It’s heady at first. Crazy because someone actually recognizes you because of this thing you do and love. But it gets tiring pretty quickly. People in New York are better than other cities.”

“Is it strange? That they know all about you and you don’t even know their name?”

“Sometimes. But overall people are pretty cool. Every once in a while you get a crier, which is a bit unsettling.”

“People have actually cried on you?”

“After winning the Cup it’s especially bad. And there’s actually another side to it. I was out one night and nearly got decked by a guy who’d lost his mortgage payment betting against us.”

“Sucks to be him.”

“In more ways than one. Especially when security ensured he’d work off his drunken rant in jail for the night.”

She ran a hand down his arm and he enjoyed the feel of her light touch and the physical awareness that hummed between them. “It must be hard to be responsible for others’ dreams. Their happiness and joys. Their sadness and losses.”

“I hadn’t ever considered that.”

“You’ve always had a lot of that here in Indigo, but I never thought about the fact that you have it from legions of people who follow what you do.”

“There are worse problems to have.”

“True.”

“I mean it, Ave. It’s a privilege to do what I do. Sure, there are elements that suck, but for the most part, I’m one of the lucky ones.”

“Yet another reason your adoring public loves you.”

He couldn’t resist poking at her. “I thought it was my sexy assets.”

The words had their desired effect when she moved her hand from his arms to swat him on the ass. “And you’ve been known to flaunt those
ass
-ets a time or two, too.”

“It was one lousy calendar. And the towel was strategically placed.”

“Myrtle and Chooch bemoan that towel every time they look at it.”

An image of the two older women ogling his photo elicited a dull throb at the base of his neck. “Please tell me you didn’t just say that.”

“Maybe I can take a picture for the women of Indigo and confirm just what they were missing?”

She pressed on his shoulders to force him onto his back as she slid down his body. With quick fingers, she flung the light sheet that covered them both toward the bottom of the bed. “Yep. I’ll do my best to make a full inspection.”

Roman pillowed his hands behind his head, secure in the knowledge he needed to lie back and take it like a man while she took one for the girls of Indigo.

•   •   •

Julia walked her favorite path along the river, bright morning sunlight accompanying her on the walk. Her thoughts were full of those moments she’d spent with Ken earlier in the week as they’d walked the same route. His quiet advice had been sound, and she’d used much of it in the conversation she’d had with Roman when she had him over to dinner.

In fact, she admitted to herself, it had been nice to share her concerns with a man. Gain his point of view and hear his assessment. It was a different perspective from that of her friends, and she’d appreciated Ken’s thoughts.

So why was she thinking about a reason to call him up and ask him to do it again?

She’d nearly invited him to join her, Mary and Sophie for a burger at the diner last night, but had let the opportunity pass at the last minute.

Was she afraid? Embarrassed? Confused?

She dismissed each in kind, knowing it wasn’t any of those things.

What she really was, she knew, was out of practice.

She hadn’t been with a man in over forty years. There were days that knowledge chafed and then there were other days when she knew she’d made the choices she’d wanted to make. She’d dated on the rare occasion she went out of town or was fixed up, but no one had ever caught her fancy, and after a while she’d stopped worrying about it.

Only now, she was worrying about it. And thinking about it.

Because there finally was a man who
had
caught her fancy.

“Julia!” She turned at the sound of her name and stopped short. There he stood, his solid, fit frame waving at her from about fifty yards closer to town.

With a wave of her own, she turned and walked toward him as he narrowed the gap between them.

“I thought I might find you here.” His smile was broad when they were close enough to talk to each other.

“I told you I liked this path.”

“Which is why I hoped I’d find you on it.”

A wave of butterflies took wing in her stomach, but she kept her smile bright and her tone casual. “Care to walk with me, then?”

“I’d love to.”

They walked in companionable silence for a few minutes, and Julia turned over in her mind what she wanted to say to him. “Thank you for your advice about Roman. I’m no closer to knowing if there’s anything wrong, but I do feel better after talking to him.”

“He’ll come around. And I’ve been gently keeping an eye. I don’t sense he has any serious physical issues. The boy is shockingly fit, especially keeping up with those kids on the ice the way he does. He is in prime condition.”

“The gals in town certainly think so.” She knew it was unkind of her to say, but she’d lived with the giggles and whispers for the last two decades.

“That bothers you?”

“I just think people could pay a bit of attention to the fact that the boy’s my grandson. Dear Lord, the way Myrtle and Chooch passed around those damn calendars.” She shuddered. “And I know Mary and Sophie took a peek.”

Ken grinned broadly, his dark eyes crinkling at the corners, but his tone was as gentle as always. “There’s nothing wrong with a healthy libido, at any age.”

Julia found herself chuckling. “I know, but it seems so sordid when it’s my grandson in the photo.”

“I’ll grant you that.”

“So what about you? There isn’t a Mrs. Cloud. Why is that?” The words were out before she could stop them, and Julia felt her cheeks growing warm.

What had possibly possessed her to ask the question?

“There was a Mrs. Cloud, a very long time ago before I moved to Indigo.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Well, sorry since you’re obviously not still together.”

“We married young and divorced young.”

“No children?”

“Fortunately, no.”

“Fortunately?”

“My wife and I didn’t have a very good marriage, nor did things end well. I’ve always been grateful we didn’t bring children into the world who would have had to bear the brunt of our mistakes.”

She nodded, not sure she understood but respectful of his feelings. While she’d always believed children were a blessing, she could see where someone’s view might differ if they didn’t harbor any fondness for the person they’d had children with.

“Do you mind sharing what happened?” Another rush of heat filled her face and she quickly amended her question. “Goodness, but I’m nosy today. I’m sorry for the intrusive questions.”

“It’s not that big a secret. We married very young, overjoyed with the passions of youth, and had very little idea of the responsibilities that awaited us. Add on two families who didn’t care for our spouses and you’ve got a recipe for disaster.”

“What wasn’t there to like?”

“Her family resented my Alaskan native heritage. My family wasn’t much more understanding in return.”

“That seems so sad.”

“It was almost fifty years ago. Things were different then.” He hesitated for a moment, before adding, “And clearly we weren’t willing to try hard enough to get past it, either.”

“I suppose. We’re so stupid when we’re young.”

“I’m not sure we’re all that much smarter when we get older, either.”

Julia stopped, something in his tone pulling her up short. “Oh, I don’t know. I think something finally kicks in and we start to figure things out.”

“Well then, maybe I can try something stupid because I believe I’ve finally started to figure out a few things.”

With dawning awareness, she watched as Ken moved closer, pulling her into his arms. “I’d like to kiss you, Julia.”

“I’d like that very much.”

As the summer sun beat down on them, the lost years of her personal life faded away. And as her arms came up around his neck, pulling him closer against her body, she felt a little bit stupid. A little bit wise.

And a whole lot of happy.

•   •   •

Avery held up an outfit from her closet and faced Grier. “Trying too hard or not hard enough?”

“Depends.”

“On what?”

“How much cleavage you’re going to show with the shell underneath.”

“None. Not like I have any to show off, anyway.”

“You’ve got plenty.” Grier waved a hand as she reached for her take-out cup of coffee. “So which is it gonna be?”

“Which is what?”

“The cleavage, Avery. Are you showing any off?”

Avery thought about the pale pink shell she wore with the outfit. “Maybe a modest amount.”

“Code for none. Which means you’ll look very professional. Personally, I think you might want to spice up your travel conference and give the guys in the front row something to dream about, but that’s just me.”

“My words will be riveting enough.”

“Not nearly as riveting as a hint of lace and an opportunity for a wardrobe malfunction.” Grier popped a handful of popcorn in her mouth.

“What good are you? You’re supposed to be a sophisticated New Yorker.”

“Fashion was never my strong suit. I just buy stuff that matches, which is about as much as I can handle. Sloan, on the other hand. She’s your girl.”

“Do you think we can text her pictures in Fiji and get her opinion?”

“She’s in the glow of island breezes and honeymoon sex. Do you really think she’s even got her phone on?”

“She’s just Type A enough to have it in her beach bag.”

Grier nodded, convinced. “Give it a try.”

Avery had her phone in hand before she shook her head and put it back on her nightstand. “No. It’s her honeymoon and I will not bother her with something so stupid and trivial. We’re two smart women. We can figure this out.”

“Okay. So what else do you have in that closet since the outfits you’ve pulled out so far have been fashion masterpieces?”

Avery shot her a nasty finger gesture before diving back into her closet. “It’s not my fault I live in one of the coldest climates in the entire world, ensuring my wardrobe consists mainly of sweaters. And it’s not like Susan requires me to dress up for front-desk duty.”

“So what dresses do you have?”

Avery poked her head back out the closet door. “I need to wear a suit.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m a professional.”

“Dresses are professional.”

“But a suit is more professional.”

“Those suits look like they belonged to Margaret Thatcher. Show me the dresses.”

Avery wanted to scream in frustration, but Grier’s point was valid. The suits she’d acquired over the years were serviceable and functional, but they weren’t all that enticing, sexy or sophisticated.

“Betsy got a great dress line in last year and I have a few of those.”

“Let’s see.”

Avery spent the next half hour modeling whatever she could find in the closet. She also added a dress she’d remembered in her bottom drawer that had been left behind the previous summer when its owner mysteriously left it by the pool. Since said owner had never been found, Avery had had it laundered and added it to her small stash of clothing.

“In order of preference.” Grier held up a hand and ticked off her list. “The red one, the turquoise one and that peach sensation you’re wearing that really shows off your legs.”

Avery bit her lip, the indecision so foreign she couldn’t believe she was staring back at herself in the mirror. “Red? Really?”

“You look gorgeous in the dress. It flatters your figure and screams ‘woman!’ without screaming ‘slut!’ at the same time. And”—Grier came over and smoothed the lines of the peach dress Avery still wore—“it will make you stand out on the dais.”

“I’m not trying to showcase the fact I’m a woman.”

“Why not?”

“Because I want the audience to listen to my words.”

“Can’t they listen to your words and look at your face?”

Grier’s logic pulled her up short and Avery had to admit her friend had a point. “I guess.”

“Just because we have breasts doesn’t mean we don’t have brains. The value of what you’re saying will win them over. They’ll just get a kick out of how pretty you look when you say it. Besides.” Grier stepped back and lifted one of the discarded suits from the bed. “This needs to be burned as soon as humanly possible.”

“I think it’s polyester. I may pollute the town with the fumes.”

“We wouldn’t want that. Maybe Tasty can bury it beneath the ice next winter when he goes ice fishing. With any luck it’ll get buried at the bottom of the lake.”